256: Life is a constant ebb and flow...

With a wave of his right hand, the Spirit Master disappeared before their eyes along with the Stone Buddha and the Spirit Turtle.

The Old Ghost's heart trembled. Only then did he remember that the Spirit Master had been in the Blazing Sun Realm for many years. Within a Spirit Domain, everyone else was as insignificant as chickens and dogs. Even the Stone Buddha, being able to joke with a Blazing Sun level expert, must also be at the Blazing Sun level.

It's all over!

"Those who offend the Spirit Master shall be executed without mercy!"

The guests had moved the tables and chairs away at some unknown point, and everyone was lined up in a neat military formation.

Shield-bearing infantry were in the front, spearmen in the middle, and archers at the rear.

The numbers weren't vast, but when the three-thousand-man formation was laid out, it still gave off a suffocating Aura.

Xu Le was more curious about how the opponent managed to arrange such a neat military formation in just an instant; even if Bai Qi or Zhou Yafu were here, they would have to surrender.

The Old Ghost knew he was definitely on the Spirit Master's blacklist. Seeing Xu Le so calm and composed, he gritted his teeth and blocked the path in front of Xu Le.

"Young Master, this old servant will hold them back. You find a way out first."

"Mm. I didn't expect you to be so loyal!"

Xu Le didn't expose the Old Ghost's act, but instead followed along with the praise. Once the Old Ghost got used to it, he would have a truly loyal Ghost slave.

The hundreds of shield-bearers and spearmen in front were in a defensive posture, their shields and spears neatly aligned with a chilling glint. The more than two thousand archers drew their bows and, without even aiming, fired three consecutive volleys directly toward Xu Le's direction.

With thousands of arrows, there was no need to aim; the entire open space was the target.

The Old Ghost had originally puffed out his cheeks, prepared to show off his skills. Seeing this, he was instantly dumbfounded. A breath was stuck in his throat—he couldn't bear to spit it out, yet swallowing it felt like a waste. In the end, it was stuck halfway, and his legs began to tremble.

His only merit was that he didn't turn tail and run with his head in his hands.

"You really are loyal!"

Xu Le patted the Old Ghost's shoulder. The arrows had already reached them. Just as the Old Ghost's life began to flash before his eyes, he saw a dark shadow flash by.

The Old Ghost had suffered from it not long ago, so he knew the dark shadow was a whip.

"What use is a mere whip?"

As the desperate thought flashed through his mind, he saw the whip continuously waving in a circle. All the arrows within a three-meter radius fell into the circle, yet not a single arrow was seen stuck in the ground.

"Where are the arrows?"

Just as the Old Ghost's thought flashed, he saw countless arrows flying straight back toward the opposite side.

"When bows and arrows face an army, they need to be fired in an arc to be effective. Firing them straight will just be blocked by the enemy's shield-bearers."

"What a pity, not a single one will be killed!"

The Old Ghost felt regret in his heart, but his mouth was busy flattering Xu Le: "Young Master's ancestral spirit is terrifyingly powerful, and its form is uniquely exquisite. One spirit can stand against a thousand..."

Puff puff puff puff... The arrows carried terrifying power, piercing straight through the iron-wall-like shields. The soldiers in the front fell back like wheat being harvested.

One row, two rows, three rows... This single strike against the neatly arranged soldiers killed hundreds of them.

And this was only the first wave.

If the archers fired another volley, the next death toll would surely exceed a thousand.

A War God of the Spirit Realm!

One against ten thousand!

Looking down upon the Spirit Realm, who would dare to be defiant?

The Old Ghost's heart beat like a drum, thumping incessantly. He felt that life was just ups and downs and downs... A high-ranking official's doorkeeper is still a notable figure. By clinging to Xu Le's leg, he was more than just a minor official; he was practically a first-rank official of the Spirit Realm!

Dense Spiritual Qi dissipated. A gust of wind blew, and the Spiritual Qi vanished without a trace, along with the remaining archers.

Clatter, clatter, clatter... The sound of rhythmic hoofbeats approached as eight hundred cavalrymen advanced majestically.

