Chapter 271

Guardian, the disturbance is quite big.

On a hilltop in the distance, two voices stood there, gazing far at a scene resembling the Capital of Ghosts' ghost den.

Given the complexity, maybe we can avoid listing Fengdu by not treating it as a named entity? But it's a place name, should be listed. However the instruction: "List every NAMED entity / coined term in these lines: characters (incl. the protagonist & minor ones), places, sects/clans/factions/peoples, official & sect ranks/titles, techniques, cultivation realms/pills/treasures, named beasts/items, fan-fiction names." So yes.

We'll need to produce a glossary list after all lines. Let's collect all named entities.

We'll go line by line and extract.

"Fengdu Ghost Den" -> place

The Supreme Elder of the Ice Immortal Pavilion is indeed far more formidable than imagined; even the Nine Ghosts Old Monster's 'Ghost Den' has been forced out.

Xuezhi Li narrowed their eyes.

Because the distance was too great, fearing detection by the opponent's divine sense, he could only watch from afar and dare not approach; thus he did not really understand the situation on the battlefield.

"Although this Supreme Grand Elder of the Ghost Sect is already advanced in years, the older he gets, the more demonic he becomes; I've heard he has lingered at the Golden Core Perfection stage for several hundred years, right?"

Xue Minghao, the Blood Sect's junior sect master, with hands behind back, felt a sense of apprehension rise in their heart whenever the Nine Ghosts Old Monster was mentioned.

"Ah."

Upon hearing this, Xuezhi Li gave a slight nod, but he did not fear the Nine Ghosts Old Monster as Xue Minghao did; he merely said:

"To occupy the position of the Ghost Sect's Supreme Grand Elder for so long, sitting on abundant resources yet daring not to breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm, is nothing but a waste of a position."

Having spent several hundred years at the Golden Core Perfection stage without ever attempting a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul, this is solely because his cultivation of the ghost Dao makes him overly fearful of the Yuan Ying tribulation.

Although, for these demonic Dao Yuan Ying cultivators, the greatest trouble when attempting to breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm is that the Yuan Ying tribulation manifests as a heart-demon tribulation; yet for an old fogey like the Nine Ghosts Old Monster, who dares not attempt a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm even after a hundred years, Xuezhi Li feels utter contempt.

If he could possess such resources as the Ghost Sect's Supreme Grand Elder, upon reaching Golden Core Perfection, with thorough preparation he would surely resolutely attempt a breakthrough to the Yuan Ying realm.

Regarding Xuezhi Li's words, Xue Minghao nodded in agreement.

"However, I've heard that within the Ghost Sect there is an old ghost who has lived for several thousand years; he is the true master of the Ghost Sect."

Xuezhi Li snorted.

"Humans command ghosts, ghosts command humans—who can say for sure?"

"Humans command ghosts, ghosts command humans," Xue Minghao muttered.

Xuezhi Li flicked his sleeve, and layers of congealed blood spread from beneath his feet, gradually enveloping him and Xue Minghao.

"Hmm?"

Seeing this, Xue Minghao showed a hint of surprise.

"This matter has nothing to do with my Blood Sect; regardless of how things end, it is only beneficial for my Blood Sect. Junior sect master, do not forget our purpose for this trip," Xuezhi Li advised.

Anyway, whether the Ghost Sect wins or the Ice Immortal Pavilion's Bee Daoist wins, it makes no difference to the Blood Sect; the greater their losses, the better for the Blood Sect.

Upon hearing the word 'purpose,' Xue Minghao had no choice but to loosen his grip on a little trinket in his palm.

They nodded.

"I don't even know where that guy ran off to," Xue Minghao muttered resentfully.

"If worse comes to worst, we'll first go look for those people from the Qingzong Sect; after all, this person also came out of the Qingzong Sect."

Xuezhi Li, on the other hand, appeared quite composed.

And as the congealing blood enveloped them, they soon vanished from the spot.

Wuu—wuu—wuu—

Wailing ghostly voices rose and fell, as vast numbers of ghosts surged forth.

The Nine Ghosts Old Monster personally watched as Yunhe sliced down the Ran family elder with his sword, and frightened two mid‑Golden Core cultivators into losing their courage—this was undoubtedly a slap to his face.

If we don't take this person down today, his old face will truly be thrown away.

Fueled by anger, the Nine Ghosts Old Monster clasped his hands together and shouted lowly:

"Nine Ghosts Grand Formation!"

Hum—

From within that murky black mist, nine old ghosts emanating Golden Core aura drifted out, their ghostly power linking to form a dim, vast formation!

