Ch. 1521Ghost King!
Chapter Summary: “Ghost King!”
Key Plot Points and Events
- Xia Ping attacks a group of more than one hundred Nether Ghosts trapped by his gravity-based power.
- He unleashes the Hell Golden Crow Flame, which easily penetrates and burns through the Nether Ghosts’ normally incorporeal bodies.
- The flames also scorch their souls, causing the ghosts extreme pain. Their attempts to counterattack fail, and Xia Ping destroys them with simple punches.
- All the Nether Ghosts are annihilated within moments. Xia Ping absorbs their remaining soul energy, strengthening both his soul and magical power.
- He discovers the Nether Stones the ghosts had mined and claims the entire vein, storing the stones in the Mountain River Bead. He leaves nothing behind.
- After Xia Ping departs, a weak Nether Ghost named Ghost Three Thousand emerges from hiding. Having survived by concealing itself underground, it returns to Formless Mountain to report the massacre.
- Ghost Three Thousand informs the Formless Ghost King that a human destroyed the mining group and possesses flames capable of countering Nether Ghosts.
- The Formless Ghost King initially doubts the report, but Ghost Three Thousand swears that it is true and explains the nature of Xia Ping’s hell-related flames.
- Alarmed by this mysterious threat, the Ghost King orders an investigation into Xia Ping’s origins and abilities before taking direct action.
Character Developments
- Xia Ping demonstrates overwhelming combat power, using the Hell Golden Crow Flame to exploit the Nether Ghosts’ greatest weakness. He becomes stronger by absorbing their soul energy and gains a large supply of Nether Stones.
- Ghost Three Thousand is established as a cautious survivor. Though weak and overlooked by the others, its low status allows it to escape and become the messenger who alerts the Nether Ghost leadership.
- The Formless Ghost King is portrayed as furious but strategically intelligent. Rather than immediately attacking Xia Ping, it chooses to investigate him and uncover his secrets first.
Significant Themes
- Power and natural advantage: Xia Ping’s flames completely counter the Nether Ghosts’ incorporeal nature, making their usual defenses useless.
- Survival through caution: Ghost Three Thousand survives not through strength but by hiding and remaining unnoticed.
- Greed and reversal of fortune: The Nether Ghosts mine the Nether Stones for themselves, only to be killed and have their entire harvest taken by Xia Ping.
- Strategic restraint: The Ghost King emphasizes understanding an enemy before acting, reflecting the principle that knowledge is essential to victory.
- Hidden power and mystery: Xia Ping’s ability to wield an ancient, superior form of hellfire suggests that he possesses secrets capable of threatening the Nether Ghost race.
Character Interactions
- Xia Ping directly confronts and overwhelms the Nether Ghosts, ignoring their threats and destroying every attempted attack.
- The surviving Ghost Three Thousand reports the disaster to the Formless Ghost King, stressing Xia Ping’s terrifying strength and the flames’ ability to restrain Nether Ghosts.
- The Ghost King questions and threatens Ghost Three Thousand over the failed mining mission, then listens to its explanation and orders the other Nether Ghosts to investigate Xia Ping.