Chapter 221: Am I Worthy?

Boom—

Rolling thunder echoed beneath the Fire Phoenix Valley, yet the endless Gobi Desert held only a scorching autumn wind.

A group of over forty, sheltered by night, advanced across the desolate plain; every person wore a black cloak, and as they moved, black-blue skin covered in dense spells occasionally showed, their movements perfectly synchronized, making almost no sound.

At the center of the group was a sedan chair with a black sand canopy, carried forward by eight figures.

Jiang Qizi leaned against the sedan chair, his dim old eyes gazing at the familiar land he had not set foot on for many years, his gaze filled with nostalgia for past glories.

When he was born, Linglu Valley was still a major sect of the Southern Border, quite renowned even among the Evil Paths.

But alas, good times did not last; after the Corpse Ancestor was destroyed, the Gu Du Pai was exiled to the Southern Border, and then Master Sikong began using the excuse "unbowed by grievance, one then knows the gentleman" to start slaying demons and monsters in the Southern Border, while also confiscating territories.

Jiang Qizi could not understand: the Corpse Ancestor bore that name because he had a foundation in the Wu Sect, could control puppets, and could borrow corpses to return to life infinitely, yet his master was not from the Corpse Witches Sect; he was Sikong Shitang, and Sikong Tianyuan was, by reckoning, the Corpse Ancestor's junior brother!

Your family trashed the entire world, yet how do you have the face to come to the Southern Border and claim to uphold the Righteous Path by slaying the Corpse Witches?

But the Dao of cultivation ultimately relies on strength; under pressure, Jiang Qizi could only flee to the quagmire of Ghost Weeping Marsh to barely survive, and after struggling hard to cultivate and accumulate his assets, everything was lost again in the Jian'an Incident.

Afterwards, his disciple Tai Shu Dan, seeing his family's decline, stole away his remaining few puppets and assets...

Now, Jiang Qizi is over a hundred years old; aside from these walking corpses, he has only a few unambitious disciples left. If no change occurs, he will surely die of depression, and Linglu Valley will be erased from the world.

But if he obtains the Ling Guang Divine Gift, he will have a chance to advance further, perhaps even rise again; the Fire Phoenix Valley is right at his doorstep, almost within reach.

For this reason, Jiang Qizi, knowing He Tianqi was no good, still had to come on this trip; otherwise, he would have no opportunities left in his life.

Unexpectedly, He Tianqi's information turned out to be true.

As soon as they arrived, strange movements appeared in the Fire Phoenix Valley, signaling that the opportunity had been taken.

Then, activity in the sky appeared in the distance; it seemed Xu Guanfu and Yan Lang had gone to block someone.

Xie Jinhuan should have a protector nearby and won't die easily; once both sides finish fighting, he can enter the fray and reap the benefits, likely not only securing the Ling Guang Divine Gift but also gaining many opportunities; then he can dive deep into the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, hehe...

Jiang Qizi hoped for this in his heart, but he also knew the journey was perilous, his gaze constantly scanning the movements of the wasteland.

But whether it was his luck turning or his luck fading, who could tell!

Just as Jiang Qizi led his group forward cautiously, half a back of a head suddenly protruded from a crack covered in moonlight, over two li ahead!

The newcomer first looked toward the direction Xu Guanfu and others had gone, then scanned the surroundings, and finally fixed his gaze upon him.

Their eyes met!

The group of over forty stopped abruptly simultaneously, without any command.

Jiang Qizi stroked his skull cane, gazing across at the person peeking out, slightly puzzled.

Xie Jinhuan, peeking out from the crack, saw over forty cloaked figures gathered on the Gobi Desert; he had initially thought the Gu Du rats had brought their families to seize the treasure.

But as the over forty people stopped abruptly without warning, his heart skipped a beat, and he realized something was wrong:

This seemed to be a Corpse Witch!

Controlling over forty puppets simultaneously, one need not think to know this was an old ghost of Super Rank from the Corpse Witches Sect, a thoroughly evil path!

However, the Corpse Witches Sect is strong in puppets and little ghosts; the Zheng Lun Sword and the Yin-Yang Ruler completely counter them, and it's a three-on-one fight...

So this is an unknown Daoist friend delivering extra rewards...

Bu Yuehua and Nan Nan Gong Ye were already terrified; seeing people blocking them when they peeked out, their brows immediately furrowed.

After all, if they were blocked here and the two pursuing groups arrived behind them, there would be no room for negotiation; death was certain.

Nan Nan Gong Ye asked, "What do we do?"

Bu Yuehua gripped her slender waist knife: "Fight or run."

Xie Jinhuan observed the opponent's movements:

"Our consumption is too great; if we run and get entangled, we're done. Focus all fire on that old ghost in the sedan chair and try to eliminate him in one strike."

