Chapter 255: Rare in the Mortal World
Late at night, heavy snow fell in flurries.
The soldiers still queuing before the city gate saw a general riding out from within the city, holding a great banner in his hand.
“The Great General has issued an order. All soldiers who have yet to enter the city are to wait outside. Seal off this city gate!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the soldiers lined up behind instantly erupted in fury, complaints rising from all sides.
Having trekked all the way from Southern Chu Province, they were already physically and mentally exhausted. Now they had to endure such extreme cold—any restraint on the resentment in their hearts completely collapsed.
“Why should we be left outside?”
“If we’re staying outside, then everyone stays outside. The Great General is going too far, treating us as if we’re not even human!”
“How can it be this cold? I don’t care—I’m going in. I don’t want to freeze to death out here!”
“Brothers, we’re veterans of over ten years. Are we really going to die so miserably out here, frozen outside the city?”
The soldiers outside the city grew more and more agitated, and as the shouting intensified, they began surging toward the city gate.
Those generals tried to stabilize morale, but the result was the opposite.
For a moment, this city gate plunged into chaos.
……
Within the wind and snow.
Qin Ye led his elite troops toward the Inspector-General’s residence. However, before reaching it, he reined in his horse and stopped.
Ahead was a long street. At the end of the street stood a towering figure with his head lowered. His hair was disheveled, and chains were wrapped around his hands and feet, dragging against the ground and producing a scalp-numbing scraping sound.
Qin Ye could not see the man’s true appearance, but instinct told him that this person was extremely dangerous.
Li Yuzhong frowned as well. He tightened his grip on the long weapon in his hand and stepped forward alone.
Behind them was a cavalry unit, each soldier imposing in presence. Yet, facing the chained man ahead, the warhorses beneath them began to neigh restlessly.
Qin Ye’s gaze flicked toward a tall building on the left, where he saw an enormous figure, like a giant python, crawling up onto the rooftop. Its serpentine body swiftly transformed into human form under the cover of night.
“Fifth Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm. Impressive. What is your relationship with the Clear Sky Sect?”
A female voice rang out, venomous in tone, laced with mockery and ridicule.
Li Yuzhong and Jia Guang turned their heads, their scalps instantly tingling. They could not see the woman’s true face, but they clearly saw that her lower body was a serpent’s body.
An evil entity!
At that moment, one terrifying figure after another leapt onto the rooftops lining both sides of the long street, each one exuding ghostly energy.
All the warhorses became violently restless, making it difficult for the soldiers on their backs to restrain them.
Qin Ye stared at the serpent-bodied woman on the high building and shouted loudly, “Where did you demons and monsters come from, and what exactly do you want?”
The serpent-bodied woman sneered. “What do we want? Of course—to eat you!”
As soon as her words fell, she lunged straight at Qin Ye, like a sharp arrow tearing through the flying snow, aiming directly for him.
Her speed was far too fast—so fast that by the time Qin Ye subconsciously raised his staff, it was already too late.
Whoosh—
A piercing sound tore through the air. The serpent-bodied woman’s expression changed drastically as she instinctively twisted her body, but her cheek was still slashed open. Threads of black blood sprayed out as she landed on a nearby rooftop, shattering tiles and sending accumulated snow cascading down, rising into a mist.
Qin Ye turned his head and saw a figure flying in from afar, landing on the rooftop along the left side of the street.
“Third Martial Uncle!”
Qin Ye cried out in delight. The newcomer was none other than Jiang Zhaoxia.
Jiang Zhaoxia’s blue robe fluttered as he stood against the falling snow, a treasured sword in his hand. The sword energy around him shone brilliantly, dazzling within the dim Cloud Emperor City.
Li Yuzhong and Jia Guang turned to look and saw Jiang Zhaoxia.
The two were stunned, as if they were witnessing a sword immortal descending into the mortal world. Just standing there, he radiated an invincible presence, as though none could stand against him.
The serpent-bodied woman steadied herself and glared at Jiang Zhaoxia. In the dark of night, she likewise could not see his face clearly, yet the pressure he exuded was overwhelming.
At the same time.
A massive number of Corpse Ghosts surged out within Cloud Emperor City. Some burst forth from the ground, some smashed through walls, others shattered doors and charged out, all rushing toward Qin Ye’s army.
Some soldiers who had taken refuge inside buildings let out shrill screams, shattering the silence of Cloud Emperor City.
At the city gate, soldiers ran madly into the city, the scene utterly chaotic. They failed to notice the dense movement of figures in the darkness within the city, and even in the snowy ground outside the city, one figure after another broke out of the earth.
The figures hidden in the darkness seemed to receive some silent command. Almost simultaneously, they surged toward the soldiers. Roars quickly echoed beneath the night sky, plunging Cloud Emperor City into clamor.
Outside the city, the soldiers at the rear heard the sounds behind them and turned back, nearly frightened out of their wits.
They saw Corpse Ghosts charging toward them in a frenzy, those ferocious faces slamming into their vision.
“There are ghosts!”
A burly soldier shouted at the top of his lungs, causing more and more soldiers to turn around. When they saw the Corpse Ghosts, every single one of them was shocked.
Before they could think further, points of light appeared in the darkness behind the Corpse Ghosts, like stars lighting up the night sky. Immediately after, they saw Corpse Ghosts collapsing one after another, blood spraying continuously into the air.
One Clear Sky Sect disciple after another leapt out from the darkness, Clear Sky Swords in hand. They cut down Corpse Ghosts along their path, thrusting sword after sword forward, piercing straight through the ghosts’ hearts from behind. Some disciples were even more brutal, directly dismembering the Corpse Ghosts.
