The wolves charged the immortal estate again and again, to no avail.
Swathes of wolf ghosts had their demon souls shattered by immortal light.
Suddenly, a blaze of golden light shone in the night sky.
The wolves looked up, only to see that golden light falling like a driving rain.
Drip-drip-
"What is this?"
The wolves communicated through howls.
"Rain? Can it rain in a magical domain?"
"There's no power to dispel evil or purge baleful intent-it hasn't even provoked a backlash from the dark clouds around us."
The golden light passed smoothly through the ghost mist spreading below the mountain and dripped onto the wolf ghosts.
"Wait-don't let the rain near you!"
Suddenly, a wolf ghost cried out a warning. But in the next instant, his soul power poured out, and he became a shriveled wolf pelt.
"This is bad-no, something's wrong with this spell!"
It bore none of an immortal's grandeur, none of the properties of dispelling evil and vanquishing demons.
On closer inspection, each drop of golden rain contained a tiny golden spear as fine as an ox hair.
Yet this faint, minuscule attack made the wolf ghosts' spiritual power gush wildly out, until their demon souls could no longer hold together and were forced to drift back to the underworld. But as hundreds upon thousands of wolf ghosts perished, the dark energy between heaven and earth grew so dense that their souls could not even return to the underworld. Bound here by that vast dark energy, they became wailing, powerless phantoms within the ghost mist.
"Light-Splitting Shadow-Misplacement-quite useful."
Inside the stone house, Ao Ding shook the wooden spear.
The wooden spear should have targeted opponents one on one, slowly poking at one wolf ghost after another. But he applied a light-splitting art to it, dividing a single attack into hundreds upon thousands in midair, striking indiscriminately in the form of a shower of light.
Of course-the price of such numbers was that the Golden Spear Curse's already weak "killing power" was diluted to practically nothing.
But Ao Ding had never expected to kill ghosts with it. All he needed was its "penetrating" property.
His left eye surveyed the battlefield. Under the piercing strikes of the golden spears of light, divided a thousand ways, the "keyholes" of hundreds upon thousands of wolf ghosts were forcibly pried open, and dark energy poured wildly out.
Ao Ding swung the wooden spear again, sending shower after shower of light flashing into motion.
More wolf ghosts were pierced by the golden spears, their souls scattering into oblivion.
"Generals-generals, save us!"
Through the Shared-Knowledge Spirit Voice Spell, Ao Ding heard the cries within those wolf howls.
Soon, half-human, half-wolf monsters emerged from the black mist at the foot of the mountain.
Their lower bodies were wolves, complete with four legs. Above their wolf bodies were human torsos, with muscular arms wielding giant axes, spears, and other weapons. And atop those human necks sat savage wolf heads.
"So these are the legendary demon generals?"
Ao Ding's expression grew solemn.
According to what Sun Chen had told him, after the Nethermoon Wolf Court was destroyed, the three demon marshals fled with the royal descendants and surviving forces, while more than half of the thirty-six demon generals were lost.
"Are these the demon generals who died? Their presence is much weaker than when they were alive."
The Demon Court's so-called "demon generals" were all beings at the Jade Palace and Light Joining levels. But these demon generals had died only a few years ago. After becoming demon ghosts, their strength had fallen to the Mystic Gang Realm, and they had not yet had time to recover their former peak.
"Then all of you can die together!"
Ao Ding swung the wooden spear again.
Golden light shot into the heavens, and another golden shower fell.
Several demon generals charged forward, rapidly brandishing their weapons and stirring up a skyful of dark mist to meet the golden light.
Whoosh, whoosh-whoosh, whoosh-
The shower of light passed through the dark mist and continued falling. One demon general was even struck.
The demon general was startled at first, then his expression turned strange.
What a weak attack.
An attack like this could terrify the wolves?
It landed on his arm like an itch.
"Dividing a single curse's power into a thousand portions-it's all for show-"
Before he could finish, the Nethermoon Mysterious Gang within him seemed to be unlocked by some force and began pouring wildly out.
"No, there's something wrong with the caster! A True Person-there's definitely a True Person cursing us!"
A True Person?
