Chapter 833: The Enigmatic Old Monk
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Ghost King Shenchu also felt extreme danger. His huge body trembled.
But even this slight movement shook the entire volcano. Sparks flew out of the top and golden lava spewed out, flowing down the mountain. At the same time, Ghost King Shenchu opened his mouth, exhaling a puff of ghostly Qi.
“Even an ant dares to attack me. Die!”
The puff of Qi consolidated into a human shape in the air. It became a huge ghost general clad in black armor. It was more than 13 feet tall. Wielding a black spear, it roared and stabbed toward Zhang Ruochen.
Despite Ghost King Shenchu’s weakness, the ghostly Qi he exhaled was still extremely powerful. It seemed to be strong enough to destroy the world.
The spear stabbed forward, causing the dirt and sand on the surface of the volcano to fly. The ghostly Qi surged crazily. Even bigger waves were lifted up in the sea of lava. In the blink of one’s eye, the sharp point of the spear was before Zhang Ruochen.
“If you want to kill him, get past me first.”
Mu Lingxi activated her Holy Qi. Her delicate body was entirely covered in white snake scales. A pair of huge phoenix wings unfurled on her back. She pushed forward, striking with the Hundred Beast Tripod. The tripod spun quickly and grew in size. Finally, it had grown into a 30-foot-tall black tripod. It crashed against the ghost general’s long spear.
Kaboom.
The ghost general sent the Hundred Beast Tripod flying back with overwhelming power. The tripod crashed into Mu Lingxi’s chest. She spat out some blood. Giving Zhang Ruochen one last look, she smiled faintly and fell into the sea of lava with a plop.
Seeing this, Zhang Ruochen’s heart trembled. His eyes growing bloodshot, he roared, “Die!”
Dozens of spatial cracks flew at Ghost King Shenchu at the same time. The entire space broke apart in that instant, tearing the ghost general’s spear. The broken space flew toward the mountain without slowing down.
Ghost King Shenchu knew that death was imminent. He instantly let out a roar, disintegrating his body with the vibrations. He transformed into a cloud of ghostly Qi, escaping from the 36 Buddhist chains.
This method would damage his cultivation and hurt his energy, but that was it. He could stay alive.
Whoosh! The cloud of ghostly Qi flew out from between dozens of spatial cracks and disappeared in the sky above the volcano.
“I won’t let you go…You…just you wait…” Ghost King Shenchu’s voice grew softer and softer until it faded into the distance.
Zhang Ruochen had already fallen unconscious at Ghost King Shenchu’s first roar. He fell to the ground, blood pouring out of his openings, and blacked out.
When he woke up, he was still lying at the foot of the mountain. The monk in plain Buddhist clothing stood in the near distance, staring at him with deep eyes. The monk was stick-thin. He looked like dark old hide stretched over a skeleton.
And yet Zhang Ruochen felt like he was looking at a towering mountain. It was as if the monk could shake the ground if a strand of his hair fell down. It was as if his breath could change the skies.
Even if the Buddha was still alive, he probably wouldn’t be any stronger than this monk.
The old monk smiled gently and bowed at Zhang Ruochen with his hands clasped in front of him. “Sir, you’ve finally awoken.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at the crashing waves in the sea of lava. He seemed lost; his eyes were blank. Heart in pain, he climbed up from the ground. “Lingxi,” he murmured.
The old monk smiled. “Sir, do not worry. I have already rescued her. She has the ice phoenix’s bloodline within her and has very strong vitality. She is unhurt.”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes widened in pure joy. Finally, he saw Mu Lingxi lying on the ground. He rushed over and propped her up to check her injuries. Just as the old monk had said, Mu Lingxi hadn’t woken up, but her breathing was steady. Her vitality was still strong.
Zhang Ruochen finally let out a relieved breath. Looking at the old monk, he hurriedly stood up and bowed deeply. “Thank you for your help,” he said. “I will never forget this.”
The old monk stood like a withered pine tree. He emanated an ancient aura as if he was a sage who’d walked out of history books.
He studied Zhang Ruochen with his ancient eyes and sighed. “It is my fault for underestimating Ghost King Shenchu’s abilities. I shouldn’t have made you two juniors take the risk.”
Seeing how weak the old monk was, Zhang Ruochen took out two saint stones and offered them. The monk didn’t refuse him. He bowed at Zhang Ruochen again and grasped the two stones. He began to absorb the Holy Qi within them to recover his cultivation.