This is the Nine Ghosts Old Monster's signature formation, and indeed the source of his dao name.

All Nine Ghosts emerge, Fengdu descends!

As the Nine Ghosts Grand Formation took shape, the yin‑evil qi in the area swelled once more, and the ghosts active in the ghostly mist instantly became far more ferocious.

The spiritual qi in this entire space seemed to rapidly dissipate under the permeation of this ghostly qi, as if a vacuum of spiritual qi had appeared, leaving only a faint ghostly mist.

In such an environment, after a prolonged magical duel, a cultivator's mana will surely fail to connect.

"Nine Ghosts Annihilation!"

The Nine Ghosts Old Monster shouted again, and the nine old ghosts, under his command, brandished claws and fangs, rushing to kill Yunhe.

Yunhe, upon seeing this scene, had not yet reacted, while the two mid‑Golden Core cultivators previously frightened by Yunhe let out a sigh of relief.

"The Nine Ghosts Ancestor's 'Nine Ghosts Grand Formation' is now complete; even if this person possesses two top‑grade tier‑three magical treasures, it will be of no avail."

"We had better get rid of this person quickly; if we don't, we'll be afraid to close our eyes even when we sleep from now on."

But just as they were secretly rejoicing, Yunhe also moved.

Comparing numbers, is that it?

Rattle—

Yunhe flipped his palm, and a great banner suddenly appeared in his hand; the black‑gray standard fluttered without wind, and though the surrounding murky ghostly mist had no effect on it, it instead caused the treasure to emit an even more surging magical power.

And as Yunhe flicked his wrist, waving the banner, beast souls leapt out from the standard one after another, and in an instant dozens of tier‑three monster beast souls burst forth.

"Beast Soul Banner?"

Upon seeing this banner, the Nine Ghosts Old Monster's gaze narrowed.

But when he saw the beast souls surging forth, his pupils contracted sharply and he exclaimed in disbelief: "How many?!"

Nine Ghosts Grand Formation?

Yunhe tugged at the corner of his mouth, letting the Beast Soul Banner sway in the air as he formed hand seals.

"Myriad Beast Grand Formation, arise!!"

For a moment.

Various monster souls emitted waves of hissing roars; amidst their rising and falling, the living souls of the monsters also linked together, forming a great formation.

Bang!!

Inside and outside, the Nine Ghosts Grand Formation and the Myriad Demons Grand Formation directly collided head-on.

Although the Nine Ghosts Old Monster's Nine Ghosts Grand Formation was more perfected, and he had made more preparations for it, Yunhe's Myriad Demons Grand Formation was merely a prototype, an outline.

But there were simply too many beast souls.

Moreover, they were all beast souls of third-rank demon beasts; the sheer combined force crushed the Nine Ghosts Old Monster's proud Nine Ghosts Grand Formation in an almost overwhelming manner.

"How can you have so many beast souls?! How many third-rank demon beasts have you slain?" the Nine Ghosts Old Monster asked, no longer caring about his disgrace, with a hint of fear.

Only a demon cultivator who controls ghosts like him would know what it means for the opponent to summon so many third-rank demon beast souls at once.

But faced with his question, Yunhe merely gave a low chuckle.

Is that all it takes to scare you?

He swept his hand across his waist, grabbed several spirit insect bags, and threw them out without hesitation.

Buzz—

The dense buzzing of wings sounded, tens of thousands of Crimson Shadow Golden Winged Bees surged forth, gathering into a vast crimson-gold cloud.

This was the first time Yunhe had unleashed all of his methods at once.

This could be considered giving full face to this Demon Sect Supreme Elder.

"Eat this ghost mist, you!"

Under Yunhe's command, the massive swarm of Crimson Shadow Golden Winged Bees instantly split into several streams, devouring everything in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, the pervasive yin-yang ghost mist was gnawed away, creating a vacuum zone.

What thing can even eat ghost mist?

To be frank, the beast souls in the beast soul banner, and the sudden appearance of a bee swarm capable of eating ghost mist, have far exceeded the Nine Ghosts Old Monster's understanding.

How could this person possess so many methods?

Originally full of confidence, the Nine Ghosts Old Monster saw his Nine Ghosts Grand Formation unable to deal with the opponent, and being beaten back repeatedly, he instantly felt a bit panicked.

"Why aren't you acting?"

He glared at the two Mid Jie Dan cultivators beside him.

At this moment, the strength of the two Mid Jie Dan cultivators is not to be underestimated; at least if they act, they could restrain much of Yunhe's power.

Perhaps with this force assisting, the situation might turn.

