Lantern Ghost

Master Qiao swiftly released several calligraphy sheets with his other hand.

One sheet was inscribed with dozens of different forms of the character for "fire," which then ignited with a whoosh. Master Qiao could actually control these flames, splitting them into three fire snakes that coiled around the cage. In terms of flame control, Master Qiao was no less skilled than a Nine Streams Pill Cultivator.

However, as the flames burned, the bamboo cage turned red-hot. The arm Master Qiao had been swallowed by the cage began to sizzle and smoke from the intense heat!

Master Qiao let out a pained cry, waved his hand to disperse the flames, and used a second calligraphy sheet.

This sheet bore his own name and birth details:

Qiao Zi'ang, born in the year Gengyin, month Yichou, day Bingyin, hour Mao.

These calligraphy sheets were Master Qiao's ultimate life-saving trump cards.

The purpose of this particular sheet was: Fate Replacement.

The sheet ignited, and any calamity Master Qiao encountered would be replaced by the sheet.

If he were imprisoned, the sheet would transform into a substitute and directly pull Master Qiao out.

But before the sheet could transform into a substitute after burning, the bamboo cage suddenly opened, growing immensely large, and trapped both Master Qiao and the sheet inside!

Cold sweat poured down Master Qiao's face as he exclaimed, "How can this be?!"

How could this brat possess such an Artisan Cultivator treasure?

My Eight Characters Fate Replacement Sheet can withstand at least an Eighth Stream level disaster, yet it couldn't escape this small cage's confinement!

The bamboo cage began to rapidly shrink. Master Qiao threw out his final calligraphy sheet.

This sheet, when unfurled, revealed a painting.

The painting depicted a Lantern Ghost.

The lantern's frame was made of pale human skin, and the ribs formed its structure.

Green Ghost Fire burned within the lantern, and a large character for "funeral rites" was written on its face in fresh blood, still dripping.

As the scroll unfurled, the Lantern Ghost leaped down, igniting a patch of Ghost Fire upon landing, silently engulfing a hundred-zhang radius.

The Lantern Ghost hung suspended in mid-air at a height of ten feet, possessing a soul-snatching ability.

Xu Yuan glanced at the Lantern Ghost, his eyes glazed over and his movements slowed.

Suddenly, a pitch-black Ghost Claw emerged from thin air behind Xu Yuan, silently thrusting towards his back!

The moment the Ghost Claw pierced his flesh, the surrounding tissue was instantly drained, and the skin turned a dark gray.

Stung by the intense pain, Xu Yuan jolted awake and lunged forward with all his might.

Screech!

The Ghost Claw pulled downwards, leaving five deep gashes on Xu Yuan's back!

The flesh around the wounds turned a blackish-gray, dead and decaying, permeated by a faint ghostly aura!

Xu Yuan rolled on the ground, twisted, and spat out his Inner Fire. The Ghost Claw, injured by the flames, recoiled in pain and vanished into thin air.

But as soon as Xu Yuan stopped, he felt a strong sense of danger and quickly dodged to the side. The Ghost Claw reappeared from nowhere, silently slashing past.

Had it not been for that final dodge, the Ghost Claw would have seized Xu Yuan's neck!

This Lantern Ghost was something Master Qiao had commissioned an old Locust to purchase from the General Goods Street. The only "money" living beings could use to buy things from General Goods Street was Blood Food!

This was also ironclad proof of his collusion with the Strange.

Xu Yuan dared not linger, dodging several more times before spreading his Inner Fire to cover his entire body.

However, the Inner Fire of a Nine Streams Pill Cultivator was limited. Maintaining this full-body protection wouldn't last long.

Xu Yuan stared at Master Qiao. The bamboo cage continued to shrink, and Master Qiao was still desperately resisting. Xu Yuan estimated the situation and felt despair: Master Qiao could hold out longer than he could.

Xu Yuan opened his mouth and spat out a Pill!

