C736 Death News
Between mountains as straight as swords, grand palaces soared skyward.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Gargantuan Roam Ships, resembling colossal beasts of the sky, descended onto the expansive squares before the palaces or thundered upwards, departing over the mountains.
A multitude of visitors of varying realms strolled through the many palaces.
This was the stronghold of the Babel Chamber of Commerce.
On a lush mountain peak, numerous single-person caves had been carved out. From a distance, the peak resembled a honeycomb, with the abundant vegetation serving as natural camouflage draping over the cave entrances.
A soft, mystical glow circulated within the mountain, like spiritual energy transformed into liquid, imbued with the essence to fortify both body and soul.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
Two harrowing screams erupted from adjacent caves.
In the stillness of the night, those screams pierced the silence with a jarring intensity.
At the mountain's summit, a woman, radiant as a rainbow, floated ethereally in front of the two caves, her face marked by displeasure. She rebuked, "Lin Yue, Faang Yingzi, what are you two howling about?"
The dim light at the cave entrances gradually withdrew, the barrier faded, and Lin Yue and Faang Yingzi came into view.
Their faces were ashen, lips quivering, eyes devoid of any spark.
Qin Yan, standing before the cave as a Yang God, projected a thread of her soul through Faang Yingzi's Niwan acupoint, reaching into his Consciousness Little World.
She observed that Faang Yingzi's Heavenly Soul and main soul were still concentrated and brimming with soul thoughts.
Yet, a pale and insubstantial Yin God Shadow lingered, as elusive as a reflection in water, steadily fading away.
Puff!
The Yin God Shadow transformed abruptly, like a deity stripped of divine power, undergoing a mysterious metamorphosis.
The soul thoughts suffusing Faang Yingzi's Heavenly Soul and main soul began to dilute, losing their purity and shifting toward spiritual consciousness.
Witnessing this, Qin Yan understood the gravity of the situation, her expression turning frosty.
Only with the death of the Yin God, descending to the Penetrating Stage, would soul thoughts dilute into spiritual consciousness.
This meant that Faang Yingzi's Yin God, which had ventured into Horror Land, must have perished.
"Lady Qin Yan, please champion our cause!"
Lin Yue, with his white beard and silver eyebrows, appeared to have aged decades in mere moments. His hair had lost its sheen, and he slumped to the ground, defeated. "I devoted 130 years to cultivating my Yin God from the Penetrating Stage to the Soul Wandering Stage! For the sake of the Babel Chamber of Commerce, I braved the dangers of Horror Land, only to be demoted back to the Penetrating Stage in an instant. I cannot come to terms with this!"
Beside him, Faang Yingzi was also sobbing uncontrollably.
Qin Yan remained silent for a moment before responding, "Horror Land is unlike any other place. The link between the Yin God and the true form is severed there. Without knowing what transpired, I will need time to investigate."
"Please, avenge us!"
The two cried out together.
...
Ma Jianjiang steered the Roam Ship away from the domain of the White Bone Ghost and set course for the realm of another Ghost.
The Roam Ship docked before a Dark Mountain, slightly less imposing than the White Bone Mountain, yet still remarkably formidable.
The Dark Mountain, cloaked in shades of gray and black, was home to numerous ghost spirits visible to the naked eye.
"Greetings, Lady Caiyi!" Ma Jianjiang hailed her with his Yin God from within the ship.
"Ah, you've arrived," came the reply.
A ghost spirit of stunning beauty descended from the mountain's peak, her approach as graceful as drifting clouds.
Her attire was reminiscent of the Filthy Spirit Sect's garb—vibrant and striking.
Indeed, this Caiyi Ghost had origins within the Filthy Spirit Sect. Her true name had been forgotten, and the sect no longer acknowledged her. Since embracing the path of ghostly cultivation, she presented herself in this colorful robe. Upon ascending to the rank of Ghost, she became known as the Caiyi Ghost.
She was the seventh among the sixteen titled Ghosts of Horror Land.
With a whoosh, a massive green tortoise spirit materialized behind the Caiyi Ghost.
Occupying a large portion of the mountaintop, the green tortoise descended like a slow-moving cloud.
"Cyan Spectre!" Ma Jianjiang exclaimed.
He had come prepared, familiar with the various Ghost Kings and titled Ghosts, able to recognize them by their distinctive features and auras.
The Cyan Spectre, holding the eighth rank, was once an Eighth Level Great Demon. Unfortunately, it met its end at the hands of the Demon Palace. A fragment of its demon soul managed to flee, covertly entering the Horror Land. There, it cultivated in the form of a soul spirit, transforming into the Cyan Spectre we see today.
"Have you heard that Granny Ash has passed away?"
