Chapter 465: Karma Fire Burns the River

The sky-scraping ghost shadow looked down upon the myriad beings, endless cold light spilling from its moon-like green eyes.

"How dare you!"

The voice was like thunder, shaking the mountains and rivers.

Hua Changxi felt her eardrums about to burst, and the spiritual power in her body stalled. She had to abruptly stop her rush toward the Ghost Infant River and gazed solemnly at the sky-scraping ghost shadow.

"You actually dared to trespass into my ghost domain's forbidden ground and split my ghost clan's ancestral mountain..."

As soon as the Ghost King entered the forbidden ground, he noticed Jingsheng's bloodline chains and the Ghostfire Token. Sweeping his divine sense, he discovered the boundary wall crack and instantly guessed the origin of the firebird not far away.

Mausoleum Light Hall...

The Ghost King hesitated for a moment; he did not really want to go up against the Vermilion Bird Army. However, if he could obtain the Ghostfire Token and devour the yang souls of the mortal world, his cultivation would surely increase greatly.

Soon, the Ghost King made a decision.

In this great age of contention, how could he be timid and hesitant?

Moreover, that firebird's cultivation was not high—only at the Nascent Soul stage.

"Trespassing my ghost clan's forbidden ground—today you shall return your soul to this place to atone for your crimes!"

As soon as the words fell, the Ghost King raised his hand and waved. The black water of the Ghost Infant River shot up into the sky, turning into countless ghost claws that swept down toward Hua Changxi from all directions.

Sensing the fatal threat, Hua Changxi's firebird body suddenly expanded. Then, spreading its wings, her spiritual power erupted from her body, transforming into a fiery waterfall to meet the ghost claws.

"Boom!"

The two forces collided in midair, firelight and ghostly energy intertwining, erupting into a blinding glare.

The resulting shockwave even shook the Ghost King's body.

This startled the Ghost King—he truly had not expected Hua Changxi's explosive combat power to be this strong.

Immediately, the Ghost King increased the intensity of his attacks.

In the ghost clan's cultivation system, the Ghost King's realm was equivalent to the human race's Spirit Concentration stage.

Hua Changxi was merely a Nascent Soul cultivator, her cultivation fundamentally insufficient to contend with the Ghost King.

As time passed, the ghost claws dispersed into ash and then condensed again, endless and unceasing. But the towering fire waterfall could barely sustain itself, gradually being suppressed by the ghost claws.

Feeling the frantic consumption of spiritual power within her, Hua Changxi's face showed obvious panic as she quickly glanced around.

Behind her was the ghost tide surging from Ghost Mother Mountain.

Ahead of her, the sky-scraping ghost shadow blocked the way in the air, while below, thousands of ghost soldiers crawled out from the Ghost Infant River.

At this moment, she had no retreat and no escape.

Hua Changxi knew she could not continue to match cultivation with the sky-scraping ghost shadow. If she kept going, even if all her spiritual power was depleted, she would still not break through its obstruction.

"Whoosh~"

The flames churned, and a human form emerged.

The next moment, streaks of sword light carrying scorching white flames tore through the air, striking straight at the sky-scraping ghost shadow.

Hua Changxi used all her strength; although it did not reach the level of ten thousand swords flying together, within a few breaths she simultaneously struck out dozens of sword strikes.

Seeing the sword light hurtling through the air, the Ghost King sensed the heaven-burning power emanating from the sword light. He changed expression again and hastily condensed a ghost shield to block the sword light.

"Bang~"

The dozens of sword light streaks landed, shattering the ghost shield directly. At the same time, several sword light streaks struck the Ghost King's body, piercing straight through.

Seeing his ghost body fade, the Ghost King was both shocked and enraged. He no longer held back any strength and attacked with full force.

The Ghost King opened his massive mouth, and the surface of the Ghost Infant River instantly transformed into a giant maw. Hua Changxi immediately felt a terrifying suction force act on her body, trying to drag her entirely into the river.

Hua Changxi struggled desperately, but no matter how she resisted, she could not break free from that suction force.

Just as she was about to be dragged into the Ghost Infant River, Hua Changxi's entire body blazed with spiritual light as she directly employed the "Heaven and Earth Phenomenon" divine ability.

Her entire body suddenly grew larger and taller—ten zhang, a hundred zhang...

Amid surging crimson flames, a giant fiery figure, matching the Ghost King's stature, rose from the ground. In this ghost domain forbidden ground filled with pervasive ghostly energy and eerie ghostfire, it was like a deity descending to the mortal world.

The Ghost King was shaken!

The Netherworld was shaken in all directions!

Human race?!

A human had actually broken into the ghost domain and started a war with the Ghost King!

On the Zhongmen Pass wall, Wei Zhenjie's expression also shifted sharply as he saw the giant fiery shadow.

