Chapter 85 [VIP]

The next day, the faint light of dawn pierced through the thick clouds and scattered across the outside.

Jiang Zhuochen opened her eyes, automatically moved into Xu Xing's arms who was leaning against the headboard, and pulled the blanket up.

Xu Xing reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Are you cold?"

"It's not cold." Jiang Zhuochen closed his eyes and rubbed against the other's chest. He wanted to stay in bed, but then he remembered where he was and got up regretfully.

After dressing, he sat down on the couch in the outer room in a rather unseemly manner and asked, "Master, can you still sense my soul?"

Xu Xing replied, "Of course."

He didn't say that although he could sense the soul, it was slowly weakening, and he couldn't actively draw it back. Presumably, the other party had used some kind of evil magic to try and trap those two wisps of remnant souls.

"When shall we set off?" He turned to look out the window. Even though it was broad daylight, being in the Ghost Realm, he felt a lingering murky atmosphere, making it seem as if there was a thin mist obscuring his view.

He wanted to go back.

Xu Xing saw through his thoughts, rubbed his head, and asked, "Are you tired? Shall I take you back to rest? I can handle things here."

It's definitely time to set off.

"That won't do!" Jiang Zhuochen's eyes widened upon hearing this, and he quickly refused. He just didn't like this place; he didn't say he wanted to separate from Xu Xing.

He stared at the person for a long time, then said quietly, "I understand, Master thinks I'm a burden."

Xu Xing's hand paused, both amused and exasperated: "What nonsense are you talking about? When have I ever looked down on you?"

"Then you can't kick me out." He grabbed the man's forearm and led him towards the door. "We'll finish this quickly. After we're done here, I need to rest for ten or eight years. You can't disagree."

The two walked in the direction where the spirits were. The main city of the ghost realm was no different from an ordinary town. After passing through the bustling ghost market, the further they went in, the more solemn it became, and the fewer wandering ghosts there were.

The Ghost Palace, standing at the edge of the endless wasteland, has every sharp corner like a crouching beast, exuding an unsettling sense of oppression.

Two figures concealed in the howling wind gazed at the majestic hall. Meanwhile, the little ghost in Jiang Zhuochen's soul-gathering bag seemed to sense a familiar aura, and had been restless ever since entering the Ghost Realm's main city, and was now even more excited.

Jiang Zhuochen patted the bag with a mix of threat and reassurance, and only after the other party gradually calmed down did he turn his attention back to the bag.

"Should we just barge in?" he asked softly, a faint glimmer of light already appearing at his fingertips.

Xu Xing's eyes swept over the city wall, which was constantly emanating a strong ghostly aura. "It's too obvious."

He pulled Jiang Zhuochen over, and in a flash, as they passed through the palace gate, extreme cold and scorching heat alternately eroded the protective spiritual light.

In the blink of an eye, once the surrounding scenery stabilized, they entered the hall. It was an incredibly vast and bizarre space that defied all logic.

The sky was a low-hanging, dark red canopy, and the ground beneath was as black as a mirror. On both sides of the road leading to the main hall stood densely packed square formations of heavily armored ghost soldiers. Ghost riders of various shapes patrolled the sky, their powerful divine senses sweeping across the area from time to time.

It was heavy and oppressive, yet it also exuded an aura of impending doom.

As if receiving a warning, all the ghosts awaited orders to launch an attack at any moment, each on high alert, leaving no corner untouched.

Jiang Zhuochen and Xu Xing knew perfectly well what was going on. They stopped behind a collapsed giant stone statue and looked at the main hall gate that exuded an ominous aura not far away.

The main hall's doors, towering a hundred feet high, were now silently shut, revealing nothing of what lay within. The open plaza in front of the entrance was completely unobstructed, and now, countless ghostly soldiers stood in orderly battle formations, motionless in their guard.

They anticipated their arrival and laid a trap.

