Chapter 353: Chapter 353: A Million Ghost Soldiers Riding the Clouds Chapter 353: Chapter 353: A Million Ghost Soldiers Riding the Clouds Nangong Weiping also sensed Zhao Qingi entering and imdiately opened his murky eyes. “You’ve co.”
Zhao Qingi stepped forward and said solemnly, “Senior Nangong, how do you feel?”
Earlier that afternoon, Zhao Qingi had already t with Nangong Weiping, who seed in decent health at the ti; unexpectedly, in just a few hours, Nangong Weiping had developed complications.
Nangong Weiping pointed at his chest with his arm and said, “I always feel like there’s a breath stuck in my chest that I can’t expel.”
At that mont, An Jing also walked in; hearing Nangong Weiping’s words, he imdiately sighed internally.
As the end of one’s life span approached, the qi chanism within the body would gather and nourish itself—it was a person’s last breath, vital for sustaining the body’s circulation.
Originally, Zongzheng Huachun had intervened personally to disrupt Jun Qinglin’s last breath, bringing Jun Qinglin’s ti to an early end.
Today, Nangong Weiping’s final breath was about to disperse as well, and once this last breath left him, the Land Immortal would truly transform and depart.
Zhao Qingi turned around to look at An Jing. “Is there another way?”
“Throughout history, many emperors, sect leaders, and Land Immortals have thought of various thods to extend their life spans; however, the ans to do so are few and extrely difficult,” An Jing said, then stopped himself.
Seeing An Jing’s expression, Zhao Qingi quietly asked, “Do you have another thod?”
“You need not ask any further, miss.”
Before An Jing could speak, Nangong Weiping interjected, “I know what this lad wants to say. Jiang Shang purified his organs with the blood of Evil Spirits, not only enhancing his cultivation but also significantly extending his life span; however, I categorically refuse to purify my organs with the blood of Evil Spirits.”
Despite its evil nature, absorbing the blood of Evil Spirits in small amounts could indeed increase one’s cultivation and life span.
Since Jiang Shang passed away and ceased to exist, this has beco no secret, and many have been fervently searching for ‘Undying Blood’ across the world, hoping that it would allow them to defy the heavens and change their fate.
An Jing shook his head and said, “Senior Nangong, what I’m talking about is obtaining the blood of Chenghuang, which might extend life.”
The blood of Evil Spirits was not as simple as it seed; An Jing never considered letting Nangong Weiping absorb it. What he had always considered was the Exotic Beast Chenghuang at Cloud Tower.
A light flashed in Nangong Weiping’s eyes. “Chenghuang!?”
The blood of Chenghuang could indeed extend his life span. He had initially gone to Cloud Tower for the blood of Chenghuang; however, with a top Great Grandmaster stationed there, how difficult was it to obtain Chenghuang’s blood from such an expert?
Zhao Qingi also frowned deeply, rembering the formidable strength of the old master of the Ten Directions; obtaining the blood of Chenghuang from this expert seed nearly impossible, unless a Great Grandmaster intervened.
An Jing’s heart was heavy. While others might have no ans against the old master of Ten Directions at Cloud Tower, one person had a chance to contend with him.
Yet, his current urgent matter was to break through Houjin; traveling to and from Cloud Tower would require at least several months, possibly giving Zongzheng Huachun a chance to catch his breath.
“Let’s set aside Chenghuang for now.”
Nangong Weiping waved his sleeves. “First, help up. I have so matters to discuss with you.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qingi imdiately helped Nangong Weiping sit up. “Senior Nangong, just speak your mind.”
Nangong Weiping took a deep breath. “My end is approaching, an inevitable outco. In this world, many great masters have ultimately not escaped death. Although I have also sought the opportunity to break through the shackles to reach the unattained Transcendence Realm, there is a limit to human capabilities. Besides, as a lone individual, what significance would reaching that realm hold for ?”
“In this final ti, I want to transfer my cultivation to you. Now is the most opportune mont. The Origin Demon Qi from the Demon Seed nourishing you can let you attain a massive amount of cultivation in a short ti. Your strength will surge, easily reaching the realm of the Five Qi Grandmaster, and with further settlent, even the Great Grandmaster. However, at the sa ti, your Heart Demon will grow to its full form. You practice my Demon Sect’s top cultivation technique, the Nine Nether Purgatory Demon Scripture, which will make your Heart Demon even more powerful. If you can overco this Heart Demon, integrating it with yourself and transforming into a demon, your future cultivation will be smooth sailing, even possibly reaching the Heavenly Demon Realm.”
Unlike other cultivation sects, Demon Cult techniques rapidly enhance strength but also foster Heart Demons within the practitioner.
