Ninety Fiends Besiege Fengdu

Luoyu stayed in bed.

Like an ostrich, he buried his head under the pillow and refused to get up no matter what.

Qinyue was in an excellent mood. Narrowing his eyes, he summed up his experience: so this was the pleasure everyone spoke of. No wonder.

Before, Qinyue had not been very interested in such things. Whenever he took matters into his own hands, he would wrestle with himself for half a day and still fail to finish, which left him irritable and, in his heart, a little resistant. But last night, Xiaoyu’s body had been exquisite beyond compare, thoroughly curing his problem of not being able to finish. Sound, sight, and touch alike had been delightfully intoxicating, especially Xiaoyu’s shy reactions, which were enough to bring pleasure to both body and soul and make him unable to let go.

Qinyue thought: since it is this good, I must try it more often in the future.

He turned to glance at the lump bulging beneath the blanket, amusement bright in his eyes. If he did not want to get up, perhaps they should do it again?

Luoyu felt too ashamed to face anyone. Last night Qinyue had tormented him all night, wringing him dry until not a drop remained. Stranger still, by the end he had actually become immersed in it, even wrapping his legs around the other man’s waist and refusing to let him leave. Had he really been that indecent? How could that be! Wasn’t the first time supposed to be terrifying? Could it be that, because of cultivation, his body not only had not been hurt, but had quickly grown accustomed to the pleasure and begun craving it…?

Luoyu was nearly in tears. At this rate, when would he ever have the face to stand upright again?

While he was still struggling inwardly, Qinyue leaned in again and began teasing the hollow of his neck. Luoyu burst into tears, threw off the pillow, and cried out in exasperation, “It had just quieted down, and now you’re at it again!”

Qinyue said solemnly, “Doing something proper is more interesting than watching you space out.”

At that, Luoyu, bare-bottomed, sprang straight out of bed in a hurry. His legs went weak as he landed and he nearly fell, but Qinyue caught him just in time. Luoyu hurriedly shouted, “No more, no more! We still have to find the Netherfire! That’s the real business!”

Qinyue was a little disappointed, but then thought that there would be many opportunities later and there was no need to rush. So he said, “Very well. After we go back, ask the vampire for those two books again. I imagine he has learned nearly everything by now.”

Luoyu burst into tears of protest. “How can you take back something you gave to someone else? Stop thinking nonsense! You—”

As he argued, he suddenly felt that something was not right. Something was… flowing out from there…

He looked down.

A strand of milky white, inexplicable liquid was dripping down his thigh.

“Damn it—!” Luoyu gritted his teeth and shot behind the screen in a blur, then plunged into the bathing tub with a splash.

Qinyue also noticed the condition of Luoyu’s body, and his eyes narrowed with satisfaction. Such a sense of accomplishment. Only, it was a pity that the bruises and marks on a cultivator’s body vanished too quickly. He had spent so much effort last night leaving his body covered in kisses, and they had all disappeared… Waiting idly like this was boring. Better to bathe with him.

Qinyue immediately followed after Luoyu and went around the screen as well. From inside came Luoyu’s furious shouting.

After quite a long time, the two of them finally finished washing, shoving and jostling the entire way, and went downstairs to eat.

Luoyu felt sour and irritable inside, and his body was weak all over. More than that, he kept feeling that place was slick and swollen, constantly reminding him of what had happened the night before.

Qinyue, on the other hand, was in high spirits. He was exceptionally gentle, finding Luoyu adorable no matter how he looked at him, so much so that he wanted nothing more than to pack him up and keep him inside his own body.

Luoyu was so unnerved by that gaze that he kept picking faults with the food and acting atrociously. Qinyue seemed not to notice at all and refused to argue with him. Luoyu felt just like someone punching into a pile of cotton; after a while he lost all energy to continue and could only lower his head, dejected, and eat obediently.

When the two of them had nearly finished, they suddenly heard a ghostly resident in the street shouting, “It’s terrible! The evil ghosts have surrounded the city!”

That cry was only the beginning. In an instant the whole street erupted with panicked voices, and alarm spread everywhere.

