C743 The Sixth Ghost King!
Deep within the Soul Locking Diagram, Razses, the Ghost King, emerged, his eyes shimmering with divine light and brimming with life as he gazed into the distance. The faint outline of Shadow Mountain, bathed in iridescent light, appeared in the depths of his eyes.
"The place where Rahu and the Spectre have been in arduous cultivation!"
The astute white fox took one look and was deeply moved, exclaiming, "Sir, are you... watching the battle between Rahu and White Bone?"
Encased in her purple divine armor, Ann Ziqing's brows knitted as she called out, "Lord Razses? What's happening over there?"
Yu Yuan and White Bone were fighting shoulder to shoulder, but Ann Ziqing's real concern was for Yu Yuan.
"From now on, no longer refer to Rahu as the Spectre," Razses said, breaking into a delighted grin. "From this moment forth, she is the Ghost King Rahu! The sixth Ghost King to emerge from the Land of Terror!"
"What?!"
The white fox was thunderstruck.
Ann Ziqing's face underwent a dramatic change. She instantly triggered the array inside her purple divine armor and, like a streak of purple lightning, dashed towards the domain of the Ghost King Rahu.
"Yu Yuan, that fool, if he's seeking death alongside White Bone, he has no one else to blame," Razses, the Ghost King, remarked nonchalantly, lifting a finger.
"Soul Locking Diagram!" The diagram detached itself from the majestic Shadow Mountain and arrived in an instant, pulling in the fleeing purple lightning and forcibly retaining Ann Ziqing.
"I promised your father I would keep you safe in the Land of Terror."
Razses, the Ghost King, ignored Ann Ziqing's protests and continued to laugh heartily, showing his teeth. "It has begun, haha, it truly has! The rise of the sixth Ghost King confirms my prediction! As the Yin Qi surges in this realm and a new Ghost King arises, we are bound to witness even more astonishing developments!"
Far from unsettling him, the birth of the Rahu Ghost King was the very outcome he had long anticipated.
Howls filled the air!
Within the Soul Locking Diagram, the formidable ghosts unleashed deafening roars, driven to frenzy by Razses's excitement.
...
"Rahu has ascended to Ghost King!"
In the depths of the Land of Terror, before the chilling expanse of Shadow Mountain, Qignas, the Black Staff Ghost King, felt the disturbance and was jolted.
Before Shadow Mountain stood an ice tombstone.
Inside the tombstone, interwoven with a chilling light, a phantom suddenly materialized. "There's no mistake! Beneath Shadow Mountain, where Rahu practices, a stream flows."
The speaker was none other than Thoaos, the Ghost King, one of the five great Ghost Kings, and the ice tombstone was his eternal resting place.
Qignas, with his entourage in tow, sought out Thoaos, who couldn't be bothered to engage. He allowed Qignas to rant and rave outside, refusing to emerge.
His followers understood his temperament well enough to know he wasn't intimidated by Black Staff.
It was common knowledge that Thoaos considered a fight with Black Staff to be pointless, as it would yield no victor, which is why he lacked the interest to even come out and speak.
Yet now, Thoaos had emerged from within the ice tombstone, prompted by the disturbances caused by Rahu.
"Only the souls that rise to become Ghost Kings can gain the favor of the Root of the Lunar Meridian, which bestows a stream of Yin Qi, as concentrated as water," Qignas stated gravely, his massive form hovering like a small mountain. "The emergence of the sixth Ghost King suggests that the situation in the outside world must be incredibly tumultuous."
"Isn't this precisely the opportunity we've been waiting for all these years?" Thoaos cackled from within the tombstone.
"Indeed, who could argue otherwise?" Qignas replied with a wide smile.
...
Elsewhere.
Jiang Xingwen floated out from a Shadow Mountain, gazing at the green jade belt known as the River of Souls wrapped around her slender waist. She murmured, "Rahu has advanced ahead of time!"
"What? Rahu the Spectre has become a Ghost King?"
"Has Lord Rahu ascended to be the sixth Ghost King?"
"Why so soon?"
Her loyal subordinates, whose wisdom had been enhanced by the River of Souls, listened to her whispers and were instantly alarmed.
"Come with me to the domain of Ghost King Rahu!"
With a mere thought, Jiang Xingwen summoned both the ghosts within the River of Souls and those within Shadow Mountain.
In just a moment, nearly five thousand ghosts and Spectre capable of manifesting swarmed around her.
"Master, with Rahu becoming the Ghost King, we must proceed with caution!"
"Master, even with the River of Souls at your command, challenging a Ghost King is no small feat! Please reconsider!"
"Master, please, stay calm!"
Several Celestial Shade-level ghosts implored Jiang Xingwen as she rallied her troops to venture into the territory of the Rahu Ghost King, fearing she might encounter trouble.
"My mind is set!"
With those words, Jiang Xingwen charged ahead, leading the way to Rahu's domain.
Her followers, sighing in resignation, had no choice but to keep pace.
The Ghost King!
An entity of unmatched strength in the Land of Terror, the Ghost King was nearly invincible in this realm brimming with Yin Qi!
Except for other Ghost Kings, no soul or ghost stood a chance against one.
