A fla of rage burned ceaselessly in Chen Shi's heart.
This world had never been peaceful. The Thirteen Great Clans of the mortal world were the source of calamity, dominating human society, while the powerful clans conspired together to prey upon the common people. Countless innocent souls t untily deaths in the human world, yet upon death they could not enter the Immortal Capital, forced instead to beco wandering ghosts.
But to suffer an unjust death, only to be treated as grazing grass by the ghost gods of the underworld to feed their livestock—this was beyond comprehension!
Chen Shi had seen plenty of bullying, but never had he witnessed such extre oppression!
From within the thick fog ca the heavy sound of hooves, and streaks of crimson, serpentine tongues flew toward Chen Shi and Peng Ju.
Chen Shi sidestepped to dodge, then reached up and seized that blood-red tongue. As he activated the Blood Lake Sutra, the vital energy and blood within the long tongue surged through his finger bones and into his body!
In an instant, the tongue withered rapidly, turning into a dried-out piece of firewood, brittle and crisp. With a sharp crack, it snapped, falling to the ground and shattering into a dozen pieces.
Chen Shi felt the vital energy and blood circulate through his body once. This skeletal form of his actually began to experience a faint, peculiar sensation of having a physical body—a hint of tactile feeling. His soles could perceive the roughness of the ground and the gritty texture of the flowing mist.
What's more, the pool of blood behind his head had quietly expanded. The speed at which the Blood Lake Sutra operated had also increased significantly.
Chen Shi was montarily stunned.
When he had been cultivating the Blood Lake Sutra, he had thoroughly comprehended every aspect of this technique. It was clearly a proper cultivation thod, primarily focused on refining the soul. It forged a Blood Lake Hell behind the head to nourish the Primordial Spirit. Yet there was nothing sinister or depraved about the technique itself.
This demonic art, during cultivation, would absorb mysterious wandering energies from heaven and earth, forming a vertical pool of blood behind the head.
As one's cultivation improved, the pool would gradually transform into a blood pond, then evolve from a pond into a blood lake, and from a blood lake into a blood sea. Once the Blood Lake Hell was complete, the soul's power would beco boundless.
But for so unknown reason, when he activated the Blood Lake Sutra, it could actually seize the vital energy and blood of other living beings!
This was a demonic technique!
Without a doubt, it was a demonic cultivation thod!
The mont this thought crossed his mind, a massive creature burst out of the fog. It had a ghostly head and a beast's body, moving like a wall of flesh as it charged straight at him. This was the very monster whose tongue he had severed earlier.
Chen Shi acted without thinking, planting both hands against the creature's forehead. The impact nearly shattered every bone in his body, and his legs couldn't anchor themselves as he was pushed backward.
Peng Ju had intended to spread his wings and fly up to dodge the collision. But seeing Chen Shi struggling to stay on his feet, he too extended both hands without hesitation to help block the charge.
This type of monster was called a *Shen* beast, a creature of the underworld. It was made of nothing but muscle, vicious and brutal, spitting clouds and breathing fog. It craved the flesh and blood of souls and possessed imnse strength.
In the wilderness, wild Shen beasts appeared and disappeared unpredictably. They would even ambush ghost gods. With just a mont's carelessness, even powerful ghost gods could beco their prey, dragged into the mist and devoured.
When hunting, they would spew thick fog from their mouths, capable of covering dozens of acres.
When walking through the underworld, one often encountered patches of fog in the wilderness. Usually, a Shen beast lurked within.
Once dosticated, Shen beasts could provide physical bodies for ghost gods, and their flesh could extend one's Yin lifespan—the lifespan of the soul itself. Thus, the flesh and blood of Shen beasts were a delicacy prized by ghost gods.
Chen Shi and Peng Ju couldn't withstand the Shen beast's charge either. They were forced backward, sliding across the ground.
At the sa ti, eerie laughter ca from both sides. Two more Shen beasts charged in from the left and right, slamming *bang bang* into the middle beast. The impact stunned it, preventing it from continuing its assault on Chen Shi and Peng Ju.
The other two Shen beasts let out strange laughs, extending their sharp claws to grab at them!
"Peng Ju, the Blood Lake Sutra!"
Chen Shi shouted, once again activating the Blood Lake Sutra. A bloody sword light shot toward the left, slashing down. With a *swish*, the scaled claw of the Shen beast on that side was severed by the crimson blade.
