Chapter 682: Sects Joining Forces

The Fate Ghost's black hair stopped me. Like flowing water, it passed right through my body to block my path.

Before I could even speak, it moved toward that faceless ghost.

Its black hair dancing in the air, it took every step with absolute resolve.

"Come back!" I reached out to stop it. I truly didn't want it to bear this pain—it had already suffered enough.

My fingers brushed against the cold, pitch-black hair, but I couldn't grab hold of it.

I looked up, watching helplessly as the Fate Ghost collided with the first faceless ghost.

Like boiling oil hitting scalding water, a piercing shriek echoed through the main hall of the Three Yin Sect!

The black hair spread in all directions like an unstoppable tidal wave, digging ruthlessly into the stone walls and shrines like thousand-year-old vines.

Chains forged from malevolent yin energy wrapped around the Fate Ghost. Its frail shoulders trembled. I wanted to go over and shoulder even a fraction of its pain, but before I could get close, a strand of black hair gently pushed me away.

The same black hair that had nearly destroyed the main hall of the Three Yin Sect treated me with an indescribable gentleness and reliance.

A dozen seconds later, the Fate Ghost stopped trembling. It turned around and looked up at me.

Its gaze was remarkably pure, reminding me of the first time I saw it at the Henshan Psychiatric Hospital.

Back then, it had been hiding in the deepest depths of the Black Eyeball—lonely, in pain, and panicked. It lacked any sense of security, looking exactly like me when I first started live streaming.

Perhaps it was that sliver of resonance that made me choose to keep it, giving it my complete trust for the very first time.

Cautious people are usually suspicious by nature, yet I chose to believe in the Fate Ghost unconditionally. I didn't know when that absolute trust had started. It might have been when it died in my place to spare my life, when it guided me through the mirror maze at the Century Amusement Park, or perhaps even the very first time we met.

Its gaze was exactly the same; it had never changed.

Endless karmic obstacles and resentment scorched the Fate Ghost's body. It looked up at me, completely unaware that its face was constantly shifting.

Faces that didn't belong to it surfaced on its visage—terrified, agonizing, or hideous. Yet, no matter what those faces did or how fiercely they resisted, the Fate Ghost swiftly suppressed them all.

We looked at each other, one human and one ghost, trapped in the same desperate situation. Aside from each other, neither of us had anything else to rely on.

Soon, foreign expressions stopped surfacing on the Fate Ghost's face. It tilted its head at me. Seeming to have grown a little smarter, it put tremendous effort into squeezing out a smile for me—one that looked even worse than if it were crying.

After fusing with the Three-Eyed Ghost Infant, devouring the fate of the Three Yin Sect, and withstanding the karmic obstacles of countless ghosts, the Fate Ghost's sentience had drastically improved.

In the past, it had been like a machine that only knew how to obey. Now, it finally possessed a sliver of genuine emotion. No longer bound by simple obedience and reliance, it finally understood how to express its own thoughts.

Once the Fate Ghost completely refined the first faceless ghost, a complex ghost face pattern appeared on its emaciated body. Like a brand, it was etched directly into its pale skin.

I could feel it. From the moment that ghost face was branded onto it, the aura radiating from the Fate Ghost grew even more powerful and sinister.

It dropped its smile, turned around, and walked out of the main hall.

The remaining nine faceless ghosts stood right at the entrance, but the Fate Ghost treated them as if they were thin air, never once breaking its stride.

Every few steps it took, another faceless ghost would fuse with it. Karmic Fire blazed, and the malevolent aura soaring into the heavens felt like a blade trying to cleave the sky itself.

The main hall was filled with the tragic screams and mournful wails of wandering spirits and wild ghosts. The Fate Ghost seemed to be wading through a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

Ghost face patterns were branded onto its body one after another, but no amount of agony could halt its footsteps.

When the very last faceless ghost was entirely consumed, the ghost face brands on the Fate Ghost underwent a new transformation. They intertwined, ultimately evolving into a picture scroll that resembled a totem.

