Chapter 104: Slaying Ghosts

Inside the karst cave, gusts of yin wind howled.

A middle-aged man with a green face and fangs, emanating overwhelming resentment, floated above the ground.

His figure appeared ghostly and translucent; one could see the cave wall behind him through his body.

He glared at Lin Xue with eyes brimming with hatred for all things.

Standing in front of him, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.

Lin Xue felt a chill envelop her, as if she were standing inside an ice cellar.

She gazed at the ghostly spirit of the resentful middle-aged man before her, filled with a sense of novelty.

This was a ghost straight out of legend!

In her previous world, everyone spoke of ghosts with dread.

Now that she was seeing one with her own eyes, it didn’t actually seem that terrifying.

Could it be because she herself was a Demon?

Footsteps sounded softly behind her.

Hong Yanzhi came to stand beside Lin Xue.

She had witnessed Lin Xue kill Mouse Two and seriously injure and drive away Mouse One; her heart was filled with gratitude toward Lin Xue.

She only regretted that Mouse One had ultimately managed to escape.

This was also Hong Yanzhi’s first time seeing a ghost. She sized up the Spirit Ghost across from them, completely on guard, ready to face the enemy alongside Lin Xue.

The middle-aged man’s ghostly lips moved, issuing a deathly voice: “Are you the snake Demon who stole the Yang Family’s Foundation-building Pill?”

Yang Family?

Lin Xue suddenly understood.

So the Foundation Establishment patriarch of the Yang Family still hadn’t given up and was still hellbent on recovering that Foundation-building Pill.

Last time they sought help from the Beast Taming Sect and sent a Beast Pet, but failed. This time, they had actually sent a ghost, even more sinister.

This Xichuan Yang Clan was truly persistent.

Too bad they were destined for disappointment.

Because she had already consumed the Foundation-building Pill.

Lin Xue didn’t answer. Gripping the Blood Fiend, she rapidly circulated Lingqi within her, immediately performing the Swiftwind Sword Manual. With a wave of her hand, she thrust a sword strike at the Spirit Ghost.

Since this ghost had been sent by the Yang Family, it certainly wasn’t here for a pleasant chat.

Best to strike first!

Having just driven off Mouse One, Lin Xue’s confidence had surged.

Facing this never-before-seen ghost, she wanted to test its strength and see how powerful it truly was.

Yet in the next instant, she and her sword both passed straight through the ghostly figure.

At the moment she passed through the ghost, Lin Xue felt a bone-deep chill, as if she’d walked through a frozen vault.

She couldn’t help but shudder violently.

Her heart sank. She quickly turned to stare at the Spirit Ghost.

This ghost had no physical form and was immune to physical attacks.

What was she supposed to do now?

The ghost turned around, sizing her up. It asked again in that deathly, chilling voice: “You’ve established your foundation? Are you human or Demon?”

When Hong Yanzhi heard the Spirit Ghost mention the Yang Family’s Foundation-building Pill, she froze for a moment.

She knew well how important a Foundation-building Pill was to a human cultivator.

Only now did she understand why the Yang Family relentlessly pursued Lin Xue, causing trouble again and again in Luoyun Cave.

No wonder Lin Xue, just a Body Tempering Demon who hadn’t even undergone Thunder Tribulation, had suddenly become so powerful—strong enough to kill two great Demons.

So it was because she’d succeeded in Foundation Establishment with the help of that Foundation-building Pill!

Hong Yanzhi was filled with amazement: Demons could achieve Foundation Establishment too? Without enduring Thunder Tribulation?

Her mind was full of questions; she decided to ask Lin Xue about it later.

She walked over to stand with Lin Xue, pointed at the Spirit Ghost, and angrily rebuked: “Again you people from the Xichuan Yang Clan! You human cultivators always barge into our Demonic Beast territory, stirring up trouble on purpose! Do you really not care about the Demonic Beast race? Aren’t you afraid our Yao Wang will hear of this and lead our kind to retaliate?”

From the tunnel on the other side of the cave, a chaotic rush of footsteps sounded.

Lang Qianxing and Lang Buping appeared at the tunnel entrance with a group of Demon soldiers.

The Spirit Ghost glanced at Lin Xue and Hong Yanzhi with eyes full of venom, then turned its head to look at Lang Buping and Lang Qianxing behind.

It spoke again with a chilling tone: “No matter, I’ll just kill all you little Demons here. That way your Yao Wang will never know I was ever here.”

Lin Xue and Hong Yanzhi both shuddered at his confident declaration.

How arrogant could this ghost be?

Did he have such confidence because his strength truly was that formidable?

Lang Qianxing, just as he arrived, heard this icy threat. He raised his eyebrows and sneered: “Such big words, Daoist friend. I wonder if your skills match your mouth?”

