Chapter 646: Abyss-Thought Ghost General!
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 973.
Luo Si was framed by his direct kin and died miserably. His corpse and bones vanished, he was not permitted to enter the clan ancestral hall, and his resentment transformed him into a fierce ghost that fell into the Netherworld.
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 974.
His soul body was corroded by resentment. In a muddled state he drifted along the banks of the Wangchuan River, nearly dispersing completely. Gray Bone Elder gave him guidance and taught him the mental method “Forgotten Emotions Guide,” allowing him to cleanse his obsessions with the waters of the Wangchuan. Luo Si swore an oath to repay this kindness.
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 980.
He enlisted in the army and served as a squad leader.
Leading five battered soldiers, he set a whirlpool trap at Fallen Misfortune Shoal and ambushed a bandit leader. His talent in water warfare first appeared, and he was promoted to squad chief.
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 982.
During the Yellow Turban River escort battle, he piloted a damaged boat to lure the enemy and used hidden currents to counterattack the Nine Nether water bandits, capturing their vessel. He was awarded the honorary title “Wangchuan Water Hero” and promoted to centurion of the Blackwater Army. After the battle he personally wrote “Ten Principles of Boat Handling” to train new recruits, achieving notable results.
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 986.
With a hundred light boats he arranged a deceptive formation, luring the Drowned Army into a shallow bay. Secretly he accumulated the water’s momentum for three days before suddenly launching a vortex slaughter that annihilated three thousand enemies. He was promoted to deputy general.
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 990.
He defended Dragon-Cutting Gorge against the White Bone Fleet.
The White Bone Fleet surrounded him for over three months. Supplies were nearly exhausted, arrows spent, rations depleted. Luo Si fished to calm the army’s morale. During this fishing, he comprehended the military art Abyss Before the Deep, Hidden Scales.
Taking the initiative, he abandoned the large warships and instead launched thousands of small boats in a night assault from the gorge. Like ants covering a dam, they destroyed several enemy giant vessels.
The White Bone Fleet retreated. Luo Si saved himself but suffered severe injuries. He was granted the title “Abyss-Thought Ghost General.”
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 993.
He transferred to Northern Deer Immortal City for recuperation while also serving as commander of the city guard.
He suppressed the Smile-Faced Gambling House riot.
He purified Wailing Infant Alley.
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 995.
Foreign enemies invaded. The Lord of Ice-Fortress Immortal City fell in battle. Luo Si was specially appointed to serve as commander of the city guard and acting city lord.
After surveying hidden reefs for seven days, he adjusted current angles to guide the flow, dispersing the ice-colliding river tide and ensuring the grain supply route remained open.
He discovered Spirit-Devouring Yin Earthworms and drove them away with soul waves, protecting ninety percent of the medicinal fields and foiling the enemy’s scheme.
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 996.
He suppressed the riot of ferocious souls in the Ice Caverns without damaging the seals in the slightest.
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 997.
After special training at Bone-Erosion Shoal, he founded a new troop type: Frost Prison Contemplation Guard.
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 998.
He was promoted to commander of the Northwestern Frost Halberd Army.
Guarding the frontier, he slew thousands of enemies, making even the ghost wolf packs dare not invade, and the border remained peaceful.
Wangchuan Calendar, Year 999.
He was ordered to attack the mortal world’s White Paper Immortal City and was appointed temporary supreme commander.
…
After finishing Luo Si’s dossier, Sun Lingtong sighed.
“I didn’t expect that Ghost General Luo Si has only been dead in the Netherworld for twenty or thirty years, yet he has already reached the position of a prefectural commander.”
Beside him, Zeng Jide withdrew his spiritual sense.
“He received guidance from Gray Bone Elder. I suspect there was planning behind it. Luo Si’s official career advanced step by step—too smoothly.”
Sun Lingtong frowned.
“Why would that Nascent Soul stage cultivator rush here to retrieve Luo Si’s dossier? Could it be…”
Zeng Jide replied, “An official’s dossier is equivalent to the life tablet or soul lamp used by super sects. It’s a powerful method of restraint.”
“What else could it be?”
“They’re probably using the dossier to deal with Luo Si.”
“It seems Luo Si hasn’t been obedient, so they intend to teach him a lesson.”
Sun Lingtong nodded. His guess was the same.
Worry rose in his heart.
“The attitude of Wangchuan Underworld toward Luo Si suddenly changed. Could it be because he held back during the battle and deliberately let the enemy off, raising suspicion?”
Altar battlefield.
A torrent of military art ravaged the Imperial Guard formation. In almost an instant, the entire defending army was crippled.
Both sides were so shocked that only the screams of the severely wounded and the roaring impact of military art echoed across the battlefield.
Countless gazes shot toward Luo Si like arrows.
If looks could kill, Luo Si would already have been pierced by ten thousand arrows.
Yet under the attention of the masses, Luo Si remained calm, as though the one who had turned the tide with a sudden betrayal was not him.
His eyes even seemed slightly unfocused as he looked at the military art Abyss Before the Deep, Hidden Scales before him, recalling the moment he had comprehended it.
