Chapter 616: Fame Shakes the Region!
White Paper Immortal City.
Wave after wave of the Ghost Tide slammed against the city walls.
With the City Guard as the backbone and large numbers of cultivators from the surrounding areas of the Immortal City serving as flesh and blood, a defensive force had been formed to hold the city.
At every moment, countless ghost creatures were blasted into soul-dispersing destruction, and many cultivators also fell one after another.
As the City Guard Commander, Tie Guzheng wore a grim expression, staring intently at the battlefield while continuously issuing orders and adjusting the city’s defenses.
“Only three reserve units remain.” Tie Guzheng felt a heavy weight in his heart.
Previously, the Lord of White Paper Immortal City had offered generous rewards to brave warriors, gathering nearly all available forces from around the Immortal City and filling them into the defensive lines. Only by doing so had they managed to hold on with great difficulty for so many days.
But after repeated waves of the Ghost Tide, the defensive forces of White Paper Immortal City had suffered heavy losses. Their troop numbers were once again stretched thin.
“Report—! Emergency at the West City Gate! A large number of Soul-Hooking Geckos have climbed the wall and already seized a section of the city wall!” urgent military intelligence arrived.
Tie Guzheng’s brows knitted even tighter. He calculated quickly in his mind and realized that almost none of the three reserve units were suitable for the task.
“Unless I personally go… the only hope left is the Qingjiao Army.”
The so-called Qingjiao Army referred to the force commanded by Qing Chi and Jiao Ma (Ning Zhuo), organized jointly by the Ghost Clan Qing Family and the Human Clan Jiao Family, both contributing manpower and resources.
Strictly speaking, Qing Chi had not yet fully established the army—it could only be considered a prototype military force.
“We’ve received the order. We move to the West City Gate!” Inside the city, Qing Chi opened her eyes and abruptly stood up.
She had long been impatient, waiting for the order to attack.
The other cultivators had also been prepared for battle for a long time. Upon hearing this, they immediately moved, closely following behind Qing Chi.
Qing Chi rushed out of the temporary barracks first, charging toward the West City Gate.
Behind her followed a large group of cultivators.
“They’ve finally moved…” Ning Zhuo stood elsewhere, secretly observing from afar.
“They lack the orderly marching formation of the Three Generals Camp or the Red Flower Camp. That’s because there hasn’t been time for proper military training. But within the city, with its alleys and streets, there isn’t space for large-scale formation warfare anyway.”
“Still, this weakness must be remedied.”
“After all, when we invade the Netherworld, the battlefield won’t be this complicated in terrain.”
On a section of the city wall near the West City Gate, there were no cultivators left. Dozens of Soul-Hooking Geckos clustered together, occupying the area.
At the same time, large numbers of Soul-Hooking Geckos were still climbing the wall and pouring onto the battlements.
The walls of White Paper Immortal City were not easy to climb. Layer upon layer of wall paper were actually talisman papers that burned continuously. Many ghost creatures screamed the moment they touched them, and the weaker ones were burned directly into ashes.
The stronger Soul-Hooking Geckos endured the burning talisman paper and climbed up the wall with sparks still clinging to their bodies.
The geckos flicked out their tongues, licking each other’s bodies and slowly licking away the remaining sparks.
They were rapidly recovering.
The commander who witnessed this scene had bloodshot eyes, knowing they absolutely could not allow it to continue.
“At this rate, this section of the wall will fall! If we don’t take it back, the West City Gate itself will be in danger. When that happens, we’ll become the sinners responsible for losing the city!”
“One more charge! Everyone follow me!”
The commander’s voice was already hoarse. Despite his wounded body, he took the lead in charging forward.
The cultivators’ courage and sense of duty were ignited by him. They followed him in a desperate counterattack to retake the wall.
Almost simultaneously, the geckos turned their heads and opened their mouths, shooting out their coiled tongues.
The tongues shot out like lightning, astonishingly fast. Once fully extended, they were also extremely long.
In the blink of an eye, the tongues struck many cultivators.
The cultivators had no time to react and were hit one after another.
Some of them managed to endure the attack with their own defensive methods, but most were struck—when the tongues retracted, their souls were hooked out of their bodies.
The tongues retracted even faster than when they were launched.
The cultivators’ souls were dragged away by the tongues and pulled into the geckos’ mouths.
