Hearing him say that, Liu Buli became somewhat interested. He glanced back at the monsters, wanting to walk up and take a closer look. However, the moment he took a step, Lu Wuming grabbed him and pulled him back to his side.
Liu Buli blinked, immediately understanding what his foolish disciple was thinking. He smiled and said, "Your master isn't brainless, how could I possibly toy with these things like a dog? I was just curious and wanted to get closer, nothing more."
"That won't do," Lu Wuming firmly refused his idea. He said, "These fellows are staying put now solely because the ghostly energy emanating from me is too strong for them to resist. But Master, you don't have any ghostly energy on you. If you get close to them, they will still attack you. It's very dangerous, so please don't try."
Liu Buli's curiosity was immense.
This was practically common knowledge.
As his closest companion, Lu Wuming was naturally aware of this fact.
When their master saw something that piqued his interest, he wouldn't care if it was dangerous. If it wasn't dangerous, he would go right up to it. If it was dangerous, he would eliminate the danger and then go up to it. This was Liu Buli's usual behavior, and no one understood it better than Lu Wuming.
So, the moment he turned around, Lu Wuming knew that their master couldn't resist his strong curiosity any longer.
Knowing that Lu Wuming's words made sense, Liu Buli could no longer resist. He pouted obediently and muttered, "Wuming, I still think you're being a bit overprotective. Your master is so strong, these are just minor monsters, they can't really harm me much. Since that's the case, it's fine for me to go and take a look, don't you think?"
Lu Wuming frowned.
He instinctively felt that the monsters were not suitable for Liu Buli to approach, but he couldn't explain why he felt this way.
After all, he was seeing these monsters for the first time as well.
So, while he could express his worries, he couldn't pinpoint the source of them.
Just as Lu Wuming was looking conflicted and Liu Buli was eager to explore, the ghost, who had been quiet for a while, finally spoke again. He said, "Our young master is right. Human, for your own safety, you'd best not come into prolonged contact with these monsters."
Liu Buli was somewhat surprised that this fellow would proactively offer him a warning. His eyes widened slightly, and he smiled, "What, does my getting close to them affect you too? If it only affects me, then your sudden kindness makes me suspicious of your words."
"They don't affect me, of course, but I'm afraid that if something happens to you, the young master will take my life."
The ghost pouted and said, "I simply want to live. Besides, since I've already told you so much, saying a little more is no big deal. These monsters are the embodiment of malice and despair. When ghosts get close to them, those with lower cultivation will be directly affected and impacted. Let alone you ordinary humans. For you, this malevolence will cause you to go mad."
The ghost assumed that after he said this, Liu Buli would, like a normal person, show some appropriate tension and fear.
But to his complete surprise, after hearing his words, Liu Buli instead put on an excited expression and asked somewhat eagerly, "Are you serious? The malice from these monsters is particularly potent, even more so than that of a human on the verge of death?"
The ghost was taken aback.
He had never made such a comparison before, but hearing Liu Buli say it now, he felt a bit lost.
Lu Wuming, hearing this question, immediately understood what his master was thinking. Although Liu Buli had never seemed particularly attentive when discussing his matters with You Siqi, he had actually taken to heart everything he heard.
He immediately looked back at the monsters and a smile appeared on his face. Nodding in Liu Buli's direction, he said, "Indeed, it's deeper than the malice and resentment from humans. However, it's not as strong as that of someone with very high cultivation. For example, at the time of Shen Mu's death, the aura was definitely much stronger than this. As for other cultivators, they should all be inferior to this monster."
Hearing his comparison, Liu Buli couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
He thought the enmity between Lu Wuming and Shen Mu should have ended by now. Why was there still such strong resentment at the slightest disagreement?
Trying to maintain his expression, Liu Buli earnestly steered the conversation back. Looking at the ghost beside him, he asked, "Why are these monsters like this? You've kept them for so long, do you have any idea?"
"I can probably guess," the ghost nodded and said, "These monsters live in the area outside the Ghost City. If the Ghost City is a desolate land, then the place where they live can be considered primordial chaos. They were born in darkness, originally aggregations of malice and evil thoughts. In chaos, they not only had to evade more powerful monsters but also resorted to cannibalism due to lack of food. Over time, their resentment has grown heavier, which is normal."
Liu Buli nodded in understanding.
For him, the Ghost City was still a completely unknown territory. Everything about it was only what he had heard from You Siqi verbally. But what was it really like? Was there any discrepancy between reality and the novel? Even the author, You Siqi, couldn't say for sure, so naturally, he wouldn't know.
However, with the ghost's explanation, the Ghost City, which had been hidden in shadows and dense fog, finally seemed to lift a corner of its veil for him.
Liu Buli was very satisfied.
After thinking for a moment, he narrowed his eyes and asked the ghost, "One last question. Since you have so much food around, why don't you eat them, and instead go eat humans?"
"Because eating humans makes us stronger!" the ghost answered without hesitation. He said, "Our race is like this. Only by eating humans can we become stronger! Young Master is the only one so far who hasn't eaten humans but is stronger than all of us. We don't know why! However, recently there have been rumors that dual cultivation with humans can make one stronger than eating humans. But that's too difficult, very few humans can withstand us, so..."
The ghost trailed off, his expression looking extremely troubled.
Liu Buli's expression finally couldn't hold back, cracking for a moment.
He had to admit, in terms of intelligence, this race had never disappointed him. Even this seemingly slightly smarter individual was still incredibly foolish in certain aspects.
They never considered that the fact Lu Wuming didn't need to eat humans and was stronger than all of them was itself problematic? How could dual cultivation achieve such results?
There were quite a few people in the cultivation world who had dao companions. But he had never heard of anyone being stronger than Lu Wuming. Couldn't they see such an obvious fact?