Chapter 57 Uninvited Guest

　　He had thought that under the bridal veil was the beautiful maiden of his dreams, but upon lifting it, he saw that it was not only not a celestial woman, but not even a woman at all. The enormous contrast stunned the Ghost King for a moment, slowing his reaction. In that instant, Wei Yuan's sword had already come down on his head.

　　The sword was entangled with an extremely thin and sharp whirlwind, emitting a clear, high-pitched whistle.

　　The Ghost King only had time to instinctively dodge, avoiding his neck. The eight-sided Han sword had already heavily slashed his face. Wei Yuan exhaled and swung his sword, the blade tearing across the Ghost's hideous face, directly splitting it in half from the bridge of his nose.

　　Wei Yuan landed, flashing backward to create distance.

　　"Aaaah! My face, my face!"

　　Intense pain brought the Ghost King back to reality, and he let out a miserable wail while covering his face.

　　His face was already demonized, and now that Wei Yuan had directly cut a wound across it, it looked even more terrifying. The Ghost King already felt resentment and dissatisfaction towards his current appearance because of the unchanging beauty of the celestial woman, and now that he was even more ugly and inhuman, he was almost driven to madness.

　　But another, even more intolerable, resentment was festering in his heart.

　　Breathing heavily, the Ghost King covered his face and stared at Wei Yuan with red eyes:

　　"You came out of her room..."

　　"No wonder, no wonder she hasn't agreed to me in these hundred years."

　　Wei Yuan held his sword and said, "I merely happened to see injustice on the road. I've only known the celestial woman for a few days."

　　Then he smiled and asked:

　　"Your wine is very good. I wonder if you like my return gift?"

　　As if detonating a fuse, the Ghost King charged towards Wei Yuan with incredible speed, a low, crazed roar coming from his throat:

　　"You're lying!!!"

　　Wei Yuan took a step back, holding the eight-sided Han sword horizontally in front of him. The Ghost King's fists and feet slammed down heavily. Wei Yuan had already stepped back to avoid them, turning to stand to the side, the wide blade of the sword sticking to the Ghost King's fist, pressing and sticking, taking advantage of the situation to guide and dissipate the force.

　　He was already very familiar with this sword technique, and he had used it to kill demons and ghosts with ease before, but at this moment, dissipating the force felt incredibly difficult. Thinking carefully, it was almost like trying to flatten an entire mountain peak with a small shovel. The technique of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds also had its limits; it wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he really couldn't.

　　Unable to avoid it, he guided the force in the opposite direction, retreating to avoid the brunt.

　　He stepped down, forcibly dissipating the force.

　　The ground under Wei Yuan's right foot was crushed.

　　The sword in his hand was filled with chilling sword energy, and he stabbed it towards the Ghost King's neck again.

　　The Ghost King didn't dodge or retreat, allowing the eight-sided Han sword to fall. Before the blade could even get close to his skin, black flames rose up, but they weren't fire, but water—the baleful aura accumulated in the Luo River for a hundred years.

　　When the sword struck, there was a clanging sound of metal.

　　A cold, ghastly aura traveled along the blade to Wei Yuan's palm, and most of his body almost went numb.

　　Wei Yuan retreated abruptly, but saw that the hideous crack he had just cut on the Ghost King's face was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. He paused, remembering what the celestial woman had said: the baleful aura of the cursed land was connected to the Ghost Realm's body. If the river's baleful aura didn't stop, the ghost would be immortal.

　　The Ghost King lowered his body and took out a huge horse-chopping sword, inheriting the remnants of the great Han Dynasty, the style of the Qin and Han dynasties. There were many wandering swordsmen, and even village youths practiced martial arts. His voice was low and ferocious:

　　"The hatred of killing one's father and stealing one's wife is irreconcilable."

　　Wei Yuan shook his head and said, "I have only just met the celestial woman."

　　Raising the sword in his hand, he said:

　　"However, demons and monsters who eat people should be slain without pardon!"

　　The Ghost King's eyes were bloodshot, and he still roared madly and angrily, wielding his battle blade and charging towards Wei Yuan with a baleful aura, relying on brute strength. Even firearms and bullets couldn't get close, having been dissolved by the baleful aura. Wei Yuan's aura sank, and the eight-sided Han sword in his hand whistled.

　　A cyan feather appeared on the Crouching Tiger waist牌 (waipai, waist牌), and the remaining demon power of the Qin-Han great demon Jinyuniao (锦羽鸟) surged forth.

　　The sword was crisscrossed with a cyan gale.

　　Blade met sword!

　　……………………

　　At the ghost banquet, it was still a scene of merriment, with the ghosts feasting happily.

　　Among the ghosts, a Daoist dressed in black robes sat alone, coldly watching the many demons and ghosts.

