Chapter 234: Northern Border Ghosts
Li Qingqiu waited within the Xuanji Sect for most of the day. After his treatment, the Prison Qilin’s injuries gradually improved—at the very least, the wounds on its four limbs no longer hurt.
Jin Lang practiced blade techniques behind Li Qingqiu. It refused to waste even a bit of time and was even more obsessed than Xu Ning and Zhao Zhen.
When afternoon arrived, Li Qingqiu suddenly raised his brows.
He heard movement from the foot of the mountain.
Someone had arrived.
And not just one person.
With a thought, he moved his mind, and Lin Chuan immediately dove into the ground to investigate.
Not long after, Lin Chuan emerged from the darkness behind Li Qingqiu and reported the situation.
At the foot of the mountain, a massive force of troops was surging in, already surrounding the entire mountain. Lin Chuan swept his gaze around—an endless black mass, impossible to count.
He roughly estimated that there were at least a hundred thousand soldiers, with more troops still rushing in from afar.
According to Lin Chuan’s description, this army belonged to the Northern Barbarians—more precisely, the Northern Court Army.
Why would the Northern Court Army come here?
Could this be the reason the Silent Nether Ghost King had left?
Li Qingqiu frowned. He decided to wait a bit longer. If the Northern Court Army reached the mountain and the Silent Nether Ghost King still had not returned, he would leave with the Prison Qilin.
Time passed quickly.
Li Qingqiu waited patiently.
After about half a quarter-hour, his brows furrowed again. He sensed a powerful surge of ghostly energy climbing the mountain.
The Silent Nether Ghost King!
That kind of ghostly aura made Li Qingqiu think of the Ghost King within the Soul Refining Banner. Compared to that one still in slumber, however, there was still some difference.
The Ghost King within the Soul Refining Banner gave off an indescribably eerie feeling, whereas this ghostly aura was bloody, brutal, and powerful.
Lin Chuan and Nangong E stood behind Li Qingqiu, already tense, as if facing a natural enemy. Jin Lang also leapt onto Li Qingqiu’s shoulder.
Li Qingqiu once more released his spiritual sense, peering toward the buildings outside the iron cage.
Under his gaze, a hand appeared atop a distant tower, followed by another. Then its body rose upward, gradually revealing its full form.
This was a fierce ghost with three heads and six arms. Its upper body was bare, wearing only tattered black trousers. Its face was a deep greenish-blue, with two fangs protruding from its mouth, each nearly four inches long. It was draped in long, blood-red hair. Muscles like twisted tree roots coiled around its six arms. Each of the three faces bore a different expression, with the central face the most ferocious—barely recognizable as that of a man.
Standing atop the tower, the Silent Nether Ghost King surveyed the Xuanji Sect. Seeing that its prey had not fled, it finally turned around and looked down the mountain.
Li Qingqiu used his spiritual sense to probe the Silent Nether Ghost King, judging its strength in his mind.
Very strong—stronger even than Ancestor Su Xing.
With such strength, how could Li Sifeng have escaped?
Could it be that Li Sifeng had failed to return to Clear Sky Mountain because he had been captured?
Li Qingqiu pondered silently. He did not act rashly, instead wanting to see the relationship between the Northern Court Army and the Silent Nether Ghost King.
After waiting about another half quarter-hour, soldiers finally appeared at the Xuanji Sect’s mountain gate. At their head was a general clad in heavy black armor. His physique was imposing, like a black bear. A curved saber hung at his waist, and he gripped a great blade in his hand. He walked at the front with dragon strides and tiger steps, murderous aura surging.
At a glance, Li Qingqiu judged that this man was an entry-realm expert.
Even in the present era, entry-realm experts were rare in the martial world, let alone within an army.
No wonder the Northern Court dared to march south. This was likely the peak of their power.
Once inside the Xuanji Sect’s mountain gate, the Northern Court soldiers scattered in all directions. That general advanced along the main road, coldly sweeping his gaze over the buildings on both sides. Even when stepping on shattered bones along the way, he did not frown.
This general was named Fang Tianshu, one of the top three generals of the Northern Court. Battle-hardened and experienced, he would not even furrow his brows when facing hundreds of thousands of troops. Yet this mission left him deeply uneasy—he was merely forcing himself to appear calm.
Because what they were about to face were the legendary ghosts.
In the Northern Border, tales of ghosts had always existed. Legend held that this land suffered endless calamities because it was a gathering place of demons and ghosts—a human hell where monsters ran rampant and horrors spread fear.
Several months ago, several tribes had been slaughtered. At first, the Northern Court had not taken it too seriously, merely sending officials and soldiers to investigate. It was only after the Xuanji Sect was annihilated that they realized something was wrong.
A Xuanji Sect disciple who had narrowly escaped death met the Northern Court’s Heavenly Son and informed him of the existence of ghosts, shaking the court. After deliberation, Fang Tianshu was ultimately sent to lead the army here.
Fang Tianshu brought one hundred thousand elite troops, enough to show how seriously the Northern Court’s Heavenly Son regarded this matter.
More and more soldiers poured into the Xuanji Sect. Despite their numbers, the Northern Court troops felt uneasy. Corpses and bones were scattered everywhere in the streets and alleys, and even flesh and blood hung from the eaves of some buildings, indistinguishable as human or beast.
They even felt as if something was watching them. Even in broad daylight, a chill ran through them.
Little did they know, they truly were being watched by ghosts.
