Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 369 Thunder Annihilates the Ghost King

Li Ji'an, witnessing this scene through the croaking creature that had disappeared underground, was also taken aback.

In the cultivation world, whether mortal or cultivator, all beings possess three souls and seven spirits. Upon death, the celestial soul returns to the heavenly path, the terrestrial soul merges with the earth, and the life soul enters the cycle of reincarnation.

The life soul is a person's innate yin soul. Without the two souls of heaven and earth, one becomes a yin ghost.

Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for a wandering spirit to exist for long. If it fails to enter the cycle of reincarnation within seven days, it will dissipate from the world and cease to exist completely.

However, there are some special places, such as the Dragon Burial Cave, which are places of blood and evil, and are sealed by supreme power, making it difficult for evil spirits to disperse. They can then be nourished and strengthened by the blood and evil yin veins and become ghosts.

Ordinary ghosts are still just the power of yin spirits, and can mostly only affect the consciousness and soul of ordinary people.

If one wants to physically harm someone, one can only do so through possession by a spirit.

However, the third-tier Yin Ghost has already surpassed the ranks of ordinary ghosts and has acquired a divine ability that has solidified into a tangible form.

In a sense, they have become an unconventional cultivator, possessing an unconventional path to enlightenment.

Li Ji'an had seen records in ancient books about ancient cultivators who used their yin souls to cultivate the ghost path, condensing ghost infants and creating miracles that deceived the heavens and gods.

However, the path of ghost cultivation is even more difficult than that of magic cultivation, soul cultivation, and body cultivation.

Since they are born with incomplete dual souls of heaven and earth, they are unable to absorb the spiritual essence and laws of heaven and earth. Furthermore, if they encounter a heavenly tribulation when they transform into ghost infants, they will surely die. Since ancient times, those who have been able to safely reach the stage of ghost infants are even fewer than those who have ascended to immortal lords.

However, it is not without its advantages. Its advantage is that the soul does not know where it belongs. If it is not subjected to heavenly lightning and earthly fire, and if it is not consumed by something that restrains it, it can theoretically exist forever.

However, the power of time will still erode its potential and weaken its soul power.

The third-tier ghost king before him was clearly in the period of decay due to the passage of time. If it could not advance any further, it would begin to decline and eventually wander aimlessly.

"Wait!" Upon learning that it was a third-tier Ghost King, Lin Xiuzhu hurriedly spoke up.

A third-tier Ghost King is comparable to a Core Formation cultivator, and in such a place of blood and yin energy, the evil energy is continuously supplied, making him even stronger.

Lin Xiuzhu clearly sensed that the power of the attack was comparable to his own, and that he would be at a disadvantage if he did not use magic weapons and corpse puppets to deal with it.

"Roar~" Several wisps of ghostly mist roared simultaneously, as if in response.

"Fellow Daoist, listen to me. Once I obtain an opportunity, I can take you out. At that time, the sky will be high and the land vast, and there will be countless fresh blood offerings. Fellow Daoist may then have hope of advancing further." Lin Xiuzhu immediately offered this incentive.

Upon hearing this, the ghostly mist noticeably stopped, and several wisps of mist began to merge.

"Roar~" However, after only three breaths, the ghostly mist erupted again.

Then, as if completely losing his mind, he lunged at Lin Xiuzhu again.

Boom~
Yin energy condensed into sharp cones, attacking from all directions. Lin Xiuzhu's expression darkened, and flames around him transformed into a shield.

The next moment, the yin energy, without any hesitation, crashed directly into the raging flames.

The scene instantly erupted in flames, the streaks of fire illuminating almost all the black mist.

Wherever the flames passed, they stirred up a surge of black mist.

But soon more yin energy surged in and extinguished the flames.

"They're not even afraid of my Three Flames Corpse Fire!" After the attack, Lin Xiuzhu became even more serious.

The Three Flames Corpse Fire is the only technique among all his spells that can restrain Yin spirits, and this Corpse Fire alone has the potential to kill an ordinary mid-stage Core Formation cultivator.

However, it had little effect on the Yin Ghost, which should have been countered by the Corpse Fire.

"At least comparable to a Ghost King in the late stage of Core Formation!"

Fortunately, Lin Xiuzhu could also see that this ghost king was in a state of chaos, its mind was unclear, and it only had the instinct to feed on living beings, without any intelligence to use special methods.

Otherwise, if this Ghost King were fully conscious and used all his methods, he would have to use all his trump cards and would likely suffer heavy losses himself to defeat him.

