Chapter 17: The Initial Appearance of Evil Intentions

  The sky is dark and low, with a gloomy wind howling furiously. In the realm of ghosts, within the black river, ghostly energy pervades, layer upon layer of black fog rolling like waves, rising and falling with the wind.

  Half empty, four dazzling lights flashed by, like a startled swan breaking through the sky, and in an instant fell outside the Ghost King City. Looking at the mysterious and eerie black light shield, Zi Yang Zhenren anxiously said: "Now we will immediately go in, do our best to rescue Lu Yun. Everyone be careful, looking at this black light shield with dense ghost energy, I'm afraid it's not that easy to rush past."

  Feng Yang's face was heavy as he said, "From my decades of experience in this ghost domain, the best way to enter is not by brute force. If we can find the secret within, it will be easy to get in. I think everyone should take a closer look."

  Yun Feng's eyes flashed with extreme anxiety, and he shouted: "Now time is the most important thing for us, where do we have time to find that secret? At this moment, Lu Yun is in great danger inside. How can we waste time here? Don't think about it anymore, let's rush in."

  "Be careful, don't be reckless, it's dangerous." Jade hand grasped, unfortunately didn't catch, Xu Jie looked at him with a slight worry.

  In mid-air, Yun Feng's body rapidly rotated, the Wind Slashing Sword emitting a dazzling silver light, like a silver dragon, whizzing away. In an instant, the silver light collided with that mysterious black light shield, both sides emitting intense strong light, accompanied by a burst of thunderous sound, spreading across the surroundings. In mid-air, Yun Feng's body shook, his true energy rapidly fluctuating. He only felt that evil ghostly aura ceaselessly invading his body, and his protective true energy, engaging in high-speed confrontation.

  With a fierce cry, Yun Feng let out a loud roar, and his entire body's power surged forth. The mysterious Yin-Yang incantation suddenly appeared. All around, the eerie aura dispersed, and under the powerful restraint of the Yin-Yang incantation, a small gap slowly revealed itself. Turning back, Yun Feng shouted loudly: "Quickly enter, we must save Lu Yun!" Amidst his loud shout, three rays of light flashed by, and immediately afterwards, Yun Feng's body transformed into a flowing light, instantly disappearing into that gap.

  Green, astonishing. When Zi Yang Zhen Ren, Feng Yuan Yang, Lin Yun Feng and Xu Jie entered the Ghost King City, they were also shocked by this green world, just like the previous three people. After a surprised glance around, Zi Yang Zhen Ren said urgently: "Don't look anymore, let's go quickly. Our main task now is to find Lu Yun as soon as possible, and also Ao Xue and Cang Yue."

  As they proceeded, Yun Feng said in a low voice, "It's very strange, I can no longer sense Lu Yun's aura at all. As for the two sisters, their auras are also extremely weak, sometimes hidden and sometimes revealed, making it difficult to determine their location."

  Xu Jie's face was worried as she said: "I also vaguely sensed that, Shifu's aura is weakening, I don't know if they have encountered danger or not, it's really unsettling. Yun Feng, aren't you the most skilled in these matters? Quickly investigate, where are they now, we'll rush over to assist them immediately."

  He glanced at Xu Jie, and Yun Feng slightly nodded, his eyes fixed on the horizon, with a magnificent aura surrounding him. At this moment, Yun Feng activated his mysterious technique, and his body surface flickered with a red and green mysterious glow. His true energy began to search for any movement around him in an extremely strange frequency. As his power intensified, the cyan and red aura grew stronger, and the high-speed circulating true energy waves searched every corner with all their might.

  While searching for the aura of Lu Yun and the others, Yun Feng moved around with everyone else. After passing through several streets, the four of them didn't have time to ask about those wandering spirits and wild ghosts, their eyes scanning all directions. Looking at Yun Feng, Zi Yang Zhen Ren's expression was urgent, just about to open his mouth to ask for results. Suddenly, Feng Yuan Yang, who had been the calmest among the four, shouted loudly: "Everyone be careful, a ghost is appearing."

