Chapter 145 - 117: Night Parade of Hundred Demons

Chapter 145: Chapter 117: Night Parade of Hundred Demons

That was his master’s final warning.

Master... was gone.

An immense sorrow, like a flash flood and a tsunami, instantly overwhelmed him.

But he didn’t dare stop, much less cry out.

He had to warn the others. He had to burn this blood-deep hatred into his memory!

Ge Kun fought back his grief and plunged into the night.

This was a forbidden area deep within the City God Temple, the place with the heaviest Yin Qi in all of the Sea Guardian Guard. Because of this, it was normally kept locked behind layers of rune-engraved iron chains, and no one was allowed to approach.

But at this moment, these chains had been forcibly broken. The Withered and Flourishing Daoist had brought his subordinates into the forbidden area and began to cackle.

"Get a move on! This is a once-in-a-thousand-year opportunity. And since it’s New Year’s Eve—we must give the people a surprise."

Hearing his command, his followers slit their palms and began to draw a complex Array on the ground with their blood.

These people moved with extreme speed, completely unconcerned about the loss of their own blood. Soon, a large Array began to take shape.

When the final stroke was drawn, the Withered and Flourishing Daoist began to loudly chant a scripture.

The scripture was brimming with a malevolent energy, steeped in profound malice.

As he chanted, a fanatical gleam flashed in the eyes of his followers. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, they stepped into the Array.

HUMMM!

The Array flared with a brilliant red light. The bodies of the men in black instantly shriveled as all their Essence, Qi, and Spirit were devoured in a single moment, consumed as sacrifices to activate the ritual.

Immediately after, the scarlet radiance of the Array began to throb rhythmically, like a giant heart.

At the same time, the ground of the entire Sea Guardian Guard began to tremble slightly.

Above the Array, the scarlet light and shadow gradually twisted, slowly projecting the phantom image of a huge stone gate.

"Hahaha, it’s a success!"

The Withered and Flourishing Daoist’s eyes were filled with a crazed excitement. He slit his own wrist, spraying more of his Essence Blood onto the Array.

Nourished by the Essence Blood, the phantom of the stone gate grew more and more solid.

Then, the stone gate slowly opened a crack.

In an instant, the shrieks and roars of countless ghosts came from within, while at the same time, an endless gray mist surged out and spread rapidly.

...

In the courtyard of Chen Ye’s residence.

He was enjoying the splendid fireworks in the night sky with Tie Dan, Chunyan, and the others, when the ground beneath his feet suddenly let out an ominous tremor.

A sudden sense of foreboding made him frown sharply.

He looked up at the night sky. The fireworks were still brilliant, but the night itself seemed to have been doused in undiluted ink, growing deeper and blacker than ever before.

’Something’s wrong.’

Chen Ye’s heart sank as an intense feeling of danger washed over him.

Almost at the same moment, a bone-chilling cold swiftly swept through the entire city.

Countless citizens were jolted from their New Year’s revelry, horrified to discover that a thick fog had risen around them at some unknown time.

The fog was cold and viscous, so thick one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face. Even more strangely, the mist was mixed with faint whispers and mournful wails, enough to make one’s blood run cold.

Inside the City God Temple, the gate to Hell opened wider and wider.

Tens of thousands of hideous, misshapen Ghost Shadows, like a flood bursting through a dam, surged out from the crack in the gate!

They greedily inhaled the Yang Qi of the mortal world, letting out piercing, wild laughter. They instantly flooded the entire City God Temple, then transformed into a black tide, rushing toward the thousands of homes in the Sea Guardian Guard!

On the street, a child who had just been chasing and playing was suddenly dragged into the darkness by a pale, ghostly claw that reached out from the thick fog. It happened so fast that he couldn’t even let out a full scream.

At the same time, many citizens who had come out of their homes to investigate the situation ran headlong into the swarming ghosts. Before they could even react, they were torn to shreds and devoured completely.

For a time, the entire city was plunged into the gray fog, and screams rose and fell one after another.

In just a few short minutes, the once-flourishing Sea Guardian Guard had become a Ghostly Realm fit for an Asura, a living nightmare of the Night Parade of Hundred Demons!

Just as the entire city sank into despair, lights suddenly flared up in several places.

Above the Sea Guardian General’s Mansion, the phantom of a great tiger threw back its head and roared, the shockwave scattering the nearby ghosts. A few ancient, well-worshipped temples erected powerful barriers of Buddhist light, protecting the areas around them.

At the same time, all the masters in the city with even a bit of power sensed the crisis at the first possible moment and immediately took action.

An old Daoist held a Peach Wood Sword, muttering incantations. With flashes of Sword Light, he cut down several vicious ghosts, protecting a street full of people as they retreated toward the nearest temple.

A large, stout Monk, who now resembled a wrathful Vajra, swung a Water Mill Zen Staff and smashed a Fierce Ghost trying to burst into a residence, obliterating its soul.

But the number of ghosts was simply too great, seemingly endless.

Therefore, even though these individuals were quite powerful, their efforts were but a drop in the bucket.

The old Daoist had just cut down a starvation ghost and had not yet had a chance to catch his breath when a black shadow suddenly dropped from the roof beams, a cold rope tightening viciously around his neck.

A hanged ghost!

The old Daoist’s eyes went wide with disbelief. He struggled with all his might, but at the same time, several more ghosts rushed over. In the end, he fell silent.

The large Monk was also surrounded by dozens of misshapen Fierce Ghosts. His protective golden light was torn apart by their claws, his Zen Staff was knocked from his grasp, and in an instant, he was submerged by the tide of ghosts and gruesomely devoured.

Individual bravery, in the face of a cataclysmic tide of ghosts, seemed so fragile and powerless.