Chapter 256: Slaying Ghosts and Gods with a Sword

“Who are you from the Qingxiao Sect?”

The Four-Armed Elder faced Shen Yue and asked, his voice hoarse and aged, as if it had traveled through ancient times to the present.

Shen Yue countered, “And who are you? I’m not asking about your identity as a ghost; in life, you must have been a swordsman of extraordinary achievement.”

The Four-Armed Elder replied, “This old man is from the Northern Court and was once its Sword God. I offended the powerful, fled the borders, and eventually ended up like this. Though I look hideous, my sword techniques and Sword Intent are even better than when I was alive. Do you want to try them?”

Hearing the other party call himself the Sword God, Shen Yue’s gaze changed. He said no more and took the initiative to attack the Four-Armed Elder.

During his advance, Shen Yue’s Sword Intent erupted, causing his speed to suddenly increase.

The Four-Armed Elder leaped up and clashed swords with him in the air. One human and one ghost unleashed their respective fierce sword techniques. The Moves were so fast they were dazzling. Sword Qi and ghost qi swept in different directions, shattering eaves, piercing courtyard walls, and cutting through the accumulated snow.

For a time, the two sides were evenly matched.

The Four-Armed Elder was furious. How could he be unable to defeat a swordsman whose Realm was lower than his own?

Didn’t that mean his sword techniques were inferior to the other’s?

The Four-Armed Elder suddenly slammed into the ground, his four arms spreading wide. Violent Sword Qi swirled from the ground like a gale whipping up snow, forcing Shen Yue in the air to raise his sword in defense. However, he was still pushed back by the fierce Sword Qi, his right sleeve instantly torn apart as splatters of blood sprayed.

Shen Yue did a somersault in the air. As he turned, he forcefully threw the wooden sword in his hand.

Boom—

The wooden sword transformed into a sword light, like a cold flash streaking across the night sky. It pierced through the Four-Armed Elder’s Sword Qi and aimed straight for his chest, but unfortunately, he easily dodged it.

The Four-Armed Elder’s figure flickered and moved, forcing the descending Shen Yue’s gaze to shift rapidly as he tried to capture the Four-Armed Elder’s form.

Inside the Prefectural Governors Mansion.

Great Demon Luo, possessing an old man, was still sitting in meditation and circulating his power. He could hear the booming sounds from outside; the battle was exceptionally fierce.

In the corner of the main hall, a white-haired man stepped out from the darkness. Half of his face was like a wolf’s, while the other half was handsome, appearing extremely eerie. He wore black clothes, and roiling ghost qi billowed beneath his hem.

“Big brother, with so many Cultivator auras, it must be the Qingxiao Sect. But just as we guessed, the Qingxiao Sect is not powerful,” the white-haired man sneered.

His name was Ghost Sinner, the second-ranked existence among the Sixteen Evil Ghosts, second only to Great Demon Luo.

Great Demon Luo opened his eyes and said eerily, “It is said that the Qingxiao Sect was previously just a small Jianghu School. That Li Qingqiu only took less than twenty years to cultivate so many Cultivators; they should not be underestimated.”

Ghost Sinner smiled and asked, “Big brother, even for a heaven-sent talent, it’s probably impossible to achieve a cultivation level stronger than yours or mine in just a few decades.”

The two of them had been Cultivators in life, so their understanding of cultivation was deeper than that of the other evil ghosts.

Although they hadn’t been able to send ghosts to infiltrate the Qingxiao Sect, they had gained a general understanding of the sect’s situation through the Martial Forest.

Li Qingqiu took over the position of Sect Leader at sixteen. In just eighteen years, he had turned the Qingxiao Sect from a small Martial Forest School of seven people into a Cultivator School of over ten thousand.

Even Great Demon Luo and Ghost Sinner had to admit that Li Qingqiu’s methods were very strong, but it was just methods. Cultivation requires the accumulation of time. No matter how strong Li Qingqiu’s talent was, how strong could he become in eighteen years?

“Soul-Snatching Black Demon has vanished without a trace; perhaps he was destroyed by the Qingxiao Sect. This Li Qingqiu’s strength cannot be underestimated,” Great Demon Luo continued.

