Chapter 32

The intensity of this tremor was definitely not caused by the two ghost kings who had not yet fully revealed their stances. The tremor was so strong that Xue Ming almost couldn’t stand still.

Yan Yuhe, who had been watching the show earlier, slowly stood up and looked down. The ground was already covered with cracks, the largest of which had opened several feet wide. Blood-colored soil was surging up from below, and an indescribable stench began to spread in the air, much like the smell of a corpse rotting in the summer heat for a long time.

Xue Ming covered her nose in disgust and looked up, seeing that the Liu Li Ghost King was also surprised, clearly not expecting this to happen. A crow with blood-red feathers circled in the air and then let out an extremely loud caw.

Xue Ming felt as if her ears were being pricked by needles, causing her to grimace in pain and instinctively cover her ears. At the same time, a hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her back two steps and pressing her into an embrace.

Xue Ming looked up and saw that Yan Yuhe was still looking at the cracked ground below but had diverted some attention to tap her ear. It felt as if a stream of water had flowed in, and the piercing sound immediately weakened, and the pain disappeared. She glanced hurriedly and found that Yan Yuhe and Bai Duo’s expressions had not changed, indicating that the current situation did not pose a threat. Then she saw Bai Duo shaking his fan as he walked to Yan Yuhe’s side and said, “It seems that this place also has a Yin Gathering Formation. Could Jiang Ruoming be nearby?”

Xue Ming turned her head to look down and heard a loud noise from below. The cracks in the ground visibly expanded rapidly, and as the soil was continuously pushed up, the things buried under the ground gradually appeared.

Xue Ming widened her eyes, thinking she was seeing things. After rubbing her eyes and looking again, she saw the soil falling away, revealing a house’s roof.

A large building rose from the ground, appearing in front of everyone amidst the trembling earth. It was three stories high and had an enormous roof. The eaves on all four sides were high and wavy, looking like clouds or waves from a distance. The most striking thing, however, was the corpses hanging under the eaves. Each floor had eaves, and under the eaves hung densely packed corpses, just like the ones Xue Ming had seen earlier. Their hands and feet were nailed, their mouths sewn shut with blood threads, and their eyes stared wide open. The scene was extremely horrifying, something Xue Ming never imagined she would see in her lifetime. It was the kind of sight that would give anyone nightmares. At the same time, she felt a chill in her heart, and a deep-seated fear began to spread.

Xue Ming couldn’t fathom what kind of person Jiang Ruoming was. To kill so many people without any psychological barrier and use such cruel and vicious methods, she could hardly be called human, more like a scourge born to plague the world.

At this moment, the battle between Liu Li Ghost King and Hundred Crow had ceased, interrupted by the sudden appearance of this building filled with corpses, and they stood on either side of it.

Hundred Crow perched on a tree, looking puzzled at the building that had emerged from the ground, and asked, “What is the meaning of activating the formation now?”

There was no one beside him, only a crow perched on a nearby branch, its blood-red eyes rotating. After he asked, the crow suddenly spoke, “My physical body is with Yan Chixia. We must retrieve it quickly, or the Extreme Yin Body will be destroyed!”

Hundred Crow raised an eyebrow, “Hmm? Yan Chixia is here? Where?”

The crow flapped its wings twice, raised one wing to point at the seat, and angrily said, “Hundred Crow, I suspect you really need to get your eyes checked. You can’t even tell the real Jade Face from the fake! Yan Chixia disguised himself as a ghost and fooled you! He entered the ghost realm disguised as Jade Face and destroyed five of my eight Yin Gathering Formations right under your nose!”

Hundred Crow felt entirely innocent, shrugged, and said, “I haven’t seen Jade Face in nearly a hundred years. How would I know what he looks like? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I just found out! Quickly, retrieve my physical body!” The crow said fiercely, then spread its wings and flew into the sky, letting out a caw. The flock of crows in the sky responded with calls and began to circle it, forming a huge vortex in the sky.

Hundred Crow put his fingers in his mouth and blew a loud whistle, and the flock of crows flew towards Xue Ming’s direction. Immediately, he flew forward, and in an instant, his ghost claw was in front of Yan Yuhe, stirring up a howling wind.

Xue Ming was so frightened that she instinctively buried her head in Yan Yuhe’s chest. She then felt herself being lifted, the sensation of weightlessness hitting her. When she opened her eyes again, Yan Yuhe had already moved her several feet away, and the spot where they had been standing was now a huge crater caused by Hundred Crow’s claw, with tables and chairs shattered to pieces.

Gu Jinglan exclaimed, “Brother Hundred Crow, why such a temper? Why attack as soon as you see someone? Did Brother Jade Face and I provoke you?”