　　Although his aura was that of a living person, he was the honored guest that the Ghost King had mentioned, and the ghosts didn't dare to approach him, leaving a large empty space around the Daoist. He didn't mind, and although there was plenty of wine and food on the table, he only picked up the wine cup and slowly drank, without touching a single dish.

　　In his heart, he was still thinking about the celestial woman's unusual actions.

　　After all, he had Daoist cultivation, and he couldn't let go of this kind of sudden impulse.

　　He took a drink, put down the wine cup, and took out a talisman from his sleeve. It was made of a special material, different from ordinary talismans, and had delicate patterns that formed the cloud seal characters of his lineage. It was a disaster-avoiding and calamity-sheltering curse that he had received from his master, used for protection.

　　Only then did he feel at ease and slowly drink his wine, glancing at the ghosts and demons with disdain.

　　As he was drinking, the Daoist faintly heard a strange and familiar sound. His right hand, holding the wine, paused, and he subconsciously pricked up his ears to listen carefully. The sound gradually approached and became clearer. The Daoist's hair, the hanging wine flags, and the large strings of lanterns slowly swayed.

　　He finally recognized what the sound was.

　　It was wind!

　　The howling wind swept in like a stampede of horses in the next moment, sweeping across the mountain. Suddenly, the voices of the demons and ghosts stopped abruptly, as if their voices had been swept away by the storm. The lanterns went out with a crash, and in the boundless silence, a figure rushed in as if riding the wind.

　　Just as a demon ghost was about to open his mouth, he saw a flash of cold light before his eyes, and his life was gone.

　　Wei Yuan landed, staggering back several steps before stopping. The qi and blood in his chest churned.

　　The eight-sided Han sword in his hand was still buzzing.

　　What a strong baleful aura!

　　Seeing that the Ghost King, wrapped in river baleful aura, was still roaring and running towards him despite being covered in sword wounds, Wei Yuan knew that the other party still had a baleful aura protecting his body, and that the wounds he inflicted would heal quickly. He didn't fight head-on at all, and with a change of steps, he quickly crashed into the demons and ghosts. In the next moment, the Ghost King had already roared and ran over.

　　His speed was inevitably slowed down.

　　Wei Yuan rode the wind again, his speed extremely fast, like a clear shadow mixed into the demons.

　　Even the ghosts further back hadn't noticed this scene.

　　A demon ghost who was drunk saw the Ghost King and was very surprised. Together with the old hag, he blocked the Ghost King and asked with a flattering smile:

　　"Master, you're already out so quickly? Why didn't you stay with the mistress a little longer?"

　　"Every moment of a spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold."

　　"Haha, I think the mistress is so beautiful that if you don't come out, you won't be able to come out tonight."

　　These were originally playful words from trusted subordinates, but they were like a vat of old oil poured onto the fire, provoking the jealousy in the Ghost King's heart. His eyes turned red, and his anger surged. Ignoring whether the people in front of him were his subordinates, he raised the horse-chopping sword in his hand and slashed horizontally, cutting down all those who were blocking his way.

　　In an instant, those few demon ghosts had been chopped into mincemeat.

　　Amidst a chorus of terrified screams, the ghosts scattered, and the Ghost King roared and charged straight towards the captain.

　　The ghosts along the way dodged one after another, but there were always some unlucky ones who were too slow and were hit by the Ghost King, either being cut in two by the battle blade or burned to ashes by the baleful aura. Seeing this situation, these ghosts weren't stupid and could see some strangeness in the Ghost King's reaction. After discussing it, they looked at the lord of this Ghost Realm with a hint of pity in addition to fear.

　　They hadn't felt it before.

　　But today, these white and cyan lanterns were indeed very appropriate.

　　Wei Yuan kept trying to lure the Ghost King towards the demons and ghosts, circling around the mountain, at least to buy enough time for the celestial woman to recover and for the outside world to dig the river channel. The demon power of the Jinyuniao had been used to the limit, but the river baleful aura was indeed too fierce.

　　Every time the blades clashed, even though Wei Yuan's swordsmanship was far above his opponent's, the baleful aura still flowed into his body along the blade, causing the stabbing pain in his chest and abdomen to grow stronger and stronger, and he already had a fishy sweet taste in his mouth.

　　After deflecting the battle blade with another sword, Wei Yuan smiled wryly to himself in the midst of his suffering.

　　The baleful aura's buff was too strong, adding attack and defense, and also healing quickly.

　　When the black-robed Daoist saw Wei Yuan, there was a look of surprise in his eyes. He saw that the Ghost King didn't seem to be able to catch up with him for a while, so he thought for a moment, picked up a bowl of water, stood a stick of incense in the water, and picked up a talisman, intending to use the bowl of water as an altar to cast a spell.

　　The wind flowed, almost covering the entire mountainside, and Wei Yuan couldn't hide the Daoist's actions.

　　Having suffered from the evil Daoist's altar curses before, how could Wei Yuan let the other party succeed again?

