Chapter 558: Sensing a Secret
It was not only Xue Wei who felt that something was amiss. It was as if these ghosts had a primitive and uncontrollable need to fight one another.
Their bodies were different from that of living beings, and they did not sustain injuries as such. Still, their energy was being spent at a rapid pace, some of which even dissipated into thin air, but they were still desperately trying to emerge victoriously.
It seemed that to them, it was not enough to beat the other. Even in the current situation where they were almost even, they did not retreat to tend to their injuries and return later when they had gotten stronger. Instead, they fought more and more ferociously as if there was no other option.
Lan frowned as he looked at the two ghosts, but before he had the time to guess the cause behind their odd behavior, another ghost appeared on a sand dune opposite to them.
This ghost was stronger than the two fighting ones, but even with danger approaching like this, the two battling ghosts did not hesitate to continue their fight.
The newly arrived ghost seemed to be very familiar with this behavior, and he did not even mask his approach.
He slid down the sand dune and calmly began absorbing the energy that was swirling in the air.
After consuming all the wayward energy, he did not rush to attack the two fighting ghosts. All he did was to wait patiently until both of them were at a point where they were so low on energy that even though they continued to fight, their abilities were no longer able to deal any damage to the opponent.
Even at this point, the two were still unwilling to give in. They were submerged in a frenzy, and did not seem to realize that they would soon become prey to another ghost. Even though this ghost did not try to hide his presence, the two did not seem to notice him at all.
It was at this point that the newly arrived ghost attacked. The attack was swift and ruthless. He appeared to have done such actions numerous times, and the two unwilling ghosts rapidly disappeared, becoming nothing more than mindless energy, which soon would become part of the stronger ghost.
Lan and Xue Wei were observing everything that was happening in front of them with great interest. The two fighting ghosts had not taken the approaching danger seriously. Still, similarly, this ghost who had consumed the two previous ones did not seem to actually care about the presence of the two of them.
Unlike the first two ghosts, which had not even noticed the new arrival, they were certain that the final victor was very aware of their existence.
The ghost had glanced at them a few times, clearly noticing their existence, but disregarding them as if they were air.
Although they were not a threat to this ghost, they still found it interesting that he did not fear them, or that he did not even show the slightest vigilance.
Lan raised an eyebrow as he witnessed the ghost slowly leave the area at a calm pace as if he was not the one who had just consumed the two unfortunate souls.
He already had a theory as to what was going on, but he dared speak about it as he did not feel confident before he had seen a few more similar situations.
"Should we follow him?" Xue Wei also had a feeling that this ghost might have some information that could help them understand the area they had entered.
At first, they had expected this area to be similar to the outside, and the only difference was that it restricted those who could enter, but from what they had seen just now, it seemed that there were certain powers at play that could affect the ghosts in various ways.
The way that these ghosts completely lost control of themselves would make the fear that Mo Lian and the branch leader held towards the area much more reasonable.
One has to remember that they had seen countless deaths. They had personally murdered more ghosts than they could remember, but they feared this specific area.
If it was merely due to the gruesome survival rate, then it did not make sense, but if there was some sort of power that could control their minds and bodies, then the fear would make much more sense.
Lan nodded his head, and the two slowly began to follow the ghost that had left calmly.
They did not hide their purpose of following him, but they were also not close enough to make him feel threatened. If he wished to initiate contact, then they would be willing; if not, they would merely observe his actions.
Although the ghost was the only soul they could see, it seemed that it had a very precise way of navigating around the desert area.
He was walking in a straight line, and he never once stopped to consider the direction. After walking for half a day, the sounds of battle sounded once more in the distance, and both Lan and Xue Wei found another couple of weaker ghosts battling one another.
The situation was the same as the one they had experienced previously, and once again, the battling souls ended up as energy within the other"s body.
After consuming four ghosts, the aura of the winner had become chaotic. The energy was initially that of four different souls, so they were not easily blended into his own to become part of himself.
He seemed to contemplate continuing his journey or slowly adjust the energy he had consumed, but eventually, he decided to first get all the energy merged into his own.
He sent a glance at Lan and Xue Wei once more before he sat down and closed his eyes. For some reason, the feeling of being treated as a guard suddenly appeared in Xue Wei"s mind.