He still had things he couldn't quite figure out.
The Ghost King Duo'e turned his head to glance at Xu Qing, who was relentlessly pursuing him, truly unable to understand why this nemesis wouldn't stop chasing him.
"Well, I'm tired. When I head to the Underworld, having someone accompany me would be a blessing."
"Especially when it's someone as exceptional as you, no less than me..."
Xu Qing looked up at the sky that was suffused with a crimson glow.
He laughed toothily and said, "Old neighbor, you want to use the calamity of the Celestial Fire to reduce us both to ashes?"
"That won't do, I still have use for your body."
The Ghost King Duo'e grew more curious, as evil spirits most feared the calamity of Celestial Fire. How could this corpse monster, with less than a thousand years of cultivation, say such things?
But before the Ghost King Duo'e could ponder further, he saw the young man in white robes before him enveloped by sacred incense flames of great merit.
The crown atop the youth's head transformed into the Five Phoenix Crown, formed of gathered incense flames, and his blue-bordered white robe transmuted into a jade-like cloud mantle and a wide-sleeved shirt with a round collar...
The edges of his clothes bloomed with intertwining floral patterns, resembling the Birth Mountain and Fortune Sea, and finally, the golden character "Bao" appeared on the hem of his skirt.
The ghost fire in the Ghost King's eyes suddenly expanded, even his jawbone instinctively opened wide, unable to close again.
His mind had completely halted, everything happening before him had already exceeded his understanding.
Xu Qing only brought him a sense of the unknown—was this person human, ghost, or god? He couldn't determine.
And the unknown was often the most terrifying.
Xu Qing ignored the Ghost King Duo'e, for in his eyes, this ghost king was no longer capable of speech.
The calamity of the Celestial Fire was far more terrifying than lightning calamity. Once it ignited the Yin Fire, the fishermen and people on both banks of the Baisha River would undoubtedly face disaster without reason.
Under the all-encompassing sweep of the Celestial Fire, the Ghost King's Duo'e corpse would also vanish into nothing.
So-called Celestial Fire wasn't ordinary fire, nor could it be considered rootless Celestial Fire, but rather a heavenly 'fire calamity' that stoked the Yin Fire within those avoiding disaster.
This fire burns up from the gushing spring point in the sole, penetrating the Mud Pit Palace. If one's cultivation is insufficient and the Yin Fire too strong, in an instant, the five organs turn to ash, limbs decay, and regardless of previous years of hard cultivation, it all becomes nothing under the fiery calamity.
Xu Qing's task was to completely sever the calamity before the Ghost King Duo'e was engulfed by Yin Fire, while also gaining firsthand understanding of the power of Celestial Fire calamity for future ordeal experiences.
If things prove impossible, he could employ the Fire Zombie Transformation, utilize the Divine Travel Celestial Scripture, abandon the ghost king's corpse, and return to the Nether River...
The Celestial Fire came extremely quickly; initially, Xu Qing saw only the sky covered in a layer of crimson, resembling sunset twilight, but then a moment later, sparks cascaded down from the cloud gaps.
Those sparks in mid-air attracted one another, forming threads of fiery serpents that danced like a crimson dragon; when they fell to the Baisha River, they wove into a curtain of fire, censoring sky from land!
On the river, centering around the Ghost King Duo'e's feet, the water turned to steam and boiled like a cauldron, spreading quickly to the riverbank!
The Ghost King Duo'e grunted softly, the Yin Fire within him instantly triggered by Celestial Fire, and Yin Fire surged uncontrollably from the gushing spring beneath his feet!
The Yin Fire, neither quite blue nor purple, appeared so eerie.
The descending Celestial Fire was drawn in by these Yin Fires, falling faster than before, and in the blink of an eye, the fire curtain had reached Xu Qing's head.
Xu Qing gazing at the all-encompassing Celestial Fire, waved his wide sleeve, flinging the luminous jade ruyi along with a hundred thousand incense flames.
The jade ruyi expanded mid-air, accompanied by a hundred thousand incense flames coalescing into an immense benevolent apparition of Lady Bao Sheng, who held the jade ruyi!
The divine apparition was magnificent, surrounded by sacred radiance, and as the Celestial Fire touched the divine apparition of incense flames, the previously ferocious tongues of flame suddenly recoiled, as if even the Celestial God had burned his tongue.
The scent of this incense flame...
The Celestial Fire, sensing the familiar incense merits, abruptly halted.
Time seemed to pause for several breaths upon the Baisha River.
Moments later, the fire curtain pouring down from the sky began to retreat from mid-air, like receding tide, vanishing in an instant!
Leaving only a ghost king and a divine apparition standing serenely on the river surface.
Xu Qing slightly furrowed his brow. What was going on with this Celestial Fire calamity? Why did it retreat as soon as it had descended?
Watching the sky turn from crimson to white, Xu Qing finally turned to the motionless Ghost King Duo'e.
The divine apparition of Lady Bao Sheng receded, and Xu Qing reverted to his true form, walking on water straight to the Ghost King Duo'e.
The latter hesitated momentarily, his voice dry and hoarse, "We are neighbors..."
Seeing Xu Qing not responding, the Ghost King continued, "According to imperial standards, does the matter of a ceremonious state burial still stand?"
Xu Qing clicked his tongue sharply in distaste—when on the point of breaking, knowing to cry out in pain; caught in the rain and catching a cold, realizing a need for an umbrella; dragged into a lawsuit, knowing to reason?
Think you have a big face or what?
"Forget about a grand burial. At most, I'll erect a monument in the Ghost King Mausoleum for you, letting people know there was someone like you."
Xu Qing retorted peevishly, then clasped the Ghost King Duo'e's wrist, thinking of how much incense he'd wasted on him, always dreaming of beautiful things—perhaps he'd become a foolish emperor!
"I..."
The Ghost King Duo'e wanted to say more, but suddenly felt a stiffness throughout his body, the power overriding the law of death, a terror unlike anything he'd ever seen!
"You..."
The ghost fire in the Ghost King Duo'e's eyes flickered dramatically, but he managed to utter only one word before halting abruptly.
At that moment, the thousand-year-old Netherworld ghost eyes of the Ghost King Duo'e extinguished, rendering the ghost king into a hollow-eyed skeleton.