Chapter 648: Luo Si: Young Master!
Given the Qingjiao Army’s current condition, trying to clash head-on with them would simply be like eggs smashing against rocks.
“Now is not the time to save resources.”
“Qingchi, don’t worry about military supply consumption—use that move!”
Ning Zhuo spoke up to remind him.
“Understood.” Qingchi acted immediately.
Military Art—Money Commands Ghosts!
The military branch erupted with intense light within Qingchi’s Sea of Consciousness.
The large amount of military supplies that had been prepared in advance began draining like a burst dam—ten percent, thirty percent, fifty percent, eighty percent!
Relying on his sharp intuition, Qingchi directly consumed eighty percent of the military supplies stored within the military branch, unleashing world-shaking power.
Under the reflection of the Military Art, large numbers of ghosts—just like Luo Si—instantly rebelled and became subordinates under Qingchi’s command.
Blood flowed from Qingchi’s seven orifices as he forced himself to endure and issued military orders.
These ghosts gathered together, forming a massive tidal wave that swallowed the remaining Imperial Guard.
Thus, the great battle came to an end.
“We actually won!”
“Did we really kill them?”
The Qingjiao Army gradually came back to their senses, all astonished and unable to believe their own achievements.
During the earlier fierce battle, they had endured enormous psychological pressure. After all, the enemy’s strength and numbers far exceeded their own.
Yet from the moment Luo Si rebelled, the course of the battle turned utterly unbelievable, and the final outcome was shockingly astonishing.
“No wonder Senior Gray Bone told me to pay special attention to collecting these ghosts when commanding an army in the living world, and to bring them back,” Luo Si said after resting briefly and stabilizing his injuries as he slowly flew before the Qingjiao Army.
Facing Ning Zhuo, he cupped his fists.
“This subordinate Luo Si greets the Young Master.”
For a moment, countless astonished and curious gazes turned toward Luo Si and Ning Zhuo.
Jiao Ma (Ning Zhuo) was merely at the Foundation Establishment stage, yet a Nascent Soul–level great cultivator had voluntarily defected to him. The key point was that he had been an enemy general who had defected mid-battle.
Although Luo Si had previously caused grievous casualties to White Paper Immortal City, everyone in the Qingjiao Army had to admit one thing: if Luo Si had not turned against his side at that critical moment, they would have had no chance of survival.
From this perspective, Luo Si was their savior.
It wasn’t as if none of their comrades had died during the defensive battle of White Paper Immortal City.
For a time, the emotions among the Qingjiao Army soldiers were extremely complicated.
Jiao Ma’s father was so excited that his lips trembled slightly.
Regarding his son Jiao Ma’s identity, he had long had suspicions.
Who understood a son better than his father? Having lived together day and night, how could he not know the level his son truly possessed?
But in life there was a profound truth: sometimes it was best to remain deliberately confused.
Why insist on digging to the bottom?
Whether he truly was Jiao Ma or not, this version of Jiao Ma benefited the entire Jiao Family the most!
For the sake of the family’s interests, Jiao Ma’s father had already thrown the entire clan’s able-bodied members into the White Paper Immortal City faction. Only the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled had been sent away from the Yin-Tide Black Damp Swamp.
For the family’s sake, even he himself could be sacrificed.
If he could be sacrificed, why not his son Jiao Ma?
Naturally, his son was also within the range of sacrifice.
Sacrificing only Jiao Ma had brought such enormous gains. Although Jiao Ma’s father secretly mourned, he also felt joy.
After all, he was not merely a father—he was the head of a clan.
With such a “Jiao Ma,” the Jiao Family had struck a fortune!
Now, witnessing with his own eyes a Nascent Soul–level general like Luo Si defect mid-battle and bow in allegiance—
Jiao Ma’s biological father nearly fainted from happiness.
He simply couldn’t understand it. Everything felt like a dream, utterly unbelievable.
“So what if I can’t understand it?”
“This is reality!”
Secretly, he pinched his own thigh until it hurt so badly that his teeth bared. Inside, he shouted:
“If things become even more unbelievable, and even the Lord of Wangchuan Prefecture bows in allegiance, that wouldn’t be impossible either!”
The Qingjiao Army was mainly composed of two families.
The attitude of Jiao Ma’s father represented the faction of the Jiao Family.
However, the cultivators of the Ghost Clan’s Qing Family had even more complicated emotions.
At that moment, Qingchi suddenly exclaimed, breaking the silence.
“Heavens, Little Ma, you’re amazing!”
“As expected of you, Jiao Ma!”
Jiao Ma’s father shifted his gaze to Qingchi and sighed inwardly.
“Sigh… this silly girl is still the same as always.”
“But perhaps that’s also a kind of happiness.”
Qing Yan opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
Meanwhile, Ning Zhuo looked toward the newly recruited ghosts.
Among them were not only Luo Si’s troops, but also several Ghost Kings carefully cultivated by Old Mother of Hundred Ghosts.
Ning Zhuo looked up at the sky and sighed.
“The Lord of Wangchuan Prefecture has defied heaven itself, foolishly attempting to perform a blood sacrifice with White Paper Immortal City.”