　　His right hand used the eight-sided Han sword to barely parry the slashing battle blade, and his left hand drew his firearm, firing three shots at the Daoist. The Daoist was muttering incantations and hadn't reacted yet when, with a snap, the water bowl in his hand shattered all over the ground.

　　The other two shots were blocked, at the cost of two protective talismans on his body being burned to ashes.

　　The Daoist staggered back.

　　His palms had already been cut by the broken porcelain shards, and blood was flowing freely.

　　The Daoist was a Daoist with cultivation, but he was still a mortal.

　　He hurriedly looked for a blood-stopping talisman to dissolve in the water and stop the bleeding. Just as he was about to take another talisman, he saw that the disaster-avoiding and calamity-sheltering curse spontaneously combusted and burned to ashes at a speed visible to the naked eye. The Daoist's expression changed, and a look of horror appeared in his eyes.

　　A killing tribulation?!

　　At that moment, a cloud of pure qi dissipated on the mountain.

　　Above the entire Ghost Realm, the sky was suddenly pierced.

　　……………………

　　The pure spiritual qi of heaven and earth appeared in this Ghost Realm, naturally causing the Ghost Realm to collapse.

　　The Ghost King's expression changed. The intense sense of oppression and the feeling of near death finally brought some sanity back to his brain. He looked up at the mountain, knowing that he had to stop the celestial woman on the mountain. He held his battle blade and was about to rush over when the baleful aura around him suddenly weakened, giving him a feeling of being unable to sustain it, and even causing him to pause slightly. A gleam flashed in Wei Yuan's eyes.

　　On the waist牌 (waipai, waist牌), the Jinyuniao's long feathers lit up brightly.

　　A raging wind rose, forming a blue-feathered bird the size of a house beside Wei Yuan, which then turned into a whirlwind and demon power, pouring into his body. Wei Yuan's pair of black pupils turned an eerie blue, and he heard the Jinyuniao's inner resentment and unwillingness, which were so noisy that his head ached.

　　At the same time, his strength greatly increased. He stepped forward suddenly, his right foot wrapped in a whirlwind, heavily stomping on the Ghost King's chest, stopping his movements. At the same time, two winds collided, creating an upward vortex. Wei Yuan suddenly jumped up, somersaulting over the Ghost King's head, and held the eight-sided Han sword in both hands.

　　Then, with all his strength, he slashed down heavily!

　　The blade slashed diagonally across the demon ghost's left shoulder, cutting to the waist and abdomen, leaving a wound deep enough to see bone.

　　And on either side of this hideous sword mark, there was a smaller but deeper wound.

　　It was as if the Qin-Han Jinyuniao had been reborn, showing its true form to give the Ghost King a hard blow.

　　This kind of injury that almost chopped a person in half was unbearable even for the Ghost King. He howled in pain and struck back with his arm, which slammed down like an iron whip. Wei Yuan only had time to block the eight-sided Han sword in front of him before being sent flying, crashing into a wooden house and turning it into ruins with a crack.

　　The baleful aura invaded his body, and the Jinyuniao's demon power went berserk. Feathers almost grew on Wei Yuan's brow.

　　The Crouching Tiger waist牌 (waipai, waist牌) howled lowly, taking back the demon power and stopping Wei Yuan from turning into a half-demon.

　　But he still couldn't help opening his mouth to cough up blood, and his face was pale.

　　This time, he had really gone all out.

　　The Ghost King had injured him, but he had also exposed his back to the celestial woman on the mountain.

　　Wei Yuan struggled to sit up, leaning against the ruins, feeling what the previous evil Daoist had felt, feeling the breath of the wind, only more intense. He raised his head and saw that the sky of the Ghost Realm seemed to be lowering, as if an invisible and terrifying thing was roaring in the sky above, making his ears almost ring.

　　Whoosh—

　　The air began to flow.

　　Wild horses, dust, living beings blowing each other with their breath.

　　Just like children stirring the water in a basin with their arms, it was as if an invisible palm stirred the sky. Wei Yuan's hair swayed slightly, and he felt that it was a little difficult to breathe.

　　"This is..."

　　Then—

　　A shocking and violent wind howl.

　　The Thunder God banged on his roaring heavenly drum!

　　The boundless, high-speed storm covered the entire mountain.

　　A storm vortex that was so large that it even exceeded the size of this mountain range, as if falling from the sky, wide at the top and pointed at the bottom, like a huge iron cone, bored down on this Ghost Realm. The boundless wind and the vast torrent all avoided the injured captain, and like pure white waves, flew past Wei Yuan, who was sitting on the ground.

　　Sitting on the ground, traveling eighty thousand miles a day!

　　The magnificent scenery made one lose their mind.

　　Ascending to the ninth heaven.

　　ps: The first update today, a little late, but the word count is enough ~ three thousand eight hundred words.