The Silent Nether Ghost King crouched atop the tower, overlooking the soldiers below. A greedy smile appeared on its left face, while hatred filled its right face. The four arms behind it swung about, as if impatient to rush down.
Li Qingqiu could see clearly now—the Silent Nether Ghost King had deliberately waited for the Northern Court Army to enter the mountain.
Could it be that the Silent Nether Ghost King had even planted a split soul within the Northern Court, inciting the Northern Court’s Heavenly Son to send troops to exterminate ghosts?
Thinking this way, it actually seemed quite possible.
“This fellow… is it a demon or a ghost…”
Greater confusion arose in Li Qingqiu’s mind. Ghosts at most harmed people; after all, ghosts had no physical bodies, and so-called eating merely meant swallowing souls to torment them.
But the Silent Nether Ghost King was different. It was truly gluttonous, actually drawing in an army of a hundred thousand. Its appetite was far too great.
Could it grow stronger by devouring flesh and blood?
He suddenly became interested in the Silent Nether Ghost King. His intuition told him this was no ordinary ghost.
Fang Tianshu led the soldiers into the Martial Training Ground. Gazing at the horrifying bone mountain, no one could remain calm. Even cold sweat began to bead on Fang Tianshu’s forehead.
Even the mound of corpses after a great battle was nowhere near as terrifying as this bone mountain, because some of these remains still had skin and faces attached.
The living people inside the iron cages noticed their arrival and all became agitated, crawling toward the edges of the cages.
Watching them drag their mutilated bodies out of the darkness, the soldiers’ scalps tingled. Let alone stepping forward to ask questions—they did not dare approach at all.
With a single glance, Fang Tianshu knew these people were already ruined and beyond saving.
“All men on alert! Set fire to all buildings! No one is to enter them without authorization!”
Fang Tianshu shouted loudly. In common understanding, ghosts hid only in dark places, which was why they chose to ascend the mountain during the day.
Hearing this, the soldiers took out torches and dispersed toward nearby buildings.
At that moment, a scream suddenly rang out, startling everyone into turning their heads. As Fang Tianshu turned, his eyes widened. He saw a soldier cut in half at the waist, lying on the ground. That soldier had not even had time to react and stared in shock at the lower half of his body beside him. The scream had come from another soldier nearby, terrified by the sight.
Just as Fang Tianshu was about to speak, he saw soldiers ahead being cut in half one after another, their upper bodies flying up as blood sprayed from their waists. Scene after scene delivered an unprecedented shock, making his eyeballs tremble.
This undefeated Northern Court general was frozen in place by fear, his limbs ice-cold, at a complete loss.
The other soldiers fled in terror, distancing themselves from those cut in half. They could not see the ghost, and precisely because of that, their fear was pushed to the extreme.
“There really are ghosts! Ghosts!”
“How is this possible… it’s broad daylight…”
“Run! Run!”
“Raise the torches, maybe—ah!”
“Where is it? Where is the evil ghost?”
The Xuanji Sect descended into chaos. Screams, roars, and cries merged together, turning this place into a human purgatory.
Order collapsed instantly!
Fang Tianshu struggled to steady his mind. He leapt onto an eave, stumbled, and nearly fell. His face was deathly pale as he watched his prized elite troops flee in panic. Anger surged within him, replacing fear, restoring his usual ferocity.
“Stop! No one is to act rashly! Watch carefully for that thing’s movement trajectory!”
Fang Tianshu roared, circulating his inner energy. His voice boomed like thunder.
His authority manifested at once. The soldiers halted and turned to look.
Watching soldiers be cut in half one after another, even without seeing the Silent Nether Ghost King, they could roughly judge its movement path.
The soldiers closest raised their weapons and swung forward.
Fang Tianshu charged straight in, gripping his great blade like a fierce tiger descending the mountain.
This Northern Court general completely overcame his fear, ready to fight the Silent Nether Ghost King to the death.
The Silent Nether Ghost King, invisible to living people, was perfectly visible to Li Qingqiu.
The Silent Nether Ghost King had already locked onto Fang Tianshu, all three pairs of eyes fixed tightly on him.
Li Qingqiu felt that the Silent Nether Ghost King was not angered by Fang Tianshu, but rather attracted by Fang Tianshu’s blood essence.
Fang Tianshu landed and immediately unleashed his blade techniques. The great blade surged like a violent storm, unstoppable. Unable to see the Silent Nether Ghost King, he could only attack blindly.
Bang!
Hearing a sound behind him, Fang Tianshu’s heart clenched. Before he could think further, a streak of sword energy brushed past his ear, scraping his cheek painfully.
That sword energy shot forward and blasted apart a pavilion.
Fang Tianshu instinctively turned to look. Not only him—the Northern Court soldiers did the same.
They saw a gigantic iron cage burst open. Inside lay a Qilin that had lost all four limbs. When they first arrived, the Qilin had already drawn their attention, but the danger here left them no time to look closely.
Under their gaze, a man emerged from behind the Qilin.
This man wore a wanderer’s outfit and a bamboo hat, holding a long sword in his hand.
Just at first glance, all the Northern Court soldiers felt the aura of a powerful expert emanating from him.
In an instant, the entire Xuanji Sect fell silent as everyone turned to look at Li Qingqiu.
Li Qingqiu stepped out of the iron cage and slightly raised his head. The brim of the bamboo hat cast his face in shadow, making him appear gloomy. His gaze crossed over the Northern Court soldiers and met the Silent Nether Ghost King atop the ruins.
Happy New Year’s Day!
First update of 2026!