Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 287 The Mystery of the Ghost Cultivator
Outside Thousand Vine Mountain, black waters surged and raged in all directions, as Crocodile Abyss unleashed its fury without restraint.

At this moment, the sword light that had attacked it had vanished without a trace, leaving only the deep night.

"Damn it, who is this guy who has such bizarre methods?"

The spiritual energy within his body was still boiling, but he had nowhere to use it. Crocodile Abyss felt an unprecedented sense of suffocation, and his face turned very pale.

This battle was fought inexplicably. From beginning to end, it didn't even see the opponent's face. When the sword light fled into the distance, it tried to chase after it, but the sword light was too fast. It was not good at escape techniques and couldn't catch up at all.

Just then, the sound of rushing water rang out, and Qu Shize's figure appeared.

"There's no need to pretend anymore. I'm sure the other party has really gone far away."

Seeing the furious Crocodile Abyss, Qu Shize spoke up, his face also showing a solemn expression.

During this time, he and Crocodile Abyss had been taking turns keeping an eye on Thousand Vine Mountain. After noticing that Crocodile Abyss had broken out in a fight, he rushed over immediately, hoping to find an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

However, the opponent was very cautious. When the first attack failed and it was clear that he could not take down Crocodile Abyss, he immediately withdrew, giving him no chance.

Upon hearing Qu Shize's words, E Yuan glanced around again and suppressed his furious demeanor.

It was genuinely angry, but more so wary. It didn't lose its reason because of anger. The way it acted before was only three parts real and seven parts acting, deliberately revealing a flaw to lure the opponent into attacking again.

Having learned about the attacker's methods from the previous battle, it acknowledged that the opponent's swordsmanship was remarkable and that he was a master swordsman, but the opponent also had his own shortcomings, the best proof of which was that magical artifact-level flying sword.

It can be basically determined that the opponent's actual combat strength is not greater than its own, and is even likely to be weaker. The real problem is that the opponent's method of controlling flying swords is too strange, making it impossible to find his true form, leaving it only able to passively take hits.

"Fellow Daoist Qu, have you ever heard of this flying sword technique?"

With his expression returning to calm, Crocodile Abyss turned his gaze to Qu Shize.

Upon hearing this, Qu Shize shook his head.

“Some ancient books record that there are sword immortals who can wield flying swords and behead people from thousands of miles away, but such people are at least at the Purple Mansion level or above. If you really encountered one, you would be dead by now, and you wouldn’t be able to talk to me.”

"Moreover, although there are some scattered sword dao inheritances in Nan Jing Kingdom, they are not systematic, and no sword cultivators at the Dao Foundation level have ever emerged. At least, as far as I know, none have."

"It was the other party's strange soul techniques that reminded me of ghost cultivators, but like sword cultivators, ghost cultivators are also extremely rare in the Southern Jing Kingdom."

After a moment's thought, Qu Shize shared his opinion.

Upon hearing this, Crocodile Abyss seemed to be deep in thought.

"Ghost cultivators? Why would something like that suddenly appear at this time? Could it be related to the Aoki family, or is it trying to stop me from sweeping through the four southern prefectures?"

Crocodile Abyss frowned more and more. Thinking about Jiang Chen's performance just now, it felt that there was a good chance that he was a ghost cultivator. After all, it had not noticed Jiang Chen using spiritual power from beginning to end. The reason why the flying sword could burst out with such power was because of the power of the soul.

Looking at the Crocodile Abyss, Qu Shize also fell into deep thought.

Ghosts exist in the world; they are the remnants left after all things perish. Ghost cultivators are actually cultivators who practice the ghost path. Compared to orthodox cultivators, these beings are much more bizarre. In addition, most ghost cultivators are bloodthirsty and cruel, so they are not welcomed by the mainstream. A major characteristic of ghost cultivators is that they are good at using the power of the soul.

"What do you plan to do next?" After a moment of contemplation, Qu Shize turned his gaze to Crocodile Abyss again.

Upon hearing this, Crocodile Abyss raised his head.

"Proceed according to the original plan and sweep through the four southern counties as quickly as possible. Although the identity of the attackers is still uncertain, since a variable has appeared, the longer it drags on, the more troublesome it will be."

"Instead of exhausting my energy to track down such a elusive individual, I should gather my strength. If he really wants to stop me, he will naturally come to me on his own. At that time, I will command the demon soldiers, assemble the military formation, and crush him with overwhelming force."

“I’m pretty sure that although this possible ghost cultivator has strange methods, his real strength is only at the early stage of the Dao Foundation stage. He’s not even as good as Old Ghost Qingmu. He’s probably only a little stronger than Qinghua. I don’t believe he can cut off my head in the midst of a huge army.”

His words were firm and powerful, but Crocodile Abyss had his own plans.

Upon hearing this and seeing the Crocodile Abyss, Qu Shize couldn't help but reveal his usual smile on his round face.

Crocodile Abyss saw this matter very clearly. The other party's methods were strange and their origins were a mystery. At this critical juncture, instead of exhausting himself to investigate, it would be better to force the other party to come out with a grand gesture.

"That's good. Let's do it your way. We just received news from home that the imperial court has turned its attention to the south. We don't have much time left."

After leaving behind a single sentence, Qu Shize vanished without a trace once more.

After Qu Shize left, looking at the deep night, a dark light flashed in E Yuan's eyes.

"Sword cultivator, ghost cultivator, could it be the one from Qingyuan County? Crocodile Tong had his accident there. If the other party really is that Taoist of Peace, then everything can be barely explained."

With thoughts clashing in his mind, after communicating with Qu Shize, E Yuan once again cast a suspicious glance at Qingyuan County.

The reason he hasn't mentioned it to Qu Shize yet is twofold: firstly, he's not entirely sure, and secondly, he feels there might be a secret involved. After all, he and Qu Shize are just business partners, not close family members.

While Crocodile Abyss and Qu Shize were discussing countermeasures, Jiang Chen had already moved far away from the Thousand Vine Mountain area.

“A small mountain called Thousand Vine Mountain has gathered three Dao Foundation experts. One of them is Qingmu Lei, whose condition seems a bit off. Another is Crocodile Abyss, and the third should be Crocodile Abyss’s ally. The reason why the Qingmu family was forced to close the mountain is probably due to Crocodile Abyss’s ally.”

"It seems that Lady Qinghua is just a backup plan for Crocodile Abyss. This ally is Crocodile Abyss's real killing move for the Qingmu family. I wonder which power this unfamiliar Dao Foundation cultivator comes from."

He landed on a small hill, looked back at Thousand Vine Mountain, and pondered the various pieces of information he had gathered.

"Facing two early-stage Dao Foundation cultivators at once is stressful, but it's not the worst-case scenario."

Having gained a preliminary understanding of Crocodile Abyss's trump cards, Jiang Chen breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Rather than having a stranger as an ally, he would rather see Crocodile Abyss severely injure Aoki Lei and force the Aoki family to this point on his own, because that would mean Crocodile Abyss must have some very strong trump cards.

"The next time we meet, it will be a true test of skill and survival."

A thought arose, and Jiang Chen withdrew his gaze, his figure disappearing from sight.

(End of this chapter)