"You could say he's brave, but he's also terribly afraid of dying." Jiang Zhuochen glanced around and shook his head in disdain.

"Let's go this way," Xu Xing gestured in another direction. If they could find the soul's location without alerting the enemy, there was no need to waste time on a fight.

They concealed their auras and avoided the patrol team. They intended to go around to the back of the palace to break through, but just as they were about to get close, the little devil in the soul-gathering bag became restless again, shouting and wanting to get out.

Xu Xing's brows furrowed suddenly, and Jiang Zhuochen belatedly realized he was in trouble. The deliberately concealed aura was broken, and the ghost general at the front of the formation immediately noticed.

They all looked around and instantly located the two people.

"I'm going to beat him up when I get back!" Jiang Zhuochen gritted his teeth.

The ghost general roared and led his troops to charge towards the two.

Xu Xing's eyes narrowed. The Bu Xu Sword sensed its master's fighting spirit and emitted a clear sword cry. It appeared from the void and overturned the front row of evil spirits with an invincible force.

Seeing that they could not infiltrate smoothly, the two stopped hiding. Xu Xing pointed his fingers like a sword, flipped his wrist, and turned the Bu Xu sword to point directly at the top of the main hall.

Immediately, a hole was forcibly torn open in the roof of the palace with lightning speed, and broken tiles and rafters flew everywhere.

The moment the two landed in the hall, a chilling, resentful force, a hundred times stronger than that outside, surged forth.

Jiang Zhuochen cautiously observed his surroundings. The interior of the main hall was far more magnificent and eerie than it appeared from the outside.

Beneath the magnificent dome, even the pillars supporting the palace exuded a terrifying, malevolent aura. Thick, dark red resentment spread restlessly across the ground, lingering near the two figures.

At the far end of the hall, on the throne, stood a man clad in a black robe embroidered with dragon patterns. His face was hidden in shadow, but his dark eyes were fixed intently on the two of them.

Once they had stood in the center of the hall, the Lord of the Demon Realm slowly spoke: "I have no grudge against you two, so why are you making such a fuss?"

Four elders of the Ghost Clan stood solemnly on either side of the throne. And in the shadows surrounding the entire hall, even more powerful auras could be faintly seen lurking, awaiting the Lord of the Demon Realm's command.

Xu Xing remained unmoved, his expression unchanged, and his words carried his usual indifference: "Something was lost, please return it to its rightful owner, Lord of the Demon Realm."

"You must be joking." The Lord of the Demon Realm's voice tightened. "How could anything from a reputable sect remain in this Demon Realm?"

“In that case,” Xu Xing said, not wanting to say more, “we’ll just have to find it ourselves.”

The Lord of the Demon Realm suddenly tightened his grip on the armrest, veins bulging. After exhaling, his slightly tilted upper body slowly returned to its original position, his expression gradually changing.

"This is the Ghost Realm. Aren't you two being a bit too free to come and go? I am dedicated to maintaining order in the Ghost Realm. If you two don't give an explanation for this, how can I expect to command respect in the future?"

"We've already given our consent," Jiang Zhuochen said disdainfully. "We said we were coming to find your soul. If you don't hand it over, we'll have to take matters into our own hands, won't we?"

The Lord of the Demon Realm chuckled, "Words are meaningless. How could I know this isn't part of your conspiracy to annihilate the Demon Realm?"

"You were right." Jiang Zhuochen blinked, swallowing his words. After all, this was someone else's territory, the opponent's strength was unknown, and his master hadn't recovered yet; it was best not to court death.

He looked around but couldn't find the two demons he had fought earlier. "Whether it's true or not, you know perfectly well."

A hidden sharpness pierced the person on the throne. The Lord of the Demon Realm's expression turned cold: "You two have come uninvited, killed my subordinates, destroyed my palace, and now you're slandering me with vicious words. Do you really think we, the Demon Realm, are easy to bully?"

