Cultivation of Immortality: Start by Improving Spiritual Root Qualifications

Chapter 978 The Ghost Emperor's Demise, The Aftermath of the Ghost Realm!

The moment the gray light touched his body, the Crying Ghost Emperor suddenly raised his head.

When he saw the blue ape's face clearly, he was stunned.

That face, neither ape nor beast, those grey eyes that seemed capable of devouring any soul, and that terrifying suppression emanating from the depths of his bloodline…

"A...a sacred beast?" The voice of the Crying Ghost Emperor was distorted with extreme shock.
"How is this possible... How could a sacred beast still exist in this world!"

As the supreme ruler of the Ghost Realm, he naturally understood the secrets of its formation, and therefore understood even more what "soul-devouring beasts" meant for the Ghost Realm.
That was the true 'creator' of the ghost realm.
Everything in the entire Ghost Realm, including himself, was a product of the Soul-Eating Beast.

Now, he had actually encountered a live soul-devouring beast.

A sense of fear rose within him.
At this moment, the resentment and humiliation of being defeated by Zhou Xun instantly faded away, replaced by a deeper, instinctive tremor.

But the next moment, the gray light emitted by the ape completely enveloped him, and a fear etched deep in his soul erupted!

He wanted to resist, to break free, but the gray light seemed to be their natural nemesis.

Even though Xiaoqing's cultivation level was a whole realm lower than his, the suppression originating from the level of life itself still made it difficult for him to put up a real resistance.
That was a real threat of death, even more terrifying than complete annihilation—a total annihilation without even the chance of reincarnation!
"No...no!" The Crying Ghost Emperor finally panicked and began to struggle frantically, resisting the pull of the gray light.
"Holy Beast, spare my life! Lord Zhou Tian, ​​spare my life! Spare my life!"

The sound was shrill and filled with unprecedented fear.

Zhou Xun simply watched quietly, his eyes indifferent as ice, without the slightest pity.

He knew that if he were the one to lose today, the human race would suffer a fate a hundred times worse than this.

Seeing that begging for mercy was useless, the Crying Ghost Emperor hurriedly shouted in a hoarse voice:

"I have a secret! I know inside information!"

"Doesn't Zhou Tianjun want to know where my artistic conception comes from?"

"Don't you want to know why I was able to advance to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm? If you spare my life, I'm willing to tell you everything, and even offer you my divine soul essence as my master!"

Zhou Xun's gaze shifted slightly, as if deep in thought, but his expression remained unchanged.

Tiyu struggled frantically, its massive ghostly body twisting and deforming in the gray light, trying to resist the irresistible suction force.

But how can he, severely injured, contend with the power that naturally restrains him?
Amidst desperate screams, he was slowly pulled toward the blue ape.

Finally, with a single inhale from that enormous nose, it transformed into a twisted black stream of light and was completely sucked into its belly!

"Hiccup~"

The blue ape patted its belly contentedly, its gray eyes filled with satisfaction.

It turned to Zhou Xun, wanting to express its gratitude, but only felt a strong sense of "drunkenness" surge into its heart. Before it could finish speaking, it collapsed to the ground and fell fast asleep.

A bluish-gray light emanated from its body, enveloping it and forming a cocoon of light that emitted strange and powerful energy fluctuations.

Zhou Xun looked at the sleeping Green Ape with considerable surprise:

"It seems that this Crying Ghost Emperor is truly a great tonic for you,"

"You've devoured Ti Yu; this is quite an opportunity... I hope you can use it to advance your career."

"A fifth-tier Soul-Eating Beast, how exciting!"

With that, Li Xun put Xiaoqing back into the Ghost Banner, then his gaze fell into the distance.
At this point, the battlefield in the distance had already become one-sided.

The human army, with overwhelming momentum, led by Nascent Soul cultivators such as Liu Bai, Yun Ku, and Yama Heavenly Lord, has already launched a counterattack to the entrance of the Ghost Realm passage.

The shouts of battle, the roar of spells, and the shrieks of ghosts mingled together, shaking the heavens and the earth.

A large number of low-level ghosts were wiped out by the human cultivators.

Furthermore, several demon god-level beings were besieged by multiple human celestial monarchs. Their demonic bodies were dim, their soul flames flickered, and they were already at their limit, on the verge of collapse.

Zhou Xun's gaze swept across the battlefield, but he did not intervene in those battles that had already been suppressed.

He formed hand seals, gently wiped his eyes, and uttered a low shout: "Insightful observation of qi, penetrating the netherworld!"

His "Spiritual Aura" was suddenly activated.
His gaze instantly bypassed the besieged Ghost Clan Nascent Soul cultivators and landed on several streaks of light in the distance, frantically fleeing into the depths of the Ghost Realm.

His gaze finally settled on an exceptionally swift purple streak of light.

It was a demon god in a purple robe with dark purple hair, about to disappear into the dense, impenetrable ghostly aura deep within the ghost realm.

"It's you," Zhou Xun murmured.

