Chapter 452: 《A Chinese Ghost Story》: Yan Chixia

"Seeking death!"

Master Ning did not hold the Flame Demon Monarch summoned by Akainu in any regard.

The Sea of Vines, like a meat grinder, would soon swallow it whole; any movement was merely a futile struggle.

But he had not expected,

that these fools he had been playing with would dare to take the initiative to approach him.

This was nothing short of a provocation.

"Sea of Demonic Vines!"

Accompanied by Master Ning's low growl.

The color of the Sea of Vines turned scarlet, and on the surface of each vine root, sharp, fang-like thorns protruded.

Red Blood Mist constantly emerged.

The Flame Demon Monarch, which had previously been able to struggle with difficulty in the Sea of Vines, could now not even move; even with Akainu's maintenance, it was being devoured at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Light Flame Mirror..."

Seeing this, Kizaru spread his arms, and a round mirror emitting dazzling golden light appeared, which he held in his embrace.

Pfft, pfft, pfft.

Countless fine light-flame spears, like embroidery needles, shot madly toward Master Ning.

The Nine-Headed Female Ghost blocked in front of Master Ning, and a Blood Mirror capable of neutralizing and reflecting attacks emerged, swallowing all the incoming light-flame spears.

"Hmph, merely a deathbed struggle."

Master Ning smiled disdainfully, his wrinkles deepening, his appearance ugly and hideous.

Sea of Demonic Vines: Lash! Thick vine roots, like giant monster tentacles emerging from the deep sea, smashed down.

Seeing this, Garp stomped his feet hard and leaped into the air...

Right in the center where the vine roots were crossing and falling, he twisted his body and threw a fierce punch.

Bang! The smashing vine roots were sent flying back toward the sky, and countless shattered juices and vine flesh were like a scattering curtain of rain.

Garp also fell heavily toward the Sea of Demonic Vines, and just as he could faintly feel the wind of the meat grinder against his back, he was coiled by Smoker's flame Poison Dragon and pulled back to the top of the Flame Demon Monarch's head.

"Go to hell!"

On the Nine-Headed Female Ghost's enchanting and beautiful face, the resentment of a fierce ghost appeared.

She turned the Blood Mirror to aim at the Flame Demon Monarch, and the absorbed light-flame spears, as fine as bristles, were reflected toward the Navy Alliance squad.

"What truly foolish fellows; have they forgotten the ability of the Blood Mirror? To dare to attack the master..."

The Nine-Headed Female Ghost wore a fawning expression, like a dog wagging its tail to beg for favor.

Before the words had even fallen, "How could this old man forget the power of the Blood Mirror? What a pity... you have fallen into a trap..."

The bristle-like light-flame spears shot from the Blood Mirror, before they could shatter the Flame Demon Monarch,

condensed into Kizaru's figure right beside Master Ning and the Nine-Headed Female Ghost, holding a light-flame spear and pouncing toward the two ghosts.

"Light? But there is no burning sensation..."

Master Ning raised his hand, and two steel-like vine roots blocked Kizaru, overlapping layer by layer to create a high wall of vines like a Shield.

Sensing the force transmitted from Kizaru's light-flame spear piercing the vine roots, Master Ning said disdainfully: "A clone?"

Under normal circumstances,

Yin beings like him and the Nine-Headed Female Ghost feared sunlight the most.

Originally, he had regarded Kizaru as the most troublesome enemy, but he discovered that Kizaru's light lacked the scorching heat that could evaporate Yin beings, the intense Yang energy like that of the sun.

It was more like the light source emitted by candles or lanterns lit by ordinary humans.

Thus,

Master Ning felt no fear at all; furthermore, the one who had rushed to his proximity was merely a clone that did not even count as the true body.

Turning his head, he discovered that Kizaru's true body was still standing on the head of the Flame Demon Monarch.

He reached out to withdraw the great vine Shield and summoned two vines, wanting to shatter this clone of Kizaru.

"Light Flame Combustion!"

The clone lowered his body, and the light-flame spear rotated into a ring, tearing apart all approaching vines.

But soon, the light-flame spear was shattered by the vines, and along with it, Kizaru's clone was pierced through the abdomen by a slender vine and hung up like a flag.

The clone, having received a fatal wound, had its limbs explode into points of light.