Hundred Crow straightened up, snorted coldly, and said disdainfully, “I didn’t know the famous Yan Chixia was here. Why be so sneaky? If you had come openly, I would have welcomed you warmly. Why sneak around destroying things?”

“That’s not true, that’s not true,” Gu Jinglan said, seeing that Hundred Crow had already recognized Yan Yuhe’s identity. He stopped pretending and said, “Destroying those formations was just a side task. The real purpose of coming here disguised as the Jade Face Ghost King was not that.”

“Oh?” Hundred Crow tilted his head curiously and asked, “Then what was it for?”

“Of course…” Gu Jinglan paused deliberately, then smiled and said, “It was to prevent you from running away. If you knew Yan Chixia was here, Liu Li Ghost King would have changed her route halfway and fled. How could we have this lively gathering to drink?”

Liu Li Ghost King was furious upon hearing this and cursed at Gu Jinglan, “You wretched ghost, when did you collude with Yan Chixia? Even as a ghost, you still side with outsiders. No wonder your brothers were smart enough to see through you. If you had become emperor, you would have handed over the kingdom like a coward!”

These words were harsh, and Gu Jinglan’s face darkened. He snorted heavily, “Curse all you want. I’ll deal with you sooner or later.”

Seeing this scene, Hundred Crow naturally understood the current situation. Jade Face was dead, and Bai Duo and Yan Chixia had joined forces. They aimed to take advantage of the grand banquet to elect the new Ghost Emperor to capture all the ghosts in one fell swoop. He didn’t care, laughed a few times, and said, “The timing is perfect today—no need to wait until the fifteenth of July. Let’s choose the new Ghost Emperor today. If I can tear Yan Chixia apart with my own hands, who among the ten thousand ghosts wouldn’t recognize me as the new emperor?”

While the others exchanged words, Yan Yuhe remained silent. Although Xue Ming had already shouted “this is bad” several times in her heart, feeling that the situation was a complete mess, he maintained his calm demeanor. He put Xue Ming down, turned to Hundred Crow, and asked, “Where is Jiang Ruoming?”

Hundred Crow replied nonchalantly, “Why are you looking for her? Your opponent is me.”

Seeing this, Yan Yuhe didn’t waste any more words. He took a small paper crane from his sleeve and tossed it into the air, calling out, “Jiang Xing.”

Suddenly, a fierce wind roared in the air, sweeping the rubble and debris into the sky. The wind also threw the flock of black crows into disarray, making harsh, unpleasant cries. The next moment, the cry of a crane echoed through the sky, as sharp as a sword, clearing the mind of anyone who heard it.

Xue Ming looked up and saw Jiang Xing flying in the air with its wings spread wide. The long red feathers on its head fluttered, and the tips of its wings were ablaze, making it look majestic. This time, its size was smaller than before, lacking the overwhelming pressure but adding a touch of dazzling beauty like a dancing crane.

Yan Yuhe formed a hand seal with his fingers, and a golden light flashed. A long sword broke through the wind, circled around him twice, and landed in his hand. The sword was initially wrapped in layers of white cloth, which fell to the ground with a shake, revealing a pristine white blade as if soaked in blood countless times, exuding a chilling killing intent.

Yan Yuhe’s eyes turned cold, and his whole demeanor became sharp and icy, completely different from any side Xue Ming had seen before. This was Yan Yuhe in his battle form, exuding an intimidating aura. Even though the killing intent was not directed at Xue Ming, she felt intense pressure, her chest tight, and breathing difficult.

With another crane cry, Yan Yuhe’s figure flashed, moving as fast as lightning to Hundred Crow’s side. A sharp sound erupted as Hundred Crow blocked Yan Yuhe’s sword with his ghost claw. The black claw scraped against the blade, making a piercing noise. Yan Yuhe twisted his wrist, flipped the sword, and Hundred Crow rolled in the air. With several loud bangs, explosions occurred around them, raising dust clouds and turning everything within several feet to powder.

Xue Ming stepped back several paces and saw that Hundred Crow’s hand, which had blocked the sword, was completely severed. The cut was neat and emitting black smoke. He chuckled and praised, “What a fast sword!”

Yan Yuhe smirked coldly, raised his sword again, and continued to fight Hundred Crow. The battle between the two was much more intense than the previous fight between the two ghost kings. Xue Ming’s eyes couldn’t keep up with Yan Yuhe’s movements, only seeing flashes of gold and surges of black energy. The fierce wind blew everything around, leaving nothing intact.

Xue Ming didn’t know Hundred Crow’s background, but his combat power seemed extremely strong. His severed limb quickly regenerated from condensed black energy, and his ghost claws contained terrifying power, seemingly trying to break Yan Yuhe’s sword with bare hands.