If one cannot overco the Heart Demon, at best, they will be troubled by it, severely damaging their strength; at worst, they will be controlled by it, entering an uncontrollable path of the Demon.
Throughout history, many master practitioners from the Demon Sect have failed to subdue their Heart Demons, ultimately falling victim to them, wreaking havoc and bloodshed in Jianghu ti and again, leading many to believe that Demon Sect masters are inherently murderous, and the Demon Path embodies evil.
Zhao Qingi earnestly said, “Senior Nangong, rest assured, I have been prepared for the Heart Demon.”
Her resolve was steadfast, as evident from her experience at the Sealing Demon Well.
“A fully-ford Heart Demon is not as simple as you think.”
Nangong Weiping shook his head and said, “A fully-ford Heart Demon will attack from the weakest part of your heart, like him, for instance.”
At this, Nangong Weiping looked toward An Jing.
Zhao Qingi looked toward An Jing, her eyes shimring with moisture.
Nangong Weiping earnestly said, “Thus, to subdue a fully-ford Heart Demon, he must be by your side to increase your chances of success. With the addition of the Heavenly Yang Stone, your chances of overcoming the Heart Demon are high, over seventy percent.”
An Jing asked, “Senior Nangong, when do you plan to nourish with the Demonic Qi?”
Nangong Weiping looked at his empty sleeves and sighed softly, “The sooner the better. I’m not sure how much longer I have.”
Zhao Qingi earnestly said, “Senior, I will definitely do my best to obtain the blood of Chenghuang.”
“It’s too difficult.”
Nangong Weiping shook his head and sighed softly, “You should consider returning to You Mountain as soon as possible.”
An Jing and Zhao Qingi exchanged looks, then fell silent.
Afterward, Zhao Qingi and Nangong Weiping left together, while An Jing walked out alone.
“Son-in-law!”
Seeing An Jing co out, Li Fuzhou approached with a beaming smile.
An Jing raised an eyebrow and asked, “What happened?”
Seeing Li Fuzhou smiling like that made him feel sowhat uneasy.
Li Fuzhou said, “There’s a secret letter from Yujing City.”
An Jing asked, “A secret letter from Yujing City? What’s going on?”
The Great Yan Emperor had been absent from court for a while now, and currently, Zhao Tianyi was in charge, which he was aware of. Could it be that sothing else had happened in Yujing City?
Li Fuzhou lowered his voice and said, “It’s a secret letter from Princess An Le.”
“Cough cough!”
Upon hearing this, An Jing coughed and said, “Let see it.”
Li Fuzhou replied indifferently, “Son-in-law, after all, this is the princess’s secret letter, shouldn’t it be reviewed by the Sect Hierarch first?”
Saying so, Li Fuzhou started walking towards the house.
“Stop!”
An Jing imdiately called out softly and then transmitted his voice, “Third Elder, let review the secret letter first, and then I’ll show it to my wife.”
Knowing Zhao Qingi’s temperant, flas surged within her the mont she saw this secret letter.
Li Fuzhou showed a hint of hesitation, “Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”
An Jing sneered inwardly, then bluntly said, “Speak, what do you want?”
Li Fuzhou, with a forced smile, said, “Son-in-law, I’ve heard that you have the Holy Essence Gu, a rare treasure.”
The Holy Essence Gu was an extrely rare Gu insect from the Southern Barbarians that consud minerals to exude Heaven and Earth Spirit Essence. Originally, An Jing had obtained it at Nanhua Mountain, and the Heaven and Earth Spirit Essence it produced had even helped Lou Xiangzhen break through to the Three Qi Realm.
However, as An Jing’s cultivation increased, and since feeding it minerals was too troubleso, the use of the Holy Essence Gu beca increasingly infrequent.
Realizing what was happening, An Jing then asked, “You want this item, are you about to break through another barrier?”
“Just borrowing it for a while,” Li Fuzhou said, rubbing his hands together.
“Huiyun and Yuehua have not yet reached the Grandmaster Realm. If they could obtain so Heaven and Earth Spirit Essence from the Gu, perhaps it could boost their cultivation to the Grandmaster Realm,” he added.
The cultivation levels of Ling Yuehua and Liu Huiyun were impressive, especially since Ling Yuehua was the Pavilion Master of the Moon Pavilion of Wind and Rain Tower. However, they were still so distance from reaching the Grandmaster Realm. If they could receive assistance from a strand of Heaven and Earth Spirit Essence, there was a high likelihood of advancing to the Grandmaster Realm.
But such a strand of Heaven and Earth Spirit Essence was trendously valuable. Self-refining it took too long, and acquiring Spirit Essence by slaying other Grandmasters was forbidden in Jianghu. Discovering such an attempt would draw severe criticism and put the Demon Sect in a complicated situation.
