Ghost Fire Enters the Body

"Finally, revenge is served..." Huang Banyun sobbed, his whole body trembling with emotion.

The little monkey on his shoulder clapped its hands and cheered.

Huang Banyun bowed deeply to everyone, "Thank you all for eliminating this demon. I am eternally grateful."

Yan Nu shook the ashes off his body and said, "What's there to thank? He should have died long ago."

"Stop shaking! Put some clothes on first!" Shen Leling shouted, waving her small hand. A vine that was difficult to burn coiled to her side.

The vine wrapped around Yan Nu, forming a suit of vine armor.

"This one is infused with a lot of my Mysterious Water. Ordinary flames can't ignite it, but if you want to burn it, I can make it secrete oil."

Yan Nu thought this was great. Every time he entered his blazing state, his clothes would turn to ash. Having this would be much better.

Next, Shen Leling tried to extinguish the large fire with water, but the flames were too intense, and her water evaporated upon contact.

Mr. Feng mobilized the earth to bury the fire, but the Blazing Green Lotus was too enormous; a little soil and rock couldn't put it out.

The two looked at each other, helpless, and could only work together to dig a trench and build an earthen wall to isolate the burning area from the outside.

"Let's just wait for it to burn itself out," Shen Leling said.

Another vine broke through the soil, twisted, and spat out several miscellaneous items.

Gold, silver, jade pendants, and a bronze contract. These were all obtained from the corpses of the Zhang Family martial artists.

The most important among them was, of course, the bronze contract.

"Miss is thoughtful. I will be at your service from now on," Mr. Feng sidled over. Seeing the bronze contract undamaged, his face was full of smiles.

"Your origin was severely injured by Yan Nu, and you still dare to help us?" Shen Leling's eyes glinted playfully.

Mr. Feng cupped his hands in a salute, "My lords, you must have felt my sincerity."

"I share a deep hatred with the Zhang Family. They killed my entire family and refined me into a magic artifact fifty years ago."

"My lords, although we've had some misunderstandings, as long as you deal with the Zhang Family, you will be my benefactors."

Yan Nu stared at him, "What about the Corpse Soldiers?"

Mr. Feng gave a wry smile, "Don't ask me. Those villagers were killed by the Zhang Family, simply because fresh corpses make stronger Corpse Soldiers. Do you know them? You can ask around in the village if you wish."

Yan Nu was furious. He looked at the pale-haired corpses that had rolled down the hillside after the fierce battle, still feeling an unquenchable rage in his heart.

Shen Leling nodded slightly, "This old ghost, his first appearance was just watching the show. Although he got serious in his second appearance, he still held back against you."

Mr. Feng said leisurely, "I am eighty-five years old this year and have never killed a mortal."

"However, dealing with monsters is another matter."

Shen Leling glanced at him sideways.

Mr. Feng quickly put on a smiling face, "I'm talking about monsters like the Black Dragon. As for beautiful and righteous female monsters like yourself, Miss, I could only admire you."

"Hehehe... I hate scheming people the most!" Shen Leling said with a smile.

"..." Mr. Feng quickly shut his mouth, thinking to himself: You are the most scheming person here, and you have the nerve to say that about me.

He immediately adopted a serious expression and pointed at Yan Nu.

"The owner of that old dog will likely come looking. We shouldn't stay here long!"

In Yan Nu's hand, besides the Black Dragon's demon bone, was a collar that had exhausted all its magic power.

This collar had protected the Black Dragon for a full two hours and had almost taken him away, showing the power of the cultivator behind it.

"Yes, let's leave first!" Shen Leling thought the same.

The group immediately rushed down the mountain.

Originally, Mr. Feng only needed to drill into the bronze contract, but Yan Nu wanted to bring the villagers' corpses. Thus, Mr. Feng had to float in the air while controlling the corpses to run down themselves.

When they arrived at the previous village, they could still see the towering flames from Flag Mountain from a distance.

"Wuwuwu..."

No one in the village cared about the distant flames. The place was desolate, and many doorways showed signs of forced entry.

There were also many bloodstains in the dust, and faint crying could be heard in the air.

