Chapter 656: Gouchen Ancient Scroll (Part 2)

Chapter 656: Chapter 359: Gouchen Ancient Scroll (Part 2)

He pointed his long, chicken-claw-like fingers, touching down on points around his body.

Next, the Gounan Ghost Emperor looked at the Ancient Scroll before him. A trace of envy actually appeared in his ghostly green pupils, but he still blurred his ten fingers like a spinning wheel, frantically tapping the ancient, painted scroll. An unusual light suddenly erupted from within, enveloping his Lifebound Treasure, the Five Directions Prison Seal. It then transformed into a pitch-black pillar of light that shot toward the heavens.

At the same time, the candle-lit skulls around him began to clatter. The flames on the white candles turned as black as ink, then spewed out three streams of black Yin Qi. This energy instantly enveloped the Gounan Ghost Emperor, forming a hazy barrier of light that was clearly quite formidable.

Just then, the pillar of light that had shot into the sky exploded, transforming into a pitch-black vortex.

In an instant, an astonishing aura gushed out.

Lü Zhong was suddenly alarmed. He never expected the Ghost Emperor to employ such a technique. Just as he was thinking, ‘Did I overplay my hand this time?’ the massive vortex cloud above his head abruptly froze. A golden ghostly figure silently materialized behind him, baring its fangs. It suddenly thrust a ghostly claw toward the center of his back.

DING! A crisp sound rang out.

It was the Flood Dragon Spirit Banner, protecting its master.

Lü Zhong snapped to awareness. A golden Thunder Sword immediately slid from his sleeve, and he slashed viciously at the ghostly figure behind him. Unexpectedly, the figure caught the blade with one hand. The ghost showed no fear, even as lightning crackled across the sword’s surface. Instead, it stared greedily at the Thunder-Attracting Needle, a phantom image of the sword reflected in its eyes.

‘It’s after the Artifact Spirit of the Thunder-Attracting Needle!’

“Don’t even think about it!” Lü Zhong roared.

Although he didn’t know why this ghost of unknown origin could ignore lightning infused with a Celestial Tribulation Aura, his Thunder Skills weren’t his only asset. Seeing the ghostly creature tilt its head back, about to suck out the Artifact Spirit from his sword, he immediately condensed a Shattering Star Finger and aimed it directly at the ghost’s head.

However, the finger struck nothing but air.

The golden ghostly figure had vanished at some unknown moment.

DING! DING! DING!

The ghostly creature reappeared behind Lü Zhong. Having learned its lesson, it spat out a dense volley of black needles this time, but they were all intercepted by the six Flood Dragon Spirit Banners, causing him no harm whatsoever.

Watching the human and ghost locked in battle in the distance, the Gounan Ghost Emperor’s heart sank.

He hadn’t expected Lü Zhong’s strength to be so astonishing. Despite both having Mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivation, Lü Zhong had easily slain three of his Ghost Generals. That was one thing, but to be able to fight the summoned Gouchen Ghost Envoy to a standstill even after losing the advantage of his Thunder Skills was something else entirely. In fact, Lü Zhong even seemed to have a slight upper hand.

‘I shouldn’t have been so reckless as to test him,’ the Ghost Emperor thought, filled with regret.

Now he was in a predicament he couldn’t easily escape.

CLANG!

A ghostly claw clashed with the Flying Sword, scraping out a shower of sparks.

After exchanging several blows with Lü Zhong, the Gouchen Ghost Envoy could now only put all its strength into a desperate last stand. But how could it possibly withstand Lü Zhong’s Sword Momentum, which was as heavy as a mountain? Both of its ghostly claws were soon swatted aside by the Golden Sword. In the moment its guard was broken, Lü Zhong once again condensed a Shattering Star Finger and viciously jabbed it into the phantom-like ghostly body.

After years of refinement, the Shattering Star Finger had become increasingly perfect.

Its side effects were now almost nonexistent, while its power had increased considerably since its inception.

Starlight flashed. Struck by the finger, the Gouchen Ghost Envoy was sent flying backward. Its chest had already caved in, and a torrent of black Ghost Qi was pouring out. Its aura, originally equivalent to the Mid-stage Nascent Soul, plummeted rapidly, dropping to the level of an Early-stage Nascent Soul in a matter of moments.

Seeing that it was outmatched, it made a surprising move.

After retreating a few steps, its form vanished again. It reappeared in mid-air, gave Lü Zhong on the ground one last deep look, and transformed into a shadow that shot up into the sky.

Once it disappeared into the vortex in the sky, the vortex vanished along with it.

THUD!

The Ancient Scroll the Ghost Emperor had used, now drained of power, fell to the ground. The mist covering it completely dispersed, revealing a grim map of a Ghost Realm. Then, with the roar of a fierce ghost, the contents of the scroll faded away, and soon the ancient, painted scroll was completely blank.

As Lü Zhong watched this, he became lost in thought.

‘However, now is not the time for investigation. Once I’ve dealt with the Gounan Ghost Emperor, I’ll have plenty of time to review the scene with my Gray Mist Space.’

Lü Zhong suddenly took a step forward. After a series of flickers, he appeared before the Gounan Ghost Emperor. Looking at the ink-black protective barrier, he unceremoniously rested his Thunder-Attracting Needle, which was crackling with lightning, against it.

