Chapter 237: Ghost King Ridge, Heavenly Sword Sect
Ghost King Ridge!
This was the name of the Forbidden Zone that the Silent Nether Ghost King had gone to. It was said that long ago, a Ghost King from the netherworld had come to this place. He lived here year-round, ghostly energy spreading everywhere, turning this entire area into a human Forbidden Zone where no living beings dared tread.
In the Silent Nether Ghost King’s memories, he had indeed encountered that Ghost King.
He had suffered the Ghost King’s torment, living worse than death, enduring agony for a full hundred years before finally transforming into a demon ghost. After that, he followed the Ghost King in cultivation, transforming martial artists who had mistakenly wandered in into demon ghost existences like himself, one after another.
The Silent Nether Ghost King had stepped into Ghost King Ridge eight hundred years ago.
Within Ghost King Ridge, the Silent Nether Ghost King had only been an insignificant lackey. It was not until several decades ago that he found a chance to escape. As a result, he suffered the Ghost King’s backlash—his physical body scattered, leaving only his soul, forcing him to recuperate for dozens of years in a mountain cave.
Calling it recuperation was inaccurate. In truth, he had been left with no other choice.
After more than seven hundred years passed, the Northern Court had long since moved far away from Ghost King Ridge. Unable to find any living beings, he was effectively in a state of slumber.
It was not until a few years ago that a Xuanji Sect martial artist calling himself Elder Ghost found him, claiming that he could turn him into an immortal god. For this purpose, Elder Ghost continuously sent living people to help him restore his flesh-and-blood body.
Several months ago, Elder Ghost found him again, wanting him to head south and wipe out Clear Sky Sect. Upon hearing that Clear Sky Sect was also an Immortal Cultivation Sect, it reminded him of unpleasant memories. As a result, he directly killed Elder Ghost and then wandered the Northern Border.
The hatred from eight hundred years ago was still buried deep in his heart. His former enemies had long been interred beneath yellow earth, and the Northern Border had already undergone dynastic changes, yet he loathed everyone on this land.
Of course, he was not acting solely for revenge, but also to become stronger.
He yearned to become a powerful existence like the Ghost King, and so he renamed himself the Silent Nether Ghost King.
The Silent Nether Ghost King had indeed failed to capture Li Sifeng. The power erupted by the thousand-year sword soul of the Emperor Mystic Sword had filled him with alarm—he had actually been unable to keep up with the thousand-year sword soul’s speed.
Through the Silent Nether Ghost King’s memories, Li Qingqiu also learned quite a few Ghostly Path methods.
At the same time, there appeared an existence that made him wary.
Ghost King Ridge, the Ghost King!
Although this Ghost King’s methods were also cruel, he was different from the Silent Nether Ghost King. He only stayed within Ghost King Ridge, and in the Silent Nether Ghost King’s memories, he was always in seclusion cultivating.
There were over a thousand evil ghosts wandering within Ghost King Ridge, and the vast majority of them were even stronger than the Silent Nether Ghost King.
Li Qingqiu could be certain that within Clear Sky Sect, aside from himself, no one could deal with the Silent Nether Ghost King. With over a thousand such evil ghosts in Ghost King Ridge, plus an unfathomable Ghost King, Ghost King Ridge was absolutely not something they could provoke.
Fortunately, in the Silent Nether Ghost King’s memories, the Ghost King had never revealed any ambitions. He was even repulsed by ghosts leaving Ghost King Ridge.
Li Qingqiu still felt puzzled. He was unsure whether the Land of Demons and Devils that Ancestor Su Xing had heard of was the same place as Ghost King Ridge. His intuition told him that the Land of Demons and Devils lay even further north.
He withdrew his consciousness, deciding that after returning, he would slowly explore the Silent Nether Ghost King’s memories.
Nearly a thousand years of memories were far too long; he needed to examine them gradually.
Not to mention the Silent Nether Ghost King—he had not even fully explored the memories of the ancient god before this, mainly because the ancient god’s memories spent most of the time in darkness, making them far too dull.