“I carry the fortune of the living world’s heavens. In this calamity, I am the variable—and the tribulation of the Lord of Wangchuan Prefecture.”
“I have long resolved to save all living beings from the depths of suffering.”
Lowering his head, he looked at Luo Si.
“Luo Si, for you to abandon darkness and come assist me—I must thank you.”
Luo Si finished returning the courtesy and stood upright, his gaze calm.
“Though I died in the living world and became a ghost, I have always longed for the light.”
“I must also thank Senior Gray Bone, who began planning and laying arrangements a hundred years ago.”
“If not for his guidance, I would never have encountered you, my lord.”
Ning Zhuo nodded and sighed again.
“Indeed. Once I break the Lord of Wangchuan Prefecture’s conspiracy, I will certainly visit this respected senior.”
With Luo Si’s submission, the outcome of this battlefield was sealed.
The Qingjiao Army had achieved a great victory.
But the true greatest winner was neither Qingchi nor the Jiao Family—it was Ning Zhuo.
Unexpectedly gaining the allegiance of a Nascent Soul–level general filled Ning Zhuo with immense delight.
However, he knew that the most powerful enemy he had ever faced still awaited him.
Suppressing his joy, he began planning the next steps.
He focused his gaze on the area previously guarded by the Imperial Guard formation. Behind it stood a towering, dense wall of black clouds.
“Luo Si, how do we break in?” he asked.
Luo Si frowned slightly and pondered.
“Young Master, when I received the order to assist in the campaign against White Paper Immortal City, I had only just arrived with my troops.”
“Becoming the commander of this campaign was merely coincidence—I was placed here as a scapegoat and have not truly gained their trust.”
In other words, he didn’t know either.
Ning Zhuo nodded, his thoughts stirring.
He noticed a subtle detail.
Although Luo Si had voluntarily defected, he did not address him as “my lord,” but rather as “Young Master.”
Unlike Yuan Dasheng, this showed he still retained reservations and a wait-and-see attitude.
“It seems that truly winning Luo Si’s full loyalty will take time.”
“That makes sense.”
“I am only at the Foundation Establishment stage, while he is a Nascent Soul great cultivator. Whether commanding troops or fighting personally, he is extraordinary.”
Both the defensive battle of White Paper Immortal City and Luo Si’s earlier execution of Master Hanyan had demonstrated the terrifying strength of this Abyss-Thought Ghost General.
Making such a powerhouse truly submit would not be easy.
The distance between them might be quite long.
But Ning Zhuo did not dwell on this.
The urgent matter was destroying the Lord of Wangchuan Prefecture’s century-long conspiracy.
Luo Si then said, “There are two matters I must report to you, Young Master.”
“First, the campaign against White Paper Immortal City was actually a blood sacrifice order. Whether the casualties of White Paper Immortal City or the losses in our own army, all were part of the sacrifice.”
“The reason I withdrew my troops earlier was because the required sacrifice had already been fulfilled.”
“Second, my Résumé Record is stored within the City Lord’s Mansion of Wangchuan Immortal City. The threat spoken earlier by Master Hanyan was not false.”
“So while I still remain, Young Master, please use me as you see fit.”
Ning Zhuo’s mind stirred again, grasping Luo Si’s manner of communication.
“This man truly lives up to his title—he thinks deeply but only expresses part of his thoughts.”
“When speaking with such a person, one must understand what he leaves unsaid and the real intentions hidden behind his words.”
Ning Zhuo understood this extremely well.
He had endured and concealed himself for more than ten years in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, constantly studying people.
His imagined enemies had always been the City Lord’s Mansion and several Nascent Soul–level figures. Coupled with the harsh survival environment of the Ning Family, these experiences gave him an understanding of human hearts far beyond his age.
Without hesitation, he sneered with open disdain for the Lord of Wangchuan Prefecture.
“Although the blood sacrifice has been completed, the Imperial Guard’s heavy defense and the calling of your troops to reinforce prove that the Lord of Wangchuan Prefecture is still far from success.”
“I carry the fortune of the living world. I am the greatest calamity against his attempt to defy heaven and change fate.”
“This journey will succeed. Time is on my side.”
Lightning flashed in Ning Zhuo’s eyes. His sneer was filled with absolute confidence.
He looked at Luo Si again, his gaze seemingly piercing straight into the ghost general’s heart.
“I’ll tell you something else.”
“I have already sent another army straight toward Wangchuan Immortal City.”
“The one you met earlier is my capable subordinate from that force.”
“That army is far stronger than ours here—it is an ambush left behind by the Mysterious Scholar. And its commander is terrifyingly powerful. Someone like Master Hanyan likely wouldn’t survive even a single move under her.”
Luo Si nodded calmly, saying nothing more, but waves stirred in his heart.
Ning Zhuo’s overwhelming confidence affected him.
More importantly, Ning Zhuo’s response made him feel extremely comfortable.
On one hand, Ning Zhuo’s plans greatly eased his survival pressure. On the other hand, communicating with Ning Zhuo felt effortless.
Ning Zhuo understood what he had left unsaid and responded precisely.
At this moment, Luo Si felt as if interacting with Ning Zhuo was like bathing in a spring breeze.