Chapter 464: The Ghost King Appears

In the bottomless dungeon of Ghost Mother Mountain, ghost energy surged to the heavens, and ghost fire burned eerily.

The entire mountain body was like a giant beast that had slept for ten thousand years, now awakened by the invasion of an external enemy.

The moment Hua Changxi rushed in, the entire Ghost Mother Mountain let out a dull roar, and the sound of countless chains being dragged echoed from within the mountain, as if billions of wronged souls were wailing underground.

Layers of restrictions rose in response, each one interwoven with ancient ghost patterns and soul-devouring ghost chains, glowing with a mix of eerie green and blood-black light.

This was the order restriction inherent to the Ghost Clan's ancestral vein. If another clan stepped in, they would accidentally fall here, their flesh and soul becoming nourishment to feed the yin vein of Ghost Mother Mountain.

Hua Changxi was struck by the heavenly thunder, her internal spiritual power surged, and a fishy sweetness welled up in her throat. The flames around her body were as weak as sparks, yet they still caused the ghost energy and ghost fire in the entire dungeon to stall.

"What kind of petty thief dares to break into the Ghost Clan's Ghost Mother Mountain? Retreat at once!"

The ghost generals and ghost soldiers guarding the dungeon surged out from secret passages, holding netherworld chains, their eyes filled with both ferocity and a deeply hidden dread.

They stared fixedly at the fire-bathed figure—that flame made them feel chilled to the bone.

"Whoosh—"

Hua Changxi had just calmed the surging spiritual power in her body when the flames around her began to turn from scarlet to gold, then from gold to white, finally settling into a kind of nearly transparent intensity.

Once the South Bright Li Fire appeared, the entire Ghost Mother Mountain shook even more violently.

Spreading her wings, the firebird transformed into a scarlet shadow, charging straight at the ghost generals and soldiers. Before she even got close, the ghost generals and soldiers were reduced to ash, and then the firebird, like a dragon drilling into an abyss, resolutely plunged deep into Ghost Mother Mountain.

At the same time, in the hinterland of Ghost Mother Mountain, ghost fire was like a tide.

In the cell, green flames licked the stone walls, and a charred stench permeated the air.

The Zhu Que soldiers and human cultivators struggled bitterly in the flames, everyone forming a formation with their remaining spiritual power to resist, but they could not block the erosion of the ghost energy and ghost fire.

Gongshu Xingyan used his own essence blood and soul to activate the ghost chisel, finally tearing a crack in the iron bars—but the crack was too small to allow anyone to pass through, and Gongshu Xingyan was already pale, his breath as weak as a candle in the wind, unable to activate the ghost chisel to break the restriction again.

Everyone fell into a desperate situation, and many people's eyes began to lose focus, their consciousness on the verge of collapse.

Song Weimin smiled sorrowfully, knowing that they would likely not survive: "I thought I would die at the hands of the Ghost Clan, but I never expected to die at the hands of a human. Truly..."

Watching the ghost fire submerge his legs, Fang Zhuyue also despaired: "What kind of human cultivator is this? Chu Tianye is not worthy of being human!"

Others were also unable to mobilize their spiritual power to resist the ghost energy and ghost fire, falling to the ground one after another.

Just as everyone was despairing and waiting for death—

"Boom!!!"

The entire dungeon shook violently, as if the earth had been split by a giant axe.

A scarlet fire light pierced through from the direction of the mountain gate, like heavenly fire falling to the world. Wherever it passed, ghost energy evaporated and ghost patterns shattered!

Within that fire light, a figure arrived bathed in flames.

Her robes were charred black, the flesh on her left shoulder was rolled back, and lightning scars coiled around her body like snakes, but her eyes were as bright as a burning sun.

"Hall Master???"

Looking at the fire person descending from the sky, everyone in the cell was stunned, thinking they were hallucinating. Finally, Fang Zhuyue was the first to react, and in uncertainty and anticipation, she called out to the person in a trembling voice.

Hua Changxi's gaze swept over the tragic scene in the cell, and the anger in her eyes surged.

"It's me."

The voice was like a bell, shattering despair.

"I'm late."

As soon as she finished speaking, she formed a seal with her fingers, and a wisp of the purest South Bright Li Fire leaped from her fingertips—the fire was neither red nor gold, nearly scorching white, with faint golden halos on the edges, like the first light of dawn, and like the mercy of a god.

South Bright Li Fire, supreme yang and supreme purity, specifically counters yin evil.

The fire entered the cell like spring snow meeting the sun.

