Chapter 258: The Dragon Claw Descending from the Heavens

The moment Chen Ping said this, the others also caught on quickly.

The previously rampant Corpse Ghost was now this panicked — surely some Expert had happened to pass by and noticed.

"I am Zhang Yuzhi of Jingzhou. I beg the Expert, have mercy on our lives and rid us of this evil."

"Divine lord, please save us!"

"I have elders above and children below, all counting on me to live. Please, divine lord, save me!"

In an instant, a babble of voices rose throughout the Mountain God Temple.

Seeing this, the Corpse Ghost grew uncertain. Figuring it had already gained enough on this trip, it warily tried to take its leave.

But it was too late.

Baichuan, who had been circling near the Mountain God Temple, watched the young man's act with some amusement.

He had to admit, some people were born quick-witted — in a single instant they could seize upon the Corpse Ghost's inexplicable reaction and use it to wrap themselves in a tiger's skin.

Whether or not it was true didn't matter; as long as it made the Corpse Ghost waver, it was a success.

And then, with such reverent pleas, if any immortal really were passing by and saw so many common folk suffering under a monster, begging them for help and bowing in supplication — even if they hadn't planned to intervene, they would now lend a hand in passing.

Of course, from the young man's words, he had also picked up three terms: Divine Official, Earth God, Expert.

Combined with what he'd learned before, and the different energies he now sensed, perhaps these were strong figures from three — or two — power systems.

That wasn't bad at all.

With a faint smile, Baichuan watched the Corpse Ghost that seemed about to flee, and reached down a Dragon Claw from above.

In an instant, as the energy of his magic/Spirit Qi surged within him, he mimicked the technique the young people had used to raise their Blood Qi, and in one rough breath channeled it all into the Dragon Claw.

In a flash, Baichuan sensed that his Spirit Qi seemed to change — the usually gentle energy suddenly surged violently, as if stirred by something.

The change that followed was that, amid the torrential rain, countless raindrops began to be drawn by an invisible force, gathering and clinging to his claw until they formed a vast, translucent Dragon Claw that hung across the sky.

It was worth mentioning that Baichuan's claw was already enormous — a hundred-meter body, after all — but now, with the heaven-sent downpour drawn in and vast amounts of rainwater clinging to it, its size could only be called a Sky-Shaking Claw!

This Dragon Claw descended slowly from above, aimed straight at the Corpse Ghost.

From Chen Ping's vantage, all he could see was that, after their pleas fell silent, the Corpse Ghost standing at the temple gate suddenly dropped to its knees in terror, and then the sound of rain across the whole world vanished.

Yes — vanished!

In an instant, all was silent, as if the rain had stopped.

But then he saw a sight that would shake him for the rest of his life: an unfathomably vast, strange claw hanging between heaven and earth pressed down from the sky, bearing an invisible, world-toppling weight as it crushed downward.

Then came a tremendous boom, the ground trembling ceaselessly, as if an entire mountain had been shaken.

Immediately after, the Corpse Ghost was snatched away amid a desperate howl, leaving behind only a massive crater.

That crater had been inadvertently pressed into the ground when the giant claw had grabbed the Corpse Ghost.

Shaken, he stumbled out of the Mountain God Temple, leaning on his blade.

"Splash splash splash…"

"Boom rumble rumble!"

The moment he stepped outside, he found the rain had started falling again.

In an instant, a thunderclap exploded, and the sky flashed bright.

In that flash, by the lightning's burst of light, he dimly made out a mysterious serpentine figure gliding through the void high above.

Was that—?!

"Brother Chen, what was that just now?"

Behind him, Zhang Yuzhi, who had narrowly survived and was still catching his breath, asked curiously.

From his angle, he could only see a sheet of black rain.

"Not sure. Maybe some great power just passing through."

"The rain's too heavy and we're all wounded — let's go back and warm up first."

Chen Ping turned back, looked at his friend whose face was similarly pale with curiosity, and shook his head with a light smile.

Yet inwardly he murmured — a dragon, like in the legends?

He never thought that he, Chen Ping, would one day truly see it with his own eyes.

At that moment, Chen Ping gazed at this mountain that seemed to hold no mystery, and a nameless awe and longing welled up in his heart.

Perhaps this was the very mountain where the mysterious dragon had once dwelled.

He recalled the strange scene at the sculpture earlier, and the secluded pool nearby.

Chen Ping silently resolved on one thing: to scoop up more of that pool water.

As the old saying goes, it is not the depth of the water that matters, but the dragon within that gives it Spirit.

Rather than the mysterious dragon merely passing through, he was more inclined to believe the true dragon had lingered on this mountain for a long Time.

That pool might very well hold the dragon within it.

……

Meanwhile, Baichuan, who had departed clutching the Corpse Ghost, was himself somewhat shaken.

He wasn't shaken by the strength of that power, but by the fact that its destructive force far exceeded his calculations.

He had only curiously mimicked the young people's technique for wielding power to use his own Spirit Qi, yet the usually gentle Spirit Qi had ignited like gunpowder, stirring up a change across heaven and earth that he had never anticipated.

It was as if Spirit Qi in this land was not 1+1=2, but 1+1>2 — truly extraordinary.

What was that change, exactly?

And he had only crudely imitated a martial artist's technique, yet unleashed such terrifying power — what if he used a spell actually designed for this energy?

Clearly, when he used those Techniques from the Western lands, none of these strange changes had occurred.

What was the difference between the two?

At that moment, Baichuan recalled the earlier change and murmured to himself.

After half a beat of failing to sort out the reason behind it, Baichuan let out a deep breath of stale air and stopped thinking about it, turning instead to look at the trembling corpse ghost in his claws.

Although this corpse ghost had been quite ferocious in front of those humans, to him it was fragile and not worth a second glance.

Then, the research should begin.

Thinking this, with a single shift of Baichuan's mind, this entire region became filled with his Light Point energy.

Following that, part of the energy slowly transformed into a transparent barrier, while another part simulated environmental changes on the outer layer.

At this point, this region was once again as calm as if no living creature existed within it.

After finishing this, Baichuan finally set down the corpse ghost in his claws.

"Little fellow, don't be afraid, let me take a look at your secret."

Looking at this trembling, ceaselessly retreating pitiful corpse ghost, Baichuan spoke a line of predatory words that made her feel terror.

"No, no! Don't come any closer, my lord will not let you get away with this!"

This both pitiful and helpless corpse ghost, watching the dragon with ill-intent written all over its face drawing closer, could not help but retreat in despair as it spoke.

……

(End of this chapter)