Lin Mo watched as the lumbering ’zombies’ lunged at the defending martial artists. Dust flew as the leader of the martial artists stomped his feet and kicked away the first one who seed to be targeting the woman seated in the carriage in front of the cart.
Just as he had witnessed before, Lin Mo caught the hint of martial qi in that kick, while his inner energy protected his foot from the impact, allowing him to send the creature stumbling back.
It was a crude application of energy compared to the refined spiritual arts of the cultivators from the Realm of Nine Heavens. Still, it was effective in its own brutal way.
The martial artist, a man with arms like tree trunks, didn’t stop there. He flowed into a spinning backhand, his saber, which looked like a heavy, serrated cleaver, bit deep into the creature’s shoulder.
Black, viscous blood sprayed onto the dry earth. The wraith didn’t scream but rely let out a low, gurgling hiss before lunging again, ignoring the wound that would have incapacitated a living man.
’It’s truly a zombie. But despite looking like a corpse of a martial artist, it had beco mindless. Or is there a level to their intelligence? The stronger the wraith, the more it could use its skills when it was still alive.
"Hold the line!" The leader roared, his voice rough like grinding stones. "Protect the Young Miss! Do not let these accursed things touch the cargo!"
After taking down three wraiths, the other four guards were already showing signs of exhaustion. They tightened their formation around the carriage, hoping to make use of the limited space so they wouldn’t get flanked.
Although they were fighting with desperate discipline, Lin Mo could see that it wouldn’t take long before they started falling against their enemies. Their inner energy was waning. Their movents were becoming sluggish.
Unlike the leader, all four of them were just 2nd-rate martial artists. Their inner energy was insufficient for a drawn-out battle.
The Resentful Wraiths, on the other hand, were tireless. There were a dozen of them, their bodies, which looked like they were rotting from the inside out, were appalling. And their eyes glowed with a hungry, pale-green malice. They moved with a jerky, unnatural speed, surrounding the caravan like a pack of wolves circling a wounded bison.
Lin Mo hovered closer.
"Physical attacks are effective but inefficient. The wraiths don’t feel pain. To kill them, you have to destroy the head or sever the spine. But their bodies are reinforced by what looked like death qi. A miasma that would be harmful to the living.
He glanced at the tir of his projection. Forty-five minutes left.
"Alright. I need to confirm whether Sunken Dragon City exists or not, and they seem to be heading north. Saving them is the most convenient way to get a guide. Plus... I want to test sothing."
He wanted to see how his [Stellar Domain], now refined by the Primordial Starlight Dew, interacted with this specific type of death qi. In the Realm of Nine Heavens, starlight was often associated with purification and guidance. Would it hold true here?
He descended, floating down gently like an immortal.
He simply faded into existence right in the middle of the chaotic lee, positioning himself between the struggling guards and the largest concentration of zombies.
To the guards, it looked as if a figure woven from moonlight had suddenly manifested from thin air.
"W-what?!" One guard yelped, nearly dropping his spear.
The Resentful Wraiths didn’t pause to question the anomaly. They were mindless and only driven by instinct and hatred for the living.
Three of them imdiately shifted their targets, lunging at Lin Mo with clawed hands that dripped with their black blood.
"May you rest in peace." Lin Mo said calmly without even attempting to dodge them.
Stellar Domain!
A circle of pale, silver light exploded outwards from his foot, encompassing a ten-ter radius. Almost instantly, the air, previously thick with the stench of rot and the sharp odor of iron, was suddenly filled with the cool, serene scent of a fresh breeze.
The effect was instantaneous and dramatic.
The three wraiths lunging at him hit the edge of the domain and... stopped.
It was as if they had suddenly been subrged in deep water. Their movents slowed to a crawl. The pale-green fire in their eyes flickered and dimd, suppressed by the higher, purer authority of the starlight qi.
The resentful energy animating them sizzled and evaporated like water droplets on a hot pan.
"Screee...!" One wraith tried to shriek, but the sound was hollow, weak.
Lin Mo observed them with the detached curiosity of a scientist.