Dragon-Cutting Gorge truly matched its name.
Jagged black rocks on both sides interlocked like the fangs of gigantic beasts, tightly clamping down on the most turbulent and dangerous section of waterway.
Filthy waves thundered against the canyon walls, shattering into sprays of foul Yin energy before merging again into the endless torrent.
At that time Luo Si was merely a deputy general, ordered to guard this choke point and intercept the main force of the White Bone Fleet.
After over three months of fierce fighting, most of his warships were destroyed. Arrows, talismans, and supplies were nearly exhausted. The formations were increasingly difficult to repair.
The crude water fortress built deep within the gorge swayed like rotten wood in the storm. It was completely surrounded by the White Bone Fleet.
Even the Yin Wind that passed through the fortress seemed to carry whispers of despair.
Luo Si had exhausted every method. He knew reinforcements would never come.
He understood he was trapped in a hopeless situation. Yet his great vengeance remained unfulfilled, and he refused to accept death.
The army’s morale was like a bowstring stretched to its limit, ready to snap at any moment.
Luo Si knew he had to stabilize the troops.
Otherwise defeat would arrive in the next moment.
Until the very last moment, he refused to give up—even though he saw no hope.
Rations and supplies were completely depleted.
To steady morale, he had to find another way.
Fortunately, he had always loved fishing.
That made things simple.
Every evening when the White Bone Fleet’s attacks paused, he walked alone to a protruding hanging rock at the mouth of the gorge.
Below that rock was the convergence of the main Wangchuan current and the Nether Flood Dragon River, where whirlpools and hidden currents churned endlessly beneath rolling Yin winds.
He wore no armor, only a black robe.
Holding a fishing rod, he cast a long line into the water.
Every cast of Luo Si’s rod, every silent gaze at the faint ripples on the surface, carried a focus and calm that resembled a martyr’s ritual.
Silence enveloped him—and strangely, the entire fortress.
The soldiers watched their general from behind broken ship rails, exhausted and numb.
The suffocating despair slowly settled, suppressed by a deeper, colder force born from that silent ritual.
Luo Si sat unmoving like cast iron.
Outwardly calm, inwardly burning with anxiety as he struggled to find a way out.
Only three main warships remained—and none could match the enemy’s massive vessels.
Though there were many small boats left, each could carry only five men.
What use were they?
As he pondered endlessly, his gaze penetrated the river surface.
He saw a faint blue light drifting underwater.
It was a school of tiny fish drifting like dust.
Then more blue points appeared one after another.
Like gathering particles, a shadowy outline gradually formed—an endless sea of fish!
They churned silently beneath the water, their bodies trembling faintly and emitting mysterious blue light.
Suddenly millions of tiny lights gathered together, forming a surging blue-silver river beneath the water that swept forward in silence.
The luminous flow illuminated the battlefield beneath the river—the broken weapons and wrecked ships long sunk into darkness.
One tiny fish was insignificant.
But when the entire school gathered, their rotation created a vortex that altered the direction of the underwater currents.
It formed a gigantic spiral current—like an underwater tornado!
Luo Si felt as though a hammer had struck his heart.
A flash of enlightenment split through his Sea of Consciousness, illuminating the chaotic waters of his mind.
“When the army’s momentum is exhausted and one is trapped in a desperate situation, it is like water gathered in a deep valley—like the maw of a beast capable of devouring everything.”
“But the closer one stands before the abyss, the more one must hide the scales within the water.”
“We are as weak as these tiny fish, gathering silently in the depths…”
“Waiting only for a single instant of light—when dust gathers together, unified in command, fearless of death, and becomes a torrent.”
“The longer the abyss gathers its power, the more unstoppable its eruption.”
“And when it bursts forth—it becomes the strongest current, capable of devouring everything!”
The wrecked weapons and shattered ships resting in the silent riverbed seemed to roar within Luo Si’s Sea of Consciousness.
Luo Si lifted his fishing rod.
The hook was empty.
A single drop of water fell from it and returned to the abyss.
His resolve was set.
He turned toward the countless eyes within the water fortress—eyes filled with confusion, exhaustion, and faint hope.
Returning to camp, he gave an order.
His voice was calm, almost indifferent.
“Abandon the ships.”
Everyone was stunned.
Abandon the ships?
In this water-bound battlefield, abandoning ships was equivalent to cutting off their last escape.
Luo Si glanced at the three battered warships whose formation stones were nearly depleted.
“Large ships are useless. They are only targets. Destroy them. Use their iron keels to forge spears and arrows.”
“As for the small boats and rafts—prepare them all with oil paste and Yin Fire Talismans.”
His commands were simple yet weighed a thousand pounds.
That night, using the heavy river mist and the enemy’s overconfidence, countless small boats launched simultaneously.
Under the military art Abyss Before the Deep, Hidden Scales, every boat moved like part of a fish school.
They followed the river currents and attacked in waves without fear of death.
It was the tactic of ants covering a dam.
Each light boat’s attack was weak like an ant’s bite.