  Under the green sky, five black air masses appeared silently in mid-air, which was a ghost fairy and four ghost demons. Looking at Yun Feng and his friends with a gloomy expression, the ghost fairy smiled evilly: "Welcome to the Ghost Domain Black River Interval, I represent the highest ghost king to welcome you. To express our most sincere intentions, we will use the most grand way of the Ghost Domain to welcome you." With a smile, the ghost fairy waved his right hand, and four black shadows shot out. At the same time, all the streets in the entire Ghost King City suddenly rotated, causing Yun Feng and his friends to fall into a dizzying vortex that made it difficult for them to distinguish their direction.

  "Everyone be careful, Feng Yang and I will block here, Yun Feng and Xu Jie continue to move forward, must find Lu Yun, hurry up." In the midst of angry roars, Zi Yang Zhen Ren's years of cultivation suddenly burst out, mixed with a strong and frightening aura, single-handedly fighting against two ghostly apparitions. Beside him, Feng Yang's entire body was flowing with green light, his long sword conjuring up clusters of green lotus flowers, also using all his strength to block the two ghostly apparitions that were charging over.

  At this time, Yun Feng's eyes changed and he said: "Xu Jie follow me, I have already found the whereabouts of two sisters." He pulled Xu Jie and Yun Feng shot out with all his might.

  Looking around at the constantly rotating streets, Xu Jie asked in surprise: "Yun Feng, it's been spinning non-stop all around us, which direction are we going?"

  "You don't have to leave, just stay and receive our warm hospitality." With a sinister laugh, the ghost's figure appeared in front of the two, its body instantly spinning like a whirlwind, filling the surroundings with its ghostly shadows.

  Watching the ghost fairy's strange and mysterious magic, Yun Feng's expression was cold and stern, without time to entangle with it. Lu Yun clasped his hands together in front of his chest, forming a yin-yang seal, and instantly a green-red light burst out from the seal. At the same time, only Yun Feng's cold voice could be heard: "Heaven and earth, yin and yang, five elements, I command everything to appear. Break!" As soon as the word "break" fell, Yun Feng spread his hands apart, and two beams of light, one green and one red, like a dragon in the wind, rolled forward.

  A cry of surprise mixed with a few threads of fear, the true body of Gui Xian appeared not far to the left. Looking at the rotating streets that suddenly stopped rotating, Gui Xian's eyes were full of shocking colors. Yun Feng ignored its reaction and pulled Xu Jie towards the direction where Cang Yue and the others disappeared.

  A green light flashed, and the ghost fairy reappeared in front of Yun Feng, blocking his path. With a fierce whistle, the ghost fairy pounced on Xu Jie with a ferocious face, apparently recognizing that Xu Jie was easier to deal with. Yun Feng's heart was filled with rage, this wicked ghost fairy repeatedly stopping him from advancing, making him anxious beyond measure. Pushing Xu Jie away, Yun Feng shouted: "You go first, follow the path forward, turn left three times and then right, you'll find the two sisters later. This wicked thing, I'll take care of it."

  She glanced at Yun Feng, lightly saying "be careful", and Xu Jie flew forward quickly. As he watched the beautiful figure leave, Yun Feng's eyes held a hint of blessing. Turning back, he coldly stared at Gui Xian, and Yun Feng's figure began to flash rapidly. Silver light flickered, hundreds and thousands of sword edges tore through the air, accompanied by rolling anger, all vented on Gui Xian's body.

  In the Ghost King City, Zi Yang Zhen Ren, Feng Yuan Yang and Yun Feng were trapped in a fierce battle, unable to extricate themselves for a time, causing the three of them to be extremely anxious. In the distance, those cries and sighs of worry floated in mid-air. Suddenly, the three people who were fighting felt a shock throughout their bodies and turned their heads to look into the distance at the same time. There, two intense wills shot up into the sky, carrying unyielding determination, carrying thick worries, wandering in mid-air.

