Chapter 364: Aftermath of Battle

But the Leopard King's transformed light was incredibly fast—many times quicker than the former Treasure Lantern General.

Its speed was far beyond Lin Jue's reach; had it not come to join the battle and had Lin Jue not enraged it, he could never have stopped it from fleeing—and now, even with a Divine Speed Pill, he could not catch up.

In an instant, it crossed the cliff and vanished.

While Lin Jue was momentarily stunned, the spirit servants and the Dragon Lord's ghost behind him caught up.

"Shhh!"

The Dragon Lord swung one hand at him, like a man grabbing a duck.

"Master of Yishan, stay here to confront the demons and eliminate the monsters—this beast's death is not your task. I shall pursue it!"

The voice of the Heavenly Fire General came from above.

Unconsciously, he had addressed this young disciple as "Master."

Hearing this, Lin Jue calmed down, turned back, and looked toward the demons and ghosts in the mountain pit, their spirits already dead with despair.

If the source of this chaos was indeed the Leopard King, these demons and ghosts in the pit were equally vital allies—without these demon soldiers and generals, it could never have invaded human cities or slaughtered entire villages for blood and food. The ambush here had two goals: either crush the Leopard King, or slaughter every last demon soldier and general.

The first might not be achieved at once, but the second must not fail.

"Shhh!"

The Dragon Lord swung another palm.

The Daoist's feet had barely touched the ground when, amid the chaotic winds, he floated backward again, evading the blow.

Solar Many Yaoguai Fire surged forth to block the spirit servants behind him.

Twelve flying swords returned at once, shooting toward the Dragon Lord.

The flying swords no longer required the "Sword-Attaching Spell"; simple incantations were nearly useless against great demons. Now, the swords, humming with spiritual resonance, struck the Dragon Lord's ghostly form.

"Ding ding ding…"

But all struck the iron chains.

The chains shattered, one by one.

Whether the Leopard King had fled too far and the Dragon Lord lost his orders, or whether the giant ghost sensed Lin Jue's intent and froze in place, it stood motionless.

The other spirit servants, already lacking full consciousness and soul, merely followed the Dragon Lord's lead—and now they too stood still.

"Shu shu…"

The flying swords circled wide and struck again.

All chains on its massive body shattered at once, falling away—and before they touched the ground, turned to dust and vanished.

"You spirit servants, I know you are not masters of your own fate. The Leopard King's corpse lies here; its escaped soul can no longer stir trouble. Seize this chance and flee now—do not return to the tiger's mouth! If you still harbor resentment, and once possessed martial skill in life, you may stay and join me in eliminating demons."

The Daoist spoke these words, then ignored them, stepped on the ground, leapt over the Leopard King's body, and flew back.

The demons and ghosts here were making their final stand.

He looked up—

One demon had transformed into a lizard over a zhang long, its back covered in bony plates and spines, riddled with wounds, struggling to climb the cliff face, trying to escape.

Mountain presses down!

The lizard plummeted, slid several zhang, then clawed desperately at the rock to stabilize itself and continued climbing.

But the twelve flying swords arrived!

The Dragon Knife General could also wield the bony plates and spines on its body like weapons—similar to the art of controlling objects. Hearing the wind behind, it knew exactly what was coming.

Yet now, it had no choice: either be pinned to the cliff by the swords, or fall to its death.

The lizard gritted its teeth, let go, and plunged from the cliff.

It crashed to the ground—with several warriors immediately rushing in, swords and spears stabbing and slashing.

The Daoist stepped into the battlefield.

He glanced around—

The old ghost was pinned beneath the five-tailed white fox, whose mouth poured torrents of Solar Many Yaoguai Fire into its throat.

Other demon soldiers surrounded the fox.

The Daoist flicked his sleeve, and a shower of beans spilled out.

Dozens of armored soldiers descended from the sky, blocking the demon soldiers.

On the other side, demons and immortals clashed: one demon spat smoke, extinguished by Master An's flames; another spat black water, diverted midair by Master Pan; another swung a great hammer against Wan Wan Xinrong; another wrestled with a tiger in a tangle of claws and fangs.

"Ding! Ding…"

A chorus of voices rang out.

The smoke-spitting demon's breath halted—without continuation, it could not resist the Many Yaoguai Fire, and roaring flames surged to its face.

One demon froze in motion, drenched in black water—its body hissed, billowing white smoke as its flesh rotted in agony.

Another, slow in combat, had its skull crushed by an opponent's lantern; another, already winning, had its throat seized—when the tiger lifted its head, its mouth was already crimson.

Lin Jue continued walking forward.

A stone statue and bronze idol charged—he spat, and a gust of eastern wind shattered the statue, sending it tumbling. He flicked his sleeve, and the fallen statue rolled, smashing the bronze idol and pinning it down.

Two qiao later, the battlefield fell still.

The mountain pit was now a chaotic warzone, littered with corpses; demons had reverted to their true forms, sprawled haphazardly across the ground.

Countless immortals, Daoists, and warriors surveyed the scene, realizing the demons and ghosts were all slain—their taut nerves finally relaxed, and they collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

The only light came from the fiery clouds above, staining the ground blood-red, corpses strewn everywhere, the scene like that of a realm of asuras.

