The Ghost King (4)

Chapter 449: The Ghost King (4)

The massive black tiger, seeing the flood dragon formed by the Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords coiling toward it to strike it down, flashed a ferocious glint in its eyes. With a low roar, it opened its massive maw and spat out a chain of a dozen black light spheres, each the size of a human head, sending them surging to meet the azure flood dragon.

The two azure flood dragon projections managed to tear apart the first few spheres with their claws and fangs. But when the seventh or eighth sphere came, they could hold out no longer.

With a mournful cry, the flood dragon’s form was shattered by the impact of several spheres, revealing the true bodies of the flying swords.

The two flying swords were sent flying more than ten zhang by the subsequent spheres, tumbling end over end several times in the air.

At the same time, the azure light on them dimmed considerably, as if their spiritual nature had suffered a certain amount of damage.

A flicker of regret passed through Han Li’s heart at the sight. He hurriedly pointed a finger, and the two flying swords transformed into azure beams that shot back, which he withdrew into his body to let them rest and recuperate.

With his other hand, he waved, releasing four more identical azure swords that flickered once and vanished, slashing toward the giant tiger.

The ghostly shadow standing behind the tiger grew somewhat impatient at this sight.

It took a deep breath and let out a piercing, shrill cry that echoed into the distance.

Upon hearing this sound, the demon tiger immediately lowered its head slightly, its neck twisting and distorting as its two front claws dug deep into the ground.

Then, a shocking scene unfolded!

One side of the giant tiger’s head bulged out violently, and after a flash of black light, another slightly smaller tiger head suddenly appeared there, transforming it into a two-headed monstrous tiger!

With the appearance of this second head, the demonic aura on the tiger surged upward once more, causing Han Li’s brow to furrow deeply.

At this point, the Tool Spirit of this demon tiger showed no restraint whatsoever. Both heads opened their massive jaws simultaneously, and one black light sphere after another poured out in dense succession, surging aggressively toward Han Li.

Han Li did not dare to be careless. He formed a hand seal, and the four flying swords that were halfway through the air began to shake violently, splitting into eight.

Then, after a burst of brilliant light, the eight flying swords converged together, transforming into a single azure giant sword several zhang in length.

Han Li gazed at this sword, an unusual light flickering in his eyes. Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of pure true essence, which turned into a mass of hazy azure radiance that sprayed onto the broad blade of the giant sword.

Instantly, the giant sword let out a long, clear cry. Light radiated in all directions as it transformed into an azure ribbon over ten zhang long, which slashed fiercely toward the black light spheres, the faint sound of wind and thunder emanating from it.

The black and azure lights collided, splattering in all directions. Explosions rang out one after another, creating a truly spectacular display of power.

The azure giant sword, wielding unstoppable momentum, shattered sphere after sphere in a single, decisive sweep, performing with exceptional ferocity.

But the black light spheres only grew more numerous, charging forward wave after wave from the two tiger heads without any sign of stopping, as if they were inexhaustible.

This sight caused Han Li’s expression to darken in some surprise.

Just as he was deliberating whether to use a different spell to defeat the enemy, or to release a few more flying swords, the air behind him, about ten zhang away, began to ripple faintly. Then, the incredibly faint gray ghostly shadow silently appeared there.

Aside from a pair of blood-red eyes, it exuded not the slightest trace of any unusual aura.

Han Li seemed completely unaware of the anomaly behind him.

The gray shadow looked at the flying insects floating around Han Li, its eyes flickering with red light several times. Then, suddenly springing forward, it transformed into a thin, elongated gray rainbow that shot silently toward Han Li’s back, aiming to shatter his Nascent Soul in one grab.

As for those insects, it had not taken them seriously at all.

The cultivation technique it practiced was best at assuming form and concealing its tracks. At this moment, its entire body had transformed into an incorporeal state, so what did it have to fear from mere bugs?

And even if they did detect it, it was confident that Han Li would have no time to react before dying tragically under its sharp claws.

The cultivation technique this ghostly shadow practiced was indeed bizarre in the extreme. The gray rainbow shooting toward Han Li made absolutely no sound and was incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, it had already closed in on Han Li’s back. But at that moment, the golden and silver beetles that had been suspended in the air let out a buzzing sound, swarming in a dense mass toward the gray light.

The gray shadow was greatly startled! Before it could even react, the dense swarm of gold and silver beetles had already blocked its path and charged toward it.

In an instant, the gray light plunged headlong into the golden and silver insect mist, becoming covered from head to toe with the beetles, turning into a brilliant, shimmering mass of gold and silver.