The Holy Essence Gu, therefore, was the best choice.
An Jing patted Li Fuzhou’s shoulder and said, “This is a trivial matter, what kind of relationship do we have? Third Elder, feel free to use it.”
Saying this, he took out the Holy Essence Gu and tossed it to Li Fuzhou.
The Holy Essence Gu, the size of a palm, was transparent. Inside, one could see blood vessels continuously pumping red blood.
“This is a treasure, son-in-law, be careful,” said Li Fuzhou as he carefully caught the Holy Essence Gu. Even the Great Wizards of the Southern Barbarians did not possess a Holy Essence Gu like this, a truly priceless item that An Jing could just toss around casually.
An Jing said, “Where’s the secret letter?”
As he spoke, Li Fuzhou pulled a secret letter from his chest and handed it to An Jing, “Here it is.”
The envelope bore a few large characters: For An Jing’s Eyes Only.
“Son-in-law, take your ti reading. I’ll be leaving now,” Li Fuzhou said, joyfully walking away with the Holy Essence Gu in his arms.
“You old geezer, see how I’ll deal with you later,”
An Jing muttered as he watched Li Fuzhou’s receding figure. He then slowly opened the letter, and a faint fragrance hit his face as elegant handwriting erged:
“After our parting, my thoughts linger and my sorrows deepen daily. It has been months since we last t. Xuening was overjoyed to hear that Mister An had slain Taiyin Kui and Jiang Shang along with other bandits, seized the North Field, and stepped into Ba Mountain City. She was imnsely pleased. This journey of yours to the northern expedition not only stabilized the North but also resolved crises and even expanded the territories, posing a significant threat to Houjin, indeed a monuntal achievent in saving the Great Yan Dynasty. Xuening keeps this in her heart and wouldn’t dare to neglect it in any way. Today, besides expressing my longing and concern, there is another matter to inform you about. The situation in Yujing City has changed. The Emperor has been severely injured by a mysterious master, wounding his very essence. But this has leaked. Yujing City is a hub of clandestine currents, and agents from the Heaven and Earth Net have infiltrated and then vanished without trace. Moreover, Crown Prince Zhao Chongyin seems to harbor different intentions; he has been frequently interacting with the State Preceptor. Xuening alone finds it difficult to handle and seeks your assistance. Written in haste, the depths of my affection are not fully expressed.”
An Jing frowned as he held the letter in his hands.
It seed that the person who had grievously wounded Zhao Zhiwu was none other than Qian Qiu, an immortal. Zhao Zhiwu had already expended his essence blood in his breakthrough to Great Grandmaster and now sustained injuries to his essence; the severity of his condition was unknown to An Jing as he hadn’t witnessed their confrontation and was unaware if the royal family had used any Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
Zhao Zhiwu’s injuries had leaked, triggering a chain of reactions; Zhao Country even contacted Zhao Chongyin, attempting to weaken the Great Yan Dynasty from within.
Perhaps this leak was even orchestrated by Zhao Country.
Now that Zhao Zhiwu had achieved Great Grandmaster, he was a pillar of the Great Yan. If he was debilitated, it would be a trendous blow to the Great Yan Dynasty, and turmoil in Yujing City was inevitable.
An Jing grasped the letter, his brow furrowed, then gazed toward Houjin Royal Court in the north.
The royal court was nearby, and within it sat the second greatest master in the world.
At that mont, Zhao Qingi and Yu Qiurong ca out.
Zhao Qingi softly said, “Husband,”
An Jing responded, “Let’s go, we’ll talk when we get back.”
Zhao Qingi nodded, and then the trio returned to their residence.
Zhao Qingi said, “Senior Nan is on his last breath, I need to return to You Mountain quickly to use the Heavenly Yang Stone to subdue the Heart Demon. My strength will then reach the peak of the Five Qi Grandmaster. At that ti, the two of us can first try to obtain the blood of Cheng Huang, which could also extend Senior Nan’s life.”
An Jing pondered for a mont, then said, “Alright, let’s go back to You Mountain first. But before that, I need to et Zongzheng Huachun to check how he’s utilizing the thought of the Earth Vein Spirit’s corpse to possibly reach the Great Grandmaster realm.”
Since they had already reached Houjin Bashan City, how could they possibly leave so easily?
“Alright,”
Zhao Qingi slightly nodded.
…….
The next day.
The boundless grassland was flat and vast, like a huge, dark green erald disk, vast and majestic.
The sumr was near, and the sun sent out hot rays that penetrated the clouds.
Houjin Royal Court was silent, its towering walls undulating like a giant dragon, with elite soldiers stationed atop.
Suddenly, thick, continuous dark clouds rolled in from above, covering the sun.
Imdiately, the world turned dim. What was a sunny sumr day beca sowhat icy cold, and so of the soldiers even hugged their arms.