The other demon generals' expressions changed drastically, and they called on the wolves to form a defensive formation.
Under the eyes of all the wolf ghosts, the stricken demon general lost every scrap of his demon spiritual power, becoming a shriveled skin.
That sight-was very much like the flaying arts of the Nine Nether Ghost Path.
Shower after shower of light followed on its heels.
Even when the wolves summoned a skyful of dark clouds as a shield, they could not stop the falling light.
"This rain of light carries a curse power that 'penetrates all things.' Retreat first. Leave this place."
"Retreat? The king is still in the tomb. How can we retreat?"
"Charge! All of you, charge! Even if he's a True Person, he can't possibly kill so many of us wolf ghosts! All wolf tribes-go to the king's aid!"
The demon wolves had always been united, and now demon generals went mad, forcibly driving their demon power to inflame the wolves' ferocity.
Soon, the wolf ghosts rallied and charged the immortal estate once more.
They did not seek to truly blast open the Immortal Tomb. So long as they shook the magical domain, they could help the wolf king find an opening within the tomb.
Ao Ding's expression was cold and stern as he wielded the wooden spear over and over.
On the tenth use, the wooden spear suddenly gave a crisp crack and slowly crumbled into wood shavings in Ao Ding's hand.
Seeing this, Ao Ding drew a second wooden spear and continued casting the curse.
Amid thunderous rumbling, the golden rain in the sky scattered golden blades everywhere, easily planting forest after forest of blades in the ground, like the Knife Mountain Hell of the Nine Netherworlds.
As blade light swept back and forth, countless wolf ghosts were dismembered and shattered, no longer resembling wolves.
The demon generals' faces turned ashen. What sort of immortal Divine Ability was this?
Even evil ghosts of the Nine Nether come back to life could do no more!
But they had already decided to blast open the magical domain. Even knowing they were sending them to their deaths, they steeled themselves and drove the wolves to charge...
"Do not fear! Today's death is only so that we may be reborn in the king's Nethermoon World another day!"
"Die in service to the king!"
The wolves roared and charged. They refused to believe that the True Person could withstand a million wolf ghosts, bearing the ghostly energy of the Nine Netherworlds, bombarding him without regard for their lives!
The ghost mist behind them was still connected to the underworld!
Inside the stone house, wooden spears were spent one after another.
When the ninth wooden spear turned into shavings, Ao Ding's expression grew grave.
The demon generals had the right idea. In a battle of attrition, Ao Ding truly could not hold out.
"I still didn't prepare enough."
By his reckoning, ten wooden spears would only kill tens of thousands of vicious wolves.
And those vicious wolves that had killed him before were far too good at running! Several times, the rain of light swept past, and they escaped every time!
"My magical power is still too meager-"
Even if Ao Ding were broken down to his bones and marrow and squeezed into juice, all his magical power combined would not be enough to shake a million demon souls head-on.
"So that's why Senior Sun told me to wait in the stone house and let them withdraw on their own..."
It reflected Sun Chen's confidence in the Qianling Dharma Realm, as well as his belief that Ao Ding's current magical power was insufficient to wipe out a million demon souls.
But-
Looking at those vicious wolves, bedraggled yet still not destroyed in body and soul, Ao Ding's gaze turned cold. Silently, he took a roll of paper from his robes.
The roll was dark gold throughout, refined from the secret gold of immortals. Called "Quenched Feather Golden Paper," it was a superior material cultivators used to make talismans.
Now, the golden paper was densely covered with writing in Three Heavens True Seal Script.
"I never wanted to use this thing, but-but you're far too good at running."
Staring at the golden paper in his hand, Ao Ding affected a solemn sigh. "If you wolf ghosts hold a grudge afterward, blame these few companions of yours. If not for them-I wouldn't be using something that offends heaven's harmony."
Stuffing two energy-restoring pills into his mouth, Ao Ding poured all his magical power into the golden paper and hurled it out the window with all his strength.
"Fragrant meat stew, go!"
The golden paper turned into a streak of light and flew out the window. In the blink of an eye, raging flames burst forth and enveloped the wolves.
The wolves were still somewhat bewildered, but then they saw one flaming cauldron after another appear in the sky, filled with boiling oil.
