Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Man and the Ghost

“Come here,” came a roar that resembled a wail from the underworld, a chilling sound that echoed from the mouth of the depression. Li Mu’s heart trembled as he thought, “Could it be that the ancestor of the Wolf Plain has arrived? How could he have found this place?”

Shen Bingxue looked at Li Mu with the same suspicion.

The two stepped out of the cave and headed toward the depression.

“Ah!” A sharp scream burst from Shen Bingxue’s mouth behind him, trembling with obvious terror.

Though Li Mu’s expression remained inscrutable, seeing what lay ahead caused a slight tremor within him.

A figure clad in gray cloth, tall and thin like a rod, moved with the force of a hurricane, seeming to float in the air. His face was covered by a mask exuding a sinister aura, terrifying and ghost-like.

What was more horrifying was the object he concealed in his hand—something that might have once been human.

His meridians were all severed; his body was withered and bony, truly emaciated. Only his hands remained normal, but his head was grotesquely large, making him appear as if a head had grown on a stick—a dreadful sight that defied reason. It was hard to fathom how such a person could have survived, let alone speak.

“Ruxiu Cheng, I brought you here. Why didn’t you kill me?” The man was Asan.

The more Li Mu pondered, the clearer the situation became.

After rejecting Asan, Li Mu’s progress slowed due to injury, but Asan seized the opportunity to hide underground, trailing closely behind, which is how he knew Li Mu’s whereabouts. From underground, Li Mu’s spiritual senses could not detect him, which he had neglected. What he couldn’t imagine was that after saving Asan, Asan had instead fixed his gaze on him.

That practitioner, Ruxiu Cheng, was likely one of the Wood Ancestors. He had captured Asan and was interrogating him about his hiding place.

Through carelessness, the enemy learned of this location. Li Mu blamed himself greatly, but seeing Asan reduced to such a state, he felt both disgust and a tinge of pity.

“Rest assured, I keep my promises,” Ruxiu Cheng said, trembling, his voice a low, eerie growl rising from the depths of the earth, instilling fear.

He raised his hand, and Asan, frail and bone-thin, was flung into the depression. The three-day sword talisman activated, and a sword formation descended from the sky, cutting him into several pieces.

Strangely, no blood spilled. One could only imagine the suffering he endured when his blood had been drained dry.

Ruxiu Cheng stared at the broken Asan, now nothing but debris, his face filled with contempt. “A pity. I now cultivate the Bloodsucking Technique. If I had mastered the Spirit-Seeking Method, you wouldn’t have met such a fate. Rest assured, I will learn it in time. Next time, it will never be like this.”

“An evil cultivator?” Shen Bingxue glanced at Li Mu.

Li Mu subtly signaled that such actions, even without practicing evil arts, were enough to be deemed wicked.

After witnessing the forbidden formation, Ruxiu Cheng’s eyes seemed to circle around and then settled on Shen Bingxue.

From his face came a faint hiss: “Such a beautiful woman should be...”

“Shut up!” Li Mu’s face darkened deeply. “Was it the Wood Dragon who sent you?”

“The Wood Ancestor and I, a human ghost—cross me and your fate is sealed,” Ruxiu Cheng laughed wildly, sounding like a ghost’s wail.

Known as the Ghost of the Wolf Plain, few knew this name because those who knew it were long dead. He and the Wood Dragon came to this Wolf Realm together, committing countless heinous acts in both secret and open. They were merciless and cruel.

Li Mu chuckled, “You’re just at the Spirit-Building stage. You come here and think you can do something?”

“Underestimate me, and I’ll easily crush you, ha ha...” Ruxiu Cheng floated in the air, then vanished silently. The ground beneath him radiated a crimson aura that spread instantly, causing the vegetation in the depression to wither.

The crimson aura took on a tangible form, moving through the air directly into the forbidden formation.

The sword talisman formation activated; swords of energy slashed through the crimson aura.