If that's the case, then he's in danger here, especially with the presence of the Yin Ghost Saint and the Blood Spirit Saint.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~" Thinking of this, he didn't delay any longer and instantly summoned five more corpse puppets.

With the addition of the natal golden corpse, there are now six corpse puppets each facing a group of ghost king clones.

Now that the Ghost King has lost its intelligence and is only driven by instinct to charge and bite, the Corpse Puppet, though no match for it, can still hold it back.

After the six corpse puppets restrained the six clones that the Ghost King had created, Lin Xiuzhu sat cross-legged on the ground and summoned a dark earthenware pot.

As Lin Xiuzhu's magical power surged in, the dark earthenware pot began to emit a faint light.

Strands of eerie light emanated from it, silently coiling around the six wisps of ghostly figures.

This earthenware jar is the most precious treasure of the Corpse Puppet Sect, and also the foundation upon which the first Golden Puppet Saint Monarch established his sect in the Heavenly Azure Domain.

Named the Corpse Refining Jar, it can be used with the Corpse Puppet Sect's corpse refining techniques to create super-tier three golden corpses.

Corpse refining requires the separation of the corpse and soul, especially when refining a golden corpse of the third rank or above, the yin soul must be completely obliterated. Therefore, this jar is also very effective in eliminating yin souls.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle~" The moment the dark, eerie light touched the six clusters of yin energy, a wisp of white smoke hissed.

The yin energy, as if struck by lightning, scattered and fled.

Unfortunately, the eerie light clung to the bone like a maggot, preventing the yin energy from escaping.

"Roar~" The six wisps of yin energy struggled wildly, knocking away the six corpse puppets that were restraining them. At the same time, as the ghostly light lingered for longer and longer, the yin energy rapidly declined.

And being pulled by the ghostly light, they were helplessly heading towards the corpse-refining jar.

Just as the six wisps of Yin energy were about to be completely pulled into the corpse-refining jar, Li Ji'an's divine sense stirred and he suddenly detected a faint fluctuation of magical power not far away.

He immediately instructed Guagua to move in that direction.

Soon, a figure hidden in the corner came into view.

It was the first Holy Son of the Yin Ghost Sect who headed deep into the Burial Dragon Cave.

Its location was exactly outside Lin Xiuzhu's divine sense range, and its entire body was enveloped by endless bloodthirsty energy, merging with the surroundings.

With a slight movement of his magical power, a wisp of ghostly spirits surrounding him mingled with the blood and evil energy of the dragon's lair and drifted towards Lin Xiuzhu.

Li Ji'an chuckled and waited to see what would happen.

As a wisp of the Yin Ghost Saint Son drifted over, the six wisps of Yin energy that Lin Xiuzhu was absorbing with all his might suddenly trembled.

Then, to his surprise and disbelief, the six clusters of yin energy began to merge into one.

"Oh no!" Lin Xiuzhu exclaimed in alarm.

The reason he decided to use the corpse-refining jar to absorb this ghost king was that he discovered that the other party had lost his mind and only had instincts.

After he summoned six corpse puppets, the Ghost King's spirit actively split into six clones, greatly reducing its own power.

But now they begin to unite.

Once combined, it truly possesses the power of the late-stage Core Formation realm.

"Stop!" Now that things had come to this, he couldn't think any further and could only increase the absorption power, even at the cost of consuming more of the corpse refining jar's reserves.

Boom~
However, the six wisps of spirits merged into one just before being collected into the corpse-refining jar.

In an instant, an even stronger aura of Yin energy erupted.

The mysterious fog before them gradually transformed into a humanoid figure shrouded in black mist, its eyes glowing with a crimson light.

A strong, malevolent aura emanated from his nostrils.

As soon as he returned to his true form, the Ghost King took a deep breath, and the surrounding blood and evil energies surged in, continuously nourishing the Yin energy that Lin Xiuzhu had just consumed.

Lin Xiuzhu's six corpse puppets immediately blocked his way, and the corpse refining jar above his head was pushed to its limit.

But they were already unable to budge the opponent in the slightest.

"Roar~" After absorbing the surrounding blood energy, the Ghost King slowly turned his head, glanced at the corpse refining jar, and finally fixed his scarlet eyes on Lin Xiuzhu.

"You brat, you're asking for death!" Then he spoke in a human voice, hoarse and deep, like a ghost from hell.

Lin Xiuzhu's expression suddenly changed.

