Evil Camel Bell and Guardian Wife

The Woman in Red sitting there seemed to have seen through everything long ago.

Just as the sword's edge fell toward her head, her body split in two, and another figure rose to stand beside her. Then she lightly sent out a palm strike.

Li Weiyi's all-out ambush strike only destroyed the afterimage she had left seated on the ground, carving a deep gash beside the Blood Pool. Before he could even be shocked, a searing pain flared across his face as her palm wind swept down upon him like the sky collapsing.

In his haste, he could only muster seventy percent of his strength in Peak Condition. His left hand formed a palm seal and met her blow head-on.

Bang!

Li Weiyi felt as though his left hand had struck a metal wall, pain spreading from his wrist to his shoulder.

He was sent flying backward and landed more than a zhang away. He planted his sword against the ground to steady himself, barely avoiding the sorry spectacle of rolling across the dirt.

The Woman in Red also took half a step back, and soil beneath her feet tumbled into the Blood Pool.

She looked surprised. "It has only been a few days, yet you've already broken through and opened the Second Spring Eye of the Spring Realm. Such rapid cultivation?"

Li Weiyi's left arm was numb and weak. Secretly drawing upon the currents of qi beneath his feet to heal and recover, he stared in disbelief at Qi Shanshan standing beside the Blood Pool.

She wore the clothes of the White Bone Demon, with the White Bone Wind Chime tied at her waist. Her hair had grown long enough to trail upon the ground, and her gaze was utterly different from before—cold and detached, yet carrying the lofty pride of one looking down upon all living things.

"You drank Golden Crow Blood... No, you're not Doctor Qi. You're the skeleton in the grave." Seeing Golden Crow Firelight flowing over red-clad Qi Shanshan's body, Li Weiyi guessed that she had drunk Golden Crow Blood to strengthen her flesh.

She had not shed her shell and transformed into an Immortal Spirit, but she possessed another kind of demonic, uncanny aura.

Li Weiyi felt it highly likely that Doctor Qi had been possessed or devoured by her.

Legend had it that these Undead Monsters were well versed in such methods.

"White Bone Demon?"

Red-clad Qi Shanshan murmured to herself before saying in an exceedingly calm tone, "I can sense your hostility toward me. But what I wish to say is that there is no need for us to fight to the death. Why not talk first? Perhaps we can each take what we need and achieve mutual benefit."

Her voice was somewhat different from Qi Shanshan's before—more ethereal.

"Your strength exceeds mine, yet you were the one to propose negotiations first. It seems there is something you fear, which is why you do not dare Act Rashly."

Li Weiyi believed what red-clad Qi Shanshan feared was the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish.

But she did not know that, even now, Li Weiyi himself had no idea how to activate it.

Thus, Li Weiyi was uneasy as well, and could only feign composure. "But I would like to know what you want, and what you can offer me."

Red-clad Qi Shanshan said, "Isn't that a question you already know the answer to? I want the blood in your body."

"How much?"

Li Weiyi did not know why she had said he already knew the answer, and felt that she might have misunderstood something.

"A great deal."

"Would half a bowl be enough?"

The half bowl he had let out earlier was still there.

"Not enough. Far from enough. Besides your blood, I also want your soul," red-clad Qi Shanshan said.

Li Weiyi understood now. She had never intended to negotiate; she was merely toying with him. "Then I want every bone in your body. Will you give them to me?"

Red-clad Qi Shanshan narrowed her eyes, cold light shooting in all directions. She felt that Li Weiyi had no sincerity whatsoever. This descendant of the Gu Clan was far too rude. He had only just set foot upon the path of cultivation, yet he showed her not the slightest respect.

It seemed necessary to teach him a lesson now. Otherwise, would he not enslave her in the future?

She slowly raised her palm, her aura climbing to its peak in an instant. "So be it. I'll take them myself! Li Clan Junior, summon your Guardian Wife. With your current meager cultivation, One Against Two should not be too difficult for you."

The more she spoke, the more confused Li Weiyi became. "Wait. You must have misunderstood something."