"Most of the survivors are women," Mr. Feng observed, looking around. He knew that most houses still had people alive.

However, they were mostly the old, weak, women, and children. The Zhang Family had chosen to kill the fifty oldest men.

Yan Nu followed the nearest crying sound to a house.

In the dark little house, a dim oil lamp was lit. An old woman was crying over a piece of clothing in front of the lamp.

Sensing the movement behind her, the old woman turned around numbly. Seeing the ghostly figures outside the door, she wasn't afraid.

Suddenly, her eyes regained their spirit. It was because she saw a familiar face.

The old woman held up the lamp, her eyes fixed, and walked out. She passed Yan Nu and Huang Banyun and stopped in front of an old man's corpse.

"Have you returned?" the old woman asked hoarsely.

But the corpse, though propped up to stand, could not speak. There were deep bloody marks on its neck.

The old woman's face was filled with grief. She had personally witnessed her husband's murder, and had only held onto a sliver of hope moments ago.

At this moment, she saw the knife marks on the corpse's neck and could no longer stand, collapsing to the ground.

Yan Nu and Huang Banyun simultaneously moved to support her.

After crying for a while, the old woman began to ponder the identities of these people.

"You are..."

Yan Nu said, "My Grandpa always said, 'What goes around, comes around.' I killed the Zhang Family members and brought their bodies back for you."

Her lips curved into a bitter smile. The group before her was a complicated mix.

Huang Banyun was dressed as a wandering swordsman, Mr. Feng was clearly a ghost, and it was this ghost who had transported the bodies back using a corpse-driving technique.

The old woman also recognized Yan Nu and Shen Leling. They had visited during the day, being chased by the Zhang Family, and she already knew Shen Leling was a monster.

This was because the Zhang Family had come under the guise of "slaying monsters," demanding that the village offer up corpses to aid their cause.

The village chief refused, and an argument broke out. Zhang Quan killed him, then proceeded to go on a rampage, killing fifty elderly men.

Never did they imagine that the so-called noble clan of monster slayers would massacre the village, only for Yan Nu and the others to return the bodies.

Neither human, nor monster, nor ghost.

"Thank you all..." the old woman thanked them with deep sorrow.

Shen Leling quickly instructed Mr. Feng, "Place the bodies in the open space in the center of the village so each family can claim them."

Mr. Feng's sword finger moved slightly, and the remaining corpses walked to the village center on their own, then lay down on the ground, becoming ordinary corpses.

Their movements attracted the attention of many women peeking out from behind window lattices, though they dared not come outside.

The old woman stepped out voluntarily and called for the villagers to come and claim their loved ones.

Soon, a crowd gathered in the open space, their cries shaking the heavens. It was almost entirely women, with only young children under ten years old.

The only one who could be considered a young adult was a farmer missing a leg. His leg was gone from the thigh down, and he could only use crutches. Due to his disability, he wasn't conscripted, and because he was young, he wasn't killed by the Zhang Family.

Now, this disabled man was considered the backbone of the village. He hobbled over, gratefully thanking everyone.

Yan Nu stopped him and said, "Let's let the village chief and the others rest in peace first... Hmm, should I help you dig?"

He noticed the village lacked strong laborers.

The farmer wanted to refuse but showed a pained expression. It wasn't that there was no one in the village.

Despite the group of women behind him, they were all accustomed to farm work. If they couldn't even dig a pit, they wouldn't be able to survive.

The only difficulty was that burying all the village elders, all fifty of them together, was no small undertaking.

As he hesitated, Yan Nu was already looking for a shovel.

Seeing this, Mr. Feng said, "Alright, I'll do it. Choose a burial ground, and I'll use my magic to break the earth for you."

Mr. Feng was skilled in earth-element magic, so this was a piece of cake for him.

"Thank you, benefactors. Please rest here in the village tonight." Seeing that there were experts, the farmer didn't stand on ceremony and repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

However, Shen Leling shook her head and refused, "No need to be polite, we cannot stay long."

She looked at Mr. Feng and said, "Let's hurry. Can you do it?"

Mr. Feng frowned slightly. "Now? Yes..."

