Chapter 444: Flame Ghost King

When Ye Bai arrived at Tongzhudiyu, the commander of Tongzhudiyu, Yantong, appeared leading a group of people.

This is the Secret Realm where Tongzhudiyu is located, and the environment is extremely treacherous.

The sky here seems to be forever obscured by thick, ink-black leaden clouds, never seeing the sun.

The surrounding air is heavy and suffocating, permeated with the scent of sulfur and scorching heat; that is the unique aura of Tongzhudiyu.

Gusts of sinister wind blow past, and once the scorching air is inhaled into the lungs, one feels an indescribable burning sensation, a burning sensation where even breathing is a mistake.

Tongzhudiyu is covered with copper pillars that tower into the clouds, their number impossible to count; it feels as if there is a massive magma pillar every few dozen meters.

Each one is as thick as the spine of a prehistoric beast, with crimson magma flowing across its surface like veins and arteries.

Circling the copper pillars is the never-extinguishing Hellfire, the flames appearing a weird black, leaping and twisting.

Beneath the copper pillars is a boiling sea of magma, crimson and scorching, churning with a large number of orange-red bubbles.

The bursting of the bubbles emits a deafening boom and releases a large amount of sulfur gas, and every copper pillar is covered in a multitude of crimson chains.

Some chains hang down from the tops of the copper pillars, some wrap around the pillars, and others submerge directly into the magma; each chain binds a hideous and ugly Soul.

Their bodies are all pierced by the crimson chains, and magma falls from the sky like rain without a moment's pause; whenever it drips onto the sin-filled Souls, these Souls emit ear-piercing wails.

But they cannot dodge at all; the magma burns their bodies into charcoal, and after their hair is baptized by the magma, it turns into a bald, boiled egg.

On the bodies of these Souls, layers of black mist are coiled, some thin and some thick.

Once a Soul is tortured by the magma until it collapses and dissipates, in the next second, it will emerge again in the sea of magma.

They will suffer torture in Tongzhudiyu for all eternity until their sins are completely redeemed.

Ye Bai sat on the Hellfire Helicopter.

Hellfire fell from the sky, and the force of the wind caused the surrounding magma to vibrate incessantly.

Borrowing the faint light emitted by the crimson copper pillars, Ye Bai saw a burly young man standing at the very front of the crowd.

He was about twenty years old, with a robust physique, as steady and full of power as a mountain.

Particularly eye-catching was the exceptionally conspicuous two-meter-long copper pillar on his back, the surface of which was crimson, as if it were a miniature version of the giant copper pillars.

The copper pillar was also wrapped in many chains as thick as thumbs, and the chains were covered with a large number of eyes.

A thick chain hung slowly from the top of the copper pillar, its end completely submerged in the churning and boiling magma not far away, as if it were absorbing the power of the magma.

"Welcome, Lord Kuimulang."

Yantong smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes, which were filled with obscure meaning.

Ye Bai could feel the faint hostility coming from Yantong, but he did not take it to heart.

Because just now, the Sky Wolf Blade told him that the materials for constructing the ten-fold Rashomon Soul Weapon are the same as the Twenty-Eight Mansions.

If the Twenty-Eight Mansions are the Heavenly Gang Soul Weapons, then the ten-fold Rashomon is the Earthly Fiend Soul Weapon; it symbolizes the authority of the Ten Kings of Hell.

In the process of forging the Soul Weapon, a portion of the Dragon Vein's aura and the Red Soul of the Dantian are added; once the Soul Weapon senses that the contractor has bad intentions toward Yan Country, the Soul Weapon will automatically break the contract and seek the next suitable candidate.

This secret is known only to the five Marshals, and Ye Bai is also the only Pet Beast Master besides the five Marshals who knows this secret.

Although Ye Bai did not know where Yantong's hostility came from, at least he was not on the side of Zhishen Dashi.

"My Lord."

Yantong said in a muffled voice, and the copper pillar on his back also emitted bursts of fiery red luster, the chains making a clinking sound.

At this moment, faint ripples appeared on the surface of the sea of magma, and the surrounding ground trembled slightly, as if some kind of behemoth was slowly waking up beneath it.

Immediately following, ripples spread rapidly, and the sea of magma seemed to be stirred by an invisible force, the magma boiling even more violently, just like boiling water.

A large number of bubbles emerged from the magma, releasing yellow sulfur gas.

A hideous and terrifying head suddenly poked out from the churning magma, and Ye Bai recognized at a glance that it was the figure of a Flame Ghost!

Its skin was covered in burning black Hellfire, its body flashed with ominous red light, and its eyes were like two soul-capturing rubies.

The Flame Ghost's mouth split open, revealing fangs like daggers, each one a meter long.

