Chapter 51: First Update Today

It really wasn't an illusion!

This thought flashed through Wu Ming's mind. Without even turning back, he thrust his long spear backward!

Too fast to react, halfway through, the spear encountered a wall of bronze and iron, halting abruptly.

A sense of doom gripped him. Just as he tried to twist around and retreat, a force like a collapsing mountain and overwhelming ocean struck him, irresistible, and hurled him directly backward.

Wu Ming slammed heavily onto the ground. But things were far from over. He felt as if the gates of hell had swung wide open all around him, with ten thousand ghosts lunging from their cages. In an instant, a freezing, netherworld aura surged like a rising sea, filling the sky, the earth, and ambushing him from all ten directions!

Where on earth did this ancient monster come from? Such astonishing ghostly pressure—could it be...

A thought bloomed in his mind, turning his face pale with terror!

"Why such a wretched expression? Though your skin is quite nice, I'll borrow it for a while."

The opponent chuckled softly, a voice sounding neither male nor female, and arrived before him in a flash.

"Wait! Senior! Senior! I have words to speak!"

Taking advantage of the moment to talk, Wu Ming flew backward dozens of paces. Though his tone softened, his hands still gripped his long spear tightly, facing the intruder as if confronting a formidable enemy.

True to his thought, the opponent was wearing the skin of that Daoist priest. Yet the skin was covered in fracture lines like parched earth, with black Qi constantly spilling from the fissures, resembling a fully inflated bag on the verge of bursting.

"If I'm not mistaken, Senior must be that Ghost King who went missing from the Bone-Reflecting Realm ages ago?!"

"You are rather clever. Why didn't you guess I was that Yinglong?" The opponent asked with amusement, actually stopping in his tracks.

"Because the Yinglong's soul was shattered long ago. Even if fragments remained, it would be difficult to survive and turn the tables after all these years. On the other hand, Senior, who once terrorized the Bone-Reflecting Realm before vanishing suddenly with your life and death unknown amid endless rumors—it all makes sense now. You were trapped within the Four-Response Bells, and with one of the bells broken, you were unable to leave."

Wu Ming panted as he spoke.

No one knew what kind of injuries the opponent's previous blow had inflicted upon him. He swallowed the shattered blood and flesh, terrified that showing the slightest weakness would give him away.

Xie Chang'an was right; an ancient monster was indeed imprisoned within these Four-Response Bells. This monster must have coveted the Yinglong's inner core back then and forced its way in, only to find itself unable to leave. Trapped for so many years, it had likely completely absorbed the Yinglong's inner core; otherwise, that surging, boundless ghostly aura could not be explained.

This entity was practically invincible inside the Four-Response Bells. Had Xie Chang'an not set up this formation, he might never have revealed himself, simply waiting until Wu Ming and the others exhausted their spiritual power to feed upon them in the end.

Wu Ming's deepest regret now was not seeking out Xie Chang'an and the others the moment he entered. Together, they would have had the strength for a fight; now that he was isolated, the situation looked grim.

He had to find a way to stall the opponent first.

Though anxious, he was no fool. Maintaining his composure with great effort, he steered the conversation toward topics that would interest the entity.

"Senior probably doesn't know. Since your departure, the Bone-Reflecting Realm has produced not a single rising talent, let alone anyone capable of recapturing your former glory. There is someone called Xie Chang'an, however, who dares to impersonate the Ghost King, claiming to be you returned from transcending tribulation. This person is currently inside Re-occurrence City, and I can lead Senior to her."

"Is that so? But I think you're quite nice. A demon cultivator?"

The Daoist smiled, and that nearly shattered visage was completely torn in two by the grin, the split in the middle resembling a canyon cleaved through a mountain.

Even accustomed as he was to various demons and monsters, Wu Ming found the sight chilling to the bone.

"My cultivation is not worth mentioning, far inferior to that Xie Chang'an."

Outwardly calm, he kept his grip steady, his long spear primed and ready.

"Not only is she impersonating Senior, but she also boasts shamelessly that she will unify the Bone-Reflecting Realm. She has a few petty thieves around her, along with a demon cultivator on the verge of the Demon Immortal Realm. Surely Senior is interested?"