While breaking the earth for graves was a simple task, his current condition was dire. After the continuous battles, his essence was injured, and his magic power was depleted. He hadn't rested at all.

But since he had already offered, he couldn't say no.

"Let's go!"

Mr. Feng forced himself to rally, ordering the corpses to rise again. They walked step by step towards the village outskirts.

The entire village followed, sobbing incessantly.

Normally, burials weren't done in the middle of the night, but in these times, being able to bury the dead was fortunate enough.

It was difficult for their village to even survive now, so they didn't have many customs to adhere to.

The farmer led everyone to a barren hill. Mr. Feng pointed at the ground and said, "Open!"

His body trembled, his form wavering, and the soil of the barren hill immediately churned, then parted to the sides on its own!

At the same time, Shen Leling found a spot, scattered seeds, and planted a grove of pine trees.

She continuously urged them to grow, and the trees became taller and taller. Finally, with a command, they split into several sections.

The broken logs crackled and made noise. Huang Banyun stepped forward and peeled away the softened, brittle bark. Good heavens, the inside was actually smooth wooden planks.

The villagers were stunned, sighing that it was the work of immortals.

"How do we make coffins?" Shen Leling asked, a little bewildered.

"No, no, we poor souls just need a wooden plank," the villagers said, not daring to trouble them.

Mr. Feng immediately had the corpses drag the wooden planks into the burial ground. After they were laid out, the corpses lay on top of them themselves, adjusted their clothes, and then remained still.

This bizarre scene even managed to dilute everyone's sorrow.

"RUMBLE!"

Mr. Feng closed the graves one by one, then erected rocks as tombstones.

"You can carve the inscriptions yourselves... I can't do it anymore."

Mr. Feng was dazed and exhausted, his ghost body blurring like a melting candle.

Shen Leling quickly brought him to the side, letting him bask in the moonlight while a surge of Vital Energy flowed out.

Mr. Feng took a deep breath, absorbing it all, and felt a little better.

"Why don't you make a talisman for me too," Yan Nu suddenly said.

Mr. Feng was taken aback.

Shen Leling chuckled, "It's the protective Water Talisman in Yan Nu's Shencang Acupoint."

"Old ghost, you should also condense a life-bound talisman for Yan Nu. He'll infuse it with True Qi, and you can periodically retrieve the Vital Energy from it, like taking a Vitality Replenishing Pill."

Mr. Feng's eyes lit up, "Really? I only suspected it before, so your immense Vital Energy comes from that Water Talisman?"

Shen Leling nodded, "That's right, but you'll have to give up a third of your origin."

"This..." Mr. Feng was on the verge of tears, "No, my ghost body's origin was severely injured, didn't you see? My protective talisman, condensed with Magic Power, is no weaker than yours for defense."

Shen Leling rolled her eyes, "It's not about your defensive capabilities."

"The main thing is that it can quickly absorb True Qi, and its capacity needs to be high."

"If you only use Magic Power to make the talisman, it won't even be able to absorb twenty percent of Yan Nu's True Qi before it explodes."

Mr. Feng thought, That's true, Yan Nu has too much True Qi, and it must be absorbed with a life-bound talisman.

He sighed mournfully, "My ghost body's origin is already damaged by twenty percent. If I lose another third, that's more than half gone. Won't I be unable to break through to the next realm?"

Shen Leling knew that if one's origin was damaged, their cultivation speed and casting abilities would decrease.

If more than half was lost, the Heavenly Dao would consider it an incomplete being, thus preventing it from breaking through to the next realm.

"But it's okay," Shen Leling said with a smile, "The origin is just being separated. It's still yours when it's in someone else's body. You can take it back when you want to break through."

"That's the only way," Mr. Feng thought about it and made up his mind.

He then directly refined the Ghost Body Sword in his hand into a ball of flame.

This flame was sinister, flickering with a purple glow, a portion of his life-bound Ghost Fire.

He meticulously condensed it into a fire talisman and shot it into Yan Nu's Lingxu Acupoint, which corresponded to the Water Talisman in his Shencang Acupoint.

After completing this step, Mr. Feng became listless, his ghost body flickering erratically, becoming increasingly ethereal, like mist.

p.s: Sorry.