Chapter 235: Divine Dragon Soaring into the Sky
The Silent Nether Ghost King looked toward Li Qingqiu. That man’s gaze was fixed tightly on him, which made him feel surprised.
Could this man actually see him?
An immortal cultivator!
Such powerful Vital Energy—he was definitely a cultivator of the Spirit Perception Realm!
The Silent Nether Ghost King felt no fear. On the contrary, he became even more excited. Devouring a Spirit Perception Realm cultivator was far more useful than devouring a hundred thousand troops.
All three of his faces stretched out their tongues at the same time, licking their lips, as dense ghostly energy surged out from his body.
The Northern Court soldiers followed Li Qingqiu’s line of sight, trying to find the Silent Nether Ghost King, but they could see nothing at all. It was only when ghostly energy began to emerge that they finally caught sight of him.
The ghostly energy was pitch-black, like a mass of black flames fiercely burning atop the ruins, rapidly expanding, while the Silent Nether Ghost King’s body quickly took shape within it.
Hua——
The Northern Court soldiers were all frightened. Those closer hurriedly retreated.
Fang Tianshu focused his gaze and was likewise startled to the point that his lips trembled. The Silent Nether Ghost King was simply too terrifying. That head of blood-red hair fluttered wildly, making him even more horrifying.
“Immortal cultivator, where did you come from?”
The Silent Nether Ghost King’s voice sounded—hoarse, and anyone could hear the greed within his tone.
Li Qingqiu did not answer, instead lifting his sword and walking toward him.
Jin Lang stood on Li Qingqiu’s shoulder, raising its blade-like forelimbs, ready for battle.
Fang Tianshu turned his head to look at Li Qingqiu, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Just standing there, the Silent Nether Ghost King already made him feel intimidated. He could only pray that this mysterious knight-errant would slay the Silent Nether Ghost King.
Li Qingqiu did not walk quickly. The Silent Nether Ghost King also did not immediately attack, instead sizing him up with great interest.
The Northern Court soldiers watched Li Qingqiu walk toward the Silent Nether Ghost King, all of them tensing their minds while guarding against a sudden attack.
At the mountain gate, soldiers were still arriving. The Silent Nether Ghost King standing atop the ruins was so conspicuous that when the soldiers saw his figure clearly, all of them were frightened into stopping.
“What is that…”
“Three heads and six arms… that really is a demon!”
“How could there be ghosts and monsters in broad daylight?”
“Look ahead, so many corpses… could all of this be done by that demon?”
“Don’t be afraid, we have so many people—could we not kill this beast?”
The later-arriving soldiers encouraged one another. Behind them, more troops were climbing the mountain, leaving them with no way to retreat.
When Li Qingqiu passed in front of Fang Tianshu, Fang Tianshu could not help asking, “May I ask your honored name?”
He could tell that Li Qingqiu was not from the Northern Border. There was a high chance he was a martial artist from the Nine Provinces.
Although grudges between the Northern Border and the Nine Provinces never ceased, Fang Tianshu still held great respect for the martial world of the Nine Provinces. From time to time, great heroes from the Nine Provinces would head north and perform acts of chivalry during their trials, and those deeds made the men of the Northern Border even more curious about the Nine Provinces’ martial world.
“Withdraw your men first. Once the fighting starts, there will definitely be casualties,” Li Qingqiu said without turning his head.
From the standpoint of the Nine Provinces, he should not have helped the Northern Court soldiers, but he did this to prevent the Silent Nether Ghost King from continuing to grow stronger.
Hearing Li Qingqiu’s words, Fang Tianshu froze for a moment, just about to speak again.
Suddenly.
The Silent Nether Ghost King moved. He lunged fiercely toward Li Qingqiu, the tremendous force shattering the ruins beneath him. Dust billowed into the air, and wild winds overturned the surrounding soldiers, spreading out like crashing waves.
Almost at the same instant, Li Qingqiu also moved.
One man and one ghost each traversed more than ten zhang, colliding midair.
Boom——
Two powerful auras erupted, forcing even more Northern Court soldiers to retreat. One building after another shook violently.
