The Shroud of the Ancient Ghost

Liu Mu wanted to render aid, but the distance was too great—he had been hurled far from Xiao Chen during the earlier clash, and his spatial power could not reach this area. Liu Ruyan beside him lacked the cultivation to intervene in time.

But in that instant, three streaks of white light shot into the air like lightning. The three skeletons, who had remained silent observers throughout the battle, finally moved when Xiao Chen was in peril. From the start of the fight, they had been watching with uncanny stillness, as if studying the fierce ghost’s weakness.

Crash. They collided with the ghost simultaneously, six bone claws tearing at the shroud, preventing Xiao Chen from being completely wrapped. At the same time, Xiao Chen moved swiftly, his legs exchanging several violent blows with the ghost’s, while his left hand slashed at its throat.

As they crashed to the ground, Xiao Chen’s right hand, blazing with divine light, finally tore free from the shroud. The three skeletons pulled the shroud from three directions, trying to rip it off the ghost.

The shroud was a sinister object of the most evil kind. The skeletons had keenly sensed this, and Xiao Chen had already learned it the hard way—he had nearly suffered greatly from it. He too grabbed the foul cloth, stained with black blood.

Ghostly black light flickered. From the shroud came a chilling, ghastly wail, piercing and terrible, making the scalp crawl. Black mist roiled violently in the narrow alley.

Roar! The fierce ghost seemed frantic. It shook the shroud violently, trying to shatter Xiao Chen and the skeletons.

Just then, Liu Mu rushed over. His overlapping spatial power descended once more, the cyan light enveloping the ghost like a swamp, slowing its movements.

“Quick! Tear off the shroud! It’s not as strong as it seems—its power comes from that evil cloth!” Xiao Chen shouted to Liu Mu. In the close-quarters struggle, he had discovered the secret: the shroud was the source of the ghost’s might.

“What… the shroud?!” Liu Mu channeled his spatial power, enveloping the shroud and pulling at it with all his strength.

Roar! The ghost raged in fury. The shroud on its head was torn off by the Samara King, revealing half a rotting face. Deep-set eye sockets burned with green light. Matted, blood-caked hair stood on end. The rotting corpse’s visage was hideous and terrifying—a true fiend from hell.

Despair seized the ghost. If the shroud were stripped away, its power would plummet. It struggled violently, finally spitting out several jets of yellow corpse vapor that condensed into dazzling light swords aimed at Xiao Chen and Liu Mu—its strongest internal death energy.

They were forced to dodge.

Roar! With a mighty cry, the ghost took advantage of their retreat. It shook the shroud violently, unleashing endless death energy. Black mist surged, and in an instant, King Qin Guang, King Yan Luo, and the Samara King were hurled away.

Clatter. The three skeletons’ frames disassembled, scattering across the street in a shocking pile of white bones.

Xiao Chen’s heart sank—but then relaxed. The bones were not shattered; they had only separated at the joints. And he saw a faint light flicker within King Qin Guang’s skull, as if signaling that all was well.

Cunning skeletons… Xiao Chen no longer worried for them.

The fierce ghost glared hatefully at Xiao Chen and Liu Mu. Dragging its rotting legs, it strode toward them, leaving trails of yellow corpse fluid. Its full attention was on the two ahead.

But then, as it passed the skeletons’ skulls, three heads shot up like white lightning, streaking toward the ghost.

At the same moment, Xiao Chen and Liu Mu struck. A blazing blade-light and a rain of spatial energy converged on the ghost.

The ghost roared, swinging one claw to knock away the skulls while the other resisted Xiao Chen and Liu Mu’s attacks. The three skulls were indeed sent flying—but three beams of soul-light shot out from them, piercing the ghost’s eyes like lightning.

Roar! As if dealt a lethal blow, the ghost crashed onto its back and thrashed violently in the alley.

Without hesitation, Xiao Chen darted forward, seized the shroud, and wrenched it away. The shroud flapped with a sharp crackling sound, stirring up thick black mist, and finally tore free from the ghost’s body. Liu Mu rushed over and sealed the shroud within a closed space using his spatial power.

With the shroud gone, the ghost’s body was fully exposed—a truly horrifying sight. One side was bloated and rotting; the other was withered like dried orange peel, clinging to the skeleton and gleaming with a dark light.

Grotesque and terrifying!

The ghost was still writhing. Xiao Chen stepped forward and stamped hard on its neck. Crunch. The neck bone snapped, and the hideous head rolled away. At the same moment, three beams of soul-light shot from the ghost’s eyes into the three white skulls on the ground.

Even with its head severed, the ghost did not collapse. The headless body lurched upright and lunged at Xiao Chen with undiminished ferocity. But without the shroud, it was far weaker and no longer a threat.

Xiao Chen leaped into the air, his hands tracing patterns, then slammed downward. Blazing divine light tore through the air, and with a thunderous boom, the ghost was rent apart.

Even knowing the ghost was no longer a match, Liu Mu was startled by Xiao Chen’s finishing strike. “I’ve never seen you use that technique before,” he remarked.

Xiao Chen landed. “I wouldn’t have dared use it earlier. It’s a technique I saw on the railing near the divine stele—what seems to be a legendary move called the God-Slaying Hand. I’ve never practiced it, so I couldn’t risk it against the ghost. I only used it now because there was no real danger, to test it. I didn’t expect it to be so powerful. Truly, the finest cultivation arts need equally formidable offensive techniques to unleash their full potential.”

