Chapter 464: The Ghost King Appears

In the bottomless dungeon of Ghost Mother Mountain, ghostly qi surged skyward, and ghost fires glowed eerily.

The entire mountain resembled a colossal beast that had slept for ten thousand years, now awakening due to the intrusion of external enemies.

The moment Hua Changxi rushed in, Ghost Mother Mountain emitted a muffled roar; from within its body came the dragging sounds of countless chains, as if hundreds of millions of resentful souls were screaming beneath the earth.

Layer upon layer of prohibitions activated in response, each woven from ancient ghost runes and soul-devouring ghost chains, glowing with an interlaced halo of eerie green and blood-black.

This was the order prohibition inherent to the Ghost Clan's ancestral vein; any other race stepping inside would, with one careless move, perish here, their flesh, blood, and divine souls becoming nourishment to feed Ghost Mother Mountain's yin vein.

Struck by heavenly lightning, Hua Changxi's spiritual energy went berserk within her body; a fishy sweetness churned in her throat. The flames surrounding her were faint as starlight, yet they still caused the ghostly qi and ghost fires throughout the entire dungeon to stagnate.

"What petty thief dares to break into the Ghost Clan's Ghost Mother Mountain? Retreat immediately!"

Ghost generals and soldiers guarding the dungeon poured out from hidden passages, holding netherworld chains; their eyes held both ferocity and an inability to conceal deep apprehension.

They stared fixedly at that figure bathed in fire—that flame made them tremble with fear.

"Hoo~"

Just as Hua Changxi calmed the berserk spiritual energy within her body, the flames surrounding her began shifting from crimson to gold, then from gold to white, finally settling into a nearly transparent intensity.

Once the Nanming Li Fire emerged, Ghost Mother Mountain shook even more violently.

Spreading her wings, the firebird turned into a crimson shadow and charged straight at the ghost generals and soldiers; before she even drew near, they turned to ash and vanished. Then, like a dragon drilling into an abyss, the firebird resolutely plunged deeper into the heart of Ghost Mother Mountain.

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

Inside the prison cell, green flames licked the stone walls, and the stench of burning flesh filled the air.

The Zhu Que Army and human cultivators struggled bitterly amidst the flames; using their remaining spiritual energy to form formations in defense, they could not stop the erosion of ghostly qi and ghost fires.

Gongshu Xingyan used his own essence blood and soul to drive the Ghost Chisel, finally tearing a fissure in the iron bars—but the gap was too small for anyone to pass through. Gongshu Xingyan's face was already deathly pale, his breath as weak as a candle in the wind, powerless to drive the Ghost Chisel further to break the prohibition.

Everyone had fallen into a desperate situation; many eyes began to lose focus, their minds on the verge of collapse.

Song Weimin smiled bitterly, knowing that people like them would probably not survive: "I thought we would die at the hands of the Ghost Clan, never expecting to die at the hands of our own human race. Truly, truly..."

Watching the ghost fires engulf his legs, Fang Zhuyue also despaired: "What human cultivators? Chu Tianye is utterly unworthy of being called human!"

Others likewise lacked the strength to circulate spiritual energy to resist the ghostly qi and ghost fires; one by one, they collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

Just as everyone waited in despair for death—

"Boom!!!"

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

A streak of crimson fire pierced through from the direction of the mountain gate, like heavenly fire falling upon the world; wherever it passed, ghostly qi evaporated and ghost runes shattered!

Within that firelight, a figure arrived bathed in flames.

Her robes were scorched black, flesh on her left shoulder torn and rolling, lightning marks coiling around her body like snakes, yet her eyes shone bright as the sun burning the heavens.

"Hall Master???"

Seeing the fire-wreathed person descend from the sky, everyone in the prison cell froze, thinking they were hallucinating. Finally, Fang Zhuyue was the first to react; amidst uncertainty and hope, he called out to the newcomer with a trembling voice.

Hua Changxi's gaze swept over the miserable scene in the cell, rage surging in her eyes like churning waves.

"It is me."

Her voice rang like a bell and chime, shattering despair.

"I arrived too late."

As soon as she finished speaking, she joined her fingers to form a seal; a strand of pure Nanming Li Fire leaped from her fingertips—that fire was neither red nor gold, but nearly blazing white, its edges rimmed with a faint golden halo, resembling the first light of dawn or the compassion of a deity.

Nanming Li Fire, supreme yang and supreme purity, specializes in suppressing yin evil.