Strangely enough, after cutting off the claw, the power of that blood-red sword light didn't diminish in the slightest—instead, it grew even stronger!
The severed claw hit the ground and instantly withered, without a single drop of blood spilling.
At the spot where the Shen beast's foreleg had been severed, there was also no blood. The limb had beco like a dried-up branch. Where it had once been thick and powerful, it was now much thinner.
Chen Shi didn't have ti to ponder. He transford the slashing sword technique into the Cloud Sword form. The blood light spun rapidly around the Shen beast's neck in a single revolution.
The Shen beast let out a thunderous roar, but the sound only made it halfway out. Its massive ghostly head rapidly withered. There was no blood left in its brain. Every drop of blood had been drained from its muscles. Its brains were like shriveled raisins, its facial skin pressed tightly against its skull.
Inside its body, its heart instantly shriveled into a tiny lump. All blood had vanished, as if it had been completely sun-dried. With a thunderous crash, it collapsed!
*Swish—*
That blood-colored sword light flew back and vanished into Chen Shi's body. In an instant, the blood light circulated throughout his entire being, causing his skeletal fra to gleam like carved red jade. It churned and refined him continuously, while the excess blood light flowed toward the pool of blood behind his head, rapidly expanding it.
"This technique is truly sinister!"
Chen Shi was still in shock when he heard Peng Ju's cry of alarm. He turned to see the Shen beast that had been stunned monts earlier, now joining forces with the other one to surround Peng Ju.
Peng Ju activated the Blood Lake Sutra, but he had never cultivated a technique before and didn't know how to properly channel his power. He could only rely on the innate bloodline abilities of the Fu Bird tribe, fighting on pure instinct.
He could have spread his wings and flown away, but he chose to stay to share so of the pressure, preventing Chen Shi from being surrounded.
A long tongue from one of the Shen beasts coiled around him. He flapped his wings with all his might, trying to break free, but he was still dragged toward the creature's gaping maw!
The Shen beast's mouth was full of sharp teeth, opening and closing like a trap.
Peng Ju braced his hands and feet against the Shen beast's upper and lower jaws, struggling to keep them apart so the monster couldn't bite down. But the beast's tongue tightened, wrapping around his waist and pulling downward, nearly snapping him in two!
The other Shen beast raised its foreleg and tried to reach into the first beast's mouth, intending to scoop Peng Ju out and eat him itself.
"Peng Ju, the Blood Lake Sutra!"
Chen Shi charged over, pointing with his sword fingers. A blood-red sword light severed the foreleg of the other Shen beast. He shouted, "Channel your blood energy into your wings! Now! Slash!"
Peng Ju struggled desperately inside the Shen beast's mouth. Heedless of everything, he activated the Blood Lake Sutra and tried to draw the blood light from the pool behind his head into his wings.
The blood pool behind his head was small, with only a ager amount of blood light. It could barely cover the tips of his feathers.
Peng Ju spread his wings, each spanning three or four *zhang*. With a *swish*, the twin blood lights swept across. The Shen beast's hard scales, razor-sharp teeth, tough tongue, and thick skull—all of them split apart cleanly under those wings!
This massive Shen beast was cleaved into three pieces by his wings. The two outer halves toppled left and right with two loud thuds. The middle section stood for a mont longer before finally crashing down.
All of the Shen beast's blood energy flowed toward Peng Ju's wings, quickly dyeing them a deep crimson.
Chen Shi was a skeleton, so although he could feel, it wasn't intense. But Peng Ju was made of flesh and blood. He felt warm currents circulating through his body, tempering his physique. In a short ti, his strength surged dramatically!
He felt as if his raw physical power had increased by four or five tis!
The excess blood energy flowed to the pool behind his head, expanding it considerably as well.
On the other side, Chen Shi had killed the other Shen beast. The blood energy coursed through his body, strengthening him further. The blood pool behind his head had grown even larger, now approaching the state of a blood pond.
"Such a sinister technique!"
Chen Shi's heart trembled. "This technique is absolutely demonic! But it can still increase the power of the soul!"
By using the Blood Lake Sutra to kill these two Shen beasts and absorb their blood energy, even his soul had been significantly enhanced.
Chen Shi had consud many Soul-Returning Lotuses, already refining his soul until it was as solid as a physical object. But after that point, eating more lotuses had no further effect. Now, his soul was actually improving again!
At that mont, the fog began to thin. The sound of rumbling wheels approached.