Seeing people slay the Corpse Ghosts, the terrified soldiers quickly regained their composure. Soon, someone recognized that these mysterious figures clad in uniform blue robes came from the Clear Sky Sect.
Who did not know that their lord, Liu Jing, was supported by the Clear Sky Sect’s Sect Master?
Before the soldiers could rejoice, they soon heard screams and roars coming from within the city.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh…
One piercing sound after another rang out as Clear Sky Sect disciples stepped on flying swords and descended from the sky, swiftly crossing the city walls and charging into the city.
Two figures descended from above and landed on the city wall. They were Zhao Zhen and Li Yang.
The district they faced was shrouded in darkness, yet they could see numerous Corpse Ghosts crawling out from beneath the ground.
“Come to think of it, the two of us have never truly fought side by side,” Li Yang said with a smile. He could sense two exceptionally terrifying ghostly auras hidden in the darkness.
They should be the Ghost King Ridge evil ghosts the Sect Master had mentioned!
He felt both wary and exhilarated.
Zhao Zhen’s gaze had already locked onto one of the evil ghosts. He vaguely saw something like a monkey-shaped evil ghost, agile and nimble.
“Side by side? No. It should be a contest—let’s see who kills more ghost soldiers!”
Zhao Zhen snorted. As his words fell, he immediately cast a spell. Vast vital energy erupted from within his body, transforming into a golden hue.
Li Yang smiled faintly and followed suit, likewise condensing golden vital energy.
Their vital energy rapidly transformed into golden dragons. Almost simultaneously, the two leapt forward. The golden dragon forms fully solidified as they transformed into two five-clawed golden dragons, diving toward the darkness below the city wall.
The dragon roar of the Divine Dragon Transformation resounded beneath the night sky, and the golden radiance emitted by the dragon bodies illuminated a corner of Cloud Emperor City.
Above the two divine dragons, the snow mist filling the sky was torn apart by Clear Sky Sect disciples. More and more disciples poured into Cloud Emperor City like a rain of arrows.
On the other side.
Qin Ye and Li Yuzhong were already surrounded. The entire long street was filled with Corpse Ghosts. They could only protect Jia Guang while fending off Corpse Ghosts attacking from all directions.
The cavalry under their command was also fighting. Warhorses reared and stamped, snow mist billowing everywhere.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhaoxia and the serpent-bodied woman fought fiercely atop the rooftops. Their movements were as fast as lightning, far beyond what ordinary eyes could track.
Jiang Zhaoxia stared intently at the serpent-bodied woman, assessing her abilities.
Incredible speed!
An unbelievable self-healing ability!
The ability to emit invisible poison during battle, paralyzing opponents!
Earlier, when Jiang Zhaoxia brushed against that invisible poison, he felt his fingers go numb, startling him into immediately covering his body with sword energy, narrowly avoiding disaster.
“Flesh and blood of the Spirit Perception Realm must be delicious!”
The serpent-bodied woman laughed sinisterly. She did not dodge at all, attacking relentlessly. Even when injured, she showed no fear.
Jiang Zhaoxia did not respond. He had to eliminate an evil ghost to prove that he was no worse than Xu Ning.
A streak of sword light swept over the heads of Jiang Zhaoxia and the serpent-bodied woman, shooting toward the Inspector-General’s residence, causing her to frown.
She looked into the distance and saw large numbers of Clear Sky Sect disciples breaking into the city, her heart sinking.
“What was meant to come has finally arrived.”
The serpent-bodied woman thought silently. Her face grew increasingly ferocious as her speed increased even further, intensifying the pressure on Jiang Zhaoxia.
……
Tap!
Shen Yue descended from the sky and landed on the eaves of the Inspector-General’s residence gate. He had already sensed the terrifying ghostly energy within the residence.
Rumble—
A thunderclap lit up the snowy night. Shen Yue raised his eyes and saw massive shapes churning within the rolling dark clouds in the night sky, resembling flood dragons.
“So this snow truly is caused by ghostly mischief.”
Shen Yue murmured to himself, his expression calm, before turning his gaze back toward the Inspector-General’s residence.
Following his line of sight, there stood a massive palace within the residence. In front of it was a flight of white stone steps, numbering twenty or thirty tiers.
The entire Inspector-General’s residence was devoid of people, appearing deathly silent.
Clang—
The massive palace doors suddenly swung open. A gust of yin wind surged out, crossing a distance of over a hundred zhang, blowing Shen Yue’s hair and robes.
Shen Yue narrowed his eyes. Wisps of sword energy spilled from the wooden sword in his hand, climbing up along his arm.
“At the Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, to possess such sword intent—rare in the mortal world.”
Great Demon Luo’s voice drifted out from within the Inspector-General’s residence, his tone indifferent.
Shen Yue spoke, “It seems that before becoming a ghost, you also possessed considerable experience.”
Boom—
The eaves of a nearby pavilion were blasted apart as an emaciated old man leapt out. He had four arms, each gripping a bone sword. His eyes were covered by a strip of blood-soaked cloth, and the lower half of his face was incomplete, exposing nasal bones and teeth—horrifying to behold.
Shen Yue immediately dodged, yet the four-armed old man had already killed his way to Shen Yue’s front.
Shen Yue raised his sword to block, only to be blasted away by an overwhelming force.
“So terrifyingly powerful!”
Shen Yue exclaimed inwardly. He was sent flying dozens of zhang, landing on a rooftop. The residual force pressed him backward, sending tiles flying everywhere. He finally stopped at the edge of the eaves.
He fixed his gaze ahead. The four-armed old man stood in the distance, not continuing the attack.
From just that single exchange, Shen Yue could already sense the vast disparity between himself and the opponent.
The arm holding the wooden sword trembled uncontrollably—this was no longer a physical reaction he could suppress through sheer will.