The Desolate Nether Ghost King looked toward Li Qingqiu. The man's gaze was fixed tightly upon him, which startled him.
This person could actually see him?
A cultivator!
Such powerful vital energy—he was definitely an Awakening Spirit realm cultivator!
The Desolate Nether Ghost King felt no fear. Instead, he grew even more excited. Devouring an Awakening Spirit realm cultivator would be far more beneficial than consuming an army of 100,000 troops.
All 3 of his faces extended their tongues, licking their lips as thick ghostly qi seeped out from his body.
Following Li Qingqiu's line of sight, the Beiting soldiers tried to locate the Desolate Nether Ghost King but saw nothing—until ghostly qi began to emerge from him.
The ghostly qi was pitch black, like a mass of dark flames blazing atop the ruins, rapidly expanding as the Desolate Nether Ghost King's body gradually materialized within it.
A collective gasp swept through the ranks.
The Beiting soldiers were all terrified. Those closest quickly retreated.
Fang Tianshu stared intently and was likewise so frightened that his lips trembled. The Desolate Nether Ghost King was simply too horrifying. That head of blood-red hair flowing in the wind made him even more ghastly.
"Cultivator, where do you come from?"
The Desolate Nether Ghost King's voice rang out, hoarse and rasping. Anyone could hear the greed in his tone.
Li Qingqiu did not answer. He simply raised his sword and walked toward him.
Jin Lang stood on Li Qingqiu's shoulder, lifting its blade-like forelimbs, ready for battle.
Fang Tianshu glanced back at Li Qingqiu, his eyes filled with expectation.
Merely standing there, the Desolate Nether Ghost King inspired dread. He could only pray that this mysterious swordsman would slay the ghost king.
Li Qingqiu did not walk quickly. The Desolate Nether Ghost King also did not strike immediately, instead sizing him up with interest.
The Beiting soldiers watched Li Qingqiu approach the Desolate Nether Ghost King, all of them tense, guarding against a sudden attack.
More soldiers were still arriving at the mountain gate. The Desolate Nether Ghost King standing atop the ruins was strikingly conspicuous. When the newcomers saw his form clearly, they all halted in fear.
"What is that…"
"Three heads and six arms… truly a demon!"
"How can there be ghosts in broad daylight?"
"Look ahead—so many corpses… could that monster have done all this?"
"Don't be afraid! With so many of us, can we not kill this fiend?"
The late-arriving soldiers encouraged one another. With the army still advancing up the mountain behind them, retreat was no longer an option.
As Li Qingqiu passed in front of Fang Tianshu, Fang Tianshu could not help asking, "May I know your honored name?"
He could tell that Li Qingqiu was not from the Northern Frontier. Most likely, he was a martial artist from Jiuzhou.
Though the Northern Frontier and Jiuzhou had long-standing grievances, Fang Tianshu still held respect for the Jiuzhou martial world. From time to time, Jiuzhou heroes traveled north, performing righteous deeds during their training. Those tales of chivalry had made the men of the Northern Frontier even more curious about Jiuzhou.
"Withdraw your men first. Once we begin fighting, there will surely be casualties," Li Qingqiu said without turning his head.
From Jiuzhou's standpoint, he should not be helping Beiting's soldiers. But he acted to prevent the Desolate Nether Ghost King from growing stronger.
Hearing this, Fang Tianshu froze for a moment and was about to speak again.
Suddenly—
The Desolate Nether Ghost King moved. He lunged at Li Qingqiu. The immense force shattered the ruins beneath him, dust billowing upward. A violent gust swept through the surrounding soldiers, knocking them over like rippling waves.
Almost simultaneously, Li Qingqiu moved as well.
Man and ghost each flew more than 10 zhang before colliding midair.
Boom—
Two overwhelming auras erupted, forcing even more Beiting soldiers to retreat. Buildings trembled violently under the shockwave.
Li Qingqiu used the Qingxiao Sword to block the ghost king's claw. Upon contact, he immediately judged that the Desolate Nether Ghost King was not a true evil ghost.
