A Fight at the Inn

After those sharp teeth sank into Mo Chen's arm, a hole actually melted through the ghostly fangs with a sizzling hiss, and they dissolved into a wisp of blue smoke.

Perhaps having lost more than he gained, the mysterious Ghost Cultivator lurking in the shadows also revealed his true form in the courtyard.

Mo Chen was naturally startled. He had thought he would be injured, yet not only had he emerged unscathed, he had actually made his opponent suffer a loss.

Struck by the backlash of his own technique, the mysterious Ghost Cultivator hiding in the shadows staggered, exposing himself in the courtyard.

"Hmph! To think you've got a few tricks up your sleeve when it comes to playing with fire, brat!"

The Ghost Cultivator's voice was shrill. Realizing that Mo Chen's flames countered him, he held off on attacking again for the moment.

"You can still cultivate after dying? Then die again!"

Mo Chen was surprised by the peculiar nature of ghost cultivation, but he had no time to dwell on it. He only wanted to swiftly finish off the person before him and escape unharmed.

Mo Chen raised his hand and formed a seal, unleashing two Fire Serpent Techniques along with a Stone Lock Technique to pin his opponent in place.

The earth beneath the black-robed Ghost Cultivator suddenly softened, turning into sludge that crawled up his legs before instantly hardening into stone.

Just as the two Flame Serpents formed from Mo Chen's Dharma Power struck the black-robed Ghost Cultivator, he sneered and turned into a black shadow, evading their attack.

He could actually ignore the Stone Lock Technique?

His Evasion Technique wasn't the Five Elements Escape Technique, either. This Ghost Cultivator looked troublesome. I had to finish this quickly.

After dodging the Flame Serpents, the Ghost Cultivator pointed at Mo Chen again. The Tan Gang Corpse standing nearby immediately lunged at him once more, baring his fangs and claws!

Mo Chen remained calm in the face of danger, forming a seal with his left hand and pointing at the ground beneath his feet!

The courtyard floor instantly softened into a mire.

A thick wall of mud then rose from the ground and wrapped tightly around the lunging Tan Gang as though alive. It swiftly hardened into an Earth-and-Stone Cage, imprisoning him within!

Seeing his refined corpse so easily subdued, the mysterious Ghost Cultivator flew into a rage and tore off his black robe, revealing his true appearance.

Not only was his face abnormally pale, but the skin of his entire body was a deathly white.

Just then, Tan Gang, imprisoned in earth and stone, erupted with brute strength. He tore the stone restraints apart by force, leaped onto the roof, and slashed at Mo Chen again with his sinister claws.

Mo Chen hesitated no longer. Gritting his teeth, he flung out five crudely made Fire Serpent Talismans.

Five enormous Flame Serpents, each a full thirty feet long, appeared out of thin air, their scales sharply defined and their heat oppressive.

Two lunged straight at the Tan Gang Corpse on the roof, while the other three charged at the deathly pale Ghost Cultivator.

The Tan Gang Corpse's cultivation was lower. Enveloped by the two Flame Serpents, he immediately let out a piercing wail. The Yin Energy around him melted like ice and snow beneath the sun, and within moments, the flames swallowed him, reducing him to charcoal.

The mysterious Ghost Cultivator's expression changed drastically at the sight. No longer able to spare any attention for the eight Firebirds around him, he let out a strange cry. Yin Energy surged around him as he hurtled backward, attempting to avoid the Flame Serpents' lethal strike!

But the Flame Serpents did not rely solely on biting to attack. Instead, under Mo Chen's control, they suddenly exploded.

Clearly, the Ghost Cultivator had not expected Mo Chen to detonate the Flame Serpents, and he suffered dearly for it.

The scorching blast from the three exploding Flame Serpents tore through the courtyard in an instant. Several large trees nearby caught fire, while the Ghost Cultivator's entire body sizzled, wisps of blue smoke rising from his hands and feet.

"Now's my chance!"

Seeing his opponent injured, Mo Chen's killing intent surged. He immediately activated the Wind-Riding Technique and gave chase, determined to take his enemy's life while he was weakened!