The geckos closed their mouths and swallowed them whole.
The soulless bodies collapsed to the ground. In just one round of attacks, at least half of the cultivators had fallen.
The morale of the cultivators suffered a massive blow, and many began to waver.
The commander shouted, “Keep charging!”
But only a few people followed him.
The rest scattered and fled backward.
Ning Zhuo observed this scene from afar and was not surprised.
The commander and the few cultivators who continued charging were all members of the City Guard. Even though they were not a formal cultivation army, they were usually well trained, came from respectable families, and were loyal fighters.
But the others mostly came from villages and towns around the Immortal City.
These rural cultivators had little attachment to the Immortal City and had never experienced such brutal battles nor undergone harsh training. Their morale was unstable.
If not for the powerful defenses of White Paper Immortal City itself, these cultivators would have long collapsed under the Ghost Tide.
The geckos opened their mouths again and launched a second round of tongues.
The commander and several cultivators instantly fell, their eyes wide with unwillingness.
Their souls were hooked away and swallowed by the geckos.
The Qingjiao Army, which had just arrived, witnessed this entire scene.
“Something’s wrong. The strength of these Soul-Hooking Geckos far exceeds the normal level. What’s going on?” Qing Yan frowned deeply.
He was about to halt and observe cautiously when he heard Qing Chi shout furiously ahead:
“You beasts! Charge with me and avenge our comrades!”
All the cultivators had received cultivation through the Military Branch, and the first military rule was “Orders must be obeyed without hesitation.” Thus, this prototype army naturally leaned toward obeying the commander’s orders.
After hearing Qing Chi’s shout, they rushed onto the city wall in a swarm.
“I…” Qing Yan stared in shock.
Ning Zhuo continued watching from afar.
“Qing Chi made the correct choice!”
Having experienced major battles himself, he caught this fleeting opportunity.
Sure enough, when the geckos saw a large group charging over, only a few opened their mouths and fired their tongues again.
The tongues were still incredibly fast. Even though the cultivators were mentally prepared, they could not intercept them and had to rely on their own defenses.
The tongues struck their targets.
But the soldiers merely paused slightly before continuing their charge.
The cultivators who had just fled stared in shock.
“What’s going on? Their defenses are about the same as ours!”
If they did not know these Soul-Hooking Geckos were pure ghost creatures that inherently hated living beings of the mortal world, they might have suspected the geckos were holding back.
A sharp glint flashed in Ning Zhuo’s eyes.
“It’s their constitution!”
“These soldiers have all been cultivated through the Military Branch. Their bodies and souls have been strengthened toward the direction of Paper Money Nether Soldiers. Their foundation has surged several times.”
Military expenses were high—but worth every coin.
The improvement the Military Branch brought to soldiers’ foundations was enormous.
Their defensive methods were ordinary, but their overall foundation was far stronger than usual. As a result, the geckos’ attacks had almost no effect.
“Hmm?!” Seeing this scene, the enemy general hidden in a corner could no longer remain still and revealed himself.
Wandering Dao-Field!
He unleashed his full power, activating his Dao-Field and immediately strengthening its influence over this section of the battlefield.
A gray full moon appeared faintly above everyone.
In the air around the wall floated countless silver-gray threads, like the tentacles of a jellyfish swaying in the air.
Cultivators within the Dao-Field felt their souls becoming light and drifting, as if about to leave their bodies.
Their feeling was not wrong. Some of the cultivators who had retreated earlier failed to restrain themselves and their souls flew out of their bodies, leaving them horrified.
Qing Yan’s eyes shone sharply.
“Wandering Ghost Deity!”
This was a famous ghost deity of the Netherworld with a long history. Its image was a gray moon surrounded by countless mica-like tendrils.
These silver-gray drifting threads could easily extract others’ souls, and ordinary methods could barely damage them, making them extremely troublesome.
However, on the city wall, much of the Dao-Field’s power was resisted by White Paper Immortal City itself. Less than forty percent of its strength could be used.
“So that’s it!” Ning Zhuo realized.
“The Wandering Ghost General was hiding here and acting in secret.”
Ning Zhuo immediately recognized the enemy general.
Thanks to intelligence from Sun Lingtong, who had infiltrated the Yin Army camp earlier.
As the Dao-Field strengthened, it immediately affected Qing Chi and the others. While running, many of their souls extended beyond their limbs.