But the corners of its mouth curled up, revealing a smile, and it said: "Didn't I say it? You have fallen into a trap!"

From beginning to end, Kizaru's clone had been facing the enemy head-on, and on the back of the neck where Master Ning's line of sight could not observe,

there was a pitch-black Ziling Zhushu mark.

When Kizaru's clone exploded, thick black smoke emerged. "Master Ning, breaking one's word is not a good thing."

Orochimaru, who had been on top of the Flame Demon Monarch's head, collapsed limply to the ground, turning into a crawling Necrotic Curse Snake.

And Orochimaru's true body surged madly out from the Ziling Zhushu mark.

Shaking his neck,

Orochimaru's body suddenly elongated like plasticine, then expanded, and finally transformed into a black giant snake that blotted out the sky and sun.

Underworld Death Snake.

Necrotic energy gushed continuously from the lantern-like snake pupils, and as the snake tail swung, it instantly entangled Master Ning, who was pressed against the charred Taoshu, along with the Taoshu itself.

The black necrotic curse energy, like deep-sea cold flames burning fiercely, soared into the sky.

The necrotic curse eroded,

"Ah!"

Master Ning, tightly entangled, struggled madly, but it was to no avail; he could only let the necrotic curse penetrate deep into his marrow.

Flesh, blood, and bones were all dyed black under the black Qi of the Ziling Zhushu.

The corrosive power was so strong that in a mere two seconds, it completely turned the body of Master Ning into black water, leaving only the skin of his face, which contained the last of his power.

"No... stop, I am willing to help you fight against Shuyao Laomu, I am sincere this time, no..."

The blood-stained, mangled facial skin struggled with difficulty against the erosion of the curse Qi.

The flesh and skin twitched, constantly shifting between expressions of pleading and sincerity, not wanting to be destroyed.

Trapped in this special space by Shuyao Laomu, it had finally waited for a wave of humans capable of breaking the seal for it; if the skin were destroyed, Shuyao Laomu would seize the opportunity to reinforce the seal, and everything would return to the starting point.

It would be trapped once again in the cage forged by Shuyao Laomu, unable to escape.

"You are crying to the wrong person..."

Orochimaru, transformed into a black snake, had cold and heartless snake eyes, with absolutely no pity or intention to continue cooperating.

Lowering his snake head,

he tore the facial skin containing the demon Qi of Master Ning to shreds in one bite.

The madly surging sea of demonic vines suddenly stopped, then retreated toward the underground like a receding tide.

"No!"

The nine-headed female ghost was first in disbelief, then in terror, muttering in her mouth: "Master..."

She knew very well that once the facial skin of Master Ning was torn to shreds, what awaited her would be death at the hands of the five people.

So she hurriedly drifted toward the direction of Guobei County.

Swish! The black snake whipped its head,

and swallowed the nine-headed female ghost in one bite, the Ziling Zhushu burning to digest her into the purest Yin Qi.

"I didn't expect that I would be used by a female ghost due to a moment of carelessness."

Akainu, having consumed too much, had his internal Flame Demon energy overdrawn.

Sitting on the riddled ground, a look of annoyance appeared on his pale face.

Ding-dong.

A copper-ringed key fell to the ground; it was a dropped item from the dead female ghost.

【Key to the Underground Prison】: Can open a certain cell beneath Lan Ruo Si.

Smoker released a poison mist to scout and discovered a secret passage beneath this destroyed Taoshu.

Creak.

Lifting the wooden board covered by dead branches, fallen leaves, and dust, a stone staircase leading underground appeared.

The five people went down along the stone staircase,

the narrow, damp walls and the pitch-black space giving a sense of suffocation.

Akainu reluctantly summoned a small Flame Demon to lead the way, while also lighting up the dark underground passage.

At the end was a rusted iron cell.

A tightly wrapped, silkworm-cocoon-like sphere sat in the center of the iron cell.

The surface was covered in dense, blood-colored talisman papers, appearing like some kind of special evil seal.

Orochimaru tried inserting the copper key into the keyhole; rusted iron flakes fell off, and the iron cell door slowly opened.

A line of game text appeared, which was the information for that silkworm-cocoon sphere.

【Yan Chixia (Sealed)】: A Xiake Daoren who wanders the human world, upholding justice; extremely weak, consequences of helping to break the seal are unknown.

(End of this chapter)