Forty or fifty Shen beasts, each the size of a small hill, ca into view. These ghost-headed, four-limbed monsters walked across the ground, their teeth gnashing as they glared at Chen Shi and Peng Ju, slowly closing in.
A ghost god whose flesh had grown onto his wheels drove toward them. He stood about five or six *zhang* tall, holding a long whip in one hand as he herded these Shen beasts forward.
Suddenly, the ghost god stopped. He looked at Chen Shi and Peng Ju, then at the bodies of the Shen beasts on the ground. His voice was grim as he said, "Did you two do this?"
In the nearby locust tree, the Fu Birds from the village were all craning their necks to watch the excitent. Seeing this, they hopped to the edges of their houses, stretching their necks even further to get a better look.
Peng Ju moved close to Chen Shi's side and whispered, "That's a herding ghost. He herds for the noble ghost gods. He's from another race too. Though their numbers are few, they're born much stronger than us Fu Birds. He bullies us all the ti. Look at his chest. There's a basket there."
Chen Shi's gaze fell on the herding ghost's chest. Several bones had grown out from inside his body, forming a bony basket. A little yaksha sat inside this basket, holding three incense sticks in its hands.
The incense smoke curled upward, drawn into the herding ghost's nostrils through his breathing.
"The little yaksha's job is to offer incense for him."
Peng Ju lowered his voice further. "If a herding ghost's chest basket doesn't have a little ghost offering incense, it ans he has no official position. If there's a little ghost, it ans he does. There must be a ghost god from my Heavenly Pool Kingdom backing this herding ghost! We've killed the Shen beasts he was herding—this is going to be a huge problem..."
"Then we'll kill him too!"
Chen Shi made a hand seal for the Sword Seal and thrust his sword finger forward. A blood-colored sword energy shot forth, whistling through the air.
One of the Shen beasts couldn't dodge in ti, and the sword energy pierced straight through its head!
Chen Shi charged forward, activating the Second New Talisman. Lightning flashed beneath his feet, and his form appeared almost instantaneously on top of that Shen beast's head. His foot ca down, and his body flipped.
As his body turned in midair, a nearly three-ter-long sword energy flew out from the back of the Shen beast's head, carrying away all of its blood energy and condensing into this blood-red sword light.
Chen Shi flipped and descended, the slashing sword light cleaving open the head of a Shen beast behind him.
The mont his feet touched the ground, he lightly waved his sword fingers. The blood-colored sword energy split into two, stabbing into the Shen beasts on his left and right.
He charged forward, his skeletal hands each forming a sword seal. Two streaks of blood-colored sword energy burst forth from his body, dancing in ti with his hand seals.
The blood-red sword light stretched over three ters, swishing back and forth as it crisscrossed through the air. In an instant, severed limbs and broken bodies flew everywhere.
The blood-colored sword energy split from two into four, four into eight, eight into sixteen, sixteen into thirty-two. By the ti Chen Shi erged from the pack of Shen beasts, the sword energy had multiplied to sixty-four strands. A complex web of blood-red sword light crisscrossed back and forth, executing intricate sword techniques that dazzled the eye, all of them aid directly at the herding ghost!
From the mont Chen Shi plunged into the group of Shen beasts to the mont most of them were dead—it happened in an instant. In that blink of an eye, a single sword energy had transford into sixty-four!
The herding ghost raised his long whip. It rapidly extended, then began to spin and writhe in the air. *Clang, clang, clang*—it blocked and deflected each streak of sword light!
The wheels beneath him whirred furiously as he charged toward Chen Shi.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning, and Chen Shi appeared to his left, grabbing a streak of blood-colored sword energy and slashing at his neck!
Chen Shi's body was small, just a skeleton, and extrely agile. The herding ghost was enormous, and though his wheels were fast, they were no match for the speed of the Second New Talisman. He couldn't dodge this strike.
Suddenly, bizarre patterns erged on the surface of the herding ghost's powerful body. They resembled divine diagrams drawn on talismans, or perhaps Ghost Script. The patterns crawled all over his arm as he swung it to et Chen Shi's blood-colored sword light!
*Boom!*
His palm strike produced a deep, thunderous roar. The blood-colored sword light shattered beneath his palm's runic pattern. Chen Shi felt an overwhelming divine force strike him. He was hurled to the ground, flying backward. With a thunderous crash, he slamd into that enormous locust tree!