Descending gracefully, the Cyan Spectre gestured, and two of its Heavenly Ghost followers approached the "Roam Ship." "Relax. I'll trade for the supplies sent by the Babel Chamber of Commerce at my level. Since you've already encountered White Bone, I'm curious—is the news of Granny Ash's demise truth or fiction?"
"Granny Ash has indeed perished," confirmed Ma Jianjiang with a nod, "and it happened within White Bone Lord's domain. However, I'm afraid that's all I can disclose."
"Is White Bone still in his territory?" bellowed the Cyan Spectre.
"Yes, he is," Ma Jianjiang responded.
"Excellent!" The Cyan Spectre's spirits lifted. "There are items within Granny Ash's domain I've long coveted, and she stubbornly refused to part with them!"
"Let's set out for Granny Ash's domain!" the Cyan Spectre commanded.
Ma Jianjiang observed the two ghosts brimming with eagerness for battle, yet he kept to himself the news that Jiang Xingwen had already set out and, with White Bone Spectre's aid, seized control of Granny Ash's territory.
...
The towering silver mountains, aglow with sacred radiance, seemed out of place in the Horror Land, like a divine Holy Mountain.
One by one, formidable Heavenly Ghosts and spirits returned from afar, entering the heart of the silver mountain to draw upon the vast Yin Qi, refining their essence.
The White Bone's followers were thrilled during their absorption of Yin Qi. They discovered that the Yin Qi from the same Dark Mountain was now richer and more refined than ever before.
This revelation led them to one conclusion: their master's power had surged anew! The amount of Yin Qi each ghost could draw from the Yin Vein's source beneath the Dark Mountain was intrinsically linked to their master's might.
The more formidable the Ghost King, the greater the bounty of Yin Qi at their disposal, and the reverse was equally true.
This appeared to be an immutable law within the Horror Land, a perpetual offering from the Yin Vein's source to the realm's mighty ghostly beings.
The Ghost King, ever dominant, could always harvest the most Yin Qi, bestowing prosperity upon all its followers.
The minions of the White Bone Ghosts, upon returning from the domain of the gray crone, immediately sensed a shift in the Yin Qi and realized that their master had grown stronger from the battle. Yet, at the mountain's deepest level, they detected two unfamiliar presences.
The formidable spirits caught wind of Yu Yuan and Yuan Lianyao's existence, but without any explanation from the White Bone, they dared not inquire and pretended to be unaware.
In a cavernous underground chamber, Yu Yuan sat in meditation, his eyes shut tight, with tendrils of Spiritual Sense cascading to the floor. The Yin Qi, like a flowing stream, infused his Consciousness Little World via these tendrils, swirling through the triad of his soul.
Yu Yuan was the picture of tranquility, feeling his three souls greedily soak up the Yin Qi like sponges. The spent Spiritual Sense was thus refined and solidified, rejuvenating his weary spirit with rapid fullness. In his palm, he clutched a piece of spirit jade.
Simultaneously, wisps of Spiritual Energy were naturally siphoned, funneling into his Yellow Court acupoint, replenishing the Spiritual Energy expended by his previous sword strike.
As the minutes ticked by, Yu Yuan, deep within the bowels of Dark Mountain, could sense the Yin Qi was nearly three times more potent than that of Liu Linzhi's place, propelling his cultivation pace to new heights.
"White Bone Lord, what did you discuss with Yu Yuan?" Yuan Lianyao, seated on a lotus platform across the vast stone chamber, watched the White Bone Ghost engulf the Yin Qi below and felt compelled to ask.
The White Bone Ghost, with its emerald eyes shifting, glanced at Yuan Lianyao and responded, "He has agreed to aid me in my quest for the Ghost King throne." Excitement and anticipation shone in its eyes as it spoke.
Yuan Lianyao, brimming with questions, had intended to seek confirmation from Yu Yuan. However, his recent swordplay had drained him, and his urgent need for recovery left her without the chance to ask.
When the White Bone Ghost revealed Yu Yuan's promise to support its bid for the Ghost King title, Yuan Lianyao was left speechless.
How could Yu Yuan possibly possess the strength to aid White Bone in ascending to the throne of Ghost King within the dreaded Horror Land?
Even the Red Devil Sect lacks such capability!
Yet, the conviction in White Bone's demeanor and the unwavering gleam in his eyes suggest an unshakeable belief. What's the story here?
"Yu Yuan can offer me things that the Red Devil Sect cannot," White Bone declared once more. "I, White Bone, am indebted to Lord Faang Yao. My debt has been steadily repaid and will soon be settled. Once this affair concludes and you depart unharmed, my obligations will be fulfilled."
"Ah!?"
