38: Ghostly Fiend Sect, Shadow Killing Tower!
"This item is useless to you, and will instead bring about a fatal disaster."
Ye Chen said in a deep voice, "The three Black Scaled Rhinos from earlier were likely attracted by its aura."
Baru and the others turned pale, suddenly realizing the truth.
"Then... then please, Senior, take this item!"
Baru pushed the jade box toward Ye Chen without hesitation, "In our hands, this item is a curse rather than a blessing. Senior saved our lives, so let this item serve as a token of our gratitude! We only ask that Senior can protect us as we leave the Black Wind Mountain Range!"
Ye Chen looked at the Earth Fire Melt Crystal, then at the expectant yet fearful eyes of Baru and his group. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded:
"Very well. This thing is indeed of some use to me, so I will accept it. I will see you out of the mountain."
He was not a saint, but he had his own principles in doing things. They could not keep this item, so if he took it and ensured their safety, they would be even.
Upon hearing this, Baru and the others were overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.
Ye Chen put away the jade box and was just about to lead everyone away when his ears suddenly twitched. He abruptly turned his head to look toward the entrance of the valley, his eyes instantly becoming sharp.
"Hehehe, leaving? You took the treasure and still want to leave?"
An insidious cold laugh came from the valley entrance.
More than a dozen Cultivators wearing uniform black attire, with a ferocious ghost head embroidered on their chests, appeared there like ghosts, blocking the way.
The leader was a pale-faced, sinister-eyed middle-aged man holding a white bone soul banner, his cultivation clearly reaching the Second Stage of the Life Soul Realm!
The people behind him were all experts in the Mid-to-Late Stage of the Tongtian Realm.
"It's... it's the people from the 'Ghost Fiend Sect'!" Baru's face instantly turned as pale as paper, his voice trembling, "They... they have been following us!"
The Ghost Fiend Sect was a notorious evil Cultivator School near the Black Wind Mountain Range. Their methods were cruel, they were skilled at refining corpses and driving ghosts, and no one dared to provoke them.
The middle-aged man leading them, Ghost Fiend Sect Elder "Withered Bone", stared greedily at the jade box in Ye Chen's hand and licked his lips:
"Earth Fire Melt Crystal... good stuff. Kid, if you're sensible, hand over the item and cripple your own cultivation. Perhaps this Elder will show mercy and leave your corpses intact."
The Ghost Fiend Sect Disciples behind him let out bursts of strange laughter, like the cries of a Night Owl.
Ye Chen put the jade box into his bosom, flexed his wrists, and grinned, revealing white teeth: "You want it? Come and take it yourself."
Elder Withered Bone narrowed his eyes, cold light flickering: "You don't know what's good for you! Attack! Kill them and seize the treasure!"
More than a dozen Ghost Fiend Sect Disciples immediately sacrificed various ghastly white bone Magical Artifacts and soul banners wreathed in black Qi, screaming as they lunged forward. Suddenly, sinister winds blew, and ghost shadows were everywhere!
"Senior, be careful! Their Cultivation Technique is vicious; it can corrupt Magical Artifacts and erode one's Divine Soul!" Baru hurriedly warned, taking the remaining team members to form a defensive formation.
Ye Chen, however, didn't dodge or evade at all; instead, he took the initiative to charge forward!
"Playing god and acting like a devil! Get lost!" He let out an angry roar, like a thunderclap on flat ground; it was his innate Divine Ability—the Wild Bull Roar!
The terrifying sound waves, mixed with surging Qi and blood, spread out like a tangible force!
Those Ghost Fiend Sect Disciples rushing in the front felt their Divine Souls shake violently, their eardrums perforated, and blood flowed from their seven orifices. The light of the bone Magical Artifacts and soul banners they had sacrificed instantly dimmed, and some even screamed as they clutched their heads and collapsed to the ground!
After the sound waves passed, Ye Chen had already killed his way into the crowd!
He didn't use any fancy Moves at all, just the simplest punches, kicks, elbows, and knees!
But every strike contained terrifying, mountain-shattering, rock-splitting power!
