Chapter 444: Ghost King (2)

Volume 4: The Wind Rises Overseas – “Soul-Snatching Ghost Sound”

Without needing to think, Fairy Ziling’s mind immediately brought forth the chilling demonic art.

This spell was a high-level demon-ghost's innate ability. When used against an enemy, it could cause the blood of opponents with much lower cultivation to flow backward, making them lose control and dance uncontrollably. It was truly an extremely sinister and damaging demonic art from Ghost Island!

She had been slightly careless, mistaking the sound she initially heard for a common ghostly wail, and was now filled with deep regret.

Seeing herself about to be drawn forward, dancing uncontrollably step by step with the ghostly wails, Fairy Ziling was utterly terrified.

Just then, a man's sharp 'Tai!' sounded in her ear. The voice wasn't loud, but it shook her soul like a clap of thunder, causing her legs to go limp and her to collapse onto the ground.

But then, to her surprise and delight, she found she had regained control of her body. Feeling a wave of relief, she couldn't help but glance gratefully forward.

She clearly heard that the voice belonged to Han Li.

"Fellow Daoist Ziling! With your cultivation, as long as you maintain your composure, this ghost sound won't be able to exploit your weakness. You were merely careless," Han Li's steady voice resonated in her ear again.

Fairy Ziling's face flushed slightly. She softly murmured, 'Mm,' then self-consciously stood up from the ground and walked towards Han Li, keeping her mind composed.

Only when she reached Han Li's back did she realize, to her surprise, that he was standing perfectly still, gazing intently forward. She followed his gaze, and what she saw made her heart clench.

Not far away, within the ghostly mist, thick black fog billowed continuously. Green and red lights flickered intermittently, while a low rumbling sound and the ghost sound that had just caused her great embarrassment intertwined incessantly.

Inside, the black-robed demonic cultivator was directing a fiery red strange hammer, which spewed countless blue flames, relentlessly battling a blurry black ghostly figure.

The ghostly figure was shrouded in mist, and it conjured a thumb-sized green bead that emitted intensely dark profound Yin cold qi, trapping the black-robed man within and giving it a significant advantage.

Meanwhile, the Soul-Crying Beast, rumored to be able to 'devour souls and consume ghosts,' was entangled from a distance by two humanoid ghostly creatures covered in green fur.

Aside from their pointed heads and wielding two short bone forks, each several feet long, these two monsters were identical to ordinary green-furred zombies. At this moment, they were continuously attacking the Soul-Crying Beast with their bone forks, which spewed green ghost fire.

The Soul-Crying Beast, however, shot yellow light from its nose. No matter how fierce the ghost fire was, as long as it was swept by this light, it would be completely absorbed into the beast's belly, leaving not a trace.

At first glance, the Soul-Crying Beast actually held the upper hand.

This was because, aside from using the ghost fire from their bone forks for long-range attacks, these two green-furred monsters dared not approach within a zhang of the beast. They seemed extremely wary of the yellow light.

However, as a result, the Soul-Crying Beast was preoccupied by the two ghostly creatures and could no longer assist the black-robed man.

"Ghost Yaksha!"

Upon seeing the appearance of the two green-furred monsters, Ziling gasped and exclaimed.

"Oh? Fellow Daoist Zi, you recognize these two creatures?" Han Li's heart stirred upon hearing this, but he asked without turning his head.

"It should be correct. Although this is my first time seeing them, they are indeed identical to what is described in ancient texts. These are a very rare type of zombie, one of the few ghostly creatures that can move about in daylight and traverse the world. No wonder they aren't afraid of the Soul-Crying Beast's pressure and dare to approach. It's because they possess a physical body. As long as they aren't hit by the Soul-Devouring Beast's soul-absorbing light at close range, they should be able to entangle this beast. After all, this Soul-Crying Beast clearly has shallow cultivation and, apart from this soul-absorbing divine light, doesn't possess other divine abilities," Fairy Ziling explained, stepping forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Han Li, her breath fragrant like orchids.

After listening, Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he sighed.

This woman's cultivation wasn't high, but her knowledge was far beyond what a rogue cultivator like him possessed.

Although he had read many ancient texts at Huangfeng Valley before, his cultivation was still low at the time, and he hadn't been qualified to access truly valuable secret information.

As for later, he had bought quite a few texts after coming to the Scattered Star Seas. However, these were definitely not systematically organized by a sect. They were either repetitive or missing many details.

Normally, this wasn't apparent. But at crucial moments like this, his lack of knowledge became evident.

It seemed that if he could escape safely this time, it would be truly necessary to visit the Myriad Sound Sect and systematically review some of their texts. Surely, they wouldn't refuse him, their nominal elder!

While Han Li was contemplating, the situation in the field changed again.

