I, Xu Changtian, the Strange Ghost!

Countless blood-black Sword Qi raged through the giant spherical cavern, and the blood-red Abyssal Rift, so viscous as to be almost tangible, instantly surged and boiled under the sword techniques.

Wherever the Sword-Ray reached, countless hideous and terrifying tough fleshy tendrils were sliced open like mud. The blood-and-flesh lining the inner walls was cleaved by the Sword Qi, leaving deep sword marks etched into the stone wall.

The waves of sword techniques continued for several breaths.

And it was only a few breaths.

The flesh and blood covering the entire cavern had been completely shredded into minced meat by the Sword Qi, and then dripped down the inner wall, quickly turning the bottom of the huge spherical cavern into a pool of accumulated flesh and blood.

Luo Xiran's body, which was made of fleshy growths, was shaved off by the Sword Qi, leaving only her head.

However, she did not struggle, but simply lay quietly on the pool of flesh, watching the Blood-robed Man walk towards her step by step.

Pink cherry blossoms continued to fall as Xu Yuan stood before Luo Xiran.

The Clear Speech Sword gleamed coldly. He looked at her calmly and said softly:

"It seems you can't kill them both."

"Oh? You really think I can't kill you?"

To Xu Yuan's surprise, Luo Xiran, who was swept up by "Falling Cherry Heavenly Dance," did not show the slightest sign of weakness.

Even compared to her earlier astonishment, a hint of amusement appeared on Luo Xiran's beautiful face:

"While you do seem to possess some special qualities, you are still no match for me."

Xu Yuan pointed with the Clear Speech Sword Zhou Ping the flesh and blood spread out on the ground around him, and said softly:

"If your body were as hard as your mouth, then this young master shouldn't be able to cut you down."

"Is that so?"

A soft question rang out, and the beautiful head lying on its side amidst the flesh and blood suddenly smiled at Xu Yuan.

As the smile played on her lips, a strange fluctuation emanated outwards, and then the layer of flesh and blood spread across the cave floor suddenly began to boil, surging towards Luo Xiran's head like a tide.

Her voice was tinged with laughter:

"Your swordsmanship is powerful, but it seems unable to harm my very essence."

"."

Upon seeing this, Xu Yuan's narrow eyes narrowed slightly, and the Clear Speech Sword in his hand flashed a beautiful silver light in the air before returning to its sheath.

In the next instant, the thousands of Sword Qi that had just been laid out suddenly erupted.

Centered on Luo Xiran's head, the blood-black sword shadow instantly enveloped the entire area within a ten-zhang radius!

A few breaths later, the sword shadow vanished, revealing a neatly cut, spherical crater at the bottom of the cave. Luo Xiran Luo Xiran's presence was no longer felt within the cave, but her cold, elegant laughter still echoed in Xu Yuan's ears.

"Xu Changtian, our power originates from the same source. Our struggle will only waste the life essence of the Blood Nest accumulated over ten thousand years. When you truly become my companion, you will realize how wasteful this is. I look forward to our next meeting, hehehehe."

As soon as he finished speaking,

The crimson Abyssal Rift began to fade at a visible speed. Apart from the pool of flesh and blood still remaining on the ground and the thousands of sword marks on the inner walls that told of the intensity of the battle just now, everything in the cave returned to silence.

"."

Xu Yuan calmly observed the scene before him, then shook his head with a light laugh.

In the context of Cangyuan, he should have cleared the first phase of the Luo Xiran boss, right?

Thinking,

Xu Yuan lowered his eyes and looked at his palm, which was covered with strange markings.

The power of the Strange Ghost.

This power is so great that it allows him, a mere Soul Condensation cultivator, to effortlessly and quickly defeat Luo Xiran in the first stage.

but,

What's the cost?

In Cangyuan, Xu Yuan can know, down to the second, how long a Demon Crystal can suppress the Strange Ghost poison.

But in reality, he has no idea how long the Demon Crystal of the Ink Snake Ji Tian can suppress the instincts of the Strange Ghost.

A ten-day period? Half a ten-day period? Or even shorter?

Furthermore, will the suppression effect of the Demon Crystal shorten as he uses his power? Will it shorten due to his connection with Abyssal Rift?

He knew nothing about these things.

Thinking of this, a deep, unyielding gloom flashed in Xu Yuan's scarlet pupils.

"Young Master?"

As his thoughts wandered, a tentative call came from not far behind him, "Are you... are you alright?"

Without turning around, Xu Yuan could already sense the unease on the faces of the two women.

The princess with the strapless top said something very good.

A qualified head coach is one who can transform all the worries of others into trust the moment they see him.

Turning his gaze back, Xu Yuan had already concealed all the unease and gloom in his eyes. He grinned, picked up the Clear Speech Sword, and walked towards the two women, saying with a nonchalant laugh:

"What could possibly be wrong with me?"

Li Qingyan gripped the crimson blade tightly, looking at the Blood-robed Man whose skin was covered in mottled patterns and whose eyes had lost their whites, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes:

"You've really become Strange Ghost?"