Before Rahu ascended to Ghost King status, they believed Jiang Xingwen, guardian of the River of Souls, would soon be ready to challenge him.
But now, with Rahu at the peak of Ghost King power, what could Jiang Xingwen possibly do?
Was she seeking her own demise?
Even her loyal subordinates couldn't comprehend her actions and held little hope for her journey.
...
Where the mountain meets the river, that is where the Ghost King reigns.
The sound of a gentle stream could be heard at the base of the iridescent Shadow Mountain, and within the depths of White Bone's green eyes, a look of alarm was unmistakable.
Standing before the Rahu Ghost King, White Bone grew increasingly tense.
"White Bone, return to your own territory. You are no match for me."
Surprisingly, after showcasing the Ghost King's unique river, the newly ascended Rahu Ghost King was not confrontational. She refrained from attacking and instead spoke with a pleasant demeanor, "You are quite intelligent, and I'm aware of your path to advancement. Your quest for progression between life and death has not escaped my notice."
"But you're too late."
With that, Rahu Ghost King gestured with a wave of her sleeve, signaling White Bone to depart quickly.
Yu Yuan, within the Crucible of Evil, was dumbfounded, struggling to grasp the situation.
He could never have predicted that this top-ranked Spectre would silently rise to Ghost King status and remain silent about his success.
It wasn't until White Bone approached that he demonstrated his power, advising White Bone to leave without fuss.
"I..."
White Bone began to speak, his eyes' green glow intensifying.
Simultaneously, his gleaming white skeletal form erupted with a fierce white flame, as the divine power of purification emanated from his entire being.
"White Bone, don't be so obstinate," Rahu, the Ghost King, said with a chill in her voice. "Challenging a Ghost King in the form of a Spectre is unwise. You should be aware that the stream beneath Shadow Mountain provides me with an unending source of power. In my domain, before my mountains and rivers, to challenge me, Rahu, is to court death. Do you understand?"
"All I know is that if I back down today, I'll never surpass you in my lifetime," White Bone's tone grew resolute, mirroring the determination in his gaze. "If I turn and leave now, my journey to becoming a Ghost King ends here. If I lack the courage to fight, if I fear the hierarchy between Ghost Kings and Spectres, then I don't deserve to be the next Ghost King!"
"Heh, heh," Rahu, the Ghost King, smirked, her lips curling into a wry smile. "There's a vast gulf between a Ghost King and a Spectre, White Bone. You know this, yet you persist in your stubborn defiance."
"So be it. I shall grant your wish." She flung the flower basket she held.
The empty basket soared through the air and in an instant, it unfolded into a wondrous little world teeming with ghosts that swiftly engulfed White Bone.
"Azure Spirit, Jade Spring Spectre, Ixldir, and the Pale Reaper!" Yu Yuan, standing within the cauldron, exclaimed in astonishment, his face a picture of disbelief.
As the flower basket covered White Bone, a swarm of ghosts emerged, seizing his arms, neck, encircling his white jade torso, and pulling at his legs, propelling him forward...
Among those soul ghosts were the Azure Spirit, Jade Spring Spectre, Ixldir, and even the Pale Reaper, who had broken free from this realm.
The Pale Reaper was ranked among the top two Spectres!
More astonishing still was the revelation that there wasn't just one Pale Reaper emerging from the basket—there were three!
Looking more closely at the other Spectres, it became apparent that they, too, were not singular in number.
There were two Ixldirs, and four of the deceased Cuion had materialized within the basket!
The most numerous, an unnamed Spectre, had seven identical beings!
"The Pale Reaper has challenged Rahu three times, suffering defeat each time, yet each failure was followed by a significant increase in strength..."
A thought streaked through Yu Yuan's mind like lightning. He paused, a realization dawning on him, "Could it be that every Spectre who challenges Rahu and is defeated has a phantom of their soul secretly imprinted by her? Unwittingly, the defeated lose a portion of their power, which Rahu then captures within her flower basket?"
"Once someone is trapped in the flower basket, they'll never be able to defeat her and will always be suppressed, right?"
"The Pale Reaper has been defeated in three battles. He realized that his three phantoms were consumed by the flower basket, and he knew he had lost any hope of becoming the Ghost King. That's why he had no choice but to leave the Land of Terror and seek opportunities in the outside world, didn't he?"
Yu Yuan felt like he had uncovered the truth!
No wonder the advanced Rahu Ghost King welcomed challenges from any Spectre.
Even after victory, she would spare the loser's life, allowing them to return for more challenges.
But the losers, even after years or decades of increased combat power, would still face defeat.
With each battle, she would siphon off a piece of the phantom from her fallen opponent. Moreover, once a phantom was captured by the flower basket, that Spectre would never stand a chance of winning again.
Once she absorbed a phantom, she could quickly discern the intricacies of the opponent's Spirit Magic and use her mystique to pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses.
She not only knew herself and her enemy but could also rapidly enhance her power. Why wouldn't she?
Inside the flower basket, White Bone suddenly let out a piercing howl, "Yu Yuan! Help me shatter Shadow Mountain!"
"Kid, if you just stand by and watch, I won't trouble you out of respect for Boulderdawn," the Ghost King Rahu huffed, "But if you dare to destroy my Shadow Mountain, don't blame me for what happens next!"
