Xiao Qinghe was startled.
Could Xie Jun be planning to get a Spirit Pill for me?
The Ghost King was a mighty overlord of the Monster Clan, an S-rank greater monster. How could they simply take his Spirit Pill whenever they wanted?
Even if the leaders of all the major sects joined forces, they might not be his match, let alone kill him and seize his Spirit Pill. What chance did their little group stand?
That would be suicide!
"Junior sister, don't do anything rash!" Xiao Qinghe shouted.
Xie Jun held him tighter. Feeling Xiao Qinghe's body grow colder by the moment, she looked at him with a flash of resolve in her eyes. "Senior brother, you know the Ghost King Spirit Pill can save you, don't you?"
Xiao Qinghe wanted to knock some sense into her, but his body was so cold and stiff that he could not even raise his hand. He could only scold her. "We can't stay here. We must leave at once. The Sect has countless Spirit Pills and miraculous medicines. There are plenty of ways to solve this. There's no need to rush!"
Xie Jun suddenly smiled.
She raised a hand and traced his brows and eyes with her fingertips. Her mesmerizing face, poised between righteousness and wickedness, softened with a tender smile, as though she were touching a beloved lover. "Senior brother, did you know you never look someone in the eye when you lie?"
Xiao Qinghe glared at her. "Do you still regard me as your senior brother? If you do, listen to me and leave at once!"
It was not that Xiao Qinghe had no fear of death. The plot had gone so catastrophically off course that even he could no longer predict what would happen next. If their little group faced the Human-Faced Ghost King, they might genuinely be wiped out!
Besides, the Soul-Tying Thread was meant for Xie Jun and Ouyang Susu. What business did a grown man like him have being bound to Xie Jun by it?
Xie Jun sighed deeply. "Precisely because you are my senior brother, I won't leave, and I won't let anything happen to you."
The resolve in her voice sent a chill through Bai Liuli.
Was she really going to seize the Ghost King Spirit Pill?
With her cultivation, that would be no different from throwing her life away. Besides-
"You can't simply take the Ghost King Spirit Pill! Someone has to serve as a Ghost Slave, offering their vital energy and blood to sustain the person who takes it. Otherwise, even having the Ghost King Spirit Pill would do no good. Its power would turn on whoever consumed it!"
No one would willingly feed a master with their own body as a Ghost Slave, living for another person and becoming nothing more than their dependent.
For anyone, it was an utterly degrading position.
Xie Jun chuckled softly and stroked Xiao Qinghe's face. "If I become a Ghost Slave, would that mean that once you take the Ghost King Spirit Pill, you won't be able to live without me?"
Her tone was cheerful, but a hint of possessed madness shone in her eyes.
Bai Liuli's hair stood on end.
She had not imagined it. Xie Jun's feelings for Xiao Qinghe really went beyond simple affection between fellow disciples!
Xiao Qinghe, hopelessly oblivious and straight as an arrow, never considered any of that. If he had possessed the strength, he would have given Xie Jun a sharp rap on the head. "What nonsense are you talking about? Won't you even listen to your senior brother anymore?"
Xie Jun said, "If something happens to you, whose words would I have left to listen to?"
"You're twisting my words!"
"I only want to save you, senior brother."
And make you mine, completely and utterly.
Naturally, Xiao Qinghe knew nothing of that unspoken addition, because the world around them suddenly shook violently.
Something seemed to be surging toward them.
At the same time, lightning flashed and thunder boomed overhead as dark clouds rapidly gathered.
A torrent of monster energy erupted, sweeping over everything like a flood bursting through a dam.
Trees and rock faces toppled in every direction. Heaven and earth trembled, and the mountains shook.
In an instant, a rift opened in the dark clouds and widened before their eyes. Amid dense, pitch-black monster energy that seemed almost solid, a tall figure slowly emerged.
Everyone was horrified.
The culprit who had polluted the barrier and brought this catastrophe upon the Nine Ridges and Eighteen Peaks had finally appeared!
Xie Jun drew her sword and held it across her chest. Like a bow drawn taut, she stood protectively before Xiao Qinghe, staring at the black hole in the sky with an icy gaze, every nerve on alert.
Within the monster energy, the figure slowly drew closer, revealing himself to everyone.
His skin was pale with a bluish tinge, his arms and legs long, his claws sharp enough to slice through iron. Loose white hair framed a face without any features.
Holy shit!
Even uglier than the Two-Headed Snake!
The moment Xiao Qinghe saw that face, he recognized him-
The Human-Faced Ghost King!
Human-Faced Ghosts were born without faces, but their facial muscles were extraordinarily developed. They could transform into anyone's likeness at will, using it to beguile people and kill for amusement.
According to the original novel, the Human-Faced Ghost King should not have appeared until a later arc. By then, Xie Jun had already obtained the Demon Spirit Pearl, her cultivation had soared, and no one could challenge her supreme position in the Monster-Demon Realm.
Her only weakness had been her love for Ouyang Susu.
Cunning and full of schemes, the Human-Faced Ghost King had exploited precisely that weakness. First, he had taken their Master's form to drive a wedge between Xie Jun and Ouyang Susu. Then he had used Ouyang Susu's appearance to bewitch Xie Jun, nearly costing her life.
At the time, Xie Jun had already become the Lord of the Demon Realm, worshipped by countless demons. Yet the Human-Faced Ghost King had still managed to thwart her to such an extent. His reputation as an S-rank greater monster was clearly well earned.
"Junior sister, don't try to take him on! He's the Human-Faced Ghost King!" Xiao Qinghe shouted.
Wreathed in monster energy, the Ghost King hovered in midair. Hearing the shout, he looked down at them.
Although his face was nothing but a smooth sheet of white skin, Xiao Qinghe could still feel a gaze land on him, accompanied by a soft chuckle.
It sounded as though a mouth beneath that skin were speaking through a layer of human flesh, muffled, eerie, and deeply unsettling. "A mere child of the Human Realm, yet you recognize me. Good. I admire you. I shall permit that face of yours to keep me company."
An ominous feeling rose in Xiao Qinghe's chest.
The next second, his premonition came true. Countless footsteps sounded from every direction.
Then one expressionless person after another emerged from the dense forest. In the dim night, every face was identical.
They all had Xiao Qinghe's face!
Dozens of identical faces crowded in from every direction. The sight could have come straight out of a horror film!
Bai Liuli went pale and instinctively edged closer to Xiao Qinghe.
She knew, too, that this calamity would most likely be the death of them.
Xie Jun gripped her longsword, her eyes turning blood-red. Demon marks flickered across one side of her face, yet this time, her mind remained clear.
She glanced back at Xiao Qinghe, utterly fearless. "Senior brother, at this point, neither of us has a choice about this fight."
Of course Xiao Qinghe knew it was too late for words, but Xie Jun still seemed unwilling to abandon her plan to kill the Ghost King and seize his Spirit Pill. Why insist on it? "With your cultivation, you might still escape if you run now. I'm already a burden. If you stay, you'll only die with me."
Xie Jun smiled softly.
The gloom faded from her devastatingly beautiful face, finally revealing a little of a young woman's innocent clarity. "I would gladly share your bed in life and your grave in death, senior brother. Besides, I might not lose this fight."
"Might not lose? Such arrogance!" the Human-Faced Ghost King sneered. Noticing the demon marks on Xie Jun's face, he gave a contemptuous laugh. "So you're of the Demon Clan, yet you willingly entangle yourself with the Human Clan, even challenging me for their sake. Know your place and die!"
Before he had finished speaking, the monster energy around him suddenly surged.
Killing intent engulfed everything.
Before you continue