*Pfft!*

In an instant, the sword energy fell back from within the crimson aura, itself pockmarked and one sword rendered useless, clearly damaged.

The forbidden formation was instantly destroyed, and Li Mu’s expression grew grave.

The crimson aura was similar to the mist Li Mu had encountered before with Wang Xiaoming, but far more powerful. For it, a second-grade treasure was utterly ineffective.

From within the crimson aura came a sinister laugh. “A second-grade treasure? Even a third-grade one is useless. My Black Blood Circle has absorbed the blood of tens of thousands. Underestimate my Spirit-Building stage? Heh...!”

Unlike the Wood Dragon, Ruxiu Cheng could not refine his meridians due to deficiencies in his evil arts, limiting him to the Spirit-Building stage. But his power far exceeded that of an ordinary Spirit-Builder. Unable to increase his cultivation, he devoted himself entirely to dark arts, perfecting the Black Blood Circle. His tribe had already been decimated countless times.

“Tens of thousands?” Shen Bingxue trembled violently, gasping, her eyes burning with rage.

The once proud Shen Bingxue could no longer suppress the fury in her heart. Her fingers moved lightly, weaving a complex formation like a cluster of stars.

Within the depression, she deployed her Wood Thread Technique, its power growing stronger in this area abundant with vegetation and spiritual energy. Streams of wood-elemental energy rapidly coalesced into many green threads that wrapped around the crimson aura.

Swiftly, the crimson aura was ensnared in the green threads, forming a green sphere.

“Die.”

In her fury, a barely perceptible killing intent flickered in her eyes, an intensity unmatched even by Wang Qi, who had once imprisoned her.

Her alabaster hands moved deftly before her eyes, shrinking the green sphere until it nearly crushed the crimson aura.

The Wood Thread Technique was her sole combat skill, and this strike drew more than half of her true energy.

“Ha.”

From within the crimson aura came a muffled groan, then a roar: “Break!”

The crimson aura shattered explosively, a crimson splash mixed with crackling energy dissipating instantly.

All the green threads broke, turning yellow and falling within the crimson aura.

Shen Bingxue silently spat blood, unable to stand, retreating rapidly.

The explosion of the crimson aura had obliterated all the true energy she had unleashed and rebounded, shaking her whole body. Indeed, having absorbed the blood of tens of thousands, the Black Blood Circle was no mere treasure, though unclassified; if graded, it would be at least high third-grade.

The crimson energy reformed, floating restlessly within the depression.

“Use the Flower Summoning Technique,” Li Mu whispered.

Shen Bingxue immediately understood and hurriedly invoked it, several flowers blooming on her body, healing her injuries.

“Your Wood Thread Technique could be more effective if you mastered controlling more strands,” Li Mu remarked bluntly.

Shen Bingxue pondered and seemed to grasp his meaning.

From within the crimson aura, a dark voice arose again, “Impressive skill. A pity your opponent is me. Now, die.”

Before the words finished, the crimson aura suddenly charged. In a flash, it appeared beside Shen Bingxue.

Boom!

A sandstorm formation manifested—a solid wall of sand rose before her, blocking the attack.

Even such a crimson force could not penetrate it in the slightest.

“Shen Medic, go into the cave and close the door,” Li Mu ordered calmly, his voice steady.

“Master Li, be careful,” Shen the Medic said, lightly wounded, fully aware she was no match for Ruxiu Cheng and that staying would only be a liability. She said no more and turned toward the cave.

“Hahaha, sooner or later, you’ll all die,” Ruxiu Cheng laughed abruptly. The crimson aura wrapped around the sandstorm formation and advanced toward Li Mu.

Li Mu flickered and retreated swiftly, gathering the sandstorm formation into his hand, eyes sharp as blades fixed on Ruxiu Cheng.

To kill Ruxiu Cheng, the Black Blood Circle had to be destroyed first.

Against that Black Blood Circle, most treasures were ineffective, but the sandstorm formation was of a very high grade and might be the only viable method.