Chapter 52

"Could it be that the Blood Bull is a vegetarian?" Xu Xing noticed the Blood Bull's unusual behavior and muttered to himself in confusion.

"Since that's the case, if it doesn't eat meat, let's try some vegetables." Xu Xing had a backup plan. When one strategy failed, he came up with another. He fished out an apple from his ghost pocket, which was bright red and dripping with freshness, exuding a sweet apple fragrance. He then smeared it with Meng Po's soup and tossed it to the Blood Bull.

"This time, let's see if you eat it!" Xu Xing chuckled, speaking with confidence.

The apple rolled to the Blood Bull's feet, its bright red color matching the Bull's fur.

"Hmph~"

The Blood Bull continued to snort, its nostrils flaring, and it stomped on the red apple with its hooves.

With a "puff," the red apple burst, splattering juice everywhere, and the hooves were covered with white, crisp apple pieces.

"Hmph!"

The Blood Bull looked at Xu Xing, its ears flapping, and its black eyes filled with disdain.

"You're looking down on me!" Xu Xing said in disbelief. The Blood Bull was incredibly perceptive, actually capable of disdain, which made Xu Xing so angry that he gritted his teeth.

Xu Xing clenched his teeth and said fiercely, "I will pull out your horns, drink your blood, eat your meat, and even cut off your bullwhip!"

Since his secret move didn't work, Xu Xing decided to face the Blood Bull directly, intending to cut off its precious horns.

"Thud," "Thud"

The Blood Bull snorted heavily, its hooves pawing the ground, making the iron cage rattle.

"Moo~~~~!"

A deep, mournful moo echoed, as if from ancient times, thick and desolate. The Blood Bull roared and charged at Xu Xing with its horns pointed forward.

"Come on!" Xu Xing shouted, taking a big step forward and running to meet the Blood Bull head-on!

Xu Xing was incredibly fierce, determined to overpower the Blood Bull.

"Bang!"

The two collided, Xu Xing grabbing the Blood Bull's horns with both hands, struggling with all his might. Both of them exerted all their strength, their feet digging into the ground, leaving marks.

The Blood Bull's eyes widened, its small eyes becoming large, black turning to red, as it let out deep roars, its tail almost reaching the sky.

"Fall down!" Xu Xing shouted, his hands tightening, his arms pushing the horns down. After consuming meat, his strength had greatly increased, and his brute force was enough to challenge the Blood Bull.

Suddenly, the nine strength soul wheels in Xu Xing's body began to spin, amplifying his strength. A terrifying force surged from his soul, flowing into his arms.

"Bang!" With a push, Xu Xing pressed the Blood Bull to the ground, its massive body collapsing like a mountain.

"Moo!"

The Blood Bull roared in anger, its limbs desperately trying to stand up, its head thrashing on the ground.

The Blood Bull was like a madman, but it couldn't do anything to Xu Xing. His hands were like iron clamps, tightly gripping the Blood Bull's horns, and the overwhelming force kept the Blood Bull's head down, blood seeping from the base of the horns.

"Suppress!" A fierce light flashed in Xu Xing's eyes. He stepped on the Bull's head with one foot, released one hand, and quickly drew a butcher's knife. A black light flashed, and the Blood Bull's head rolled off its neck, blood spurting out.

"Bad, too wasteful!" Xu Xing quickly released the Blood Bull's head, opened his ghost pocket, and used pots and pans to catch the Blood Bull's blood.

The Blood Bull's blood gushed for a while, filling several basins.

"Truly worthy of being a Blood Bull, to release so much blood." Xu Xing held a handful of blood, his eyes shining, and said, "This is a good thing. In the human world, chicken blood can be cooked into nutritious dishes, and the Blood Bull's blood has a similar effect."

As he spoke, Xu Xing's gaze fell on the large, jade-like horns of the Bull's head, with a core flowing with emerald-like essence.

"That should be the blood marrow, the essence of the Blood Bull's blood, condensed in the horns." Xu Xing's mouth watered, but the ingredients recorded on the ingredient card could not be moved.

"Never mind, if I become stronger in the future, I will definitely rob the City God's ingredient warehouse. It's too tempting, always looking at precious ingredients but not being able to cook and eat them myself. It's heart-wrenching!" Xu Xing clutched his chest, feeling deep pain, and reluctantly picked up the butcher's knife to cut the horns and put them in his ghost pocket.

Next, he cooked the bull's blood, which was much better than the rough beef, satisfying his taste buds.

Xu Xing first filtered the blood, removing impurities, and then condensed it until it formed solid pieces, ready for cooking.

As a ghost, Xu Xing had plenty of time, so he wasn't in a hurry. He waited for the blood to solidify, sitting cross-legged and practicing the *Nili Sutra* to catch up with the ghost children, not wasting a moment.

"Drip," "Drip"

The surroundings were quiet, and the sound of the pocket watch in Xu Xing's robe could be heard.