Looking closely, the image seemed to ripple with the faint waves of the Yellow Springs. Listening carefully, one could almost hear the roars and howls of ten thousand ghosts, as if transported to an ancient battlefield.

The moment the final stroke of the picture scroll was complete, the Fate Ghost became the absolute center of the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation. The yin energy within the earth veins surged endlessly into its body. Its black hair spread without limit, writhing like massive pythons.

Walking out of the main hall, all vitality was extinguished wherever the Fate Ghost passed. It stared coldly toward the north of the Three Yin Sect. With a flick of its black hair, the Command Flag from the third shrine fell into its hand.

Without casting a single spell or chanting any incantations, it simply waved the flag. Amidst the churning yin energy, squad after squad of underworld soldiers began to manifest!

"Underworld soldiers borrowing the path!" Standing in the main hall, I was completely dumbfounded. Lord Snake had used this exact move when he cornered me, forcing me to use the Yellow Springs Token just to survive.

"Back then, Lord Snake had to cast spells and chant incantations, building up for so long just to summon a single squad of underworld soldiers. Now, the Fate Ghost only has to wave the Command Flag, and countless ghostly figures instantly appear in the dense fog. King Yama descending to the mortal realm truly is extraordinary!"

The sect cultivators clearly witnessed all the changes within the Three Yin Sect. Among the gathered Celestial Masters, everyone's expressions turned incredibly ugly—with the sole exceptions of Leng Qingxuan's Master and the Man in the Suit.

Especially Xu Yinglong. Clutching his Daoist robes, he trembled with sheer fury.

After the Fate Ghost devoured the ten faceless ghosts, the Ten Directions Talisman Order also underwent a transformation. All the talisman marks scattered and reformed, ultimately taking on the Fate Ghost's appearance.

It was as if the talisman order contained a minor world of its own, and the Fate Ghost had become its absolute ruler, commanding the Ten Directions.

"I truly never expected that the Fate Ghost—who used to be terrified of even ordinary people—would grow to this extent."

When underworld soldiers are borrowing the path, the living must give way. This is an ironclad law. Right now, the Fate Ghost was commanding the spectral army, marching them straight toward the north.

The Fate Ghost's objective was clear. Ye Qingqiu's ritual altar was built in the north, effectively blocking the source of flowing water. As long as they could breach the northern altar, the deadlock would be broken.

The underworld soldiers could not leave the confines of the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation. However, under the Fate Ghost's command, the area shrouded by the formation rapidly expanded. Billowing yin energy surged outward, arrogant and domineering!

Ye Qingqiu's Ten Directions Annihilation Grand Formation was anchored by Jiangcheng's feng shui layout, scaling in power to match its opposition. It continuously siphoned Jiangcheng's yang qi to resist the onslaught. Over time, the sky above Jiangcheng had become heavily shrouded in dark clouds.

"This isn't good." Leng Qingxuan's Master held a talisman in his hand. Out of everyone present, he was the only one keeping a close eye on Jiangcheng. "The skies were perfectly clear just a moment ago, but all these dark clouds have suddenly rolled in. I fear something ominous is about to appear. If the feng shui of an entire city is altered, it will have a catastrophic effect on the living beings inside..."

"Stop worrying about others. Underworld soldiers are borrowing the path—you'd better watch out for yourself before your own soul gets hooked away." Xu Yinglong didn't even turn his head, directly cutting off Daoist Priest Mei.

"Jiangcheng's true disaster is Gao Jian. If that demon isn't eradicated, Jiangcheng will never see peace." The one actively exploiting Jiangcheng's feng shui for the formation was Ye Qingqiu, yet he was pushing all the blame onto me. There was no longer a single trace of heroism between his brows, leaving only a dark gloom. "Gao Jian is the root of all this. Eradicate him, and all these calamities will vanish."

He still didn't comprehend the true terror of Jiangcheng's feng shui. Self-righteous to the core, he spouted these self-deceiving lies to excuse his own actions.

