Chapter 269
Chapter 269
Soul worms crawled over every part of the skeletal general, and his Baleful Qi grew ever denser.
He held his long mother-and-son saber down at his side, its edge scraping the ground and gouging a long furrow, a fearsome sight.
Yan Zhengchu said in shock, “He’s using the strength of the Yin Souls to increase his own soul power. We’ll have to be careful fighting him.”
He had barely finished when the skeletal general gave a long roar that shook the entire burial chamber.
Then even the wronged souls floating in the air were all drawn toward him.
Lady Du’s soul struggled among them.
Risking being drawn in as well, Wuyou appeared and caught her, shouting, “Mogu!”
Xia Ximo looked unmoved, yet still took out the Soul-Ferrying Lantern and stepped forward. Wuyou and Lady Du’s soul slipped safely inside after their fright.
Having absorbed enough soul power, the skeletal general had become a formidable Vengeful Ghost.
Yan Zhengchu rummaged through every ritual implement he carried, finally discovering that only his Jade Sword would be of any use at all.
He told Ren Fengjue, “Young Marquis, you and Vice Minister Yu take care of yourselves!”
Then he raised the Jade Sword and stepped forward, righteous and resolute.
Before he could attack, however, the skeletal general’s great saber came cleaving straight toward him.
Alarmed, Yan Zhengchu hastily retreated. The next instant, a tremendous impact shook him off his feet, and he fell sitting onto the ground.
Before him, a horrifying crack had opened in the floor.
Had he retreated even a moment later, he thought, he would probably be reporting to the Underworld Administration.
Gritting his teeth, Daoist Yan stood again. He had just taken a talisman in hand when Xia Ximo pulled him behind her.
“You can’t hurt him. Just watch over the others.”
“…”
Though those words did little for his dignity, he could hardly argue.
Fighting this Vengeful Ghost, who possessed both martial skill and soul power, would gain him nothing.
Better to know when to yield!
“Then be careful, Miss Xia.”
Yan Zhengchu stepped back, drawing Ren Fengjue and Yu Lang a few paces farther away as well.
Yu Lang asked anxiously, “Can Miss Xia really handle him?”
Ren Fengjue said nothing, but he too was preparing for what he might need to do…
Xia Ximo stood before the skeletal general. In appearance alone, the disparity between them was enormous.
One was massive, the other slender.
One held a long saber, the other nothing at all.
Even so, the skeletal general no longer dared underestimate Xia Ximo.
The Faceless Ghosts might not have been especially powerful Vengeful Ghosts, but they were exceptionally cunning and adept at exploiting human weakness.
Otherwise, they could never have deceived Princess Consort Wu and secretly killed so many people as sacrifices for the Rebirth Art.
Yet this woman had killed the Faceless Ghosts without suffering a scratch.
Did she have no weakness at all?
The skeletal general opened with a killing move.
He raised his long saber and struck at Xia Ximo three times in succession.
Stone shattered throughout the burial chamber, and dust flew.
The noise left everyone’s ears ringing.
The skeletal general’s saber technique was already fierce. Now, backed by the soul power of the ghosts, its force had grown immensely.
Yet Xia Ximo merely watched him swing and dodged each strike lightly. She even remembered to mock him. “Your saber is so slow and heavy.”
Yu Lang could not help drawing a sharp breath, while Ren Fengjue smiled despite himself.
The skeletal general was furious, and the centipede atop his head screeched along with him.
In life, his saber had taken the heads of many enemy commanders on the battlefield.
Everyone who witnessed it had praised him: the General Who Guards the North was mighty and invincible! The General Who Guards the North was without equal!
No one had ever dared utter a word against him!
Yet this person before him actually dared mock him?
The skeletal general grew angrier. Black vapor churned around him without cease, darkening the entire chamber as though storm clouds had gathered before a downpour.
Then his long saber swept toward Xia Ximo, wrapped in black vapor.
The strike covered a vast area and carried overwhelming force. There was plainly no time to dodge.
But judging by Xia Ximo’s expression, she had no intention of dodging anyway.
As the saber fell, the black vapor engulfed her like ink that refused to disperse.
The onlookers were startled.
The skeletal general was pleased with himself as well.
Though he did not know this woman’s true origins, her body was mortal after all.
An ordinary mortal struck by even a trace of ghostly energy might fall seriously ill.
Could she possibly remain entirely unaffected?
Yet his satisfaction was short-lived. Within the black vapor, a red figure slowly emerged.
The skeletal general recoiled. “You?”
Only then did he realize that this person’s body housed a soul that was not its own.
That soul carried the aura of the Netherworld, and all the ghosts who saw it were afraid.
The black vapor soon dispersed, taking his bluster with it.
In the dark chamber, the red figure was not merely striking but almost dazzling.
The skeletal general was aghast, realizing he had never been a match for her from the start.
But he had no way to retreat now. He lifted his long saber again, as though intent on using every skill he possessed to resist her.
In her soul form, however, Mogu could dodge even more easily.
She moved as lightly as the wind, making his saber look truly heavy and slow.
The skeletal general grew more frantic. His once rigorous technique began to reveal flaw after flaw.
Mogu wanted to see precisely this: his desperation and helplessness.
“You’ve made so many moves. Now it’s my turn.”
Her lips curved in a cold smile. Her slender, beautiful hands moved only slightly, and the skeletal general felt his entire body restrained.
At that, the centipede on his head began shrieking.
Like a horn on the battlefield, its cry rallied the insects clinging to him. One after another, they attacked Mogu.
Seeing this, Yan Zhengchu knew it was time for him to act.
He raised the Jade Sword, bit his finger, and smeared blood on its hilt. Then he closed his eyes and recited an incantation. The sword burst with light.
“Miss Xia, deal with those soul worms. Leave the biggest one to me!”
As he spoke, the Jade Sword shot straight toward the centipede atop the skeletal general’s head.
Powerful though it was, the centipede could not withstand Daoist Yan’s unique finishing move. Its soul was annihilated on the spot.
The skeletal general too gave a cry of agony. His bones began falling apart and shattering until they became ash.
Meanwhile, Mogu’s soul form stood before Xia Ximo’s body, using her soul power to keep the soul worms away.
Just as murderous intent rose within her, two Soul Tokens descended from above.
“Miss Mogu, show mercy!”
Then Black Impermanence and White Impermanence, soul envoys of the Underworld Administration, appeared together, followed by a group of underworld soldiers carrying soul chains.
It seemed they had once again timed their arrival to handle the aftermath.
Mogu snorted. Her soul instantly returned to its place. Only then did she fold her arms and turn a cold gaze on the two envoys.