I am becoming the ultimate demon.

Chapter 7 Night, Painted Boat; Faceless Eeries, Part 2 Fusion Section

At the third quarter of the hour of Xu (7:45 PM), the sky gradually darkened, and snowflakes slowly began to fall.

Ji Lin arrived alone at the painted boat on the Huai River. Talented scholars were composing poems and painting in the pavilions, accompanied by beautiful women. Tourists were enjoying the scenery of the water town by boat. There were singing and dancing pavilions, and everyone was having a great time. It didn't seem like there was anything unusual about the place.

He originally thought that only prefectural governments had such giant ships, but he never expected that such an elegant place could be found in a small county town in this chaotic world. It was truly rare.

As Ji Lin boarded the boat with the tourists, he gave the servant at the door ten taels of silver to inquire about the latest information about the pleasure boat.

At first, the servant simply introduced the talented men and beautiful women here, the ways for tourists to play, and so on. When Ji Lin asked about the disappearance, he always stammered and gave irrelevant answers.

Then Ji Lin handed him a fifty-tael silver note. The servant's eyes lit up, he looked around excitedly, and then he took the silver note and stuffed it into his pocket.

At this moment, the waiter whispered, "Several young men have recently gone missing from the private rooms on the second floor. Business looks booming, but it's much quieter than usual."

Despite the unusual events, so many people still came to visit. Besides being grateful for the wealthy businessman's information blackout, there were always a few bold individuals who couldn't contain their desires.

Ji Lin then went up to the second floor, where men and women were all hugging and embracing, mostly drunk and swaying from side to side. The strong smell of perfume filled the entire corridor.

"What the hell? How dare you block my way? You're tired of living!" A drunkard, with two young women in his arms and a wine jug in his hand, blocked Ji Lin's path.

Ji Lin was not familiar with him, only knowing that he was the son of Wang Yuanwai. He was idle and dissolute all day long, while his father frequently visited the county magistrate and the Ji family mansion. In Xiong'an County, if you wanted to get anything done, you couldn't bypass them and you always had to curry favor with them.

"Open your dog eyes and take a good look at who I am!" Ji Lin shouted.

"Ah? Demon... no... Young Master Ji, I was blind, please forgive me." The drunkard knelt down with a thud, trying to hug Ji Lin's leg.

"Get out of my way!!" Ji Lin kicked him away.

The drunkard tumbled and scrambled downstairs in a hurry.

Before long, the man came running from the opposite side of Ji Lin.

That's strange. That's not right.

"Young Master Ji...you..." The man stopped abruptly, paused for a moment, and ran back in a panic.

The man's figure had barely disappeared when he reappeared behind Ji Lin.

As the two were still in shock, a burly man suddenly emerged from one of the private rooms. He carried a giant sword, had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a full beard. He looked to be in his thirties. Such a rough man was a stark contrast to the elegant place.

Ji Lin sensed something and immediately used [Insight] to check the person's information:

[Awakened One: Huang Yu]

[Rank: Soldier]

[Skill: Demonic Appearance - Vertical and Horizontal Slash]

"Oh, there are actually abnormal beings here." Huang Yu crossed his arms and carefully examined Ji Lin.

Could the missing person be related to Huang Yu? It's not like he'd kill several people here just to level up.

It's quite possible that, like him, they've come here to investigate unusual events and obtain unusual resources.

Just as the two were about to speak, they suddenly realized that the drunkard had vanished without a trace.

Standing in the distance was a woman with long, flowing hair, a slender figure, and dressed in pink. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that she had no facial features, which was quite eerie.

At this point, the system displayed a message: "An anomaly has been detected."

Faceless Ghost

[Level: Resentment]

[The pattern of murder: Exposing facial features and making eye contact]

Upon seeing the notification, Ji Lin's heart tightened. He had just covered his mouth and nose with his hand when the eerie creature was already in front of him.

The bearded man beside her didn't think much of it. He immediately transformed into a demon, his body swelling up, and drew his giant sword, slashing at her back.

"You audacious monster, take this sword!"