"I?"

Xu Yuan raised a finger and pointed to himself, staring strangely at the chest-bound princess on the other side. "Guess?"

"I'm not joking with you!" Li Qingyan's voice sharpened slightly.

"."

Xu Yuan smacked his lips, then stomped his foot hard.

Before the blood and flesh on the ground could even splatter, he had already appeared behind Li Qingyan.

A gentle breeze ruffled her long hair. Xu Yuan, with his back to her, smiled.

"If I, Xu Changtian, were to become Strange Ghost completely, Qingyan, would you like to come and join me? Luo Xiran ugly."

"Whoosh--"

The blade, trailing a fiery glow, abruptly sliced through a beautiful semicircle within the pitch-black cave.

A hint of amusement flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes, and he slightly raised the Clear Speech in his hand, which was not yet drawn.

"Dang--"

A crisp sound,

The momentum of the blade was halted, and the fiery blade trembled slightly from the struggle, but the scabbard in Xu Yuan's hand did not retreat even an inch.

Xu Yuan used a little force to pry the blade aside, slowly turned around, and asked strangely:

What are you doing?

Li Qingyan sheathed his sword, glanced at him, and whispered:

"I found it strange just now."

"What's strange?" Xu Yuan asked.

Li Qingyan looked at the thousands of sword marks on the inner wall of the cave:

"Why did you choose to consume that Demon Crystal and become Strange Ghost instead of me? It seems you think you'd be stronger if you did."

Xu Yuan suddenly fell silent, lowered his eyes, and a perfectly nuanced complex expression appeared on his face:

"No, I just don't want you to take the risk. The unpredictability of Strange Ghost transformation is too high."

"."

Li Qingyan's eyes widened in surprise. She pursed her lips, then her lips twitched as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't.

Xu Yuan saw the expression on her face and a sense of satisfaction rose in his heart.

A smile appeared in Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes. She tilted her head and smiled, her slender index finger pointing towards the prince's chin:

"Changtian, I believe what you say, but do you believe it yourself?"

"." Xu Yuan.

Oh no, we've been found out.

In a life-or-death situation, couldn't this woman even show a little compassion?

Just as I was thinking,

"Thanks."

A rustling sound suddenly came.

Xu Yuan was taken aback and subconsciously looked up.

Air convection created a gentle breeze.

A sudden gust of cold wind blew, causing the woman in red's long, black hair to flutter in the air.

Seemingly mesmerized by her own long hair, she tilted her head slightly, reached out and tucked a few strands of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes behind her ear, before slowly turning her beautiful eyes to him, and then a smile appeared on her lips.

A smile that could topple a city—that's probably no more beautiful than this.

She looked at her, her beautiful phoenix eyes filled with a gentle tenderness:

"No matter what, Changtian, you risked your life, so thank you."

"."

hiss.

The moment Xu Yuan realized his heart was racing, the side effects of becoming Strange Ghost were truly too great.

Silently muttering "Big Ice Block" to himself, Xu Yuan chuckled and waved his hand.

"Rest assured, everything is under your commander's control."

Having survived a calamity, Li Qingyan seemed to be in a better mood, giving him a sidelong glance:

"You finally proved reliable this time, don't let your guard down."

Xu Yuan raised a finger and waved it in front of her, smiling as he warned:

"Qingyan, I'm much stronger than you now. Watch your words."

Li Qingyan stood gracefully, gripping the hilt of her sword, raised an eyebrow, and smiled playfully:

"If I'm not careful, does the Commander-in-Chief intend to execute me right here and now?"

"."

Xu Yuan licked his lips, grabbed Li Qingyan's shoulder, and turned her around.

"Smack!"

With a crisp sound, a beautiful wave of flesh rippled across the peach-shaped buttocks hidden beneath the red dress.

Under Li Qingyan's surprised gaze, Xu Yuan withdrew his hand and said nonchalantly:

"Now that the punishment is over, we can get down to business."

Bai Muxi glanced at Li Qingyan's expression, which suggested he wanted to get angry but couldn't, and tried to suppress a laugh as she said:

"Young master, so what should we do next?"

Xu Yuan glanced back at her, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice:

"With my current strength, I am not enough to deal with Luo Xiran."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Muxi eyes showed a hint of surprise. She subconsciously glanced at the sword marks around her and the sticky blood and flesh scattered on the ground. "But what happened just now, Young Master?"

"This is not Luo Xiran's true form."

Xu Yuan raised his hand and ruffled her hair, his voice tinged with seriousness. "The reason she left was simply because she didn't want to waste the life essence in the Blood Nest with me here."

"If this so-called source of life doesn't end, then we can't kill her?" Li Qingyan had already regained her composure, her voice cold and clear. "But Changtian, your current state should be similar to hers, right?"

"Certainly."