Yet Mo Chen had only pursued him seventy or eighty feet beyond the courtyard when the fleeing Ghost Cultivator ahead shimmered like an illusion, then dissolved into a wisp of Yin Energy that vanished into the night sky.

I'd fallen for it!

He was luring the tiger away from its mountain!

Mo Chen immediately flew backward, returning to the Tan Household's courtyard even faster than he had left!

At that moment, realizing his scheme had been exposed, the injured Ghost Cultivator abandoned all concealment, burst out of the ground, and flew toward the house.

Now that the Ghost Cultivator had appeared, cracks could be seen all over his body, oozing threads of black blood and making him look even more hideous and terrifying. He opened his mouth wide and lunged at the utterly terrified Wei Xiu!

"You fiend! How dare you!"

Mo Chen pressed two fingers together like a sword. A flash of spiritual light rose from his Storage Bag, and a Flying Sword shot out. Turning into a streak of crimson light, it drove straight toward the Ghost Cultivator's back as he lunged into the house...

Before long, Mo Chen returned to the Cloud Arrival Inn carrying Wei Xiu, who was still shaken. Overwhelmed by terror, she trembled in his arms, her eyes vacant.

The moment he crossed the inn's threshold, the waiter hurried over and said in a lowered voice, "Sir! Please wait, sir!"

Mo Chen paused, his sword-like brows drawing together slightly. Turning his head, he asked, "What is it? Does your inn forbid guests from bringing companions back?"

"Not at all, not at all!" The waiter hastily waved his hands. "Fellow Daoist Shi, a friend of Shopkeeper Zhang from Maozhou City, came by earlier to collect some goods from you. Since you weren't here, he's been waiting in your room."

"Fellow Daoist Shi?"

Just then, hearing that form of address, the previously weak and limp Wei Xiu began struggling agitatedly in Mo Chen's arms. Her lips moved as though she wanted to say something.

"Easy. You're far too weak. Take your time and tell me what you want to say." Mo Chen soothed her quietly and set her down in the inn's lobby.

As soon as Mo Chen gently set Wei Xiu down, he heard her say bitterly, "This... this Shi Tian... he's that wolf-hearted, dog-lunged cousin of mine!"

So it was him?

"Miss, are you certain? You don't even know his name. How can you be sure it's him just from hearing 'Fellow Daoist Shi'?"

"I've heard other immortal masters call him Fellow Daoist Shi. Of course I recognize it."

"Besides, he's been unusually busy lately, frequently taking unfamiliar cultivators and mortals to visit Dragon Whisker Cliff in Southwater Village... but this evening, he tied me up with his own hands and sent me to the Tan Household for that damned Ghost Marriage!"

The more Wei Xiu spoke, the more agitated she became, and her body began trembling again.

"Think back again. What else did he do that would prove he was abducting people and practicing Corpse Refining?"

At his words, a helpless look crossed Wei Xiu's face. She said quietly, "Corpse Refining? I don't know anything about that. How would mortals like us, who scrape out a living under him, dare ask about his affairs? Anyone who talks too much might be taken to Dragon Whisker Cliff one day and never return..."

"I see."

Mo Chen understood. Shi Tian was using a false identity as cover for his swindling and abductions.

He did not know why Shi Tian had abducted so many mortals and cultivators, but with matters already at this point, it would be best not to keep the appointment.

Leaving outright was the best option.

"I'll take you away. The waters here run too deep..."

Before Mo Chen could finish, however, a noise came from upstairs. A glimmer of blue light flashed in the corridor, revealing the figure of a middle-aged man.

"Oh, I heard a familiar voice from upstairs. So our distant cousin has returned. I wonder whether this distant cousin of mine might have said anything she shouldn't have upon meeting you for the first time, Fellow Daoist."

At the sight, Mo Chen's expression remained unchanged. In truth, however, he had already sent several threads of Divine Sense into his Storage Bag, placing them on his talismans and Flying Sword...