“Where are you two beloved disciples rushing off to at such breakneck speed?”
A hoarse voice sounded.
Ye Yu and ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Meng Ling’en looked up to see the disheveled Xiang Tianya standing atop the towering Ghost Wall, his gaze coldly fixed on them.
Originally at the peak of the Heaven Ghost Realm, his cultivation had now skyrocketed to mid–Nether Ghost Realm, faint streams of light flickering through his soul-body.
Meng Ling’en’s heart seized with terror. He glanced at Ye Yu and transmitted, “I’m gravely injured—I can’t go far. Let me stall him; you make your escape. Out of the five of us, at least one must survive! Little junior brother, once you get away, stop being so reckless!”
No sooner had he spoken than Meng Ling’en formed a hand seal. Pale ghost fire sprang from his palms, sweeping across the entire Ghost Wall!
Xiang Tianya sneered and vanished into mist. When he reappeared, he was already before Meng Ling’en. He gripped the younger man’s throat and hoisted him aloft.
“Fourth Brother, you dare use the Ghost Immortal Art I taught you against me? Do you really think you can win?”
Meng Ling’en struggled in agony, unable to fathom why Master had suddenly turned on them—it made no sense at all!
At that moment Ye Yu’s calm voice sounded from the side: “Master, all this chatter—is it just to pretend you’re clueless?”
The familiar tone and his trademark taunt made Xiang Tianya bristle with annoyance. He turned to Ye Yu and bellowed, “Boy, in a situation like this you still haven’t fled? You’re courting death. Maybe I should eat you first!”
He released Meng Ling’en’s throat and sealed the fourth brother’s limbs with ghost qi, rendering him immobile.
Meng Ling’en’s eyes widened in disbelief as he shouted, “Run! Hurry and run! Why aren’t you fleeing?”
Ye Yu didn’t even hear him. He stood calmly where he was.
Xiang Tianya strode forward, mocking, “From the day you arrived I knew you weren’t like ordinary ghosts. He tells you to flee—why don’t you?”
“I’ve been wondering since day one why you took me as your disciple. Was it just so you could devour me? I’ve seen many methods that absorb other ghosts to strengthen the practitioner, but none shine with such streams of light!”
Ye Yu’s voice was matter-of-fact, as if he were posing a sincere question.
Xiang Tianya laughed, convinced he held all the cards, and began to relate his tale.
As rumor had it, he had once been a Taoist in the mortal realm, gifted and destined for ascension. But at the crucial moment he’d been betrayed by an enemy, his hopes of becoming an immortal shattered, filling his heart with resentment.
That bitterness led him to the Netherworld, where he became a ghost. Given a second chance by fate, he resolved not to squander it. He immersed himself in cultivation, aiming to conquer the Netherworld’s heights.
Then he learned that his mortal betrayer had also perished and arrived in the Netherworld, taken as a disciple by a powerful figure and advancing at an astonishing rate—two entire realms above where Xiang Tianya stood, all within a century.
Such a turn of events was unbearable. Could he never exact his revenge?
No—if his enemy learned of his existence, he’d come to kill him. Their feud would not end in death until one was destroyed.
So Xiang Tianya devised a plan inspired by an ancient tome he’d seen in the mortal realm: gathering the five elements to devour ghosts, defy heaven and change fate, with the hope of becoming a Ghost Emperor. At first he’d scoffed at such nonsense—how could one claim the title of Emperor of a Realm? Yet now it was his last straw.
He founded the Wuzong Ghost Abode, recruiting disciples under the sect’s banner. Over eight hundred years, he found four: Yu Lixin of Earth, Du Lin of Wood, Jiang Chuan of Water, and Meng Ling’en of Fire. But a Metal-element ghost eluded him—until genius Ye Yu appeared in Lianzong City’s Dragon-Snake Alley. Ye Yu was the Metal he needed.
Thus, he swallowed his pride and humiliated himself to take in this disciple. His goal was to cultivate all five disciples to the Ghost Immortal Realm, then devour them one by one to skyrocket his own strength—and finally face his mortal foe.
Ye Yu’s tongue was venomous, but his talent was unparalleled. A twenty-year-old in the Ascension Realm—truly unprecedented. In at most two years, he’d break into the Ghost Immortal Realm. Then Xiang Tianya’s grand scheme could unfold!
That very day, while traveling, Xiang Tianya encountered his enemy and nearly perished. Only two ghost-forged weapons saved him. Now that his foe knew of his presence, death was certain unless he acted. Thus, he accelerated his plan. He sensed that after devouring his remaining two disciples, he would secure the Ghost Lord Realm, and fear no longer.
When Xiang Tianya finished, Meng Ling’en’s eyes widened in disbelief. His birth name had been Meng Linghuo; he’d taken the name Ling’en to honor his master’s kindness. To his shock, this was not gratitude—it was exploitation! He’d shown Xiang Tianya nothing but respect.
Ye Yu remained unruffled as he looked at the flickering light within Xiang Tianya’s soul-body. “Master, from the start I sensed you weren’t a good man. I was right. If I kill you, will my three senior brothers be resurrected?”
Xiang Tianya laughed uproariously, as if hearing the universe’s greatest joke.
Ye Yu raised his hand and flung a small black pellet into Xiang Tianya’s mouth.
Xiang Tianya choked and gasped, “What did you feed me?”
“Nothing much,” Ye Yu said with a grin. “I thought your laugh was too obnoxious, so I stuffed a sheep-nightmare’s dung-egg down your throat.”
In the Netherworld, the sheep-nightmare was a rare corporeal beast. Though weak, its dung-eggs reeked so foully they could infect a soul-body for three years. Originally Ye Yu had intended it as a prank on Fourth Senior Brother, but never expected to use it on Master.
“You...ugh!”
Xiang Tianya’s soul-body trembled uncontrollably. The stench was unbearable.
Negative emotional energy: 2,700 points!
