Chapter 6: It's Him! It's Him!
Creak!
As the door opened, Chen Xuan saw a pitiful female ghost huddled in the corner, trembling.
The moment the female ghost saw who had entered, her heart collapsed. Though Mother Qi was a wicked ghost and treated them poorly, her strength was truly formidable.
She could swallow a little ghost like her in one bite, yet before this young man she was as fragile as paper - unable to withstand even a single sword strike.
"Don't... don't come over!"
Boom!
As Chen Xuan's sword fell, that female ghost transformed into a white light and entered his body. Though the experience wasn't as much as those fierce ghosts from earlier, it was better than nothing.
If he could slay all the female ghosts in this pleasure boat tonight, his experience bar would surely increase significantly. At this thought, a happy smile appeared on Chen Xuan's face.
Resolving the sect's crisis and leveling up at the same time - double the happiness!
"Miss sisters, stop hiding. Come out and play!"
Chen Xuan leisurely strolled through the Red Pavilion, sword in hand, one sword per little female ghost, his mood especially bright.
Meanwhile, in the lower cabin of the Red Pavilion, the four fierce ghosts who had just escaped knelt before a sinister statue. The terror on their faces from earlier had been replaced by respect.
"We pay respects to the Faceless Lord."
As the words fell, a faceless ghost shadow drifted from the statue. It looked at the four ghosts and said darkly:
"Today isn't the day for soul delivery. Why have you come?"
The red-robed female ghost at the front quickly explained: "Faceless Lord, someone has come to the Red Pavilion causing trouble. They've killed three of our sisters. We are no match for them, so we've come to ask the Lord to handle this person."
"Oh?"
The Faceless Ghost was surprised. It slowly closed its eyes and took a sniff, then abruptly opened them, cackling:
"Heh heh, it's been a long time since I've smelled such a delicious soul. If I consume that person, my cultivation will surely advance further. You've done well. Once I've eaten that brat, all future souls that board will belong to you!"
"Thank you, Lord!"
The four ghosts showed wild joy on their faces. Their earlier worries vanished. With this Lord taking action, that brat was dead for sure, not to mention the unexpected reward.
As for their three dead sisters, they didn't care at all - they hoped their fellow sisters would all be slain by that young man, so all the living souls would belong to them.
"All of you, come with me to meet this brat!"
As soon as the Faceless Ghost finished speaking, a terrifying ghost qi burst from the statue, shooting toward the sky.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, a ghost qi-shrouded Faceless Ghost appeared at the bow. The moment it appeared, ghost clouds gathered, the moonlight dimmed, and the temperature within several li instantly dropped by over ten degrees.
The Ascension Office members standing on the patrol boat's bow instantly collapsed onto the deck in fear.
In an instant, only three people remained standing at the bow - Commander Liu holding the railing, Zhao Youqian excitedly waving his fan, and Master Feng gripping the railing preparing to jump ship.
"A Heavenly Essence Faceless Ghost! We're dead!"
Master Feng had wanted to jump ship for a while, but his body kept trembling uncontrollably, unable to exert any strength. His entire cultivation was useless.
In this moment, he suddenly had the urge to slap himself a few times. If not for saving face, he would have abandoned ship and fled long ago.
Zhou Yuanyuan hugged herself and asked timidly: "Eldest Brother, is the Faceless Ghost very scary?"
"Of course it's powerful."
Zhao Youqian said seriously: "This Faceless Ghost isn't an ordinary ghost. It's a variant ghost cultivator with the ability to challenge opponents above its level.
This explains why the Nurturing Spirit realm Seal Holder couldn't suppress this Red Pavilion back then. Not that he didn't want to - he simply lacked the ability."
Thud!
Hearing this, Master Feng's last hope of escape vanished: "We're dead, we're absolutely dead! Even the Seal Holder wasn't his opponent. That young man must already be dead inside!"
Sigh...
Commander Liu sighed softly, saying nothing, but his eyes tacitly agreed with Master Feng's assessment. He silently prayed for a miracle.
