Bloody Battle with the Female Ghost

At that critical moment, the little girl's distorted head suddenly rotated 180 degrees, her pitch-black eye sockets staring directly at Ye Yun. Her grinning mouth stretched almost to her ears, revealing rows of sharp teeth, and a strange laugh emanated from her throat. Ye Yun's hair stood on end, and the Nine Nether Spirit Ginseng in his storage bag trembled violently, as if responding to something.

"Yi ya--"

A piercing shriek tore through the night sky, and the little girl shot towards Ye Yun like an arrow released from a bow. Her withered fingers' nails grew three inches long, gleaming with a cold, faint blue light under the moonlight. Ye Yun could even smell the stench wafting towards him—like corpse water steeped for years mixed with the scent of blood.

Ye Yun bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of vital blood mixed with Essence Qi. This heart's blood, imbued with the essence of an 8th Rank peak martial artist, transformed into a blood-red net in the air, each strand shimmering with a faint golden light. The moment the blood net touched the little girl, a scorching sound erupted, and a large amount of black smoke billowed from her body.

"Little Sixth Brother! Use Essence Qi to attack those black threads!" Ye Yun roared, drawing his long saber. Illuminated by the blood net, everyone finally saw the gray threads connecting the little girl to the ancient well—they were as thick as a baby's arm, covered in mucus, and wriggled like living things.

Yan Xiao Liu endured the intense pain in his left shoulder—the wound there had turned a bizarre bluish-purple. Gritting his teeth, he poured the little Essence Qi remaining in his body into his saber. The blade lit up with a faint blue light, and with a roar, a pale blue saber energy shot through the air, precisely striking the thickest thread.

After a crisp sound like metal clashing, the thread snapped. The little girl's body suddenly faltered, and she let out a shrill wail. Ye Yun seized the opportunity, his long saber sweeping out with a surge of Essence Qi, faint lightning flashing along the blade. Three threads connected to the ancient well snapped simultaneously, scattering as foul-smelling black water.

"Effective!" Ye Yun rejoiced, about to press his advantage, when a crisp sound came from behind him. A three-finger-wide crack appeared on the bluestone rim of the ancient well, and dozens of thicker black threads shot out like poisonous snakes from their holes! These newly formed threads were covered in barbs and, in the blink of an eye, repaired the little girl's damaged body, wrapping her tightly and forming a grotesque black armor.

"Gulp... gulp..."

A chilling bubbling sound came from the bottom of the well, as if a colossal being was surfacing. The ivy on the courtyard wall suddenly grew wildly, its vines as thick as a bowl's mouth coiling around the legs of several Constables. Zhao Hu screamed, his right leg pierced by the thorns on the vines. The blood that flowed out immediately turned dark green.

"Miss... has returned for revenge..." The servant kneeling and kowtowing suddenly bled from all seven orifices, emitting an inhuman roar from his throat. His eyeballs bulged grotesquely, his pupils turning into vertical slits like the little girl's. By the time Ye Yun severed the vines entangling everyone, the servant had already breathed his last, his body shriveling at an incredible speed until only a skin remained on the ground.

Even more terrifying was that the little girl, having absorbed the servant's vital energy, became more solid. Even the unranked Constables could now clearly see her appearance—her grayish-blue skin was visible beneath her faded blue cloth dress, a distinct bruise circled her neck, and half a broken chain still hung from her ankle. Most horrifying were her eyes, entirely composed of churning black water, a single glance at which made one dizzy.

"Miss... it's really Miss..." Wang Fu collapsed to his knees, his crotch already soaked. He mechanically repeated the words, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Yan Xiao Liu's face was ashen, his hand gripping the saber trembling slightly. He clearly felt the meager Essence Qi left within him, and ordinary swords were useless against this female ghost. In despair, he instinctively looked at Ye Yun—this colleague who always created miracles.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Ye Yun's forehead, his heart churning like a stormy sea. His 8th Rank peak cultivation, combined with Essence Qi far more profound than that of his peers, should have been enough to cleave through three feet of granite with that strike, yet it had only severed three threads. Even more troublesome was that the entity in the ancient well seemed to be awakening, its emitted Yin energy causing the surrounding vegetation to wither at a visible rate.

"Physical attacks ineffective... Essence Qi has limited effect..." Ye Yun's mind raced, a flash of inspiration striking him.

"Little Sixth Brother! Cover me!" Ye Yun roared, his body a blur as he shot towards the ancient well. Yan Xiao Liu understood, mustering the last trace of Essence Qi in his body and slashing at the little girl's back. Although the blade still passed through her body, this time it actually brought off a wisp of black smoke—the female ghost's form visibly faltered.

The ancient well was within reach, its water churning as if boiling, and a skeletal white bone could be vaguely seen surfacing. Ye Yun unhesitatingly channeled all his Essence Qi, swinging his long saber fiercely at the black threads connecting to the female ghost.

"Boom--!"

Amidst a deafening explosion, a pillar of eerie blue fire erupted from the well's opening. The little girl let out a heart-wrenching scream, her body beginning to twist and contort uncontrollably. The black threads snapped one by one, dissolving into foul-smelling black rain. The vines in the courtyard rapidly withered, turning into a pile of ash.

Just as everyone thought the crisis was averted, a sudden change occurred! The white bone in the well extended its claws, gripping the well's rim. A hoarse female voice echoed from the bottom of the well: "You... will all die..."

"Why aren't you leaving yet!" Ye Yun sidestepped an incoming black energy and slashed at the little girl's shoulder with his backhand. The blade felt like cutting into waterlogged cowhide, only penetrating half an inch before stopping. The female ghost let out a piercing laugh, her grayish-blue arm suddenly elongating three feet, her claws reaching for Ye Yun's heart!

Yan Xiao Liu gritted his teeth and charged forward, barely managing to condense a trace of pale blue Essence Qi on his blade: "I'll help you--"

Ye Yun kicked him out of the courtyard gate, "Your Essence Qi is depleted, staying here will only slow me down!" He used a precise force, sending Yan Xiao Liu flying thirty feet like he was riding the clouds, landing him right in the middle of the fleeing crowd.

The courtyard gate closed automatically, separating the inside from the outside, two distinct worlds. Ye Yun took a deep breath, feeling the dwindling Essence Qi within him. The girl before him had become even more solid, her blue cloth dress fluttering without wind, the chain on her ankle emitting a grating sound. Even more terrifying was that the white bone in the well had surfaced, its bone-white fingers clinging to the well's rim as it slowly climbed...

"Must find a way to escape." Ye Yun's mind raced, his long saber dancing, creating a curtain of light that temporarily repelled the female ghost's assault. He noticed that every time his Essence Qi touched her, the female ghost's movements showed a subtle delay—though the effect was weak, it was indeed effective.