His cultivation was honestly terrifying. Each saint stone contained a shocking amount of Holy Qi. With Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation, he probably wouldn’t be able to absorb all the Holy Qi in three years.
But it only took a short while for the old monk to empty the two saint stones. The stones turned into dust and fell to the ground through his fingers.
The old monk finally recovered a bit. Some color returned to his ancient face.
“In the netherworld, your Holy Qi will continue getting consumed,” he said. “There is no way to reabsorb it. I’ve fought against Ghost King Shenchu in this Ghost God Valley for more than one year and have emptied my saint stones long ago. If you hadn’t helped me defeat Ghost King Shenchu, I would have died in a few days.”
Zhang Ruochen took out two more saint stones for the old monk, but he waved his hand and smiled. “I’ve already recovered greatly. No matter how much Holy Qi I absorb now, it won’t be more effective. Thank you for your two saint stones today. When we return to Kunlun’s Field, I will repay you in the hundredfold.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen put his saint stones away. “Did Ghost King Shenchu escape?” he asked.
The old monk nodded and sighed. “Earlier, he’d voluntarily shattered his body to escape. I was too weak at that time and wanted to save you two, so I didn’t try to stop him. However, he is greatly injured now and won’t be able to try for his seventh ghost trial any time soon.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression turned serious. “He’s already going to undergo his seventh ghost trial?” he asked in shock.
Once he passed the seventh ghost trial, Ghost King Shenchu would be renamed as Ghost Emperor Shenchu. That was a title similar to the Supreme Saint. A Supreme Saint was someone who had cultivated to the pinnacle of the Saintly Way. He had extreme wisdom and knew all the ways of the universe.
The old monk nodded. “About a year ago, when I came to the netherworld, I chanced upon Ghost King Shenchu undergoing the seventh ghost trial. That was why I decided to stop him.”
“Why did Ghost King Shenchu choose this place for the trial?” Zhang Ruochen asked. “The space here is extremely fragile. How can it withstand the force of the ghost trial?”
“Sir, you are very intelligent,” the old monk praised. “I also wondered about this, but I realized why after battling with Ghost King Shenchu for countless months. If you came here, you must have heard the legend about the Thousand-bone Empress killing a god. It is said that the god’s corpse fell into Ghost God Valley.”
“What does Ghost King Shenchu have to do with this? Can it be…” A terrifying thought appeared in Zhang Ruochen’s mind.
The old monk knew what he was thinking. “Yes, Ghost King Shenchu might very well be the soul of the fallen god. This was why he came here for the seventh ghost trial. If he uses the divine power from when he was alive, he has a higher possibility of succeeding in the trial.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression was heavy. “If he really is the god’s soul, the consequences will be endless now that he’s escaped.”
But the old monk still seemed calm. “I can only say that he won’t die until his time is up. Ghost God Valley is his territory and he has all the geographical advantages. Even a human Supreme Saint might not be able to kill him. Obsessing over regret will only affect your own cultivation and not benefit you at all. Why don’t you look forward? There will be many more chances in the future.”
Since Ghost King Shenchu had already escaped, there was no point in being upset. It was also clear that the old monk’s mindset was much more advanced than someone young like Zhang Ruochen.
“I do not like to owe people, but today, I owe you greatly,” the old monk continued. “How about this? I vow to help you do two things to repay your actions.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at the old monk. He looked serious and he didn’t seem to be joking at all.
The old monk could restrict Ghost King Shenchu. From this, Zhang Ruochen knew that even if he wasn’t a Supreme Saint, he was still close. Now, this powerful figure promised to do two things for him. What did this imply?
This meant that in the future, no one in Kunlun’s Field would dare to go against Zhang Ruochen. Even his previous enemies would stay out of his way.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t show any excitement. Expression calm, he said, “From what I know, the Buddhist Way has the legend of reincarnation. I would like to know if you can help someone with a scattered soul re-consolidate his soul. If you cannot resurrect him, reincarnation is alright too.”
The old monk’s cultivation level was too high to be calculated. This was why this tiny hope started blooming within Zhang Ruochen.
After a moment of silence, the old monk asked, “Are you asking me to help you save someone?”
“Yes,” Zhang Ruochen said.
The old monk sighed. “Only a Supreme Saint of Spiritual Energy can summon a scattered soul back. My Spiritual Energy is still a bit away from that step. I am unable to help you.”