The black aura swirling around the Demon Lord fluctuated slightly, and his abyss-like eyes narrowed abruptly, radiating an intense chill. Without another word, he raised two fingers and pointed: "Those who trespass into the Demon Realm, die!"

The four elders beside the throne attacked simultaneously, their immense resentment transforming into four ferocious black pythons that lunged at Jiang Zhuochen and Xu Xing from different directions!

At the same time, the ghostly masters lurking in the shadows all appeared and unleashed deadly netherworld spells.

Xu Xing and Jiang Zhuochen stood back to back. He quickly formed hand seals, and a clear, water-like light shield instantly unfolded, protecting the two of them. Countless attacks then fell upon them.

The moment the defensive light shield took shape, Xu Xing closed his eyes slightly and released his powerful divine sense.

The Lord of the Demon Realm panicked and unleashed a powerful pressure a hundred times stronger than before, disrupting the surrounding spiritual energy field and attempting to interfere with Xu Xing's judgment.

The giant python of resentment, jointly activated by the four elders, along with the spells that kept attacking from all directions, relentlessly eroded the protective aura.

Xu Xing's consciousness was trapped and halted. The two of them shone brightly with spiritual light. In the next instant, the Step Void Sword cleaved through the black mist in the hall and pointed directly at the Ghost Lord on the throne!

Jiang Zhuochen pursed his lips, quickly scanning his surroundings amidst the chaos. Xu Xing's body hadn't recovered yet, and if he were to divert his energy to protect him, the expenditure would be enormous. He had to disperse the attacks to locate the soul.

The moment he made a move, the Void Step Sword flew directly into his hand. Jiang Zhuochen paused for a moment, then followed the sword intent and charged towards the four elders.

The sword strike was too fast, forcing the two elders on the right to change their attack and defend. The divine sword, brimming with spiritual power, cleaved through the black mist, knocking the two elders, one in black and one in red, off their feet.

Just as he was about to press his advantage, the two on the other side immediately struck him with a palm each. Jiang Zhuochen rolled backward to dodge, but the soul-gathering bag in his arms slipped out because of the restless ghosts inside.

He gasped and quickly took a step forward to catch it. But the black-clad elder opposite him was faster; with a flick of his long sleeve, the ghostly energy in front of him suddenly became sharp, slicing through the soul-gathering bag.

The moment the little devil appeared, Jiang Zhuochen's pupils shrank sharply. The giant python formed from resentment in front of them bared its fangs, about to bite the two of them to pieces!

"careful!"

Driven by instinct, the little devil shuddered. He had simply felt comfortable in this place, as if he were surrounded by warmth, which made him feel even more at ease than when he was in the human world, so he wanted to come out and take a look, but he didn't expect to see this scene.

He subconsciously raised his hands, and a black hole suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes, then instantly swallowed everyone from the Ghost Realm.

...?

Jiang Zhuochen was stunned. He turned his head in disbelief, just about to say how powerful this kid was, when he felt the room shake. A few seconds later, the space was shattered by the Ghost Lord, and the group of evil ghosts returned.

Jiang Zhuochen quickly pulled the little devil behind him.

The Lord of the Demons chuckled, "Such great skill."

The two sides were on the verge of war, and the ghostly aura in the air was restless and unsettling, indicating that another chaotic battle was about to begin.

The blade of the Bu Xu sword in Jiang Zhuochen's hand suddenly trembled, and the sword energy swept away the ghost cultivator who was trying to approach. He immediately looked at Xu Xing beside him.

Xu Xing remained calm, his divine sense spreading out rapidly like an invisible net.

The spatial slicing by that little devil just now restricted the Ghost Realm Master. In those few seconds of unobstructed passage, his divine sense eliminated countless vortexes of resentment and successfully captured a trace of a nearly vanished remnant soul.

"Found it."

A note from the author:

Hmm... I'm still one step closer to finishing the story than to having no drafts saved up. But it's okay, the story will be finished soon too!