The blue flames from the fiery red flying hammer were finally completely enveloped by the ghostly figure's green bead's dark Yin qi. The flames seemed utterly extinguished, leaving the hammer in a precarious state.

This filled the black-robed man with both shock and fury!

He had, after all, made ample preparations for this treasure hunt.

He had believed that with the power of the Soul-Crying Beast, at least getting through the first stage, the Land of Grievances, would be effortless. That's why he had flatly refused Han Li's invitation.

But he never expected to encounter such a high-level evil ghost, one that understood the strategy of defeating opponents one by one.

Taking advantage of his moment of carelessness, it launched a surprise attack, separating him from the Soul-Crying Beast and plunging him into such a dangerous predicament.

Unfortunately, his sect's disciples, aside from refining the Soul-Crying Beast and knowing some unique arcane arts, had no outstanding divine abilities for direct combat. He could only watch as his Demonic Flame Hammer, which shared a spiritual connection with him, grew dimmer and weaker.

The terrifying consequence of perishing in this place sent a chill through the black-robed man's heart, filling him with intense panic.

Just then, Han Li arrived nearby. The black-robed man, suddenly noticing him, was overjoyed as if he had grasped a lifeline.

However, Han Li's demeanor after arriving nearly made the usually arrogant black-robed man spit blood in anger.

Because Han Li, seeing him in such a perilous situation, showed no intention of helping. Instead, he watched the battle between the man and the demon-ghost from a distance with extreme indifference.

This made the black-robed man seethe with hatred for Han Li, causing him to grit his teeth.

Soon after, Fairy Ziling also arrived.

Seeing the black-robed man's desperate struggle, Fairy Ziling was also somewhat surprised why Han Li hadn't acted yet.

Was he deliberately watching the other man die because of the black-robed man's previous bad attitude?

She didn't think Han Li was such a shortsighted person, so her suspicions grew.

Moreover, because Han Li had just saved her life, she couldn't voice her suspicions directly. She simply watched the battle between the black-robed man and the ghostly figure in silence, with a complex expression.

But at this moment, the black-robed man could no longer hold on. His flying hammer, enveloped by the Yin qi released from the green bead, finally lost all its demonic flames and was completely trapped in mid-air.

At this point, the black ghostly figure let out a sharp shriek, and its form suddenly transformed into a streak of black light, shooting directly towards the black-robed man's chest.

Although his expression couldn't be seen due to the obscuring robes, he stood perfectly still, however, appearing to close his eyes in despair, resigned to his fate.

The black-robed man knew full well that although he had activated other defensive spells around his body, they were as flimsy as paper against such a fierce ghost. Without a magic treasure to block it, a single grasp from the ghost would likely shatter all his protective shields, and he would die on the spot.

With his flying hammer trapped and no other magic treasures to deploy, he could only wait for death.

At this critical juncture, Han Li, who had been watching with a cold eye from the sidelines, suddenly acted without warning.

With a raised hand, he swiftly unleashed four or five slender streaks of green sword qi, which flashed and instantly struck towards the ghostly figure's vital points.

If the ghostly figure had ignored them and continued to grab the black-robed man, it might have crushed him to death, but its own core, located within its body, would likely have been shredded by these sword qi streaks.

Naturally, the ghostly figure wouldn't do something so disadvantageous. Its form swayed a few times, then it withdrew as if it hadn't moved, returning to its original position. Then, with green light shooting from its eyes, it fixed its gaze on Han Li, showing no discernible emotion.

Seeing this, a strange light flickered in Han Li's eyes. He flipped his palm, and a small spirit beast pouch appeared in his hand.

However, he didn't immediately conjure the leather pouch. Instead, the fingers of his other hand rapidly flicked, sending out over a dozen identical streaks of green light directly towards the two green-furred Yakshas.

The two ghostly creatures were quite nimble. Seeing Han Li's sneak attack of green light, they immediately swayed their bodies a few times, transforming into two wisps of green smoke and vanishing without a trace.

A moment later, however, their figures reappeared on either side of the black ghostly figure, snarling fiercely at Han Li, revealing mouths full of black and yellow fangs.

Meanwhile, seizing the moment while the ghostly figure's attention shifted to Han Li, the black-robed man suddenly risked everything, fully activating his cultivation. He actually managed to retrieve his flying hammer, and with great joy, transformed into a red light, shooting towards Han Li's side.

But just then, Han Li's expression suddenly turned cold as he roared.

"Be careful! There are other ghostly creatures!"

Upon hearing this, the black-robed man froze for a moment! But at that instant, a faint, almost invisible gray humanoid figure shot out from the mist on the other side, appearing in front of the black-robed man in a flash.

The black-robed man had no time to dodge, and his exposed eyes were filled with horror!