Hearing this, Ghost Sinner was somewhat dissatisfied. Things had come to this; what was the use of praising the enemy like that?

Just then, the main hall trembled, and dust and sand slid down.

Ghost Sinner turned to look, a look of surprise on his face. “This person is quite capable. With only a cultivation level of the Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm, his Sword Intent has actually reached such a level. Sword Ghost wouldn’t be unable to defeat him, would he?”

Great Demon Luo looked outside the hall and said, “My Ghost Soldiers are rapidly decreasing. Although those Qingxiao Sect Discipless are not strong, they are enough to deal with my Ghost Soldiers. You must not be careless; Li Qingqiu might be coming to kill us soon.”

After hearing this, Ghost Sinner raised his right hand, and a bone blade grew from his palm, rapidly lengthening until the hilt emerged. He gripped the hilt, walked to the very front of the main hall, turned to face the gate, and waited quietly… On the street, Cloud Color landed on the ground and looked up, revealing her silver-blue eyes. In the dark night, her eyes were like jewels.

Dozens of corpse ghosts were charging toward her from ahead. She showed no fear and was about to cast a spell.

Three figures leaped over her head and charged forward.

The one in the lead was Invincible Xiao. He threw a punch, and a vast amount of Origin Qi erupted, scattering the corpse ghosts ahead like a gale, clearing a path amidst flying flesh and blood.

Xiao Wuming held the qingxiao sword, his steps agile. Every strike was clean and decisive. Poisonous gas swirled around the blade as he pierced the hearts of the corpse ghosts, stabbing one ghost with every step.

Seeing The Three Xiao Brothers coming to support, Cloud Color curled her lip and immediately followed.

Looking around, the Qingxiao Sect Discipless had already scattered to various places, preventing the corpse ghosts from attacking Liu Jing’s army.

In addition to the continuous stream of corpse ghosts, there were also ghosts rampaging in the night, putting considerable pressure on the Qingxiao Sect Discipless.

The evil ghosts that had escaped from Ghost King Ridge were not staying hidden either, appearing one after another.

Shen Yue and Jiang Zhaoxia each held back an evil ghost, Zhao Zhen and Li Yang were locked in a fierce battle with one, and Ji Ya, along with over a dozen True Disciples, besieged two evil ghosts.

Boom—

A burly, white-haired evil ghost crashed through the eaves and leaped toward Xiao Wuming.

In front of this evil ghost, Xiao Wuming seemed so small. In his eyes, the evil ghost directly filled his vision.

Whoosh—

The sound of something slicing through the air came—a silver sword shadow that pierced directly through the white-haired evil ghost’s chest, causing him to fall backward.

Xiao Wuming immediately jumped away and looked back, seeing that the person who had acted was Cloud Color.

Cloud Color, with her Myriad Laws Spirit Eyes open, performed the Soul-Snatching Flying Sword. This strike was quite taxing for her, and her expression was extremely solemn.

The white-haired evil ghost landed on the street. He looked down at his chest and then up at Cloud Color, his face becoming distorted as he said coldly, “Little girl, do you take this old man for a Ghost Soldier?”

He was secretly shocked. Cloud Color’s attack had been too fast and tricky; he hadn’t even had time to dodge. Most importantly, that sword shadow just now had actually wounded his ghost soul.

As he spoke, the white-haired evil ghost shook both arms, and a vast amount of ghost qi spread out, passing by The Three Xiao Brothers and sweeping over Cloud Color.

Cloud Color raised her sword to block. In the vision of her Myriad Laws Spirit Eyes, this ghost qi didn’t just sweep past; it left behind eerie and complex invisible Restrictions along the way. At first glance, it looked like ten thousand chains sealing off the street.

Immediately after, the white-haired evil ghost leaped up and lunged at Cloud Color.

The Three Xiao Brothers were horrified to find that they couldn’t Move. If they did, their whole bodies felt as if they were being pricked by needles.

Cloud Color saw through the white-haired evil ghost’s method and found a flaw, but her cultivation was inferior to his. Just as she wanted to step in that direction, the white-haired evil ghost had already reached her.

