The Ghost-Faced King tore apart Gu Tianchen, whose body was consumed by flames, and extended its scarlet tongue to savor the blood.
But the torn Gu Tianchen dissolved into flames, scorching the Ghost-Faced King's tongue, eliciting a pained, guttural roar.
Gu Tianchen's true body appeared behind the monster. Seizing the moment as it reeled from the Divine Fire Avatar's burn, he drove the Zhurong Halberd into its side.
"Roar!!!"
The Ghost-Faced King, wracked with pain, unleashed a terrifying wave of mental energy, blasting Gu Tianchen back.
He crashed into the Unrestrained Void Domain's barrier, the Zhurong Halberd flying back to lodge in the ground. His accumulated Dutian Divine Fire was exhausted, leaving his body drained.
The Ghost-Faced King, its side pierced, glared at Gu Tianchen with blood-red eyes, lunging to kill.
Ding!
Zhao Kongcheng flicked open a silver needle on his Night Watchman emblem, piercing his palm.
A powerful surge of mental energy erupted from him.
Clang!
Zhao Kongcheng blocked the Ghost-Faced King with his sword. The monster's ghostly face twisted in disbelief.
This ant, who was just crushed underfoot, how did he suddenly become so strong?!
Zhao Kongcheng's eyes were cold. "I told you, if I had a Forbidden Ruin, I'd have killed you eight hundred times already!"
Swish!
A massive black crescent blade slashed from his sword, severing the Ghost-Faced King's right arm.
"Roar!"
The maimed Ghost-Faced King went berserk, its eyes glowing redder.
Zhao Kongcheng gripped his sword, unable to contain his elation, laughing skyward.
"Hahaha, Forbidden Ruin Sequence 083: Oblivion Flash Moon!"
"Hahahaha, I knew it—Old Zhao's a damn genius!"
Each swing of his sword left deep gashes on the Ghost-Faced King.
Under the Ghost God Guidance, his physical prowess reached unprecedented heights.
So this is what a Forbidden Ruin feels like…
Awesome!
Freaking awesome!
But the Ghost God Guidance's duration was short. Zhao Kongcheng's black crescent blades grew smaller, and his wounds began to ache.
Sensing the shift, the Ghost-Faced King burned its own essence, launching a fiercer assault.
Bang!
Seizing an opening, the Ghost-Faced King's fist slammed into Zhao Kongcheng's chest, sending him flying like a broken kite, crashing hard to the ground.
"Cough, cough…"
Zhao Kongcheng leaned on his sword, trying to stand, but excruciating pain sapped his strength.
Boom!
A loud crack echoed as a fissure appeared in the Unrestrained Void Domain.
Lin Qiye, his eyes blazing with golden flames, stepped inside.
"You… how'd you get in?" Zhao Kongcheng asked, bewildered.
"I glared at it, and it opened," Lin Qiye replied.
Zhao Kongcheng glanced at Gu Tianchen, then at Lin Qiye.
"Damn it, you're all freaks…"
Gripping his sword, Zhao Kongcheng mustered the last of his mental energy.
"You two, get behind me."
"I can fight with you," Lin Qiye said.
"I know. One slash… just one slash… let me finish this, then you can help."
Gu Tianchen and Lin Qiye watched Zhao Kongcheng, sword in hand, with solemn expressions.
In this moment, he was a fearless general charging into battle.
"You two kids."
"Yeah?"
"Watch this slash closely."
"Why?"
"Because this slash… will be damn cool!"
Zhao Kongcheng shot forward like an arrow, charging the wary Ghost-Faced King, his sword swinging without flourish.
An unprecedented black crescent blade tore through the night, slicing raindrops, hurtling toward the Ghost-Faced King!
The gravely wounded monster couldn't dodge. The blade streaked across the sky, severing the Ghost-Faced King's pale, grotesque head!
Gurgle, gurgle!
The head rolled on the ground.
Drained of all strength, Zhao Kongcheng collapsed backward.
Lin Qiye, closest to him, stepped forward to catch the battered Zhao Kongcheng, looking lost.
With his Mortal Realm, Lin Qiye could clearly sense Zhao Kongcheng's life force fading bit by bit…
"Your body…"
"Cough, cough… I know… the backlash of using Ghost God Guidance to force a Forbidden Ruin."
"You'll die."
"I know. Heh, knowing my Forbidden Ruin's power before I go and using it to slay a River Realm entity—my life wasn't wasted. Hahaha… cough, cough…"
Zhao Kongcheng grinned. "Besides… I did it…"
"Did what?"
"Brandish the blade against the abyss, blood staining the heavens…"
"Kid, do me a favor," Zhao Kongcheng said, looking at Lin Qiye supporting him.
"Name it."
"There's a pack of cigarettes in my pocket. Light one for me."
Lin Qiye pulled out the cigarettes and lighter.
Click! Click! Click!
The rain-soaked lighter wouldn't ignite the cigarette.
Snap!
From the side, Gu Tianchen snapped his fingers, a wisp of purple-red flame igniting the cigarette.
Zhao Kongcheng grinned at Gu Tianchen. "Your Forbidden Ruin's pretty handy, kid. Never worry about someone swiping your lighter again…"
"Even now, you're cracking jokes?"
"Heh," Zhao Kongcheng took a deep drag, savoring the moment. "I took down the Ghost-Faced King with one slash. You guys saw that, right?"
"We saw," Gu Tianchen and Lin Qiye said in unison.
Zhao Kongcheng's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
The next second, the headless corpse of the Ghost-Faced King began to rise from the muddy ground…
Lin Qiye's pupils constricted. The Ghost-Faced King wasn't dead?!
He started to move, but Gu Tianchen waved him off.
Gu Tianchen pointed at the distant Ghost-Faced King, then at himself, and finally at Zhao Kongcheng in Lin Qiye's arms.
Lin Qiye understood: Gu Tianchen would handle the Ghost-Faced King; he was to care for Zhao Kongcheng.
The rain kept falling.
Zhao Kongcheng's breathing in Lin Qiye's arms grew weaker…
Gu Tianchen's eyes blazed with fury. He slammed a fist into the rising Ghost-Faced King, sending it flying.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gu Tianchen's fists pounded the Ghost-Faced King's pale, ghostly face, drawing anguished screams.
A terrifying divine majesty erupted from Gu Tianchen, laced with an endless aura of death, as if emanating from the deepest depths of the underworld.
The Ghost-Faced King's pale face saw Gu Tianchen's eyes turn gray, as if beholding a profoundly terrifying entity. Its body trembled, overwhelmed by a soul-deep fear that shattered its remaining sanity.
Bang!
Gu Tianchen's fist, wreathed in surging black deathly aura, obliterated the pale ghostly face.
Within the Pangu Temple.
Of the eleven remaining gray-green statues, one developed a faint crack the moment Zhao Kongcheng fell.
The massive statue collapsed, dissolving into dust within the hall.
Amid boundless black deathly aura, a hunched old man in tattered black robes emerged, clutching a skull-topped scepter.
From beneath the worn robes, his face was obscured, and his throat emitted an ancient, weathered whisper.
"Soul, return to me…"
***
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