The only sounds were the night wind and the clattering of stone and metal as half-destroyed bronze and stone statues struggled to rise, pushing against the rubble.

In the dimness, one fox moved boundlessly, leaping from the Leopard King's corpse to the Treasure Lantern General's, sniffing and staring—like it smelled something foul, or remembered the demon's cruelty, then suddenly slapped it down. Soon after, the martial artists stirred.

Some skinned and boned the demons; others searched for useful weapons and artifacts; others methodically finished off the wounded.

Several warriors found the Leopard King's long-handled great blade, far from where it had released the python. They carried it together and placed it beside Lin Jue, bowing respectfully.

Another group dragged the Leopard King's corpse over.

Wan Wan Xinrong and others approached Lin Jue.

"True Immortal? What became of the demon king?" Wan Wan Xinrong held his lantern, bowing first.

"The Heavenly General pursued it—I don't know the outcome," Lin Jue said. "I couldn't keep up."

"It's our low skill that held back the True Immortal," Daoist Tao said, ashamed.

"Indeed."

Others echoed him.

Please... collect... 6... 9... books...!

"Why say such things? Eliminating demons and monsters is never easy. To have the will is already better than most. Your skills are already formidable." Lin Jue studied the Leopard King's great blade and its tattered corpse, paused, then continued, "Besides, if you wish to improve, it's merely a matter of effort."

"It's not that simple…"

"For example—" Lin Jue pointed to a distance, "Daoist Tao, look—the bony plates and spines on the Dragon Knife General are razor-sharp, harder than refined steel. Don't they resemble your flying daggers?"

"Hm?"

Daoist Tao immediately looked over.

Indeed they did!

During combat, the Dragon Knife General had wielded its own bony spines like needles and blades.

Several warriors had already gathered around the Dragon Knife General's corpse, eyeing the bones. Seeing this, Daoist Tao did not delay—he bowed to Lin Jue and hurried over.

"How does one cultivate Thunder Lord's art?"

"One must bathe in tiger blood."

"Aren't there tiger demons here?"

"There are a few!"

"By then, the blood will be like tofu."

"Exactly! I'll go now!"

The man bowed and hurried off.

Lin Jue remained where he was, still studying the Leopard King's body.

This escape technique is a fine skill…

I wonder if the Heavenly General can catch it.

"Ding ding…"

The Daoist drew his longsword and tapped the Leopard King's great blade.

From the Heavenly Fire General's words and the demon's replies, the Leopard King seemed to have some background.

Such a demon king, with such connections, like its spells—few in number but extraordinary—this great blade is clearly a divine weapon too.

But it's too heavy and large—no one could wield it.

If melted down to forge armor and weapons for bean soldiers, it might supply hundreds or thousands. Even if kept as an inheritance, it might last generations.

Lin Jue thought this, then turned his head.

At the gap in the mountain pit, shadows flickered.

They were the Leopard King's spirit servants.

The demon king had used some technique to sever part of their souls, then used the massive Dragon Lord as commander to control them—perfectly filling the vacant general's position.

These spirit servants differed clearly from the old ghost Ge and his horde—the latter acted out of malice, while these were forced; these spirit servants were mostly not human-shaped, their former appearances and clothing unrecognizable, their actions devoid of reason, obeying only the Leopard King and the Dragon Lord's ghost.

Clearly, their souls were incomplete.

Yet these were not spirits born of obsession—they were mass-produced as "demon servants" by the Leopard King's art, bound by spells to serve it. The same was true of the demon servants spat by the Crocodile King—unlike the legends, they were not fully sentient, nor could they shape-shift or deceive like the tales of tigers' spirit servants.

The Dragon Lord's ghost was the same—though perhaps it was inherently stronger than a human, and as a ghost, even more powerful, so it retained much of its consciousness.

Now that the Leopard King has not reclaimed them and is too far away, Long Bo is no longer controlled, and these chang ghosts have regained their freedom.

Since they were not born of obsession but of helplessness, and now that the Leopard King is half-dead, hearing Lin Jue's words caused most of the chang ghosts to disperse on their own. Some, however, had been murdered and imprisoned by the Leopard King; though their lingering souls were not born of obsession, after being left behind, they developed new obsessions, and thus remained where they were.

What relieved Lin Jue's breath was—

Long Bo's spirit still lingered in place; in the darkness, the towering ghostly figure flickered faintly, at least thirty feet tall.

"No matter what, I will kill that demon. Now that it has lost its body, it is no longer a threat. If you wish to seek revenge, you may leave now." Lin Jue stepped forward. "But if you are willing to stay and henceforth follow me in slaying demons and exorcising evils, promoting good and punishing wickedness, so that fewer people will die at the hands of evil demons and ghosts, then enter the bottle."

The Daoist priest produced a bottle in his hand.

A gust of cold wind whooshed through! At least half the ghosts flew in and plunged into the bottle.

Long Bo's expression no longer showed pain but turned simple and earnest. After a pause, he too dissolved into a wisp of blue smoke and flew toward the bottle.

It seemed like a dragon drinking water.

A tiny porcelain bottle held the massive ghost.

(End of Chapter)