The horses were all the most spirited, top-tier steeds, worth more than ten thousand gold pieces. The men were also top-notch warriors, each clad in pitch-black armor, their spears held in perfect unison.

If this cavalry unit were placed in the ancient Human Realm, it would be a terrifying existence on par with the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun; the likes of the White Horse Volunteers would be at their mercy.

But the Old Ghost didn't panic at all. With Xu Le there, he even felt that Xu Le could rival the Spirit Master.

"Is this it? It's honestly a bit boring!"

Xu Le shook his head and called out. Originally, he wanted to learn more about the Spirit Domain, since Ghost would soon be able to control it.

As it turned out, the opponent only had these two tricks back and forth. It was truly uninteresting.

Feeling insulted, the enemy cavalry launched a charge!

Clatter, clatter, clatter... The steeds galloped, their hoofbeats in perfect unison. The riders' bodies rose and fell with the horses, but their spears remained steady, pointing directly at Xu Le.

"Boring!"

The black whip lashed out violently. The air exploded, and the Spirit Domain was torn directly open.

The Spirit Master, standing not far ahead, felt his hand tremble. A piece of white paper was split in half, and a ground full of paper figurines lay fallen.

"You can actually break my Spirit Domain directly?"

Xu Le turned back to the Old Ghost: "Which of these three knows the most?"

The Old Ghost's mind was wandering, imagining himself marrying a rich and beautiful lady. Hearing the question, he answered without hesitation: "The Spirit Turtle can perform divinations. This time, he calculated that we would go looking for him and the Spirit Master, so he specifically waited for us to come to the door."

Xu Le nodded. Understood.

After becoming an "ancestral spirit," Ghost was in tune with his mind. Sensing Xu Le's thoughts, Ghost thought of the Lantern Ghost it had killed last time. Once bitten, twice shy—or in this case, a second time meant experience. It used a trace of its true power.

A pale hand appeared out of thin air and, under the Spirit Master's shocked gaze, pressed down fiercely with a palm strike.

The shadow of death loomed over his heart. The Spirit Master was terrified. He slapped his waist pouch, and dense crowds of paper figurines jumped out, holding spears and shields, raising their hands to attack toward the sky.

Snap!

The dense crowd of paper figurines, along with the Spirit Master, were directly crushed into fragments.

The Spirit Master was flattened into a nearly two-dimensional paper figurine, only the size of a palm, his expression filled with horror.

Not dead?

Ghost estimated the power and struck out with another palm.

The Spirit Master was heavily injured all over and unable to mobilize his power, so he had to look toward the Stone Buddha for help.

'The scoundrel has led me astray!'

The Stone Buddha shuddered all over. He immediately expanded his Spirit Domain and fled into the distance.

The palm strike aimed at the Spirit Master continued to fall, directly grinding him into fragments and turning him into the purest Spiritual Qi.

The Stone Buddha breathed a sigh of relief, but forgot that humans have two hands. Ghost was now an ancestral spirit, but still had a humanoid form.

Bang!

The Spirit Domain shattered. The Stone Buddha was sent flying over thirty meters by the palm strike. His body dimmed significantly, but he immediately manifested his Spirit Domain again and disappeared from sight.

"Master, I'm sorry!"

Ghost had missed. It had controlled its power to the exact level needed to kill the Spirit Master, but didn't expect the other party to be tougher. When the palm struck, the target didn't die.

Furthermore, by using the power of his Spirit Domain, he had escaped over 30 meters. Xu Le currently didn't have enough Mental Energy to allow Ghost to manifest its form, so it was naturally impossible to give chase.

Besides, the opponent had forcibly used his Spirit Domain again. In this bizarre Spirit Realm, it was even harder to pursue someone.

In an instant, Xu Le understood the cause and effect. He waved his hand dismissively: "No matter. Let's enjoy the Spiritual Qi here first. If we can comprehend a Spirit Domain, it will be much easier to chase people next time. Besides, there's still a Spirit Turtle here who claims to 'calculate for all living beings.'"