Sixth-grade Ghost Soldier
The Zhou Wuji reflected in the black mirror silently dissolved beneath Zhou Wuji's keen blade. The black mirror shattered with it, erupting into billowing clouds of black mist.
Zhou Wuji was not surprised in the least. Through his Six Yang Dharma Eye, he had already seen that his opponent was merely using an illusion.
If his mind were beguiled and he grew timid and retreated, that would strengthen the illusion instead.
As one waned and the other waxed, he really might fall prey to his opponent's illusion.
But he had achieved great mastery in swordsmanship. When he wielded his sword, his Divine Sense naturally concentrated; no illusion could shake it.
The Heart-Purifying Divine Incantation he had applied was no empty ornament, either.
This strike of the Falling Goose Sword was utterly resolute and fierce. Whatever the technique, his sword intent commanding his powerful Sword Qi could break it outright.
In a head-on fight, a martial artist was unquestionably the strongest at the same grade.
What Zhou Wuji had not expected was that his opponent's Yin-Yang Hundred Spirits Banner had further transformations. The shattered illusion became a surge of Yin-Yang True Qi, mixed with Sha Qi transformed from the hundred ghosts.
The surging black Qi was like a raging tide. Having unleashed his True Qi repeatedly, Zhou Wuji could not meet such frenzied True Qi head-on now.
He could only drift backward with the impact of the Yin-Yang True Qi, retreating more than ten paces in the blink of an eye.
Zhou Wuji was in no hurry. His opponent was merely a seventh-grade Devil Cultivator. Such a frenzied outburst of True Qi also consumed an enormous amount, and he could not sustain it for long.
Fang Jing had forced Zhou Wuji back, only to discover that his opponent was entirely unscathed. His unease deepened.
He glanced at Jiang Sangu lying nearby. Her pupils were dilated and she was no longer breathing; she was as dead as could be.
The male attendant was the same.
Both had suffered violent deaths, so their resentment was bound to be intense-perfect for increasing the Hundred Spirits Banner's power.
What puzzled him somewhat was that Jiang Sangu and the male attendant both had cultivation. Their spirits should have lingered for a time after death, yet both had already dispersed completely.
Fang Jing had no time to investigate the problem. He urgently needed to deal with the terrifying young swordsman before him.
He could not escape, and his opponent had not uttered a word, evidently leaving no possibility of negotiating terms.
Fang Jing did not like risking his life, but at this point, doing so was his only chance of survival.
Fortunately, he had made preparations beforehand. Fang Jing shook the Yin-Yang Banner in his hand, releasing a hundred ghosts to pounce straight at the dozens of worshippers.
The hundred ghosts had suffered the Seven Star Sword's strikes. Although the Yin-Yang Hundred Spirits Banner had protected their foundations, their spirituality had still been injured, leaving every one of them listless.
The dozens of Yin Yang Dao worshippers all bore runes left on them beforehand, guiding the hundred ghosts straight toward them.
The ragged worshippers had all been terrified by the battle that had suddenly erupted.
They did not actually know what had happened. They only saw figures flashing across the ritual platform and heard the explosive cracks of True Qi tearing through the air.
Before they could make sense of it, the released ghosts were upon them.
The black-and-red Sha Ghost in the lead pounced onto a middle-aged man. In an instant, it sucked his Qi and Blood and spirit dry. His face turned ashen, his skin wrinkled and deathly pale, and he became a desiccated corpse.
The other worshippers met the same fate. Men or women, anyone the hundred ghosts pounced on had their Essence Blood and soul devoured. The only difference was how quickly they died.
In the blink of an eye, the dozens of male and female worshippers had all become desiccated corpses.
Having absorbed the Qi and Blood of dozens of people, the hundred ghosts all grew vastly more imposing. The black-and-red Sha Ghost in the lead turned purplish black, not far from becoming entirely black.
Zhou Wuji saw it clearly. Special runes must have been planted on these worshippers long ago, forcibly stimulating their Qi and Blood before they died and sending them into a frenzied state.
Even if he could destroy the hundred ghosts, he could not save these worshippers. Besides, at this distance, even if he wished to, he lacked the means.
Fang Jing shook the Yin-Yang Hundred Spirits Banner, drawing back all the ghosts he had released.
He called loudly to Zhou Wuji, "Remember, these people all died because of you!"
Zhou Wuji had not intended to acknowledge him. Such bullshit was not even worth refuting.
But Fang Jing's air of accusing him of guilt was truly laughable and hateful.
Zhou Wuji said calmly, "They chose to believe in Yin Yang Dao, and you chose to kill them. Those were your choices.
"Every adult should take responsibility for their own choices."
Fang Jing was somewhat surprised. His opponent actually spoke neither of good and evil nor of morality. This was the first time he had heard such an argument.
Zhou Wuji continued, "Killing you is my choice. It will not waver and cannot be changed."
"Meet your death."
Zhou Wuji's voice and expression were not harsh. Even when he spoke those final words, he remained perfectly calm, without killing aura or viciousness, as though stating a simple but utterly certain little fact.
That unusual calm instead made Fang Jing feel the young swordsman's unwavering killing intent.
Looking at the cold light flowing along the sword in Zhou Wuji's hand, Fang Jing suddenly had a thought. "You're Zhou Wuji, Yiyuan's disciple!"
"You actually know me?"
Zhou Wuji was rather surprised. Knowing his master's name was normal; knowing his name was very abnormal indeed.
Having recognized Zhou Wuji, Fang Jing was both shocked and delighted.
He was shocked that Zhou Wuji was actually so formidable, yet Wu Di had not mentioned a word of it.
He was delighted because, having identified his opponent, they could now talk.
