The 12th Chapter

Chang'an left as soon as he decided to.

The old beggar suddenly said, "Wait, wait, how can two legs outrun four legs?! A while ago, a female hero's horse stepped on me, and she compensated me with the horse. It's a good horse, I haven't had the heart to kill it for wine yet, so I'll let you have it!"

Chang'an stopped. The old beggar flickered and disappeared into the pine forest. In a moment, he came out leading a pure black, tall, well-built horse and said, "Hurry up and go!" With that, he lay down in the same spot again, as if he was tired and wanted to sleep soundly.

Chang'an was taken aback and said, "Why aren't you leaving yet? My horse could feed you for more than ten days."

The old beggar replied, "I'll lie here and see if I can stop those chasing you. It's still half a day's journey to Myriad Flower Valley, so you'd better hurry!"

After speaking, the old beggar closed his eyes.

Chang'an mounted the horse with Yu Fu in his arms and rode away.

The old beggar was a peculiar man, deeply emotional, of course, and a chivalrous person—a strange hero. He couldn't stand being thanked by others, or he would go mad and tear their mouths apart.

Night fell, starless and moonless, shrouded in gloomy clouds, with a night rain beginning to fall.

The black horse was indeed a fine steed capable of traveling a thousand li. Its stamina was long and sustained, carrying Chang'an and Yu Fu all the way to Mohe City in Sanhe Commandery. Sanhe Commandery, as its name suggested, naturally had three rivers. Three great rivers flowed through the land of Sanhe Commandery, giving the entire region the reputation of a water town. Mohe was one of them. Mohe City was built alongside the Mohe River. It was a land of fish and rice, quite prosperous, and its gates had always been open at night. Water and land trade routes converged here, making it a very mixed place.

It was already very late at night. The city was quiet, with few pedestrians out, and most shops had closed.

The horse was fast, but the person was even more urgent.

Chang'an glanced at Yu Fu in his arms, his expression extremely solemn.

Mohe City was still a hundred li away from Myriad Flower Valley. If not for this good horse, he wouldn't have been able to reach this point now.

"Yu Fu, you have to hold on, you'll be alright!"

Chang'an looked at Yu Fu's pale face, her dark lips, and her tightly closed eyes. This filled Chang'an with a nightmare-like panic and fear.

Concern made him reckless; Chang'an's heart could not calm down for a moment.

The night could no longer bring him peace.

The pitch-black night was a slowly tightening net, making him feel oppressed and his heart pound.

The more he cherished something, the more he feared losing it, and the more he feared losing it, the more nervous he became. But at this moment, he should have remained calm, because nervousness was of no benefit at all.

Neigh!

The black horse suddenly let out a startled neigh and reared up.

Chang'an was startled. He held Yu Fu tightly with one arm and repeatedly pulled the reins with the other, controlling the horse.

A chilling voice rang out, "Stay here!"

A ghostly shadow appeared. An old man with white hair slowly walked out of the darkness.

The long street, the night rain.

The raindrops were as fine as cow's hair. In the darkness, moisture permeated the air, eerily cold and damp.

The elder wore a mask. The black mask exuded a faint glow, appearing ferocious and distorted. It wasn't a human face, but a ghost's face. Anyone who saw it would believe it was the face of an evil spirit.

Chang'an dismounted, gently placed Yu Fu by the roadside, and looked at the elder, his face extremely grim.

"Ghost Face!"

Chang'an's voice was hoarse, his heart sinking.

There were many taboo existences in the martial world, places where they appeared would be filled with blood and death. They wore cloaks of evil and mystery, practiced martial arts specifically for killing, appeared and disappeared like ghosts, and reaped lives. Anyone who made an enemy of them or was targeted by them was simply facing a nightmare.

The Five Ghosts of Yin Mountain were famous among such existences.

They were assassins, and even more so, murderous fiends.

Ghost Hand and Ghost Shadow, two of the Five Ghosts of Yin Mountain, had died because of him. Ghost Face, who had always been elusive, had finally made a move, and at this time and place, the underlying implications were intriguing.

Ghost Face approached Chang'an step by step. Not a single drop of rain fell on him. A layer of qi shield constantly surrounded him, blocking the rain. His wide black robe rustled, and as his feet touched the ground, the ground trembled slightly. Ghost Face walked slowly and said, "That's right, I am Ghost Face. You deserve to die for killing my two brothers. We, the Five Ghosts of Yin Mountain, were one, but now we are separated by heaven and earth. Not only will you die here today, but that woman will also descend into the depths of hell. I will save her, then sell her to a brothel, to be ridden by a thousand men and slept with by ten thousand. Everything you care about, I will destroy piece by piece. Offending the Five Ghosts of Yin Mountain leads to more than just death. Death is too lenient..."

For a pure and kind woman, that was indeed a more cruel torment than death.

Chang'an's expression turned completely cold, his face filled with ferocity. Every word Ghost Face spoke struck his deepest fears. He would never allow any of this to happen, even if it meant trying to stop a chariot with a mantis's arms, he would fight with all his might.

At this moment, he was like a wounded lone wolf cornered into a desperate situation, with no choice but to fight for his life.

Ning Family's Chang'an was adept at fighting desperately!