  "No! Don't!" Three loud roars, mixed with heart-wrenching pain, instantly echoed all around. Amidst the furious roar, Zi Yang Zhen Ren and Yun Feng's bodies burst forth with a surge of light, all their true essence rapidly ascending at a frantic pace, surrounded by an aura of boundless anger. As they advanced forward, Xu Jie's body trembled, her eyes fixed on the front, a thread of endless sorrow, accompanied by a few tears, drifting away in the wind. Her lips quivering, it took Xu Jie a long time to let out a heart-wrenching wail, her body accelerating forward in a mad dash.

  Dark shadows flickered, and 147 ghostly soldiers suddenly appeared in three formations, blocking the path of Yun Feng and his two companions. The Ghost Sage let out a stern cry, and the ghostly soldiers formed into triangular arrays, with each group of 49 soldiers forming a sharp blade-like formation that countered the fierce attack of the three people with powerful momentum. Coordinating with the Ghost Spirit and the Ghost Sage's actions, they forcefully trapped the three enraged individuals in place, not giving them any chance to escape.

  Inside the royal city, beside the Soul Locking Well. At this moment, Gui Shuai Huan Mei was slowly refining the souls of Ao Xue and Cang Yue. Looking at the two suits of armor that occasionally flashed with a faint light, Huan Mei understood that in just a little while longer, the two women would disappear from the Ghost Domain, their souls extinguished. As for the defensive power of those mysterious suits of armor, Gui Shuai was also extremely shocked; if not for them protecting their bodies, he would have already refined the souls of the two women and wouldn't have had to wait until now. However, it didn't matter now, everything was about to end soon.

  However, at this moment, a strange feeling rose in Gui Shuai's heart. Faintly, a bloody aura spread around, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing.

  Just as the demon king was astonished, a faint red light mixed with extremely evil killing intent slowly appeared in the Soul Locking Well. As that blood killing intent appeared, the Soul Locking Well suddenly underwent a strange transformation, and the eight fierce ghosts around it instantly materialized, their mysterious and sinister formation reactivating once more. Looking at the Soul Locking Well, the demon king's eyes revealed a shocked expression, as if he had thought of something.

  A flash of red light, a column of crimson blood burst through the sky. The dazzling bloody color mixed with an extremely evil aura, and in the column of light, a long sword slowly appeared before the eyes of the Ghost General. In just one glance, the Ghost General saw that the sword was indeed Lu Yun's weapon - the Heart Soul Sword, but it seemed to have undergone some changes, looking very different from before.

  In mid-air, only the slow rotation of the Heart Soul Sword could be seen, with a crimson glow flashing amidst countless blood shadows, intersecting and undulating. Amidst the light and shadow, a fire dragon and a three-eyed monster alternately appeared. Every time the fire dragon appeared, the bloody aura would weaken, while when the three-eyed monster appeared, the bloody aura would surge. Upon closer inspection, it could be discovered that the three-eyed monster appeared more frequently than the fire dragon, no wonder this sword seemed so sinister and filled with evil energy.

  Looking at the sword, the ghostly handsome man's eyes changed dramatically, looking at the three-eyed monster above with a terrified and uneasy expression. The situation was as if he had seen an extremely terrifying fierce creature, causing his true energy to fluctuate wildly, with a frequency that was extremely unstable. At this moment, the Like-Intent Heart-Soul Sword in mid-air suddenly accelerated its rotation, a bewitching light suddenly locking onto the strange array outside the Soul-Locking Well.

  Two vastly different forces collided, the evil aura of yin encountering the bloody aura, fiercely opposing each other. At the same time as these two forces clashed, from the well mouth, a dazzling radiance emerged, accompanied by five-colored light, slowly rising up. As the light ascended, only to see a cluster of five-colored light, with red as the main color, forming a light sphere, within which stood a figure.

