Chapter Sixty-Five: Battling the Spirits

The troop of golden-crowned spirit monkeys, seeing the power of the blue flames, dared not attack recklessly. They let only the Monkey King stand at the front, brandishing his ebony staff to deflect the myriad flames. The Golden-Crowned Monkey King showed no fear. He barked orders in monkey tongue to the four spirit monkeys behind him, seemingly instructing them to retreat for now. Receiving their orders, the four monkeys quickly withdrew deep into the woods.

Now unencumbered, the Monkey King leaped high into the air with astonishing agility, dodging each of the blue flames while swinging his staff overhead, aiming a blow at the nearest cultivator’s crown. The seven cultivators turned pale, but did not panic. Instead, they changed their hand seals and pointed anew at the braziers.

At their command, the eight braziers ceased their attacks on the Monkey King and instead radiated a pale blue light. The eight screens of light joined seamlessly into one, forming a dome like an inverted blue bowl, enveloping the red-faced ghost and the seven cultivators within.

With a thunderous crash, the Monkey King’s staff struck the blue barrier, shaking the entire dome as though it were a sheet of thin paper about to shatter. Yet in the next instant, where the staff landed, a blazing blue gate appeared on the barrier, bearing a hideous ghostly face.

The ghost face cackled wickedly as soon as it emerged, biting down on the staff. Black, corrosive liquid oozed from its mouth, sizzling as it landed on the staff. The Monkey King’s expression showed surprise, and he tried to wrench the staff free. But the ghost head clung tenaciously to the staff, and blue flames climbed hungrily along the wood toward the Monkey King.

Fury twisted the Monkey King’s features. With a roar, he yanked the staff back. This time, the ghost head failed to maintain its grip, returning the staff to the Monkey King as the fiery gate vanished in a flash of blue, as if it had never existed.

The Monkey King retreated a few steps, then a dazzling golden light burst from his brow, shining onto the staff and instantly dispersing the blue flames. The entire staff was bathed in gold.

“Metal Qi of the Five Elements!” Liang Yan thought in awe. “This golden-crowned spirit monkey is truly gifted, able to command the Metal Qi innately. Of the five elements, Metal is the most offensive, its destructive power unmatched. This 'Ghost Gate Grand Array' seems a defensive formation. I wonder, will the spear or the shield prevail?”

As he marveled inwardly, the Monkey King’s staff transformed, its ebony hue turning to pure gold. He pounded his chest and roared, then swung the staff again at the barrier, this time choosing a different spot. There, blue light flashed, and the fiery gate with its grinning ghost face appeared once more.

But as the face bit down, it let out a shriek—the golden light from the staff pierced through its mouth, creating several holes at the corners. The ghost face hurriedly spat the staff out. The Monkey King grinned, whirled the staff overhead, and struck the face again. This time, the ghost face dared not bite; it could only meet the blow head-on.

With a resounding crash, the staff landed squarely on the ghost face’s forehead. Its aura plummeted, and its eyes dulled with exhaustion. Seizing the advantage, the Monkey King rained blows upon it, reducing the ghost face to a desolate, defeated state, all spirit battered away.

Seeing this, the red-faced ghost grew anxious. Biting his tongue, he spat a mouthful of blood onto the ghostly claw before him. Black smoke erupted, and the claw surged forward, finally bridging the last gap to reach the red-faced ghost. The claw extended a slender forefinger, its nail stabbing into the ghost’s crown. He shut his eyes in bliss, raising his palms skyward.

Behind the eight braziers, eight groups of human sacrifices suddenly floated into the air, walking unflinchingly toward the braziers as if treading solid ground.

Another thunderous crash—this time, the Monkey King smashed the ghost face to pulp, shattering the Ghost Gate Array. The blue barrier collapsed, and the remaining six cultivators, suffering a deadly backlash, spat blood and collapsed in agony.