Just as the Ghost Emperor was wondering what he was doing, lightning suddenly surged from the tip of the sword.

BUZZZZ!

A Thunder Pillar appeared with a roar. It first washed over the shield in a frenzy, creating a booming sound as the lightning clashed with the Yin Qi, setting off a stunning explosion. Then, its power slightly diminished, the Thunder Pillar pierced directly through the barrier the Gounan Ghost Emperor had condensed and slammed into his ghostly body.

The Ghost Emperor’s own body was not nearly as formidable.

Under this blow, the lower half of his body was blasted away. He was severely injured, his aura rapidly diminishing, and it soon fell to the Early-stage Nascent Soul level.

At this rate of decline, it wouldn’t be long before his cultivation was completely gone.

Footsteps stopped in front of the Gounan Ghost Emperor.

Lü Zhong looked down at the Ghost Cultivator on the ground and asked coldly, “What was that Ancient Scroll you used just now? And what is the origin of that golden ghostly figure? How could it ignore my lightning!”

“Hahaha!!!” The Gounan Ghost Emperor laughed uncontrollably.

After a long moment, he spoke with a sneer, “To think that your strength is so great, your cultivation nearly at the peak of this realm, yet you don’t even know this simple secret. Haha, in that case, I shall take pity on you. Have you ever heard of the Gouchen Ghost Realm? Unlike the Qinghe Realm, where the Immortal Dao flourishes, the Gouchen Ghost Realm is a realm where the Ghost Dao reigns supreme!”

“Because of this, the rules of the Gouchen Ghost Realm are different from those of the Qinghe Realm. Having lost the protection of this realm’s Celestial Dao, your Thunder Skill was unable to restrain the Ghost Envoy. On the contrary, when I was communicating with Gouchen just now, the rules within the Five Directions Prison were also changed. The Yin Qi could actually suppress your Thunder Skill instead.”

Hearing this, Lü Zhong’s eyes filled with astonishment.

‘So there’s a secret like this!’ he thought to himself.

He quickly had another thought.

‘If this is true, then the power of the Celestial Dao isn’t what I thought. It can’t suppress everything in this world. There must be other existences that can contend with it. Their power might not equal the Celestial Dao’s, but they are absolutely on the same level. Otherwise, something like the rules of the world being changed would never have happened!’

The implications were terrifying.

Lü Zhong reined in his Heart and Spirit, burying this memory deep in his mind.

He gave the Gounan Ghost Emperor a quick death.

「…」

Without the Ghost Emperor’s power to sustain it, the Five Directions Prison quickly dissipated.

Qingbu Square, which had been dragged into the Yin Earth, finally returned to the mortal world.

After the array was broken, the cultivators inside had fought brutal battles against the Ghost Consort and a massive number of Shadow Soldiers, and few of them were left. Not a single mortal survived. The hundreds of thousands of them were all corroded by Yin Qi into wandering souls, only to fall under the barrage of Magic Skills and dissipate completely from the world.

Gazing at the dim Sun in the sky, everyone felt the relief of having survived a catastrophe.

But soon, that relief was replaced by a sense of loss.

After this disaster, their friends, family, and clan members were almost all gone. Where would they go from here?

Regardless, the cultivators still had to thank Lü Zhong.

If it weren’t for this True Monarch, Qingbu Square would have suffered the same fate as Guangyuan Prefecture. After the Ghost Cultivators broke through the Grand Array, all captured cultivators, save for a few lucky escapees, would have been thrown into the “Netherworld Descent Rebirth Array,” forced to make the difficult choice between converting to the Ghost Dao or dying.

By this time, Lü Zhong had already left with Yaoyun.

Despite the cost of three of his Incarnations perishing, the little one he had protected was completely unharmed. However, after witnessing so much death, she had matured slightly but had also become quiet and withdrawn.

The two of them were now on their way back.

Lü Zhong planned to send his young apprentice back first, then decide whether to travel through Central Earth depending on the situation.

While resting on a mountain peak, little Yaoyun pulled her gaze back from the gray sea of clouds. Her jet-black eyes looked toward Lü Zhong as she asked, “Master, why did the Gounan Ghost Emperor have to destroy our Immortal Cultivation Market? Can’t… can’t the Ghost and Immortal Dao coexist peacefully?”

“Coexist peacefully?”

Hearing this, Lü Zhong slowly opened his eyes.

He gazed at the dim, round sun in the sky, his thoughts unreadable. In a soft voice, he said, “Perhaps they can in the future, but right now, it’s impossible. Yin Spiritual Qi corrodes the mind. There are very few Ghost Cultivators with clear consciousness, at least in the Qinghe Realm. Until this rule changes, the Ghost and Immortal Dao are destined for constant conflict.”

“Then…”

Little Yaoyun opened her mouth to speak, but Lü Zhong interrupted her.

Lü Zhong knew what she wanted to say, and he knew what she was thinking.

“Cultivate diligently. Keep getting stronger. Don’t just cultivate to the Divinity Transformation Stage; you must reach Void Refining, Integration, and Mahayana, all the way until you cross your tribulation and become an immortal. Perhaps by then, when you have become an all-powerful immortal, you will have the ability to change this state of affairs.”