"I am very interested, but—"

The Daoist tilted his head, a smile curving across his face in a way that threatened to stretch the corners of his mouth all the way to his ears.

"Why shouldn't I kill you first, and then go looking for them one by one?"

Before the words faded, he had already materialized right before Wu Ming.

The latter was well-prepared. His long spear thrust forward as his spiritual power transformed into a violent gale that rose from the ground, soaring up to the ninth tier!

Such a gale was powerful enough to instantly shatter the limbs and rupture the internal organs of ordinary cultivators. Even the Daoist's decayed skin could no longer hold together, instantly torn to shreds, leaving behind a human-shaped black shadow that strolled leisurely through falling leaves and parting blossoms right up to him.

Wu Ming's long spear was gently pinched by the opponent, unable to advance even a fraction of an inch. His spiritual power was completely swallowed and suppressed by the ghostly aura. Watching the spear sink little by little into the black shadow, he realized it wasn't because he was thrusting it forward, but because the entity was grabbing it and pulling him closer.

"This skin of yours wasn't snatched from someone else; it was manifested from your original form, which shows a deep foundation in cultivation. I love it dearly; don't throw a tantrum and damage yourself. I dislike flaws in things I've acquired."

Gentle as a lover's murmuring whisper, yet the words sent chills creeping down the spine.

Laughing out of extreme anger, Wu Ming poured his lifelong spiritual power into the long spear. Taking advantage of the moment the entity was slightly repelled, he abruptly seized the spear, flew backward, and formed hand seals as flames ignited around his entire body.

"You like this skin, do you? I'll destroy myself before I let you have it!"

Just as he prepared to manifest his true form for a desperate battle to the death, he noticed the black shadow suddenly expand, towering over him like a small mountain. The oppressive weight forced his entire body's spiritual power to be sucked away uncontrollably.

What kind of damned technique was this?!

He had known the Ghost King had absorbed the Yinglong's demonic core, but he had underestimated the terrifying synergy of the core and the Ghost King's own strength. Never before had he felt how utterly laughable his status as an overlord of the Bone-Reflecting Realm was in front of this ancient monster!

Wu Ming's figure suddenly froze.

His facial muscles twitched slightly, fear and disbelief locked together on his face.

He seemed to want to turn his head, but two arms embraced him from behind, holding him in an unyielding grip.

The black shadow pressed flush against his back, leaving no gap, squeezing bit by bit into his body.

Blood spilled from the corners of Wu Ming's mouth as his gaze gradually unfocused and drifted.

The black shadow let out a sigh of satisfaction: "Thank you. It has been a very, very long time since I encountered a suitable vessel..."

When the Ghost King completely merged into the body, the original soul was thoroughly suppressed and gradually devoured. Before long, the residual consciousness would vanish entirely.

The gale subsided, and the ghostly aura withdrew completely. Wu Ming stirred slightly, stretched lazily, and revealed a sated smile.

"The feeling of being human is truly not bad. Next, whose turn is it?"

...

Zhe Er was on the verge of being driven mad by this fox.

She was intensely curious about Xie Chang'an. Knowing her own old wounds were hard to heal, she was bent on making Xie Chang'an conquer the Bone-Reflecting Realm so she could hitch a ride on a powerful benefactor. Consequently, she kept peppering Zhe Er with endless questions about Xie Chang'an's past.

Eventually, Zhe Er grew too annoyed to engage with her, leaving her to scan the surroundings alone to find the key to breaking the formation.

"Wait!" the fox suddenly called out from behind.

Zhe Er had become immune to all her nonsense, turning a deaf ear as he kept walking forward.

The fox leaped directly onto his back, clinging to him.

"I said wait! Something's wrong!"

Zhe Er halted.

Not because of what the fox said, but because he, too, had sensed something amiss.

"Didn't we just walk past this very street?"

Even the vendor ahead selling roasted chestnuts was still peeling his third chestnut.

The fox hadn't noticed any chestnuts; she had simply sensed a trace of ghostly aura.

It was faint, but her instincts regarding danger had always been sharp, or she wouldn't have survived in the Bone-Reflecting Realm for so long.