Just then, the Faceless Ghost's gaze swept across to the patrol boat, causing everyone to tremble. Even Commander Liu collapsed under the immense pressure.
But when the Faceless Ghost saw Zhao Youqian, it showed surprise and said in a deep voice:
"Not you!"
With that, the Faceless Ghost's gaze returned to the Red Pavilion. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the still-calm Zhao Youqian, confusion appeared on their faces.
There were many questions they wanted to ask, but didn't know where to begin.
"Lord, help! Ah!"
Accompanied by a female ghost's scream, Chen Xuan - handsome and graceful with sword in hand - walked out from within the Red Pavilion. He looked up and saw the four escaped female ghosts standing on the boat's roof, with a faceless monster behind them.
"So you were hiding here! I've been looking for ages. Who wants to go first, or all together?"
These words shocked everyone!
Except for Zhao Youqian, everyone looked at Chen Xuan with astonishment. Their minds instinctively flashed the same thought - was there something wrong with this kid's brain? Couldn't he see the situation before him?
The Faceless Ghost examined the young man before him. What surprised it was that this young man was actually a mortal - a mortal without a trace of cultivation. Aside from his exceptionally delicious soul, there was nothing special about him.
"Are you certain this mortal before me killed your sisters?"
"It's him, Lord! It's him!"
The red-robed female ghost pointed at the excited-looking Chen Xuan. She still remembered clearly how this young man had killed her sisters.
The Faceless Ghost spoke in a superior tone: "Mortal, was it really you?"
"Is there anyone else here?"
Chen Xuan said excitedly. He hadn't encountered such powerful ghost souls in a long time - the experience points would surely be substantial.
"Mortal, you're very confident!"
The Faceless Ghost had controlled the Red Pavilion in Dongyang Prefecture for several years, fighting many cultivators during that time. They included Nurturing Spirit cultivators, and when facing him, they all showed at least some caution. But this was the first time he'd seen a mortal so confident.
"That's right, I've always had great confidence in my sword!" Chen Xuan said, raising his sword.
"Your soul also suits my taste. Die!"
The Faceless Ghost shouted. Its ghost claw extended, instantly growing dozens of times larger. From above, it grabbed toward Chen Xuan's head. That claw carried vast ghost qi - once it landed, death was certain.
Chen Xuan smiled. His toe touched the ground as he leaped up, thrusting his sword toward the ghost claw.
That sword strike was ordinary, but the Faceless Ghost felt an inexplicable heart palpitation. A thought flashed through its mind: If pierced by this sword, I might very well die.
This was absolutely impossible! He was clearly just a mortal - how could he possibly hurt me!
The thought flashed through the Faceless Ghost's mind just as the sword struck the ghost claw!
Boom!
With a loud explosion, the Faceless Ghost's body exploded, instantly vanishing into ash. It didn't even have time for last words. Its final thought before death was - How is he so strong?!
Silence. Complete silence.
How was this possible?
Both humans and ghosts looked at Chen Xuan with horrified eyes. How had he done it?
Suddenly, a voice broke the silence.
"Holy crap, Sword Keeper Brother, could you not be so fast every time? I hadn't even had my fill of watching, and you already killed him."
Chen Xuan replied with exasperation: "Sword Keeper Brother, I didn't know he was so weak either. I hadn't even started trying, and he was gone!"
The female ghosts: "..."
The humans: "..."
Zhao Youqian: "Are you even speaking human language?"
Both humans and ghosts present, hearing this, couldn't help but mentally give Zhao Youqian a thumbs up - you spoke what we were all thinking.
Chen Xuan didn't continue bantering with Zhao Youqian. He said calmly: "Let's not talk more. The matter isn't finished yet. Let me slay these female ghosts first!"
Hearing this, the female ghosts were terrified out of their wits. They immediately knelt and begged: "Immortal, please spare us!"
Chen Xuan suspended his sword above the female ghosts' heads, saying calmly: "Give me a reason not to kill you?"
The red-robed female ghost raised her head, forcing an uglier-than-crying smile: "I know the great secret of the Red Pavilion."