Chapter 152: Thousand Radiance Ghost King

Liu Qianqian was so frightened that her face turned completely pale, and she stood at a loss, clutching the cyan-green gemstone.

Of course Liu Qianqian knew what level of existence a Ghost King was. That was a terrifying entity whose power rivaled that of a cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage; even her master would have to handle such a being with extreme caution. Let alone herself and Qin Xuan—facing that so-called Myriad Blaze Ghost King head-on would undoubtedly mean certain death. Furthermore, Qin Xuan was currently injured and unable to muster even a tenth of his combat strength.

Upon hearing the eerie laughter of the Myriad Blaze Ghost King, Qin Xuan's heart also skipped a beat, and for a moment he thought he and the others were doomed. But then he suddenly remembered his master saying that someone had already been assigned to keep an eye on the Myriad Blaze Ghost King. Why, then, had this Ghost King appeared?

If his guess was correct, the person shadowing the Myriad Blaze Ghost King would also show up!

Without a doubt, this was good news for Qin Xuan. As long as that person subdued the Myriad Blaze Ghost King and re-established the warding barriers, everything would be solved. Since his master had dispatched someone to watch the Ghost King, that person's strength must naturally be extraordinary.

"Heh heh! Little brat, get your ass out here!"

The Myriad Blaze Ghost King's sinister voice echoed into the underground wine cellar, scaring the three women into panic.

Terrified to the extreme, Narcissus retreated into a corner, transforming into a small white flower to hide. Dongfang Qingwan and Liu Qianqian held hands tightly, their eyes filled with undisguised terror.

"Qin Xuan, who is speaking outside?"

Not knowing what a Ghost King was, Dongfang Qingwan asked with a trembling voice.

"It's a ghost cultivator, and the master of the one we finished off last time." Qin Xuan explained. Seeing the frightened look on the two women's faces, he forced a relaxed smile and said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Since the Ghost King has appeared, someone else will come to deal with it."

Hearing Qin Xuan say this, Dongfang Qingwan felt a slight sense of relief. Liu Qianqian, however, remained somewhat doubtful: "Little Qin Xuan, someone is coming to help deal with the Ghost King? Really?"

"Mm, I'm pretty sure."

Truth be told, Qin Xuan wasn't entirely certain either, and could only wait to see how things unfolded.

Right at that moment, a loud crash reverberated from outside the cellar. The sounds of something burning echoed from all directions, and Qin Xuan instantly realized that the Purple Micro Yin-Yang Formation had been compromised—the fourteen array nodes and twenty-eight paper talismans making up the formation were burning away.

The entire villa was now completely stripped of all defensive measures!

Instantly, a howling gale of frigid winds surged across the sky, accompanied by the sounds of countless wandering spirits cheering in excitement.

"Heh heh! Heh heh! The Mysterious Yin Pill belongs to me, the Myriad Blaze Ghost King!"

The voice of the Myriad Blaze Ghost King rang out once more. Standing at the entrance of the cellar, Qin Xuan shuddered as he suddenly felt a wave of icy wind sweep down from above.

Qin Xuan quickly looked up and saw a mass of black mist descending from the sky, instantly hovering at the entrance of the underground wine cellar. The black mist lacked any fixed shape, constantly shifting its contours. Aside from two eerie, glowing points in its upper region, the entire mass was pitch black.

Qin Xuan's heart tightened as he recognized that this black mist was the Myriad Blaze Ghost King itself, while those two sinister light spots were its eyes.

Ghost cultivators were formless entities. Take the Myriad Blaze Ghost King's former disciple, for instance—let alone a physical form, he didn't even possess a wisp of black mist like this until he commandeered Brother Bao's body in order to speak like a human and breach the warding barrier.

In contrast, the Myriad Blaze Ghost King, having cultivated to the realm of a Ghost King, had not only condensed a mass of black mist as its body but had also formed specific organs such as eyes, a nose, and a mouth. However, everything except its eyes remained shrouded within the murky black fog and could not be clearly distinguished.

The further a ghost cultivator progressed in their cultivation, the more their form approached that of a human. If one were to cultivate to the point of looking completely human, they would be a ghost cultivator capable of ascending, though such a heaven-defying existence could not be found anywhere in the world.

