Chapter 153 - 120: Zhong Kui Slays Ghosts, Waiting to Return

Chapter 153: Chapter 120: Zhong Kui Slays Ghosts, Waiting to Return

BOOM!

An indescribable, majestic power exploded from within Chen Ye. It instantly surged through his entire body.

He slowly raised his head and opened his eyes.

All grief and despair had vanished from Chen Ye’s eyes. All that remained was a cold, divine indifference, as if he were gazing down upon the wicked and demonic.

Seeing this, the Withered and Flourishing Daoist’s crazed laughter came to an abrupt halt. A chill that stemmed from the very depths of his soul washed over him.

’What... what kind of gaze is that?’

Before he could figure it out, Chen Ye spoke.

This time, his voice was no longer that of an opera singer, but a magnificent, celestial decree—a command where Words Become Law.

"By heaven’s will and the Dao’s command, I summon a god by decree!"

"I, the disciple Chen Ye, respectfully beseech the Three Realms Demon Suppression Emperor, the Divine Power Far-reaching Celestial Venerable—Saint Zhong Kui—to descend upon this place and slay all demons and evil!"

Illusory Talent, activate!

The rekindled faith of nearly a thousand survivors in the General Temple, the burning heroic souls of Guan Sihai, Tie Dan, and all their colleagues from Liyuan, the Wish Power of the people accumulated by the Sea Guardian Guard over a century...

At this moment, everything became fuel, burning furiously!

Behind Chen Ye, the void twisted violently like ripples on water before being brutally torn open by an invisible force!

A towering, ethereal silhouette of a god slowly stepped out from the rift in the void.

The figure wore the black gauze hat of an official, his face fierce, his eyes round and bulging. His complexion was the color of iron, with coiling sideburns and a beard like steel, each strand as sharp as a halberd!

He was clad in a vermilion official’s robe, a precious sword at his waist, and in his hand, he held a giant brush nearly ten feet long. Divine light swirled around his body, and his majesty was so overwhelming that one could not look directly at him!

’This... how the fuck is this possible?!’

The Withered and Flourishing Daoist’s eyes nearly popped out of his head; he simply couldn’t believe what he was seeing!

’Summoning a god?’

But how could a true god descend in an age like this? It had taken him a lifetime of painstaking effort just to summon that ghost from the Underworld.

’So this has to be an illusion! It must be that brat’s Illusionary Technique!’

And yet, the magnificent divine might that made his very soul tremble felt so undeniably real.

Chen Ye paid no mind to his horror. Expressionless, he raised a hand and pointed from afar at the mountain-sized ghost.

Behind him, the ethereal form of Saint Zhong Kui moved in unison, swinging its giant brush through the air.

An ancient, profound word, "Slay," materialized out of thin air, imbued with the purest Supreme Yang Power in all of heaven and earth.

The decree then transformed into a blindingly brilliant golden Sword Light that shot across the sky!

HISS—!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a soft hiss, like a hot knife slicing through butter.

The terrifying, mountain-sized ghost had no chance to even struggle before it was cleaved cleanly in two, from its head down to its groin.

There was no blood, no gore.

Its massive body split down the middle. Endless black qi howled and writhed within the magnificent golden divine Flame before being utterly annihilated, reduced to nothing.

The giant palm, which had been just about to slam down, disintegrated into ash less than three feet from the stage.

With the ghost slain, the Withered and Flourishing Daoist plummeted from mid-air, landing in a pathetic heap on the ground.

But he didn’t just wait for death. He struggled back to his feet, a crazed, vicious grin spreading across his face.

Then, he pulled a bizarre Talisman that burned with viscous black blood from his robes and crushed it without a moment’s hesitation.

"Haha... HAHAHAHA! You think this is the end?!"

The Withered and Flourishing Daoist shrieked with laughter. "I was symbiotically linked to it! Even though it’s dead, all of its power will flow into me! Chen Ye, I have your ancestors for eight generations to thank for this!"

As he spoke, he spread his arms wide, as if embracing his own rebirth, and eagerly welcomed the immense Ghost Qi that had not yet fully dissipated!

As if drawn by a fatal attraction, the boundless Ghost Qi was pulled in by the shattered blood Talisman, forming visible black torrents that surged madly into the Withered and Flourishing Daoist’s body.

"AAAAAHHH—!"

The Withered and Flourishing Daoist let out a roar of both agony and ecstasy as his body began to undergo a terrifying transformation.

His flesh swelled rapidly, his bones dislocated and twisted, and a layer of black keratin grew over his skin...

In the blink of an eye, he transformed from a scrawny old Daoist into a terrifying monster over ten feet tall, wreathed in resentful energy and a bloody light!

And now, his aura was several times more solid and dangerous than that of the giant ghost from before!

"Chen Ye!"

The fully corrupted Withered and Flourishing Daoist felt the unprecedented power coursing through him. His crimson eyes locked onto Chen Ye on the stage, his voice grating like two stones grinding together.

"You’ve ruined the Saint Sect’s plans time and time again! Even my two worthless disciples died at your hands! Today is the day you die!"

Before his words had faded, his figure flashed, becoming an incomparably swift, blood-red afterimage that shot toward Chen Ye’s heart at a logic-defying speed!

Facing this fatal blow, Chen Ye’s expression remained perfectly calm.

He watched the blood-red shadow lunge at him, slowly raising a hand to form an abstruse seal as he uttered another decree.

"You are not a player in this opera. How dare you set foot upon this stage?"

"By decree of the Celestial Official: Your life has been examined, and your sins are monstrous! Now, with Karmic Fire, I shall incinerate your very being!"

Illusion as Truth activated once more!

Words Become Law!

The blood-red afterimage froze abruptly in mid-air, as if seized by a great, invisible hand, unable to move an inch.

The Withered and Flourishing Daoist then discovered in terror that no physical flames were burning on his body. And yet, a searing pain originating from the very depths of his soul made him let out an inhuman, blood-curdling scream.

"AAAHHH—!"

Countless twisted, black phantoms erupted from his body—the vengeful souls of every person he had personally murdered!

The Old Temple Priest of the General Temple, the thousands of cult members he had used as blood sacrifices, the innocent commoners who died tragically among the Sea Guardian Guard...