When the flames entered the cell, it was like spring snow meeting the sun.

The ghostly qi and ghost fires, previously running rampant, suddenly let out piercing, mournful shrieks; struggling to flee, they were instead gently yet irresistibly enveloped, purified, and dissolved by the Nanming Li Fire.

The stench of burning flesh rapidly dispersed, replaced by a clear scent like pine wind and a gentle warmth like morning dew.

The cultivators eroded by ghostly qi and scorched by ghost fires suddenly felt their souls lighten, as if souls that had sunk into a mire had finally touched the light of heaven.

"Hall Master!"

"You really came to save us!"

Cries and wails rose one after another; compared to the excitement of the Zhu Que Army, the other human cultivators merely stared blankly at that figure bathed in fire, seemingly still finding it hard to believe.

"Hum~"

From the depths underground came a low hum like a dragon's chant; Ghost Mother Mountain shook violently, countless cracks splitting open in its body as thick, ink-black ghostly qi gushed out, filling the entire subterranean space in the blink of an eye.

Within the ghostly qi, a vast sea of ghost shadows appeared: some shaped like withered bones, others resembling wailing infants; their shrieks surged like a tide, striking straight at the divine soul!

"Not good!"

Gongshu Xingyan forced himself up, his voice hoarse as he cried, "The ancestral vein prohibition of Ghost Mother Mountain has been triggered! Run! If we do not leave now, we will all become nourishment for Ghost Mother Mountain."

Hua Changxi's expression changed; she stepped forward quickly, placed her palm against the iron bars, and let the Nanming Li Fire spread along them, instantly turning the entire cage crimson.

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

Hua Changxi stepped swiftly into the prison cell; spiritual light surged in her right hand, and the Sumeru Bead flew out from around her neck, transforming into a miniature world.

Next, the Sumeru Bead blazed with brilliant light; spiritual light spread like a net, enveloping all the Zhu Que Army soldiers and human cultivators in the cell—whether gravely injured and near death or unconscious, all were gently drawn into the world within the bead.

Having done all this, Hua Changxi spun her body; crimson flames soared into the sky as she once again transformed into a firebird, flapping her wings and charging toward the exit at the mountain gate.

In the corner of the corridor, Chu Tianye and several of his subordinates lay amidst the flames, their bodies burning with unquenchable remnants of Nanming Fire, their breaths faint and failing.

Chu Tianye lay on his back, watching that figure bathed in fire fly farther and farther away, growing smaller and smaller, until finally disappearing from sight.

It should not have been like this...

He was the one who first discovered the Ghost Fire Well; he was the destined master of the Ghost Fire Well!

He should not have died in the dark and filthy Ghost Mother Mountain; he should have lain on a soft, warm bed, dying of old age, his name recorded in history...

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

The next instant, ghost fires swept over, completely engulfing him. Within those flames, there was no more struggle, only silent annihilation.

Above Ghost Mother Mountain, calamity clouds dark as ink churned endlessly.

The purple thunder python swam through the clouds, appearing and disappearing, as if the Eye of Heavenly Dao had not yet closed.

Amidst the violent trembling of Ghost Mother Mountain, a crimson shadow shot out from the mountain gate with a "whoosh," swift as a meteor tearing through the night sky, carrying the momentum of burning heavens as it rushed straight toward Ghost Infant River.

Behind the crimson shadow, the ghost tide poured forth like an overflowing sea—countless ghosts swarmed out of Ghost Mother Mountain, screaming and roaring, transforming into a pursuing army black as clouds.

To this, Hua Changxi did not turn back; once far from Ghost Mother Mountain, she suddenly felt a weight lift from her heart—the tribulation lock that had felt like thorns against her back had quietly dissipated.

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

However, at that very moment, Ghost Infant River nearby suddenly erupted into turmoil.

The river surface churned up thousand-zhang giant waves; above the water, black qi condensed into form, transforming into an army of thousands upon thousands, so numerous they blocked out the sun and moon, surging onto the riverbanks like a tide.

Even more terrifying, deep in the river's heart, a massive whirlpool was slowly taking shape.

At the center of the whirlpool, black water flowed upward against the current, coalescing into a towering ghost shadow—over a thousand zhang tall, clad in armor of ten thousand soul bones, its eyes like two green moons gazing down upon all living beings.

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

"What exactly is happening in the Ghost Realm that even the Ghost King has mobilized!"