Chapter 153: Ghost in the City

The chilling wind howled and ghostly auras loomed ominously. The once prosperous and thriving Capital of Luo had now become a dead city. Along the miles-long street, desolation reigned amidst wind and rain. In the dim gloom, only the protective sword-light of Zhou Qian emitted a faint, clear radiance that mirrored the moonlight and resonated with the human heart.

The vulture-like, eerie laughter sounded once more—"Cackle, cackle, cackle, hahaha"—emanating simultaneously from above, below, left, and right. Within a short moment, it shifted into mournful wailing reminiscent of someone mourning their parents. These resentful and bitter cries were piercing enough to afflict the heart and corrode the lungs. An ordinary person hearing them would suffer from agitation, dizziness, and bewilderment, and even minor sword immortals, if caught unaware, would find them hard to resist. This was the innate soul-capturing eerie sound of spirits and monsters. However, Zhou Qian’s heart had long since turned as cold as ice. He merely focused his concentration in defense, a blue flash in his eyes reflecting the surroundings. He saw roiling yin-qi and pervasive demonic auras, clearly the handiwork of ghosts. Bringing his hands together, he rapidly formed finger seals and chanted three Daoist seals in a low voice. His sword-light suddenly surged, expanding to cover a radius of three zhang. As his cultivation grew deeper, he had already comprehended the principle of expansion and contraction in sword-light, and intended to use this to force the hidden ghosts out into the open.

The white, freezing blade-light swept across the heavy yin-qi, feeling as piercing as needles against the skin and as scalding as boiling oil upon the flesh. Suddenly, a strange shriek echoed from the darkness, and the demonic aura retreated like a tide. Only then did the rustling sound on the ground reach Zhou Qian's ears. Sweeping his gaze across the floor, he saw five or six thick, thigh-sized vine roots silently writhing and growing toward his feet. Thinking to himself that it was bad, he leaped upward without hesitation. His flying sword spun around the ground, instantly severing four of the roots, while the remainder shrank back, spraying foul green blood from their broken ends. Fortunately, he was quick-witted; otherwise, had the demonic vines entangled his body, not even the greatest abilities would have availed him!

Flicking his joined fingers, the sword Qi surged with a baleful aura. Swift as lightning, it shot off in the direction of the tree roots. A fierce wind whipped up on flat ground, sending leaves and dust swirling backward. Zhou Qian quickly shielded his face. Connected to his mind, the flying sword broke through several obstacles, but grew increasingly sluggish. Just as he was about to recall it, a series of sharp, rapid sounds rang out. The piercing sword-light seemed to be tightly bound, unable to advance or retreat, while a tremendous force struck from the opposite direction. Letting go of his reservations, he exerted his full strength to pilot the sword. Wisps of ethereal immortal Qi emerged from the blade, and the two forces locked into a stalemate right there.

The Taiqing immortal Qi within his body was draining quite rapidly. Given Zhou Qian's current level of cultivation, he would not have been able to sustain this for even the duration of half an incense stick. Overcome with anxiety, he gritted his teeth and thrust the Departing Fire Bead forward. Raging flames burst forth, licking toward the vine roots. The Departing Fire was an innate fire seed that mutually countered demonic entities. As the firelight illuminated them, the vines instinctively recoiled. This inevitably revealed a slight flaw in the demonic seal, which he seized as a prime opportunity. The sword-light first contracted, then surged once more, flashing past like a bolt of silk and cutting an arc through the air like a silver fan. The tree roots were severed almost entirely at their base.

Gathering his remaining strength, the magical power in his body was rapidly depleted. The sword-light was piercingly bright and dazzling, about four or five zhang long, splitting into ten streaks of sword Qi. With a convergence, a bright and brilliant phantom of the flying sword took shape, piercing straight through before vanishing. With a loud crash, the demonic fog dispersed and the surroundings grew dim once again, though they were now clearly visible through the Taiqing Dharma Vision.

This demon was indeed the Wish-Granting Osmanthus Tree. Zhou Qian had guessed as much long ago. After all, although there were plenty of trees in the vicinity, the only one capable of gaining sentience and possessing such aptitude was this millennium-old osmanthus tree; otherwise, he would not have staked everything on that single sword strike. Had this move failed, would he not have been left entirely without the power to counterattack?

Viewing it closely, the osmanthus tree had been snapped into two sections. Its trunk was hollow inside, still oozing black blood, and a stench of decay washed over him. Frowning deeply, he used his willow-wood sword to scrape away the soil below. Skulls were exposed beneath the tree roots, and upon careful count, there were no less than several dozens, not to mention countless others that remained unseen.