With a thought, the blood-red cloak behind him, which had been hidden without any wind, suddenly appeared!

The next moment, Zhou Xun's figure transformed into an almost transparent blood shadow, merging with his cloak. His speed suddenly exploded, instantly sweeping across the chaotic battlefield and chasing after that purple escape light!

Its speed far surpasses the escape speed of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.

Just as the purple-haired ghost king was secretly congratulating himself for his quick thinking and running far enough ahead, a terrifying pressure that made his soul tremble suddenly approached rapidly from behind!

He turned around in horror and saw a streak of blood-red light chasing after him at an incredible speed.

"It's...it's the Heavenly Lord of the River of Oblivion!!" The purple-haired ghost lord was terrified.
Even the supreme ruler of the Ghost Realm, His Majesty Tiyu, was easily defeated by Zhou Xun.
The blazing heavenly lightning, the terrifying sacred beast that ultimately devoured His Majesty... had long since become an indelible mark of fear in his heart!
"Why would he target me?!" the purple-haired ghost king screamed inwardly, terrified beyond measure.

He had no doubt that once he was caught, he would be utterly destroyed, body and soul!

The instinct for survival overrides everything!
"We just have to fight!"

A look of madness and pain flashed in the eyes of the purple-haired ghost king. He pointed his fingers like knives and fiercely pressed them against his own brow!
"Pfft!" Five drops of pitch-black, ink-like primordial ghost power were forcibly forced out by him and floated in front of him.

He then opened his mouth and spat out a stream of his natal ghost fire, instantly igniting the five drops of primordial ghost blood!

"Buzz!"

Dark black flames enveloped his body, and his escape speed suddenly increased by more than 30%, transforming him into a blurry purplish-black streak as he frantically fled into the depths of the ghost realm.

Zhou Xun, who was chasing from behind, let out a soft "Eh," revealing a hint of surprise: "He's quite decisive, actually willing to burn his source energy."

With a random thought, the crimson cloak behind him emitted a bright crimson light, causing the surrounding space to ripple slightly.

His speed increased by another 50%, as if tearing through space, and the distance between the two sides rapidly closed at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Feeling the terrifying aura behind him, which was like a leech that he couldn't shake off and was only getting closer, the purple-haired demon king was in utter despair.

At this point, there was no point in fleeing.

The gap in strength between the two sides is too large, and the speed difference is even more significant.

Just then, the purple-haired ghost king gritted his teeth and made a move that surprised even Zhou Xun. He abruptly stopped his escape, turned around, and knelt down in mid-air in Zhou Xun's direction!

With both hands raised high, palms facing upward, he held his head in an extremely humble posture.

At the same time, a crack appeared between his brows, and a wisp of his life soul, though faint, was forcibly forced out and floated above his palm, trembling slightly.

Zhou Xun flashed and landed a hundred feet in front of him.
The purple-haired ghost king touched the void with his head, his voice filled with utmost respect and fear, and said loudly:
"This little devil, Ziyan, pays homage to the Heavenly Lord of the River of Oblivion! Your divine powers are unparalleled, and your demeanor is incomparable, captivating this little devil! I am willing to submit to your command, offering my life soul as your slave and servant, obeying your every command without any disloyalty!"

He spoke extremely quickly, as if afraid that if he spoke too slowly he would be easily silenced by Zhou Xun; his face was full of flattery and ingratiation.
Where is even a trace of the majesty that a Ghost Clan God-level cultivator should possess?
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xun was surprised, not expecting the Ghost Lord to be so... pragmatic.

He carefully examined the ghost lord who called himself Purple Nightmare. Although his aura was weakened due to the burning of his origin, his foundation was still intact. He was indeed at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and his face was unfamiliar. He had not seen him in the last great battle.

"Purple Nightmare? I don't recall seeing you during the last great battle," Zhou Xun said calmly, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger.

Seeing that Zhou Xun did not act immediately, the Purple Nightmare Ghost Lord felt somewhat relieved and quickly replied even more respectfully:

"Reporting to Heavenly Lord, I only managed to break through to the Nascent Soul realm ten years ago by sheer luck."

"Previously, I was in a critical period of seclusion consolidating my cultivation and was unable to participate in the previous great battle. This time... this is also the first time that I have stepped out of my seclusion to participate in the war, and I never expected that I would offend the Heavenly Monarch's divine might!"

Zhou Xun nodded slightly after hearing this.

If what he said is true, then his hands have not been stained with the blood of human cultivators.

Looking at the Purple Nightmare Ghost Lord before him, a thought suddenly arose in Zhou Xun's mind.

The Ghost Realm has a unique environment with extremely heavy Yin energy, making it impossible for human cultivators to survive there for long, let alone occupy and rule it.

Even if we can wipe out all the high-ranking members of the Ghost Clan today, we still cannot completely wipe out the billions of Ghost Clan members.

As long as the Ghost Realm exists and the Yin energy continues to circulate, new powerful ghosts will inevitably emerge, and the conflict between the human and ghost realms will likely never end.

