NOVPUB
Chapter 663: Chapter 669: Yang Qi
"When the ghostly calamity recedes tomorrow, it will be time for me to leave."
With the help of Li Chengsheng, this year, not a single person in Changhe Town was harmed during the Calamity of a Thousand Ghosts!
And tonight is the final ghostly assault on the town.
The commoners of the town flocked to express their gratitude, even though Li Chengsheng would not make an appearance during the day, their enthusiasm wasn’t hindered as they knelt and kowtowed before the town’s government office.
Upon hearing these words, Wang Qiulin suddenly realized that it was already the last day!
He also knew that Changhe Town, being a small place, could not retain Li Chengsheng, so he did not ask him to stay. Instead, he sincerely expressed his gratitude, "Without the senior’s protection, who knows how many commoners would have died at the hands of the ghosts this year."
At the same time, he pondered what Spiritual Objects Changhe Town could offer to express their gratitude.
"Alas! The strength of the ghostly race grows stronger; if this continues, the living space of the human race will inevitably shrink again."
"Don’t worry, the fate of the ghostly race cannot always remain at the peak of prosperity," Li Chengsheng casually remarked before sending Wang Qiulin away and continuing to contemplate the Sun-Spirit Preservation Method.
Although this was a rankless Method that anyone, regardless of cultivation level, could study, precisely because of this, each Cultivator’s limit and the height of their understanding varied.
Of course, it took time to contemplate and merge with one’s own cultivation insights.
And that was exactly what Li Chengsheng was doing now; time was precious, and he had no intention of wasting it.
As dusk fell, the quiet Yin Qi of the day slowly awoke and became active. A sudden breeze that blew by even carried a chilling coldness, making one shiver involuntarily.
The lingering light of the sun faded little by little, and the Yin Qi became increasingly active. When the last trace of sunlight vanished, the sky instantly turned immensely gloomy.
The ghosts, which should have only appeared after nightfall, emerged early this time. Not only were there more of them, but their strength had also increased!
This anomaly took Li Chengsheng by surprise; logically, as he eliminated more ghosts, the remaining ones should be weaker, so why was there such an abnormal situation?
Regrettably, even with the enhanced strength of these ghosts, they were nothing more than a few extra at the later stage of the second order and had not developed complete Spiritual Intelligence. There was no information to be obtained from their mouths.
However, to be on the safe side, Li Chengsheng for the first time called forth his two rank-three Spirit Beasts, the Chaoyang Crow and the Li Fire Sparrow, instructing them to guard Changhe Town and prevent the ghosts from entering.
With Wang Qiulin assisting on the side, it was undoubtedly foolproof.
As for Li Chengsheng himself, he was naturally taking action to eliminate these ghosts.
Fire Phoenixes, True Dragons, various Divine Beasts spewed Spiritual Fire, turning the space before them into a raging sea of flames.
Wherever the Sun Spirit Flame passed, the ghosts couldn’t resist at all; the weaker ones instantly turned to ash, while the stronger ones could only persist for a few breaths longer.
Even though Li Chengsheng was unstoppable among the ghosts without any rival, he remained cautious, not indulging in arrogance or straying from the city walls to recklessly slaughter amongst the throngs of ghosts.
Roar!
Suddenly, a roar erupted from within the mass of ghosts. A towering specter howled skyward, attempting to enhance its own Yin Qi by devouring other ghosts to extinguish the Spiritual Fire consuming it.
Unfortunately, this was a good idea, but it couldn’t be realized!
The chasm between them was too vast; could such petty tricks ever compensate for it?
Although this allowed that specter to survive a few more breaths, the ferocious expression on its face before its death and the relief in its eyes afterward made it evident that this method plunged it into excruciating agony.
The ghastly wails of ghosts made the townspeople tremble, even though they were aware of Li Chengsheng’s achievements in the previous days. They couldn’t help worrying, fearing that he might falter.
Luckily, the dreaded event did not occur until the sun rose.
"Seven days have passed, no one has perished, this trial is passed!"
As the first rays of sunlight touched the earth, a thunderous roar echoed through Li Chengsheng’s mind. He quickly recalled the two Spirit Beasts, and in the next instant, his figure vanished without a trace.
"Senior, senior, senior, where have you gone?"
Wang Qiulin, who had come to deliver gifts, searched everywhere but couldn’t see Li Chengsheng’s figure, so he could only sigh helplessly and relay the message to the mayor and others.
"Why would the senior suddenly leave? Could it be that we have not provided proper hospitality?"
This incident plunged the mayor and others into panic, for although they were mortals, they were well aware of the status of Golden Core cultivators, not to mention that Li Chengsheng was no ordinary Golden Core cultivator.
"Perhaps the senior had some urgent matter to attend to and had to leave hastily. Let’s not overthink it," Wang Qiulin quickly spoke to reassure everyone.
And he changed the subject, saying, "This year’s Ghost Disaster has passed, it’s best for everyone to arrange for labor and resume production as soon as possible."
——
When Li Chengsheng’s vision returned, he found himself unexpectedly in front of the gates of Sanhe County.
The city walls were lofty, reaching six or seven Zhang high, and although the bricks were also second-tier Spirit Materials, their quality was quite exceptional.
The Method of Sun-Spirit Preservation set up there was also more intricate and complex than that of Changhe Town.
He even felt a deadly threat emanating from it!
And within those tens of thousands of bricks, besides the stored Sun Qi, there was another kind of different Yang Qi.
Li Chengsheng vaguely felt it was somewhat familiar, but upon further reflection, he couldn’t seem to recall ever encountering it.
He could only put it aside for the time being and plan to inquire about it after entering the city.
"Judging by the previous situation, this round of trials should include third-tier ghosts," he thought.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but frown.
Although Li Chengsheng didn’t feel that ghosts of the same realm would pose a challenge for him, his task was not to destroy ghosts, but to protect mortals!
If the ghosts were too powerful, the difficulty of his mission would increase accordingly.
Suddenly, a voice like the booming of great bells echoed in his mind, the content of which took him by surprise.
"For this round of trials, within nine days, eliminate nine third-tier ghosts! A thousand lower-tier ghosts!"
The task had changed!
"Could it be that the difficulty of this wave of Ghost Disaster is too great? Do they think I am unable to protect the mortals properly?"
If that was indeed the case, then he would have to be more cautious to avoid failing the trial at the third layer.
"Welcome fellow Daoist to Sanhe County!"
As Li Chengsheng was pondering, the city gates suddenly opened wide, and several cultivators flew out from within.
The leading two were both at the Middle Golden Core stage, followed by a few Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"I am Qing Fan and this is Qing Rui, it’s an honor to meet you, fellow Daoist," said the two as they bowed in greeting, while the Foundation Establishment cultivators behind them bent over and kowtowed, calling him senior.
"I am Huang Guangling, and it’s a pleasure to meet you both," responded Li Chengsheng.
Qing Fan was very eager, asking, "Might I inquire which Spirit Mountain the fellow Daoist cultivates at?" 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
"Just a nameless Loose Cultivator," he replied.
Upon hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed the eyes of Qing Fan and the other.
How could a Loose Cultivator possibly cultivate to the Golden Core Late Stage, and judging by the perfection and depth of the Spirit Light circling him, it was clear he had a profound foundation.
