Chapter 249: Great Demon Luo, the Ghost Dynasty |
From Clear Sky Sect to the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool in Yuzhou, Li Qingqiu only took one hour. He came alone.
Under the cover of night, the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool shimmered with faint radiance. On one side of the spirit pool stood a row of pavilions. At this moment, all the Clear Sky Sect disciples stationed here were sitting cross-legged outside, cultivating. The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.
Li Qingqiu descended from the sky, causing the disciples to turn and look. When they saw that it was Li Qingqiu, their faces immediately lit up with joy.
“ The Sect Master is here!”
“ It’s the Sect Master!”
“ The Sect Master came so quickly?”
“ Great! That evil entity is definitely no match for the Sect Master.”
The disciples were extremely excited and all stood up one after another.
Huang Shan, who was responsible for the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool, flashed over to Li Qingqiu and bent down to perform a formal salute.
When he arrived before the fallen disciples, Li Qingqiu lifted the cloths one by one, clearly seeing their faces.
Li Qingqiu’s expression became incomparably gloomy, because he discovered that these deceased were already nothing more than empty shells. He did not even have the chance to let these disciples become ghost cultivators.
The other disciples gathered around, silently watching this scene. Their faces all revealed indignation and grievance.
Before Li Qingqiu arrived, they had been filled with fear and unease. After he came, no one felt afraid anymore, because they believed that the Sect Master could resolve everything.
After inspecting the last corpse, Li Qingqiu stood up. He turned to look at Huang Shan behind him and said, “ Speak. Don’t leave out any details.”
Huang Shan immediately began recounting what had happened.
Two nights ago, a pitch-black evil entity shaped like a fox suddenly attacked. At first, they thought it was a demon beast, but they soon realized that it had no physical body, and only then judged it to be a ghostly entity.
This evil entity was extremely fast and could attach itself to disciples, making it impossible to guard against. Those disciples who died were all killed while the evil entity possessed other disciples. This was also the reason why morale had sunk so low.
Their spells were completely ineffective against it. If not for the evil entity leaving on its own, the casualties would have been even greater.
After listening to Huang Shan’s account, Li Qingqiu frowned deeply.
If that was the case, then it really could not be blamed on Huang Shan or the other disciples.
“ Sect Master, I actually think it didn’t intentionally spare us. It may have used some kind of long-range spell. The consumption was too great, and even now, it’s probably still recuperating.”
A voice came from the side. Li Qingqiu turned his head and saw Gu Changping stepping out from the crowd.
Gu Changping was a disciple of the Enforcement Hall, one of the top ten in the first Grand Dao Tournament. His cultivation had now reached the seventh layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
Li Qingqiu sending him here was enough to show how much importance he placed on the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool. Precisely because heavy forces had been deployed, yet such losses were still suffered, Li Qingqiu was so enraged.
Gu Changping’s words made Li Qingqiu feel that this was indeed possible.
Li Qingqiu said, “ Disperse. Cultivate and recover on your own. Pretend I’m not here. I’ll stay here for a few more days and wait for that evil entity to appear.”
Hearing this, the disciples were all delighted. They raised their hands to salute Li Qingqiu and then dispersed one after another.
After the others had left, Li Qingqiu looked at Huang Shan and said, “ This matter truly exceeded your capabilities. However, you are in charge of the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool. Such a major incident occurred, and there must be an explanation.”
Huang Shan said in a deep voice, “ Please punish me, Sect Master. I am willing to bear all responsibility!”
His heart was filled with shame, feeling that he had failed in his duties.
Those dead disciples had families, friends, wives, and children. Their deaths could not be settled simply by burial.
Could they really tell their relatives, ‘ We encountered an evil entity, there was nothing we could do’?
Li Qingqiu replied, “ We’ll settle this matter after I return.”
He did not truly intend to punish Huang Shan; there simply had to be an explanation.
Afterward, Li Qingqiu turned and left, preparing to walk around the Heavenly Mountain.
Even though it was the height of summer, the Heavenly Mountain was still covered in ice and snow. Fortunately, there was no snow mist spreading about.
When he first arrived, Li Qingqiu had already sent Lin Chuan and Nangong E out to investigate the surroundings. He had made up his mind that he would only return to Clear Sky Sect after finding and eliminating that evil entity.
…
When the moon set and the sun rose, Li Qingqiu stayed at the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool for a full two days without seeing the evil entity. Lin Chuan and Nangong E also found no clues.
He did not waver in his resolve and instead prepared to continue staying.
Another night descended.
Clouds and mist covered the night sky. The phosphorescent glow of the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool rippled, making the area not appear dark.
Li Qingqiu sat cross-legged by the pool, cultivating just like the other disciples.
Suddenly.
He opened his eyes and looked toward a certain direction. He sensed a strand of evil aura. Though it was not as strong as the Silent Nether Ghost King, it was not far off and was rapidly approaching.
He immediately activated his Spiritual Sense, and his vision became clearer. He saw a mass of Ghostly Energy sweeping in from the horizon.
It was not a complete soul!
It was very similar to the state when the Silent Nether Ghost King had possessed a disciple of the Tempering Hall.
It seemed that Gu Changping’s guess had been correct. This evil entity had indeed used some kind of spell.
Unlike the Silent Nether Ghost King, this evil entity’s split soul could not only possess people, but also transfer possession and devour souls.
Li Qingqiu waited for the evil entity to approach, not acting immediately.
The disciples did not have Spiritual Sense and did not notice the approach of the split soul at all.
When it drew closer, Li Qingqiu saw that it indeed had the form of a fox, enormous in size, as large as an elephant.
As it approached, the disciples finally discovered it.
