Chapter Thirty: Corpse Poison Floods the River, Innate Master

Yet, when the Ghost King lunged forward with his maw of fangs agape, only then did he finally understand—there was no love in this Ghost King at all, only a greed for the pure yin energy clinging to the female ghost.

Since that was the case, Han Chong’s eyes flashed with icy resolve. In his hand suddenly appeared the Ghostbane Peachwood Sword, and for a third time he struck with unexpected swiftness toward the fiend!

The Ghost King was on the verge of pouncing upon the female ghost when he once again caught sight of that dreaded blood-inscribed peachwood blade, stabbing straight for his heart! This time, utter despair and fury filled him, and he even regretted his very existence. Thrice, at the height of his anticipation, that sword had materialized from nowhere, assailing him relentlessly, and thrice he had found no way to dodge!

He could only twist aside slightly, avoiding a fatal wound to the heart, but still the blade plunged deep into his chest! And the female ghost beneath him shifted shape, revealing the detestable young human—who spat a jet of blue flame from his mouth, instantly turning the fiend into a man-shaped fireball.

The youth rolled away to safety, but though the Ghost King had been caught off guard and gravely wounded, he was unwilling to perish. He surged forward in a crazed burst, leaped to the edge of the islet, and plunged into the river.

Han Chong could not allow such a fiend to escape again. He dove after him, pursuing into the depths. The Golden Silk Demon-Binding Cord shot out like a serpent, coiling around the Ghost Ape King’s leg, while Han Chong’s peachwood sword flashed forth in a vicious thrust!

By now, the blue flames had been extinguished from the fiend’s body. Mortally wounded, he fought with Han Chong in a desperate underwater struggle. But now, his strength was less than a fifth of its former might, and he quickly fell into disadvantage, unable to escape!

“Ah! Boy, if you insist on killing me, then I’ll make sure you and every human on both riverbanks die with me!” The Ghost King, heart dead with despair, screamed in madness—a threat of unprecedented vengeance!

Han Chong frowned, unable to fathom how this fiend could boast so shamelessly at the brink of death.

“Old ghost, die!” Han Chong stabbed again at the gaping wound in the fiend’s chest!

A roar burst from the Ghost Ape’s throat as his body began to swell rapidly. With a thunderous detonation, his spectral form exploded, releasing an inky black liquid thicker than a squid’s ink, enveloping Han Chong and spreading with terrifying speed.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for slaying one Unicorn Ghost King! You have reached the third level of the later stage of Essence Refinement, with a current vitality value of 20,480!
Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained one skill point. You may select a new skill or upgrade an existing one!
Ding! Congratulations, host, you have completed the bounty mission and gained the passive secret technique: Shallow Burial!]

Han Chong found himself instantly shrouded in pitch-black river water, unable to see his hand before his face, as a suffocating miasma of corpse poison spread around him.

[Ding! System has detected the Corpse King’s self-destruction, intending to poison the fishermen on both banks.
Merit mission triggered: Prevent the spread of corpse poison to gain a vast amount of merit!]

No! The Ghost King meant to pollute the entire Silver River with corpse poison! Not only would he be poisoned, but every fish and shrimp in the river would die as well. If the fishermen drank the water or ate the fish or shrimp, they too would perish!

Such wickedness was beyond words. If that happened, Han Chong would not only have failed to save the people, but he would have doomed them.

Fortunately, he possessed the Food Purification Technique, rendering him immune to all poisons! He struggled upward, desperately searching his mind for a solution.

He leafed through the seventy-two Diabolic Arts in his mind, and indeed he found a method to restrain the spread of corpse poison:

Water-Drinking Technique: Allows one to drink from rivers and lakes in any quantity. The more water consumed, the greater the vitality drained.

...

On the shore, the crowd watched Han Chong plunge into the water. Half an incense stick later, a violent explosion erupted beneath the surface, and inky black water spread outward, filling them with anxiety.

Only when Han Chong swam up from the depths did they sigh with relief, though the spreading corpse poison left them helpless.

But as soon as he reached the shore, he turned back, spread his arms wide, and inhaled sharply toward the darkened water.

A pillar of black water shot up from the river, pouring straight into his mouth!

All stood wide-eyed in disbelief—this was far beyond their understanding!

As the dark corpse poison slowed its spread, mixing with river water and being rapidly drawn into Han Chong’s abdomen, they could only watch anxiously. Never mind whether he could swallow such a volume of water; the corpse poison was so lethal that a single touch would kill a mortal, yet he was drinking it down by the mouthful—surely courting death!

Hearts clenched, fists tight, jaws grinding, they watched in agony.

Ouyang Jingguan frowned, pondering a solution. The young monk Mingzhen sat in silent prayer, perhaps praying, perhaps seeking enlightenment, his brow furrowed in thought.

At last, after half an hour of Han Chong’s relentless gulping, the last trace of black corpse poison was consumed. His face already showed a blackish-purple hue, and he staggered before collapsing in a swoon.

The poison was too fierce; all present could only sigh in despair—there was no cure!

“Brother Han, you can’t die yet! We still have wine to drink!” cried the martial adjutant, kneeling by Han Chong’s side in a low, anguished shout.

Ouyang Jingguan turned away, unwilling to watch, while Mingzhen intoned Amitabha’s mantra for the dead, chanting for Han Chong’s soul.

Leng Yue stood frozen, tears streaming down her cheeks.

After a long while, they finally came to their senses and prepared to carry Han Chong onto the boat for burial. Suddenly, they noticed a faint golden radiance emanating from his body!

His features contorted in pain, his hands clawing at his chest and abdomen, but gradually he began to recover!

How could this be? Everyone was stunned—was Han Chong a cat with nine lives?