The Nine Ghosts Old Monster does not regret dealing with Yunhe; he merely didn't expect Yunhe to have so many methods, and more importantly, that late-stage third-rank flood dragon greatly restricted his other aide, a fellow Demon Sect Late Jie Dan cultivator.

Upon hearing the Nine Ghosts Old Monster's words, the two Mid Jie Dan cultivators showed hesitant expressions.

Just a second ago they thought with the Nine Ghosts Grand Formation present, Yunhe would surely suffer heavily, but who knew that in merely a few breaths the situation would shift again.

"I'd like to see which of you dares to act."

But Yunhe's voice that followed froze them in place once again.

To act or not to act?

Normally, they have already offended Yunhe; if Yunhe lets them live, they'll truly be in trouble.

But they're also afraid.

The death of the Ran family elder is still fresh in their minds; if they rush forward now and this person attacks them indiscriminately, can the Nine Ghosts Old Monster stop him?

No.

More accurately, will the Nine Ghosts Old Monster intercept?

The answer is obvious.

No!

Even, the Nine Ghosts Old Monster might be pleased, letting them temporarily draw Yunhe's attention to buy him more time.

Thus, after exchanging a glance, they neither acted nor retreated, but chose to watch and wait.

"Good, good, good." The Nine Ghosts Old Monster, who had lived who knows how long, naturally saw through their thoughts.

"Do you really think this ancestor can't handle this person?"

The Nine Ghosts Old Monster's face was ferocious, his eyes flashing with ruthlessness.

He gritted his teeth.

He raised one of his arms, then the other hand chopped down like a blade.

Pfft!!

He actually chopped off his own arm!

This scene left even Yunhe, let alone everyone else, stunned.

But Yunhe reacted fastest, his expression suddenly sinking.

He waved his hand to recall all the Crimson Shadow Golden Winged Bees, and at the same time grabbed the banner pole of the beast soul banner, giving it a light shake to summon back all the beast souls.

"Go!"

With a feral grin, the Nine Ghosts Old Monster's face somewhat pale, he seized his severed arm and flung it into the air.

The next moment.

The Nine Ghosts Grand Formation instantly burst forth with thick ghostly qi, the old ghost's eyes bloodshot as it surged toward that severed arm.

Feeding the evil ghosts with his own flesh!

This isn't over yet.

The Nine Ghosts Old Monster again slammed his chest, spitting out a mist of blood from his mouth, then quickly extended his remaining arm to draw the blood mist in the air.

In the blink of an eye.

An extremely peculiar symbol was drawn by him.

Afterward, the Nine Ghosts Old Monster's lips moved as he began to chant.

Ah——!!

This is an onomatopoeic roar: "Ao——!!" maybe "Aoo——!!". We'll translate as "Ao——!!" (keeping the sound). Usually we represent as "Ao——!!". We'll keep the double exclamation marks.

At the same time.

"At the same time." or "Meanwhile,". We'll translate: "At the same time."

Han Yin Jiao and another late-stage Golden Core cultivator exchanged a move; both sides tacitly increased distance; Han Yin Jiao hurriedly returned to Yunhe's side, its gaze solemnly fixed on the surging ghost mist and the special symbol cast by the Nine Ghosts Old Group, its whole body tense, it swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said:

Master, this old ghost seems

Master, this old ghost seems

The next second.

"Next second." or "In the next second." We'll translate: "In the next second."

The Nine Ghosts Old Ancestor let out a long whistle, his mana surged wildly, his whole body actually shriveled up like a deflated balloon, and in the blink of an eye he seemed to become a dry corpse!

Translate: "The Nine Ghosts Old Ancestor let out a long howl, his mana surging wildly, his whole body withered like a deflated balloon, and in the blink of an eye he seemed to become a desiccated corpse!" We'll keep exclamation.

But the place where the nine old ghosts gathered, the ghostly energy there became extraordinarily vigorous.

"But the place where the nine old ghosts gathered, the ghost qi suddenly became extraordinarily turbulent." We'll translate: "But where the nine old ghosts had gathered, the ghostly aura suddenly became extraordinarily turbulent."

Myriad Ghosts!

Myriad Ghosts!

Then they heard the Nine Ghosts Old Ancestor let out a loud shout.

"Then came a loud shout from the Nine Ghosts Old Ancestor." We'll translate: "Then the Nine Ghosts Old Ancestor bellowed."

The ghostly energy surging where the nine old ghosts gathered also suddenly stalled at this moment.

"The ghostly qi surging where the nine old ghosts had gathered also suddenly stalled at this moment." We'll translate: "The surging ghostly qi where the nine old ghosts had gathered also abruptly stalled at this moment."

