Ghost General (I)
The mountain peak behind them offered a clear view of the twinkling stars, a stark contrast to the cloud-shrouded landscape below. Suddenly, Elder Sun of Fu Xian Island pointed downwards and cried out, "Elder Dongfang, come and see!"
The elders quickly rushed over, only to see the dark clouds churning and billowing below the mountain, with crimson and black Sha Qi appearing and disappearing intermittently. The elders of the other major sects were also alarmed. Ignoring the differences between the Righteous and Demonic paths, they gathered around the people from Fu Xian Island. Looking at the Sha Qi that soared into the sky, their brows furrowed.
Dongfang Changao stood with his hands behind his back, staring intently at the rolling dark clouds for a long time without blinking. After a long while, he said in a deep voice, "What kind of monster has such a powerful aura? Could it be the Ghost General?"
Qiu Wuyuan of the Wanmo Palace slowly walked to his side, his face heavy, and said, "Besides that Ghost King, who else in the thousands of miles around this mountain has such an aura?"
The four leading elders of the Daluo Sect, the Wangyue Sect, the Blood Demon Palace, and the Corpse God Sect also stood side by side with the two, their expressions more severe than ever before.
"If it really is the Ghost General, then I'm afraid none of these disciples will return," said Su Qiankun, the leading elder of the Daluo Sect, in a deep voice. At this moment, regardless of whether the disciples below the mountain are righteous or demonic, they are all elites selected from the disciples of various sects, and it is indeed a pity that they are all gone like this.
The leading elder of the Blood Demon Palace Wen Zhongping, gazed at the dark clouds and said, "Legend has it that there are ten Ghost Kings and ten Demon Kings in this Demon Ghost Domain, each with profound cultivation. This Ghost General is one of them. It is said that he was once a Great General who held military power. After being defeated and dying in battle, he cultivated successfully by chance and gathered his fallen subordinates, becoming a Ghost King in this Demon Ghost Domain. That seems to be how the Ghost General got his name! I wonder if anyone has ever seen his true face?"
Hua Ruyi, the leading elder of the Wangyue Sect, nodded and said, " In the Demon Ghost Domain, the Ghost General was born at the wrong time. Even in death, he is filled with sorrow and regret, and the Song of Everlasting Regret is sung every night. Since someone has spread this ballad, it is natural that someone has seen it, but we simply do not know." Everyone nodded in silence.
A moment later, the six major sects gathered their Divine Sense Compass together. For some unknown reason, most of the light points were clustered in one place, with a few scattered in different locations. Logically, they should have dispersed, but judging from the six Divine Sense Compass, most of the disciples from the six major sects were in the same spot, which was quite strange. However, for now, nothing seemed amiss.
Dongfang Changao sighed, "Let's see first!" Everyone turned their gaze back down the mountain.
The dark clouds were being stirred and churned by the swirling red and black Sha Qi, and the awe-inspiring sight of Qian Jun marching suddenly vanished without a trace. Yue Qianchou and the other disciples from various sects looked at each other in bewilderment, and then they saw that the hillside in front of them was suddenly covered in red, making it so bright that people could see right through it. Then, they heard the neighing of several warhorses.
"Clop clop clop..." The sound of hooves came, and a rider rushed up the slope ahead. A general in armor held the reins and circled the slope a few times, looking at everyone from a distance. The bright red firelight behind him made him look very majestic and extraordinary.
Yue Qianchou looked at Kou Xuehua and then at Gu Qingyun, and exclaimed in astonishment, "This is the Ghost General? Is this a ghost? He looks like a living person to me!" Unfortunately, no one answered him.
The man kicked the horse's belly, and it galloped directly towards the group of people. Its four hooves moved swiftly, and in a moment it pulled on the reins and appeared right in front of them.
Yue Qianchou stared at him dumbfounded, mouth agape. The horse was strong and the knight was burly, with a sword at his waist and gleaming iron armor. His piercing eyes scanned the crowd, but he did nothing to make them feel uneasy. The only difference between him and ordinary people was that there always seemed to be a faint black aura surrounding him.
"Are you really a ghost?" Yue Qianchou asked, pointing at him and then at his mount.
The general's gaze lingered on him for a moment, clearly surprised, before sweeping him over coldly without saying anything. The disciples from various sects, upon hearing his words, were almost driven mad. They were utterly astonished; didn't he know his place, saying such outrageous things? Even the handsome Gu Qingyun's face twitched, and he glared fiercely at him.
Actually, you can't blame him. In the world he came from, ghosts weren't perceived like this at all. They were either depicted with gaping mouths or blue faces with fangs, always with a ferocious appearance, unlike this man, who looked like a general galloping across the battlefield. In this respect, his perception differed greatly from that of the people behind him.
The general's gaze left the crowd and slowly swept across the surrounding area. He shouted, "Since there are strangers here who know of the arrival of the Great General, why don't you come and kneel down immediately? What are you trying to do by hiding? You have half an hour to pay homage to the General, or you will be killed without mercy!" His voice boomed and spread in all directions.
"Giddy up!" He said, and then rode away, leaving everyone astonished.
"Grandmaster Kou, who is the Great General he mentioned? Is it the Ghost General you were talking about?" Yue Qianchou turned his head and asked.
Kou Xuehua's face turned pale, and she nodded, saying, "It should be him."
"Tsk tsk!" Yue Qianchou exclaimed, "This man died and became a general, how impressive!" His words were full of envy.
"It is said that the Ghost General was a Great General who held great military authority during his lifetime," Kou Xuehua said.
"Oh! I see." Yue Qianchou said, taking a few steps forward, sheathing his sword behind his back, patting his buttocks, turning around and laughing at the group, "Let's go! Let's go see what the legendary Ghost General looks like. Not everyone gets this kind of opportunity. By the way, everyone put away your weapons! Didn't you hear them telling us to go and pay homage? If we can't beat them, going with weapons in our hands is just asking for death."
The group put their weapons away with expressions of fear. Gu Qingyun glanced at Yue Qianchou from time to time, and now he really admired him. Knowing that he was going to his death, he could still be so calm and composed. He admitted that he could not do what Yue Qianchou did.
Yue Qianchou strode ahead, followed by a group of people a few feet behind. He stopped at the edge of the slope, the firelight hitting him in the face. He was truly shocked. Below the slope was a wide plain, and a military camp, even more magnificent than in the movies, was vividly displayed before his eyes. He could easily estimate that there were tens of thousands of troops. No wonder he was called the Ghost General.
Spectacular! Yue Qianchou was thrilled. His gaze lingered on the wooden platform in the center of the military camp for a moment, then he ran down the hillside and strode towards the camp. The disciples from various sects stood there stunned for a while. Seeing that Yue Qianchou was almost at the edge of the camp, Gu Qingyun jumped down to follow, and the rest of the group had no choice but to jump down and follow as well.
Outside the military camp surrounded by a wooden fence, two squads of soldiers guarded the main gate. Yue Qianchou them over and found that these people looked more like ghosts, with ashen faces and blank expressions.
Just as he was about to step into the camp, two Ghost Soldier stopped him with guns, staring at him and making "Jiujiu..." sounds for a while.
Is this what they mean by spouting nonsense? Yue Qianchou was taken aback. So these ghosts couldn't speak human language. It seemed their cultivation was still lacking. He immediately pointed to the people following behind and said with a smile, "We have come to pay homage to the Great General. Please inform him."
At this moment, an officer came out of the barracks. He was the same man who had been riding the horse earlier. He shouted, "Let them in." The Ghost Soldier immediately stepped aside and made way for them.
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