Chapter 738 738: The Younger Generation
The name Ghost Emperor is fitting. One Ghost Emperor after another chimed in agreement.
My aunt smiled at the Ghost King and said, "Sister Zu, I've harvested over five hundred souls this year! Don't call me like you used to! And besides, the younger generation is still here!"
The Ghost Emperor didn't bother to hide the disdain in his eyes as he looked at my aunt. Then he glanced at me, and upon seeing my face, he said, "Ah, so this is your nephew, your grandson! What a surprise! The last time I saw him was when he was born, and now he's grown so much! But wait, does he possess a Ghost Eye? If you want me to assist, just say the word."
My aunt chuckled and said, "Sister Zu, he's just a child. What's your problem?
Look, the heavens will return to their peak, and my aunt, ever impartial, drew a breath. Taking something out of her bag, she retrieved a talisman paper she often used for drawing incantations. Upon chanting a string of spells, the paper spontaneously combusted, disintegrating without a trace.
As the talisman burned away, a sudden chill seeped into me, making my body shiver. At that moment, Taoist Qiu's face turned grim, filled with enraged shadows.
Leng Bing snarled, "Where did you make the Soul-snatching Flag? Was it you? Old ghost, ready yourself, I'm here to take your life!" The Soul-snatching Flag, a sacred treasure passed down through generations within the Northern Mediterranean Sect, holds the power to gather the clouds. It was predominantly employed by the sect for eradicating malevolent spirits and zombies. But now, to see it fall into my aunt's possession—it was clear how she had obtained it.
"Old demon, I'll give you one last chance—handover a Heavenly Pearl, and I'll treat you to this explosive cocktail!"
My aunt let out a cold snort and said, "You want a Heavenly Pearl? Come and get it! I'll gladly give it to you."
"Enough talk—you're dead!" Without further ado, Taoist Qiu rose abruptly from his chair, holding several talisman slips in his hand. He chanted incantations and hurled them toward the heavens.
In an instant, a deafening roar of thunder echoed, and storm clouds gathered above with relentless flashes of lightning, deeply rattling my core.
Taoist Qiu pointed a commanding hand, and a cascade of lightning bolts surged downward toward my aunt's head. But I saw my grandmother beside her—a simple wave of her hand instantly dispersed the thunder and lightning to a distant location.
"Boom!" A lightning bolt struck the ground, leaving a charred crater. Smoke began to rise.
My grandmother licked her fingers and sneered, "Your thunder is pathetic! This is nothing compared to what I've harnessed in the lunar realm!"
My aunt turned to my grandmother and said, "Sister Zu, help me! I've got this under control, but I'll need some assistance."
Suspicion lingered in Grandmother's eyes as she shot a gaze at my aunt, then exchanged glances with her. With a flourish of her hands, she dove into the battlefield like scissors cutting through the air.
On this battlefield, the moment my grandmother joined, she became like a wolf devouring sheep and fools alike. She dashed straight to the nearest Tianjun, seizing scissors in hand and slashing directly at Tianjun's sword arm. A single snip severed Tianjun's arm cleanly.
As the arm hit the ground, it immediately dissolved into nothing. My grandmother darted to Tianjun's opposite side and, with an effortless motion of the scissors, lopped off his other arm.
Grandmother granted Tianjun no time to react. With two quick snips, she severed his legs next. Tianjun collapsed, teetering in and out of consciousness. My grandmother ruthlessly stomped Xiao Yu's foot onto Tianjun's face. This moment etched itself onto Tianjun's mind before he dissipated entirely.
Grandmother's laughter was as warm as a spring breeze, but when I thought about how she had just massacred the godlike Tianjun, her smile sent icy terror coursing through my veins.
I dared not look directly at Grandmother wielding the butcher's hand against divine beings. Even though Tianjun wasn't human, I couldn't help feeling pity for his plight.
I watched as Taoist Qiu squared off against Grandmother. When Taoist Qiu joined the fight, the battle turned one-sided. Without hesitation, Taoist Qiu brought out a crimson talisman, summoning a colossal figure with a mountain strapped to its back.
