The Dead City's Pursuit

From a distance came the harrowing, blood-curdling screams of terror, as if someone had been torn apart by an unknown and colossal horror.

Xiao Chen and the others exchanged glances. The ancient city was growing more terrifying by the moment, yet they still had not seen the dreadful creatures or ghostly beings that haunted this city of the dead. They knew that once they came face to face with them, life and death would be decided in an instant.

"Can… can we escape this place?" The enchantress Liu Ruyan was drenched in cold sweat, her face pale.

"Perhaps," Xiao Chen replied. He had no confidence at all. This dead city was clearly laid with an extremely formidable ancient formation; otherwise, they could not have kept failing to find the right direction.

"Ah…"

Screams rang out from a nearby street. Liu Mu shot forward, peered around the corner of an alley, and returned with a changed expression. "It's bad. I saw those ghostly soldiers making their move."

When they had entered the city, they had seen hundreds of ghostly soldiers and celestial warriors, seemingly ancient fossils who had paid no heed to the many cultivators. Now that they were acting, it was a dire omen.

Xiao Chen walked to the mouth of the alley and looked out. Only two ghostly soldiers were dragging the corpses of several cultivators away into the distance. It appeared they had killed those young cultivators without much effort—a truly frightening thing.

"We have to think of a way out. This city is too dangerous for us." Xiao Chen's heart grew heavy. At the moment, it seemed there was no feasible way to escape.

Silence fell over the group.

"What phantoms and demons are you? Get out here!" In the distance, Dugu's Sword Demon's voice suddenly rang out. He seemed to be in trouble.

Immediately after came a series of terrifying low roars, the furious roar of Dugu's Sword Demon, and the harsh screech of an iron blade cutting through the void.

After a fierce struggle, Dugu's Sword Demon let out a long howl, apparently wounded and fleeing. Liu Ruyan and Yan Qingcheng's faces both changed color. They knew well how terrifying Dugu's Sword Demon was; if even he could not handle the dread creature that had appeared in the city, then others would surely find it even harder to resist.

Xiao Chen and his group no longer ventured into the wide avenues, but moved through the alleys. By comparison, there would definitely be no enormous monsters here. As they passed by the gates of various mansions, they were especially cautious. According to what they had learned, every ancient residence held an unknown horror. When they first entered the city, many cultivators had been devoured alive.

Fortunately, the horrors in the ancient mansions did not come out. Otherwise, it would be an utterly terrifying prospect. Just imagining all the dread creatures of the entire city stirring would make anyone's scalp crawl.

In the dim alley, the road paved with black stone blocks, weathered by endless ages, exuded a sense of ancient, desolate time. Xiao Chen turned left and right, yet still could not find a way out. He felt hopeless of ever escaping this dead city.

"Tap, tap…"

A sudden sound rang out in the alley. In the dead silence, the echoes reverberated faintly, sending a chill through Xiao Chen and the others. This could not have been a sound they made; at their level of cultivation, their footsteps were already as light as a feather.

It sounded like someone in wooden clogs was following them at a leisurely pace. Xiao Chen whirled around, but saw nothing. At the same time, the "tap tap" sound ceased.

"Let's go. Don't pay it any mind. We need to leave this area quickly." Xiao Chen knew they had finally encountered an unknown and terrible evil thing. They had been marked.

Liu Ruyan looked uneasy. Yan Qingcheng, her cultivation sealed, could not maintain her composure either. The two women hurried to the three skeletons and dashed forward. Xiao Chen and Liu Mu also increased their speed, keeping a cautious guard, afraid that the hidden horror might strike them without warning.

"Tap, tap, tap…"

The abrupt sound came again—this time from ahead.

"Ah…" Liu Ruyan screamed and turned to run back. Yan Qingcheng also whirled and fled.

A chilling, foul wind blew from ahead. Xiao Chen and Liu Mu pushed their cultivation to the limit, staring at the dark corner at the end of the alley. A length of burial shroud fluttered in the dark wind, revealing most of its form, exuding a fierce, murderous aura. The "tap tap" footsteps had stopped, leaving only the shroud trembling. They could not see what evil thing stood on the other side of the corner.

Liu Ruyan and Yan Qingcheng had already retreated behind them. Xiao Chen and Liu Mu exchanged a glance. They knew they could no longer shake this ghostly thing. It had them firmly fixed in its sights. They could only settle the matter. The two advanced together, the three skeletons close behind, also sensing extreme unease.

"Ah…"

A sudden scream erupted in the distance, especially shocking in the silent, ancient streets. Xiao Chen and his group halted, and the fluttering burial shroud ahead abruptly withdrew, vanishing along with the heart-stopping murderous aura. The "tap tap" footsteps rushed away into the distance.

A deathly stillness followed. After a long time, the group was sure the unknown evil thing had left.

"Horrible… terrifying…" Liu Ruyan gently patted her heaving chest, looking startled. "I didn't see what it was, but I know we were in great danger just now."

"Fortunately, it's gone," Liu Mu said with a long breath. He too had been tense; this was, after all, a terrifying city of the dead that had already claimed many cultivators.

"Tap, tap, tap…"

The sound of footsteps rang out again from the empty street—from behind them. The group had just relaxed, and their unspread smiles froze.

"How can this be…" Liu Ruyan's voice trembled. Yan Qingcheng's face also changed. They spun around quickly.

This time, Xiao Chen did not retreat. He decided to settle it. The thing had them locked in its sights. Rather than continue this tense stalemate, it was better to resolve it quickly. Understanding his intent, Liu Mu charged back with him along the original path.