Actually, Xie Chang'an also possessed ghostly aura, and she had almost mistaken it for hers just moments ago, but upon second thought, something felt off.

Xie Chang'an's ghostly aura was crisp and chilling, like cold night mist or damp steps after rain. That wispy ghostly aura from before, though faint, was extremely bizarre and overbearing, as if probing them...

Lost in thought for a moment, the fox suddenly snapped to her senses and whipped her head around to look at Zhe Er!

Zhe Er was indeed gone.

Though she had walked dozens of paces, the exact same spot next to her still occupied that chestnut vendor.

Had they encountered a ghost trap?

Yet this formation was a recreation of Re-occurrence City. How could Re-occurrence City harbor a ghost trap?

The very second she realized Zhe Er had vanished, every hair on the fox's body stood on end.

Without a second thought, she wheeled around and bolted back the way they came!

A soft chuckle rang in her ear.

She ignored it entirely, running so fast that her entire fox form was practically hovering above the ground.

Yet that laughter clung to her like maggots on bones, impossible to shake off, closely tailing her steps.

"Let me see, you are also a great demon—why haven't you taken human form?"

Treating her like a cat toying with a mouse, the entity watched with amused interest, letting her scurry around like a headless fly before deciding when to extend a claw and crush the prey once she tired herself out.

Amid her desperate flight, the fox still managed to catch the opponent's choice of words.

"Also" a great demon.

Also?

The fox ran even faster!

Whether this entity had encountered Wu Ming or the Ibis prior to her, both of them were stronger than her. If they couldn't stand against him, she stood even less of a chance.

The ancient monster that had manipulated the Four-Response Bells to trap them had finally been drawn out.

Yet she was isolated and weak now, facing certain death.

Cursing her misfortune, the fox screamed Xie Chang'an's name at the top of her lungs as she ran.

"Is that Xie Chang'an?"

The opponent murmured leisurely, the voice still right beside her ear.

"Your other companion mentioned that name as well."

A sudden chill pierced the fox's heart.

It wasn't a chill born of worry for Xie Chang'an, but rather because a hand had truly plunged into her furry belly and chest. As the wind blew past, it felt freezing.

Gripped by agonizing pain, the fox let out a shrill shriek, transformed into her human form, and whipped out a lash of light.

The hand withdrew in response, but it had already gouged out half of the fox's heart, dripping with blood and scattering gore across the ground.

He tossed the still-steaming half-heart directly into his mouth and swallowed it.

"A fox demon's heart is rather delicious."

Daring not to linger after landing her lash, nor daring to provoke the opponent with her usual sharp tongue, the fox traced a line of white light behind her with a backhand sweep, tore the light open, and hurled her body straight into it.

The Ghost King, wrapped in Wu Ming's skin, reached out to grab her, but was a fraction too late.

The fox possessed top-tier escape skills, vanishing behind the white light in the blink of an eye.

The Ghost King chuckled coldly, intending to tear the rift open and pursue her before the white light completely faded, when a fierce sword qi suddenly struck from behind. He was forced to side-step and evade, missing his window as the white light closed completely, allowing the fox to make a successful escape.

"You helped her, yet exposed yourself. Was it worth it?"

The Ghost King appraised his opponent, then slowly shook his head.

"Though you look somewhat better than this skin of mine, unfortunately you were too heavily injured prior, and your vessel hasn't healed yet. You're useless to me—only your cultivation might barely suffice."

Zhe Er stood coldly with his sword in hand, expressionless.

"You were trapped within the Four-Response Bells for all these years without escaping, which proves you're a piece of trash. Even if you go on a killing spree, it won't change the fact that you're nothing but trash."

The Ghost King raised an eyebrow: "Before you lot, the last demon cultivator I met kept calling me Senior. Didn't your sect elders teach you any manners?"

Zhe Er gazed at the face identical to Wu Ming's: "If he called you Senior, did it spare his life?"

The Ghost King shook his head: "No."

Zhe Er sneered: "All my sect elders are dead. Besides, as for who dies today—that remains to be seen."

The Ghost King sighed: "I hope your life is as stubborn as your tongue."