Xu Yuan's Strength, Crushing Everything (Seeking Collections and Follow-ups)

The baleful ghost skewered Zhu Zihua with one hand. Crying out in pain, Zhu Zihua hurriedly swung his magic sword and slashed viciously behind him.

The Kwai Water Heavenly Yin Sword lived up to its quality, easily severing the old man's arm. Only then did Zhu Zihua break free, scrambling and tumbling down the dirt slope to flee back to the other two.

"Dammit, why didn't you two help me?"

Having escaped with his life, the first thing this fellow did was actually hold Xu Yuan and Nan Yun accountable.

The two of them wordlessly turned their heads away, too lazy to pay him any mind for the moment. Up on the slope, the evil baleful spirit showed no anger at having one arm cut off. As the remaining white mist repaired its body, it watched the three below with great interest.

"This ghostly thing actually has intelligence."

Seeing the almost-smiling expression on its face, Xu Yuan's heart jolted. He then exchanged a glance with Nan Yun beside him, and the two attacked from either side.

Using his fleshly body to meet the enemy's broadsword head-on, Xu Yuan's blows rang out with a series of clangs like iron striking iron. Such a fierce physique left Nan Yun and Zhu Zihua below staring in shock.

Having appropriately displayed his strength, Xu Yuan paid no heed to their astonishment. Even as he fought, he scanned his surroundings, searching for the place where this baleful ghost had been born.

Just then, Xu Yuan caught sight of a huge tomb in the distance. No white mist rose from it, yet it still looked highly suspicious.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, could I trouble you to inspect that tomb? I believe this baleful ghost's appearance may be related to it."

"Hmph. That old beast injured my body just now, and I'm waiting to take revenge. Who cares how it was born? Its revival must have a limit—just beat it until it can't come back to life."

With that, the fellow swallowed a pill, suppressing both the poison at his waist and his surging blood and qi, then charged straight in.

The words This fool is not worth plotting with nearly slipped from Xu Yuan's mouth. He quickly stepped aside, letting Zhu Zihua and Nan Yun restrain the baleful ghost for the time being while he headed toward the tomb.

This place was likely cleaned regularly. No vines or saplings had grown over the graveyard, and even the laid stone bricks bore little moss.

But Xu Yuan had no time to care about that. Dealing with the baleful ghost came first. Raising his leg, he stomped down and shattered the stone bricks, exposing a passage into the tomb.

After glancing over, Xu Yuan saw that Nan Yun and Zhu Zihua should still be able to hold on. He descended the passage and found that the space inside was surprisingly large.

A black wooden coffin stood in the center, while all around it were painted strange and bizarre formation patterns.

An indescribable chill radiated from those patterns. Xu Yuan had no idea what they were for, but even a fool could connect them to the baleful ghost outside.

He stomped again, pulverizing the solid ground. All the formation patterns were thrown into disarray, and the chill vanished. Xu Yuan then pushed open the coffin with one palm. Inside, an old man who had been dead for who knew how long still had a ruddy complexion—and his appearance was exactly the same as the baleful ghost outside.

"Just as I thought."

Drawing the magic sword from his back, Xu Yuan infused it with spiritual energy and slashed. The coffin outside and the corpse within were blown to pieces in an instant.

A stream of white mist drifted out from the remains, then dispersed with a soft pop. At the same time, an angry roar suddenly came from outside, followed by heavy footsteps rushing this way.

Unsure of what was happening, Xu Yuan hurried out of the tomb passage. The baleful ghost was already charging toward him with its broadsword raised, Nan Yun and Zhu Zihua following behind it.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, be careful! This baleful ghost seems to have gone mad!"

Nan Yun cried out anxiously. The next moment, the baleful ghost had reached Xu Yuan, who had just emerged from the passage.

"Idiot, what are you standing there for? Move!"

Zhu Zihua unexpectedly showed a rare trace of humanity, though it was impossible to tell whether he truly cared for his companion or merely feared losing a helper. At that moment, the baleful ghost's broadsword came crashing down.

The wind wailed and yin energy billowed. Beneath that slash, even the moonlight seemed to be torn apart. If it truly landed, even the spiritual barrier of a fourth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator would be ripped open in an instant, followed by being smashed into pulp.

Yet, the next moment—

Bang!

With a dull boom, Xu Yuan remained standing where he was, holding only the posture of a punch. The baleful ghost that had attacked him now had a caved-in chest and was sent flying backward.

Red and white energies coiled around his fist. Unlike the combination of spiritual energy and blood qi he had used against ordinary yin ghosts earlier, he had now activated the Bright Thunder Body-Tempering Art. What filled his hand was blood spiritual energy for body refinement.

With high-level Spirit-Martial Unity, blood spiritual energy combined with spiritual energy, further empowered by the Martial Dao Sacred Embryo, Xu Yuan sent the baleful ghost flying with one punch. His entire body surged with momentum; he looked nothing like someone at the early stage of Qi Refinement. Anyone would believe he was a veteran mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.

"A mere yin creature dares make noise before this Daoist master?"

His handsome face brimming with ferocity, Xu Yuan watched as the baleful ghost raised its blade and charged at him again. He too stirred his blood qi and spiritual veins, rushing forward to meet it.

His fist met the broadsword, and a notch instantly broke into the yin-forged blade. When Xu Yuan saw the thing trying to open its mouth and bite him, he drove a heart-piercing elbow straight into it.

The baleful ghost tried to close its mouth, only to find that beneath its teeth was not flesh and blood, but some sort of mystical iron divine weapon.

"Tasty?"

With a savage grin, Xu Yuan suddenly exerted force, driving his elbow straight into its throat. He not only shattered the baleful ghost's fine set of teeth, but also tore apart its entire face.

After the white mist completely dispersed, the ghostly creature seemed to finally feel pain. It let out a mournful cry, blood tears streaming from the corners of its eyes, yet it still raised its blade to slash at Xu Yuan again.

But just as it swung, Xu Yuan's free right hand met it. With a bang, he knocked the yin blade aside, then shot out his hand and clenched his five fingers around it, crushing it into scrap iron.

By now, Nan Yun and Zhu Zihua stood beside them with vacant eyes. Who could have imagined that Xu Yuan, who had been quietly keeping to the side as if he had merely come to earn some merit, had concealed such strength?

Without the white mist, the two of them could have joined forces to take down this yin ghost. But to crush it as Xu Yuan did—to beat it one-sidedly like a father disciplining his son—was beyond even their wildest dreams.

In that short time, Xu Yuan had already dismantled most of the baleful ghost's parts. Knowing that this kind of ghostly thing was extremely difficult to subdue and that he had no such methods himself, he simply stopped holding back. He tore off its right arm, then, seeing its wide-open chest, punched straight into it.

The two people present seemed to hear the blare of some enormous horn in their ears. Then, with a thunderous boom, the baleful ghost was launched into the air and exploded midair.

A baleful ghost that ordinary fourth-layer Qi Refinement cultivators found immensely difficult to handle had been beaten apart by Xu Yuan with his bare hands.

Turning back, Xu Yuan looked at Nan Yun and Zhu Zihua with a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Fellow Daoists, it seems the foremost credit should go to me."

"Only right, only right."

Nan Yun nodded repeatedly. Zhu Zihua had initially wanted to put on the same disdainful air as before, but recalling Xu Yuan's monstrous display, he could only reluctantly answer, "Why didn't that baleful ghost charge at me instead?"

Ignoring Zhu Zihua's empty words, Xu Yuan turned sideways to make way, then gestured for the two to go ahead. "Fellow Daoists, there seem to be further discoveries inside."