The gray shadow was both alarmed and enraged. It shook its body several times, trying to shake the beetles off, but it was completely ineffective. Then, it felt a strange, dense sensation all over its body.

Startled, it couldn’t help but look down.

The result was that a chaotic flicker of blood light appeared in its ghostly eyes, filled with extreme terror.

These beetles, which it had dismissed as insignificant, were each biting into its phantom ghostly body. Though they seemed to be tearing with great difficulty, they were indeed devouring it, mouthful by mouthful. They were actually able to ignore its incorporeal ghostly form.

This threw the gray shadow into a panic. Its body began to transform incessantly.

At one moment, it would turn into pitch-black mist; at another, it would become a ghostly monster covered in scales and armor. But no matter how it changed, the densely packed beetles clung firmly to its true form, making it impossible for it to break free.

In just this short span of time, several thousand of these strange beetles had already gnawed away a considerable portion of its ghostly true body.

Just then, Han Li finally turned his head and coldly glanced at the gray shadow.

Without saying a single superfluous word, he waved both hands, and two more spirit beast pouches were cast into the air. Two more streams of gold and silver beetles buzzed into existence, then transformed into two giant arrows that shot downward, joining in the devouring.

The gray ghostly shadow finally let out an ear-splitting, terrified screech, sending a plea for help toward the distant black ghostly shadow.

Upon hearing this sound, the black shadow finally revealed a hint of anxiety.

It looked at the giant tiger Tool Spirit, still locked in a stalemate with the azure giant sword, and a flicker of hesitation appeared in its eyes.

But then, its green pupils shrank sharply. It abruptly transformed into a ball of pitch-black ghostly mist and dove straight onto the two-headed demon tiger.

The black tiger immediately let out a pained, frenzied roar, suddenly standing upright.

Then, its two hind legs thickened and swelled, while its front legs thinned and shrank.

Next, the face of one tiger head blurred for a moment, and a furry human face appeared there, covered in thick black qi. The other tiger head’s form remained unchanged, but its eyes became filled with a savage, violent expression.

“Spirit Fusion Art...”

Han Li sucked in a breath of cold air, unable to help but murmur the name of this technique.

At first hearing, this technique seemed similar to the “Possession Art,” as it also involved attaching oneself to a living creature.

But in reality, their effects were as different as heaven and earth.

For one thing, using the Possession Art not only failed to increase one’s power, but it also restricted one to only a fraction of one’s original strength after possession. It was merely a convenient method for manipulating a host from a distance. There were also no major repercussions after performing it.

The Spirit Fusion Art, however, was completely different.

It could not be cast on other cultivators. It could only be performed by a cultivator on a demon beast of low intelligence.

Furthermore, after fusion, the cultivator’s cultivation base became a multiple of the combined cultivation of the caster and the fused target. And once this secret technique was performed, it was equivalent to signing a pact of life and death with the fused target.

Between the two, if one’s soul were to be destroyed, the other would vanish into nothingness as well.

But the most inconceivable thing was that performing this Spirit Fusion Art would create an entirely new individual, with its own intelligence and memories, completely different from both the caster and the fused creature.

At first, this fused state would not last long, and it would automatically be dispelled in a short time.

However, the more times this technique was performed, the longer the fusion lasted, and this new individual would gradually take a dominant position.

Eventually, this technique would become irreversible!

But ironically, this half-human, half-demon monster, born with such astonishing cultivation, had an extremely short lifespan.

The price it paid for this terrifying power was the astonishing consumption of its own life force. Often, not long after it truly became independent, it was time for its demise.

Furthermore, although no one knew if it was true or false, there were also rumors that the souls of cultivators who practiced the Spirit Fusion Art would fall forever into an endless abyss, never to enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

This made the mention of this technique a source of dread for all cultivators.

Fortunately, very few cultivators knew of this secret technique of fusion, and those who did would never practice it.

Otherwise, they would either suffer a great reduction in their lifespan or die as a half-human, half-demon monster.

The scene before him, of the ghostly shadow fusing with the giant tiger, was precisely identical to the legendary Spirit Fusion Art.

But this secret technique should only be usable by normal cultivators. He had never heard of ghosts or demons being able to cultivate it, let alone performing it on their own Tool Spirit in such a shocking manner.

Even Han Li, who was usually not given to showing his emotions, could not help but wear a face full of doubt.

At the same time, his vigilance surged to a peak!

(The year is coming to an end, and there are many family matters to attend to. Sometimes, due to various delays, I may miss a chapter or have fewer chapters. I hope you all can forgive me. But there will still be a chapter tonight!)

(End of this chapter)