"Daoist Zhou, I know an important secret concerning you. We can talk..."
"Oh?"
Zhou Wuji feigned interest and took several steps forward.
In truth, he did not care about the supposed secret at all. It could only be that someone wanted Fang Jing to kill him, and that person was either Wu Di or Zhang Xinhu.
Judging by the terms Wu Di had offered, it should undoubtedly be Wu Di. As for why Wu Di wanted him dead, that was surely because Zhang Xinhu had offered a high price.
The chain of cause and effect was perfectly clear. There was no need to ponder it.
A long night brought many dreams. If another powerful Devil Cultivator arrived, there was no telling how things would turn out.
Fang Jing was a seasoned hand. Seeing Zhou Wuji keep approaching, he knew something was wrong.
He cursed inwardly, The little bastard is fucking shameless!
He immediately shook the Hundred Spirits Banner to unleash the hundred ghosts. This time, he bit the tip of his tongue and spat out his own Essence Blood and True Qi, nourishing the hundred ghosts to activate the banner's second transformation: Hundred Spirits Spirit Transformation.
With the seventh-grade Sha Ghost as the core, the hundred ghosts were forcibly condensed together into a black Ghost Soldier nine feet tall.
A sixth-grade Ghost Soldier could already take physical form and fight like a brave soldier, hence the name Ghost Soldier.
Though called a soldier, a Ghost Soldier could shift between the tangible and intangible and feared neither ordinary blades nor techniques, making it extremely formidable.
The forcibly condensed Ghost Soldier wore thick armor and held a nine-foot saber, looking exceptionally ferocious.
Zhou Wuji immediately felt tremendous pressure. This Ghost Soldier should have barely reached the sixth grade, and he might not be able to destroy it with the Seven Star Sword.
More importantly, the Ghost Soldier had the Hundred Spirits Banner as its foundation, leaving him no way to slay it completely.
Zhou Wuji opened his left hand and activated the Golden Light Incantation. A mass of golden light fell squarely over the Ghost Soldier.
The Golden Light Incantation at great mastery merely made the Ghost Soldier narrow its eyes slightly. It did not even halt its steps.
Seeing how powerful the Ghost Soldier was, Zhou Wuji also found it troublesome. He still had a Yin Thunder Pearl, enough to severely injure it.
The Northern Pole Sect's Yin Thunder Method was renowned throughout the world and excelled above all at killing. But his opponent had the Hundred Spirits Banner. If a single strike failed to destroy the Ghost Soldier, matters would become extremely troublesome.
Thoughts flashed through Zhou Wuji's mind, and he still decided to try the Five Yin Pouch.
Runes shone on his left palm. The Five Yin Pouch became a sheet of faint black gauze that dropped over the Ghost Soldier's head.
The Five Yin Pouch's interior measured five feet on each side, so it could cover only most of the Ghost Soldier's body.
But the five Yin Spirits forming the Five Yin Pouch instinctively eroded all spirituality, naturally becoming entangled with the Ghost Soldier.
Fang Jing, who controlled the Hundred Spirits Banner, was dumbfounded. What technique was his opponent using that could temporarily suppress the Ghost Soldier and even sever its connection with the banner?
Fang Jing had no time to think. He saw Zhou Wuji already approaching with his sword, the cold gleam on its blade sending a chill through his entire body.
With no other means left, he could only raise his right hand and activate the Thousand Poisons and Ten Thousand Baleful Intents Arrow.
Activated by Law Power, the black ring released black arrows one after another, pouring toward Zhou Wuji like a torrential downpour.
The arrows condensed from Law Power seemed both tangible and intangible, and contained the potent venom of Golden-Ringed Poison Bees.
Zhou Wuji keenly sensed the deadly poison on the arrows. He immediately activated his True Qi and wielded the Seven Star Sword, forming a continuous expanse of sword light before him.
The Azure Mountain Mist Sword's variations, dense as mist and flowing like wind, were perfectly suited to defense.
The black arrows pouring down like a rainstorm were all shredded by the dense sword light, becoming flecks of smoke that drifted in every direction.
As Fang Jing frantically activated the Thousand Poisons and Ten Thousand Baleful Intents Arrow, his True Qi suddenly faltered. The repeated outbursts of True Qi had become too much for him as well.
That momentary faltering also opened a gap in the rain of arrows. Zhou Wuji swept toward him like a phantom. Knowing his martial skill was far inferior, Fang Jing could only shake the Hundred Spirits Banner to conceal himself.
His Yin-Yang Dharma Robe also possessed the wondrous ability to conceal his presence, enough to shut out his opponent's perception.
The long banner blocked Zhou Wuji's sight, but his swordsmanship was superb and his mind powerful. Relying on a thread of Sword Qi, he precisely locked onto Fang Jing's position.
Gleaming sword light slashed across the air. In its wake, the banner broke and a head was severed.
Fang Jing's head rolled down the earthen platform. Over on the other side, the Ghost Soldier, now without its controller or the Hundred Spirits Banner's control, also froze.
By now, the Five Yin Pouch had been torn to shreds. Zhou Wuji retrieved it, only to find the Ghost Soldier letting out a shriek and turning into black smoke, about to flee into the distance.
The long banner's destruction had also severed its restraints on the Ghost Soldier.
Zhou Wuji knew that letting this thing escape would bring enormous calamity. He immediately flicked out the Yin Thunder Pearl, sending it precisely into the mass of black smoke.
The Yin Thunder erupted in streaks of waterlike lightning, dissolving the black smoke into wisps of gray dust.
Zhou Wuji checked the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment. Only after confirming that Fang Jing and the Ghost Soldier had both been executed did he breathe a sigh of relief...