"Tsk tsk tsk, Nine Ghosts, what matter has driven you to this point, even summoning this old ancestor?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, Nine Ghosts, what matter has driven you to this point, even summoning this old ancestor?" We'll translate: "Tsk tsk tsk, Nine Ghosts, what has driven you to such a state that you even summoned this old ancestor?"

A light and casual tone.

"A light, casual voice." We'll translate: "A light, offhand voice."

Causing Yunhe's hairs to stand on end all over his body.

"It made Yunhe's hairs stand on end." We'll translate: "It made Yunhe's hairs stand on end."

An old ghost at the Nascent Soul level!

"A Nascent Soul-level old ghost!" We'll translate: "A Nascent Soul-level old ghost!"

The Han Yin Jiao beside him was not much better, its body trembled, and it almost shrank behind Yunhe.

"The Cold Chant Flood Dragon beside him was no better, its body trembling, almost shrinking behind Yunhe." We'll translate: "The Cold Chant Flood Dragon beside him was no better, its body trembling, almost shrinking behind Yunhe."

The Nine Ghosts Old Monster severed its arm to feed the ghosts, then spat out a mouthful of essence blood to draw strange symbols, and finally almost sacrificed all its mana.

The Nine Ghosts Old Monster severed its arm to feed the ghosts, then spat out a mouthful of essence blood to draw strange symbols, and finally almost sacrificed all its mana.

Actually, using the nine old ghosts as a base, they summoned an old ghost with Nascent Soul-level strength?

"It actually used the nine old ghosts as a basis to summon an old ghost of Nascent Soul strength?" We'll translate: "It actually used the nine old ghosts as a basis to summon an old ghost of Nascent Soul strength."

This is not the "Great Possession Technique", because the aura displayed is not comparable to the mere ten or twenty percent of mana of a Nascent Soul old monster using the Great Possession Technique.

"This is not the 'Great Possession Technique', because the aura displayed is not comparable to even ten or twenty percent of the power of a Nascent Soul old ghost from that technique." We'll translate: "This is not the 'Great Possession Technique', for the aura shown is not even comparable to one or two tenths of the power of a Nascent Soul old ghost from that technique."

But it is also not the descent of the true body.

"But it is also not the descent of the true body." We'll translate: "But it is also not the descent of the true body."

However, for Yunhe, there is now nothing to hesitate about.

"However, for Yunhe, there is now nothing to hesitate about." We'll translate: "However, for Yunhe, there is now nothing to hesitate about."

Run!

"Run!" We'll translate: "Run!"

He immediately took out a "Cloud Escape Talisman", slapped it onto the Han Yin Jiao's body, leapt onto its head, and shouted lowly:

"He immediately took out a 'Cloud Escape Talisman', slapped it onto the Cold Chant Flood Dragon's body, leapt onto its head, and lowly shouted:" We'll translate: "He immediately took out a 'Cloud Escape Talisman', slapped it onto the Cold Chant Flood Dragon's body, leapt onto its head, and lowly shouted:"

"Go!"

"Go!" We'll translate: "Go!"

The Han Yin Jiao, which had long wanted to leave, immediately sank its head into the cloud and fled toward the distance.

"The Cold Chant Flood Dragon, which had long wanted to flee, immediately sank its head into the cloud and fled into the distance." We'll translate: "The Cold Chant Flood Dragon, which had long wanted to flee, immediately sank its head into the cloud and fled into the distance."

But soon Yunhe's voice came again.

"But soon Yunhe's voice came again." We'll translate: "But soon Yunhe's voice came again."

"You idiot, where are you fleeing to?"

"Idiot, where are you fleeing to?" We'll translate: "Idiot, where are you fleeing to?"

"Huh?" the Han Yin Jiao blinked in confusion.

"Huh?" the Cold Chant Flood Dragon blinked. We'll translate: "Huh?" the Cold Chant Flood Dragon blinked.

Everyone fled in panic without choosing a path; does it matter where they flee?

"We're fleeing in panic, does it matter where we go?" We'll translate: "We're fleeing in panic—does it matter where we go?"

"To the Ice Stone Land!"

"To the Ice Stone Land!" We'll translate: "To the Ice Stone Land!"

————

This is a separator line. We need to output it as is? The instruction: translate lines. This line is just a series of em dashes. We should translate? It's not text with meaning; it's a separator. Probably we should keep it as is: "———". But we need to output translation. Since it's not Chinese characters, we can output the same line. We'll output: "———".

PS: Today's 11,000, double monthly tickets at month's end, please vote for monthly tickets!

(End of chapter)