The rampant ghost energy and ghost fire suddenly let out shrill shrieks, struggling to escape, but were gently and irresistibly wrapped, purified, and dissolved by the South Bright Li Fire.

The charred stench quickly dissipated, replaced by an aura as clear as pine wind and as warm as morning dew.

The cultivators who had been eroded by ghost energy and burned by ghost fire suddenly felt their souls lighten, as if their souls, which had been sinking into a quagmire, had finally touched the light of heaven.

"Hall Master!"

"You really came to save us!"

Cries of joy rose one after another. Compared to the excitement of the Zhu Que soldiers, the other human cultivators just stared blankly at the fire-bathed figure, seemingly still unable to believe it.

"Hum—"

A low hum like a dragon's roar came from deep underground, and the entire Ghost Mother Mountain shook violently. The mountain body split into countless cracks, and ghost energy as thick as ink surged out, filling the entire underground space in the blink of an eye.

In the ghost energy, massive amounts of ghost shadows appeared, some shaped like withered bones, some like wailing infants, their shrieks like a tide, charging straight at their souls!

"Not good!"

Gongshu Xingyan struggled to stand up and hissed: "The ancestral vein restriction of Ghost Mother Mountain has been triggered! Run! If we don't leave now, we will all become nourishment for Ghost Mother Mountain."

Hua Changxi's expression changed. She walked forward quickly, placing her palms on the iron bars. The South Bright Li Fire spread along the iron bars, instantly turning the entire cage scarlet.

With a crisp "crack," the iron bars snapped like rotten wood.

Hua Changxi stepped into the cell quickly, spiritual light surging in her right hand, and the Sumeru Bead flew from her neck, transforming into a miniature world.

Following this, the Sumeru Bead shone brightly, its spiritual light like a net, covering all the Zhu Que soldiers and human cultivators in the cell—whether they were seriously injured and dying, or unconscious, they were all gently taken into the world within the bead.

After doing all this, Hua Changxi spun, scarlet flames rising into the air, transforming back into a firebird, and flapped her wings, charging toward the mountain gate exit.

In the corner of the corridor, Chu Tianye and his subordinates lay in the flames, their bodies burning with inextinguishable residual South Bright fire, their breath fading.

Chu Tianye lay on his back, watching the fire-bathed figure fly further and further away, becoming smaller and smaller, finally disappearing from sight.

It shouldn't be like this...

He was the first to discover the Ghost Fire Well; he was the heaven-ordained master of the Ghost Fire Well!

He shouldn't die in the dark and dirty Ghost Mother Mountain; he should have been lying on a soft, warm bed, dying of old age, and leaving his name in history...

Tears of unwillingness slid from the corners of his eyes...

The next moment, the ghost fire swept over, swallowing him completely. In that flame, there was no more struggle, only silent annihilation.

Above Ghost Mother Mountain, the tribulation clouds were like ink, churning endlessly.

A purple lightning python swam in the clouds, appearing and disappearing, as if the eye of the Heavenly Dao had not yet closed.

Amidst the violent shaking of Ghost Mother Mountain, "Shoo—", a scarlet shadow darted out from the mountain gate, as fast as a meteor cutting through the night sky, carrying the momentum of burning heaven, and headed straight for the direction of the Ghost Infant River.

Behind the scarlet shadow, the ghost tide poured out like seawater—countless ghost clan members swarmed out from Ghost Mother Mountain, roaring and howling, transforming into a pursuing army like a black cloud.

To this, Hua Changxi did not look back. After moving away from Ghost Mother Mountain, she suddenly felt a sense of relief in her heart—the locking of the heavenly tribulation that had been like a thorn in her back had quietly dissipated.

Hua Changxi's tense nerves finally relaxed slightly: "As long as I reach the blood cage on the Ghost Infant River and activate the Ghost Fire Token, I can return to the Ghost Fire Well..."

However, at this moment, the Ghost Infant River not far away suddenly erupted.

She saw the river surface roll up thousand-zhang giant waves. Above the river surface, black energy condensed, transforming into an army of thousands, so numerous they covered the sky and sun, crawling onto the riverbank like a tide.

Even more terrifyingly, deep in the heart of the river, a giant vortex was slowly taking shape.

At the center of the vortex, black water flowed against the current, condensing into a towering ghost shadow—it was over a thousand zhang tall, wearing ten-thousand-soul bone armor, its eyes like two green moons, looking down on all living beings.

The appearance of the towering ghost shadow shook the entire Nine Netherworlds.

"What on earth happened in the Ghost Realm for even the Ghost King to be mobilized!" ===== CHAPTER 465 =====