If one could subdue a Ghost Clan Deity and have them control and restrain the Ghost Realm on one's behalf, perhaps... that would be the long-term solution to fundamentally resolve the Ghost Clan's hidden dangers.

With this in mind, Zhou Xun had already made up his mind.
So he asked, "Do you have any items from other ghost clans that have reached the Nascent Soul stage? Preferably items that contain their aura or soul imprint."

Although the Purple Nightmare Ghost Lord didn't understand, he didn't dare to ask any more questions and hurriedly started searching through his storage space.

Soon, he took out more than ten items, including black bone fragments, a jade pendant with a sinister aura, a banner with shimmering light, and several strangely styled ghost artifacts.

"Yes, yes, yes! Heavenly Lord, please look," Zi Yan presented it with both hands.
"These are mostly congratulatory gifts from the other Ghost Lords when the little ghost broke through to the Nascent Soul stage. They all bear traces of their aura or mark to varying degrees!"

Zhou Xun glanced at the items and nodded in satisfaction.

"Very well. I will spare your life and temporarily accept you as my servant," Zhou Xun said calmly.

"Wait here. I will come back for you after I have dealt with the other stubborn resisters."

"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you for sparing my life, Heavenly Lord! This lowly ghost will surely wait here for your arrival, Heavenly Lord, and will not dare to make the slightest move!" The Purple Nightmare Ghost Lord was as if he had been granted a pardon, kowtowing repeatedly. The huge weight in his heart finally lifted, and he knew that his life was temporarily saved.

Zhou Xun said no more, his figure blurred, and he transformed into a streak of blood-red light, rushing back towards the battlefield he had come from.

The Purple Nightmare Ghost Lord was left alone, kneeling in the cold, dark void of the ghost realm, carefully concealing his aura and daring not to make the slightest move.

……

Zhou Xun took out a small banner, which was the congratulatory gift that Emperor Tuose had given to the Purple Nightmare Ghost Lord.
then,

He waved his hand.
A beam of light flew out and landed on the ground, transforming into a disc-shaped treasure, which was his 'Divination Compass'.

Zhou Xun formed hand seals, performing a divination technique, and then gently touched the compass and jade talisman.
"disease!"

A beam of light shone forth.
It seemed as if some divine light flew from the small banner into the compass.

Soon,
The compass flickered faintly, and after a short while, it pointed to a certain direction in the northwest.

Zhou Xun put away the compass and the small banner, and his figure transformed into a streak of blood-red light, speeding off in the northwest direction indicated by the compass.

……

Hundreds of thousands of miles away.

Tuosedi was fleeing for his life; he had been flying continuously for half a day.

He glanced back in alarm every now and then, and only when he saw that the suffocatingly terrifying aura behind him was not following him did he breathe a sigh of relief and slow down a bit.

He landed on a desolate, black ridge, panting heavily, his ghostly body trembling slightly from fear and lingering dread.

"This is terrifying... Lord Wangchuan... When did such a monster emerge from the human race!" Emperor Tuose's voice was hoarse, filled with the relief of surviving a catastrophe.
"Even His Majesty the Emperor... Fortunately, I reacted quickly and my escape techniques were still passable, otherwise I would have surely perished on the spot today, following in the footsteps of the Blood River..."

However, before he could fully relax, a sharp, blood-red light was tearing through the sky from the far distance!

The light was initially just a red dot, but it expanded in the blink of an eye, and the familiar pressure that made his soul tremble surged in like a tidal wave!

"How is this possible?! How could he have caught up with us?" Tuosedi was terrified, his slightly calmed mind instantly overwhelmed by boundless fear!

He simply couldn't understand how the other party could pinpoint his location so precisely in the vast and boundless ghost realm, even though he had already escaped so far away.
But he simply didn't have time to think!
Without hesitation, he unleashed his demonic power and fled frantically!

But it's all in vain.

With the blood-red cloak enhancing his abilities, Zhou Xun's speed far surpassed his.

In just over ten breaths, the blood-red streak had already caught up to within ten miles of him.

For a Nascent Soul cultivator, this distance is almost equivalent to face-to-face!
Knowing that escape was hopeless, Tuosedi abruptly stopped his escape, turned around, and forced a pleading expression on his face that was more like a cry than a grimace:
Why has the Heavenly Emperor forced us to this point?

"Little brat, you can swear to the heavens, make a solemn vow against your inner demons, and never set foot in the human realm again! You will never dare to be an enemy of the human race again! Let's call it a day and both of us be at peace, shall we?"

Zhou Xun's figure appeared in the crimson light, his expression cold and stern.

"If I had known this, why did I do it in the first place!"

When you invaded the human realm and slaughtered my race, did you ever imagine that this day would come?

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Xun flipped his hand over.
The Xuan Ting Lei Sword had already leaped into his hand.

Then, the Thunder Grass Sword Intent was instantly poured into the sword!

"cut!"

The Xuan Ting Thunder Sword transformed into a bolt of purple lightning.
Thorny Buddha!

(End of this chapter)