The golden paper slowly unfurled in midair, growing larger and larger. Its seal characters gradually floated into the sky, filling the air above the magical domain.
Unfortunately, most of the wolf ghosts present could not read Three Heavens True Seal Script. Otherwise, they would have understood what the floating characters meant.
"Use a hellish oil cauldron as the vessel, place dog meat inside, and add three catties of seasoning per pot..."
"What is this strange thing?"
The demon generals looked utterly puzzled. Then they saw strange objects falling from the sky.
Having learned their lesson earlier, the wolf ghosts dared not touch them, merely fixing their eyes on the things dropping onto the cauldrons.
After sniffing, one wolf ghost who had loved food in life exclaimed, "Are these spices? Star anise, cassia bark, white cardamom... these are all things I normally used to stew 'two-legged sheep'-"
The moment he finished speaking, a nearby oil cauldron shot out a ray of spiritual light, and the wolf ghost fell straight into it.
"Ah-"
His scream echoed across the sky. His companions watched helplessly as the wolf ghost was plucked clean and washed, then chopped into chunks by golden blades. After being blanched and stir-fried in oil until fragrant, he became a pot of stewed meat in the fiercely burning cauldron.
The aroma filled their noses...
Yet it made the ghosts' hair stand on end.
Wait, we're already ghosts, aren't we?
Can ghosts be made into dishes too?
At that moment, the demon generals finally understood the origins of that "True Person."
One demon general spoke with a tremor in his voice. "This-this is no immortal-path True Person at all! This is a mighty ghost-path expert, a ghost king!"
On closer inspection, weren't those forests of blades in the distance, impaled with wolf corpses, a series of "Knife Mountain Hells"?
And those great boiling cauldrons before them were clearly Oil Cauldron Hell!
"Retreat, quickly! This isn't a True Person of the living world, but an evil ghost of the underworld-his spells can counter us, and even turn against the passage to the underworld! Retreat!"
Detonating themselves before a True Person of the living world could use underworld ghost energy to befoul the opponent's immortal light, buying time for the king.
But detonating themselves before an underworld ghost king, delivering streams of pure ghost energy?
Wasn't that serving themselves up on a platter?
Oh, he even thought they were too slow, and had taken the initiative to use hell curses to cook them into pots of fragrant meat!
Such a ferocious sight frightened even these wolf ghosts, accustomed to feasting on living beings, until their faces turned the color of earth and they fled in panic.
But the golden paper in the sky kept absorbing the pervasive dark energy, and more great cauldrons appeared. Wolf ghosts were seized in groups of two or three and stewed together.
"So-this is why I didn't want to use a hell curse. It's too cruel." Ao Ding bit through the pills and circulated his cultivation method to restore his magical power.
His footing was unsteady, his whole body weak. That single curse had drained every last drop of mysterious gang from him.
"Ah-I was still a little too reckless-I lost my reason somewhat for the sake of revenge."
He had indeed unleashed the curse, but now Ao Ding could no longer control it.
He could only watch as oil cauldron after oil cauldron condensed from the ghost mist, then turned on the wolves and devoured them.
Then the aroma of meat drifted through the cold, dark domain, further strengthening Oil Cauldron Hell and generating still more oil cauldrons.
At a rough glance, over a thousand oil cauldrons were already floating in the air.
Even if Ao Ding wanted to stop the curse, he could not. It was like a mortal lighting a fire: at first, it could be extinguished at any time. But once the flames ignited houses and even streets, they could no longer be easily put out.
Sun Chen's reminder that Ao Ding should carefully clean up the battlefield was also a lesson learned through the repeated recklessness of earlier cultivators.
While fighting in the mountains and forests, true flames would accidentally set the woods ablaze, only to be left unattended. By the time anyone realized, the flames had swept through the forests, burning one mountain after another barren. Rumor had it that Chizhang Province had been burned into being by an out-of-control immortal fire.
Still-
What comforted Ao Ding was that those few "sworn enemies" of his had not escaped their doom either. Paw in paw, the fellows had all been stewed into one great pot of meat, now steaming fragrantly at the foot of the mountain.
Before you continue