  The demon general gazed at the light sphere, and a look of shock and disbelief flashed in his enchanting eyes. Inside the light sphere, Lu Yun wore a dark red armor with strange lights flickering on it. Countless talismans were cleverly arranged on the armor, forming two Bagua diagrams on his chest and back, one positive and one negative, which looked very mysterious and eerie. On his chest, in the center of the Bagua diagram on the armor, a mysterious five-colored ancient mirror was embedded, shining brightly. In his eyes, black and red lights alternated, revealing a hint of sinister energy at the bottom of his eyes. At this moment, Lu Yun looked very strange, giving people an eerie feeling.

  His gaze lingered on the two exquisite corpses with dimly lit auras, and Lu Yun's eyes suddenly burst forth with icy glints that could pierce through stone and shatter iron. The bloody glints in his eyes flashed, and Lu Yun let out a mighty roar towards the sky, unleashing a domineering aura of destruction that instantly pierced through the universe. Amidst the roar, the killing intent on the Intent Heart Sword surged forth explosively, instantly suppressing the dark and evil energy surrounding the Soul Locking Well. A red glow burst forth, and a crazily spreading, heaven-filling bloody light wildly extended in all directions, dyeing the entire Ghost King City red in an instant.

  Lu Yun's body moved forward, and on the battle armor at his chest, a Bagua diagram suddenly appeared. Countless blood-colored talismans formed a rotating column of light that easily tore apart the mysterious seal outside the Soul Locking Well. A muffled sound was heard, followed by a powerful whirlwind flying over.

  When the ghost general came to his senses, Lu Yun had already appeared in front of him. Those cold eyes flashing with bloodthirsty energy were staring at him with an extremely gloomy gaze. His heart skipped a beat as the ghost general instantly activated his teleportation, and his figure reappeared ten meters away, looking at Lu Yun and the extremely evil-looking Ruyi sword on his head in horror. A sense of terror and unease rose up in his heart, and for a moment, the ghost general seemed to have realized the crisis, and his figure disappeared into thin air.

  No time to reason with the ghostly handsome man, Lu Yun swiftly picked up Ao Xue and Cang Yue, his eyes revealing a hint of gentleness at this moment. Looking at the pale faces of the two women, Lu Yun's eyes showed a faint sadness, gently wiping away the bloodstains from their mouths. With an angry glance at the sky, Lu Yun's eyes revealed a hint of wildness and unyielding spirit, as if he was roaring at the heavens in anger.

  Kneeling with both legs, Lu Yun's hands pressed on the heads of the two women, his eyes revealing a hint of madness. At this moment, Lu Yun made a vow in his heart that no matter what, he would save the two women, even if it meant being struck by five thunderbolts, he would not give up.

  Half-empty, as intended, the soul sword quickly rotated, a red light enveloped Lu Yun's surroundings, forming a protective shield that tightly enclosed the three. On the rotating shield, a fire dragon coiled and danced, appearing majestic and awe-inspiring. On the ground, Lu Yun's entire body was flashing with golden light at this time, the Buddhist "Heart Chan Destruction Technique" was fully activated. Two clusters of golden light enveloped Ao Xue and Cang Yue's bodies, the rotating and flowing light illuminated their sacred faces, making them appear mysterious and beautiful. At the same time, the eight trigrams on Lu Yun's chest flashed with red light, layers of crimson mist circulated and flowed around the two women, nourishing their bodies.

  Just as Lu Yun was casting a spell for the two women, a dark shadow flashed in mid-air, and Gui Shuai Huan appeared not far from the three of them. With a gloomy smile, Gui Shuai gathered a black light ball with both hands on his chest, suddenly rushing towards Lu Yun. In mid-air, a gust of yin wind howled, countless ghostly energy rapidly approached that ferocious and eerie air mass*. From a distance, it seemed like a black dragon, with an aura that was about to swallow everything, wanting to devour Lu Yun and the other two.

