Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 351 The Mysterious Ghost Infant
The black palace was solemn and imposing, exuding an eerie atmosphere.

"Senior Brother Zixiang, you go ahead and check the situation, but be extremely careful."

Lin Zixiang said nothing, but clasped his hands together, forming a golden light shield to protect himself, and pushed open the black palace gate to go inside.

Song Xian and the others followed him at a distance. After entering the inner room, they saw a spacious courtyard. The courtyard was empty and there was nothing inside. Even the blue brick floor was spotless.

Only the sound of footsteps echoed in the courtyard. George Lam walked at the front, his expression extremely solemn.

The group continued forward, passing through three courtyards, until they arrived at a black palace covered with blood-red runes that filled the entire exterior wall.

"Sect Leader, this main hall seems to be sealing away some kind of ghost or monster." Lin Zixiang stepped back to the group.

Su Zhirou frowned: "Husband, the blood-red patterns on this main hall look like the Ghost General's Palace we encountered in Anyuan City before."

Song Xian walked up to the black palace and examined the strange, scribbled runes on it. They were indeed very similar to the palace of the ghost general he had encountered before.

But no matter what, we've come this far, and there's no reason to turn back.

“This palace is strange, and there might be danger inside. Your cultivation levels are too low, so you should leave first.” Song Xian waved his hand, signaling Cheng Yu and Jiang Quan to leave first.

Only after the two had gone far away did he put his hands together, and a fiery cloud spear condensed in his palms, shooting towards the palace gate.

Without any sound of intertwining, the flaming spear struck the palace gate, causing the crimson runes on it to surge and burst forth with crimson light, forming a crimson barrier. The crimson light and flames intertwined, and before long, the Fiery Cloud Spear was gradually melted away.

Although some of the crimson runes on the black palace had melted away, most of them remained.

Song Xian was slightly startled. This palace, in terms of both its shape and the blood-red runes on it, was similar to the room where the ghost general lived in the cave in Anyuan City. However, in terms of power, these blood-red runes were much stronger than the restriction from before.

Seeing that the Fiery Cloud Spear had dissipated and the surging crimson runes had returned to the outer wall of the palace, he once again cast the Yang Explosion spell.

A massive crimson sphere materialized and crashed down towards the palace gate. With a deafening roar, the entire black palace trembled, yet the black palace remained unmoved. The crimson runes on it were activated once more, radiating dazzling crimson light.

The giant crimson sphere crashed into the blood-red light barrier and shattered, turning into fireballs. In an instant, the entire courtyard was engulfed in flames.

Lin Zixiang and Su Zhirou had both used their magic to protect themselves. Seeing that the fireballs and blood-red barriers were locked in a stalemate, they also used their magic to attack them.

George Lam clasped his hands together, and a golden broadsword materialized between his palms.

Su Zhirou then conjured a giant ice pillar.

With the help of the two, the crimson barrier gradually twisted and deformed, and the crimson runes on it shattered one by one. Finally, with a loud bang, the black palace collapsed as the crimson barrier shattered.

Just then, a large amount of black mist suddenly surged out of the hall and swept towards the three of them.

"Watch out!" Song Xian shouted softly, and his figure flew backward.

Su Zhirou and Lin Zixiang also retreated.

A large swath of black mist enveloped the spells cast by the three in the blink of an eye.

First, George Lam's golden broadsword visibly melted, then the ice pillars that Su Zhirou had condensed gradually dissipated, and finally even the flames were swallowed up.

Black mist filled the entire courtyard, and a sharp, eerie laugh echoed from within, as if something long dormant had awakened.

Before the laughter had even subsided, two crimson beams shot out from within, like two dazzling lasers.

Even before that eerie laughter was heard, Song Xian had already cast the Fire Stream Cover spell. Now, seeing two crimson beams of light piercing towards them, he immediately flashed and stood in front of Lin Zixiang and Su Zhirou.

Two crimson beams struck the flame barrier, producing a series of sizzling sounds. Blackness and firelight intertwined, and the flame barrier around Song Xian trembled continuously.

"Hide your head and show your tail, reveal your true colors." Lin Zixiang shouted softly, and golden light shone from his body. Golden blades condensed behind him and, like arrows, pierced into the black mist.

Dozens of golden blades initially swept through the area with unstoppable force, and wherever they passed, the golden light washed away the black mist.

The deeper one goes, the thicker the black mist becomes, forming a tangible cloud. As it surges, dozens of golden blades seem to be bound by invisible black ropes, dissolving one by one.

