Chapter 896 - 148: Ghost Race: Three to Two, the Advantage Is Ours! (2)

Chapter 896: Chapter 148: Ghost Race: Three to Two, the Advantage Is Ours! (2)

"Daoist Feng, you jest. I was merely lucky," Zhou Xun humbly replied.

"Feng Xin’s true form is a Wind Split Beast, renowned for its escape techniques unrivaled in the world!" introduced the Purple Flood Dragon Demon Emperor.

Zhou Xun had naturally heard of the Wind Split Beast; it was the most famous of the wind attribute demon beasts, said to be descended from the ancient divine beast Feilian, truly extraordinary!

"Ahem!"

At this moment, True Monarch Yama, sitting above, coughed lightly, drawing everyone’s attention,

"Now that all of you Daoist friends are here, it’s the perfect time to discuss our plan to ambush the ghost race!"

"I briefly discussed with Brother Jin, and like last time’s ambush, we will use their rapid call for reinforcements mechanism to draw their reinforcements over,"

"Then strike with full force to eliminate them!"

"And before their main forces can react, we will swiftly retreat!"

"True Monarch’s plan is indeed sound, but who will be responsible for luring them? If it’s too strong, the ghost race might not fall for it!" the South Abyss Demon Emperor suddenly spoke up.

Hearing this, Zhou Xun stepped forward and said:

"Let me take on the role of bait!"

"Judging by my cultivation, I’m only at the early-stage Nascent Soul. If I engage with low-grade or middle-grade ghost kings, they will surely not be suspicious,"

"With this, we can likely draw their reinforcements!"

"Excellent! With Daoist Zhou taking the lead, there will certainly be no problem!" the crowd exclaimed with joy.

"When the ghost kings gather in numbers, Daoist Tianci, True Monarch Nine Swords, and I can emerge to engage them, attracting a second wave of ghost kings for reinforcements!" the Purple Flood Dragon Demon Emperor added.

"Indeed, you three are all at middle-stage Nascent Soul, so the ghost race will surely be oblivious,"

"Moreover, showing abilities beyond your cultivation will more likely gain the ghost race’s attention, which should draw out their tier four high-grade ghost kings,"

"By then, it will be time for us veterans to make our move!" smiled True Monarch Celestial One.

"Excellent, let’s implement this plan!" Everyone rejoiced in agreement.

"However, before setting out, there’s the matter of distributing the battle merits!" added True Monarch Yama.

"How about dividing it based on the ghost kings each one kills, and if it’s a joint kill, then you may privately distribute it among yourselves, Brother Yu, what do you think?"

"No problem!" True Monarch Yama nodded.

Everyone then agreed to gather at the entrance in three days and set off together.

...

Returning to his cave mansion, Zhou Xun headed straight to the cultivation room,

Previously, he had exchanged 300 battle merits for the "Spirit-Encompassing Dew," a treasure that can rapidly enhance the cultivation of a Nascent Soul cultivator,

Saving decades of cultivation time,

Zhou Xun had already consumed a portion, and after more than a year of refinement,

He was now just a sliver away from reaching the peak of early-stage Nascent Soul,

He decided to focus entirely on refining the last trace of the "Spirit-Encompassing Dew" to break through to the peak of early-stage Nascent Soul.

Upon entering the room, he took out a cushion and sat cross-legged,

Then began to circulate the "Purple Sky Thunder Technique," allowing the spiritual power within his body to slowly flow and gather towards the Nascent Soul in his dantian.

The unrefined trace of "Spirit-Encompassing Dew" emitted a gentle glow, slowly integrating into the Nascent Soul under the wrap of spiritual power.

Zhou Xun felt a warm power spreading from his Nascent Soul, coursing through his entire being. Every inch of his skin and every pore greedily absorbed this power, much like parched earth soaking up precious rain.

His aura quietly transformed, becoming more stable and profound.

Immersed in this strange cultivation state, Zhou Xun forgot the passage of time and all external distractions. He had but one thought in his mind, to thoroughly refine the last trace of "Spirit-Encompassing Dew,"

Time ticked by,

Two days slipped past,

Suddenly, Zhou Xun’s body trembled slightly, a powerful aura erupted from him, sweeping through the entire cultivation room in an instant.

His body radiated spiritual power, exuding an air of perfection.