Xu Xing slowly opened his eyes, his gaze calm and serene. He saw that the blood in the pots had successfully solidified, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"It's ready to cook." Xu Xing set up a large iron pot, built a fire, cut the blood into pieces, and added some fresh fruit, waiting patiently.

The fragrance was inviting, and the combination of fruit and blood was perfect, with no trace of a gamey taste, and a light flavor.

Xu Xing couldn't wait to find a copper spoon and started eating directly from the pot. A piece of blood and an apple in his mouth made him almost cry with joy.

It was so delicious, a world apart from the rough meat.

Xu Xing looked up, his mouth slightly open, steam rising from it.

"The soft and tender blood, and the crisp and sweet apple, are truly amazing!" Xu Xing said excitedly, his mouth not stopping, the copper spoon scooping up more and more, the blood and fruit going into his mouth.

The different combinations of blood and fruit had different flavors, such as blood and apple, blood and banana, and so on.

After finishing a pot of fruit and blood soup, Xu Xing was in tears, thinking of the meat he had eaten recently, feeling a deep sense of loss.

At this moment, ghostly energy surged from Xu Xing's body, like a volcanic eruption, and faint "bang" sounds could be heard.

"Huh? Another breakthrough?" Xu Xing was surprised, immediately sitting cross-legged and practicing the *Nili Sutra* to refine the energy from the blood and fruit.

"Thud," "Thud," "Thud"...

It sounded like heavenly soldiers beating drums or the footsteps of fierce beasts, resonating in Xu Xing's ghostly body, as if a heart had been born, beating strongly.

But this was clearly impossible. Only at the Ghost General level could one regenerate bones, flesh, and internal organs, giving a chance to reverse death.

Finally, the dark energy subsided, and Xu Xing opened his eyes, his expression strange.

"It turns out my strength has broken through. It seems that eating meat recently wasn't in vain." Xu Xing said, raising his hand, feeling the power.

"How strong am I now?" Xu Xing was very curious. He wasn't quite sure, as he had tested his strength against the Blood Bull earlier.

But just after the test, he drank a pot of blood and fruit soup, and the accumulated strength in his ghostly body burst forth, breaking through again. Xu Xing was once again unsure of his own strength.

Xu Xing walked to the Blood Bull's corpse, which, compared to the massive Bull, made him look small.

"Roar!"

Xu Xing growled, grabbed a bull's leg with one arm, and lifted the Blood Bull over his head, walking around the iron cage.

"Bang!"

Xu Xing threw the Blood Bull to the ground, causing the iron cage to shake.

An adult Blood Bull weighed as much as an elephant, about a ton, but Xu Xing could lift it with one arm, exerting a force of 20,000 pounds!

"Such monstrous strength..." Xu Xing was speechless, never having heard of a ghost with such strength, and this was without the amplification from the strength soul wheels.

If the nine strength soul wheels were activated, with a tenfold increase, that would be 200,000 pounds of force with one arm!

"Too terrifying, I could crush a ghost official with this strength! Even the flesh beasts in the Yin North might not be a match for me!" Xu Xing said excitedly, his eyes darting up, and he kicked off the ground.

With a "boom," the ground sank, and Xu Xing shot up like a cannonball, reaching the top of the iron cage. He grabbed the iron bars, and accidentally exerting too much force, twisted them into a braid!

"Wow!" Xu Xing exclaimed in surprise, then immediately grabbed a thick chain, holding both ends tightly and exerting his strength, the nine strength soul wheels spinning wildly.

"Ah... Roar!" Xu Xing roared, the chain straightening, deforming, and finally breaking with a "clang"!

With 200,000 pounds of force in one arm, that was 400,000 pounds of force with both arms!

"Roar! Meat, I'm coming!" Xu Xing roared, grabbing the ingredient card tied to his waist, memorizing all the ingredient names, and then opening the top of the iron cage, jumping out and leaping from one cage to another like a monkey.

"Roar!"

Xu Xing jumped onto the cage of a two-meter-tall bear, which immediately became angry, standing on its hind legs, its large paws slapping its chest, and roaring at Xu Xing.

If it were any other time, Xu Xing might have shrunk back and taken a different path.

But now, Xu Xing was different. He glared at the standing bear and roared back.

"Roar!"

Xu Xing and the bear roared at each other, neither backing down.

The bear had never been shouted at by a small ghost servant. Before being captured, it was the king of a small mountain in the Yin West, powerful and feared, with a large territory and many female bears. It had everything it wanted, unlike now.

The bear was suddenly reminded of its past, becoming even angrier, and tried to grab Xu Xing, charging to the top of the cage to teach him a lesson, the chain stretching and making a "bang" sound.

"Tch, can't even break the chain, and you want to beat me?" Xu Xing looked at the bear with disdain. He had just broken the chain that restrained the fierce beast, and it was clear who was more powerful.

"Crack!"

Xu Xing opened the cage and jumped inside.

With a loud "bang," Xu Xing landed on the ground, leaving two shallow indentations in the solid bottom of the iron cage.

You dare to come down?! The bear was stunned, looking at Xu Xing, who was only a meter away, and immediately let out a series of growls.