Upon seeing this, George Lam clasped his hands together again, and the golden light surrounding him burst forth, condensing into a giant golden dragon above his head, which plunged headfirst into the black mist.

The golden dragon shook its head and swayed its tail, passing through layers of black mist. Seeing the black mist surging in like clouds, it opened its huge mouth and spat out a golden sphere. The golden sphere instantly exploded, turning into countless dazzling golden rays of light, and the black mist visibly melted away.

The courtyard, shrouded in black mist, instantly regained its clarity. The original black palace had collapsed, and a ghostly infant floated inside. It was only a foot in size, with a pair of blood-red eyes and a face full of wrinkles, looking extremely terrifying.

"What kind of ghost is this?" Su Zhirou stared at the hideous-looking ghost infant with a look of astonishment.

Song Xian also frowned. He didn't know much about the Ghost Path. He had only read some records in books and knew that ghosts were divided into four categories: low-level ghosts or beasts, which were ghosts at the Qi Refining stage.

A higher level of cultivation would make one a Ghost General, equivalent to the Foundation Establishment stage; and above that, a Ghost King.

At the level of Ghost King, ghosts are almost indistinguishable from humans in both appearance and intelligence.

He had never seen this ghostly infant in any books before, so he did not know its origin.

Based on the array formations erected outside, he guessed that this ghost infant might not be a natural product, but rather an experimental creation of some mad cultivator.
Of course, it's also possible that a desperate rogue cultivator turned to the ghost path and ended up in this state by some twist of fate.

However, now is not the time to think about these things. This ghost infant clearly has ill intentions towards them, and its pair of crimson eyes are fixed on Song Xian as if it wants to devour him.

The two sides faced each other from a distance. The two crimson beams of light that had shot from the ghost infant's eyes had been withdrawn. Lin Zixiang controlled the golden dragon to open its huge mouth and spit out another golden sphere, which shot towards the ghost infant.

The ghost infant neither dodged nor evaded, letting the golden sphere attack. It only stretched out a small hand to block it. With a loud bang, the golden sphere struck the ghost infant's palm and exploded, instantly engulfing the ghost infant in golden light.

However, the next moment, the countless golden spikes seemed to be sucked in by something. A vortex-shaped black hole formed in front of the ghost infant, and all the golden spikes were sucked into it and disappeared. As the ghost infant withdrew its left hand, the vortex-shaped black hole in front of it vanished instantly. Then, it grabbed at the air with its right hand, and a huge ghost claw made of black mist appeared in mid-air, grabbing the golden dragon in its hand. The dense black mist surged towards the golden dragon with the ghost claw, quickly engulfing it.

Before long, the golden dragon's body gradually melted and disappeared into the air.

Lin Zixiang's eyes twitched slightly as he looked at Song Xian and said softly, "Sect Leader, this ghost infant is no ordinary being. We should avoid its sharp edge for now, retreat from here, and then seek a better strategy."

Song Xian also found this ghost infant troublesome. Not only had he never seen a ghost of this form before, but there was also no spiritual energy fluctuation around it, so he had no idea how strong it was. Judging from the two moves it had just shown, its strength was at least no weaker than a human cultivator in the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

"I'm afraid it won't let us go." Before he finished speaking, the ghostly infant indeed made its move, its ghostly claws, carrying billowing black mist, slashing horizontally at him from mid-air.

Song Xian retreated rapidly, his hands clasped together, and flames rose from his palms, transforming into dozens of giant fireballs that met the enormous ghostly claw.

Numerous fireballs struck the ghostly claw, producing loud booming sounds. Flames and black mist intertwined, locked in a stalemate.

Su Zhirou and Lin Zixiang didn't just stand by and watch. As the ghost infant attacked with its ghost claws, the two of them had already gathered their magic.

Su Zhirou clasped her hands together, and white light emanated from her palms, condensing into a crystal-like mirror above her head. The mirror flashed with white light, reflecting the appearance of the ghost infant, and then frost formed on the ghost infant's body.

With a crackling sound, the frost quickly spread to the ghost infant's body, and just as it was about to freeze it, a large amount of black mist suddenly emerged from the ghost infant's body, and the frost covering its body immediately shattered.

Lam Chi-cheung's entire body shone with golden light, and behind him, a phantom majestic figure condensed. He let out a loud shout, and two beams of golden light shot out from the eyes of the phantom.

The ghost infant stretched out its left palm, and a vortex-shaped black hole appeared in front of it. Golden light shot into it without making a sound. As the vortex-shaped black hole spun faster and faster and expanded, the golden light was gradually worn away.

In mid-air, the black mist emanating from the ghost claw was melted by the fireball attack, and the ghost claw itself shattered under the fireball attack.

