CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 57: NINE YIN FIERCE GHOST, THAT FIERCE?_1

Yin Sha Qi. Although it isn’t Demonic Qi, it has a similar effect, strengthening a Malicious Ghost’s cultivation level and ferocity.

It was the Day of Sanniang’s Calamity, during the zishi hour of the seventh day after death. Nie Linglan had already absorbed a great deal of Yin Sha Qi, relying solely on the compassion she held in life to suppress her bloodthirsty, murderous intent. But now, as tenfold, even a hundredfold more Yin Sha Qi flooded her body, the fierce nature she had been forcibly restraining began to surge. Her grip on reason was teetering on the edge of collapse.

"Second Brother, wake up!"

Seeing Li Longji starting to doze off again, Li Longyou pulled out a silver awl and jabbed it into his buttock.

AARGH!

The latter let out a scream as his drowsiness vanished completely.

Li Longyou wielded his twin swords, Yin-Yang Energy swirling with the dance of their blades. The energy formed an endlessly circulating Taiji Bagua pattern.

"What fiend is this? Show yourself! Stop skulking in the shadows."

Li Longhao clutched his greatsword. Although his body was covered in wounds, his aura only grew stronger, a clear testament to the unique nature of the Wrathful Heaven Sword Scripture he cultivated.

HEH HEH HEH HEH...

Amid the endless Yin Sha Qi, a black-robed man slowly emerged. He looked down upon the three Li brothers, a contemptuous smile touching his lips. "I have revealed myself. What can the likes of you do to me?"

Li Longyou’s expression was grim. "So, the massacre at the Zhao Residence, the Nine Yin Fierce Ghost... it was all you, pulling the strings from behind the scenes?"

The black-robed man nodded slightly. "You’re a sharp one," he chuckled. "Nie Linglan becoming a Malicious Ghost, the entire Zhao Family being wiped out, not a single chicken or dog left alive for hundreds of meters around... yes, that was all my doing. So what?"

The man seemed convinced of his victory, declaring smugly, "In the grand game I’ve orchestrated, all of you are nothing but pawns. Now that the time is ripe, you should consider it your good fortune to die by my hand."

With that, Daimon Qianmian’s lips curled into a smirk. He threw back his black hood to reveal a refined, handsome face and looked toward the red-robed Malicious Ghost. "Little girl of the Nie Family, do you remember me?"

BOOM!

The moment Daimon Qianmian’s face appeared before the red-robed Malicious Ghost, the last shred of reason she had clung to instantly shattered. An endless tide of hatred and fury surged forth like a monstrous wave.

"Ning Haoran!"

The Yin Sha Qi around the red-robed Malicious Ghost poured furiously into her body. It merged with her rage and resentment, transforming into an infinite power she could command.

Fifth Heaven of the Core Formation Stage!

Sixth Heaven of the Core Formation Stage!

Seventh Heaven of the Core Formation Stage!

In just a few moments, the red-robed ghost’s aura skyrocketed, and the entire Ghost Domain began to warp.

WHOOSH!

The red-robed Malicious Ghost formed a hand seal, and countless slips of paper instantly flew through the air. The papers transformed into innumerable tiny figures that swarmed Daimon Qianmian in a frenzied assault. This time, they were not bare-handed. They wielded all sorts of weapons condensed from paper—sabers, spears, clubs, staves, axes, halberds, daggers, forks, whips, bows, and crossbows. Though made of paper, no one would dare doubt their lethality.

At the same time, innumerable blood-red ribbons shot out from all directions, lashing toward Daimon Qianmian like a swarm of crimson serpents. The sheer ferocity of the attack was overwhelming.

Even a brute like Li Longhao felt a chill run down his spine at the sight.

Good heavens, this Nine Yin Fierce Ghost is terrifyingly vicious! If she had gone all out against me one-on-one earlier... with those armed paper puppets and those unpredictable silk ribbons, I really couldn’t have held her off. I probably would have bitten the dust in an instant.