Poof! It struck the Lantern Ghost, creating a hole in its human-skin face.

Just as Xu Yuan was about to press his advantage, nine more lanterns rose from the sea of Ghost Fire!

They all floated to a height of ten feet and began to spin rapidly. The flickering flames merged into a chaotic mass, making it impossible for Xu Yuan to distinguish the real Lantern Ghost.

Xu Yuan gritted his teeth and quickly ran outwards, needing to escape the range of the Ghost Fire as soon as possible.

The Lantern Ghost made no move to stop him. As long as it remained within the Ghost Fire, its illusions would remain intact.

Xu Yuan burst out of the Ghost Fire's range, feeling a slight relief. His Inner Fire weakened slightly, and a Ghost Claw silently appeared behind his neck, lunging ferociously!

Xu Yuan twisted sharply, turning to face the Ghost Claw and spitting: Pfft!

The Pill shot towards the Ghost Claw, passing through it unimpeded. The Ghost Claw was incorporeal.

Ten Lantern Ghosts swayed above the Ghost Fire as if dancing, mocking the foolish living being.

The Pill passed through the Ghost Claw, its momentum unbroken. It flew near the Lantern Ghosts before suddenly exploding with a bang, transforming into a giant spider. The spider unleashed a large web, enveloping all the Lantern Ghosts.

The spider web retracted, passing directly through the illusions. Only the true Lantern Ghost remained within the web!

The Lantern Ghost panicked but could no longer escape. The spider continued to reel in the web. Xu Yuan, while dodging the Ghost Claw, rapidly charged towards the Lantern Ghost, then retracted all his Inner Fire, transforming it into a Fire Pill. With a poof, he struck the Lantern Ghost.

BOOM!

Blazing flames erupted, and the Ghost Claws that had been relentlessly pursuing Xu Yuan vanished. The Lantern Ghost let out strange shrieks in the flames, gradually being burned to ashes!

Xu Yuan checked the wound on his back.

It was still necrotic, shrouded in ghostly energy.

Xu Yuan spat out another pill.

This one had also been condensed from the villagers' herbs last night.

This one was a Detoxification Pill. After rolling it over the wound, the ghostly energy showed no sign of decreasing at all.

Xu Yuan shook his head. The ghostly energy had the same effect as poisoning, but it couldn't be dispelled with a Detoxification Pill.

Xu Yuan then released a Healing Pill. However, as soon as it approached, not only did it fail to heal the wound, but the pill itself showed signs of being contaminated by the ghostly energy. Xu Yuan had no choice but to take it back.

He decided to try the "Inner Fire" again. Earlier, he had briefly diffused the Inner Fire throughout his body, and its power had weakened. At that time, the ghostly energy hadn't reacted much.

Now, Xu Yuan condensed a Fire Pill and rolled it over the wound.

This ghostly energy indeed feared "Inner Fire." However, stimulated by the Fire Pill, it burrowed deeper into Xu Yuan's body like venomous insects!

Xu Yuan quickly stopped. This was truly troublesome. He could only leave it for now and figure out a solution after leaving Ghost Witch Mountain.

Beside him, the bamboo cage had shrunk, tightly trapping Master Qiao within.

Xu Yuan walked over. The bamboo cage was still shrinking, and several bamboo strips had already pierced into Master Qiao's neck, continuing to bore into the flesh. Blood flowed down along the bamboo strips.

Master Qiao could no longer move. His eyeballs bulged, and he stared fixedly at Xu Yuan. Using his last bit of strength, he said intermittently, "The people from River Worker Alley... are truly a bit... sinister..."

Master Qiao died with endless regret.

There had long been an ancient legend in the county town: do not provoke the people in River Worker Alley.

Various rumors circulated about River Worker Alley and the people who lived there.

But Master Qiao had lived in the city for decades and had never personally witnessed anything unusual in the alley. He had always thought these rumors were baseless nonsense.

Now, he had paid for it with his own life.