It spat out billowing black smoke and sparks from its mouth, and a massive pressure emerged from its body.

A huge black shadow emerged from the sea of magma, and charred claws rose from the sea of magma; it used a nearby copper pillar as support and staggered to its feet.

Ye Bai noticed that this Flame Ghost's neck and four limbs were all sealed by crimson chains.

These chains emitted a luster like gilded gold, with faint, oracle-bone-script-like gilded patterns drifting across them.

It endured the pain, delusional about completely breaking free from the shackles of the magma.

"Flame Ghost, why did you escape from the depths of Purgatory?"

"Aren't you monitoring it regularly?"

Yantong's complexion turned from sunny to overcast in an instant; he knew well the terror of the Flame Ghost.

Once the Flame Ghost broke free from the seal of Purgatory, the entire Tongzhudiyu would instantly fall into chaos.

Ye Bai's complexion was also not looking good at this time; the Truth Eye opened again, and information about the Flame Ghost appeared in his eyes.

【Name: Flame Ghost】

【Gender: Male】

【Attribute: Fire/Dark】

【Trait: Grudge Fire: When Ghost Fire hits an opponent, they will instantly enter a burning state.】

【Level: Seventh Rank, Fifth Level】

【Skills Mastered: Flame Chain (Proficient): Condenses into long flame chains, attacking the opponent at extremely high speed, sealing the enemy's movements, and producing a continuous burning effect.

Purgatory (Skilled): The whole body is wrapped in Purgatory Fire; when in contact with an opponent, the Purgatory Fire will also wrap around the opponent's body, producing a burning sensation of the Soul.

Hellfire (Proficient): Summons the life-bound fire to attack the opponent; the moment the opponent comes into contact with the Hellfire, their Soul will be burned by the flames.

Lava Arrow (Skilled): Spits a sharp arrow condensed from scorching magma from its mouth to attack the opponent.

Flame Warhammer (Proficient): Both hands condense into a Flame Warhammer to attack the enemy; landing on the magma will cause the magma to erupt violently, producing a falling rock effect.】

【Evaluation: Because this Flame Ghost has been absorbing and devouring the power of magma for a thousand years, after devouring the Lava Heart, its strength has greatly increased, and it is about to evolve into a Flame Ghost King.】

Yantong carefully observed the size of the Flame Ghost and immediately felt that something was wrong.

As the magma gradually solidified, black Emperor armor was revealed on its body, which was quite different from ordinary Flame Ghosts.

This meant that the Flame Ghost seemed to be evolving; if it could evolve into a Flame Ghost King, it would certainly be able to break the lava chains and lead the Flame Ghosts to rush out of Tongzhudiyu.

By that time, the entire Tongzhudiyu would be completely occupied by the Flame Ghost army, and he would lose the enhancement of his Soul Weapon because Tongzhudiyu had been occupied, ultimately falling to the status of an ordinary Tier 7 Beast Tamer.

Fifty percent of Yantong's strength came from his Soul Weapon; without the Soul Weapon, he was at the bottom of the Tier 7 ranks.

"Quick, go and activate the seal! We absolutely cannot let the Flame Ghost rush out of the seal, absolutely!"

Yantong shouted loudly.

Afterwards, he glanced at Ye Bai and hurriedly rushed toward the Flame God Temple.

The Flame God Temple was the hub that controlled the copper pillar and could activate the Purgatory Destruction Array, and the copper pillar behind him was the key to activating this array.

"Lord Yantong, you are leaving Twenty-Eight Mansions behind to face the Flame Ghost alone; isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Yantong's subordinate hesitated and said to Yantong.

Yantong's bell-like eyes glared fiercely at his subordinate: "Stop running your mouth."

"Is there any one of you who is a match for the Flame Ghost?"

"And since I have to activate the Purgatory Destruction Array, why can't Twenty-Eight Mansions stay behind and fight the Flame Ghost?"

"What's more, this Flame Ghost has vaguely shown a trend of evolving into a Flame Ghost King; I might not even be a match for it."

"Lord Twenty-Eight Mansions arrived just in time; he can just happen to take the blame for me."

Yantong's abacus was practically clicking right in Ye Bai's face.

He looked back and found that Ye Bai was still standing in place, motionless, as if he had been scared silly.

"Twenty-Eight Mansions, so this is your level; you should have a good fight with the Flame Ghost first."

"Once I have activated the Purgatory Destruction Array, I will come back to support you."

Yantong felt that Ye Bai would surely be able to hold on for a while, and it wouldn't be too late to come back to rescue him then.

As for whether Ye Bai would blame him, Yantong did not take it to heart; in any case, what he was doing was to prevent problems from occurring in Tongzhudiyu.