Song Xian manipulated the remaining fireballs to strike the ghost infant, but they were all sucked into the black hole vortex.

The black hole vortex was like a giant suction cup; any attack that came close to it seemed to be sucked into its depths.

Seeing the black hole vortex growing larger and larger, Song Xian was not to be outdone and once again used the Flame Meteor Technique.

A massive ball of fire condensed and surged towards the black hole vortex, covering everything in its path.

In his True Eye of Insight, as the black hole vortex grew larger and larger, its attack power also increased rapidly, now reaching 2,300 points.

"This vortex is very strange. Senior Brother Zixiang, Zhirou, don't hold back, attack this black vortex with all your might."

Upon hearing this, both of them unleashed their strongest spells.

Lin Zixiang spat out a mouthful of blood essence onto the phantom behind him. After absorbing the blood essence, the phantom gradually solidified, its body shimmering with golden light. Its hands clasped together, and a huge golden light sword condensed between its palms.

Su Zhirou also formed a hand seal, and a white ball of light rose up from her palms, growing larger in the wind.

One after another, fireballs several meters in size surged into the enormous black vortex. As the vortex spun faster and faster, the fireballs were extinguished one after another, while the black vortex grew larger and larger. With each fireball extinguished, its attack power continued to increase.

Not right.

Seeing this, Song Xian had a flash of inspiration and finally understood why the black vortex had become larger and stronger after being attacked multiple times.

This black vortex nourishes itself by absorbing the spiritual energy within spells. Each time it destroys a spell and absorbs its inner spiritual power, its attack power increases accordingly.

At this moment, Su Zhirou and Lin Zixiang's spells also attacked the black vortex. The golden light sword slashed down, and after the white light ball shattered, it turned into a huge, dark green wave that surged towards the black vortex.

There was no sound of impact. When the golden lightsaber and the towering, eerie green waves struck it, the black vortex only trembled slightly before accelerating its rotation.

Golden light, fireballs, eerie green waves, and black vortexes were locked in a stalemate.

Song Xian's eyes flickered slightly, then he clasped his hands together and used the Profound Heaven Fusion Fire Technique. A ball of black flame appeared in his palm, and then his entire body was engulfed in black flames.

This is the Xuanluo Yin Fire. Among the three strange fires he has absorbed so far, the Xuanluo Yin Fire is the most powerful, with an attack power of up to 5,000 points.

Black flames continuously burst forth from his body, condensing above his head and transforming into the shape of a giant black snake. The black flames between his palms also rose up and merged into the giant snake's forehead, instantly bringing the previously lifeless snake to life.

The giant serpent lunged at the ghost infant, and in an instant, the entire world was shrouded in black flames.

When the black serpent, the true form of the Xuanluo Yin Fire, surged towards the black vortex, the black vortex trembled violently. Under the blazing black flames, the black vortex visibly melted away.

With a chilling and shrill scream, the giant black serpent shattered the black vortex, and the ghost infant's body was instantly engulfed by black flames.

It kept emitting eerie cries, and a large amount of black mist surged out of its body. However, under the protection of the Xuanluo Yin Fire, the black mist was melted the moment it emerged from its body. The black flames devoured the ghost infant's body, and in just a short while, the ghost infant's flesh was burned to ashes.

Seeing that it had been completely destroyed, Song Xian was relieved and once again used the Xuan Tian Fu Huo Jue to retract the Xuan Luo Yin Huo into his body.

Although the black vortex spell cast by the ghost infant can absorb spiritual energy to nourish itself, it also has its limits.

Therefore, when Su Zhirou and Lin Zixiang's spells attacked the black vortex, it clearly trembled. This was because the combined power of the three spells was approaching the upper limit of the black vortex's ability to withstand attacks. Thus, Song Xian decisively took action, releasing the most powerful Xuanluo Yin Fire, which shattered the black vortex in one fell swoop.

If given more time to allow the black vortex to devour the three people's magical spiritual power, its power will only increase. Therefore, to deal with this black vortex, we cannot use piecemeal tactics to wear it down; we must shatter it with an attack that far exceeds its capacity.

After the Xuanluo Yin Fire was withdrawn into his body, the black flames in the courtyard vanished without a trace, and the black palace had already collapsed.

Lam Chi-cheung stood behind Song Xian, glancing at him sideways with wide eyes and an expression of surprise on his face.

This was the first time he had seen Song Xian unleash his strange fire. The power of the black flames shocked him. He had no idea when Song Xian had mastered this supernatural ability.

(End of this chapter)