"According to legend, when the descendants of your Gu Clan are still infants, the clan elders travel across famous mountains and great rivers, immortal tombs and ancestral graves, seeking for you a deceased spirit of terrifying status in life to serve as your Guardian Wife, hidden within your bloodline. Could the legend be wrong?"

Red-clad Qi Shanshan could not make sense of it. Since Li Weiyi's identity had already been exposed, she saw no need for him to hide it.

Li Weiyi thought she was trying to trick him, deliberately saying strange and bizarre things to distract him. He therefore held the Yellow Dragon Sword horizontally before him in a defensive stance, his gaze growing increasingly grave and sharp.

Red-clad Qi Shanshan said no more.

She would capture him first and talk later.

Whoosh!

She transformed into a streak of red and shot forward like lightning.

"So fast."

Even with the Scripture Belt's enhancement, Li Weiyi was still inferior in movement speed. He could only take out the Black Iron Seal and use the hilt of the Yellow Dragon Sword to strike the top of the seal heavily.

He also directed the two currents of hot and cold qi into it.

This was a method he had developed himself. It was more powerful and did not harm him.

Boom!

Thunder roared and lightning flashed.

Red-clad Qi Shanshan was forced back, streaks of lightning striking her body.

Yet the red garment she wore had endured for a thousand years without decay and was clearly extraordinary. The lightning failed to truly injure her.

Seizing this rare opportunity, Li Weiyi chased after her. He channeled the hot and cold currents within his body into the Silver Thread Gloves. Silver light appeared around both hands, and his strength surged accordingly.

He unleashed more than a dozen sword strikes in rapid succession, every one of them with all his strength, carrying the weight of a thousand jun.

Qi Shanshan in red fought as she retreated, cracks appearing across the skin of her arms as blood continuously seeped out.

In the end, Qi Shanshan's flesh and skin were still in the state of an ordinary person's. They simply could not withstand collisions of this magnitude.

Just as the two were locked in fierce battle, unable to pull back.

"Clang! Clang!"

Within the Graveyard Forest, a dense mass of black Nether Mist erupted and swelled, surging wildly toward them.

Dense, resounding camel bells rang from within the mist.

It came incredibly fast.

In less than the time of a breath, black mist filled the heavens, its chill piercing to the bone and severely limiting their vision.

Li Weiyi and Qi Shanshan in red both blanched, sensing danger. Just as they were about to break apart, the camel bells had already reached their ears, rumbling like thunder.

Within the Nether Mist, the first half-illusory, half-solid Camel Ghost Shadow emerged. It stood three or four meters tall, with a hunched, shriveled humanoid figure seated upon it.

The humanoid figure swung a Ghost Flag, stirring up a biting wave of air that sent the two, who had not yet managed to withdraw their attacks, flying backward like fallen leaves.

"Bang! Bang!"

The two crashed to the ground, both coughing blood. Their internal organs had clearly been injured.

In an instant.

Li Weiyi flipped to his feet, sword in one hand and Black Iron Seal in the other, assuming a defensive stance and giving his opponent no chance to follow up with another blow.

The bell hanging from the Camel Ghost Shadow was sinister beyond measure. Every time it rang, countless negative emotions arose within him, vicious thoughts unceasing. He had to circulate the Jade Void Breathing Technique to resist it.

Qi Shanshan in red was physically weaker than Li Weiyi and had suffered even graver injuries. Her face was utterly pale.

Only after a long while did she slowly rise to her feet, speaking in a strange language. "When the snipe and clam grapple, the fisherman reaps the profit."

"Zen Sea Observing Mist, it has been a long time since we last met. Hahaha!" The figure riding the camel flickered between solid and illusory as he held the Ghost Flag and laughed loudly.

First a White Bone Demon had appeared, and now came an even more vicious Ghostly Creature?

Li Weiyi had long heard some Research Team Members say that they had seen a Camel Caravan enter a gravestone within the Graveyard Forest. He had thought they were exaggerating. Later, he too had vaguely heard camel bells on several occasions, but had assumed they were hallucinations and paid them little heed.

Only now did he realize that these camel bells were terribly abnormal.

Many of the things that had happened aboard the ship might have been connected to them.