Upon the ritual altar, Ye Qingqiu not only refused to stop, but he pulled several more talismans from his robes and tossed them into the grand formation, drastically accelerating the speed at which it siphoned the city's yang qi.

"Since things have come to this, there is no other way. Gao Jian is the root of this evil, and he must be executed!" Dao Zheng Xu Yinglong of the Jinshan Sect took a step forward. Watching the expanding Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation and the spectral soldiers flickering within it, a vicious light flashed in his eyes as he waved his hand toward the junior disciples outside the mountain.

Soon, a Daoist acolyte of only eleven or twelve, dressed in a gold-threaded Daoist robe, jogged over with an ancient sword resting across both his hands.

"Xu Yinglong, why did you bring out the Sword of the Three Sovereigns enshrined by the Jinshan Sect?" An aged voice drifted down from the northern mountain. A Bronze Bell chimed, and the Hemp-Clothed Elder and Elder Chen walked down the hillside one after the other.

"The Three Sovereigns are the supreme rulers of humanity. Our Jinshan Sect might lack the profound foundations of the Five Great Upper Sects, but we still understand the righteous path of mankind. Today, demons are running rampant. Since none of you are willing to act, I will be the one to slay the monsters and eradicate this evil!" A murderous aura seeped into his voice as he stood tall, grasping the sword with both hands.

The swords of the Jinshan Sect were no mere props. Their faction was drastically different from the other hidden sects. Back when Huaxia was invaded by foreign enemies, the sect master of the Jinshan Sect had led his disciples down the mountain to defend the nation. The disciples of this lineage were heavily trained in the arts of slaughter, possessing temperaments as fierce and unyielding as fire.

Of course, that was many years ago. After living in times of peace for so long, their heritage had inevitably soured. One could no longer find those precious qualities within the modern cultivators of the Jinshan Sect.

Holding the treasured sword, Xu Yinglong wore a deadly serious expression. Stepping in the pattern of the Big Dipper, he moved with the aggressive momentum of a fierce tiger descending the mountain.

"With my essence, I merge with the essence of all things in heaven and earth, just as ten thousand rivers merge into a single sea! With my spirit, I unite with the spirit of all things in heaven and earth, just as ten thousand flames converge into a single blaze! With my soul, like the nature of gold, I fuse all distinct metals to forge a single peerless gold!"

The scabbard fell away, revealing a three-foot blade of cold steel. Gripping the sword, Xu Yinglong charged straight toward the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation.

"In the absolute stillness of the void, essence refines into qi, and qi refines into spirit! With the divine sword in hand, my fate is mine to forge!"

Standing inside the Daoist temple of the Three Yin Sect, I witnessed everything unfolding outside. I had to admit, for Xu Yinglong to secure the position of Dao Zheng within the Jinshan Sect, he truly possessed considerable skill.

The primary path of expansion for the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation was toward the north. Right now, Xu Yinglong stood with his sword drawn, guarding the front of the altar. If any of the underworld soldiers dared cross the boundary, he would immediately strike them down.

The expansion of the grand formation began to slow. Seeing Xu Yinglong fighting so desperately, the other Celestial Masters couldn't stand by and watch anymore. They stepped forward, each unleashing their own divine abilities.

"Fellow Daoist Yinglong, I am here to help!" A Qingcheng Taoist Priest stepped forward, flanking Xu Yinglong to face the oncoming underworld soldiers.

Although Leng Qingxuan's Master was reluctant to intervene, he couldn't make his hesitation too obvious. With a heavy sigh, he cast two soul-protecting talismans, sending one toward Xu Yinglong and the other toward the Qingcheng Taoist Priest. "Supreme Stars of the High Heavens, adapt to all changes without end! Exorcise evil, bind the wicked, preserve our lives, and shield our bodies! May our wisdom remain clear, our minds tranquil, our three souls eternal, and our mortal spirits unharmed!"

"This old man hasn't seen something so amusing in a very long time. Let us join forces and suppress this man together!" The Hemp-Clothed Elder let out a booming laugh as he unfastened the Golden Bell from his waist, preparing to strike.