Li Qingqiu used the Clear Sky Sword to block the Silent Nether Ghost King’s ghostly claws. The moment they made contact, he could immediately judge that the Silent Nether Ghost King was not a true evil ghost.
He was merely a demon who understood ghost cultivation methods!
No!
He might originally have been human—transforming from human to demon, then cultivating the ghostly path!
The Silent Nether Ghost King had not expected Li Qingqiu’s strength to be so great, to the point that he felt utterly unshakable.
His gaze instantly changed. The two arms behind his shoulders raised high and smashed down violently toward Li Qingqiu. Li Qingqiu reacted extremely fast, twisting his waist and spinning his body. Violent sword energy blasted out, sending the Silent Nether Ghost King flying.
Li Qingqiu landed on the ground, while the Silent Nether Ghost King landed on the edge of a roof.
The Silent Nether Ghost King glanced at his hands and saw that his fingers had been severed at the roots, blood gushing out uncontrollably. He was momentarily stunned. Then, those hands regrew ten fingers once more.
This scene was also witnessed by the nearby Northern Court soldiers.
Fang Tianshu raised his brows and shouted angrily, “He’s bleeding—he’s not a ghost!”
As soon as these words were spoken, much of the fear in the soldiers’ hearts was swept away, replaced even by a sense of being deceived and angered.
The middle face of the Silent Nether Ghost King grew even more ferocious. At a glance, it seemed to transform into another evil ghost’s visage, extremely terrifying.
He let out a furious howl and charged at Li Qingqiu once again.
This time, his figure flickered nonstop. Wherever he passed, flesh and blood flew. He slaughtered his way forward, and those bits of flesh and blood floating in midair quickly condensed into blood-red long spears. The moment they formed, they shot toward Li Qingqiu, piercing the air with unending whistling sounds.
Li Qingqiu advanced instead of retreating, swinging his sword rapidly. His sword moves were fierce, afterimages overlapping, annihilating all the blood-red long spears that reached him. In less than three breaths’ time, he once again closed in on the Silent Nether Ghost King.
The Silent Nether Ghost King split his mouth into a grin. One of his arms suddenly clenched into a fist and punched out. It was like thunder exploding, terrifying strength erupting like a mountain flood, actually blasting Li Qingqiu backward.
Li Qingqiu flew more than ten zhang away. When his feet touched the ground, he still slid backward a long distance.
Ho!
A fierce gust of wind came from behind. Li Qingqiu immediately bent low, one palm bracing against the ground, his feet sliding backward as his body pressed close to the earth, narrowly dodging the Silent Nether Ghost King’s sharp claws.
Just as the Silent Nether Ghost King was about to rush past him, Li Qingqiu suddenly bent his knee upward. With a loud bang, the Silent Nether Ghost King was knocked flying into the sky.
This move made the Silent Nether Ghost King even more exhilarated. All three of his faces twisted with intense expressions as he burst into maniacal laughter—laughing ferociously, laughing violently.
“Cultivating both techniques and body—truly remarkable!”
The Silent Nether Ghost King’s laughter echoed above the Xuanji Sect. Before his words even fell, he vanished into the air.
Li Qingqiu flipped upright and saw a mass of blood mist appear in the distance, sweeping past one Northern Court soldier after another as it charged toward him again.
“Truly troublesome,”
Li Qingqiu muttered. He was referring to the Northern Court soldiers.
As if hearing his voice, Fang Tianshu shouted loudly, “Retreat! Everyone withdraw down the mountain immediately! Hurry!”
With his command given, all the soldiers turned and fled. They had long wanted to escape.
Fang Tianshu also rushed toward the mountain gate. He leapt up, sprinting across rooftops. Tilting his head, he saw that mass of blood mist rapidly closing in on Li Qingqiu. Wherever it passed, soldiers were reduced directly to white bones, and the blood mist grew ever larger.
“What kind of monster is that… and that man…”
Fang Tianshu felt shock and rage mingled in his heart. With his level of martial arts, he simply could not intervene in this battle.
The Silent Nether Ghost King filled him with fear, while Li Qingqiu’s abilities left him utterly shaken.
This man was definitely not a martial artist, but a legendary immortal cultivator!