It was merely a demon versed in ghost cultivation methods!
No—
Perhaps he had originally been human, then turned into a demon, and afterward cultivated the ghostly Dao!
The Desolate Nether Ghost King had not expected Li Qingqiu's strength to be so immense, giving him the sensation of striking an immovable mountain.
His expression changed instantly. The pair of arms behind his shoulders lifted high and smashed down toward Li Qingqiu. Li Qingqiu reacted swiftly, twisting his waist and spinning his body. Violent sword qi erupted, blasting the Desolate Nether Ghost King backward.
Li Qingqiu landed on the ground while the Desolate Nether Ghost King fell onto a rooftop.
The Desolate Nether Ghost King glanced at his hands. His fingers had been severed at the roots, blood gushing uncontrollably. He appeared briefly stunned before ten new fingers regrew instantly.
The nearby Beiting soldiers saw this as well.
Fang Tianshu raised his brow and shouted angrily, "He's bleeding—he's not a ghost!"
With those words, much of the soldiers' fear dissipated, replaced instead by a sense of having been deceived.
The middle face of the Desolate Nether Ghost King grew even more hideous. At a glance, it seemed to transform into another demonic visage, terrifying to behold.
He roared furiously and charged at Li Qingqiu again.
This time, his form flickered continuously. Wherever he passed, flesh and blood flew into the air. He slaughtered as he advanced, and the airborne flesh rapidly condensed into blood-red spears. The moment they formed, they shot toward Li Qingqiu, the sound of tearing air ringing without cease.
Instead of retreating, Li Qingqiu advanced. His sword flashed rapidly, fierce and relentless, leaving afterimages as he destroyed every blood spear that reached him. In less than 3 breaths' time, he once again closed in on the Desolate Nether Ghost King.
The Desolate Nether Ghost King bared his teeth in a grin. One of his arms clenched into a fist and struck out. The blow thundered like an explosion, terrifying force erupting like a mountain flood, actually sending Li Qingqiu flying backward.
Li Qingqiu flew more than 10 zhang before his feet struck the ground, yet he still slid backward for quite a distance.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind came from behind. Li Qingqiu immediately bent low, one palm pressing against the ground as his legs slid backward. His body flattened close to the earth, narrowly avoiding the Desolate Nether Ghost King's sharp claw.
As the Desolate Nether Ghost King was about to pass over him, Li Qingqiu suddenly bent his knee and thrust upward.
Bang!
The Desolate Nether Ghost King was knocked soaring into the sky.
This move only made the Desolate Nether Ghost King even more excited. The expressions on all 3 of his faces shifted violently as they burst into manic laughter—ferocious and brutal.
"Dual cultivation of body and technique—impressive!"
The Desolate Nether Ghost King's laughter echoed across the skies above the Xuanji Sect. Before his words had even finished, he vanished into thin air.
Li Qingqiu flipped to his feet and saw a cloud of blood mist appear in the distance. It swept past one Beiting soldier after another and continued charging toward him.
"What a nuisance."
Li Qingqiu muttered, referring to the Beiting soldiers.
As if hearing his voice, Fang Tianshu shouted loudly, "Retreat! All units withdraw down the mountain immediately! Move!"
With his command, the soldiers all turned and ran. They had long wanted to flee.
Fang Tianshu also rushed toward the mountain gate. He leapt up and sprinted across the rooftops, glancing sideways as he saw the blood mist rapidly closing in on Li Qingqiu. Wherever it passed, soldiers were reduced to white bones, and the blood mist swelled larger as it absorbed their flesh.
"What kind of monster is that… and that man…"
Fang Tianshu's heart was filled with shock and fury. With his martial arts, he simply could not intervene in such a battle.
The Desolate Nether Ghost King inspired fear in him, while Li Qingqiu's abilities left him utterly stunned.
That man was definitely not an ordinary martial artist, but one of the legendary cultivators!
Could he be from the Qingxiao Sect of Jiuzhou?