He first looked puzzled, not understanding how the fire-man had suddenly barged into the ghost domain, but soon an expression of realization dawned on his face.

"Ghost Flame Well..."

Hearing his master's low murmur, Chu Junyi looked over in surprise: "Master, that person is..."

At this moment, he was utterly shocked—having been stationed in the Netherworld for so long, he had no idea that such a formidable expert had appeared in the mortal world.

Wei Zhenjie's expression grew grave: "It's most likely the Lord of Lingguang Hall."

"The Lord of Lingguang Hall?"

"Why does it feel like she's everywhere?"

The other Demon-Suppression Army soldiers on the wall blurted out in surprise—there was no help for it, the name of the Lord of Lingguang Hall had been mentioned far too many times, making it familiar even to those stationed in the Netherworld.

The ghost domain's forbidden land.

Two colossal beings faced off above the Ghost Infant River—one wreathed in flames, the other entwined with black qi. The residual waves from their clashing auras shook Ghost Mother Mountain ceaselessly and stirred up turbulent waves on the Ghost Infant River.

The Ghost King had lost count of how many times he had been shocked. Gazing at the fire-man who stood as his equal, he actually entertained thoughts of retreat.

Now, the ghost domain was in turmoil; several Ghost Marshals were preparing to break through their bottlenecks and advance to Ghost King.

If he suffered severe injuries, and those Ghost Marshals succeeded in their breakthrough, he would likely be unable to continue governing Ghost Realm Fortress.

But just as the Ghost King hesitated, the fire-man moved.

A giant fist blazing with flames struck fiercely. The Ghost King instinctively countered, and the countless vengeful spirits on his Myriad Soul Bone Armor howled as his ghost qi surged tenfold, forming a massive palm that blotted out the sky and slammed viciously toward the flaming fist.

"Boom~"

The two forces collided, erupting in a blinding glare. The shockwave spread outward, pressing a massive hollow into the surface of the Ghost Infant River. River water surged to both sides, revealing a mountain of white bones piled up on the riverbed.

The ghost palm shattered; the flame fist dissipated.

The Ghost King's pupils abruptly contracted. Realizing the fire-man was also a high-level body cultivator, he suppressed his inner tremor and suddenly opened his enormous mouth again.

In an instant, the black water of the Ghost Infant River shot skyward, transforming into several thousand-zhang black serpents with hideous heads, oily green eyes, and gaping maws that bit toward the fire-man.

The fire-man met the black serpents, unleashing a flurry of flaming fists and flaming kicks.

Yet even with all her limbs in motion, Hua Changxi was still entangled by one black serpent, severely restricting her movements.

"Go to hell!"

The Ghost King once again condensed a ghostly palm and viciously struck at Hua Changxi.

As Hua Changxi watched the mountain-like ghost palm bearing down on her, sensing the breath of death, a lotus flame of crimson bloomed in her eyes.

In the next moment, a vivid red fire lotus emerged at her feet, swelling with the wind into a thousand-zhang lotus platform. Petal after petal unfurled, each imbued with the power to destroy heaven and earth.

Seeing the red lotus flame, the Ghost King's expression drastically changed, and he was completely panicked.

"Red Lotus Karmic Fire!"

"Withdraw the karmic fire, and I will let you leave!"

The Ghost King roared loudly, his voice laced with undisguised terror.

Unfortunately, the karmic fire lotus had already ignited the black serpent entangling Hua Changxi, and that serpent was formed from the water of the Ghost Infant River.

Following the black serpent, the karmic fire swept toward the Ghost Infant River.

The Ghost King's face was filled with terror: "This is the ghost domain's forbidden land! You cannot use such a taboo thing here!"

"Ghost Mother Mountain and the Ghost Infant River were born from heaven and earth. If you dare to destroy the ghost domain's origin openly, you will surely suffer heavenly punishment!"

Hearing this, Hua Changxi recalled her experience of being targeted by heavenly tribulation on Ghost Mother Mountain, and her expression also shifted sharply.

However, the Karma Fire spread far too quickly.

Watching the Karma Fire ignite the Ghost Infant River, the Ghost King's eyes split with rage.

Wherever the Karma Fire passed, the black water evaporated, ghostly shadows wailed, and thousands of ghost soldiers were burned until their souls scattered.

"Boom rumble—"

Just as the Ghost Infant River was set ablaze, calamity clouds gathered once again in the sky, even denser and more violent than before.

Purple thunder serpents churned violently within the clouds, locking onto Hua Changxi without mercy.

Dear readers, Happy New Year! May the Year of the Horse bring you blessings and sudden wealth—may 2026 see success at every step.

Also, please allow me to request a day off—I'll be taking a rest tomorrow.