“This is bad!”
A high-ranking mber of Snow Mountain exclaid upon seeing the dark clouds, “It’s the Yin Evil Qi, quick, sound the war drums!”
“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”
The reverberating sound of the drums spread across the heavens and the earth.
anwhile, from within those continuous waves of Yin Evil Qi ca successive roars of battle. Although Houjin’s elite soldiers were battle-hardened, the earth-shattering noise chilled their hearts.
Looking toward the source of the noise, within the dark cloud of Yin Evil Qi amid flashes of lightning, one could clearly see endless rows of ghostly soldiers gradually erging.
“Ghost soldiers?!”
The soldiers of Houjin panicked.
In today’s world, only one person could command ghost soldiers.
The vast surge of Yin Evil Qi rolled in, with an endless dark cloud revealing countless terrifying ghost soldiers, armoured in pitch-black iron armor, only their eyes visible through the impregnable helts, sending chills to those who saw them.
Countless people in Houjin Royal Court looked up at the oncoming cloud of ghost soldiers.
“My God! Are these the Ghost Swordsman’s ghost soldiers?!”
“A million strong—could even a million-strong army not stop them?”
“Can’t see the end at all; is this the army of ghost soldiers?”
“Run quickly!”
…….
As the million ghost soldiers converged, a dark mass stretched endlessly, its overwhelming presence leaving the common folk of Houjin feeling as though doomsday had arrived, their hearts filled with panic and fear, instinctively hiding wherever they could.
The fierce wind howled, and the chatter sounded like a tidal wave sweeping over the entire city walls, throwing the entire Houjin Royal Court into utter chaos.
The Ghost Swordsman had arrived!
The world’s foremost swordsman had finally arrived with a million ghost soldiers!
Whether it was shopkeepers, waiters, butchers, horse traders, or public dignitaries of Houjin, everyone was in a state of panic.
A million ghost soldiers—such an overwhelming number—the dense, sinister qi that hit made it difficult to breathe, as if one was gasping for air.
Zongzheng Huachun stood on the top level of the Pagoda, calmly observing the thick clouds in the distance.
Jiren Tai’s face turned ugly as he whispered, “Holy Master, the Ghost Swordsman really ca? Does he not care about the turmoil in Yujing City?”
According to his plan, the Ghost Swordsman should not have arrived so quickly, especially with the volatile situation in the Great Yan Yujing City, which could erupt into chaos at any mont. Did the Ghost Swordsman really not care at all about his rear?
Zongzheng Huachun shook his head and said, “Since he has co, let’s go et him. I too want to see how far his strength has progressed.”
After speaking, Zongzheng Huachun’s body leaped and disappeared from the top of the Pagoda.
“Don’t panic!”
Standing atop the city walls, the Great Snow Mountain expert forcibly suppressed the tremor in his heart. He knew that if he showed any sign of fear, the soldiers of Houjin would beco even more frightened.
The renown of a person casts a long shadow!
The na of the world’s foremost swordsman was like a mountain, and with Taiyin Kui having died by his hand, the people of Houjin instinctively had a profound fear of the three words “Ghost Swordsman.”
“Hiss!”
Just then, an intense bright light swept in from the distance, illuminating the heavens and the earth.
It was a frigid sword light!
Striking from miles away, it brought with it a chilling sharpness, moving at an incredible speed and reaching the city walls in the blink of an eye.
The expert from the Great Snow Mountain watched as the sword light approached, completely stunned, having been utterly frightened.
The sword light was narrow and extended for dozens of ters, as if it could split the city walls of the Houjin Royal Court in one strike.
“Crack!”
Suddenly, a majestic qi descended from the distance, directly shattering the narrow sword qi. The intersecting qi transford into rolling waves of energy, scattering to both sides.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The energy waves slowly dissipated, creating wild winds and waves of green grass.
Following the qi, one could see a figure standing in the middle of the city wall, his gaze domineering, cold light radiating from his eyes as if a majestic lion had descended from the clouds.
“The Holy Master! It’s the Holy Master!”
Seeing the newcor, everyone from Houjin breathed a sigh of relief, finding an incomparable calmness in their hearts despite the million grim ghost soldiers in the dark clouds above.
Zongzheng Huachun said indifferently, “Since you’ve arrived, co out.”
His voice resonated like a bell, dominating the mountains and rivers and lingering for a long ti.
“As you wish.”
A calm voice echoed as a figure in white slowly erged on the horizon.
The man’s eyes were as bright as stars, his robe fluttering in the wind, carrying a heavy sword box on his back, giving off the impression of a massive mountain.
This peerless and invincible Great Sword Immortal had finally arrived in front of the Houjin Royal Court.
…….
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