Chapter 734: Chapter 562: Corpse Slayer
As expected, there were no ghosts outside the door, and the Samurai Ghost in the corridor had completely vanished. Sensing a rare opportunity, Yang Xiao quickened his pace, with the exit nearly within reach.
steps.
steps.
Holding the Ghost Duster in his hand, with dried trails of blood still at the corner of his eyes, his face twisted fiercely, he appeared utterly insane, constantly alert to any noise behind the doors on either side. At this critical juncture, anyone daring to come out would get a sweep of the whisk.
"Splat."
It felt as if he stepped on something filthy beneath his feet, something sticky and slightly slick. Yang Xiao looked down only to find a pool of milky white viscous fluid on the previously bare ground, unknown when it had appeared. Suppressing his disgust, he continued forward, as the exit wasn’t much further now. However, after taking a few more steps, he realized the extent of the viscous fluid was far greater than he imagined, seemingly covering the entire corridor.
He slowly lifted his foot, finding that it required more force than before. With every step, the next step required almost double the effort to pull his foot free. If this trend continued, he wouldn’t make it to the exit. He’d be stuck by the viscous fluid within three steps, trapped and likely to die there.
To give an apt comparison, it was like a mouse mistakenly trapped in sticky paper, but here, he didn’t have to worry about being trapped to death, for he would likely be killed by some ghost beforehand.
Undoubtedly, this viscous fluid was also the work of some ghost, but Yang Xiao hadn’t spotted any trace of it yet.
However, he was out of time. He could feel a looming presence from the rooms nearby. Despite the Old Clan Leader’s repeated warnings not to use the Soul-Capturing Mirror in this place, when faced with life and death, he couldn’t care less. He decisively took out the Soul-Capturing Mirror, hoping to use its power to open the doorway into the Mirror World, where he would have a chance to catch his breath.
But after infusing spiritual power into the Soul-Capturing Mirror, a bizarre scene unfolded. His body was restrained by a strange force, rendering the teleportation ineffective. This bizarre force came from underneath his feet, from the endless pool of viscous fluid.
Yang Xiao instantly understood that this pool of viscous fluid was akin to the existence of the Mirror World, not truly real. It was the realm of that ghost, and now, having mistakenly entered the ghost’s domain first, he was utterly suppressed by it.
With the Soul-Capturing Mirror rendered ineffective, Yang Xiao held the Ghost Duster in his right hand defensively and switched the Soul-Capturing Mirror back to the Ghost Lantern in his left. As the flames within the Ghost Lantern flared up, he lowered the lantern close to the viscous fluid on the ground. The green light from the Ghost Lantern reacted bizarrely with the fluid, which evaporated visibly fast, and at the same time, Yang Xiao exerted a little force and pulled his previously bound feet free.
However, at that moment, through the reflection of the fluid, Yang Xiao suddenly saw something hanging from the ceiling above him.
He quickly raised his head, lifting the lantern high. The sight before Yang Xiao was horrifying: hanging from the ceiling was a completely naked, emaciated "creature" with unusually long limbs, dangling like a giant spider, its head rotated 180 degrees, a pair of blood-filled eyes staring intently at him.
Its skin had an eerie corpse-like pallor, and from the crevices of its flesh, a pair of small eyes emitted a malevolent, chilling glint. The sudden appearance of the Spider Ghost was a true shock to Yang Xiao. This ghost, invisible to the naked eye, only revealed its form through the Ghost Lantern.
The next second, sensing that it was exposed, the Spider Ghost spread its limbs and lunged downwards, like a huge net attempting to ensnare Yang Xiao. He instinctively swung the Ghost Duster, breaking off one of the ghost’s emaciated arms and sending it flying.
However, the Spider Ghost twisted its body mid-air, its gaunt head thrown back, and the next second, it flung its head towards Yang Xiao in an incredibly tricky angle. The neck broke, and the body was connected to the head only by a web-like viscous fluid, completely catching Yang Xiao off-guard. Still bound by the feet, he had no chance to dodge. Watching as the withered head opened its mouth wide, the corners tearing and jaw unhinging, revealing multiple rows of dense interlocked sharp teeth, he knew if bitten, half his head would be crushed. At the very last moment, the space beside Yang Xiao shuddered and cracked open, and a blue Precious Sword fell and delivered a gentle tap directly on the Spider Ghost’s forehead.
"Slash."
Accompanied by a light cry, the Spider Ghost’s cheeks split open. The next second, a heart-pounding ability activated, and although Yang Xiao felt nothing, the Spider Ghost’s body twisted grotesquely, its head realigned and quickly approached Yang Xiao in an eerie posture, then flew back to the ceiling. With Time Retrospection, the Spider Ghost eventually scuttled backwards into a door not far away, vanishing from sight.
Simultaneously, the viscous fluid underfoot also disappeared, leaving the corridor eerily silent, as if everything had been an illusion.
"How are you doing?" The rescuer was naturally the Old Clan Leader, who now held the sword in his right hand and the lantern in his left. This familiar scene instantly reminded Yang Xiao of the noble celestial figure he had seen upon first entering the Ru Lin Academy, also holding a sword, commanding and dignified.
"I... I’m fine," Yang Xiao finally felt a sense of relief. With the Old Clan Leader here, he was saved. With the Old Clan Leader here, he was at peace!