In truth, he had barely survived by a hair’s breadth. Though he had just advanced to the third level of the late Essence Refinement stage, with 20,480 vitality, he was forced to simultaneously use the Water-Drinking and Food Purification techniques to absorb a sea of corpse-poisoned river water.

Each breath consumed hundreds of vitality points; by the end, his dantian was utterly drained!

Were it not for the newly acquired Shallow Burial secret technique, which preserved a spark of life within him, and the merit he had gained, which protected his organs from the poison’s invasion, he would not have made it. Only by sheer willpower did he cling to life.

His body’s state was dire—every point of vitality recovered was immediately drawn by the Food Purification technique to purge the poison, leaving his dantian and abdomen in constant agony. That was why he writhed in pain and clawed at the ground.

Relief followed shock—though Han Chong had not yet fully recovered, it seemed he would not die.

So all sat in a circle around him, deciding to spend the night on the river islet.

At dawn, Han Chong finally expelled the last of the poison and slowly regained consciousness, his face pale and his body weak.

“Thank you all for protecting me!
The Unicorn Ghost King is dead, but the ghost city beneath the river teems with specters and water ghosts. That fiend even built his own underworld, imprisoning countless new ghosts to bar them from reincarnation.
Please join me in diving to the riverbed to destroy it utterly!” Han Chong said, bowing gravely.

“Excellent! Brother Han, never have I admired anyone in my life, but you’re the first!” the martial adjutant said, rolling up his sleeves with a hearty laugh.

“Brother Han speaks truly!”

“Amitabha, this humble monk can help these tormented souls find peace.”

...

They sailed to the spot above the ghost city, then plunged into the depths in unison.

Han Chong led the way, and together they spent half a day slaughtering every water ghost guarding that city, including the four ghost generals!

Though those four were formidable, with the Ghost King dead, their morale was broken and their struggle futile.

...

At last, they reached the inner sanctum.

The white jade snake demon was nowhere to be found—ever the slick and cunning one.

They entered the dungeons, slew dozens of vicious specters, and freed all the imprisoned souls.

These ghosts were all those recently drowned, captured by the water ghosts and forced to submit to the Ghost King, renouncing reincarnation for a life of evil.

The female ghosts had been abducted to have their yin energy drained by the Ghost Ape King for cultivation, enduring a fate worse than death.

The officers gathered all the newly freed souls in the Ghost King’s great hall.

“Wait—a body of Pure Extreme Yin!” Ouyang Jingguan exclaimed softly, gazing at the female ghost Han Chong had impersonated.

“Brother Ouyang, your insight is remarkable. What is the significance of a Pure Extreme Yin body?” Han Chong had long suspected this ghost was no ordinary soul; it was her form that had driven the Ghost King to such madness, making the ambush possible.

“Indeed. Such bodies are almost always female, born in a yin year, month, day, and hour, so their constitution is frigid and filled with potent yin energy. The Ghost King imprisoned her to seize that power.”

The female ghost, sensing everyone’s eyes, looked away in terror.

But when Mingzhen began chanting the Amitabha mantra among the ghosts, the restless souls gradually calmed, their fear and pain subsiding.

Suddenly, the female ghost went wild, desperately trying to flee Mingzhen, but Han Chong blocked her path.

“Miss, Master Mingzhen is performing a ritual to help you attain rebirth—why run?”

The ghost fell to her knees, kowtowing repeatedly. “I do not want rebirth, I do not want to reincarnate! I wish to find my father’s killer and avenge him! Please, immortal, grant me this!”

Han Chong frowned—this was a pitiful and devoted soul, bent on vengeance, refusing even to speak of her murderer or the Ghost King, intent only on hunting her father’s killer.

“Rise and speak. I am an officer of the Demon-Slaying Division. While we do not meddle in mortal vendettas, I can help you report the crime.”

“Thank you, sir. My name is Yun Ci, daughter of Yun Tianxiao, chief of the Wind and Fire Escort Agency in Peijun Prefecture. All was well until one day, my father and his men set out to escort a shipment. Five days later, the deputy chief, Yu Tianlong, returned with my father’s corpse, claiming he’d been killed by bandits. After that, he took over the entire agency and tried to force me to become his concubine. Luckily, Chief Li risked his life to help me escape, but we were pursued to the banks of the Silver River. Chief Li was killed, and I drowned myself to avoid capture. When I awoke, I was already a ghost, seized and brought to the Ghost King’s lair. He tried to force me to dual-cultivate with him. I would rather die and was thrown in the dungeon. Thank you for saving me, but I must find my father’s murderer before I enter the cycle of rebirth, or I shall never rest in peace!”

Everyone was shaken by her harrowing tale, sighing in sympathy.

[Ding! System detects host is embroiled in the Black Lotus Calamity of Peijun Prefecture.
Find the true culprit behind the Wind and Fire Escort Agency and gain a permanent increase of 10 Crit Supreme Attribute points.]

What! Han Chong hadn’t expected such a tangled case to hide behind this ghost, nor such a rich reward from the system! Crit attributes were the king of offensive stats, increasing both crit chance and crit damage!

...

“Though I don’t know the full details, I can surmise your father was likely betrayed by Deputy Chief Yu Tianlong,” Han Chong said quietly.

“Sir, I too suspected Yu Tianlong, but my father reached the rank of innate master three years ago, while Yu Tianlong is only an exceptional acquired expert. Even ten or twenty of him could scarcely have killed my father,” the ghost replied, shaking her head in sorrow.

Hearing this, Han Chong and Ouyang Jingguan exchanged a look of doubt. She was right—an innate master was far above the mundane, not something an acquired expert could slay.

Who could kill an innate master, not even leaving him a chance to escape?

It seemed only a being on the level of the Unicorn Ghost King could have accomplished such a deed.