"The Ghost Law has spiraled out of control. If it fails, the Celestial Emperor will merely discard it like an abandoned pawn. When that time comes, it will only have one path left—to collude with the Nine Netherworld Corpse."
"Yet I cannot wait for that day to arrive. As the Demon Exorcism True Monarch, ghost-slaying and demon-elimination are my duty. Even if a price must be paid, I cannot sit idly by while the Ghost Law wreaks havoc on the mortal world."
"So, after hearing all this, are you still willing to lend me your strength?"
Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I only care about the safety of the Jin Sect; as for the grand dynamics of the heavens and earth and the scheming plots, I have no interest."
"Regarding your talk of seeking the entitlement of the Netherworld's lost treasure, I will not interfere either."
The red-robed man's expression shifted slightly, showing some delight. "The entitlement of the lost treasure was never certain. The treasure divided into two; in a thousand years, I am not the only one among spirits and gods seeking this treasure, yet no one has ever found it."
"If the heavy artifact of the Netherworld actually falls into human hands, in the vast expanse of the Three Realms and Six Paths, where would one even begin to search for those two?"
"What is pressing now is how to strangle the Ghost Law in the Yin River."
Xu Qing frowned again. The Ghost Law commands ten thousand ghosts; its divine ghost techniques have already surpassed the realm of immortals. Otherwise, the Land Nuo Immortal would not avoid its sharp edge, laying down the multi-peril Ghost King as a pawn in the Yin River.
Adding to that the severely injured Cyan Dragon God Lord, and the True Monarch of the Xuan Altar beneath the Bone Temple's ruins, the Ghost Law's prowess is far from ordinary immortals or deities.
Xu Qing does not believe that the Demon Exorcism True Monarch, along with himself, can have any winning odds.
"I am merely a mortal. Though I have a few Xuan Sect techniques, none are worthy of mention. Why does the True Monarch think I can be of assistance?"
The red-robed man's eyes gleamed, and with a flick of his hand, he tossed the Ghost-slaying Treasure Sword back to Xu Qing, saying, "If you are willing to take up this sword, I will tell you the method to tackle the Ghost Law. I have no less than a thirty percent chance of success!"
How much chance?
Xu Qing lifted his foot and kicked the sword back to its original path.
"Then you'd better keep quiet!"
"You brat!"
A hint of ire colored the red-robed man's face. In the face of public duty and justice, not to mention a thirty percent chance, even a mere half-percent should inspire resolute action.
"Do not rush to refuse. The thirty percent I mentioned is that of myself alone heading to pinpoint the Ghost Law's arrangements. As long as my journey goes smoothly, there's at least a fifty percent chance!"
Having said that, the Demon Exorcism True Monarch swung his sleeve to knock the Ghost-slaying Treasure Sword down again.
Below, hearing about the fifty percent, Xu Qing remained unmoved, watching the sheathed treasure sword shoot its way. As his feet sprang up into the air, he executed a backflip with a Gold Crown Kick and kicked the sword back again.
Thus, repeating this three to five times until the red-robed man was thoroughly aggravated, Xu Qing finally caught hold of the treasure sword.
At this moment, the success rate mentioned by the Demon Exorcism True Monarch had already reached seventy percent.
Holding the Ghost-slaying Treasure Sword, which is seen as a prized possession by the world, Xu Qing was not swayed by the True Monarch's words.
He no longer kicked the sword back, not because of the sword's allure, but because he saw the True Monarch truly ablaze.
"Tell me about this seventy-percent method. If it's indeed as you say, I may consider it."
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch had never been humbled like this, but there was no choice. For hundreds, if not thousands of years at the Yin River, no suitable candidate had appeared.
Underneath the Five Filthy Evil Worlds, Xu Qing, with the Magical Power of Blood Lake, truly is a rare find of nine hundred ninety-nine in thousands.
"The Ghost Law transforms into a multitude of ghosts; its essence is ten thousand ghosts. As long as one ghost's form and spirit remain, it will not perish."
"It can be said to truly be without weakness, uncuttable and undying."
"But my millennium of ghost-slaying has never once believed there is an unvanquishable ghost!" The Demon Exorcism True Monarch's eyes shone with divine light: "The True Monarch of the Xuan Altar is not a god incarnate of flesh, but a divine path practitioner. He once mentioned the Ghost Law is akin to the divine path, yet different."
"In the divine path, one receives the decree of heaven and earth to be sealed as a god. Should the god-sealing object remain unscathed after death, the divine path survives. After the Xuan Altar True Monarch's demise, they were not utterly eradicated, but reborn instead."
"Similarly, the Ghost Law lacks a corporeal form, thus its shape constantly morphs, perpetually roaming within the amalgam of myriad ghosts' bodies, with no one capable of completely annihilating it."
"I have pondered this for years, even at the expense of my cultivation, solely to uncover the Ghost Law's weakness, but to no avail, until in recent times, I finally achieved enlightenment!"
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch was unable to hide his excitement, his gaze touched with a hint of madness: "Since it harbors no weakness, why can't I forge one for it?"
"It merely relies on lacking a fixed corporeal form, with all ghosts being its life force. But if I gift it a body, imprisoning it within that form, even for a single breath, there's a chance to eradicate it completely!"
"..."
Looking at the nearly frenzied red-robed man, Xu Qing posed the critical question: "Whose body does the True Monarch plan to offer it?"
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch fell silent for a moment, then curled his lips into an eerie smile, speaking in words that defy tranquility: "Naturally, the body of a divine spirit; for aside from my own corpse, ordinary ghost bodies and Yin corpses wouldn't lure the Ghost Law."
"Kid, didn't you wonder earlier why the multi-peril Ghost King, Eight Banner Marshals, and the Yin Corroding Law King, who all are ghost entities, haven't been devoured and assimilated by the Ghost Law?"
Xu Qing's eyes widened as though something flashed through his mind.
"Indeed! The Eight Banner Marshals are all skeletal ghosts, possessing bodies; could it be..."
"Precisely!" The Demon Exorcism True Monarch clapped his hands and laughed: "If the Ghost Law desires to acquire their magical and divine techniques, it must undergo a process of residing within their shells, perhaps only for a breath, but during this period, the Ghost Law would no longer be without weakness."
"However, this weakness is difficult to locate, unless the Yin corpse being consumed by the Ghost Law can guide others to find it; then the Ghost Law can be vanquished!"