Chapter 496: Lady Chi Yan

As the procession holding white bone lanterns slowly walked out of the ghost village, the nearby Ghost Clan members all retreated one after another, none daring to provoke them, seemingly very wary.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi hurriedly retreated into the depths of the ghost crowd by the roadside, hiding among them.

Ghost Clan Member A (shrinking his neck): "Hiss... Lady Chi Yan hasn't stepped out of Ghost Nightmare Village for many years. Today, rushing to the Ghost Realm Fortress with such fanfare, I wonder what it's for?"

Ghost Clan Member B (shivering, voice weak): "What else could it be? In my opinion, it must be that the appearance of the Lord of Huang Quan just now alarmed Lady Chi Yan."

"Lady Bian Hua's avatar was destroyed, and the Lord of Huang Quan will definitely not let it go. Ghost Nightmare Village is adjacent to the Ancient Huang Quan Path. If the Lord of Huang Quan really wants to cause trouble for the Ghost Clan, Ghost Nightmare Village will be the first to suffer."

"Lady Chi Yan is, in all likelihood, entering the city to find out the situation."

Ghost Clan Member C (eyes flashing with terror): "The pressure that the Lord of Huang Quan erupted with just now was really too scary. If our village didn't have a magic array to protect it, many low-level Ghost Clan members in the village would have had their souls scattered."

Ghost Clan Member D (voice lowered extremely low): "I hope the Ghost King can find the murderer soon and give the Lord of Huang Quan an explanation, otherwise, I'm afraid we will never be able to set foot on the Huang Quan Path again!"

"Once the Lord of Huang Quan gets angry and blocks the river, we won't even have a chance to escape."

Ghost Clan Member A (shuddering, the ghost fire in his eyes flickering, as if recalling some extremely terrifying scene): "Isn't that so."

"Do you still remember that a hundred years ago, the Ghost Realm Fortress and the Lord of Huang Quan fell out? During that time, any Ghost Clan member who set foot on the Huang Quan Path was swallowed by the Lord of Huang Quan, without even a chance to resist."

Ghost Clan Member B (shrinking his neck, continuing with lingering fear): "How could I not remember? During that time, it wasn't just the Ghost Clan in the Ghost Domain that suffered. The Lord of Huang Quan was simply crazy; even the raw souls that had just died in the human world and entered the Nine Nether were swallowed up by him."

"During that period, the Ghost Domain had no replenishment of new souls, and many villages and towns dissipated on their own due to the lack of fresh soul power."

"In the end, if it weren't for the joint pressure from Youdu City and the Reincarnation Hall, who knows how many Ghost Clan members and raw souls the Lord of Huang Quan would have swallowed."

Ghost Clan Member C (indignant, but not daring to speak loudly): "Sigh, the Lord of Huang Quan is simply too domineering!"

Ghost Clan Member A (glancing gloomily at the surging Huang Quan river water in the distance): "Who told him to have such a deep foundation? Any territory the Huang Quan water flows through is his domain. As long as the river doesn't dry up, he is everywhere."

"We little ghosts should just pray that this storm passes soon..."

Hua Changxi mingled among the Ghost Clan, listening to the various Ghost Clan members "chattering" in a ghost language she couldn't understand, her expression somewhat wooden and stiff.

She didn't expect that the most difficult hurdle she would encounter deep in the Nine Nether would be—the language barrier!

Looking at the "whispering" Ghost Clan, she could at most see the emotions they revealed, and through their body language, roughly guess that the Ghost Clan was discussing the aftermath of the Lord of Huang Quan's appearance.

Hua Changxi quietly restrained her aura and, under the cover of the grey fog, quietly slipped away from the group of whispering ghosts.

She didn't dare to stay long.

Even if she used ghost fire to imitate the coldness of the Ghost Clan, once a Ghost Clan member came up to talk to her, even if she remained silent, it might arouse suspicion; if she opened her mouth, she would be exposed instantly.

"Must find a way to overcome the language barrier..."

Otherwise, if she entered the Ghost Realm Fortress and encountered an emergency that required her to speak, and she didn't know the Ghost Clan language, the only thing waiting for her would be to run away.

Learning the Ghost Clan language, besides being convenient for disguise, had another reason: she had finally entered the Ghost Realm Fortress, and if she couldn't "hear" anything and couldn't find out any news, that would be too much of a loss.

But how to learn it?

Hua Changxi thought of the "Soul Control Art" in the "Twelve Soul Control Styles" she had exchanged with Wei Zhenjie using the "Nine Revolutions Profound Art," which could control and drive souls.

Perhaps she could learn the Ghost Clan language by controlling a few Ghost Clan members to teach her. Her divine sense was not weak, so she should learn it quickly.

Just as she began to look for a suitable "teacher"...