At this moment, Cloud Color saw the flaw in the white-haired evil ghost’s Move, but her body couldn’t react.

Puchi—

A Sword Qi slashed horizontally, sending the white-haired evil ghost’s head flying high as blood erupted like a fountain. In that instant, the invisible Restrictions in all directions suddenly vanished, and everything returned to normal.

Cloud Color instinctively turned and dodged the white-haired evil ghost’s body, which crashed heavily onto the street.

She turned to look and saw Li Qingqiu, wreathed in Sword Qi, appearing ahead. He held a sword in one hand and a banner in the other. The soul refining banner emitted a terrifying suction force, drawing the white-haired evil ghost’s soul into it.

After finishing all this, Li Qingqiu quickly disappeared.

Cloud Color breathed a sigh of relief. In that moment, she realized that her Myriad Laws Spirit Eyes were not omnipotent… Inside the main hall of the Prefectural Governors Mansion.

Great Demon Luo opened his eyes again and said in a deep voice, “Quickly, kill that swordsman outside immediately!”

Hearing this, Ghost Sinner didn’t doubt him and immediately vanished from the spot.

Most of the buildings in the Prefectural Governors Mansion had collapsed into ruins. Shen Yue’s right arm was dripping with blood, and the wooden sword in his hand already had multiple notches. He looked at the Four-Armed Elder in the distance, panting heavily.

Fighting against this Sword God of the Northern Court, Shen Yue had no chance to be distracted; every Move had to be made with full effort, causing his Origin Qi to be consumed extremely quickly.

Even though he gave it his all, he was unable to kill the Four-Armed Elder.

The Four-Armed Elder was also panting. Evil ghosts don’t get tired, but fighting Shen Yue consumed his Sword Intent, putting a huge burden on his mind.

Shen Yue’s sword Dao attainment made him feel envious.

“It seems I cannot let you become a ghost god, or else this old man will never be able to surpass you.”

The Four-Armed Elder stared at Shen Yue and said coldly as he slowly straightened his body.

Shen Yue stood up as well. Suddenly, he seemed to sense something and instinctively tilted his head. A tall figure had appeared behind him.

It was Ghost Sinner!

Ghost Sinner swung the bone blade in his hand, intending to cut off Shen Yue’s head with one strike.

Oh no!

Shen Yue’s pupils dilated; he didn’t have time to dodge.

Clang!

A long sword blocked Ghost Sinner’s bone blade for him, causing him to instinctively look over. Li Qingqiu’s figure then entered his vision.

Li Qingqiu used the Extreme Movement Technique to maneuver over and block this fatal strike for Shen Yue.

With a twist of his right wrist holding the heavenly rainbow sword, a terrifying Sword Qi erupted, sending Ghost Sinner flying back.

Ghost Sinner landed on a roof beam. He looked at Li Qingqiu from a distance, narrowed his eyes, and asked, “Spiritual Consciousness Realm? And who are you?”

Li Qingqiu didn’t answer him but glanced at Shen Yue and asked, “Are you okay?”

Shen Yue stood straight and brushed past him to face the Four-Armed Elder again. He replied, “My robes are slightly damaged.”

Li Qingqiu’s lips curled up at the response. Almost simultaneously, the two of them moved.

One charged at the Four-Armed Elder, and the other at Ghost Sinner.

Seeing Li Qingqiu charging directly at him, Ghost Sinner’s face broke into a distorted, wild smile as he fiercely swung his blade at Li Qingqiu.

Vast ghost qi swept toward Li Qingqiu like a tidal wave, unstoppable. Within the ghost qi, bone blades emerged one after another, extremely sharp.

Li Qingqiu did not dodge but instead performed one of the Moves from the Immortal Absolute Three Swords.

Sword light illuminated the Prefectural Governors Mansion!

The sword light Li Qingqiu transformed into pierced through the vast ghost qi, sending countless bone blade fragments flying as he struck right in front of Ghost Sinner.

Ghost Sinner’s distorted, greedy smile instantly froze.