The giant sword swept past with a whoosh, while the Faceless Ghost slightly raised his hand, "Crack!" He pinched the blade with a few fingers, easily deflecting Huang Yu's attack.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ji Lin slipped back, creating some distance between them. He planned to sit back and watch the fight unfold, observing the battle between the supernatural beings. He also wanted to know how the bizarre fought.

Huang Yu suddenly drew his greatsword and swung it repeatedly, but the Faceless Ghost easily dodged them all and finally disappeared into thin air.

He was panting, looking around, "Hey buddy, did you see where that thing went?"

Ji Lin was utterly astonished, unsure whether to call the bearded man stupid or brave. Judging from his strength, he was no match for the Faceless Demon, yet he showed no fear in the face of such a powerful enemy.

"Behind you!" Ji Lin pointed behind Huang Yu, his voice muffled by the cover of his hand.

Huang Yu turned around and froze on the spot. The giant sword slid to the ground with a 'clatter'. He slowly turned around, his hands hanging down vertically, as if he were being controlled by something.

The bearded man had lost the ability to resist, and Ji Lin realized that something was very wrong.

With a thought, he immediately transformed into his demonic form, quickly covering the bearded man's face and interrupting the strange spellcasting.

The faceless ghost, having lost its target, suddenly vanished from its spot.

Huang Yu had already fainted and was unable to get up. His massive body crashed heavily to the ground with a loud 'boom,' but it didn't wake him up.

This bearded man was an Awakened One after all, it would be a pity if he died like this. In this era of extraordinary resurgence, every Awakened One is extremely precious, so we must save him.

Ji Lin, still in his demonic form, walked towards the nearest private room. As soon as he pushed open the door, six or seven corpses tumbled out with a thud, all of them young men.

Strangely, none of these corpses had faces.

It seems these are all people who went missing before.

Inside the room, the faceless monster was wandering around without making a sound, as if it were searching for a target.

Without much thought, Ji Lin seized the opportunity to activate the skill [Demonic Appearance - Shadow Strike]. At a distance of three or four meters from the Faceless Monster, he suddenly appeared behind it, his right hand transforming into a sharp spike that pierced through the monster's chest with a 'plop'.

The strange creature remained motionless; the battle was over.

But Ji Lin quickly realized something was wrong. There was no system notification, which meant that the Faceless Ghost had not been killed, or rather, the corpse in front of him... was not the Faceless Ghost's corpse.

He pulled his arm out of the corpse, then pulled it back to the ground. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Wang Yuanwai's son, who had just disappeared.

Ji Lin was greatly surprised. It wasn't the Faceless Ghost's true form. Where was its real body?

He searched several rooms in a row but found no useful clues until he reached the last room... an empty private room, with a painting of a beautiful woman on the wall that stood out in particular.

Ji Lin walked closer and saw a woman in pink dancing gracefully. Wasn't this the image of the Faceless Ghost?

Could this be its true form? If we tear it apart, does that mean we've killed the Faceless Demon?

Try it and you'll see. He took down the scroll, pulled hard, and couldn't tear it.

He then tried to light the candle next door, but it wouldn't light either, which was strange.

Finally, he turned his attention to the mask behind him, took it off, and held the scroll in his left hand and the mask in his right.

Suddenly, the two merged together on their own.

Ji Lin quickly covered his mouth and nose.

A woman dressed in pink appeared before them, her makeup exquisite, her features striking—she was a stunning beauty.

The woman in pink, just like in the painting, danced with her supple body. After she turned around, no one could remember what she looked like.

What a pity, what a pity.

Ji Lin launched a sudden attack, his hand disappearing as it passed through the faceless ghost's body.

【Ding】

[Successfully devoured the strange creature]

[Gained 2 anomalies]

[Obtained 1 Mysterious Fragment]

[Function Unlocked: The second slot in the Fusion menu is now available, allowing you to equip two different anomalous substances simultaneously.]

Devouring the bizarre can actually yield fragments of the bizarre?

Before he could think it through, the entire cabin suddenly shook violently, and the room swayed so badly that he could hardly stand.

"Ah! There's a monster, a huge black shadow, a flood is coming..." A series of noises came from outside.