Send You to Die

The moment the ugly young man saw him summon a Ghost Soldier, he took a closer look and realized it was a Level Six Ghost Soldier. He couldn't help but jump in fright. His expression turned furious, and he cursed, "Bastard! What are you summoning a Ghost Soldier for? Are you trying to rebel?" A Level Six Ghost Soldier posed at least some threat to him.

"No, no, I made a mistake. I was in such a hurry that I used the wrong hand seal." Lei Dong looked so desperate he was nearly in tears. His face deathly pale, he begged frantically, "Senior Brother, please let me go. I'll erase my divine sense mark right now."

"Then hurry up. If you keep dragging your feet, I'll kill you." The ugly young man felt a little relieved. Look at this guy, cowering like a bear. They were both men, so why was this guy so afraid of death?

"Yes, yes, I'll hurry. Hurry up and send you to your death." A wicked smile suddenly curled Lei Dong's lips.

"What?" The sharp contrast between what he expected and what he heard made the ugly young man think he'd misheard. Instinctively, he leaned forward.

Pfft! A dull sound rang out as flesh was violently pierced. A hideous Ghost Soldier stood behind the ugly young man, gripping a pair of sharp spikes. One had pierced him high, the other low, both buried halfway into his body. Then the Ghost Soldier twisted them viciously. Almost at the same moment, the ugly young man cried out in pain.

Based on his experience using Ghost Soldiers, Lei Dong knew that the Shadow Ghost Soldier excelled at stealth attacks. A sword-and-shield combination couldn't bring out its full potential. Weapons formed from spiritual energy had enough impact, but lacked sharpness and durability. So Lei Dong had specially outfitted each of his three Ghost Soldiers with different weapons. All were custom-made Magic Tools. They couldn't quite reach Middle Grade, but were among the finest Low Grade tools.

The Shadow Ghost Soldier's twin spikes were not only exceptionally sharp, but also poured a torrent of yin baleful energy into the body as they pierced it. Once inside, the energy split into countless threads that sought out the blood vessels, meridians, and soul. It wouldn't kill its victim right away, but it would make them feel a bone-deep, frigid pain and tremble all over. Most importantly, it could greatly weaken them.

With a tearing hiss, the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier cast the Bloodthirsty Art almost at the same time. Its figure became a streak of blood-red light in the air, ferocious as a demon, wailing like a ghost as it charged at him with its blade.

The ugly young man had to be given credit: he had some real ability. In less than half a breath, he'd managed to react. A strangely shaped shield embossed with fierce demons and evil ghosts suddenly appeared, barely managing to block the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier's savage blow. The shockwave from the impact rippled outward.

Lei Dong knew that if the man recovered from the ambush and steadied himself for a counterattack, his Evil Ghost Banner and some unknown Magic Tools and spells might actually turn the tables. He'd already worked out a meticulous plan to kill him. The moment Lei Dong had said he would send him to his death, he had summoned the third and final Ghost Soldier.

"Tsiiii—!" The Fierce Howl Ghost Soldier immediately unleashed its signature skill: Ghost Howl.

A string of piercing, hideous shrieks rang out. Even Lei Dong's mind wavered and his blood roiled, to say nothing of the man and the two women whom the Fierce Howl Ghost Soldier had targeted. The two women had reacted quickly enough. As soon as they realized something was wrong, they'd tried to control their Magic Tools and flee. But the miserable, terrifying Ghost Howl nearly knocked them off their Flying Magic Tools. Their minds scattered, their heads filled with the howl, they couldn't focus their divine sense.

All these attacks sounded as if they'd taken a while, but from beginning to end, barely a breath or two had passed. The ugly young man had been preparing to form a hand seal even as he blocked the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier's attack. But the Ghost Howl interrupted him. Its echo rang in his ears and mind, leaving him in such agony that for a moment he forgot what to do.

At the same time, the Shadow Ghost Soldier drove its twin spikes into him again. Even with the physical strength of Qi Refining Level Six, and his true energy instinctively protecting him, he was gravely wounded once more. The intense pain cleared his head—but then he saw the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier's blade and the Fierce Howl Ghost Soldier's arrow strike into him at once.

A Cold Yin Flying Sword transformed into a streak of cold light and shot straight into his heart, ending his life. Even then, he stared wide-eyed in disbelief, unable to accept that his opponent had killed him with such thunderous force in just a second or two.