But as they rushed back, they quickly realized this was not the same evil thing as before. They did not sense that heart-stopping murderous aura, yet they still felt immense danger.

Whoosh.

A massive shadow appeared in the alley, blocking their way. It looked like a hideous demon spreading its claws. Behind the shadow was a pitch-black cloud of mist, with not a trace of light, as if a gate of death stood there.

Without a word, Xiao Chen chopped with his hand like a blade, sending a dazzling divine light transformed into an unstoppable blade-mangling forward. Liu Mu also used space spirit power, condensing a rain of light that swept forward.

Crack, crack—sounds of bones breaking echoed. Then blood splattered, steaming hot, and bright red blood flowed along the pavement. This could not be a corpse; it was clearly a living being.

Thump.

A human head rolled out of the black mist, stopping at Xiao Chen's feet. Its face was twisted in terror, as if it had suffered a great shock before death.

"Ah…" Liu Ruyan screamed in fright.

Without looking closely, Xiao Chen recognized it. It was a young cultivator who had been with them not long ago, though they had since scattered. This person had not died from their attack; his neck had been torn off with bare hands, deep claw marks on it.

The black mist ahead still swirled, but the massive phantom had vanished. Vaguely, a figure could be seen standing still within the mist.

Whoosh.

Light flashed as Liu Mu launched an attack. A curtain of light poured down like a waterfall, surging toward the black mist. At the same time, Xiao Chen stepped forward fearlessly, his left hand's Big Dipper light screen seeming to tear the void itself, leaving his palm and descending toward the black mist.

"Gah gah…" A grating, harsh sound came from the black mist, like teeth grinding. Simultaneously, the black mist surged violently, clashing with the two descending light screens, trying to shatter them.

Hiss… Like water falling on red-hot iron, the sound came from the contact point between the black mist and the light screens. At the same time, a nauseating stench of corpse rot spread. Yellowish corpse fluid seeped from the black mist and flowed along the pavement.

"A ghost, an evil ghost!" Liu Ruyan cried out in alarm, her face changing color.

"Kill it quickly, or it might draw other similar evil things!" Yan Qingcheng also paled, urging urgently. Even though she was Xiao Chen's enemy, at this moment she did not want anything to happen to them.

They did not need her to say it. Xiao Chen and Liu Mu were decisive people and had already unleashed their strongest techniques. Liu Mu completely sealed this space, no longer caring about the stench. A blue light curtain descended, enclosing him, Xiao Chen, and the black mist in a peculiar domain—Liu Mu's battle space.

"Xiao Chen, attack! I've pinned it down!"

Spatial power rippled like water, binding the black mist. Xiao Chen's movements were completely unimpeded. His left hand once again formed a Big Dipper light screen, while in his right hand, the brilliant star, stirred by his emotions, transformed into a crescent blade of light.

"Kill!"

Xiao Chen charged forward, his left hand's light screen expanding like a shield to protect him, while the crescent blade in his right hand struck like a celestial weapon from beyond the heavens, tearing fiercely into the black mist.

"Waaaaah…" A piercing, shrill shriek came from within the black mist.

"This evil thing isn't strong. We can kill it." Liu Mu's confidence surged. He could clearly sense that the creature could hardly break his containment, nearly pinned motionless. And Xiao Chen's offensive power was beyond doubt, more than enough to destroy this threat.

The crescent-shaped blade spun within the black mist like a new moon descending into dark clouds, constantly breaking the darkness. The stench of rot was truly nauseating. Even though they held their breath, it still seemed to cling, provoking the urge to vomit.

With his formidable combat strength, Xiao Chen forcibly dispersed the black mist, revealing a child of seven or eight years. His clothes were extremely ancient, resembling those in stone carvings from high antiquity, exuding an archaic air. He had no life in him; his fish-like eyes were a dull gray, utterly lifeless. At an age meant for innocence and play, there was instead a malicious venom in his gaze as he glared fixedly at Xiao Chen and Liu Mu.

His tattered, ancient garments had been torn to shreds by the crescent blade, but his body had not been severed. His skin was dry and cracked, like layer upon layer of fish scales. The blade had left marks on his withered, iron-hard small frame, and yellow corpse fluid oozed from the small wounds.

"It really is a ghost!" Liu Mu was somewhat astonished. He believed in gods—after all, he trained arduously for immortality—but he didn't really believe in ghosts. In his view, gods were simply powerful beings evolved from humans. But what were ghosts? When people died, they perished completely; they should return to nothingness.

"Undead beings exist reasonably, since their souls haven't been destroyed. But ghosts…" Liu Mu stared uncertainly at the child exuding corpse stench. He felt no soul fluctuations from it, only a vicious, murderous aura.

"Never mind that now. First, destroy it." Xiao Chen controlled the crescent blade to keep hacking. Without the protection of the black mist, this hideous "ghost" was no longer invulnerable.

In the dazzling light, its two arms were severed by the blade, the whole process accompanied by a metallic clang, as if cutting through iron. Then, Xiao Chen fiercely severed its neck, sending its head rolling to the ground. For such an evil, demonic creature, there was no room for pity; any hesitation could leave a deadly threat.

Even after the head was severed, the ancient "evil ghost" continued to struggle. Its body trembled faintly, and the head tried to roll away. Liu Mu would not give it the chance, and neither would Xiao Chen. Together, they utterly crushed its form.