Chen Ji hung in mid-air, suspended by the Ghost King’s black mist. The Ghost King’s crimson eyes stared intently at him.
“Was it you? Did you destroy the treasure I spent so much effort refining?” the Ghost King asked, his voice sounding nothing like a human’s.
Chen Ji was secretly shocked. The refined treasure, could it be the Thousand Infant Coffin? It made sense that such a malevolent and inhumane object was the work of a Ghost King who had slaughtered countless people. But how did the creature know it was them? Had he actually dared to storm Emerald Bamboo Peak just for revenge?
“Put A-Ji down! We have no use for your ghostly trinkets!” Liu Jingyun said coldly. His sword, Yangyi, radiated a dense blue light in the night.
“Put him down? In all my years, no one has dared to command me. Regardless of whether you destroyed my treasure or not, I shall slaughter half of the Tianyun Sect’s disciples tonight!”
The black mist wrapped around Chen Ji’s leg suddenly tightened with a violent force. A sharp crack echoed from his limb. The pain was so intense that Chen Ji nearly screamed, but he grit his teeth and swallowed the cry.
Liu Jingyun’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. He gripped his sword, ready to strike, but a wisp of black mist snaked around Chen Ji’s neck. The pressure increased, leaving a red mark on his fair skin.
“If you take one more step, you will hear the sound of his neck snapping,” the Ghost King warned.
Liu Jingyun froze in place, filled with indignation but not daring to move. Seeing that Liu Jingyun had settled down, the Ghost King dangled Chen Ji in front of his face. “Why are you silent? Did I not just crush your bone?”
“I know how your kind works. You love seeing the pain and hearing the screams of others. I won’t give you the satisfaction. Kill me if you have the guts, you piece of trash!” Chen Ji spat toward the creature.
Liu Jingyun was alarmed and called out, “A-Ji, do not provoke him!”
“What are you afraid of?” Chen Ji was incredibly arrogant. He had already experienced death twice. Although he could be reborn, the pain before death was unavoidable. Thanks to that, a crushed leg bone was nothing he could not handle.
“Liu Jingyun, take the others and leave! Go to Juyang Peak and find Sect Leader Shibo!” Chen Ji commanded. “This thing cannot kill me!”
“Where do you get the courage to think I cannot kill you?” The Ghost King swung Chen Ji back and forth, his red eyes fixed on him. Suddenly, as if noticing something, he stopped. “Why do you look somewhat similar to me? You are…”
“What monster is this! How dare you act so insolently on Tianyun Sect land!”
Tianjizi’s powerful voice boomed from the distance. Startled, the Ghost King snapped his head toward the sound. In that split second of distraction, Liu Jingyun moved with lightning speed. He reached the Ghost King and sliced through the mist binding Chen Ji’s ankle.
Wrapping an arm around Chen Ji’s waist, he pulled back several meters. The Ghost King looked at Liu Jingyun with disdain. “The little mouse is fast. Mo Tianzi, you arrived quickly. You can protect these disciples for a moment, but can you protect them for a lifetime? One day, I shall wipe out the Tianyun Sect!”
With that, the Ghost King vanished into the wind. Once he was gone, the tension left Chen Ji’s body. His nerves relaxed, and the agony in his ankle made him shiver violently. Liu Jingyun placed his hand on the wound, channeling spiritual energy to heal him. Chen Ji pulled up his pant leg. The crushed ankle was completely deformed and covered in blood, making for a gruesome sight.
Liu Jingyun’s eyelid twitched slightly, his eyes filled with an unspeakable heartache.
“Big Senior Brother, are you alright?”
“Senior Brother,” Qiu Lingzhou and Feng Zhimu called out.
They rushed over. Seeing the injury, their eyes filled with pain.
Tianjizi and a large group of disciples arrived. He ordered the elders to continue the pursuit of the Ghost King while he landed to assess the damage to Emerald Bamboo Peak. Among the four disciples, Chen Ji was the most severely injured. Liu Jingyun and Qiu Lingzhou were also wounded, leaving only Feng Zhimu unscathed.
Seeing Chen Ji’s wound, Tianjizi knelt and used his spiritual power to treat him.
“Sect Leader Shibo,” Chen Ji whispered.
“Rest well. As long as I am here, nothing will harm you again,” Tianjizi said warmly.
Chen Ji nodded weakly. “Sect Leader Shibo, that Ghost King is the one who destroyed my village ten years ago.”
Tianjizi paused, looking at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”
“I have never forgotten his voice. Even though he was hidden in the mist, I remember the hem of his robe that fluttered out. The patterns on it, it was him.”
The memories the Ghost King left in the original owner were too deep. Even after ten years, the day of the massacre felt like it happened yesterday.
Tianjizi sighed heavily. “I have failed you. Ten years have passed, and I still have not captured that Ghost King.”
“Sect Leader Shibo, is there a disciple in our sect named Mo Tianzi?” Chen Ji asked.
Tianjizi’s body stiffened. “A-Ji, where did you hear that name?”
“That creature said it before he left. He said, Mo Tianzi, you arrived quickly. You can protect these disciples for a moment, but can you protect them for a lifetime? One day, I shall wipe out the Tianyun Sect.” Chen Ji looked at Tianjizi with an innocent, clear gaze. “Sect Leader Shibo, if he has a grudge against Mo Tianzi, we should warn him. What if the Ghost King seeks revenge again?”
Chen Ji stared directly at him. Tianjizi’s expression turned grim, and he remained silent.
As a transmigrator, Chen Ji knew that Mo Tianzi was Tianjizi’s original name. When Tianjizi joined the sect as a young man, the Sect Leader at the time had a habit of giving disciples new names. He believed that once one began the path to immortality, they should discard their mortal shell and their mortal name for a celestial title. Thus, Mo Tianzi became Tianjizi, and Haiyangzi’s original name was Jueyang.
After centuries of cultivation, Tianjizi had long forgotten his birth name. It was only when Chen Ji mentioned it that he suddenly remembered. Only someone who had lived as long as Tianjizi would know that name. In fact, Haiyangzi was probably the only person alive who still knew it. Even the protectors and elders were unaware.
Chen Ji already had a hunch. The hidden final boss of the book was likely that unknown Ghost King, considering he was the one who created the Thousand Infant Coffin. Furthermore, knowing Tianjizi’s real name suggested he was someone from the same generation.
Tianjizi’s spiritual power was vast. None of the sects in the Shu region could defeat him. Even if the Ghost King was slightly weaker than Tianjizi, the current Liu Jingyun and Qiu Lingzhou were not yet strong enough to win.
“That creature must have been mistaken,” Tianjizi said finally. “The Tianyun Sect has tens of thousands of disciples, and not one of them is named Mo Tianzi.”
Tianjizi suddenly fell into deep thought. A few seconds later, he let out a slow breath, his expression becoming extremely serious. “Regardless! Whether he is mistaken or not, he has caused trouble for our sect repeatedly. I will not show him mercy!”