Many of the bird's-nest-like houses in the tree swayed violently from side to side. The Fu Bird tribespeople who had been standing at the edges of their houses watching the excitent now jumped to the other side, clinging to the edges of their hos with their claws to keep from falling. They craned their necks, peering downward to see if Chen Shi had been killed.
Peng Ju charged forward desperately. He had originally planned to help Chen Shi deal with these Shen beasts, but before he could even take action, most of them were already dead. He had just managed to take down two Shen beasts that rushed at him when Chen Shi was blasted away by the herding ghost.
A herding ghost was only a low-level ghost god, but still a ghost god nonetheless. How terrifying was the power of a ghost god?
That single blow might have smashed Chen Shi to pieces!
A shadow of grief fell over Peng Ju's heart. Though he had only known Chen Shi for a few days, he already considered him a close friend. To think that Chen Shi would et his end here...
Suddenly, streaks of blood-colored sword energy whistled through the air, flying back into the tree hollow.
Chen Shi was embedded in the locust tree in a spread-eagle position, deep within its trunk. His entire skeleton was covered in cracks, on the verge of shattering. But as streak after streak of blood-colored sword energy rged with his bones, they began to heal at an astonishing rate. The cracks vanished!
These dozens of strands of sword energy contained the blood energy of many Shen beasts. As the Blood Lake Sutra circulated, it nourished his bones and strengthened his Primordial Spirit. In just a short ti, he had not only recovered to his peak but had improved dramatically!
Chen Shi leaped out of the tree hollow with a single bound. Activating the Second New Talisman, his lightning had even turned crimson. In an instant, he appeared before the herding ghost. Gathering his sword energy, he raised his sword light and slashed at the herding ghost!
The herding ghost's wheels spun, carrying him dozens of *zhang* backward in a flash. He suddenly stopped, the strange patterns on his arm flaring to life. His divine power surged as he raised his hand to et this strike!
This ti, he did not send Chen Shi flying!
A flash of crimson lightning, and Chen Shi appeared behind him, thrusting his sword light toward the back of his head.
The herding ghost's wheels spun forward, carrying him dozens of *zhang* away in an instant. But Chen Shi followed close behind, never allowing him to escape.
The herding ghost abandoned his whip, as it was too slow to counter Chen Shi's assault. He used his other hand to mobilize those strange patterns, blocking Chen Shi's strike.
Chen Shi appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye, accompanied by streaks of blood-colored lightning. He darted forward and back, left and right, appearing at every angle around the herding ghost's body. Streak after streak of sword light attacked him!
The herding ghost roared like thunder. His wheels flew as his body spun relentlessly, blocking blow after blow. Suddenly, he missed a parry, and Chen Shi's sword pierced his throat!
The herding ghost bellowed in rage. Light flickered at his neck, and dazzling patterns erged, radiating divine light as they blocked the strike!
He reached out to grab Chen Shi. Lightning exploded, and Chen Shi's form vanished. In the next instant, Chen Shi stabbed at his throat once more!
The herding ghost's neck muscles tightened. He reached out to grab again—and missed again.
*Swish, swish, swish!*
One blood-colored sword energy after another struck the herding ghost's throat in rapid succession. The imnse force contained within each strike pushed the herding ghost backward continuously.
He reached out to grab, again and again, but always ca up empty.
Suddenly, a flash of blood light. The dazzling patterns at his neck were finally severed by the sword energy!
Chen Shi's small skeletal fra strained forward, thrusting with all his might. The blood-colored sword energy pierced through the herding ghost's thick neck!
Chen Shi withdrew his sword, pulling out a dense, concentrated sword energy. In an instant, the herding ghost's massive body was drained of blood. It shriveled up, becoming gaunt and withered. With a thunderous crash, it collapsed!
The little yaksha who had been sitting on his chest, holding three incense sticks, quickly jumped out of the bone basket. It threw down the incense and began to wail loudly over the herding ghost's corpse.
Chen Shi sheathed his sword energy and said, "I won't kill you. Go find yourself another job."
The little yaksha cast him a tearful glance, gathered its belongings, and picked up a human leg bone from the ground. It slung a small bundle over its shoulder with the bone, wiped its tears, and ran off.
From that day forward, another little yaksha went wandering through the Heavenly Pool Kingdom, searching for work wherever it could find it.
—The pig took its dicine. Its condition is a bit better than yesterday. Thank you all for your concern.
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