Chapter 267: Do I Still Have a Chance?

【I am Fang Yue, a foolish one who does not understand the language of Yangxu Gui. I humbly request the great and noble Parchment Lord to translate for me.】

【The great and noble Parchment Lord deems such a base task unworthy, and thus refuses!】

"Add money. 2g Black Ember."

【Damn! I really want it! But the Parchment Lord still doesn't understand what this "baa-baa-baa" means!】

Fuck!

Don't pretend you don't know!

Fang Yue's face darkened, but thankfully this guy still had a shred of conscience and didn't casually mistranslate and trap him.

With no one to translate, Fang Yue could only observe from afar; he needed to wait until some Yangxu Gui dispersed, so he could strike when the 【Gui Zhi】 was isolated.

Otherwise, if all these hundred-plus Yangxu Gui surrounded him at once, he'd die trying and still wouldn't touch a single hair of the 【Gui Zhi】.

Since he had already found his target, Fang Yue remained patient.

After being tormented by the "baa-baa-baa" sounds for half an hour, Fang Yue noticed more Yangxu Gui were still voluntarily throwing themselves into the bonfire to keep it burning.

Though infrequent, they kept coming.

In just half an hour, roughly a dozen Yangxu Gui had been fed into the bonfire as fuel.

Thus, even if he missed the chance to catch the 【Gui Zhi】 alone, once enough Yangxu Gui had sacrificed themselves here, Fang Yue could force an attack!

Earlier, when he encountered those thirty-plus Yangxu Gui, he didn't dare force a breakthrough because he didn't know where the 【Ghost Master】 was—he feared a clash would draw more Yangxu Gui, making it impossible to find the 【Ghost Master】 later, leaving him to be surrounded and killed by ordinary Yangxu Gui with no chance to escape.

But now, the 【Ghost Master】 was right before him. Kill the 【Ghost Master】, and the Yangxu Gui would be leaderless; the curse problem would solve itself. All that remained was figuring out how to escape—far easier now.

Fang Yue watched eagerly as more Yangxu Gui threw themselves into the bonfire.

Ten per half-hour, nearly thirty per hour—roughly estimating, within three or four hours, all Yangxu Gui around the 【Ghost Master】 would be consumed.

The only problem was, by four hours, daylight would be near.

Night's Breath only functions at night.

Facing the unknown power of the 【Gui Zhi】, Fang Yue still preferred to fight at full strength.

But according to intelligence and feedback from Chief Captain Lang Wu, this 【Gui Zhi】 seemed weaker than expected.

Of course, "weaker" here was measured solely against Chief Captain Lang Wu's own Postnatal First-rate Realm strength.

To Fang Yue, it would still be troublesome.

But Fang Yue had confidence—under the boost of Night's Breath, he didn't believe he'd lose to the 【Gui Zhi】.

Time crept on, second by second. Perhaps because he'd heard the "baa-baa-baa" so long, Fang Yue suddenly detected a pattern in it.

The Yangxu Gui seemed to be repeating some kind of chant.

The chant had pauses and loops; its exact purpose remained unknown.

Could these be eerie and uncanny despite faith?

Fang Yue felt something was off—monsters with faith? That was too strange.

Fang Yue had great patience; after about an hour, the number of Yangxu Gui ahead halved again.

Only fifty-odd remained.

Just as Fang Yue prepared to wait for the final moment, he suddenly noticed, far behind him, a dark swarm of Yangxu Gui advancing toward this location.

Their eyes were still vacant, like walking corpses.

Yet they moved—toward this place—as if… to replenish the dwindling numbers of Yangxu Gui here.

Fang Yue's expression darkened.

If this army of Yangxu Gui joined forces with the 【Ghost Master】, Fang Yue would never get another chance to kill the 【Ghost Master】.

Because the approaching army numbered nearly a thousand—dense, overwhelming, terrifying.

No wonder most of the people from Ruoyun Stone Ground fled back to Mo Cun.

If Fang Yue had encountered such a vast horde of Yangxu Gui out in the wild, he'd turn and run without a second thought.

Not to mention ordinary cultivators, who couldn't even perceive the invisible Yangxu Gui.

Fang Yue could see them directly only because of his Analysis Pupil.

Others, without special means, couldn't even see their shadows.

With such an innate disadvantage, encountering Yangxu Gui meant a one-sided slaughter.

Even a cultivator one realm higher, caught unprepared by these invisible and uncanny entities, would find them extremely difficult to handle.

How could so many come…

Fang Yue's mind raced, weighing the pros and cons.

If this army arrived, his entire mission would be ruined.

So either he fought to the death now, or he retreated immediately—while the 【Gui Zhi】 hadn't noticed—and fled far away to seek another opportunity.

Thinking this, Fang Yue pulled out the Parchment.

"Parchment, if I leave now, will I still have a chance to kill the 【Gui Zhi】?"

【I am Fang Yue. I face a dilemma: nearly a thousand Yangxu Gui are approaching. I suspect they've come to replenish the sacrificial offerings. The situation has become dire. But my target—the 【Ghost Master】—is right before me. Should I retreat now, or charge immediately, exploiting the distance to force a kill before the army arrives?】

【After much deliberation, my cautious self made a decision.】

【I am retreating, swiftly distancing myself from here. There will be other days. If I don't kill the 【Ghost Master】 today, I'll find another chance. Besides, the sacrificial bonfire consumes over ten Yangxu Gui every half-hour—mere attrition alone will thin them out rapidly. Opportunities abound.】

【I thought this, and I acted on it—I began retreating.】

【Yet, during my retreat, I discovered something: it wasn't just one army of nearly a thousand Yangxu Gui approaching… there were four armies, all converging on this location!】

【They formed a tightening noose, sealing every direction. No matter which way I fled, I'd be spotted.】【No choice—I must force a breakthrough.】

【Facing an army a thousand times my size, I charged.】

【I died.】

Fang Yue: …

Fuck, four armies? Four thousand plus Sheep Phantom Wraiths?

What exactly is this Wraith-King trying to do? Why has it suddenly summoned so many Sheep Phantom Wraiths? Just for a sacrificial offering?

Fang Yue's scalp prickled; a long-absent sense of danger surged in his heart.

Gripping the sheepskin parchment tightly, Fang Yue asked, "What if… I charge out right now and fight the Wraith-King? Do I still have a chance to survive?"

(End of Chapter)