Qing Chi shouted loudly, “Paper Armor Technique!”
The cultivators obeyed and quickly cast the technique.
Within a few breaths, their entire bodies were covered in layers of talisman paper.
The defensive effect of the paper armor was immediate. It restrained their souls while also blocking the geckos’ next tongue attacks.
The Wandering Ghost General frowned.
Paper Armor Technique was nothing rare, and their mastery clearly seemed shallow. True masters could form full armor shapes, greatly enhancing defense.
But these cultivators only pasted talisman papers onto their bodies—an extremely basic level.
Yet its actual combat effect was astonishingly strong, completely isolating the Dao-Field’s influence and even blocking the gecko tongues.
This was completely unreasonable.
Unless the technique perfectly matched these cultivators.
Cultivators’ constitutions differed greatly. The same spell could produce vastly different effects depending on who used it.
“But it makes no sense for all of them to be suited to Paper Armor Technique… unless…”
The Wandering Ghost General’s heart sank. He quickly took out a ghost fan.
He waved it repeatedly, releasing a massive Yin Wind.
The Yin Wind roared across the battlefield.
“What a terrifying Yin Wind!”
“Retreat! That wind will kill people!”
The retreating cultivators turned pale and fled further back.
Qing Chi and the others were halted by the wind. Seeing their formation about to collapse, Qing Chi shouted:
“Yin Crossing Technique!”
As the Army Commander of the Military Branch, she naturally had learned this spell.
Even those who had not learned it directly through the Military Branch had learned it from each other.
The Yin Crossing Technique spread among the cultivators, instantly transforming the terrifying Yin Wind into a gentle breeze in their perception.
To outsiders, it looked as if they had simply adapted to the wind and continued charging forward.
The Soul-Hooking Geckos had already eaten their fill and were greatly weakened.
Qing Chi led the new army to arrive at this critical moment.
First came a crushing charge that killed most of the geckos instantly. Then the cultivators slaughtered the rest in fierce combat.
Just as the wall was about to return fully to White Paper Immortal City, the Wandering Ghost General could no longer hold back and dived down from the sky.
“Perfect timing!” Qing Chi’s eyes burst with sharp light. Green flames surged from her body as she stomped the ground and shot toward him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two clashed in midair, fists and kicks colliding like thunder, shaking the entire battlefield.
After several exchanges, neither side gained the upper hand.
When the Wandering Ghost General saw the wall fully reclaimed and the remaining geckos being easily slaughtered, he knew the situation was lost and prepared to retreat.
Qing Chi sensed this immediately and pursued him.
“You can’t stop me,” the ghost general sneered.
Just as he tried to withdraw his Dao-Field—
The plaque above the West City Gate suddenly emitted a brilliant light, trapping the Dao-Field.
Countless talisman papers flew out from the city wall like a swarm of bees, surrounding him.
Forced onto the defensive, he fought desperately.
“Die!” Qing Chi shouted.
Covered in blazing green flames, she transformed into a meteor and slammed into him.
Boom!
The flaming impact shattered his chest and burst out through his back.
The Wandering Ghost General twisted his head before dying, staring at Qing Chi.
“You… this is military force reinforcement!”
Even though it was only a prototype army, it could already provide military force.
With that reinforcement, Qing Chi’s strength soared far beyond the Wandering Ghost General.
“I refuse to accept this!” he screamed before turning into ashes.
Only a Ghost Dao Golden Core remained floating in the air.
But Qing Chi had no strength left to retrieve it. She fell from the sky as the green flames faded, collapsing unconscious from exhaustion.
Qing Yan hurried forward to catch his daughter and temporarily took command of the Qingjiao Army.
The cultivators briefly panicked before stabilizing again. Holding the wall, they slaughtered the surrounding ghost creatures until they fled.
“A real cultivation army!”
“White Paper Immortal City truly has deep foundations—this was one of their hidden trump cards.”
“But why is a Ghost Clan girl leading the army?”
The Qingjiao Army not only instantly retook the city wall but also slew a Golden Core–level Ghost General, achieving the greatest victory since the Defense Battle of White Paper Immortal City began.
With this single battle, the Qingjiao Army—already widely discussed within White Paper Immortal City—became famous across the entire Yin-Tide Black Damp Swamp!