"Interesting. My domain acts like a sanctuary. Purifying their negative energy."
He raised his hand, pointing a translucent finger at the lead wraith.
Qi Solidification!
A simple, sharp spike of solid starlight pierced directly inside the wraith’s head, right where its brain should be.
There was no sound of impact. The spike simply materialized, expanding rapidly.
The wraith convulsed. The corrupted energy holding it together was shattered from the inside out. With a silent shudder, it dissolved into a pile of grey ash and a single, dull crystal that clattered to the ground.
The martial artists watched, their jaws hanging open.
They had spent all their energies hacking at these monsters with little effect. This ’ghost’ had just dusted one with a point of his finger.
"Don’t just stare," Lin Mo said, his voice amplified by his spiritual energy to cut through the din of battle. "They are now being purified. Finish them. Cut their heads off."
The caravan leader was the first to snap out of his stupor. He was a veteran. He knew better than to waste an opening, even one provided by a mysterious spirit.
"You heard the... the Senior! Strike now! While they are sluggish!"
He roared and charged at the remaining wraiths trapped within Lin Mo’s domain. His saber, now eting much less resistance from the weakened creatures, cleaved through a neck with a satisfying crunch.
The other guards rallied, their fear replaced by the adrenaline of a turning tide. They surged forward, their weapons flashing.
Lin Mo moved with them, or rather, he glided amongst them. He didn’t attack directly again. He simply managed the battlefield. He shifted his [Stellar Domain], entrapping the remaining wraiths as they tried to run away. He used [Qi Solidification] to create montary shields to close their retreat path and block their claw strikes that would have been fatal to the guards.
In less than two minutes, the more than two dozen wraiths were reduced to piles of ash and bone.
Silence descended on the canyon road, broken only by the heavy breathing of the guards and the soft creak of the cart’s wheels.
The leader wiped black blood from his blade and turned to Lin Mo.
He hesitated, clearly unsure of how to act around this mysterious figure. Should he bow? Should he run?
"Senior... Spirit..." He began, his voice cautious enough that he almost choked on it. "We... The Steel Bee Escort Group thanks you for your assistance. I am Tie Zha."
"Tie Zha. A strong na," Lin Mo nodded. His projection flickered slightly, a reminder that his ti was not infinite. "Please, I am rely a passing rchant. I dislike seeing potential custors eaten by... whatever those were."
"Passing... rchant?" Tie Zha blinked, looking at the translucent, glowing figure. "Forgive , Senior, but you look more like an ancestor spirit than a rchant. Are you... from the Graveyard of Sages?"
Lin Mo’s lips quirked up. To be called an ancestor spirit, made him feel like he aged a ton. But that Graveyard of Sages... The na of the place piqued his interest. Maybe there were still experts in seclusion within this plane?
"Let’s just say I’m from a very distant place," Lin Mo waved his hand dismissively. "I am heading to the nearby city I’ve seen from afar. I assu this road leads there?"
"Yes! Yes, it does!" A clear, female voice rang out. The curtain of the carriage was pushed aside, and a young woman stepped out. She was dressed in fine, albeit travel-stained, silks.
She had the air of a young lady from a rchant clan, though her eyes held a sharpness that suggested she knew how to calculate a ledger.
"I am Luo Lanyi, of the Luo rchant House," She curtsied deeply, showing proper respect but maintaining her composure. "We are bound for the Sleeping Dragon City to deliver this cargo. If... if the Senior is willing, we would be honored to guide you. It is only half a day’s journey from here."
"Half a day? I’m afraid I cannot stay here for that long. I only have less than an hour. By the way, you said Sleeping Dragon City. Is that the na of the city ahead?"
"Yes, Senior."
"I see. By any chance, is there a city nad the Sunken Dragon City around this region?"
"Eh? I’m afraid I have yet to hear of such a city na before. Are you looking for it, Senior?"
Hearing that, Lin Mo’s lips twitched again. Sure enough, there wasn’t any Sunken Dragon City around. What about the Sleeping Dragon City? It was close too. They could mistake he’s referring to that city.
Or so that’s what he’s hoping for.
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