Chapter 169: Might of the Ghost God

“Something’s not right.”

Lu Yan shook his head, his expression turning solemn.

The cultivation system of the Xianxia version was known for its harmony and balance. Its pursuit was the path of longevity, and it was not particularly suited for slaughter.

It was perfectly reasonable that other versions would contain cultivation systems more inclined toward violence and killing.

But no matter how powerful a system was, it still had to follow certain fundamental laws.

Even if different systems had their strengths, they couldn’t far exceed what the Xianxia version permitted.

The technique of flesh regeneration could be performed by many Foundation Establishment-grade demon beasts.

But soul reconstruction? That was another matter altogether—even a Golden Core cultivator might not be able to achieve that.

Lu Yan simply couldn’t believe that the demonic version of the cultivation system had such a massive gap in scale, enough to allow a mere mid-stage Foundation Establishment demon to grasp soul reconstruction.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, the stitched demon—now swollen to a height of six meters—had already drawn near. Demonic power surged violently as it raised its monstrous hand and struck down at Lu Yan.

A golden light flared to life, forming a towering golden shield.

But against the stitched demon’s terrifying force, the shield was shattered on impact.

Yet, in the instant the golden shield broke, Lu Yan’s figure flickered and vanished like a mirage. The stitched demon’s crushing blow landed squarely on the earth, leaving only empty ground.

A thunderous boom echoed through the entire mountain range. The impact left a massive crater in the earth, and demonic energy continued to corrode the surrounding land, reducing it to scorched blackened soil.

When he looked back toward Lu Yan, the stitched demon’s body had shrunk down to five meters, clearly indicating the heavy cost of its last strike.

Still, the demon merely sneered as it gazed at Lu Yan.

“With all those true laws at your disposal, with your ability to occupy a unique Dao… and yet you still fail to glimpse its essence. Truly, you are a pig-headed fool.”

“If you hand over every single one of those true laws, I might even have a chance of stepping into the Nether Abyss realm!”

“Stop your meaningless resistance. Surrender the laws now, and I may consider sparing your life.”

“Otherwise, this wilderness shall be your grave!”

Even as the stitched demon spoke, the beasts previously swallowed by the Earth Dragon’s Rise re-emerged, gathering together once more.

And this time, more massive shadowy figures trailed behind them.

A towering one-legged giant over ten meters tall.
A diseased white wolf with putrid pus dripping from its body.
A gnarled, dead tree embedded with hideous skeletal remains.

There was no doubt—the aura of the true laws, combined with the explosive battle with the stitched demon, had drawn in the surrounding demonic beasts from far and wide.

Even the weakest among them had the strength of early Foundation Establishment. The strongest—the one-legged giant—had already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, and his gaze toward Lu Yan was full of ravenous hunger.

Lu Yan scanned the horde of twisted demons before him, then glanced back at the stitched demon and asked:

“You lured them here. Aren’t you afraid they’ll kill you too, to take your spoils?”

“Kill me?” The stitched demon erupted in manic laughter.

“I am immortal and indestructible. Who could kill me?”

Without another word, the ground beneath its feet exploded as it charged toward Lu Yan once more, like a beast that had locked onto its prey.

Several powerful demons surged forward alongside him, their monstrous energy blanketing the area for ten miles.

But Lu Yan’s expression remained utterly calm.

He had used spellcraft merely to test the fruits of his training over the past few months.

Unfortunately, his test subject had been this stitched demon with the power of immortality.

“In that case, the experiment ends here.”

Lu Yan extended his right hand. A Soul Banner flew out from his storage pouch and landed in his palm.

The once-detailed Soul Banner now only displayed a vast, barren land. Not a single ghost remained in sight.

As the copper bell on the banner gave a gentle ring, thick ghost mist surged outward.

Three ghost gods and eight hundred underworld soldiers manifested in perfect formation upon the mountain.

At the forefront stood the Giant Spirit God, who upon appearing instantly took in the surrounding demon horde.

With a thought, his computational faculties flared to life and he gave the order:

“Ninefold Netherwind Formation!”

This formation had been devised by the Giant Spirit God based on Formation Mysteries, adapted specifically to the characteristics of ghost gods and underworld soldiers.

In the hands of an ordinary formation master, it might not even match a Second-Grade formation.

But when executed by ghost gods and underworld soldiers, it could unleash power beyond the Second Grade.

At his command, the eight hundred underworld soldiers instantly moved into position, transforming into nodes of the formation. In the blink of an eye, a ghostly blue light enveloped the entire area.

The ghost general Bloodbeard, his long hair swirling, linked himself to the eight hundred soldiers—but instead of activating the Soul Fusion Technique, he infused each soldier with his immense yin energy, bolstering the formation’s strength.

The howling wind of the nether realm swept across the battlefield like a thousand invisible blades, shredding the flesh of the oncoming demons into fragments.

Rotten blood and meat disintegrated into ash under the wind’s howls. Even the demons’ dying wails were torn apart mid-air.

More terrifying still, the netherwind carried the power of the underworld, which began to erode the very souls of the demons.

At first, the demons relied on their robust physical bodies to barely hold on.

But once the wind began to assault their very spirits, their once-solid souls began to fade and thin, until finally they evaporated into the night like mist.

The underworld soldiers and their formation had opened a passage to the netherworld, blowing away the souls of these abominations that should never have existed in the human realm.

One by one, demons collapsed within the Ninefold Netherwind Formation, their bodies crumbling like ancient ruins worn by centuries of erosion.

However, not all demons succumbed.

The one-legged giant, the largest among them, forcefully broke through the formation’s seal and charged toward the ghost gods and underworld soldiers, exuding a terrifying pressure.

The Giant Spirit God stepped forward. Activating his innate divine spell, he instantly transformed into a towering thirty-meter giant, intercepting the one-legged giant head-on.

Already gravely injured by the formation, and now facing an opponent nearly twice his size, the one-legged giant found his brute strength completely nullified and was easily overpowered.

Elsewhere, the stitched demon saw the sudden change in the heavens—the ghost gods and soldiers dominating the field—and for the first time, a flicker of fear appeared in his eyes.

Even if these ghost gods couldn’t kill him, they could still pose a real threat.

The demon immediately locked eyes on Lu Yan and let out a furious roar, charging directly at him.

But in that moment, a powerful figure stood in his way.

It was the Protector God, the ghost god that had evolved from Lu Yan’s original bodyguard spirit.

He did not walk the all-knowing path of the Giant Spirit God, nor the extreme soul-refinement path of the Blood God.

As Lu Yan’s first defender, the Protector God walked the Path of Guardianship—dedicating every ounce of soul processing power and computational insight to shielding Lu Yan from any threat.

Whether spells, divine abilities, or soul curses—so long as they fell within the scope of the ghost god computational system, the Protector God could block them all.

(End of Chapter)