Ghost Catching System

Next up was improving his strength.

Chu Hao found that improving his strength was incredibly difficult each time, requiring a great number of Pretentiousness Points.

Chu Hao opened the System store. He had acquired the Mercury Lotus, but two main medicinal herbs were still lacking. As for the other ingredients, he already had them at the villa.

The last two main herbs he saw were Qi and Blood Returning Roots and Golden Yang Dates. Chu Hao, despite having learned the Ghost Doctor Technique, had never even heard of them, let alone found them in reality.

Qi and Blood Returning Roots: Requires 10,000 Pretentiousness Points.

Golden Yang Dates: Requires 10,000 Pretentiousness Points.

These two items alone required 20,000 Pretentiousness Points. This damn System, selling medicinal items at such exorbitant prices!

Having no other choice, Chu Hao could only make the purchase.

”DING! Host has purchased Qi and Blood Returning Roots, expending 10,000 Pretentiousness Points. Remaining Pretentiousness Points: 28,000.”

”DING! Host has purchased Golden Yang Dates, expending 10,000 Pretentiousness Points. Remaining Pretentiousness Points: 18,000.”

With these, he could finally study the Advanced Foundation Building Scripture.

This time, studying the Advanced Foundation Building Scripture was different from before; the ingredients had to be refined through Alchemy.

Chu Hao had no clue about Alchemy, but luckily the System had unlocked the Alchemy function; otherwise, he really wouldn’t have known what to do.

He placed all the ingredients into the Alchemy function slot.

A System notification appeared: ”Alchemy of the above ingredients requires 3,000 Pretentiousness Points.”

Given the System’s usual tendencies, he knew Alchemy wouldn’t be free, but thankfully, the cost wasn’t too high.

”Begin Alchemy.”

”DING! Host is alchemizing ingredients, expending 3,000 Pretentiousness Points. Remaining Pretentiousness Points: 15,000.”

”DING! Alchemy successful. Obtained Advanced Foundation Building Powder.”

”DING! In view of the Host’s first use of the Alchemy function, the System rewards one portion of the ingredients for the Advanced Foundation Building Powder; charges will apply from the next usage.”

Chu Hao was momentarily stunned, then burst into joy, exclaiming, ”Ha-ha… System, you’re truly my son!”

System: ”Son, has Daddy been good to you?”

Arguing with the System wasn’t new for Chu Hao, but he was in such high spirits that he decided not to quibble with it.

Having obtained another portion of the ingredients, as long as he bought the Advanced Foundation Building Scripture, he could improve once more.

It had to be said, the further he progressed, the more Pretentiousness Points were required; raising a single level could cost fifty or sixty thousand Pretentiousness Points. Chu Hao could only try his best to complete tasks and act as pretentious as possible.

He took out the powder; the Advanced Foundation Building Powder was white, just like headache powder. He ingested it in one gulp and declared, ”Study the Advanced Foundation Building Scripture.”

”DING! Host is studying the Advanced Foundation Building Scripture.”

This Foundation Building session was also quite different from the past. As soon as the powder entered his body, it melted instantly, and a scorching sensation emerged.

The Golden Yang Dates were supremely Yang in nature. Combined with the Qi and Blood Returning Roots, they stimulated an overwhelming surge of vital energy throughout his body.

The next moment, Chu Hao felt a red mist, like steam, erupting from every pore. This mist was materialized vital energy, and it surrounded his body, turning the entire room into a red haze.

Soon, the vital energy covering his body and permeating the room condensed into a bloody fluid, which grew thicker and redder.

This situation lasted for an unknown period.

When the emission of vital energy from within his body ceased, Chu Hao’s burning body temperature gradually dropped. The air cooled, the blood crusted over, and his entire body was covered in a thick layer of scabs.

Chu Hao himself was unaware of his surroundings. All he could feel was his heart beating exceedingly fast, his body intensely hot, and waves of overwhelming power gushing out from an invisible gate within him.

The next moment, the True Qi contained within the Advanced Foundation Building Scripture was drawn towards the gate, which unfolded like a fan. This force surged like a tide, transforming into overwhelming True Qi that penetrated his flesh, marrow, and meridians.

Time passed bit by bit. He lost track of how long it had been. A day? Two days? A week? Or even a month?

Chu Hao had chosen a secluded room where no one would know his whereabouts. He had selected it specifically to avoid Toad and Zi Jing; Those two are definitely hiding something from me, he thought.

So, there was no one here to disturb him, nor would anyone know he was in the villa.

When the surge of True Qi from that hidden gate within his body finally subsided, Chu Hao felt the tumultuous True Qi at last stabilize.

Next was to adapt to this new power.

CRACK!

The thick layer of scabs split open and fell from his body, like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.

Chu Hao opened his eyes, stood up, and stretched his limbs, causing a series of cracking sounds, like metal striking stone.

I’ve finally broken through to the high-stage Foundation Building realm! Chu Hao was overjoyed.

He felt a significant change. Unlike before, when I couldn’t control the strength of my True Qi, this time is different. I can suppress my True Qi to its minimum and control it as finely as a strand of hair, completely at will!

Chu Hao let out a chuckle, stood up, and threw a punch.

BANG!

The punch made the air crack as if a whip had been snapped.

”Ha-ha! How lonely it is to be invincible!” Chu Hao laughed heartily, his spirits soaring.

He tried controlling his True Qi again and found he could do so without wasting a single trace, directing it to an extremely precise location.

So this is the control of a high-stage Foundation Builder!

Additionally, Chu Hao found his physical body had become very resilient. He wanted to test its limits, but after long hesitation, he couldn’t bring himself to make a cut—he was afraid of pain.

As he stretched, he found it strange that all his bones were creaking. How long have I been sitting here?

He took out his phone to check the time, only to discover the battery was dead.

Chu Hao was stunned. ”I remember the phone was fully charged,” he wondered aloud. ”How could it be dead?”

He walked out of the room.

Only Bai Ling usually lived in the villa, but she wasn’t home at the moment. Some servants were still around; they were ordinary people employed by the Seventh District who followed a regular daily work schedule.

Chu Hao went outside and found an older woman, an auntie, sweeping dust. He asked, ”Auntie, what’s the date today?”

The auntie replied, ”The thirteenth.”

Chu Hao breathed a sigh of relief. I remember starting the Advanced Foundation Building Scripture on the tenth, so only three days have passed.

At that moment, the auntie asked, ”Boss, I want to take my daughter to see the lantern festival. Could I request some time off?”

Lantern festival? Chu Hao was taken aback. ”What lantern festival?” he asked.

The auntie, somewhat puzzled, replied, ”The Yuanxiao Lantern Festival, of course! This year’s lanterns are particularly beautiful, but I’m on duty tonight.”

The Yuanxiao Lantern Festival? Chu Hao’s mind buzzed. I clearly remember starting this in December... How can it be the Lantern Festival already? Doesn’t that mean the New Year has already passed?

Shocked, Chu Hao asked, ”What year is it today? No, wait, what’s the exact date—year, month, and day?”

Thinking the boss might have a fever, the auntie replied, ”It’s the Lantern Festival, so it’s March 2nd, 2018.”

Holy shit!!! Damn it, I’ve actually been in seclusion for three months! Starting from December 10th... that’s over a hundred days! So this is Foundation Building. It takes so incredibly long!

The auntie asked, ”Boss, may I take that time off?”

Chu Hao, regaining his composure, replied, ”Yes, you can.”

The auntie was elated. ”Thank you, boss.”