Zhou Xun slowly opened his eyes, a gleam flashed across them, and he smiled with satisfaction.

"Nearly a century of cultivation, finally reaching the peak of the early-stage!"

"Once I return from the Ghost Land, I shall proceed with breaking through to the middle-stage Nascent Soul upon returning to Great Jin!"

He stood up, stretched his slightly stiff body, then exhaled a breath of turbid air,

Afterward, he walked out of the cultivation room and into the courtyard outside his cave mansion.

By then, night had fallen, stars twinkled in the sky, and the cool night breeze brushed his face, making him feel particularly relaxed.

...

A day later, in the Ghostly Mist Land, a flying ship over ten feet long carried a young man as it flew slowly deeper into the mists,

The man was Zhou Xun,

About a thousand feet behind him, another white flying ship followed with nine figures aboard, trailing behind,

However, something curious was that,

This flying ship was concealed within the void, appearing to the naked eye as if it were nonexistent.

This was True Monarch Celestial One’s concealing treasure - the Profound Concealing Celestial Gauze,

Once activated, it could conceal a space spanning thousands of feet, making it difficult even for a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator to cast a spell on it,

Thus, with the help of this treasure, True Monarch Yama and others could secretly follow Zhou Xun without being noticed by anyone else,

The reason why there were only nine people present,

Was because the Purple Flood Dragon Demon Emperor was currently concealed within Zhou Xun’s Spirit Beast Bag, as spirit beasts derive from demon beasts.

After seven days, the group finally ventured deep into the Ghostly Mist Land where tier four ghost kings roamed,

Zhou Xun stood at the prow of the flying ship, hands behind his back,

His eyes emitted a faint cyan light as he searched the area,

This was his pupil technique - the Spirit Rhinoceros Cyan Pupil Technique,

Allowing him to see enemies hundreds of miles away even in the Ghostly Mist Land.

Unfortunately, the Ghostly Mist Land was vast and the mist suppressed the cultivators’ senses, making it extremely difficult to locate the ghost race,

Fortunately, with Zhou Xun who had honed his pupil technique present,

Using the pupil technique, Zhou Xun quickly discovered the first group of ghost race members; regretfully, the strongest ghost king among them was only at tier three,

With almost a single glance, Zhou Xun slew them, still, finding a tier four ghost king proved challenging, perhaps they lacked a bit of luck,

For the next three months,

They encountered only tier two and three ghost kings, offering little value, yet they didn’t give up,

As many had gone without a breakthrough for half a year or more,

During a routine but tiresome search,

Suddenly.....

Zhou Xun’s eyes brightened as he spotted a large ghost race army swiftly passing a hundred miles ahead, a rough estimate revealed their numbers exceeded a thousand, exuding an aura of ghost qi,

Clearly visible, there were three tier four ghost kings, two low-grade and one high-grade!

Seeing this, Zhou Xun couldn’t help but be ecstatically overjoyed, they had finally found what they were seeking, and their plan could be enacted,

Zhou Xun slowed his pace, coming to a halt,

"Younger Brother Zhou, have you discovered something?" True Monarch Yama was the first to ask,

"Indeed, Daoist Brother, a ghost race army is passing through..." Zhou Xun quickly relayed his discovery to True Monarch Yama.

The crowd was overjoyed upon hearing this,

"Finally, there are tier four ghost kings!"

"However, with three ghost kings here, and one being a tier four middle-grade, if only Daoist Zhou were to advance instead of retreating, it might seem a bit too contrived!" True Monarch Profound Resonance suddenly stated,

"Perhaps I should join Younger Brother Zhou in engaging, and then a fierce battle could occur, drawing in reinforcements!"

"Afterward, retreating towards True Monarch Nine Swords, colluding with the Purple Flood Dragon Demon Emperor to suppress and attract more ghost race reinforcements, until a large number of high-grade ghost kings arrive!"

"Then we can decide the outcome in one battle!"

"Excellent!" everyone agreed, and they proceeded according to the plan,

Zhou Xun and True Monarch Tianci shared a ship, brazenly steering the flying ship directly towards the ghost race army ahead,

When the two sides were within a few dozen miles of each other, they both noticed each other!

"Human race,"

"It’s the human race, two Nascent Soul stage humans!"

"Kekeke!"

"Three against two, the advantage is ours, attack!"

And so this group of ghost race members charged towards them.