Even among orthodox practitioners—whether sword cultivators, Daoist cultivators, or pill cultivators—not a single person capable of ascension had appeared for centuries, let alone among ghost cultivators.

"You're the little brat from Mount Shu? Heh heh."

Two sinister beams of light shot out from the black mist of the Myriad Blaze Ghost King, sweeping across the underground wine cellar. "Little brat, you killed my disciple. Reason dictates that I should tear you limb from limb."

"I've never even laid eyes on your disciple, so don't frame an innocent person."

Qin Xuan spouted nonsense in an attempt to buy time.

Hearing this, the Myriad Blaze Ghost King instantly flew into a rage, and its black mist doubled in volume in an instant. "Little brat, do you really think you can pull the wool over my eyes? But you needn't worry. As long as you hand over the girl with the Mysterious Yin physique to me, I will let bygones be bygones and spare you and the other little children. How about it? Heh heh heh heh!"

Given that the Myriad Blaze Ghost King had likely lived for hundreds or thousands of years, calling Qin Xuan, Liu Qianqian, and the others children wasn't entirely inaccurate.

"Do you really expect me to believe you?" Qin Xuan continued to stall. "What if, once you get your hands on the Mysterious Yin physique, you decide to silence us all? We wouldn't have the slightest ability to fight back."

Qin Xuan had already noticed that because the Myriad Blaze Ghost King was blocking the entrance of the underground wine cellar, the countless wandering ghosts scattered across the land dared not approach at all.

If this Myriad Blaze Ghost King possessed a Soul-Refining Bead as well, absorbing those wandering ghosts would serve as a magnificent tonic; it was only natural that they wouldn't dare to act rashly nearby.

Right now, Qin Xuan had no choice but to stall for time with the Myriad Blaze Ghost King and see if any rescue would materialize.

"Didn't master say he sent someone to keep an eye on the Ghost King? Why aren't they showing up yet..." Qin Xuan worried inwardly. If the so-called watcher of the Myriad Blaze Ghost King didn't appear soon, none of the four of them would likely survive the day.

Perhaps Dongfang Qingwan would live a little longer; judging by the Ghost King's tone, it seemed intent on capturing her and waiting until her eighteenth birthday to harvest the Mysterious Yin Pill. After all, doing so would maximize its gains, though that wouldn't change Dongfang Qingwan's ultimate fate...

"Little brat, you have no choice now. For your master's sake, I won't do anything to you. But if you persist in resisting, don't blame me for being discourteous."

Spoken in a sinister tone by the Myriad Blaze Ghost King, its entire body transformed into a vast shroud of black fog that enveloped the entrance of the underground wine cellar.

In an instant, the form of the Myriad Blaze Ghost King expanded dozens of times over. The black mist blotted out the sky, obscuring the moonlight like gathering storm clouds.

Before Qin Xuan's eyes, everything turned pitch black!

"Heh heh! Little brat, I'll give you three seconds to make your decision. Will you hand over the girl with the Mysterious Yin physique, or would you all rather be slaughtered by me?"

Amidst the boundless darkness, the chilling threat echoed through the air.

With strength rivaling a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Myriad Blaze Ghost King was indeed someone Qin Xuan could not hope to resist.

"Lass, bring Qingwan over." Qin Xuan gritted his teeth and made his decision.

"Qin Xuan!"

Liu Qianqian was startled.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up."

Qin Xuan urged her.

Finding it utterly absurd, Liu Qianqian wondered if Qin Xuan was truly going to hand Dongfang Qingwan over. After a moment of internal struggle, she ultimately convinced herself that Qin Xuan could never be that kind of person; he must have some other plan in mind.

Thus, keeping close to the wall, she led Dongfang Qingwan step by step toward the entrance of the underground wine cellar.

Enveloped in the darkness, Dongfang Qingwan bit her lip tightly, her heart pounding furiously. Was she really going to be handed over to that so-called Ghost King? No, Qin Xuan wouldn't do that... But if they didn't do this, everyone would die...

Dongfang Qingwan's mind was in utter turmoil, yet she still desperately wanted to believe in Qin Xuan's intentions.