Chapter 247: Golden Core Cultivators Against Fierce Spirits

"What doesn't feel right?" Xi Lian tilted her head at Wang Sheng. She yawned charmingly. "Your master is quite good, actually. Every time he lectures you, he really hits the mark."

Wang Sheng thought for a moment. His master's guidance had always given him deep insight, which was probably what made him a great teacher. Wang Sheng still felt unworthy of being such a great man's disciple.

"My conversation with my master just felt off."

"What did you notice?" Xi Lian asked curiously.

"Nothing specific. Maybe I'm just overthinking it."

Wang Sheng smiled, but doubt had already taken root in his heart.

While they were exploring the Eighteen Levels of Hell, did the authorities not check out the eleven great palaces? Master and the others have already been in Fengdu City for quite some time. Logically, they should have tried entering them by now. If so, why did he not mention them at all? Are they still in the city?

The more Wang Sheng thought about it, the more he found his master's tone earlier suspicious. Based on what he knew of his master, he seemed to have been pretending to be calm.

Watching Wang Sheng, who was deep in thought, Xi Lian teased, "Thinking about Little Xuanxuan? A day apart feels like three years? Who would've thought that you, who's always so reserved, are actually a lovesick little Daoist priest?"

Wang Sheng smiled helplessly.

What is she even talking about? When did I become a romantic fool?

If anything, he was a fool for the sword.

Huai Jing, who was driving, shook his head and sighed. "Beauty is fleeting. In death, even the most beautiful turn to bones. The love between mortals is nothing but tribulation.

Amitabha.

"

"Stop listening to those Buddhist chants already." Xi Lian rolled her eyes. "It's not like chanting scriptures will really make you a Buddha. Whether you get taken to the Western Paradise still depends on your cultivation and insight. Now, do you have any songs I might like?"

Huai Jing raised his eyebrows. "What would you like to hear, Senior? I've got a little playlist of Chinese pop right here. When I play games, I don't like streaming music, which slows the connection, so I downloaded all my favorites onto my phone."

"Is the internet at Heavenly Dragon Temple really that slow?" Wang Sheng asked.

"It's decent, but a lot of my senior brothers use it during peak hours."

"Just play something sad and sentimental. I have to soothe my mood," Xi Lian said.

"Sure. One moment."

In less than ten seconds, the car's high-end speakers played a simple yet moving piano tune and a raspy male voice. Xi Lian looked emotional and nostalgic. Huai Jing eventually started humming along. Before long, he and Xi Lian had turned it into a chaotic, off-key duet.

Wang Sheng was rendered speechless. The protective suit even came with mild auto-tune. What a world.

***

At the gates of Fengdu City.

Fierce spirits howled, and vengeful ghosts wept. Bowstrings twanged, and halberds stood like forests.

The number of enemy ghosts was impossible to count. Covering all lands as far as the eye could see, they charged toward the city gates and collided head-on with the ghost soldiers.

The three thousand ghost soldiers' semicircular formation at the gate was attacked from every direction. The soldiers angled their spears and halberds forward, skewering fierce spirits one by one and quickly turning them into clouds of black mist.

Unfortunately, they were far too outnumbered. Even if only thirty percent managed to survive the volleys of arrows and reach the gate, they could still make the ghost soldiers suffer heavy losses.

"Attack!" Qing Yanzi shouted furiously. Even if the talisman soldiers were expendable, their strength had to be used to the fullest.

Twelve figures dove straight from the sky. Qing Yanzi took the lead, his robe and long hair billowing behind him. He swung his palm downward, sending several palm-shaped phantasms, each several zhang wide, crashing into the horde and clearing out a large area.

Mu Wanxuan dropped straight down in front of the ghost soldier formation. Standing calmly within the area that her master's palm force had cleared, she pressed her palm downward, her long hair drifting gently. A massive Yin-Yang Tai Chi diagram appeared beneath her feet, covering a radius of three

li

with her at the center.

Qing Yanzi and the other Daoist masters simultaneously landed near each other. Streams of yin-yang qi spiraled up from their legs, strengthening them further, as they fought like tigers unleashed.

Qing Yanzi, ranked among the Hua Republic's top five Golden Core Realm cultivators, unleashed a dim golden radiance. He then stood on two flying daggers and shot forward, gliding just above the ground.

Wrapped in golden light, he looked like a cannonball crashing into the oncoming horde of ghosts as he rotated rapidly around its central axis. A dark-golden orb of qi formed between his palms, trembling violently. He then slammed his palms together, unleashing a burst of dark-golden light in front of Fengdu City!

Within a hundred-meter-wide area, the blast of Pure Yang Qi vaporized all the ghosts.

More ghosts surged forward. Qing Yanzi struck the ground with his palm and drifted back with a sideways movement. Four people charged past his flanks.

The one on the far left was a Golden Core Realm cultivator from Mount Mao. His Daoist name was Qian Cheng, and he wielded talismanic arts to summon lightning. As his mahogany sword unleashed beams of white light, his fluttering Daoist robe radiated profound Dao Rhythm. Harnessing heavenly might, he summoned hundreds of lightning bolts. They wove into a curtain and descended upon the densest cluster of ghosts.

He looked like the god of thunder himself.

Zhang Zikuang of the Longhu Mountains accompanied Qian Cheng with an array of exorcism talismans. Dozens of blade talismans flew at his command. Wherever they passed, green-skinned vengeful ghosts were turned to ash, and red-skinned fierce spirits were torn apart until they exploded into black smoke.