Ghost Face sneered repeatedly, and black qi energy erupted from his body, twisting around him like venomous snakes, like ghostly claws. This was a superior Qi Gong—Yin Bone Python Qi, incredibly strange and evil. Ghost Face had cultivated this Qi Gong to the point of perfection, absorbing who knows how much Yin Bone malevolent energy to achieve such a presence. Legend had it that when the Yin Bone Python Qi was cultivated to its extreme, a person's appearance would become completely distorted, becoming extremely hideous, no longer human but like a vengeful spirit, with evil thoughts constantly filling their mind, falling into the demonic path. This was also why Ghost Face always wore a mask. His true face must have been horrifying and unbearable to behold.

"Good! Good! Such heavy malevolence, perfect to die by my hand and aid my cultivation! I am very happy that you are not afraid of me. Let me kill you, absorb your malevolent energy and resentment."

Ghost Face suddenly took a step forward, his black robe fluttering. The fine rain all around suddenly swirled, like thousands of fine needles shooting towards Chang'an.

Chang'an felt his whole body go numb, stinging, as if he had been pierced through a thousand holes, as if he had fallen into purgatory.

Chang'an was already poisoned and in a precarious condition, not to mention his shallow cultivation. He had only barely entered the first level of the Three Purity Nine Nether Marvelous Dharma Lotus Sutra, and was no match for Ghost Face at all.

Just with this move, Chang'an felt unprecedented pressure and terror.

Ghost Face was actually using the rain threads as weapons, defeating his enemies with a wave of his hand.

This was a very advanced technique that required profound skill. One had to unleash their True Qi explosively to vibrate the raindrops and launch them, bursting forth in an instant. If one's Qi Gong was not cultivated to perfection, they could easily injure their own meridians and harm themselves instead.

Chang'an's entire body was covered in patches of dark purple, blood seeping out from under his skin, his body drenched in blood. He couldn't help but tremble, but his eyes were exceptionally cold, even filled with a desperate madness.

Before him was Ghost Face, and behind him was Yu Fu.

He absolutely cannot fall.

Ghost Face sneered, "Ning Family's Chang'an is nothing more than this, just a fat pig for me to slaughter!"

Suddenly, Ghost Face lunged forward, his black robe flying high behind him like a bloodthirsty bat spreading its bloody wings to pounce on its prey.

Ghost Face's speed was incredibly fast.

Wherever he stepped, the flagstones on the ground shattered, yet there was no sound.

Only the whistling of the wind could be heard.

Snap, Ghost Face grabbed Chang'an, locking his throat. Beneath the mask, Ghost Face's eyes glinted with a dark light, like some bloodthirsty monster, full of demonic energy.

"Die!"

Ghost Face's hand slowly tightened, Chang'an's face turned purple, and his neck made cracking sounds.

But in Chang'an's eyes, a mad flame ignited.

He would never give up any chance to harm his enemy, even at the brink of death.

Chang'an's hands suddenly shot forward, his palms striking Ghost Face's chest.

Ghost Face sneered, completely ignoring it.

He had true qi protecting him, which formed a membrane on the surface of his body, tightly guarding his core. Swords and blades could not penetrate it, so how could Chang'an's palms harm him even a little?!

Chang'an's palms struck out with all his might, but it was like hitting a slippery loach; his strength was immediately deflected.

Ghost Face didn't even budge.

However, Ghost Face's expression changed, as if his dantian had been suddenly kicked and shattered, or as if he had been bitten by a venomous snake. He swayed, his eyes filled with terror.

"My true qi!"

Ghost Face let out a hysterical cry of fear. He felt his Yin Bone Python Qi being siphoned away by an irresistible force. In the blink of an eye, he had lost thirty years of cultivation, his life's accumulation ruined.

When he looked at Chang'an again, he felt a chill run down his spine.

He actually saw a pair of eyes burning with flames. Ghost Face had been wandering the martial world for nearly forty years, encountering countless strange things, but he had never seen anyone's madness so intense and fiery.

This was not something any living being in this world should possess! No amount of ferocity could be this blazing.

He felt a surge of fear, his heart sank, and a cold air enveloped his entire body. Even someone as brutal and fierce as Ghost Face could only think of two words in his mind in his terror: devil.

Ghost Face's other hand suddenly struck out, true qi covering his palm, black and sinister like a ghost claw, aimed at Chang'an's head, intending to kill him with a single blow.

He could no longer imagine the terrible consequences if, in another moment or two, all his true qi and lifelong cultivation were to flow away.

The Five Ghosts of Yin Mountain without cultivation were worse than wild dogs, destined only for death.

But a jade-colored sword suddenly slashed in from the side, striking Ghost Face's wrist.

That sword actually cut through Ghost Face's true qi membrane and sliced open his wrist.

"Jade Purity Sword?!"

Ghost Face cried out in shock again. Half of his wrist bone had broken, and blood poured out like a torrent.

The Jade Purity Sword was rumored to be the lifelong sword of Daoist Jade Purity, incredibly sharp, specifically designed to break protective true qi, a nightmare sword for those who practiced Qi Gong. After Daoist Jade Purity's immortal seclusion, the sword had disappeared into the martial world, its whereabouts unknown. It had briefly appeared decades ago, a fleeting glimpse, and then vanished again.

At this moment, having witnessed the divine sword's true form with his own eyes and been wounded by it, Ghost Face's liver and gallbladder were almost shattered.

In this situation, his heart was filled with only one word: regret.

Regret for being so overconfident.

In an instant, Ghost Face retracted his claw, let out a scream, and retreated. But the Jade Purity Sword was cunning and ruthless, like an immortal's wrath, each strike aimed at a vital point.