Chapter 72 [VIP]
The night was as dark as ink, completely engulfing the small village.
The earthen house where the girl arranged for Jiang Zhuochen and Xu Xing to rest had only a dim oil lamp flickering, casting waving and jumping shadows on the wall.
It was eerily quiet outside; even the sound of the wind had vanished, as if the entire village and the mountain had fallen into a deep sleep.
Jiang Zhuochen, fully clothed, nestled in Xu Xing's arms, his hand resting on the other's neck. His expression softened, and his breathing became long and deep.
After an unknown amount of time, an extremely faint, almost imperceptible rustling sound came from the crack in the door, like something slippery crawling along the ground.
Jiang Zhuochen's eyelids twitched slightly, and his fingertips already gripped something in his sleeve. Although Xu Xing did not open his eyes, his aura had subtly become sharper.
A very faint black shadow slipped silently under the door, crept along the corner of the wall, and meandered toward them.
The shadow gradually coalesced, transforming into a blurry ghostly hand that silently reached for Jiang Zhuochen's neck, its fingertips gleaming with a chilling light.
Just as the ghostly hand was about to touch his skin, a cluster of bright red flames suddenly shot up from Jiang Zhuochen's chest and precisely wrapped around the dark figure.
"Ah!" A piercing scream shattered the silence.
The dark figure twisted and contracted violently as if splashed with boiling oil, then sprang backward and crashed into the earthen wall, revealing a hazy, writhing human shape.
At the same time, the "girl" lying on the small bed next to her suddenly sat up.
Her body emitted a series of cracking sounds as her bones dislocated. Her originally slender frame rapidly stretched and expanded, transforming her into a young girl in the blink of an eye. However, at this moment, her excessively beautiful face was filled with pain and resentment, and her body was surrounded by the black, malevolent energy left behind by the scorching fire from the earth's core.
She laughed in exasperation, muttering, "We've been found out after all."
Jiang Zhuochen calmly sat up, toying with a flickering red flame between his fingers, and looked at her with a half-smile: "Your acting is not good."
The girl glared fiercely at Jiang Zhuochen, her voice no longer feigning innocence, but carrying a chilling coldness: "You figured it out a long time ago?"
“Such a strange village, with a little girl who is clear-headed and emotionally normal, is strange in itself,” Jiang Zhuochen analyzed slowly. “What’s more, when we were talking, you weren’t curious at all about why we came here, and you just wanted to take us away, as if you assumed we were just passing through. But we only told the lost old man at the village entrance that we were lost.”
He paused, his sharp gaze sweeping over the female ghost: "And those villagers you thought were your parents, when they reached out to grab me, I clearly saw their forearms covered in scars of varying depths. Given their dazed and foolish appearance, they don't seem like the type to self-harm. Could it be… that they kindly adopted you, and you repay their kindness with enmity?"
The female ghost let out a disdainful snort, filled with boundless hatred: "Self-harm? They did it themselves!"
"You're in control." Xu Xing said calmly, as if he had known all along.
"So what if it is?" The female ghost's eyes flashed red. "I'll even briefly release their souls back when they pick up a knife to slash themselves! Let them clearly feel what it's like to have their skin torn open and be covered in blood!"
Jiang Zhuochen frowned, his face showing disdain: "What deep-seated hatred could make you not even spare an entire village?"
"Hatred?" The female ghost laughed maniacally, as if she had heard the funniest joke. "I gave you a chance to leave! You insisted on staying to die! Since you won't leave, then stay and keep them company!"
Before she could finish speaking, the female ghost's aura surged, the temperature in the entire room plummeted, and frost instantly formed on the walls! Her five fingers formed claws, and with a sharp, eerie wind, she pounced on the two of them unexpectedly!
Just as Jiang Zhuochen was about to unleash the Earth Core Fire to counterattack, he noticed a slight flicker from the Longevity Lamp that had been nurtured in his sea of consciousness.
A gentle yet incredibly powerful force instantly swept over his entire body, surrounding him with an absolute protective aura.
The next second, he felt his body move involuntarily. He turned to the side, raised his hand, the movements fluid and graceful, the power gathered at his fingertips far exceeding his own limits, and with a light touch.
"puff!"
His seemingly casual finger strike landed precisely on the forehead of the female ghost who was lunging at him.
The female ghost was struck as if by a heavy blow, letting out an even more mournful wail. She was sent flying backward, crashing heavily through the earthen wall and falling into the courtyard outside. Her ghostly aura dimmed considerably.
Jiang Zhuochen stood there, stunned, at that familiar yet domineering spiritual power! He subconsciously looked at Xu Xing beside him.
Xu Xing had opened his eyes at some point and slowly sat up. He took Jiang Zhuochen's hand, his movements natural, but his eyes were completely different. It was a bottomless calm, carrying a hint of indifference and an unquestionable authority.
He led Jiang Zhuochen by the hand and calmly walked out of the dilapidated house.
Upon entering the courtyard, Jiang Zhuochen stared unabashedly at Xu Xing's profile, his heart pounding. He shook their clasped hands and tentatively called out softly, "Master?"