Just moments ago, it was clear that the other party had lost their mind, but now they have regained their senses.

Before he could retrieve the corpse-refining jar, the Ghost King spat out a stream of black energy, instantly enveloping the jar. In an instant, his connection with the jar was severed.

"Bold ghost!" Lin Xiuzhu was shocked. The Corpse Refining Jar was not only a sacred object of the Corpse Puppet Sect, but also a symbol of the sect leader. Before the Golden Puppet Saint Lord went to the Central Ten Domains, he passed it on to him, which confirmed his identity as the next sect leader of the Corpse Puppet Sect.

No longer caring about conserving his strength, Lin Xiuzhu bit his tongue hard and pointed at the dark golden corpse puppet.

The dark golden corpse puppet instantly shone with golden light, its entire body as if cast in gold, and its aura surged instantly, reaching another level and approaching the peak of the third-tier golden body corpse puppet.

After the golden corpse puppet's aura surged to its peak, it suddenly attacked the Ghost King.

The Ghost King, his breath gushing out, fearlessly lunged at the golden corpse puppet.

"Bang!" The two sides clashed head-on, both retreating three zhang (approximately 10 meters), showing that they were evenly matched.

"Hehehe~" The Ghost King was not angry but happy. His scarlet eyes stared at the golden corpse with extreme desire.

"I want this golden body." With that, he swept up the black mist once more.

The golden puppet is mindless and devoid of consciousness; it only attacks relentlessly.

However, this time the Ghost King no longer fought head-on. When the golden puppet attacked, the point of contact immediately turned into illusory ghostly mist, and the attack missed its mark.

However, every time the ghostly mist touched it, a significant amount would adhere to the golden puppet.

Lin Xiuzhu could clearly feel that with each additional wisp of ghost mist absorbed, the golden puppet's movements slowed down a little.

The Golden Puppet's attacks mainly relied on force and corpse poison, which had little effect on the Ghost King.

"Possessed by a ghost!" Lin Xiuzhu quickly understood his intention, and his expression became even more solemn.

The corpse puppet whose sea of ​​consciousness has been purified by the corpse refining jar is no longer an ordinary physical body. Even if an ordinary nascent soul wanted to possess it, it would be impossible, since without a sea of ​​consciousness, the nascent soul would have nowhere to go.

However, ghost cultivators are different; they truly have the potential to possess others and make them their own bodies.

"How dare you!" Lin Xiuzhu dared not delay any longer and summoned his natal magic weapon from his dantian.

His natal magic weapon is a bronze staff covered with bloodthirsty barbs. As soon as it appears, it greedily absorbs the bloodthirsty energy in the air.

With a "bang!", the staff struck out, bringing with it a fierce gale, actually unleashing nearly 50% of the power of this sixth-grade magic weapon.

The fierce gale swept past, and the Ghost King dared not confront it head-on, but he was not afraid either. The moment it touched him, the Ghost King's body turned into mist and easily dodged it.

Then, he launched another attack with ghostly energy, forcing Lin Xiuzhu to fight back with all his might.

With the Ghost King's attack, Lin Xiuzhu's protective magic shield dimmed slightly.

Just moments later, Lin Xiuzhu had no choice but to retreat rapidly, escaping the Ghost King's attack range.

The Ghost King did not pursue, but continued to deal with the golden corpse puppet, gradually attaching ghost mist to its body.

At this moment, Lin Xiuzhu could clearly feel that his golden corpse puppet's movements had slowed down by several percent, and its overall power had decreased by at least 30 percent.

"Today I will make your soul vanish into nothingness!" Lin Xiuzhu was completely enraged. He slapped his storage bag, and a talisman crackling with lightning flew out.

Thunder crackled across it, emanating a chilling aura.

Li Ji'an, sensing through the croaking sound, also felt a tightness in his heart.

It turned out to be a talisman treasure.

With Li Ji'an's insight as a third-tier elite talisman master, he could tell at a glance that this talisman was not an ancient artifact, but rather something that had been created only three hundred years ago.

It must have been made by a senior Rank 3 talisman master of this era.

Judging from the power of lightning on this talisman, it must have been made from a top-grade lightning-attribute magic weapon.

Such a person could only possibly exist in the Central Ten Regions.

The power of this contemporary talisman has not been diminished by time; it possesses at least 20% of the power of a top-grade magic weapon.