The atmosphere in the inn instantly turned tense. Many diners no longer cared to finish their food, hurriedly paid their bills, and ran outside to see what was happening.

Luoyu and Qinyue exchanged a look, stopped bickering, and followed the other customers out the door.

The street was in complete chaos. The shops on both sides began shutting their doors, and the vendors’ stalls were quickly packed away as people fled. Ghost soldiers from within the city appeared on the streets, dutifully trying to keep order. Hand in hand, the two of them rushed to the east gate. The side gate had already been sealed and passage was forbidden. Dense ranks of ghost troops filled the battlements, each holding all manner of magical implements, all of them staring solemnly into the distance beyond the city.

Just as the two were about to step forward, a ghost soldier barked at them, “Foreign enemies are attacking. The gate is sealed! You two, retreat at once! Do not cause trouble here!”

This soldier’s strength was low, and Luoyu and Qinyue had concealed their spiritual energy and cultivation, so he could not see through their identities at all. He only took them to be ordinary ghost citizens with unusual courage, come to look at the situation.

Luoyu was about to explain when someone shouted, “Show some respect!”

Looking up, he saw a tall male ghost hurrying down from the wall. He appeared to be an officer. The other soldiers quickly stepped aside, and the ghost officer came before them, clasping his fists. “I am Lin Zecheng, deputy commander of the East City Garrison in Fengdu. May I ask if the two of you are immortals from the upper realm?”

Qinyue used a celestial sight spell to sweep over him, and could tell he had roughly the strength of the late Foundation Establishment stage. He said coolly, “Indeed. My dao companion and I came to the underworld for a visit, and upon hearing that evil ghosts were besieging the city, we came to see what was happening.”

Seeing that he was neither warm nor cold in manner, Lin Zecheng was secretly delighted. From the wall, he had already seen that the two of them were extraordinary in bearing, with no trace of deathly qi on them, and had concluded that they must be cultivators from the upper realm. Only, because they seemed to have no visible cultivation, he had also felt suspicious. If they were cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage, he would certainly have seen through them; in this situation, it was quite possible that their cultivation was higher than his, which was why he could not discern their depths. Now, seeing their attitude, he felt even more certain that his guess was correct.

He said respectfully, “This humble one had no eyes and failed to recognize greatness. I beg the pardon of both upper immortals. If the two of you wish to inspect the situation, please follow me up the wall.”

Qinyue said, “Very well.”

Lin Zecheng gestured invitingly and quickly led them up to the battlements.

Once they reached the top of the wall, Luoyu looked out and saw the horizon packed with ghostly shadows. All of them had fangs and claws, green light burning in their eyes. They moved with thunderous speed, wrapped in black deathly wind, pressing toward Fengdu City like a mass of dark clouds. Looking more closely, Luoyu saw that the strength of these ferocious ghosts had in fact mostly reached the Gold Core stage!

Luoyu could not help but be horrified. If these things broke into the city, it would be over! The ordinary ghost citizens in the City of the Wrongfully Dead would probably escape none of it!

He turned to look at the ghost soldiers on the wall. Most of them were only at Foundation Establishment, and some were merely at the Qi Refinement stage.

Luoyu grew anxious and said, “These ferocious ghosts are very strong. They’ve all reached Gold Core, and the forces on the wall absolutely cannot hold them back. You need to hurry and ask your superiors for reinforcements!”

When Lin Zecheng heard this, he too became alarmed. His spiritual sense was insufficient, and he could not examine the strength of the distant ghosts; he had taken them to be ordinary ferocious ghosts in large numbers, troublesome enough to handle, which was why he had tried to draw in the two upper immortals and find help. But he had not expected them to be boss-level monsters. What was he to do now?

Lin Zecheng said helplessly, “The Northern Yin Great Emperor received urgent news from the south only days ago, saying that the Soaring Heaven Ten Thousand Laws Great Emperor had appeared at Mount Luofu and was causing trouble, so he led his elite troops to assist in subduing demons… Now the city is empty. How could we possibly spare any troops?”