Nan Nan Gong Ye has already entered Super Rank; if she uses the Zheng Lun Sword, which suppresses ghosts, and activates the Lu Xian Array with doubled thunder techniques, a Corpse Witch is equivalent to meeting a living Yama and cannot fight at all.

Seeing her master, she actually knew the sword in Xie Jinhuan's hand was the true Zheng Lun Sword, ready to be used.

Although doing so would mean Xie Jinhuan, even if blind, could recognize her identity, her life was already on the line...

Seeing the distant group spread out silently and in perfect order, Nan Nan Gong Ye gritted her teeth, pulled the Zheng Lun Sword from Xie Jinhuan's waist:

"Go!"

Bu Yuehua said no more, leaped into the air, and her dress spun in the sky:

Whoosh~

Dim green poison mist scattered from all sides, like the eye of a rapidly expanding typhoon!

On the surface, Super Rank cultivators can borrow the power of heaven and earth; the four realms of the Wu Sect are called 'Divine Descent,' meaning the ancestor possesses the body, greatly enhancing spiritual power and the range of controlling heaven and earth.

The instant Bu Yuehua acted, Xie Jinhuan felt the world around him darken for a moment; the dim green poison mist unfolded like a giant curtain, instantly covering the surrounding land, its scale so vast it felt like being trapped in a sea of fog.

But the next instant, the three understood what 'a small witch meets a great witch' truly meant!

Jiang Qizi, unable to gauge the identity of the person who peeked out, had only intended to apply tentative pressure; discovering a Super Rank poison master had jumped out, he immediately felt something was wrong, leaped through the sand canopy, and raised a black mist dragon along the way.

Then, black corpse smoke surged forth like a tide onto the land, turning everything it passed into a lightless eternal night.

The corpse smoke was extremely corrosive; within it, a thousand ghostly figures surged forth like countless floating corpses washed ashore by the tide, carrying along wails that made the soul tremble:

"Ahhh—!!!"

The over forty puppets, each wielding weapons, mingled within, charging silently through the black mist; under the interference of spiritual souls, distinguishing illusion from reality became impossible!

If it were an ordinary opponent, facing such an array that blocked the sky and covered the sun, it would be impossible to charge through the sea of fog to search for the true body hidden within.

But what Jiang Qizi did not expect was that a poison witch from the Gu Du Pai would team up with the Daoist Sect and bring more than one Immortal Artifact!

Crackling—

As the black and green mists met, a vast heavenly pressure descended upon the Gobi Desert; blue-white Lei Guang shimmered above the sea of fog, and in the instant it appeared, the ghostly figures rushing wildly within the fog all retreated outward together!

Jiang Qizi looked up and saw a black-clad heavenly maiden suspended above the sea of fog, holding a jade-green magic sword; brilliant Lei Guang erupted from the blade, and the golden characters 'Zheng Lun' were faintly visible!

Vast heavenly pressure converged onto the sword, quickly condensing to its extreme; merely seeing the slightly trembling blade edge was enough to feel the terrifying power capable of slaying immortals and destroying Buddhas.

And this was not all; the sea of fog he had unleashed instinctively corroded cultivators' bodies, but now a hollow space several zhang in diameter inexplicably appeared. A white-robed man holding a heavy cold-iron mace stood at the center of the hollow, his left hand gripping the Forbidden Yin Ruler, pushing back the surrounding sea of fog; the man surged forward like a white wolf of the wasteland at full speed, knocking aside puppets that lunged at him along the way, charging directly toward his hidden location.

And another figure, a woman swift as a flying shuttle, wielded a slender waist-blade; black flying blades swirling around her like chaotic, dancing butterflies, she used an extremely ghostly movement to bypass the puppet, then rushed straight toward the man in white robes.

???

Jiang Qizi, an elder well-versed in many things, recognized at a glance the Danding Sect's two supreme artifacts—the Yin-Yang Ruler and the Righteous Sword.

Along with Xie Laomo's forced head-lock...

One could say: whatever formation the Danding Sect used against the Corpse Ancestor back then, that is exactly the formation used against him now!

But does he deserve such treatment?

Jiang Qizi possessed neither the half-demon physique nor the soul-returning technique of the Corpse Ancestor; under the dual seals of the Righteous Sword and the Yin-Yang Ruler, with the puppet's quality being low, the only option left was soul-curse techniques.

Even that was head-locked by Xie Jinhuan, unable to hide his true form, while the Immortal-Slaying Array pointed directly at his forehead!

Jiang Qizi merely glanced at the lineup and knew his life was forfeit! He commanded the puppet to intercept, his form turning into a black ghostly shadow, darting through the mist sea in an attempt to evade the thunder-attack and flee back to the Ghost Weeping Marsh's lair.

But the next instant!