Meanwhile, to Qing Yanzi's right, two Buddhist monks passed by him and joined the fight.

One was a gaunt old monk with a withered face. Sitting cross-legged in midair, he bathed in a continuous glow of Buddhist light. Beneath him hovered the phantasm of a jade lotus seat. As he passed through the battlefield, vengeful ghosts melted like ice in the sun.

The other monk bore a resemblance to Huai Jing in style but was far more powerful. Wielding a monk's spade, he looked like a mighty arhat as he swept through the ghosts like a whirlwind.

After landing, Qing Yanzi immediately closed his eyes to regulate his breathing. Ten seconds later, he shouted lowly, "Switch!"

Zhuifeng, Zhang Zikuang, and the two Buddhist monks immediately fell back. Yan Zhengnan, who had been waiting nearby, and five other Golden Core Realm cultivators charged in and took over.

Mu Wanxuan quietly closed her eyes and formed a hollow circle with her hands. She then swayed lightly.

Within the ghost horde, more than twenty yin-yang tornados rose, sweeping up and shredding large numbers of fierce spirits. The onslaught of ghosts was forced back for now.

Qing Yanzi called out in a low tone, "Little Xuan, conserve your enchanted power. Keep yourself at full strength!"

"Okay," Mu Wanxuan answered obediently. She then returned to the task that her master had given her.

She supported the eleven experts on the front lines with yin-yang qi and maintained the Yin-Yang Grand Formation. That alone was already a tremendous contribution.

"Fire!" the ghost general roared once more. A fresh volley of arrows rained down from the city wall.

The twelve Golden Core Realm cultivators guarded the gate, while the three thousand ghost soldiers behind them covered any gaps. Archers on the wall kept unleashing new storms of arrows.

Just outside Fengdu City, a great underworld war had begun.

Due to their cultivation level, Qing Yanzi and the others could not extend their spiritual consciousness very far.

They did not notice that the fierce spirits and vengeful ghosts who died in battle left behind clouds of ash. While most of the ash dispersed, a small portion—the most refined essence—was quietly drawn back into the Eighteen Levels of Hell, hidden beneath the cover of the yin qi. Somewhere within, a great maw seemed to be silently devouring the powerful soul force of the fallen ghosts.

***

Second section of Yellow Springs Road. The dead plain stretched endlessly.

"

Let me cry to sad love songs, while the cold wind outside still... blows!♪

"

Wang Sheng felt like his eardrums were about to explode.

The half-immortal fox had grabbed his arm and was swaying to the music, forcing Wang Sheng to sway along helplessly. Huai Jing, the instigator, tapped rhythmically on the steering wheel.

Their military vehicle's expensive sound system was built to preserve audio clarity under weak signal conditions. It was never meant to blast love ballads in the Small Nether Realm.

By the forefathers above, even Buddhist chants are better than this!

Seemingly embarrassed, Xi Lian returned to her youthful girl form. The suit deflated in some areas, but it fortunately didn't leak.

"Next track, next track! Pump it up! Aye!"

Huai Jing chuckled, hoarsely shouted a few DJ-style lines, and switched to a dramatic disco beat he had long prepared.

Wang Sheng shrank into a corner and glared at Huai Jing through the rearview mirror. Huai Jing shrugged and grinned sheepishly. "Don't be so uptight. It's just a bit of fun."

Wang Sheng shook his head. Thanks to Xi Lian and Huai Jing's antics, the unease in his heart had eased a bit.

Just then, Huai Jing pointed outside and shouted, "Look! It's the blast zone!"

The music volume was turned down slightly as they all focused on the nuclear detonation site.

Huai Jing shook his head and sighed. "

Amitabha.

"

"Although it's merely third-rate, I still can't believe mortals can produce such destructive power," Xi Lian commented calmly.

"Senior, would a nuclear bomb be enough to kill an immortal?" Huai Jing asked.

"A bomb like that lacks flexibility. It's strong, but it can't kill an immortal unless they are foolish enough to stand still and take the blast, have low cultivation, or have no immortal treasure for protection." Xi Lian rolled her eyes. "At best, it can cause serious injury. Anyway, don't look at me like that. I'm only at the Ascension Realm. And I haven't been able to use my full strength since I fell into devilry."

"Senior, what realm lies beyond immortality?" Wang Sheng asked.

"True Immortal."

Huai Jing looked confused. "A real immortal?"

"

Pfft!

" Xi Lian rolled her eyes again. "The term 'True Immortal' means retaining a spark of true spirit that cannot be destroyed. Upon reaching that realm, even if only a single wisp of spiritual consciousness survives, you cannot be completely annihilated. You can reincarnate or restore your soul. The Ascension Realm is just a transitional realm. The lowest stage of the realm of immortality is called the Primordial Immortal Realm."

Wang Sheng and Huai Jing listened attentively.

"Those with a Golden Core live eight hundred years, while those with a Nascent Soul last three thousand. A Rebirth Realm cultivator can live nine thousand, and a Primordial Immortal can live thirty thousand. A True Immortal can live one hundred twenty-nine thousand eight hundred years. A True Immortal..."

Xi Lian paused for a moment, as if coming to a realization. She then rolled her eyes for the third time. "Why are you asking so many questions? You've only just reached the Gold Core Realm, Little Fei Yu! And you haven't even reached the Gold Core Realm yet, Little Monk! Just focus on your cultivation! Now, play the music!"

"I practice Buddhist arts; I don't follow the Daoists' Golden Core path..." Huai Jing replied softly, then turned up the volume again.