Chương 1039: Chapter 39: Ghostly Entities

Reyn's brow furrowed into a tight knot of suspicion. Without a moment's hesitation, he reached into his storage bag and retrieved a low-grade Fireball Talisman. Although he had already expended over two hundred of these during his previous skirmishes, his remaining stockpile was still vast enough to wage a small war.

"Ignite!" he commanded, channeling a precise sliver of spiritual energy into the parchment. The talisman instantly glowed a violent crimson before disintegrating into fine grey ash. In its place, a sphere of roaring flame the size of a man's fist condensed out of thin air, crackling with volatile heat.

"Go!" Reyn pointed toward the courtyard wall. Even as the fireball streaked toward its target, his innate caution took over. He instantly conjured a shimmering spiritual energy shield before him and gripped a thick stack of backup talismans in his other hand, prepared for any sudden retaliation. Boom! The fireball struck the wall without resistance, leaving behind a jagged patch of scorched black stone.

"It seems this courtyard might be that woman's residence. But who exactly is she?" Reyn's mind raced.

"If Wu Shengli and Chu Dian refer to her as 'Master,' could she be the true owner of this ancient grotto-heaven?" If that were the case, his situation was far more precarious than he had initially calculated.

"I must find an exit as quickly as possible. Though she emanates no overt spiritual pressure, she feels unfathomable—like a bottomless abyss. My Divine Sense, which is already comparable to a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, was suppressed in an instant. If not for the Golden Seal in my possession, I would be nothing more than meat on her chopping block. She must possess power no less than that of a Golden Core expert!" Reyn's expression darkened.

He swept his Divine Sense across the courtyard one last time before stepping decisively toward the inner chambers.

"Strike!" Deep within another section of the ruins, the old woman's face was a mask of grim determination. Facing dozens of malignant ghosts swarming toward her like a tide of shadows, a flicker of murderous intent flashed in her eyes.

"Die, all of you!" In that heartbeat, her hands—withered and gnarled like the bark of an ancient, lightning-struck tree—blurred into motion. Her fingers danced like butterflies, weaving a series of profound and esoteric mudras in rapid succession. A heavy, suffocating spiritual pressure began to coalesce around her, growing more refined and stable with every gesture as a titanic aura slowly ascended.

Ghostly entities at the 'Malignant' rank possessed strength nearly equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Though their intelligence was primal and low, they could clearly sense the descent of a lethal crisis.

"Hiss!" The ghosts threw their heads back and let out a collective, piercing shriek. The sound was pitched so low it fell beneath the threshold of human hearing, yet the old woman's expression turned grave.

"Daoist Liu, lend me your strength!" she shouted urgently.

"Once I complete this technique, I can wipe these wretched things from existence!" This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Understood!" The chubby Daoist's breathing was ragged, his face flushed with an unnatural, sickly red hue. He knew this was no time for hesitation. Reaching into his storage bag, he produced a small, pitch-black gourd. It was barely an inch tall, topped with a tiny sliver of emerald-green stem. This was a 'Natural Treasure'—an item birthed directly from the heavens and earth rather than forged by human hands. Such items possessed immense power but were limited to a single use.

With a pang of reluctance, the chubby Daoist tossed it into the air. He began chanting a rapid incantation before pointing a finger and shouting, "Expand!" A bolt of spiritual energy surged into the inch-long gourd. Upon absorbing the energy, the artifact swelled violently, growing until it reached half a zhang in height. Pop! With a crisp snap, the emerald stem detached from the gourd's mouth. Thick, billowing clouds of black mist poured out, rapidly enveloping the two cultivators in a protective shroud.

"A Natural Treasure... the Foundation-Stabilizing Spirit-Restoring Gourd!" The old woman's eyes widened in surprise before turning into a look of joy.

"I never expected you to possess such a rarity. With this, even if we encounter a Ghost King further in, we might actually stand a chance of breaking through."

"Focus on your technique!" the chubby Daoist urged, his face stern.

"The gourd's protection against Divine Sense attacks is finite. We must avoid wasting its energy on these low-level wraiths." He stared through the swarm of ghosts, his eyes filled with lingering worry about what lay deeper in the shadows. From the lowliest vengeful spirits to these Foundation-level malignant ghosts, the danger was escalating. What would come next? A Ghost King comparable to the Golden Core stage? Or a Ghost Emperor equivalent to a Nascent Soul monster?

If it were the former, they might survive with the gourd's help. If it were the latter, their only hope was to flee as fast as their legs could carry them. The old woman's hands moved even faster. As the final mudra clicked into place, threads of pure, frigid Yin-qi began to spiral around her.

"Go!" As the technique was unleashed, the spiritual energy within her body surged out like a collapsing dam. Her face instantly turned deathly pale. Whatever cultivation art she practiced, it was chillingly sinister; as she struck, ghostly winds howled and the air turned freezing, making her appear like a Ghost King in human skin. With a sharp cry, a massive, pitch-black ghostly claw—several meters wide—manifested in the air and lunged forward.

Any ghost caught in its path was instantly shattered, their forms dissolving into pure Yin-qi that only served to make the claw darker and more menacing. This was a high-level supernatural ability that required even a Golden Core cultivator significant time to prepare. In a single sweep, the dozens of malignant ghosts were annihilated. The claw did not stop, continuing its thunderous advance into the depths of the cavern.

"The Path of Death's puppets have already been breached by that boy, and my other Demonic Sentinel is drawing near. The Path of Life's ghostly trial is also halfway cleared by those two Golden Core humans. Let me give them a little push to help them shatter the Three-Path Triple-Yin Immortal-Exterminating Array for me. But first, I must create a few distractions to keep that 'puppet' from interfering with my grand design."

Deep underground, within a cavernous, sprawling hall, the mysterious woman sat cross-legged upon a jade platter. The jade was etched with bizarre, blood-red patterns that pulsed and writhed like living veins.

"Hmph. You may have used that treacherous scheme to seal me here all those years ago, but you never imagined I would find a way to unravel it. Even though my physical body is pinned at the core of this seal, my Divine Sense has already achieved liberation. Now, the very arrays meant to imprison me shall become the tools of my escape." A cold, predatory smile touched her lips as she slowly closed her eyes. Suddenly, a look of intense agony crossed her features.

A translucent, ethereal figure began to peel away from her body, gradually solidifying until it was an exact, lifelike replica of the woman sitting on the jade platter.

"Hehe... the show is about to begin." With a seductive, enchanting giggle, the figure flickered and vanished into the darkness.