“ The evil entity is back!”
A disciple cried out in terror, his voice ringing loudly in the night, alerting everyone.
Very quickly, the disciples calmed down again, because this time, the Sect Master was with them to confront the evil entity.
Gu Changping silently drew his sword and stepped forward.
Seeing the evil entity about to charge into the disciples, Li Qingqiu’s figure flashed, and he appeared in front of it out of thin air.
The evil entity did not evade and continued pouncing toward Li Qingqiu.
Li Qingqiu drew his sword and slashed once, directly dispersing the evil entity.
Rolling Ghostly Energy spread in all directions. Immediately afterward, the Ghostly Energy gathered again, attempting to envelop Li Qingqiu’s body.
As soon as the Ghostly Energy approached Li Qingqiu, it was once more shaken apart.
“ How is this possible!”
A sharp cry rang out, filled with shock and fear.
Li Qingqiu raised his hand and took out the Soul Refining Banner. With a single wave, he collected all the surrounding Ghostly Energy into the banner.
The turbulent winds raised by the evil entity continued. Li Qingqiu’s robes billowed violently. The disciples behind him did not clearly see what happened. They only saw Li Qingqiu rush forward, annihilate the evil entity, and then use a black banner to take away all the Ghostly Energy.
Gu Changping frowned. He vaguely saw a layer of white vapor flash around the Sect Master’s body, directly dispersing the evil entity.
One had to know that when the disciples who died earlier were entangled by Ghostly Energy, they could not escape at all. Even someone as strong as Gu Changping could only avoid it.
He was merely curious about the Sect Master’s methods and not astonished. No matter how powerful the Sect Master was, he felt it was only natural.
“ It seems I need to prepare a ghost artifact.”
Gu Changping thought silently. That previous night had filled him with humiliation. Watching fellow disciples die one after another while being powerless made him feel that he had failed the sect’s nurturing and the resources poured into him.
Li Qingqiu sat down on the spot, placing the Soul Refining Banner horizontally across his legs. He directly cast the Soul Restraining Curse on the evil entity’s split soul.
“ No one is to approach!”
Huang Shan immediately shouted, afraid that the disciples would disturb Li Qingqiu.
At the same time.
Hundreds of miles away, at the foot of the Heavenly Mountain, within a forest, a black fox lay beneath a tree. It looked only as large as a rabbit.
It suddenly opened its eyes, propped up its body, and looked toward the Heavenly Mountain that rose like a heavenly wall beyond the forest. Astonishment and suspicion appeared in its gaze.
“To actually break my spell… This Clear Sky Sect is indeed not simple. No wonder it is the only Immortal Cultivation Sect of this age.”
The black fox muttered to itself, then immediately turned and fled, disappearing deep into the forest.
…
Li Qingqiu probed the memories of the evil entity’s split soul and confirmed that it had indeed escaped from Ghost King Ridge.
Its name was Soul-Seizing Black Fiend. In its memories, it had followed fifteen Evil Ghosts in escaping Ghost King Ridge. The leading Evil Ghost was named Great Demon Luo, whose strength surpassed the others. All Evil Ghosts had to obey Great Demon Luo.
After learning that the Silent Nether Ghost King had escaped alive, Great Demon Luo planned an escape with the other Evil Ghosts. Unfortunately, like the Silent Nether Ghost King, even after escaping Ghost King Ridge, they all suffered backlash from a curse. Among them, Great Demon Luo’s injuries were the most severe.
They were originally recuperating, but they were found by that Elder Ghost of the Xuanji Sect, who used living humans to offer sacrifices to them.
After the Elder Ghost disappeared, they sent one Evil Ghost to infiltrate the human world to gather information. That Evil Ghost was precisely the Soul-Seizing Black Fiend.
At that time, the Soul-Seizing Black Fiend was very weak and deeply wary of the mortal world, because when he was alive, he had been chased by a Daoist all the way to Ghost King Ridge.
After learning that there were no Immortal Cultivators in the Northern Border Lands, the Soul-Seizing Black Fiend acted without restraint, devouring living souls while returning to Great Demon Luo.
Later on, the sixteen Evil Ghosts emerged together, bringing calamity to the Northern Court.
These Evil Ghosts had no fixed abode and wandered everywhere. Aside from restoring their own strength, they were also helping Great Demon Luo form a Ghost Army.
Great Demon Luo used his curse power to turn living people into Corpse Ghosts. Corpse Ghosts did not fear pain and possessed extremely strong self-healing abilities. Severed limbs could regenerate. Their blood would turn into highly poisonous substances. At the same time, they would fear sunlight, lose rationality, and become ghostly monsters that only knew slaughter and feeding.
In the Soul-Seizing Black Fiend’s memories, Corpse Ghosts were extremely fast. The stronger they were in life, the more terrifying they became after turning into Corpse Ghosts.
Great Demon Luo’s target was the Nine Provinces. He intended to establish a Ghost Dynasty across the Nine Provinces.
This Great Demon Luo seemed to carry a blood-deep vendetta. Even after sinking in Ghost King Ridge for over a thousand years, he had not given up.
Li Qingqiu guessed that his enemy was very likely an Immortal Cultivation force. Otherwise, Great Demon Luo would not need to establish a Ghost Dynasty.
The memories of the Soul-Seizing Black Fiend’s split soul were not extensive and even appeared fragmented, but they were enough for Li Qingqiu to understand his identity and the objectives of the other Evil Ghosts.
Li Qingqiu also captured an important piece of information.
Great Demon Luo’s injuries were the most severe, and coupled with his continuous consumption of Ghostly Energy, wherever he was located, all vegetation within dozens of miles would wither and die.