Li Weiyi looked toward the Sea of Tombs and Forest of Steles, whose end could not be seen, and a hidden worry rose in his heart. Just who were buried in those graves? How many had yet to die completely?

Qi Shanshan in red looked icy. "I truly never expected that you had preserved a strand of soul consciousness within the Evil Camel Bell and dragged out a wretched existence. Everything that happened aboard the ship was your handiwork, wasn't it? Using the Evil Camel Bell to beguile people's minds, create slaughter, gather malicious thoughts, and strengthen your own soul consciousness."

"You are wrong! Malicious thoughts arise from oneself—what do they have to do with the camel bells? Besides, if I did not gather malicious thoughts and solidify my soul consciousness as quickly as possible, I would not even be able to leave the Evil Camel Bell."

The shriveled figure atop the camel stopped laughing and continued, "This king is determined to obtain the treasure hanging around his neck. For the sake of our past acquaintance, I will spare your life today. You may leave! Your injuries are severe. Do not bring ruin upon yourself."

After straightening up, Qi Shanshan in red laughed. "Are you trying to fool a three-year-old child? You ambushed us, yet failed to kill either of us in one strike, so you can only break us apart and defeat us separately. If I leave now, that would truly be courting certain death."

"Fine. Since you wish to die, this king shall grant your wish."

The camel charged forward, swift as a fine steed.

Its bells rang as the shriveled figure swung the Ghost Flag down at her.

Qi Shanshan in red was injured and did not dare take it head-on. She immediately employed her movement technique to retreat and evade.

Strangely, the Ghost Flag that had clearly been chopping toward Qi Shanshan in red changed direction at even greater speed before it could fall, shooting toward Li Weiyi on the other side.

He was exceedingly cunning. His true target had been Li Weiyi from beginning to end.

Li Weiyi had been vigilantly on guard all along. Seeing the Ghost Flag sweep at him like raging winds and furious waves, he immediately swung his sword.

A disdainful snort sounded from atop the camel.

"Ssshh! Ssshh!"

It was not a head-on clash. The Yellow Dragon Sword was like a flood dragon, gliding in a coiling arc across the Ghost Flag and drawing out a curved trail of sparks.

All the force was redirected away.

Li Weiyi had already sidestepped six paces away. Once he was prepared, injuring him again would not be so easy.

"Yu Tuo Nan, what do you people of Carefree Capital have besides arrogant self-importance? With only this much strength, if the two of us join forces, that strand of your soul consciousness will likely scatter and vanish here."

Qi Shanshan in red had naturally said this for Li Weiyi to hear, using the language of Earth.

Compared to the White Bone Demon, Li Weiyi now wanted even more to make the figure on the camel vanish body and soul, to cut off the source of evil. That intention was incomparably strong.

The figure atop the camel flew into a rage from shame. Even thicker Nether Mist poured from the Ghost Flag in his hand, and he used its pole like a spear to stab at Li Weiyi's heart.

At that moment.

A bizarre scene appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Whoosh—"

The mouthful of blood Li Weiyi had spat out earlier began to steam, turning the surrounding area into a world of pale-red blood mist.

The ground began to rot and mold, inch by inch.

A slender figure in a red bridal gown stood in the world of blood mist, a veil dangling with Copper Coins over her head, directly before the charging camel. She raised a jade-like hand and swept it downward and forward.

What unsettled Li Weiyi was that, at that very moment, he too was bringing his sword down.

Why did it feel as though the two of them had become one?

"Splash!"

The half-real, half-illusory camel was cleaved in two.

With a scream, the gaunt ghostly figure and the Ghost Flag in his hand dissolved into a cloud of pitch-black Nether Mist, retreating like a receding tide before vanishing into the deep, sprawling Graveyard Forest.

In the blink of an eye, the bride had vanished!

She had appeared out of thin air, then disappeared into thin air.

"What was that... a Guardian Wife?"

The absurd thought arose in Li Weiyi's mind. He immediately looked for Qi Shanshan in red, only to discover that she had long since fled without a trace.

Li Weiyi hurried back to the Medical Tent, worried that she had gone there.