Lang Buping’s eyes were fixed intently on Hong Yanzhi.

Seeing Hong Yanzhi looking much more haggard than half a month ago, Lang Buping’s face was filled with heartache.

Upon hearing such rampant words from the ghost, he immediately shouted to Hong Yanzhi: “Yanzhi, don’t worry! My father and I are here to save you!”

Then he turned to the Spirit Ghost and shouted: “What the hell are you? Not human, not ghost! If you want to hurt my Yanzhi, you’ll have to get through me first—Lang Buping!”

A cold smile appeared on the Spirit Ghost’s gloomy, deathly face.

Suddenly, it opened its mouth and let out a shrill scream.

The screech shook the eardrums of all the Demons present. It sounded like ten thousand wronged souls weeping nearby, or like coffin lids being clawed by long nails.

The piercing howl, brimming with resentment, echoed throughout the cave.

Lin Xue’s head buzzed, on the verge of exploding. Her qi and blood churned, her vision went black, and she felt the world spinning.

This one scream was far more powerful than any ghostly wail she could produce with the Blood Fiend.

Hong Yanzhi, her cultivation weaker, immediately rolled her eyes and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

A look of pain appeared on Lang Qianxing’s face, but he was able to remain standing.

Lang Buping fell to the ground, shaking all over, unable to stop trembling.

The Demon soldiers who had followed them all collapsed as well.

Some still struggled, clutching their ears; others simply foamed at the mouth and passed out, not one of them able to remain upright.

Looking around, only Lin Xue and Lang Qianxing were still somewhat stable; the rest of the Demons had essentially lost all combat capability.

The Spirit Ghost let out a chilling laugh. Black energy gathered around its hands, forming solid shapes—long, black claws, just like a corpse’s.

With a lunge, it reached out toward Lin Xue.

The claws swept in with overwhelming yin wind, arriving before Lin Xue in an instant.

Lin Xue’s heart skipped a beat, her scalp tingling.

She immediately employed her movement technique, and with the speed boost from the Blood Mist, narrowly dodged the attack.

She swung her blade back in a counterattack, striking at one of the black claws.

The blade hit squarely, dispersing a black claw into a puff of black energy.

But in the next moment, the black mist condensed again, reforming into a claw.

The Spirit Ghost’s face twisted with mockery as it struck again.

Despair welled up in Lin Xue’s heart.

Her attacks had no effect on her opponent, but the opponent’s attacks could harm her for real.

How was she supposed to fight this?

A lithe figure leaped over and struck the black claws with a palm.

It was Lang Qianxing.

Both of the ghost’s black claws were shattered into black mist by his blow.

Then Lang Qianxing exhaled a blast of gale from his mouth, blowing the black mist away without a trace.

Lin Xue’s Blood Mist was also thinned somewhat by his gust.

The Spirit Ghost was forced back several steps by the wind.

But soon, black mist formed once more around its hands, turning into claws that viciously swiped at Lang Qianxing.

Hundreds of miles away, in a Yang Family manor, inside a certain room, He Yuancheng sat with his eyes closed, observing the battle in the cave through the eyes of the Spirit Ghost.

A look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

His Wanhun Banner could transmit deathly energy endlessly to the Main Soul’s body by way of a half strand of hair hidden within.

And with its phantom body, the Main Soul was immune to all physical attacks, and held the cultivation of mid-Foundation Establishment.

He could wound these people, but they were helpless against him.

These ignorant wild cats and dogs, these village bumpkins—how could they possibly stand against the Daoist’s profound arts?

Despite his satisfaction, He Yuancheng also felt some regret.

Yang Zhen had hired him for a whole village’s population as payment, with the main task of killing the snake Demon to avenge Yang Family’s lost descendants.

If he could recover the Foundation-building Pill from the snake Demon for the Yang Family, he’d get another two villages’ worth of people as his “human resource,” to help him refine the Wanhun Banner.

This was a huge temptation for He Yuancheng.

But when his Main Soul entered Luoyun Cave, he discovered that someone had just achieved Foundation Establishment, and immediately sensed trouble.

Upon seeing the snake Demon, he found that despite her Demonic Beast body, she had the strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

He Yuancheng immediately concluded that it was this beautiful snake Demon who had just established her foundation.

It seemed the Foundation-building Pill had already been consumed, and could not be recovered.

Those two villages’ population had turned to bubbles as well.

Seeing Lang Qianxing’s impressive skills, He Yuancheng’s eyes gleamed; he decided to take him as compensation.

As for Lin Xue, he planned to kill them both, collect their souls, and deliver them through the Main Soul to his Wanhun Banner, increasing his own strength.

This job was turning out to be a big haul!

