Chapter Thirty-Four: The Celestial Ninefold Shadow

Yet the even greener rookie, Zhou Runfa, actually believed what Wang Sheng had said, and was so anxious that he was nearly ready to kowtow. Glancing again at the ghost fiend, I noticed that several times she had raised her hand as if to claw at Zhou Runfa’s chest, but for reasons unknown, she always lowered it again. Judging by her expression, she seemed to be in great pain.

Zhou Runfa grabbed the ghost fiend’s hand and said, “Jing’er, don’t be afraid. I won’t let them hurt you.” As he spoke, a teardrop fell from Zhou Runfa’s eye and landed on the ghost fiend’s forehead.

A miracle occurred at that moment—the ghost fiend’s long black fingernails gradually became translucent and finally disappeared. The ghostly consciousness of Liu Jing returned, but now she gave me the sense that something demonic was lurking within her.

In agony, Liu Jing pushed Zhou Runfa away and pleaded, “Go! Leave this place! Leave me! I’m being controlled!” Her tone was wracked with pain, as if something inside her was fighting for control over her own body.

With a violent shove, Liu Jing pushed Zhou Runfa away. Her nails regrew instantly, and her once fair, flawless skin turned a faint purple once again.

Seeing this, I grabbed Zhou Runfa and yanked him back, kicking away the mutated ghost of Liu Jing. Wang Sheng immediately struck out with a talisman and slapped it onto the ghost fiend’s body.

Talismans like these originated with Zhang Tianshi, eighteenth patriarch of the Mao family in ancient times. They are objects of extreme yang, and since both Liu Jing and the ghost fiend are yin entities, they are extremely averse to such things.

When the talisman struck the ghost fiend, it also hurt Liu Jing. Wang Sheng’s expression changed drastically. I hurriedly asked, “Hurry! Use another talisman! What are you waiting for?”

Wang Sheng replied, nearly in tears, “I was in a rush—I only brought one!”

Damn, this guy’s forgetfulness is something else—always dropping the ball at critical moments!

The ghost fiend had already regained control over Liu Jing’s ghostly form and was about to pounce again. With no other choice, I steeled myself and charged forward, blasting the ghost fiend several meters away, thus giving us some breathing room to fight.

The ghost fiend struggled to her feet, trembling. As a novice, perhaps I had been too merciful, giving her the chance to stand up again.

I glanced at Zhou Runfa’s legs, which were oozing black blood, then turned my gaze back to the ghost fiend. To my surprise, the ghost fiend spoke.

With a muffled voice, she said, “Even the clan of demonic corpses dares to meddle in these waters? Are you not afraid that the inheritor of the Primal Curse will wipe out your kind?”

The Primal Curse—it was a ritual involving human sacrifice thought to have vanished long ago. Why would this ghost fiend speak of it now? Could the curse truly still exist in this world? Was this ghost fiend merely a puppet, sent specifically to kill Zhou Runfa? But what could Zhou Runfa have done to earn such hatred?

A detective’s curiosity sparked in my mind. If this were just a matter of feelings, each had their own story. But now, with the ghost fiend puppet stirring up trouble, everything was thrown into chaos, making the situation far more complicated.

Right now, our only option was to get Wang Sheng and Zhou Runfa safely out of this haunted domain. But the ghostly realm covered the entire academy grounds. And even after escaping, as long as it was a place Liu Jing had visited while alive, the ghost fiend could follow. Escorting them safely to Uncle Mao’s house just became even more challenging—who knew all the places Liu Jing had been in life!

Of the three of us, only Zhou Runfa had that knowledge. But Zhou Runfa was now half-dead, poisoned by yin energy, and couldn’t help at all. So it fell to me, with great honor, to be the main force holding off the ghost fiend.

I said directly to Wang Sheng, “Go! Now!” Then I spread my wings, golden powers cloaking my fists, and struck hard at the ghost fiend. Against her, I couldn’t afford to hold back any longer. This punch sent her flying dozens of meters, raising a cloud of dust in the night.

Watching the ghost fiend skid backward reminded me of those cool slow-motion scenes in movies, gliding back without falling over.

I knew that punch couldn’t finish her off. After two or three seconds, a figure burst from the dust, slamming into me and knocking me into the air. The ghost fiend’s attack gave me a clear look at Liu Jing’s altered ghostly form.

Her once pure white robe had turned into a dark purple shroud. Her previously delicate features had twisted into a grotesque mask. Muscles bulged over her entire body, making me feel inadequate, and her fangs—longer than my own—jutted upward from her jaw, the opposite of mine.

To my amazement, the ghost fiend now had wings, too. In this form, she no longer seemed like a ghost at all. Though she had the aura of a puppet, I sensed she was far more powerful than a mere ghost.

Her punch hurled me a hundred meters skyward, and I tumbled backward for dozens more before regaining my balance as I descended.

Now we were separated by dozens of meters. Below, Wang Sheng was dragging the half-crippled Zhou Runfa toward the campus gates at a snail’s pace, while the ghost fiend began a deadly dive.

Seeing this, I chased after her, shouting as I closed in, “Why are you trying to kill Zhou Runfa?”

But my question only provoked a sneer, the most grating, unpleasant laugh I’d ever heard in my life.

Infuriated by her contempt, I sped up, grabbed her by the ankle, and swung her hard. Letting go, I sent the ghost fiend hurtling into a classroom building dozens of meters away.

If it were Liu Jing’s ghost hitting the building, she’d be fine, since ghosts are immaterial. But ghost fiends are solid, so when she hit the wall, it caved in deeply.

Clicking my tongue in disdain, I said, “With skills like yours, you want to wreak havoc on the living? Let me put an end to you!” With that, I flew over, pried the ghost fiend from the wall, and hurled her viciously from a height of a hundred meters straight to the ground.

A fall from that height—about thirty or forty stories—would shatter the bones of any ordinary person. And this ghost fiend had been thrown down with force.

I heard a thunderous crash, and dust billowed up again. I figured the ghost fiend must have been driven deep into the earth this time.

Not waiting for her to crawl out, I immediately dove down, grabbed Wang Sheng and Zhou Runfa, and sped off toward Uncle Mao’s place.

If it weren’t for Wang Sheng and Zhou Runfa, two ordinary humans, I could have fought the ghost fiend for a whole day and night without trouble. By now, I’d gauged her strength—she was below me, but I couldn’t be sure I could kill such an immortal creature. If I went too far, Liu Jing’s soul might be destroyed first. This kind of work was best left to an expert like Uncle Mao or a yin-yang master like Wang Sheng.

Several couples out for a late stroll on campus had been drawn by the commotion, as had campus security. Someone even called the police, reporting, “A mysterious object has fallen from the sky at Z City’s Archaeology Academy!”

After flying at top speed for several minutes, I finally reached Uncle Mao’s house. As soon as I entered, Uncle Mao saw Zhou Runfa, poisoned by yin energy. His mouth dropped into an O of shock, and he frowned. “How did he get poisoned by the Nine Heavens Profound Yin Sha?!”

“The Nine Heavens Profound Yin Sha?!” Wang Sheng and I exclaimed in unison.

Perhaps Wang Sheng understood the true nature of this Nine Heavens Profound Yin Sha, but as the newly awakened king of the demonic corpses, I knew nothing of Daoist matters. My surprise was simply because the name “Nine Heavens Profound Yin Sha” sounded incredibly formidable!

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