The top three grade magic treasures correspond to Nascent Soul True Monarchs. Even talisman treasures refined from third-grade magic treasures pose a fatal threat to late-stage Core Formation cultivators.

Moreover, this talisman contains the power of thunder, which has a strong restraining effect on evil spirits and ghosts.

"Roar~" The moment the Ghost King appeared with this talisman, the ghost mist trembled violently, showing deep fear.

"Fellow Daoist, wait!" After his initial shock, he hurriedly spoke, his voice still low and hoarse, but with a hint of weakness in it.

"Hmph! Now you know fear?" Lin Xiuzhu was furious.

The corpse-refining jar was cut off from the ghostly energy, and his natal golden corpse puppet was also entangled by the ghostly energy. He truly had the intention to kill it.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have revealed the life-saving trump card that the Golden Puppet Saint King gave him so early.

This was his secret weapon, prepared to deal with the Holy Son of the Yin Ghost Sect and the Holy Maiden of the Blood Spirit Sect.

Moreover, this talisman was seized by Master Golden Puppet Saint Lord in the Central Ten Domains battlefield. The opponent has already activated it once, leaving only two more chances.

"Fellow Daoist, I have been trapped here for thousands of years, and my mind has been devoured. What I did just now was not my true intention. I hope you will forgive me." Seeing that Lin Xiuzhu did not make a move immediately, the Ghost King saw a glimmer of hope and took another step to ease the conflict.

After years of chaos, it suddenly regained a sliver of intelligence, and its will to survive was stronger than ever before.

The opponent's Thunder Talisman is powerful and specifically counters Hidden Blood Fiend. Even if it cannot be destroyed, it will certainly be severely injured.

Even if the ghost body can still exist, its mind will inevitably fall into chaos again, making life worse than death.

Lin Xiuzhu narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully scrutinizing the other party. Sensing the other party's deep-seated fear, he loosened his grip on the talisman slightly.

If he had a choice, he naturally wouldn't want to waste a strike like that.

"Why haven't you released my magical artifacts and the corpse puppet yet?"

Upon hearing this, the Ghost King's scarlet eyes flickered, and then he reluctantly dispelled all the ghostly energy attached to the golden corpse puppet.

It was quite reluctant to part with such a fine golden corpse puppet, but it had no choice but to give it up for the time being.

Then, the corpse-refining jar that had been stored in the ghostly mist was taken out.

This corpse-refining jar is equally rare to it.

Because the essence of the Yin spirits inside this jar is extremely rich, it is an excellent source of nourishment for Yin spirits. If one can absorb and refine all the essence of the Yin spirits inside, the Yin spirit will at least take another step forward.

Seeing this, Lin Xiuzhu finally felt much more at ease.

However, just as the Ghost King was about to hand over the corpse-refining jar, another wisp of eerie light silently seeped into the Blood Fiend, slowly infiltrating the Ghost King's thick fog.

The frog underground saw this scene clearly.

"Boom!" The next moment, the ghost king, which was being corrupted by the ghostly light, suddenly went berserk. Its scarlet eyes instantly turned crazy and violent, and it immediately attacked Lin Xiuzhu, who was right next to it.

"How dare you!" Lin Xiuzhu, who was holding the Thunder Talisman, was shocked and activated the Thunder Talisman without any further hesitation.

stab~
The lightning bolt shot out, instantly illuminating the area as if it were daytime.

"Ah woo~"

The Ghost King's misty body screamed shrilly under the thunder, and almost 60% of its ghostly aura dissipated in an instant.

However, the Ghost King's attack before being hit also struck Lin Xiuzhu precisely.

"Crack!" Lin Xiuzhu's protective magic shield shattered, and his body was pierced by the surging ghost energy.

"Pfft~" Lin Xiuzhu spat out a mouthful of blood mist, staggered, and his eyes were full of disbelief.

The ghost king's spirit had been reduced to 60%, making it difficult to maintain its strength. It had no confidence to resist the thunder.

But it actually managed to inflict a heavy blow on itself, damaging the enemy by eight hundred while suffering a thousand losses in return.

Totally inconsistent with common sense.

In an instant, Lin Xiuzhu's heart stirred, and he subtly probed the surroundings once more with his divine sense.

Then, he quickly swallowed a healing pill while protecting himself with the corpse refining jar and the golden corpse puppet.

Just then, the sound of something flying away came from the passage in the distance.

"Brother Lin, is that you?" The voice of the Yin Ghost Saint Son came the next moment, filled with concern.

(End of this chapter)