This man was thin and small, like a withered corpse, his entire body wrapped in grey-black malevolent qi. His eyes had no pupils, only two leaping clusters of green ghost-fire.
He was Ghost Fiend, one of the “Five Fiend Demons” under the Soul-Devouring Venerable, a specialist in soul-devouring and bone-corroding arts, his cultivation already at the third-grade Heavenly Immortal realm.
Ghost Fiend’s figure flickered, leaving a string of after-images, and he appeared in the centre of the great hall in an instant.
He stretched out a bony, claw-like finger and pointed at Yan Nantian. “Sect Master Yan, please enlighten me!”
Before his words had fully faded, the ghostly qi around him exploded outwards, transforming into countless wailing, translucent aggrieved souls that surged towards Yan Nantian like a tidal wave.
The temperature inside the entire hall plummeted abruptly. The air filled with bone-piercing cold and the stench of decay.
Every member of the Yama Heaven Sect paled. The moment Ghost Fiend attacked, he used such a vicious technique; the sight of ten thousand souls devouring the heart was enough to shatter the minds of anyone whose will was not firm.
Yet before Yan Nantian could move, a clear, icy female shout rang out.
“Mere ghosts and goblins dare to act presumptuously? Let me be the one to face you!”
As the words left her mouth, a dazzling ice-blue sword light poured down like the Milky Way from the ninth heaven, instantly slashing into the mass of aggrieved souls.
Wherever the sword light passed, the souls melted like ice beneath the sun, emitting sizzling sounds and shrieking as they dissolved one after another.
Liu Xue held a long sword shrouded in freezing qi. Her figure was graceful as a startled swan, and she had already placed herself in front of Yan Nantian.
Having received the Heavenly Gate inheritance, her cultivation had soared to the very peak of the second-grade Heavenly Immortal realm. She now practised the orthodox supreme techniques of the Heavenly Gate, her spiritual power pure and vast, giving her an innate restraining effect against these crooked demonic paths.
“Hm? Second-grade Heavenly Immortal? Little girl, you’re somewhat interesting.”
The ghost-fire in Ghost Fiend’s eyes flickered once, showing a trace of surprise. “Still, with just that level of cultivation, you’re far from enough!”
He formed seals with both hands. The ghostly qi around him condensed once more, turning into an enormous ghost claw made of countless skulls. With a shrill whistle that tore through space, it grabbed straight down towards Liu Xue’s head.
The power of this claw was astonishing. Even before it reached her, the fierce claw-wind had already carved deep marks into the floor beneath her feet.
“Snow-Dance Ice-Seal!”
Liu Xue showed no fear. She brandished her long sword and moved with it, her body flowing like the blade itself. In an instant, the entire great hall seemed to transform into a world of ice and snow.
Countless ice crystals and snowflakes appeared from nowhere, spinning and dancing with her sword momentum, forming a colossal ice-and-snow storm that met the gigantic ghost claw head-on.
“BOOM!”
Ice against darkness, righteousness against evil; two mighty forces collided violently.
A deafening explosion erupted. The ferocious shockwave of energy spread in all directions. The pillars of the hall hummed, stone tiles on the floor shattered inch by inch, and some Yama Heaven Sect disciples who stood too close were sent flying by the blast.
The ice-snow storm and the ghost claw locked in a stalemate for a few moments, but in the end Ghost Fiend’s higher cultivation prevailed.
The ghost claw suddenly clenched, forcibly crushing the ice-snow storm into fragments.
Liu Xue gave a muffled groan. A trace of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She staggered back several steps, and the ice-blue radiance on her sword dimmed noticeably.
“Sect Master Liu!” Yan Nantian cried out in alarm and started forward.
“I’m fine!”
Liu Xue steadied herself, wiped the blood from her lips, and her gaze remained resolute.
Though she had fallen to a disadvantage, she had not lost her fighting strength. The Heavenly Gate inheritance techniques allowed her spiritual power to recover extremely quickly, and her resilience far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators.
Ghost Fiend pressed his advantage without mercy. He let out a sinister laugh, his figure flashing forward like a wraith. His withered claws reached straight for Liu Xue’s throat and heart, so fast that only after-images remained.
“Your opponent is me!”
At this critical moment, a thunderous shout exploded like a peal of lightning.
Yan Nantian finally made his move!
As the sect master of Yama Heaven Sect, his cultivation had long reached the third-grade Heavenly Immortal realm. Though he was far beneath the Soul-Devouring Venerable in his prime, dealing with a single Ghost Fiend posed no problem.
His figure blurred, and he instantly appeared in front of Liu Xue.
Facing Ghost Fiend’s treacherous and vicious twin claws, he neither dodged nor evaded. He simply threw a single punch.