However, despite how fierce the enraged Nie Linglan was, Daimon Qianmian remained completely unflustered. In fact, he looked like he wanted to laugh.

He extended his right hand and slashed forward casually. The endless Yin Sha Qi instantly coalesced into a black demonic blade that tore through and shattered all the paper figures, paper weapons, and red ribbons.

"You are still far too weak," Daimon Qianmian laughed. "The gap between the Golden Core Stage and the Core Formation Stage is far greater than you can imagine. So what if you’re empowered by the Ghost Domain? Before me, you are utterly insignificant and easily shattered. Right now, you don’t even have the right to make me get serious."

Daimon Qianmian sneered at Nie Linglan, whose aura was still climbing amidst her heaven-piercing resentment. "That’s right," he taunted. "I am Ning Haoran, the despicable man who personally destroyed your happiness. The Nie Family selling you to the Zhao Family, the eldest Zhao son trying to defile you...

"Every last bit of it was orchestrated by me. Now that you’ve heard it all, aren’t you furious?"

ROAR!

At his words, the red-robed Malicious Ghost’s clothes grew even more vibrant, a red so deep it began to turn black. Her terrifying resentment surged to its absolute limit.

Eighth Heaven of the Core Formation Stage!!!

From beneath her thick hair came a bestial growl that would make one’s scalp tingle. The red-robed Malicious Ghost attacked Daimon Qianmian furiously, but how could a gap of an entire cultivation Realm be so easily overcome? Furthermore, Daimon Qianmian was no weakling among Golden Core cultivators. His cultivation had already surpassed the Sixth Heaven of the Golden Core Stage, making him a veteran powerhouse even among his peers. No matter how enraged the red-robed Malicious Ghost became, she was unable to make a single ripple before Daimon Qianmian.

BOOM!

With another crushing palm strike, he sent the red-robed Malicious Ghost flying. Daimon Qianmian sneered, "You are no threat to me now. Go kill those little runts!

"Kill them. Devour their blood essence and their Spirits. Only then will your body as a Nine Yin Fierce Ghost receive the finest nourishment. Perhaps then you might actually become a threat to me. You might even be able to kill me and claim your vengeance, oh!"

Daimon Qianmian’s voice was filled with alluring temptation.

A rational Nie Linglan would never have been swayed by such simple words, but having absorbed too much Yin Sha Qi, her sanity had already crumbled. Having lost her mind, Nie Linglan actually turned and aimed her killing intent at the three Li brothers.

In an instant, over ninety percent of the Yin Sha Qi within the Zhao Residence was drawn into the red-robed Malicious Ghost’s body. As the Yin Sha Qi merged with her boundless resentment, her cultivation, already at the Eighth Heaven of the Core Formation Stage, broke through to a new height once more.

Ninth Heaven of the Core Formation Stage!!!

BOOM!

A terrifying Spiritual Pressure cascaded in all directions. Instantly, the buildings of the Zhao Residence collapsed one after another, the entire estate turning to rubble in the blink of an eye. From within the endless dust, a blood-red figure slowly emerged, bringing an unimaginable sense of oppression to the three Li brothers.

However, this was not the limit. Just as the red-robed Malicious Ghost advanced to the Ninth Heaven of the Core Formation Stage, a terrifying change also occurred in the skies above Maple City. Extremely dense dark clouds shrouded the entirety of Maple City. Black energy roiled within the clouds, where ominous Shadow Fiends loomed, emanating a dreadful aura that made one tremble uncontrollably. Visions of majestic Heavenly Demons appeared above the Nine Heavens, gazing down upon the mortal world. The pressure they radiated was so immense that not only the ordinary people of Maple City, but even the three Li brothers inside the Zhao Residence, felt their very spirits tremble.

...

What terrifying momentum! An aura like this... could only be triggered by the cultivation breakthrough of a supreme Great Demon at the Nascent Soul Stage or higher