"Please spare me. I'm willing to be your concubine."

The two seductive young women had just come around from their dizziness. Seeing the young master—usually so arrogant and lofty—hacked to death before their eyes, they turned pale and began pleading for their lives. They had brought this on themselves by following the ugly young man, whose identity was clearly special. As long as Lei Dong hadn't lost his mind, there was no way he'd let them live.

Lei Dong gave a cold snort. The Cold Yin Flying Sword, still stained with the ugly young man's blood, curved around and slashed toward them. The three Ghost Soldiers all gave excited whoops, mingled with the young women's terrified screams.

Within a few dozen breaths, Phantom became a streak of black light, skimming low over the ground like a fleeting shadow. It flew straight for dozens of miles before wheeling behind a small mountain and soaring skyward, racing away as fast as it could. After flying more than ten thousand miles over the course of an entire day and night, Lei Dong finally brought the Flying Sword down and landed in a desolate little valley. He found a small cave, checked that it was safe with the Divine Scan Technique, and went inside.

He sent three Ghost Soldiers to keep watch outside, positioning them to guard the entrance from different directions. Only then did Lei Dong finally relax his tense, wary posture. He dropped onto a rock. He'd sweated so many times he'd lost count, and his clothes had dried and soaked through again and again, leaving him clammy and miserable. But what exhausted him most was his heart. He was still shaken, deeply shaken. Before they died, the two seductive young women had revealed the ugly young man's identity.

That brat wasn't a Personal Disciple at all. He was the biological son of the Ghost Fiend Ancestor of Ghost Fiend Mansion. In fact, Lei Dong had heard rumors about it long ago. They said the Ghost Fiend Ancestor had been rather ugly in his youth and unpopular with women. So he'd devoted all his energy to cultivation and never married or had children. It wasn't until he reached the Golden Core Stage that he began to throw his weight around, taking dozens of wives and concubines.

Yet the world followed a natural principle: the Heaven and Earth Laws. The stronger and more powerful a cultivator or other living being became, the lower their chances of successfully reproducing tended to be. By contrast, some low-level creatures and ordinary mortals were highly fertile. Put simply, if an ordinary man with no problems married dozens of wives and concubines, wouldn't he end up with a houseful of descendants?

Cultivators were different. They drew in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy to temper themselves and continually evolve. In Lei Dong's previous life, he'd have called it a process of constant genetic refinement and change. As they changed, they gradually became fundamentally different from ordinary people. If both husband and wife were cultivators of similar strength, their chances were somewhat better. But if one was an ordinary mortal, the chance of conception became frighteningly low. Of course, even when both were cultivators, the odds of pregnancy were still extremely low. This was a Heaven and Earth Law, a choice made by natural evolution. After all, having descendants meant continuing one's life and entrusting one's hopes to the next generation. Cultivation, on the other hand, meant pursuing a state of enduring alongside Heaven and Earth. In theory, there was no need to rely on offspring to inherit one's life.

So, even if you cast a wide net and caught fewer fish, you'd still come away with some. The Ghost Fiend Ancestor had several children. But the fact that he had a Spiritual Root didn't mean all his children would. Of the few children he'd managed to have, only the ugly young man had a Spiritual Root—and a rather good one at that. That was already a stroke of luck, especially since many of his dozens of wives and concubines had Spiritual Roots to some degree. Besides, the ugly young man looked remarkably like the Ghost Fiend Ancestor in his youth: short, with an upturned nose, as if he'd been carved from the same mold.

That was exactly why the Ghost Fiend Ancestor doted on his ugly son, lavishing him with every cultivation resource he could want. Little by little, it had made the ugly young man arrogant and conceited, convinced that he was above everyone else.

That was why Lei Dong was so nervous after killing the brat. If the Ghost Fiend Ancestor found out that he'd killed his most beloved son, even Myriad Ghost Ancestor might not be able to protect him. The dead man was the Ghost Fiend Ancestor's son, after all—not some ordinary disciple. Of course, Lei Dong didn't regret killing him. If he had the chance to do it all over again, he'd still kill him. Given the ugly young man's arrogance and overbearing nature, there was no way he would have let Lei Dong go, no matter how much he begged.