A satisfied smile spread across He Yuancheng’s face.

Back in the cave, Lin Xue and Lang Qianxing took turns attacking the Spirit Ghost, dispersing its black claws again and again.

But the deathly energy within the ghost was endless, inexhaustible; each time its claws were destroyed, they would instantly reform and lash out with another fierce assault.

A deep claw mark now marred Lang Qianxing’s chest, the bone visible.

It had been a moment of carelessness; he hadn’t dodged in time and got slashed by the Spirit Ghost.

Though he was a mid-stage Core Formation great Demon, the Spirit Ghost also possessed mid-Foundation Establishment power. Their realms were nearly matched.

This claw left him in bad shape; his movements gradually slowed.

Lin Xue’s cultivation was lower, but she benefited from the speed boost of the Blood Mist and her mastery of the Swiftwind Sword Manual, so her agility allowed her to avoid injury for now.

Still, she’d already had several close calls.

If not for the Blood Mist, she’d have been left with several deep wounds by now.

She saw that their attacks on the ghost had virtually no effect, while the ghost’s attacks could inflict real harm. She couldn’t help but grow restless and anxious.

Despair filled her heart: If this goes on, when will it end?

Hundreds of miles away.

Through the ghost’s eyes, He Yuancheng saw Lang Qianxing’s growing exhaustion and judged that with a few more attacks, he could be defeated.

Delighted, he remotely ordered the ghost to focus its attacks on Lang Qianxing.

As soon as Lang Qianxing was finished, the little snake Demon would be as easy as plucking fruit.

The Spirit Ghost howled, ignoring Lin Xue, and launched an even fiercer assault on Lang Qianxing.

Lang Qianxing immediately felt the strain; within moments, his abdomen was slashed by another claw.

He mustered his strength, shattered the ghost’s claws once more, and turned to look at his son.

Lang Buping still hadn’t recovered from the earlier screech; his face was pale, his body trembling, unable to stand.

Lang Qianxing shouted, “Ping’er, use your treasure, now!”

Distracted, he took another brutal slash.

Muscles twitched in Lang Qianxing’s face.

Barely able to keep standing, he once again smashed the ghost’s claws—then fell to his knees, unable to hold on.

Seeing this, Lang Buping’s face turned white with fright.

He hurriedly opened the Fan in his hands and flung it at the Spirit Ghost.

But his body was weak, and seeing his father suffer such a beating filled him with fear. His hand shook, and the Fan fell to the ground halfway.

Lang Qianxing froze, speechless.

Lin Xue saw the Fan and suddenly remembered this treasure.

She recalled how, when she and Zhang Zongnian had been chased by Yang Zhen and fled to Xixia Mountain, their first encounter with Hong Yanzhi had included Lang Buping using this Fan.

On the face of the Fan was a huge eye, likely with some sort of spiritual attack effect.

Back then, Yang Zhen had glanced at the Fan and immediately fell into a daze, standing motionless until Xiong Ba slapped him senseless.

Would the Fan work against a ghost?

Since physical attacks weren’t working, it was time to try a spiritual one!

A desperate move was better than none!

Lin Xue dashed at full speed to the Fan, snatched it up, and leaped beside Lang Qianxing, opening the Fan toward the Spirit Ghost.

The ghost extended its claws, reaching for Lang Qianxing.

The claws were already inches from Lang Qianxing’s face.

Suddenly, the beautiful snake Demon appeared beside him, opened a Fan before the Spirit Ghost, revealing a huge eye staring right at it.

The Spirit Ghost met the gaze of the Great Eye.

It suddenly froze.

The black claws stopped, mere inches from Lang Qianxing’s eyes.

The once hateful, deathly face of the Spirit Ghost slowly grew vacant and confused.

It worked!

Lin Xue was overjoyed.

Lang Qianxing let out a sigh of relief.

Hundreds of miles away, He Yuancheng, the instant he saw that Great Eye, sensed disaster.

He found that the Spirit Ghost was no longer under his control.

His face changed drastically; he desperately tried to command the ghost to break away from the eye, but it was futile.

The middle-aged man’s ghost fell deep into an illusion.

He saw his family as they once were.

He recalled his past life, seeing himself return home, greeted by his wife and children, his elderly parents waiting for him inside.

The ghost’s eyes filled with longing, and tears streamed down his face.

As the tears fell, his body gradually dissipated, until he became a pile of ashes.

The yin wind in the cave vanished with him.

The cave’s temperature returned to normal.

He Yuancheng opened his eyes and spat out a mouthful of blood.

His face was full of anguish.

This Main Soul, once a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, had cost him immense effort to obtain.

He never imagined it would end up ruined at the hands of that snake Demon.

His heart bled.