Could he have come from the Clear Sky Sect of the Nine Provinces?
Li Qingqiu watched as the Silent Nether Ghost King charged at him again, clearly sensing that his aura was rapidly increasing.
He suddenly hurled the Clear Sky Sword from his hand. The Clear Sky Sword was wrapped in sword energy, flashing past like a streak of cold light, piercing through the blood mist. Yet even though a long hole was pierced through it, the blood mist did not stop.
When the blood mist was less than ten zhang from Li Qingqiu, the Silent Nether Ghost King burst out of it, grinning savagely as he attacked Li Qingqiu. All six of his arms held blood-red long weapons, within which faintly revealed a ghastly white color.
Li Qingqiu looked up as Vital Energy erupted from his body, golden light bursting forth. He actually transformed into a golden dragon that soared upward, biting down on the Silent Nether Ghost King.
It was precisely the improved Divine Dragon Transformation by Zhao Zhen!
Vital Energy transformed into a dragon’s body. The dragon’s head alone was larger than the Silent Nether Ghost King’s physical form. Once bitten, the Silent Nether Ghost King discovered that he could neither break free nor transform into blood energy to evade it. He could only struggle with all his might.
The golden dragon that Li Qingqiu transformed into bit down on him, twisting rapidly in midair, passing over building after building as it flew toward the foot of the mountain.
The Northern Court soldiers who were retreating looked up, all of them staring wide-eyed, some even gaping with mouths agape.
That golden dragon was far too majestic, stunning their vision. They could clearly see a human figure within the dragon.
Fang Tianshu crossed the mountain gate and looked up, likewise shocked by Li Qingqiu’s Divine Dragon Transformation.
This was definitely a spell!
Martial arts could never be this powerful!
Li Qingqiu carried the Silent Nether Ghost King as he plunged down the mountain, vanishing into the clouds and mist.
On the mountain path, those Northern Court soldiers still climbing up only felt a violent wind descend from the sky. They instinctively bent down and lowered their heads, catching a glimpse of a streak of golden light rushing down the mountain out of the corners of their eyes.
“Everyone retreat! Down the mountain!”
An enraged shout from a general came from the mountain, followed immediately by commanders passing the order downward.
Li Qingqiu dove toward the mountain’s base, falling from several hundred zhang high. The wild wind howled past his ears as his speed grew ever faster.
At the foot of the mountain, tens of thousands of troops were stationed. Soon, someone spotted a golden dragon appearing in the sky, causing the soldiers to grip their weapons tightly.
The Silent Nether Ghost King crazily swung his blood weapons, but unfortunately, he could not dispel the dragon aura of the Divine Dragon Transformation.
Just before hitting the ground, Li Qingqiu suddenly released his bite. The dragon’s body twisted, changing direction, avoiding plunging headfirst into the wasteland.
The Silent Nether Ghost King had no time to dodge and smashed directly into the ground below, kicking up rolling dust and causing the surrounding several li to tremble slightly.
The golden dragon circled low in the air. The golden dragon aura dissipated, and Li Qingqiu descended lightly to the ground like an immortal from the heavens.
The Northern Court soldiers in the distance were dumbfounded. That divine dragon was actually transformed from a human?
Before they could think further, the Silent Nether Ghost King burst out from the rolling dust. At this moment, all three of his faces were covered in blood, his body riddled with wounds. His elbows and waist had even ground down to reveal ghastly white bone.
This time, the Silent Nether Ghost King no longer laughed. All three faces were filled with rage and hatred.
The moment Li Qingqiu landed, he pounced forward.
Facing the frenzied and violent Silent Nether Ghost King, Li Qingqiu remained completely calm. He raised his sword and pointed. Sword energy spread out, transforming into one figure after another—all of them his own form, entirely silver in color—charging at the Silent Nether Ghost King from all directions.
The Silent Nether Ghost King was shocked by this divine art and had no choice but to halt and respond to attacks from every side.
The sounds of blades cutting through flesh rang out incessantly. The Silent Nether Ghost King discovered in horror that these sword clones were astonishingly fast, not inferior to Li Qingqiu’s true body in the slightest.