Bang! With one punch, a Ghost Fiend Sect Disciple at the Sixth Stage of the Tongtian Realm was blasted into a mist of blood, along with his Magical Artifact!
Crack! With a sweeping kick, another Disciple was snapped in half at the waist!
He was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep; wherever he passed, tendons snapped, bones broke, and flesh and blood flew everywhere!
Those vicious evil Cultivation Techniques and ghost shadows couldn't even get close to him before they were dispersed and purified by that scorching, surging power of Qi and blood!
"Bastard!" Elder Withered Bone was both shocked and angry; he hadn't expected the opponent to be so ferocious!
He shook the white bone soul banner in his hand violently, muttering incantations!
Woo woo woo—! Black Qi surged from the white bone soul banner, transforming into a huge, twisted ghost face that let out a shrill howl and lunged toward Ye Chen!
The howling of this ghost face attacked the Divine Soul directly and could even devour the essence and Qi of living beings!
Ye Chen felt his head spin slightly, but the Sacred Blood in his body circulated on its own, and he instantly regained clarity.
Watching the lunging ghost face, he was not afraid; instead, a look of excitement flashed in his eyes! "Good timing!"
He didn't dodge or evade, letting the ghost face lunge onto his body!
Chi chi chi! It was as if the ghost face had encountered its nemesis; it let out a painful hiss, and the black Qi was continuously evaporated and purified by the scorching Qi and blood around Ye Chen's body!
"What?! My Evil Fiend Ghost Face actually..." Elder Withered Bone was dumbfounded!
Just at the moment he was distracted, Ye Chen took a deep breath, his chest swelling, and then he let out another roar at the continuously dissolving ghost face!
"Moo—Roar!!!"
This time, he secretly mobilized that trace of Chaos Luck he had received as feedback from the Old Ancestor and infused it into the roar! Sacred Blood Roar · Modified!
The roar was no longer just sound waves and Qi and blood; it carried a trace of the Chaos implication that could destroy all laws and cleanse all evil!
The ghost face, like ice and snow thrown into a steel furnace, instantly dissolved and disintegrated completely! Along with it, the white bone soul banner let out a mournful cry, lost all its spiritual light, and countless cracks appeared on its surface!
Elder Withered Bone suffered a backlash, let out a muffled groan, and a trace of black blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"You... who exactly are you?!"
He looked at Ye Chen in terror; the opponent's extremely Yang and extremely rigid Physique, which was immune to all evil, was simply the natural nemesis of his Ghost Fiend Sect's Cultivation Technique!
Ye Chen couldn't be bothered with nonsense. He took a step forward, the ground exploded, and he instantly closed in on Elder Withered Bone, driving a fist straight at his face!
Elder Withered Bone was terrified to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, desperately activated his protective Spiritual Artifact, and a bone shield appeared in front of him. Boom! Fist and shield collided!
That high-quality bone shield was actually punched by Ye Chen until it was covered in cracks, its spiritual light flashing wildly!
Elder Withered Bone used the force to fly backward, his face horrified, having no more Battle Intent, and screamed: "Retreat! Retreat quickly!" He turned around and wanted to flee.
"Want to run?" Ye Chen's eyes turned cold. He exerted force with his feet, about to pursue.
Suddenly, a warning sign arose in his heart! An extremely dangerous feeling attacked from the side and rear!
He didn't even think; he backhanded a punch toward the rear! Bang! A cold, sharp force, like a poisonous needle, collided with his fist, emitting the sound of metal clashing!
Ye Chen felt his fist go slightly numb and was actually forced back a step!
He narrowed his eyes and looked, only to see a figure wearing a black robe, their face hidden under a hood, who had appeared there at some point, holding a pitch-black dagger that flickered with a ghostly blue poisonous glow.
"People from the Shadow Kill Tower?" Ye Chen frowned. This attire and that eerie assassination technique were exactly like the largest assassin organization in the Nine Provinces that the Old Ancestor had mentioned—Shadow Kill Tower!
The black-robed assassin, having missed the strike, didn't stop at all; their figure merged into the shadows like a ghost and instantly disappeared.