While Yan Yuhe fought fiercely, Liu Li Ghost King tried to escape. Gu Jinglan threw his fan, which split into several soft ropes wrapped around Liu Li Ghost King’s body.

Liu Li Ghost King dodged a few times, turned back to see Gu Jinglan chasing him, and cursed loudly. At the same time, she waved his sleeve, scattering countless gold coins and ingots, which turned into a swarm of little ghosts rushing toward Gu Jinglan.

The battlefield was divided, with the three-story building in the middle as a barrier. Gu Jinglan fought Liu Li Ghost King on one side, while Yan Yuhe and Hundred Crow fought on the other—the flock of crows tangled with Jiang Xing in the air, creating a chaotic and destructive scene. Xue Ming kept dodging, almost being blown over by the wind.

Suddenly, a crow with blood-red eyes broke away from the flock and shot towards Xue Ming like an arrow. As it got closer, it let out an unpleasant screech and flapped its wings, trying to peck her.

Xue Ming hurriedly rang the bell to summon Nie Xiaoqian. With a graceful appearance, Nie Xiaoqian appeared, her white sleeves fluttering in the air. Before she could speak, she was hit by the incoming crow. She angrily grabbed the crow by the neck and exclaimed, “What is this thing!”

Xue Ming commanded, “Nie Xiaoqian, get rid of it.”

Nie Xiaoqian saw that it was a blood-eyed crow filled with yin energy. However, it didn’t seem very capable. She grabbed its neck, and it flapped helplessly. She thought to herself that the opponent her new master had assigned was finally a useless one, giving her a chance to perform well. She pressed the crow to the ground, making it kowtow three times to Xue Ming, and then scolded, “You blind fool, you didn’t even see clearly who you were provoking. Remember to open your eyes in your next life.”

This infuriated the crow, which shouted, “How dare you treat me like this! I will grind your bones to dust and tear you to pieces! I will reclaim my body, and I will return!”

Nie Xiaoqian was overjoyed, “So it’s a crow spirit!” She then tossed the crow into her mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed it, saying, “Little demon, a great supplement.”

Xue Ming guessed this was also a manifestation of Jiang Xuanming’s spiritual consciousness. Perhaps her true form was nearby, and she activated this yin-gathering formation to seize a body. However, with Yan Yuhe here, she dared not to show herself easily. Regardless, the evil formation had to be destroyed first.

At this moment, Yan Yuhe was fiercely battling Hundred Crow. If Nie Xiaoqian were sent out again, Xue Ming would have no means of self-defense. In a flash of inspiration, she remembered she had another ghost at her disposal. She quickly shook the bell, summoning Ning Caichen, who was hiding inside.

Xue Ming did not take Ning Caichen’s soul; she merely let him rest inside. A few days ago, Nie Xiaoqian had a fierce quarrel with him, and this was the only way to calm things down. Now, it was the perfect time to put him to use.

Xue Ming instructed, “Go set a fire and burn all the corpses in that building.”

Ning Caichen shrank his shoulders, already terrified just by looking at the chaotic scene before him. He moved his lips several times but didn’t dare to say he didn’t want to go. Seeing his cowardice, Nie Xiaoqian was about to get angry and immediately volunteered, “Let me go! I can definitely do this!”

“You can’t go; you need to stay and protect me,” Xue Ming turned to Ning Caichen and persuaded, “The villain who killed you is nearby. You died because of them, and surely you don’t want to see other innocent people end up like you, becoming tools for storing yin energy for the wicked, right?”

Ning Caichen’s legs trembled like a sieve. After hesitating for a long time, he finally nodded.

Xue Ming picked up a broken table leg from the ground and had Nie Xiaoqian ignite it with ghost fire. She handed it to Ning Caichen and instructed, “Go quickly and come back soon.”

Ning Caichen took the torch, took a deep breath, and floated away. To Xue Ming, he looked just like an Olympic torchbearer passing the flame. She watched with hope, wishing for Ning Caichen to set the building on fire safely.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he approached the building, the faintly visible formation on the ground burst into red light, deepening rapidly to a blood-like hue. The corpses hanging under the eaves simultaneously tore the stitches from their mouths, stretching them to exaggerated lengths. Hundreds of agonizing wails, carried by the bone-chilling wind, formed a heart-wrenching dirge. Translucent mist drifted from the corpses’ mouths, swirling in the wind vortex, and rushed towards Xue Ming with lightning speed. Instinctively, Xue Ming raised her hands to block and stepped back several paces. She suddenly felt a strange sensation on her back, a faint heat emanating. This was not unfamiliar; she had felt the same during the last activation of the yin-gathering formation.