Watching the Desolate Nether Ghost King charge at him again, Li Qingqiu could feel the creature's aura rapidly growing stronger.
He suddenly hurled the Qingxiao Sword from his hand. Wrapped in sword qi, it flashed like a streak of cold light, piercing straight through the blood mist. Yet even though a long tunnel was torn through it, the blood mist did not stop.
When the blood mist closed to less than 10 zhang from Li Qingqiu, the Desolate Nether Ghost King burst out from within it, grinning viciously as he attacked. All 6 of his arms gripped blood-red long weapons, within which faint pale-white glimmers could be seen.
Li Qingqiu tilted his head back. Vital energy erupted from his body, golden light bursting forth as he transformed into a golden dragon that soared upward, biting down on the Desolate Nether Ghost King.
It was precisely the improved Divine Dragon Transformation refined by Zhao Zhen!
Vital energy formed the dragon's body. The dragon's head alone was larger than the Desolate Nether Ghost King's physical form. Seized in its jaws, the Desolate Nether Ghost King discovered that he could neither break free nor dissolve into blood energy to escape. He could only struggle desperately.
The golden dragon formed by Li Qingqiu twisted rapidly through the air with the ghost king clenched in its jaws, sweeping past one building after another as it flew toward the foot of the mountain.
The Beiting soldiers who were retreating looked up, their eyes wide, some even gaping open-mouthed.
The golden dragon was too majestic, too awe-inspiring. They could clearly see a human silhouette within it.
Fang Tianshu crossed through the mountain gate and looked up as well, equally stunned by Li Qingqiu's Divine Dragon Transformation.
This was definitely a spell!
No martial art could possibly achieve something so formidable!
Carrying the Desolate Nether Ghost King, Li Qingqiu plunged down the mountainside, vanishing into the clouds and mist.
On the mountain path, the Beiting soldiers still ascending only felt a fierce wind descending from above. Instinctively, they bent low and lowered their heads, catching a glimpse of golden light streaking downward out of the corners of their eyes.
"Everyone retreat! Down the mountain!"
An officer's furious roar came from above, and the command was swiftly passed down by one commander after another.
Li Qingqiu dived toward the base of the mountain, plummeting from a height of several hundred zhang. The wind howled past his ears as his speed increased further and further.
At the foot of the mountain, tens of thousands of troops were stationed. Soon someone spotted a golden dragon in the sky, prompting the soldiers to grip their weapons tightly.
The Desolate Nether Ghost King frantically swung the blood weapons in his hands, but he could not disperse the dragon qi of the Divine Dragon Transformation.
Just before hitting the ground, Li Qingqiu suddenly released his bite. The dragon's body twisted and changed direction, avoiding a direct plunge into the wasteland.
The Desolate Nether Ghost King had no time to evade and smashed straight into the ground below, sending billowing dust into the air and causing the earth within several miles to tremble slightly.
The golden dragon circled low. As the golden dragon qi dispersed, Li Qingqiu descended lightly to the ground like an immortal from the heavens.
The Beiting soldiers in the distance stared dumbfounded. That divine dragon had actually been transformed from a human?
Before they could process it, the Desolate Nether Ghost King burst out from the rolling dust. All 3 of his faces were covered in blood, his body riddled with wounds. At his elbows and waist, stark white bone was even exposed.
This time, the Desolate Nether Ghost King did not laugh. All 3 faces were filled with anger and hatred.
Li Qingqiu had just landed when the ghost king lunged at him again.
Facing the frenzied and violent Desolate Nether Ghost King, Li Qingqiu remained completely calm. He raised his sword and pointed forward. Sword qi spread outward, transforming into numerous figures—each bearing his own likeness. Their entire forms shimmered with silver light as they attacked the Desolate Nether Ghost King from all directions.
Startled by this divine ability, the Desolate Nether Ghost King was forced to halt and defend against the onslaught from every side.
The sound of blades slicing through flesh rang out continuously. To his horror, the Desolate Nether Ghost King realized that these sword clones were astonishingly fast, no weaker than Li Qingqiu's true body.