Skeletons were scattered everywhere amidst overgrown weeds. The earlier demonic wind had stirred up the dust to reveal this grisly scene. Presumably, nourished by the corpse-qi and lunar essence, this old osmanthus tree had awakened its spiritual intelligence, resulting in this horrifying spectacle. Fortunately, it was a rooted tree by nature and inherently incapable of movement, which gave Zhou Qian an opening to overcome a stronger foe with lesser strength. Otherwise, judged solely by the depth of magical power, he might not have been its match.

"With the Wish-Granting Osmanthus Tree reduced to this, my past wishes are truly devoid of hope," Zhou Qian muttered with a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.

Suddenly, a golden light lit up in the distance, accompanied by a tremendous commotion. Looking up, it seemed to be coming from the direction of his own estate. A knot tightened in his heart, and he hurried away toward it...

***

An hour ago, Xiao Liu was gripped by anxiety as the shouting outside grew increasingly shrill and loud. The growing terror in his heart made him wonder why this ghost refused to rest. With trembling legs, fear finally turned into anger. He threw off the bedsheet and yelled, "Can't you keep it down for a moment?!"

The commotion outside stopped abruptly. Xiao Liu instantly regretted his outburst. Yelling was one thing, but if he provoked that ghost into passing straight through the wall, that truly would be terrifying. Unexpectedly, after a brief pause, the ghostly voice cried out in pleasant surprise, "Which valiant warrior is out there?! I beg you to lend a helping hand and pull this Pu fellow out of a bind. Liu Xian expresses his deepest gratitude!"

*Not a ghost?!* Xiao Liu was stunned, then immediately let out a sigh of relief. That was manageable, at least. Pushing open the door to look outside, he saw a staggering figure not far away struggling desperately to escape. Spotting Xiao Liu, the figure flickered between shock and delight. "Are you not the same brother I met by chance in the pavilion this afternoon?"

"Are you that gossipy scholar?" Xiao Liu asked with a wide grin.

"This humble person is Pu Shanlin, style name Liu Xian, a mere scholar from Qiantang County, and certainly no gossip," Pu Shanlin first shook his head ponderously, then cried out in alarm, "Brother, speak no more! The living corpses are still trailing right behind me. Hide with me temporarily."

"Living corpses?"

"You will see for yourself, brother."

Scattering footsteps sounded one after another. Corpses emerged from the street one by one, gradually converging and shuffling toward the two of them. Xiao Liu let out a long breath. "Mere walking corpses, what is there to fear!"

"What is a walking corpse?" Pu Shanlin cowered behind Xiao Liu, asking with a shrinking neck.

"It is simply the lingering resentment of those who died in injustice, refusing to dissipate for a long time. If their corpses are placed in gloomy, dark places, this entity will eventually be bred over time. It is nothing, don't worry. Even if a true jiangshi were to come, I, Xiao Liu, could pack it away with a flick of my hand."

"Could you perhaps be an immortal descending to the mortal realm?"

***

"Far from it! Just watch me dispatch them!" Xiao Liu silently chanted a mantra, waving his hands in a semi-circle. "Mystical Yin Dharma, summon the demonic fires back to the body, receive!"

As his voice fell, the howling of ghosts and wolves resounded out of nowhere. The walking corpses stopped in their tracks, suddenly trembling. As their jaws opened, a stream of gray Qi spewed out and gathered in his hands. Within a short half-moment, the breath expelled by the hundreds of walking corpses coalesced into a sphere. With a beckoning wave of his hand, it was drawn directly into his body.

"Brother, this spell of yours hardly looks like the righteous path!" Pu Shanlin said cautiously.

"Shut your mouth!"

Xiao Liu, however, was quite overjoyed. This corpse-resentment Qi was exceedingly rare and constituted an essential item for practitioners of heterodox paths. Acquiring it through ordinary means would likely require committing heinous deeds. Being a kind-hearted person, he could never bring himself to do such things. Now that he had obtained it quite easily, quite a few spells from the *True Scripture of the Five Extremes and Great Purity of Cave Mystery* could finally be practiced.

Turning his head back, he asked with a puzzled expression, "It took Brother Zhou and me quite a bit of effort to ride the clouds and arrive at this Capital of Luo. How is it that you, a mere mortal, managed to run faster than both of us?"

"Ah, don't even mention it. This humble scholar was forced by others and captured..." Pu Shanlin was just about to air his grievances when he saw Xiao Liu's expression tighten. Transforming into a streak of white vapor, Xiao Liu surged forward, raising his hand to release the Five-Hook Que and colliding with an entity in mid-air. Instantly, a burst of golden light and a loud explosion erupted.

"This place is no place to linger! We must leave quickly..."