  When the black light sphere approached, the As-You-Wish Heart Soul Sword suddenly let out a shrill cry, and a cluster of blood-colored light shadows suddenly rose from the divine sword, appearing clearly in front of the black light sphere. Only to see a monster with its whole body blood red, shaped like a human, with a wolf-like face. On top of its head, there was a dark red single horn, and on its forehead, an eerie crimson magic eye protruded, with a bloody big mouth open, paired with a pair of eyes that could change into purple-red light, the whole thing looked evil and frightening.

  A blood-curdling scream suddenly echoed out, and a dazzling red figure instantly transformed into thousands of bloody shadows. The red glow flowed, countless fierce ghosts howled in mid-air, confronting each other with all their might. In the flashing red light, the monster's thousand shadows surrounded the ghostly army. Wave after wave of intense blood energy contracted violently, forcing the ghostly general to let out a shocked and angry roar.

  "Thousand shadows, blood charm, no, it's impossible." The trembling voice was filled with shock and disbelief. The Ghost General's body shone with a dazzling light, countless ghostly shadows colliding with the blood shadow in mid-air, constantly emitting cries of surprise. Countless failures had made the Ghost General anxious. At this moment, the Ghost General suddenly burst forth with a radiant light, a black net silently appearing above the Thousand Shadows Blood Charm, attempting to use the Black Net Canopy, one of the three greatest treasures of the Ghost Domain, to defeat the blood charm.

  A burst of maniacal laughter, and the voice of Qianying Xuewei sounded even more chilling and cruel. Only to see in mid-air, thousands of blood shadows densely packed, thousands of strange blood halos formed a blood net in mid-air, instantly overlapping with that black net. The red and black light collided fiercely, countless streams of light mixed with wild power, tearing everything apart. A loud explosion, the Ghost Marshal let out a fierce roar, and the black shadow flashed and disappeared. That overbearing black halo, at the moment when the Ghost Marshal escaped, turned into a wisp of dark light, disappearing along with it.

  A dark flash of blood light, and the thousand streams of flowing light converged to reveal the true form of the Blood Demon, quietly appearing near the Heart Soul Sword. At this moment, the Divine Sword Heart's Desire let out a sword cry, and saw that the Blood Demon's body trembled, with a hint of anger and unwillingness in its wild eyes, flying towards the Divine Sword. A red light flashed, and the Blood Demon suddenly transformed into a red light beam, being absorbed by the Divine Sword Heart's Desire. A sword hum, accompanied by a faint whistle, and the Divine Sword Heart's Desire restored its original form once again.

  As time passed, Lu Yun's forehead had already begun to sweat, but the two women still didn't make a sound. Looking at those two beautiful faces, Lu Yun felt a heart-wrenching pain, as if he was about to go mad, his heart filled with anger and heartache.

  Gazing faintly at the horizon, in this moment, that faint sound was like the heavens' mockery, causing an unparalleled anger to arise in Lu Yun's heart. As the hatred in his heart rose, the faint bloodthirsty aura in his eyes began to gather. In just a moment, Lu Yun's eyes burst forth with ferocious and violent bloody light, as if the fierce demons of hell, his entire body filled with malevolent energy.

  He lowered his head, took another glance at the two women, and the bloodthirsty glint in Lu Yun's eyes receded, replaced by an extremely gentle and compassionate gaze. With a soft sigh, Lu Yun's eyes shot out brilliant light once more, and a resolute determination flowed from his firm and determined gaze. As he circulated his true yuan, the golden light on Lu Yun's body vanished, and a dazzling seven-colored radiance moved from him to the two women, strongly nourishing their entire bodies with spiritual energy. At the same time, Lu Yun's body shone with brilliant light, and countless talismans emitting seven-colored glows began to appear. In mid-air, those talismans formed various patterns, rapidly rotating around the two women before finally coalescing into a seven-colored aurora that slowly entered their bodies from outside.

