C718 Five Great Ghost Kings!

Jiang Xingwen was steeped in frustration. Two years prior, having just advanced to the middle period of her Spirit Walk, she ventured to the Land of Terror to hone a unique form of Spirit Magic. She sought refuge in Shadow Mountain, allied with the Abyssal Dawn, and there she tempered her Spirit Magic with Yin Qi incessantly.

Her dedication to her craft was unwavering, but she hadn't anticipated the sudden upheaval in the Land of Terror. A Celestial Shade, favorably disposed towards the Abyssal Dawn, fell prey to a more formidable Spectre lurking in the depths. The Spectre's minions launched a surprise attack, shattering the Celestial Shade's soul on the spot.

In the ensuing chaos, Jiang Xingwen seized her chance to flee. However, she soon encountered Liu Linzhi and, after a losing battle, found herself ensnared. Her Lunar Spirit was imprisoned within the Rose Armor.

During her conversation with Liu Linzhi, she discovered that the Everlands were in turmoil. Rumor had it that the Boulderdawn sect's exiled experts were drawing ever closer to the Everlands, their influence reaching even the Land of Terror and stirring unrest among the Ghost Kings and Spectres.

Jiang Xingwen, who had been in secluded cultivation on Shadow Mountain for over two years, was oblivious to the outside world due to the peculiar conditions in the Land of Terror, which prevented her Lunar Spirit from connecting with her physical form.

Before her entry into the Land of Terror, she had accepted Su Yan as a disciple from the Abyssal Dawn and imparted to her the arcane spells. After a short period of instruction, they parted ways.

Now, the young man before her, wielding an unusual Horcrux, had brought up Su Yan out of the blue. What was the meaning of this?

"Su Yan is my disciple from the Abyssal Dawn. She hails from the Su family of the Shadowlight Empire. Our time together was brief; less than a month had passed before her father took her back to the Shadowlight Empire. And I, soon after, entered the Land of Terror," Jiang Xingwen said, her tone laced with skepticism. "Who are you, and how do you know her?"

Yu Yuan massaged his forehead, remarking, "What a small world."

With a dismissive gesture, he reached out to the cauldron spirit with his mind, cautioning it against any rash actions.

Since Jiang Xingwen hailed from the Abyssal Dawn Sect and was Su Yan's mentor, he decided to show leniency and not take things too far.

"Two years ago..."

Reflecting on the timeline, Su Yan must have just been introduced to the Abyssal Dawn Sect by Su Xiangtian two years prior, where she was spotted by Jiang Xingwen and taken on as a disciple.

Su Xiangtian and Su Yan had returned from the Euwrea Continent using the Ethereal Void Sect's rune circle at the Forgotten Ruins. Consequently, he encountered Su Xiangtian and his daughter Su Yan, along with several Abyssal Dawn Sect trial-takers.

He bore no grudge against the Abyssal Dawn Sect. In fact, the Elder from the sect who perished in the Forgotten Ruins had been quite courteous and friendly towards him. Considering his connection to Su Yan, he resolved to release Jiang Xingwen.

"Let's step outside to talk."

Yu Yuan crossed the threshold and flew out to the cavernous palace beyond the cauldron.

Heeding his signal, the cauldron spirit didn't trouble Jiang Xingwen, and the Abyssal Dawn Sect elder's Lunar Spirit drifted out effortlessly, hovering in the open. "You're acquainted with Su Yan?"

"Yes, I am," Yu Yuan confirmed with a nod. "You've spent several years in the Land of Terror, devoted to your cultivation, so you might be out of touch with recent events."

After a brief pause, he chose to keep the conversation light.

He refrained from formally introducing himself to Jiang Xingwen or disclosing his connection to Su Yan. He wanted to avoid the risk of Jiang Xingwen leaving the Land of Terror and, upon the Lunar Spirit's return to her real body, revealing his whereabouts to the Abyssal Dawn or other sects, which could lead to unnecessary complications. Especially since he was currently viewed as a defector by the major powers of the Everlands.

"I haven't had much interaction with her. If you're familiar with Su Yan, do you know how she's currently faring?" Jiang Xingwen relaxed, noting his non-threatening demeanor. "I'm somewhat aware of the inner workings of the Land of Terror. However, I'm not up to date on external affairs. Perhaps we could exchange information."

Yu Yuan pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement. "That sounds good."

He then informed Jiang Xingwen that the Everlands, with its three continents, was in turmoil due to the resurgence of Boulderdawn and the invasion of the Star-Spawned Terrors and Otherkin. Beneath the Moonfall Sanctuary, a spatial gateway to the extraterrestrial realm had opened, allowing the Otherkin and their Sky Fiends to storm in. This led to the release of numerous malevolent entities and fierce conflicts with the leading sect, the Sunlit Order.