The sight stunned Grandmother; her face was gripped with astonishment. Meanwhile, Taoist Qiu caressed his goatee, chuckling. "Behold the mighty, moving mountain—a gift I plucked from the corner of a tomb just yesterday. It's said to be painted personally by Zhang Jiao. I've got five of them, but even sacrificing one would be worthwhile to use on you."
The towering figure hefted its mountain and raised a massive axe, swinging it toward Grandmother. A ferocious clash ensued, with each side trading blows endlessly, neither able to best the other.
Grandmother, upon seeing the tide begin to overwhelm her, reached into her bag and pulled out an urn. She bit her index finger, inscribing blood-soaked runes onto the surface of the urn.
I glanced back at Taoist Qiu standing before me. His complexion turned ashen, as if glimpsing something unspeakably terrifying.
Upon completing the intricate runes on the urn, a plume of smoke burst forth from within, and from its depths, an elder wielding a smoke pipe emerged, floating serenely before my aunt.
The colossal moving mountain paused its battle, sensing something unsettling as it slapped away the smoke and directed its gaze toward my aunt. When the towering figure saw the elder from the smoke, its distorted voice trembled as it cried, "You summoned Yun Zhongzi? Why!?"
The smoking Yun Zhongzi locked eyes on the immense mountain spirit and, with a disdainful snort, took an exaggerated drag from his pipe. Then, slowly, he exhaled a stream of smoke directly at the mountain spirit.
The smoke seemed sentient, twisting in midair as it drifted toward the mountain spirit's face. The red clothes of the ancestor swayed solemnly in the aftermath.
Taoist Qiu's expression darkened at the sight of Yun Zhongzi. Fear flickered in his gaze. He spun around frantically, scanning for where the recently summoned servant had gone—but nothing was to be found. In desperation, he shouted toward Liu Fusheng, "Find that bastard now! Call Yun Zhongzi! We can't retreat without this resolved!"
Liu Fusheng nodded, retrieving a talisman slip from his pocket. In a commanding voice, he intoned, "Heaven and Earth, aligned as one, grant clarity in calamity. Open my eyes!"
Golden light illuminated Mr. Liu Fusheng's pupils, giving them an ethereal glow, emanating an aura of divine intent.
He scanned the surroundings, eventually locking onto me in the crowd. Pinching another slip in hand, he moved at a speed the naked eye struggled to follow until he was directly before me.
"These talismans truly wear out quickly. Half used in just three attempts!" he muttered under his breath, sliding the remaining slip back into his pocket.
Mr. Liu Fusheng shifted his sharp gaze, his lips curling into a sneer. "So, this is the family you gather. Just look—elders or juniors, demons stay demons, unable to break free of their essence."
His words lit a spark of defiance in me, and I bellowed, "Don't you dare insult my aunt! You claim to be righteous? What's righteous about binding, slaughtering, and indulging in vengeance? There's no pure justice in this world, only self-serving hypocrites like you, parading as noble men!"
Liu Fusheng's visage briefly twisted with anger before he commanded brusquely, "Enough of your sharp tongue. Come with me!" As he stepped toward me, warning sparks seemed to dance around him.
I responded with an indignant roar, surging toward Liu Fusheng without hesitation.
From behind his back, Liu Fusheng produced a peach-wood sword, slashing swiftly through the air to meet my charge. The clash sent crackling shocks reverberating.
He barely flinched before retrieving another talisman. In an instant, he slapped the talisman onto my arm.
A sharp burn erupted where the talisman adhered, smoke curling from the contact point as a searing pain tore through me. I roared in agony before tearing it off. My gaze darted to my arm—the bright-red burn mark glaring back at me.
Xiao Tu called out from behind, rattling my mind back to clarity. I barked, "Don't trap yourself back there! This man's mine! I swear on my life—if you don't help, you'll forever be a cowardly dog!"