  When the light faded, Lu Yun's mouth was curved into a faint smile as he fell backwards. Fresh blood flowed quietly from the corner of his mouth, and a thread of joy hung on his face. The mysterious armor on his body transformed into a thread of light, disappearing silently into his body. Gazing quietly at the horizon, a hint of pride emerged in Lu Yun's lifeless eyes: "This life, you can't help me! One day, I'll rise above the nine heavens and trample you underfoot!"

  She slowly opened her eyes to see a familiar figure lying on the ground. She turned her head, looked at those equally surprised eyes, and Ao Xue suddenly smiled. She pulled Chang Yue's hand, both of them having an unbelievable joy in their hearts. Looking at that familiar figure, Chang Yue said softly: "Lu Yun is injured, let's save him first before talking about anything else."

  Four delicate hands like jade gently lifted Lu Yun, two pairs of eyes filled with emotions quietly flowed out concern. Without speaking, the three people's gazes converged at this moment, and they only exchanged faint smiles, hinting at a thread of joy. After a while, Lu Yun suddenly smiled and said: "What, does my wolf-like appearance look good? You're all staring and not moving." The two women looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to become humorous at this time.

  Aoyue supported Lu Yun's body, starting to treat his wounds and help him recover his true yuan. Beside them, Cangyue took out a handkerchief from her bosom, gently wiping away the bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, her expression very tender. After putting away the handkerchief, Cangyue glanced around, then her gaze fell on Lu Yun's pale face again. Silently watching him, Cangyue's eyes held a thread of tenderness, and a rare smile hung at the corner of her mouth.

  Time stands still at this moment, everything is so quiet, as if there was no heaven, no earth, only the proud snow, the vast moon and the cloud. After experiencing life and death, this moment seems extremely precious. Three people, three hearts, at this moment, here, converge together. No need to ask if they were together yesterday, no need to worry about whether they will be separated in the future, this moment, perhaps it is eternal.

  Lu Yun's eyes sparkled with excitement as he gazed at Ao Xue and Cang Yue. Perhaps it was that one life-and-death separation that had brought the three of them closer together. At this moment, Lu Yun no longer hid his true feelings, simply looking at the two women with a deep affection shining in his eyes.

  Cang Yue glanced at Ao Nuo, whose expression was very calm, with a deep friendship and smile in her eyes. With a faint smile, Cang Yue looked at Ao Nuo, with gratitude flashing in her eyes. Without saying a word, they simply held each other's hands lightly, and the two women understood many things in that moment. On the side, Lu Yun saw this and his face showed an exceptionally surprised expression, the joy in his heart was truly indescribable.

  Quietly, the three of them didn't say a word, just gazing at each other faintly, with a thread of joy rising in their hearts. Their lips moved slightly, and Lu Yun was about to ask the two why they came back here, but suddenly a clear picture appeared in Lu Yun's mind.

  His expression changed slightly, and Lu Yun hastily said: "It's not good, Xu Jie is in a place not far from here, encountering danger. At the same time, Yun Feng and the others have also arrived, fighting against the ghost soldiers in Gui Wang City, the situation is also very bad." The two women heard this, their faces greatly changed, only then thinking of the other four people's matters.

  "Let's hurry, we'll gather together first and then decide whether to leave or go deeper," said Ao Xue.

  Lu Yun rose to his feet, and with one swift motion of his right hand, he grasped the evil sword hovering above him. As he gazed at the sword in his hand, a flash of divine light appeared in Lu Yun's eyes, and a powerful surge of pure fire true essence burst into it. The sword emitted a joyful hum as its radiance suddenly expanded, and the bloodthirsty aura that had been alternating with it was instantly suppressed by the fiery dragon. The sword regained its original appearance, but amidst the pure red glow, a faint thread of bloody light flowed, extremely subtle yet impossible to dispel.

  With a whoosh, three figures soared through the air on their swords, heading back in the direction they came from, and vanished into thin air.