In the Godsblight Marsh, the Untamed deity and other evilkind forces refused to heed the directives of the three upper sects, the Devil Palace, and Shadow's Keep, choosing instead to isolate themselves.

On the Aetherius Continent, all empires were embroiled in war with no end in sight. The most powerful, the Songbird Empire, had seen its ruler replaced by Chen Liangquan. The Songbird Queen had destroyed her Divine Visage and retreated to the extraterrestrial Star River, withdrawing from the empire's and Chen family's affairs.

Zu Ann of Skyreach Peak had positioned himself against the five supreme experts.

Yu Yuan was aware that once Jiang Xingwen's Lunar Spirit returned to her real body, she would be promptly informed of these developments by the Skyreach Consortium. With nothing to conceal, he laid out all the details.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xingwen was both shocked and intrigued. "It's no wonder the Land of Terror is thick with Yin Qi, causing numerous Ghost Kings and Spectres to grow restless and unfurl their banners of war."

She shared with Yu Yuan that deep within the Land of Terror, there were five Ghost Kings. Traditionally, these Ghost Kings coexisted peacefully, each ruling their own domain. On the outskirts, however, numerous Spectres frequently waged war, vying for control of each other's Shadow Mountains.

Recently, the five Ghost Kings had awakened from their long slumbers and periods of cultivation. Like the empires of Aetherius, they began to wage war against one another, fiercely battling for territory and Shadow Mountains.

The conflicts initiated by the Ghost Kings spread rapidly, engulfing the entire Land of Terror in an instant. Spectres and Celestial Shades alike were embroiled in combat, their strength surging with the rich abundance of Yin Qi.

In battle, even severe soul injuries could be swiftly healed. Concurrently, an influx of Lunar Spirits from the outside world had occurred. These Lunar Spirits hailed from both the mainland of Euwrea and the native strongholds of the Land of Quiescence. They formed alliances with the Ghost Kings and Spectres, stirring up trouble in the Land of Terror.

Jiang Xingwen was initially unclear about the root cause of these events. However, Yu Yuan's explanation brought her sudden clarity. "The turmoil in the Everlands, coupled with the mass deaths of its creatures, will undoubtedly impact the Land of Terror! With the return of the Boulderdawn sect from the extraterrestrial realms and the invasion of numerous Sky Fiends and Otherkin, a multitude of lost souls will emerge! The Root of the Lunar Meridian beneath the Land of Terror will become richer and more potent than ever before!"

"It may even provoke an extraordinary transformation within the Root of the Lunar Meridian! The exact nature of this change is beyond me. But a Celestial Shade, friendly with our Abyssal Dawn sect, once hinted that if the death toll in the Everlands reaches a certain threshold, the Root of the Lunar Meridian will undergo a transformation."

"There's a possibility that the Land of Terror might give rise to the legendary God of Ghosts!"

"The God of Ghosts has been an ancient legend within the Land of Terror, yet none have ever truly emerged!"

"There's a belief that while there can be many Ghost Kings, there can only ever be one God of Ghosts. The God of Ghosts is the sole deity of the Land of Terror, a being capable of contending with primordial spirits and tenth-level Dark Deities, even beyond the confines of the Land of Terror!"

"Before, the five great Ghost Kings coexisted peacefully, aware that no matter how fiercely they fought or killed, they could aspire no higher than the title of Ghost King—the ultimate pinnacle of their power and form."

"Now, the cataclysmic upheavals in the Everlands have led the five great Ghost Kings to a startling realization: in this era of chaos, the Land of Terror is poised to usher in its most golden age! The forces that once limited their rank and form have shifted, opening up the possibility for them to evolve further, to ascend to the status of a God of Ghosts—a being unprecedented in the annals of the Everlands!"

"This is the underlying cause of the current turmoil in the Land of Terror."

Armed with Yu Yuan's insights, her own knowledge of the Land of Terror, and the secrets shared by the deceased Celestial Shade, Jiang Xingwen conveyed to Yu Yuan the true state of affairs within the Land of Terror.

"God of Ghosts!"

Yu Yuan's spirit soared at the revelation.

He had always believed the Ghost King to be the pinnacle of power in the Land of Terror, yet there was a legendary God of Ghosts, a being that had never before come into existence!

The lore of the God of Ghosts had been handed down through the ages, but no Ghost King had ever ascended to that echelon, constrained as they were by the vastness of the Everlands.

Now, with the emergence of fertile ground for the birth of a God of Ghosts, it made perfect sense why the five mighty Ghost Kings had stirred from their deep slumber.

​