Qinyue said, “The underworld has stood for thousands of years. Could there really be no rare treasure in the city that can be used to defend against enemies?”

Lin Zecheng shook his head. “How could there be any such treasure? In the past, the city was guarded by powerful upper immortals posted by Heaven itself. But now the immortals are nowhere to be found, and our ghost cultivators all advance with great difficulty, unable to manifest true powers… This deathly qi is not as gentle as the spiritual qi of the upper realm. If one does not proceed cautiously and gradually, one will fall into demonic deviation. The cultivation in this humble one’s body also took thirteen hundred years before it achieved even a little success. If one were an evil ghost, there would be no such concerns. His Majesty the Northern Yin Great Emperor is wise and farsighted; since Heaven began to decline, he had ghost soldiers and ghost generals train day and night, but even then they can hardly contend with wild ghosts… I beg the two upper immortals to lend us your aid. I, Lin Zecheng, and the people of Fengdu will be endlessly grateful!”

As he spoke, he lowered his body and actually knelt down. The soldiers nearby could not hear what was being said, but when they saw their commander kneel, they too fell to their knees in a rustling wave.

Luoyu and Qinyue looked at each other. Although a hundred or so Gold Core evil ghosts would be easy enough to deal with, there were simply too many of them; they could grind the two to death by sheer numbers. Yet if they ignored this matter, they would not be able to live with themselves.

Qinyue raised a hand and sent out a surge of power to help Lin Zecheng to his feet. “Our cultivation is not high either. We can only do our utmost in this matter. If the situation has already turned against us and our own lives are in danger, then we may have no choice but to withdraw.”

Lin Zecheng’s expression turned somewhat tragic. “I, Zecheng, swear to live and die with the people of the capital. Receiving the aid of the two upper immortals is already more than I could ever hope for. How could I dare to let the two of you risk your lives for this? I only ask that you do your best!”

Qinyue nodded. “In that case, let us strike first and gain the advantage. Xiaoyu, your body is not feeling very well… stay on the wall and keep watch. I can go down alone.”

At this, a blush rose to Luoyu’s face. He said stubbornly, “W-who says I’m not feeling well? This lord feels excellent!”

With that, flames flashed over his body, and his figure vanished at once. In his place appeared a golden phoenix. It unfurled its long feathers with graceful ease, sending a dazzling stream of light into the air. The sight blinded the ghosts below, who cried out in unison, “A phoenix!” “Oh my, an auspicious beast!” “We’ve seen a phoenix!”

Several ghost soldiers who had just risen to their feet could not help but kneel again. In the teachings they had received before death, the phoenix was a supremely noble divine bird. To see one brought blessings; one had to kneel.

The phoenix lifted its head and gave a clear cry to the heavens. The sound was beautiful and cleansing, like music from beyond the mortal world. Hearing it, the ghost citizens in the City of the Wrongfully Dead also could not help but pause in their panic and look up.

They saw a blaze of dazzling light flare atop the city wall. Then a tiny phoenix, wrapped in flames, soared into the sky, spun once in the air, and cried out again. Flames erupted from its body with a thunderous burst, and the little phoenix instantly grew several zhang long. Its twin wings spread with a whoosh like mountains of gold pressing down, while its long tail feathers swept behind it like fire burning through drifting clouds. Once it had completed its transformation, it turned and shot straight toward the city outside.

“A phoenix!” someone cried in delight, and then all the ghosts erupted in joy. With a sacred bird here, what was there to fear from an evil ghost siege? They had heard that phoenixes possessed vast powers and could drive away evil and destroy demons, swallowing an evil ghost in a single gulp as easily as a chicken pecking at millet. The City of the Wrongfully Dead instantly burst into celebration, sweeping away the terror from before, and the message spreading through the city quickly changed from “evil ghosts have surrounded the city” to “an auspicious bird has appeared.”

As for just how much divine power this blindly worshiped auspicious bird truly had, that is another matter. In any case, the situation inside the City of the Wrongfully Dead had, for the moment, been stabilized.

With that, the siege of Fengdu by the evil ghosts came to an end for this chapter.