Boom—

Xie Jinhuan unleashed a full-power heavy strike; wild winds swept the earth, like an immortal splitting the mist sea with a single sword, leaving a hundred-zhang-long trench that briefly exposed the darting ghostly shadow within.

Crack—

Lei Guang tore through the sky curtain, illuminating the entire mist sea!

Nangong Ye raised his hand and thrust forward; the Righteous Sword, wrapped in green-white Lei Guang, transformed into a brilliant thunder dragon, shooting along the cleaved vast earth toward the darting old ghost.

Terrifying heavenly pressure pressed from behind; Jiang Qizi exerted all his strength to evade, but the Righteous Sword, wielded by Nangong Ye, dragged Lei Guang to draw a zigzag in the sky; in the blink of an eye, it struck his form, emitting a deafening boom:

Boom—

Under the Lei Guang, half of Jiang Qizi's shoulder instantly exploded into fragments; the remaining torso froze in mid-air, then plummeted toward the Gobi Desert below.

Bu Yuehua arrived with the Lei Guang; her left hand dragged a line of blade-light, her dark-red fox-eyes fixed on the old ghost's eyes, as she struck his neck with full force!

Clang—

Jiang Qizi was ruthless; even in a completely disadvantageous position, he still used his bone staff to barely parry the killing blow. Facing the soul-shock triggered by the fox-eyes, he opened his mouth and let out a sound:

"Ahhh—"

The sound was like a vengeful ghost's scream!

Bu Yuehua was suppressed in reverse, her mind instantly dazed and her balance lost in mid-air.

But Xie Jinhuan had already rushed forward at full speed; a Black Dragon Colliding with the Pillar, like an eagle striking the sky, created a black-green tornado in the mist sea, striking Jiang Qizi's left foot squarely.

Boom—

Bu Yuehua dazed for an instant, then quickly regained her senses, dragging her blade-light to flash back in mid-air, pursuing behind Jiang Qizi.

Meanwhile, the Righteous Sword, dragging Lei Guang, darted like a flying shuttle and struck the torso again.

Boom-boom-boom—

Beneath the night sky, Lei Guang and blade-light converged!

The booms were dense as rain; after just one wave of assault, countless chunks of flesh and blood scattered in mid-air.

The aging Jiang Qizi, if he were to clean up the remnants, might still have some chance, but facing this utterly unreasonable gang-attack, he had no power to counter.

After only two rounds of charging and killing, Jiang Qizi's body was shattered and ruined under the bombardment; his cloudy old eyes displayed the ferocity of a vicious beast. Driven by the ruthlessness of taking one down with him before dying, black blood surged from his right arm, soaking his bone staff; then, gathering his last strength, he hurled it downward at the pursuing first-grade ant below:

"Die!"

Buzz—

The bone staff struck the ground directly, piercing a hollow tunnel through the mist sea!

Xie Jinhuan, standing before the hollow, his form tiny as an ant, sensed danger and immediately dodged at full speed.

Bu Yuehua knew the power of this dying counterattack; before acting, she had already fully unleashed her speed to flash forward before the bone spear, slashing horizontally in mid-air.

Boom—

Under the blade-light, the black bone spear shattered into four pieces.

But the contained soul-shock nearly shattered Bu Yuehua's three souls and seven spirits, sending her crashing down to the ground.

Meanwhile, the Righteous Sword, dragging Lei Guang, pierced Jiang Qizi's chest at that very moment, blasting his remaining half-body into fragments!

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan leaped into the air, caught the falling form, and shouted loudly:

"Go!"

At the same time, he flashed forward in a wild assault, grabbing two artifacts that had fallen from the sky of flying flesh.

Nangong Ye swept over the mist sea from above, grabbed Xie Jinhuan's shoulder, and activated the Ten-Thousand-Miles Divine Travel Spell.

Whoosh-whoosh—

In just a few flashes, the three figures vanished at the edge of the wasteland.

………

Shhh-shhh-shhh~~

Flesh and blood, turned to ash, rained down like droplets; the crosswind quickly scattered the unmanned black-green mist sea.

Dozens of black-robed puppets lay on the ground; a suit of Jin Jia emerged from the mist sea, her full head of red hair fluttering in the wind. She gazed in the direction the three had departed, her eyes filled with considerable approval.

After all, she had originally planned to secretly resolve the crisis, but now it seemed this youth was no weaker than the No-Green-High Xie Laomo; in the future, at the mountain peak, he would surely have his place.

Last time, the No-Green-High Xie Laomo, relying on a fortunate opportunity, suppressed her from start to finish; this time, someone aided by the gods stood on her side. If she ever clashed with that bandit again in the future...

Hmph-hmph...

Seeing the three vanish at the horizon's end, the Jin Jia woman did not return to the ground where spiritual energy had collapsed; her form shot straight toward the clouds, swept northward from the cloud peak over Northern Zhou, and vanished in an instant...

(End of Chapter)