In that moment, a man's voice rose from among the airborne sacrifices: “Now!”

Two figures darted from the crowd—a man and a woman: Liang Yan and Li Xiran.

“Kick over the sacred lamps!” Liang Yan shouted.

Oddly enough, though the two had exchanged no signal beforehand, they moved in perfect unison, each dashing toward a brazier. With two resounding crashes, they simultaneously kicked over two braziers.

“You little wretches, how dare you!” The red-faced ghost, who had been feigning sleep, snapped his eyes open and shouted, but Liang Yan and Li Xiran paid him no heed, each toppling another brazier. Infuriated, the red-faced ghost roared, “Cease at once! If you dare interfere with the Corpse Ghost Sect, you’ll be skinned and have your souls tormented by the triple ninefold poison! Stop now, or you’ll beg for death and find none!”

His threats were useless; the pair did not falter. With several more crashes, the last four braziers were toppled.

With a miserable shriek, the red-faced ghost’s ghostly claw withdrew instantly from his crown, retreating in a flash into the archway, which then vanished in a swirl of black mist.

“No!” The red-faced ghost spat a great mouthful of blood and roared, “You brats! I’ll skin you alive and forge your souls into ghost slaves!”

His words were drowned out by a series of cracking sounds. The red-faced ghost’s body instantly swelled to twice its size, his skin turning fiery red as sinister ghostly energy spiraled around him. With a stamp, he shot toward Liang Yan and Li Xiran at an unbelievable speed.

Though Liang Yan did not know what ghostly secret art this was, he could sense its terrible power. He grabbed Li Xiran and swiftly retreated.

But before the red-faced ghost could reach them, another figure intercepted him: the Golden-Crowned Monkey King. The Monkey King swung his staff, meeting the ghost’s fists with a deafening impact, sending both combatants tumbling backward.

Landing between the red-faced ghost and the two humans, the Monkey King planted his staff in the ground, baring his fangs at the ghost in a menacing grin. Though only a low-tier spirit beast, the Monkey King was now highly intelligent. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and in this moment, alliances were clear. Seeing the red-faced ghost attack Liang Yan and Li Xiran, the Monkey King chose his side without hesitation.

The red-faced ghost, now facing a united front of three, narrowed his eyes. With his cultivation at the late eighth stage of Qi Refinement and his mastery of ghost arts, he should have easily suppressed the newly advanced Monkey King. His use of forbidden arts to reach the ninth stage was only to ensure the Monkey King would not escape.

But now, interrupted at the critical moment by Liang Yan and Li Xiran, not only did he fail to reach the ninth stage, he suffered a backlash, his power diminished. Facing the Monkey King again, his odds were only even.

Frustrated, he glanced at the Corpse Ghost Sect disciples collapsed on the ground, then gritted his teeth and snarled, “Useless fools—if you can’t serve my cause, at least serve as my nourishment. Consider it a final purpose for your worthless lives!”

The stricken disciples looked up in terror, bodies trembling as they tried to crawl away.

“Do you think you can escape?” The red-faced ghost sneered, retrieving a blue orb from his pouch and crushing it in his hand.

At once, the disciples’ faces contorted in agony as their bodies convulsed uncontrollably. Wisps of visible life force floated from their crowns, streaming into the red-faced ghost’s mouth as he inhaled deeply.

Patting his belly with satisfaction, his aura surged back to its peak, once more at the late eighth stage, a hair’s breadth from the ninth.

So it was: the Corpse Ghost Sect’s low-level disciples were raised as fodder from the outset, each branded with the “Evil Ghost Heart-Devouring Art.” A fragment of their souls was sealed into their senior’s spiritual artifact, allowing high-level cultivators to drain their life force at will, even if it meant the utter annihilation of their juniors’ souls.

Reinvigorated, the red-faced ghost laughed wildly. “Fools! You dare ruin the Corpse Ghost Sect’s grand design? Leave your lives behind!”