Xu Xing felt another soul consciousness wandering within his body and responded with a faint "Mm".
The feeling of having your body controlled by someone else is indeed quite strange.
"Master! You really came to save me!" Jiang Zhuochen was overjoyed and almost jumped up to hug him. The tension and unease he felt due to his lack of strength disappeared, leaving only a strong sense of reliance and security.
At this moment, the female ghost was pressed firmly to the ground by an invisible force. No matter how she struggled, she could not move an inch, and fear gradually appeared on her face.
Jiang Zhuochen immediately felt emboldened and threatened, "Return the villagers' souls, and I'll spare your life."
The female ghost raised her head, her eyes bloodshot, and stared at them, especially at Xu Xing, whose aura had changed drastically.
Her words were filled with venom: "Resurrection? Hahaha... Let's die together then!"
Before she finished speaking, the villagers who had been scattered throughout the village, seemingly lost in thought, appeared to receive an irresistible command and swayed as they gathered from all directions, forming a dense crowd around the female ghost and Jiang Zhuochen.
Xu Xing's eyes sharpened as he realized the female ghost's intentions.
He grabbed Jiang Zhuochen's waist, retreating swiftly while striking out with his palm. A barrier appeared between the villagers and the female ghost, attempting to isolate the explosive force.
boom--!
The massive energy fluctuation still erupted, but most of its power was blocked by the barrier set up by Xu Xing.
However, the female ghost's viciousness went far beyond that; just before she self-destructed, she summoned karmic fire from the ghost realm.
In an instant, the villagers surrounded in the center let out silent screams of agony amidst the flames, their bodies convulsing violently as their life force rapidly dissipated!
Xu Xing's face darkened, and he couldn't bother to chase after the female ghost who took the opportunity to turn into a wisp of black smoke and escape.
He formed hand seals, and his body emanated pure and ethereal spiritual power, which poured down on the villagers struggling in pain like sweet rain.
The spiritual power forcefully suppressed the karmic fire and transformed into countless fine threads, precisely guiding the souls that were about to dissipate, attempting to return them to their rightful place.
This process was extremely mentally and physically exhausting. His master's soul was already incomplete, and Jiang Zhuochen anxiously stayed by his side, fearing something might go wrong.
When the last villager's soul was barely stuffed back into his body, the remaining spiritual energy was redirected to suppress the karmic fire.
Xu Xing glanced at the villagers lying haphazardly on the ground, their lives temporarily spared, then looked in the direction the female ghost had fled, his brows furrowing slightly. Immediately, his figure flickered, his soul transforming into a wisp of light, returning to the longevity lamp within Jiang Zhuochen's sea of consciousness for nurturing.
"Master!" Jiang Zhuochen hurriedly supported the swaying Xu Xing, his face filled with anxiety. "How are you?"
Xu Xing rubbed his temples. The weakness in his body, combined with the lingering effects of the powerful force he had just experienced, left him feeling somewhat exhausted. He shook his head: "I'm fine, I just need to rest for a while."
Just then, several villagers who had been the first to be revived struggled to their feet in a daze. Seeing Jiang Zhuochen supporting Xu Xing, whose face was slightly pale, they instinctively wanted to come over and lend a hand.
"Thank you..." Jiang Zhuochen was about to say thank you when he caught a glimpse of an extremely dazzling light flashing in the air.
"Run!" he cried out, but it was too late.
Eerie green flames suddenly erupted from the villagers who tried to approach them, spreading rapidly and igniting the other weakened villagers around them like a plague.
In an instant, cries of agony filled the air. The villagers, who had barely escaped the scorching flames, were once again engulfed by the fire.
Jiang Zhuochen froze, watching helplessly as the scene before him transformed into a fiery inferno, with mournful cries echoing across the sky.
Above them, the lingering soul of the female ghost, which should have fled, unknowingly returned.
Her figure gradually appeared in the glow of the eerie green flames, becoming even more ethereal than before, as if she might vanish at any moment, but the resentment and pleasure on her face reached their peak.
Looking down at the sea of fire, she laughed maniacally: "I told you, they can't live! Not a single one of them can live!"
"You are simply...!" Jiang Zhuochen gritted his teeth, a surge of rage rising in his heart.
He supported Xu Xing with one hand, and with the other hand, he flicked his fingers, and the Immortal Binding Rope flew out from his sleeve in an instant.
The golden rope, imbued with unparalleled spiritual power, tore through the air and pierced straight through the female ghost's shoulder before she could react.
"Ugh!" The female ghost cried out in pain, her body trembling violently in the air. She was already severely injured, and then she forced herself to break through her limits, using her magic to unleash this vicious flame. She was already at her last gasp.
However, just as the Binding Rope was about to bind the female ghost, a resolute look of mutual destruction flashed in her eyes.
With her last ounce of strength, she suddenly unleashed her remaining resentment and soul power, transforming it into a powerful illusionary barrier that pulled Jiang Zhuochen and Xu Xing into an illusion.
The surrounding sea of fire and wailing suddenly vanished, replaced by a hazy, gray space.
The female ghost's frantic voice echoed in the illusion: "Then let's all go to hell together!"
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