Seeing Li Qingqiu put away the Soul Refining Banner into his storage pouch, Nangong E drifted over and asked, “Did you find Li Sifeng?”
Although the Silent Nether Ghost King had been subdued by Li Qingqiu, his aura was far too terrifying, making her deeply wary of the Northern Border.
“I didn’t find him. Next, we’ll search together for ten days. If we still can’t find him, we’ll head back.”
Li Qingqiu spoke calmly. He could not abandon Clear Sky Sect just for Li Sifeng.
Since Li Sifeng was still alive up to now, it meant that he was temporarily safe.
Hearing this, Nangong E nodded, drifting to the side and continuing her vigilance.
……
In a dim underground space, Li Sifeng knelt in worship before a soul.
This soul belonged to a black-clad old man, faint light emanating from his body. Many crystals were embedded in the cave wall behind him, refracting light of different colors.
Li Sifeng pressed his forehead tightly against the ground, tears continuously sliding down.
The black-clad old man looked down at him, smiling, and said, “Sifeng, there’s no need to grieve. I never belonged to the mortal world in the first place. I should have long since pursued reincarnation. Being able to help you one last time before leaving, to let the inheritance continue, I think that’s a good thing.”
Li Sifeng raised his head, his face covered in tears, his eyes filled with regret. Gritting his teeth, he said, “If I hadn’t been greedy for merit and had brought the disciples back earlier, Yunqiao wouldn’t have died, and I wouldn’t have exhausted all your strength for my sake……”
The black-clad old man smiled lightly and said, “There are never so many ‘ifs’. No one can predict what tomorrow will bring. In my view, this was precisely my chance for release. Otherwise, I would have continued struggling with unwillingness and meaningless hope.”
Even though Li Sifeng had escaped with his life, the Silent Nether Ghost King’s power still ravaged him, forcing the black-clad old man to exhaust all the power of his soul body to expel the ghostly energy from within him.
After doing all this, the black-clad old man also reached his end. He could feel an inexplicable force in heaven and earth pulling at him, trying to drag him into an unknown place.
Perhaps that was reincarnation.
The black-clad old man looked at Li Sifeng, his gaze turning gentle, and said, “I’ve followed you for many years and know your temperament well. Although you’re rash, impulsive, prone to obsession, and refuse to give up until you reach your goal, there’s a sense of chivalry in your bones and a sense of righteousness in your heart. Being able to help someone like you live on, even if I return to reincarnation, I’ll have no regrets in death.”
“Before I leave, I want to ask you to do one thing.”
Li Sifeng immediately asked, “What is it? Even if I have to brave fire and water, I will definitely do it!”
“It’s not that exaggerated. I come from the Heavenly Sword Sect. As early as a thousand years ago, the Heavenly Sword Sect left the Nine Provinces and went west in search of immortal opportunities. If you encounter the Heavenly Sword Sect in the future, help me go take a look. See whether my senior brother’s descendants are still around. If they are, then help them for me.”
“What is your senior brother’s name?”
“Song Kejian.”
“Alright, I’ll remember it.”
Li Sifeng responded solemnly.
The black-clad old man revealed a smile as his soul body scattered, turning into specks of starlight.
Li Sifeng hurriedly stood up, wanting to grasp him, yet he could grasp nothing, only watching him disappear within this underground space.
He didn’t know whether it was an illusion, but he felt that this place had grown even dimmer.
Li Sifeng clenched his teeth and suddenly slapped himself across the face.
On this northern journey, he had lost the Prison Qilin and caused the black-clad old man to sacrifice himself for him. The price was simply too great, making it hard for him to breathe.
At the mere thought of the Silent Nether Ghost King, hatred surged to the bone.
He struggled to adjust his mindset, forcing himself to calm down.
With his current strength, revenge was utterly impossible. He could only return to Clear Sky Sect to cultivate diligently, and at the same time bring back intelligence about the Silent Nether Ghost King.
Such a terrifying existence would likely be difficult even for Senior Brother to deal with.
