BOOM!

As Qi Yuan’s fist, wrapped in scorching Pure Yang energy, hurtled toward him again, Lu Jiuyuan’s frustration reached its peak.

He had no choice. With a mental roar of defiance, he abandoned the physical body he had spent years cultivating and reverted to his spectral form.

Whoosh—

A blur of shadowy mist shot out of “An Lingxiu’s” body with astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, the shadow reached the entrance of the main hall and streaked into the distance.

“Holy Scion of the Supreme Mystery Sanctuary! I will remember this!”

His voice echoed back, filled with venom. “Once I recover, I will make you repay today’s humiliation a hundredfold!”

By the time the words reached the hall, Lu Jiuyuan was already thousands of feet away, his mind filled with the smug relief of a narrow escape.

You may be strong, but you can’t catch a shadow!

However, in that very instant, an unprecedented, overwhelming terror gripped his soul.

Behind him, space tore open.

A streak of brilliant golden sword light pierced the void. It moved faster than thought, striking from behind and arriving first.

Thwack!

The sword light skewered his spectral form like a kebab.

“No… AHHH!!!”

Amidst a piercing, agonized shriek, Lu Jiuyuan was shredded inch by inch by the terrifying sword intent. With a muffled bang, he exploded into a cloud of ink-black mist, dissipating into nothingness.

Clatter!

A storage bracelet, overflowing with Yin energy, fell from the sky, bouncing a few times on the stone floor of the courtyard.

“Looks like you won’t be coming back after all.”

Qi Yuan slowly sheathed his Profound Heaven Sword. He walked over, picked up the bracelet, and inspected it casually.

This old ghost was a peak Soul Formation cultivator. He must have some good loot.

The Ghost Path was insidious and powerful, but its weaknesses were glaring. Fear of light, fire, lightning, and Yang energy—unless one was already dead, any cultivator with a brain avoided this path.

Lu Jiuyuan only turned to ghost cultivation after dying once, seeking a way to cheat death through body seizing.

Unless one was a Ghost Emperor or Sovereign who had overcome these elemental weaknesses, meeting a Nascent Soul cultivator with an Innate Pure Yang Body was simply bad luck.

Or, in Qi Yuan’s case, a free meal.

This was why Qi Yuan dared to storm the City Lord’s Manor.

If they played by the rules, even the Xia Emperor wouldn’t dare touch the Holy Scion of the Supreme Mystery Sanctuary.

If they played dirty? Well, the fate of the Nether River Cult’s Left Protector spoke for itself.

With the death of the array master, the Ten Thousand Evil Yin Extinction Array collapsed. The surging Yin energy receded like a tide, and the twisted, shadowy landscape of the manor returned to its normal state.

Qi Yuan turned around to find Lucky Li scurrying over, his face beaming with admiration.

“I knew it! How could that old ghost Lu possibly be a match for you, Holy Scion? Even if the Nether River Cult’s Sect Master came personally, he’d be slapped down!”

“Your reputation shakes the heavens! Your martial virtue is unparalleled! My admiration for you flows like an endless river—”

“Enough.”

Qi Yuan waved his hand with a look of distaste. “Go find Richie Zhang. If he’s not dead, he’s probably still locked up somewhere.”

“Right! Brother Zhang!” Lucky Li’s enthusiasm vanished. “He couldn’t really be dead, could he?”

He turned to rush out. “Holy Scion, wait here! I’ll bring Brother Zhang’s ashes to you right away!”

Qi Yuan: “…”

As the Yin energy dissipated, the unconscious guests in the hall began to stir. They looked around in confusion, startled by the two skeletons lying on the floor.

Qi Yuan swept an impassive gaze over them and spoke, his voice calm but authoritative.

“Lu Jiuyuan, the Left Protector of the Nether River Cult, seized the body of City Lord An Lingxiu. Posing as the City Lord, he secretly plundered the flesh and blood of passing cultivators to practice evil arts.”

“City Lord An’s wife, possessing a Pure Yin constitution, was also murdered. Her body was used as a vessel to nurture ghost servants. Had he succeeded, Reed River City would have become a ghost domain.”

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in.

“Fortunately, two Inner Sect Disciples of my Sanctuary discovered clues and infiltrated the manor to investigate. One was captured in the line of duty.”

“I happened to be nearby. Upon receiving their distress signal, I came to assist. I did not expect a simple trick would force this impostor to reveal his true colors.”

“The villain attempted to resist and was executed on the spot. The threat is gone. You are all free to leave.”

“What?!”

“City Lord An was a Nether River Cult demon?!”

The crowd was horrified.

No one doubted Qi Yuan. Given his status as the Holy Scion, he had no reason to lie to a room full of nobodies.

They were shocked to realize they had been dining in a den of monsters. Even more unbelievable was that the Left Protector—a powerhouse at the Soul Formation or even Void Refinement realm—had been slain so easily by a Nascent Soul cultivator.

“Father!”

“Mother!”

An Cailan threw herself before the skeletons, weeping uncontrollably.

Bai Xirou, whose own mother had died early, felt a surge of sympathy. She stepped forward to offer gentle words of comfort.

Suddenly, a cheerful call rang out from the courtyard.

“Holy Scion! Brother Zhang isn’t dead! I found him in the cellar!”

Qi Yuan turned to see Lucky Li supporting a limping Richie Zhang.

Richie Zhang looked like a husk of his former self. He had lost a significant amount of weight, dark circles rimmed his eyes, his cheeks were sunken, and he panted heavily with every step.

“What happened to him?” Qi Yuan asked, genuinely concerned.

“Don’t ask,” Lucky Li sighed. “When I found him, Brother Zhang had already tied his belt to a beam. If I hadn’t cut him down, he would have hanged himself.”

“I asked him what happened, but he wouldn’t say.”

Curious, Qi Yuan looked at the traumatized disciple. “Junior Brother Zhang, were you bewitched by a ghost?”

“I was so foolish, truly…” Richie Zhang stared blankly at the ground, muttering. “I should have just stuck to carrying nightsoil. Why did I have to go and provoke the City Lord’s wife…”

“What exactly happened?” Qi Yuan frowned. “Stop being cryptic.”

“Don’t ask.” Richie Zhang looked up, tears welling in his eyes. “My vital essence… it was almost completely sucked dry.”

Lucky Li scoffed. “Come on, man. You’re a Golden Core cultivator. Your essence will recover in a couple of days. Why are you acting like a widow?”

Then, a lewd grin spread across Lucky Li’s face. “Wait… the ghost possessing the wife was a female ghost, right? Did you… enjoy it?”

Richie Zhang’s face turned green.

Lucky Li gasped, his eyes filling with horror. “Don’t tell me… it was a male ghost?”

Richie Zhang shook his head slowly, his voice trembling.

“No… it… it wasn’t even a ghost that used to be human…”

He covered his face with his hands. “I was so foolish, truly…”

Qi Yuan opened his mouth to offer comfort, but closed it again.

Well, he thought. That’s a solid ‘yikes’ out of 10.