Xu Yuan grinned, a glint of light emanating from his fingertips. He ran his fingers across his palm, leaving a shallow bloodstain that healed almost instantly before any blood could flow. "I can feel that my body is now Strange Ghost from the Otherworlder's, and that we share the same origin. This means that in a fight with her, it's highly likely that we won't be able to determine a winner."

Li Qingyan hesitated for a moment, then suggested asking:

"Then could you and she continue fighting until that so-called life force is exhausted?"

Xu Yuan smiled and shook his head:

"How easy is it to completely deplete something accumulated over thousands of years?"

Li Qingyan seemed slightly surprised upon hearing this:

"You can sense it?"

"Certainly."

Xu Yuan said it as a matter of course.

Although he may not be able to compare with Luo Xiran, a ten-thousand-year-old Strange Ghost, his perception can now cover a great distance. He can even clearly sense the movements of the Black Death Fungal Mat, which is dozens of miles away.

Upon hearing this, a glint of shrewdness flashed in Li Qingyan eyes:

"So, you can directly locate the woman's physical body and the Blood Nest she's in through this sensing?"

"The main body can't sense it, but the Blood Nest..."

As Xu Yuan murmured to himself, he closed his eyes and carefully sensed the surroundings for a dozen breaths. When he opened his eyes again, he grinned and said, "The location of the Blood Nest can be barely confirmed. Wait a minute."

After saying that,

Xu Yuan subconsciously looked towards the depths of the Blood Nest, his fist clenching tightly.

The Black Death Fungal Mat is the medium through which the Strange Ghost Strange Ghost transmit their life force, and also their eyes and ears to sense intruders.

As Mortal Shedding Strange Ghost, Xu Yuan can now naturally make use of these Black Death Fungal Mat.

But as he used the black fungal carpet that covered the Dead Silence Underground Palace to continuously probe deeper into the location of the Blood Nest, a large area of Black Death Fungal Mat suddenly became completely empty.

The empty area continued to expand, and almost instantly, the surrounding hundreds of miles vanished before his very eyes, becoming nothingness.

Moreover, in the passageway he could still sense,

A terrifying, hairless giant tiger was rapidly galloping towards the darkened area.

That was one of the Mortal Shedding BOSSes in the Dead Silence Underground Palace.

Upon seeing this, Xu Yuan instantly understood what Luo Xiran trying to do, and his heart sank to the bottom.

Seeing Xu Yuan's expression, Li Qingyan's heart tightened, and she quickly asked:

"Changtian, what's wrong?"

Xu Yuan took a deep breath, withdrew his gaze, composed his expression, and wore a hint of helplessness:

"Na Luo Xiran established an isolation zone around the Blood Nest."

"Isolation zone?" Li Qingyan, slightly puzzled.

Xu Yuan pointed to his scarlet eyes, which had no whites:

"As Strange Ghost, I need the Black Death Fungal Mat to find the Blood Nest in this Dead Silence Underground Palace, but the Black Death Fungal Mat near the Blood Nest has been blocked by Luo Xiran."

Li Qingyan's reaction was as quick as ever, hitting the nail on the head:

"Is she doing this to buy time?"

Xu Yuan forced a smile:

"Most likely."

None of these bosses are easy to deal with.

Do you, Xu Changtian, need the Demon Crystal of other high-ranking Strange Ghost to "extend your life"?

Then I, Luo Xiran, will summon all these high-ranking Strange Ghost possessing Demon Crystal back to the Blood Nest, and destroy the Black Death Fungal Mat surrounding the Blood Nest, which is just a delaying tactic.

It dragged on until Xu Changtian's human intelligence was gradually eroded away by the instincts of the Strange Ghost.

As for penetrating deep into the Blood Nest?

Finding the Blood Nest will take time, and even if they find Blood Nest, the three of them will face two Mortal Shedding Strange Ghost, Luo Xiran who possesses intelligence, and an unknown number of Origin Beginning Strange Ghost.

Moreover, among these Origin Beginning Strange Ghost, there are weak monsters like the cat demon from before, as well as powerful elite Origin Beginning.

Such a huge gap in combat power means that even in the world of Cangyuan, Xu Yuan, as a top player, would probably only be able to join the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect.

They locked eyes for a moment,

Xu Yuan and Li Qingyan both seemed to have realized something, and their expressions turned gloomy.

But soon,

Xu Yuan patted the princess's slender waist and said with a smile:

"Don't rush."

"I'm not in a hurry." Li Qingyan glared at Xu Yuan, looking at the ghostly markings on his face. "What about you?"

Xu Yuan rubbed his temples, then suddenly glanced at the four boxes of Source Crystal bombs on the ground. A murderous intent flashed in his scarlet eyes, and he licked his lips.

After noticing Xu Yuan's gaze, Li Qingyan's pupils contracted:

"Changtian, you don't want yourself."

Xu Yuan shrugged nonchalantly, looked at his mottled hands, and grinned:

"Now that we've become Strange Ghost, we should naturally experience their immortality, shouldn't we?"