If that evil ghost headed south before he returned, the consequences would be unimaginable.
After thinking it through, he immediately began packing his things, preparing to leave.
……
Li Qingqiu searched the Northern Border for ten days and still failed to find Li Sifeng. With no other choice, he gave up and headed south with the Prison Qilin.
Cultivating the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art, his physical strength was immense. Carrying the Prison Qilin, he felt no heaviness at all.
After spending most of the day, Li Qingqiu finally returned at full speed to Clear Sky Mountain.
He had Yuan Qi strike the Lingxiao Bell. The sect’s upper echelon rushed over one after another. When they saw that Li Qingqiu was unharmed, they all breathed a sigh of relief. However, upon seeing the Prison Qilin’s miserable state, their scalps went numb.
Even an auspicious beast had ended up like this—one could only imagine what would happen if a person encountered that evil ghost.
Li Qingqiu had already helped heal the Prison Qilin’s injuries. Having lost all four limbs, it did not want to go down the mountain and planned to stay within Lingxiao Courtyard, so he could only let it be.
Zhang Yuchun, Li Dongyue, and Li Sijin saw that Li Qingqiu was uninjured and their expressions eased. However, thinking of Li Sifeng still being unfound, it was hard for them to feel happy.
After everyone took their seats, Li Qingqiu finally spoke, “Hall Master Li Sifeng is still missing. I didn’t find him. The Northern Border is simply too vast. However, I can be certain that he’s still alive.”
“That evil ghost is called the Silent Nether Ghost King. He’s already been subdued by me. Once I finish searching through all of his memories, I’ll destroy him.”
As he spoke, he took out the Soul Refining Banner and moved the Silent Nether Ghost King’s soul out.
Seeing the three-headed, six-armed Silent Nether Ghost King suddenly appear, everyone was startled.
That terrifying baleful aura rushed toward them, making their scalps tingle.
Li Qingqiu immediately put the Silent Nether Ghost King back into the Soul Refining Banner, yet everyone still felt shaken to the core.
Yan Daozong’s expression was strange. Ever since arriving at Clear Sky Sect, he had seen too many mysterious, unfathomable things. He had even begun to waver in his convictions.
He had started wanting to cultivate immortality.
The moment this thought arose, he forcibly suppressed it.
“The Silent Nether Ghost King is very strong. Without methods specifically targeting souls, it’s extremely difficult to defeat him. Even Ning’er and Jiang Zhaoxia aren’t his match,” Li Qingqiu stated directly, making everyone take the matter even more seriously.
After hearing this, Xu Ning did not question it, only slightly furrowing her brows.
Zhu Yan followed up by asking, “So that means we must cultivate spells that specifically target souls?”
“That’s right. This is the key point. Going forward, I’ll have Lord Jing take charge of creating Ghostly Path spells. When you have time, all of you should learn them, because the Silent Nether Ghost King escaped from somewhere—above him, there’s a true Ghost King.”
Li Qingqiu nodded as he continued introducing Ghost King Ridge, even recounting the origins of the Silent Nether Ghost King.
Upon hearing that Ghost King Ridge housed over a thousand evil ghosts, each no weaker than the Silent Nether Ghost King, everyone felt immense pressure.
However, after hearing about the Silent Nether Ghost King’s life before death, everyone felt somewhat heavy-hearted.
This ghost had also been a pitiful person.
Yang Jueding sighed and said, “Fortunately, during the early days of Clear Sky Sect, the Sect Master forbade us from going down the mountain and had us focus on cultivation. Otherwise, our fate would probably have been even worse than his.”
Everyone nodded. Back then, Zhao Zhi had still been alive, and he was certainly even more vicious than the Northern Court Heavenly Son from eight hundred years ago.
Li Qingqiu spoke, “We can’t just be thankful for the past. There are even stronger forces beyond the Nine Provinces. Clear Sky Sect must develop cautiously. We can’t let disciples on tempering journeys leave the Nine Provinces, and within the sect we must remain clear-headed—cultivation must always come first, with development as the secondary focus. Everything else must take a back seat.”