Once Tongzhudiyu fell into chaos, this layer of Rashomon would also lose control, and then it would be difficult for anyone to answer for it.

As the Flame Ghost's entire upper body gradually broke free from the constraints of the magma, the surrounding air seemed to be distorted by the high temperature, emitting a crackling sound.

Its muscles appeared even more robust and twisted under the licking of the magma, and every part of its body radiated scorching energy.

The Flame Ghost let out a deafening roar, a sound that echoed throughout Tongzhudiyu, making every existence that dared to listen feel a trembling deep within their Soul.

Just at this moment, the chains wrapped around the Flame Ghost's arms emitted a crisp "ding" sound.

Ye Bai noticed that cracks were appearing on these chains.

Streams of crimson energy flowed along the chains into the Flame Ghost's body.

It seemed to be absorbing the energy of the chains to evolve rapidly.

Ye Bai discovered that a tumor had begun to grow on the single horn on the Flame Ghost's head, and immediately after, crimson ghost horns emerged from the tumor.

It had begun to evolve; the magma that had originally sealed the Flame Ghost had now become the energy source that prompted its evolution.

The Flame Ghost was submerged by the magma, and it was only after the magma receded that its true form appeared before Ye Bai.

The Flame Ghost King's face was hidden beneath a rolling flame mask, revealing only two eyes flickering with crimson light.

The crimson horns on its head were the source of the Flame Ghost King's power.

A "Ghost" is not quite the same as a "Specter"; a Ghost refers to a Soul creature that is only produced after death due to unwillingness or resentment.

Their source of power generally comes from their strength during their lifetime.

The ghost horns on their heads can clearly distinguish a Ghost's strength; the longer and larger the ghost horns, the stronger the strength.

A "Specter," on the other hand, is a deformed product of rules; they obey certain rules and act according to those rules.

Specters are generally very difficult to eliminate; once they die, they will regenerate in another place.

The Flame Ghost King is a type of Ghost; it is a Soul that has committed many evils, been scorched by raging fire, and then undergone a thousand years of baptism by magma to be able to evolve to this degree.

Once a Flame Ghost King appears, it is a Seven-Tier Peak existence.

Only through enough slaughter and constant fighting can a Flame Ghost King have a sliver of possibility of evolving into a Flame Ghost Emperor.

"I have finally evolved successfully."

"A thousand years of lurking was still worth it, hahaha."

The Flame Ghost King made a hoarse sound, as if its throat had been scorched by raging fire.

It looked at the chains that had bound it for a thousand years, a flash of hatred appearing in its eyes.

"Hmph, I have been imprisoned by you for thousands of years, unable to live and unable to die."

"I have suffered the baptism of magma every moment, in unbearable pain."

"I wished I could perish on the spot, but every time I perished, I would not truly die, but instead, under the power of the copper pillar, I would be reborn again and again."

"But every time I was reborn, I found that my power had improved a little."

"So I secretly accumulated power, just to overthrow Tongzhudiyu."

"Haha, my body is now filled with power; my wish is finally about to be realized."

"I can finally break free from this cage."

The Flame Ghost King laughed loudly.

At this very moment, an unprecedented power surged within the Flame Ghost King's body, and its strength gradually increased.

The violent ghost power caused the entire sea of magma to tremble incessantly, and more and more black shadows appeared from the sea of magma.

Those were the struggling Flame Ghosts.

"My kin, wait a little longer; I will soon be able to break free from this cage and rescue you all."

"Break for me!!!"

"The shackles upon my body!!!"

Within that roar was the Flame Ghost King's anger from enduring a thousand years of torture and a longing for freedom.

The Flame Ghost King struggled to raise both arms, the chains pulled taut, emitting a teeth-grinding sound.

Through the Truth Eye, Ye Bai could see that the crack on the chain was growing larger and larger, as if it could not hold on for much longer.

As the Flame Ghost King's power surged forth, the runes on the chains began to flicker unsteadily, their light dimming and brightening as if making a final resistance.

Immediately following, a crisp and loud snapping sound pierced the silence of Tongzhudiyu.

That chain, which the Flame Ghost King regarded as a binding and imprisonment, finally could not withstand the violent power surging from within the Flame Ghost King's body; the chain burst apart from the middle, turning into countless fragments that scattered onto the ground.

"Long-lost freedom!"

The Flame Ghost King moved his arm; there was a deep indentation on the arm, a brand left behind by the chain that had been wrapped around the Flame Ghost King's arm for years on end.

His other hand, however, was still sealed by a chain with no sign of breaking, but the Flame Ghost King was not worried; he had his own method of breaking it.

(End of chapter)