That procession of white bone lanterns, which had been heading straight for the Ghost Realm Fortress, stopped without warning.

Immediately after, guided by the ear-piercing suona music, the scarlet sedan chair slowly changed direction. Not forward, not to the side, but straight towards the direction where Hua Changxi was!

"Hmm?"

Hua Changxi's heart jumped violently, and she felt something was wrong immediately.

The place where she was located was completely opposite to the direction of entering the Ghost Realm Fortress. Why would the red sedan procession suddenly change its route and approach this side?

Especially after seeing that the surrounding Ghost Clan members also showed surprise and confusion, Hua Changxi, disguised as a "Ghost Clan member," became even more vigilant and carefully retreated to a more remote place.

To verify whether the red sedan procession was coming for her, Hua Changxi deliberately changed directions several times while retreating.

However, no matter how she changed directions, the speed of the scarlet sedan chair was always like a maggot on a tarsal bone, following her like a shadow, and getting closer and closer...

Hua Changxi was certain—she had been discovered!

Taking a deep breath, Hua Changxi stopped making futile attempts and retreated into the depths of a more remote and darker stone forest.

The terrain there was complex, and the grey fog was thick. If the other party really wanted to make a move, she would at least have more room to maneuver.

After entering the stone forest, Hua Changxi let her figure completely blend into the darkness that was too thick to melt, and then, like a hunter, waited quietly for the arrival of the scarlet sedan chair.

A quarter of an hour later, that suffocating procession of white bone lanterns finally stopped outside the stone forest.

The wind seemed to freeze at this moment.

The curtains of the scarlet sedan chair moved without wind, slowly lifting a corner. A pair of eyes exuding a sinister chill, like two ghost lamps, pierced straight through the layers of rocks and grey fog, locking onto the corner where Hua Changxi was hiding with absolute precision.

"Heh... what a fragrant raw soul."

A lazy but bone-chilling voice exploded in the void, carrying a bit of playfulness and greed.

As soon as the words fell, red light appeared in the sedan!

Lady Chi Yan had transformed into a blood-colored rainbow, tearing through the grey fog and flying straight into the stone forest.

Hua Changxi's expression was grave; the pressure exuded by the female ghost in red was even stronger than that of Lady Bian Hua's avatar earlier.

She didn't want to use the black broken blade, but she really didn't want to cause a big commotion outside the Ghost Realm Fortress, so when the female ghost in red attacked, she didn't dodge, but acted as if she were scared silly, waiting for her to approach.

She stood stiffly in place, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, quietly waiting for the prey to approach.

One hundred meters...

Ten meters...

The beautiful yet ferocious face of the female ghost in red was already clearly visible before her eyes. The sharp claws she extended exuded a bone-chilling cold, pointing straight at Hua Changxi's face, her eyes full of the ecstasy of about to enjoy a meal.

One meter!

This is it!

The black broken blade suddenly appeared in the palm of Hua Changxi's empty right hand.

Raise the blade, hack.

No fancy movements, only extreme speed and ruthlessness.

"Netherworld..." Lady Chi Yan could have dodged, but seeing the black broken blade, she was stunned.

When experts fight, life and death are decided in an instant.

Puchi!

Black light cut through the sky like lightning, carrying an invincible sharpness, and slashed down fiercely!

A crisp sound like tearing silk exploded, and the female ghost in red didn't even have time to scream before she was split in two!

However, the soul-scattering that was expected did not happen.

The cultivation of this female ghost in red was far beyond the Bian Hua avatar she had killed earlier. The two halves of the body that were split open did not collapse and dissipate, but instead erupted with intense, eye-catching blood-colored light the moment they touched the ground!

"Roar~"

A shrill roar sounded from both halves of the remains simultaneously.

The churning ghost energy twisted crazily like a living thing, and in just the blink of an eye, the broken body was trying to re-adhere at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi's expression changed, and she swung the blade again.

Outside the stone forest, that procession of white bone lanterns still stood quietly in place.

Half an hour later.

A slightly flickering red light sped out from the stone forest, cut through the night sky, and flew straight into the scarlet sedan chair.

The sedan curtain fell, covering everything inside.

"My Lady~"

The maid on the left side of the scarlet sedan chair was just about to step forward, but before the words fell, a clear bell sound suddenly cut through the silence, and the sound wave swept across the entire procession like ripples on water.

Once the bell sound entered their ears, the eyes of all the Ghost Clan members instantly became vacant and hollow.

The bell sound stopped, the hollowness faded, and the spirits of the Ghost Clan members were reignited, an absolute submission to the woman in red in the scarlet sedan chair.

Then, the long-silent suona music sounded again, and the procession slowly set off, walking straight towards the towering and eerie Ghost Realm Fortress. ===== CHAPTER 497 =====