“I see…” Liu Mu, despite his sickly pallor, smiled faintly. He had also copied many spatial diagrams from the plaza railings. Given time, he was sure to gain insights.

Xiao Chen, meanwhile, had recorded many lost techniques—not only the God-Slaying Hand, but also the Inverse Chaos Three Techniques and the Demon-Subduing Eight Methods.

The ghost was rent asunder, and the black mist quickly dissipated. Liu Ruyan and Yan Qingcheng approached, staring at the remains with shock. Xiao Chen shattered the head as well, reducing it to fragments.

Liu Mu opened the sealed space and tossed the shroud onto the ground. All of them could feel its sinister power pulsing.

Yan Qingcheng, who had watched the entire fight, seemed agitated. She could not help but speak: “This shroud is an artifact from ancient times. It has not decayed and still carries such terrifying baleful energy and power. It must have been soaked in the blood of some extraordinary being.”

“Indeed. Only the blood of a supreme powerhouse could have made it this fearsome. Truly a sinister relic.” Liu Mu turned to the three skeletons. “We owe them our lives,” he said to Xiao Chen. “Their soul-light is incredibly potent. This is an early sign that they can evolve into true kings.”

The three skeletons were slowly reassembling their frames, moving their joints with a somewhat comical air. But the others now regarded them with a different look. These three were the very embodiment of playing the fool while hiding their true strength.

“Are they really ghosts? I sensed no soul fluctuation from them…” Liu Mu muttered, his injuries from the battle worsening, leaving him looking weak.

Xiao Chen pondered as well. “Perhaps the oppressive death aura of this ancient city prevents the lingering spirits within these corpses from dispersing outright, giving rise to such fearsome fiends. Maybe… this is how the ghosts of legend are born.”

Their gazes returned to the shroud. From Xiao Chen’s final blow, it was clear that the fierce ghost’s true strength was not that formidable. What had made it nearly invincible at the start was this blood-soaked relic amplifying its power.

“This adult ghost was not much stronger than the lesser ones we destroyed earlier. It relied entirely on this evil object. How should we deal with it?” Liu Mu asked Xiao Chen.

None of them had any liking for such a baleful artifact. No one wanted to use it as a weapon. Even if they tried to refine it, it seemed impossible—only evil spirits could wield it.

“What about giving it to you three?” Xiao Chen looked at King Qin Guang and the others.

Click-clack, click-clack. The skeletons clacked their jaws and waved their hands in refusal. At the same time, the lotus marks on their foreheads blazed with dazzling divine light, illuminating their white frames until they were translucent as fine jade. There was not a hint of gloom about them—they seemed like the most perfect works of divine jade from heaven.

The others marveled. Bones so suffused with sacred radiance were indeed a strange sight.

In the end, they pressed the shroud under a stone slab in the alley and quickly left the area. But as they turned the corner, Xiao Chen clearly heard a creaking sound—as if the door of some ancient mansion had been pushed open. He looked back sharply and saw a figure in an archaic garment swiftly pull the shroud out from under the slab and glide back into the old house.

In that instant, a chill ran down Xiao Chen’s spine. In the brief glimpse, he recognized the figure’s true face: it was none other than a legendary immortal from the Mortal World, one whose likeness had been gilded and worshipped by the people! But in that fleeting glance, he sensed no celestial energy, no soul fluctuation—only a sinister, deathly aura.

Xiao Chen hurried to catch up with Liu Mu and the others, leaving the alley far behind. But his heart could no longer remain calm. What kind of place was this ancient city? Why… why was this happening? He was certain he had not misseen it. His mind churned with a thousand thoughts, but he said nothing to his companions—speaking now would only spread panic.

As they threaded through the ancient streets, Xiao Chen grew even more cautious, keeping his distance from every old mansion’s gate. It was impossible to guess what lurked within, or to fathom what other dangers the city held.

Suddenly, shouts and cries reached their ears. From a neighboring ancient thoroughfare came the sounds of fierce combat, and it seemed many people were involved.

“Walking is also emptiness, sitting is also emptiness. In speech, in silence, nothing is not emptiness. Even if a white blade comes at my head…”

Xiao Chen recognized Master Yizhen’s voice. He left the alley and looked toward the ancient street. Seven or eight cultivators were locked in battle with two dark soldiers. Among them were Yizhen and Dugu Jianmo. At this moment, they had set aside their old grudges to face a common enemy. The mysterious woman wreathed in colorful mist was also among them.

One of the dark soldiers was like an ancient fossil, fully encased in armor. He stood motionless, his bronze spear tracing arcs of light that pressed the young experts to their limits. If not for the woman in the mist, who used a time law to slow his movements, they would likely have fallen already. Dugu Jianmo was like a naked sword, radiating sharpness; his iron blade warped space itself, the sword howling as it struck. He was clearly the strongest among them.

Yizhen moved with transcendent grace, soaring through the air like a flying celestial Buddha. Lotus light flickered around him, and his entire being radiated Buddhahood. Countless Buddhist hand seals rained down on the dark soldier. Since his enlightenment by the ancient Buddha manifested from the Wheel of the Buddha, he had undergone a transformation, and now rivaled Dugu Jianmo in power.

Xiao Chen and Liu Mu strode forward. Now, unity was the only wise course. They decided to join the fray.

There was no denying the dark soldier’s terrifying combat power—alone, he held off eight young experts. And he seemed not entirely lucid, which only underscored his dread might. No emotion could be sensed from him. He was like a moving stone statue, silent and indifferent even as he faced so many foes alone.