92: Secret Realm Past 2

The recovered Ghost Spirit-type Spirit Beasts, aided by the Spirit Beasts not controlled by humans, successfully “defected” from their former “masters.” Most of the abused Spirit Beasts left after causing significant damage and venting their frustrations before departing.

The final result was that a small portion of humanity, representing the weakest side in this Secret Realm, successfully drew the enmity of both the Exotic Beasts and the Spirit Beasts, along with the other native creatures of the Secret Realm. The difference was that the former were naturally hostile, while the latter were forced into hostility due to human actions.

After losing the vast majority of the Spirit Beasts they controlled, the human faction had no effective way to counter the increasingly powerful Exotic Beasts.

During this period, the human faction shamelessly tried to seek help and protection again from the Spirit Beasts they had once abandoned and harmed, but they were flatly rejected by the enraged Spirit Beasts.

Away from human settlements, relying on the abundant Ghost Spirit-type elements in the wild, they could still increase their strength. Although the speed was much slower, they no longer had to worry about backlash, and the strength cultivated this way was much greater than their previous strength at the same level.

As for the hostile Exotic Beasts, with the “tastier and more nutritious” primary target of the Secret Realm humans and Secret Realm Creatures, they wouldn't actively target the Spirit Beasts unless provoked.

What Xu Yan found somewhat ironic was that although both were entities humans couldn't afford to offend, the Spirit Beasts who had once shown kindness to humans now only retained a faint belief among a tiny minority in human society. In contrast, the Exotic Beasts, who had always maintained hostility towards humans and never ceased their persecution, still retained flourishing worship and belief in current human society.

During this stage, the situations of humans and the Ghost Spirit-type Spirit Beasts completely reversed.

The Spirit Beasts gained a stable living environment and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures born from the immersion in Ghost Spirit-type elements for cultivation. The human faction, having lost their protection, lived in constant fear, liable to lose their lives at any moment due to Exotic Beast attacks.

Moreover, because the Exotic Beasts could gain greater benefits, the attacked humans were usually devoured only after enduring immense suffering and having their emotional energy almost completely drained.

After paying an enormous price, the human faction finally saw the birth of their Transcendent Profession: Ghost Controllers.

However, in Xu Yan's eyes, these so-called Ghost Controllers were a completely twisted evil path, akin to a cult that would require immediate eradication in the Huaguo nation.

They use themselves as vessels to contain and nurture Ghostly beings, commanding them to fight after paying a certain price.

It wasn't a one-time cost; rather, a price had to be paid every time a Ghostly being was summoned to fight: money, treasures, sacrifices, organs from the host, or even life itself.

And the ghosts they controlled were neither Spirit Beasts nor Exotic Beasts. They were their own kind.

It wasn't the unnatural death caused by Exotic Beasts draining all emotions; if the deceased carried immense obsession and resentment, there was a tiny chance that they would transform into a Soul state after death under the influence of Ghost Spirit-type elements, mastering a trace of weak transcendent power.

Since they were already in a feudal period, coupled with the advent of the transcendent, the oppression of the lower classes by the upper strata became increasingly severe, and the power class ceased to treat ordinary people as human beings.

While the Exotic Beasts inflicted massive casualties, the wealthy elite and powerful figures also committed many heinous acts against the common people.

What was originally a low-probability event became more frequent as the base population increased, and these Souls consequently caught the attention of certain individuals.

Originally, relying on the weak transcendent power they possessed, these Souls could find peace and dissipate after resolving their obsessions and resentments.

However, once their existence was discovered, the logic of the situation no longer followed the former pattern of seeking revenge for grievances.

The meager transcendent power held by these Souls might be useful against ordinary people, but it was laughably weak when facing those who had initially accessed transcendent power by controlling Ghost Spirit-type Spirit Beasts, which somewhat restored the confidence of those who had lost their Spirit Beasts.

Research after capturing these Souls revealed that as long as their obsession and resentment remained, they would not dissipate on their own before being completely destroyed. The deeper the Soul's obsession and resentment, the greater the strength it could utilize. Furthermore, before the obsession and resentment were resolved, they would automatically absorb the power between heaven and earth, growing stronger over time.

This discovery brought extreme delight to those individuals: an existence similar to Spirit Beasts and Exotic Beasts, mastering transcendent power, weak enough initially to be easily controlled, and capable of automatically absorbing power from heaven and earth to grow stronger—wasn't this the best substitute after losing the Spirit Beasts?

After a series of studies, they were barely able to issue commands for the Souls to execute, but the compensation the Souls demanded after completing a task was unacceptable to those individuals.

After losing a batch of “test subjects” eager to gain power, they finally developed a method to substitute other things for the cost paid by the self, and the Transcendent Profession of Ghost Controllers officially stepped onto the stage, becoming a force protecting humanity.

As for the suffering the Souls endured in life, their obsessions, and resentments—what did any of that matter in the eyes of these nascent Ghost Controllers?

However, due to the low probability of spontaneous generation, the number of such Souls was too scarce. The powerful figures in the upper strata, after “careful consideration,” ultimately made the “difficult” decision to actively manufacture Souls capable of becoming fighting forces for the sake of human survival.

Subsequently, the common people at the bottom, who hadn't died in the Exotic Beasts' attacks, instead suffered inhumane torture at the hands of their own kind—the “big shots” they once looked up to and supported.

Wives scattered and children separated, watching their closest relatives slowly die before their eyes, being given hope amidst despair only to fall back into despair... various methods of physical and psychological torture were inflicted upon these ordinary people, all for the sake of generating more and stronger resentment and obsession, thereby increasing the probability and strength of Soul creation.

All of this happened only two or three hundred years ago. Although several incidents of Soul defection and retaliation occurred during this time, causing massive casualties, they did nothing to stop the upper strata's behavior.

Up to this day, private pens have been established under the names of various large and small families. Ostensibly protecting these people, they are actually being kept like livestock, used to pay the costs for Ghost Controllers and to breed new Souls for the Ghost Controllers to command.