But when dozens or hundreds of these tiny attacks erupted simultaneously, they formed a deadly current beneath the waters.
Chaos spread through the enormous White Bone warships.
The creaking scream of snapping keels, the crackling of Yin Fire devouring hulls, and the panicked shouts of sailors filled the darkness.
One ship, two ships… several giant vessels began to tilt and collapse.
Luo Si led the charge personally.
His soldiers climbed the ships like ants swarming a dam, hacking and slaughtering amid blazing firelight that reflected across the canyon like hellfire.
The enemy commander had never seen such bizarre tactics—like parasites clinging to bone.
Seeing his massive ships destroyed one after another, he ordered retreat.
For the first time, the terrifying White Bone Fleet fled Dragon-Cutting Gorge in disgrace.
Victory was achieved.
But Luo Si was gravely wounded and carried back to the fortress.
The Prefecture Lord personally issued a commendation.
Recalling the gorge where Luo Si had fished and comprehended his military art, he bestowed upon him a new title—
Abyss-Thought Ghost General.
It symbolized a mind as deep as the abyss and a temperament of patience and hidden strength that erupted into decisive victory.
All the danger and glory of that battle eventually condensed into a single plain line in his dossier.
Luo Si’s unfocused gaze returned to clarity.
He concentrated on observing the results of his attack.
This strike had been prepared for a long time.
Abyss Before the Deep, Hidden Scales had mobilized almost all the forces under Luo Si’s command. Its might was terrifying, instantly slaughtering countless Imperial Guards.
His control was precise and ruthless.
He had especially targeted Old Mother of Hundred Ghosts.
She hurriedly activated defensive measures but lasted only three breaths before dying under the tidal assault.
More than ten thousand Imperial Guards were crippled. A huge section of the formation was completely wiped out.
Only scattered survivors fled in panic.
Everything was chaos.
Master Hanyan trembled violently and roared in fury.
“Luo Si, you traitor!”
Luo Si’s own subordinates surrounded him in shock and rage, weapons and treasures raised.
“Luo Si, what is going on? Have you been controlled?”
His sudden betrayal had overturned the entire battle with a single strike.
Yet Luo Si remained calm, his deep eyes reflecting the Qingjiao Army charging toward him.
His gaze settled briefly on Ning Zhuo.
“I did consider parting on good terms,” Luo Si said calmly. “But circumstances forced my hand.”
“My apologies, everyone.”
“I am a good person.”
“What nonsense?!!”
His subordinates were completely stunned.
Luo Si suddenly raised his voice. His declaration echoed across the battlefield.
“Heaven’s Dao shines bright, the ghost laws blaze eternal!”
“I carry out Heaven’s punishment against the rebellious!”
“The Lord of Wangchuan once held authority over the balance of the Wangchuan. Yet his greed devours the heavens and his demonic heart eclipses the sun—his crimes fill the Netherworld!”
“First crime: Defying Yin and Yang! The ancient Heavenly Ghosts should have long returned to silence. Yet he molds bones from filthy soil and forges veins from foul energy, refining them upon altars to steal heavenly talent!”
“Second crime: Usurping the King’s Mandate! Even holding the title of Prefecture Lord, he lusts for greater power—stealing the remains of Heavenly Ghosts like a bandit!”
“Third crime: Slaughtering a city for sacrifice! Under the name of ‘serving the calamity,’ he feeds on blood. The millions of people of White Paper Immortal City have become fuel for his furnace!”
“Fourth crime: Imprisoning the righteous Dao! The Valley Master of Water Burial Valley once guided me like a rebirth. Yet the Prefecture Lord imprisoned my benefactor within the Cold Pool!”
“Today I raise my spear in rebellion—not to betray my lord, but to obey Heaven!”
“You treat the Wangchuan as a private tool and all ghosts as livestock!”
“The dark ruler is unjust, a bright ruler awaits! With sword in hand we follow the dragon and restore Heaven and Earth!”
“Heaven’s punishment shines upon my heart!”
“With a wise ruler beside me, my blade grows colder!”
In warfare, one must always seize the moral high ground. Luo Si understood this perfectly.
Both sides of the battlefield fell silent.
Master Hanyan trembled with rage.
“Traitor! Shameless scoundrel! You deserve ten thousand deaths!”
Ning Zhuo, however, fell into thought.
Earlier Sun Lingtong had explored the Netherworld and encountered Luo Si by the Wangchuan River, receiving his help.
Thus Ning Zhuo knew quite a bit about Luo Si—including Gray Bone Elder’s guidance.
Among everyone present, Ning Zhuo was the first to accept the reality.
Qingchi asked, “What did he just say?”
Ning Zhuo transmitted with spiritual sense, “Ignore it. Attack with everything.”
“Okay!”
Under the girl’s command, the Qingjiao Army seized the critical moment and charged forward like a sharp blade stabbing straight into the heart of Luo Si’s forces.
Because Luo Si had already withdrawn most of his troops for the earlier strike, and their morale was shaken, his army collapsed under the assault.
In an instant, casualties mounted and resistance became nearly impossible.