Chapter 18: Blood Shadow Fiend

Tears couldn't help but roll in her eyes, thick with sorrow. As she moved forward, Xu Jie's expression was bleak, the unmistakable sense of loss permeating her being as she keenly felt the disappearance of Cang Yue and Ao Xue's presence in the Ghost Domain. Every moment of camaraderie now turned into endless sorrow, weighing heavily on her heart.

A dark light flickered, and a tall, black figure appeared in the air. A sinister ghost general wielding a green dragon battle blade silently appeared in front of Xu Jie, blocking her path.

"In the Ghost King City, how dare the living souls intrude recklessly! Stand down, or face the consequences!" The ghost general's voice was cold as ice, his blade slashing horizontally, sending a dark green blade aura roaring towards Xu Jie.

With a start, Xu Jie snapped out of her despair. Seeing the green blade aura, her face changed slightly, and she swiftly moved four yards away, vigilantly eyeing the ghost general.

"Who are you, claiming to be a general? Are you one of the top generals in the Ghost Domain?" she asked.

"Hehe, you're right. I am indeed the second-ranked Ghost Blade General among the three top generals of the Heihe Region. Now, I shall devour you," he chuckled.

The battle blade swung, rolling black waves of qi, accompanied by piercing wails, undulating fiercely. As the green light flashed, a ten-yard blade aura, like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, descended. Xu Jie let out a cry as her body transformed into nine phantom images, nine swords emitting a crimson glow, forming nine sword auras around the ghost general, launching simultaneous attacks. In an instant, the nine auras converged from nine directions towards the center, forming a crimson light shield that enveloped the ghost general.

With a sinister snort, the ghost general looked at Xu Jie with mocking eyes, and the force behind his green blade increased by threefold. As the light flickered, the green blade aura clashed with the crimson shield in mid-air, producing countless beautiful streams of air like blossoming flowers fluttering and falling. The intense collision caused Xu Jie's body to tremble, and she was suddenly flung back several steps, narrowly avoiding the dominant strike of the blade.

With a sinister smile, the ghost general's blade swayed, and countless shadows instantly appeared around Xu Jie, accompanied by rolling green lights and fierce blade auras intersecting each other. The howling Yin energy, with its evil aura devouring all, completely formed a mysterious barrier, trapping Xu Jie within.

Coldly watching the countless ghost shadows around her, Xu Jie's cold eyes burst with a chill. At this moment, a strong sense of hatred soared in her heart, and inadvertently, she thought of Cang Yue. Standing still in mid-air, her sword rotating faster with the increase of her power, the dazzling light rose slowly in the dark sky, and a blood-red phoenix soared upwards, flapping its wings of beautiful flames, drifting behind Xu Jie. With her arms suddenly spread out, Xu Jie's whole body radiated with red light, rushing towards the ghost general.

The green eyes of the ghost general flashed with a hint of viciousness, and the war blade in his hand pointed directly at Xu Jie. Two flickering ghost fires appeared in the palms of his hands, quickly intersecting in front of his chest, instantly forming a rotating ghost dragon. The ghost dragon, with its powerful momentum, hovered over the green dragon battle blade, driving the blade to rotate frantically. Amidst the earth-shattering screams, the blade emitted a ghostly wail, directly shooting towards Xu Jie.

The two powerful attacks collided in mid-air, the intense and domineering airflow rubbing against each other, producing an extremely eerie soul-shattering sound. With a dull explosion, the ghost general exclaimed in shock, being flung back several yards, looking at the blood phoenix in the sky. Xu Jie let out a cry, her beautiful figure shooting through the air, slowly descending towards the ground.

A streak of blood splattered in the wind, carrying a hint of sadness and loss. Swaying back a few steps, Xu Jie immediately stabilized her body, coldly looking at the ghost general in mid-air. With a long sword across her chest, Xu Jie didn't wipe away the blood at the corner of her mouth, just coldly watching the enemy, her expression a mix of grief and indignation with a hint of coldness.

"I didn't expect you to be quite skilled. It seems you are also a master in the cultivation world. But unfortunately, you shouldn't have come to the Ghost Domain, let alone the Heihe Region. Here, besides Yin spirits, there are only undead. There will never be any living souls surviving. Now, show me your last trick and struggle hard. I wonder how long you can hold on. Hehe!" The ghost general laughed ominously and launched another attack.

With powerful attacks, accompanied by the devouring Yin energy, relentlessly corroding Xu Jie's true essence. In just a moment, Xu Jie's face turned pale, and she fell into a crisis. At this moment, she didn't feel scared; she just looked back at the way she came, her eyes filled with a blessing, her face showing a hint of loss. Perhaps there was also a girl's dream in her heart, but at this moment, it had slowly drifted away. With a gentle sigh, sinking into her heart, a faint sorrow passed through her eyes. Those few burning gazes vividly flashed through her mind at this moment. It was only now that she understood why her senior sister's eyes often contained a hint of joy.

When Cang Yue and Ao Xue rushed over, Xu Jie's body danced gracefully in the wind, adorned with a beautiful blood color. With a roar, Cang Yue shot directly at the ghost general, her Sword of Roaring Moon emitting an overwhelmingly bright golden light, transforming into a fierce fire phoenix that instantly devoured the ghost general. Beside her, Ao Xue hurriedly caught Xu Jie's body, looking at the girl in her arms with concern.

Struggling to open her eyes, Xu Jie looked at Ao Xue, her eyes suddenly showing a hint of surprise, and she exclaimed in a low voice, "It's you! Then what about my senior sister? Is she okay? I clearly felt that both of your presences had disappeared just now, how come now all of you are fine?"

Aoxue's right hand pressed against her head, swiftly infusing her body with powerful true energy to aid in her healing. With a slight smile, Aoxue reassured, "Don't worry, both Cangyue and I are fine. We were supposed to die, but it was Lun Yun who, at the last moment, with his formidable willpower and deep true energy, rescued us from the hands of the Underworld King. Right now, Cangyue is avenging for you. Calm down and focus on recuperating."

Roaring continuously, the Ghost Blade found itself in a crisis amid Cangyue's sudden assault. Its figure darted rapidly, with external qi fluctuations exceeding a frequency of a thousand, attempting to break free from Cangyue's attack. But at this moment, Cangyue was engulfed in raging fury and unleashed her full power. In mid-air, the blood-red phoenix radiated brilliance, capable of incinerating all underworld souls with its infernal flames, fervently refining the soul of the Ghost Blade.

Appearing silently beside Aoxue, Lun Yun cast a glance at the three women, his expression calm. Turning his gaze away, he looked into the distance, where lights flickered and various colors of radiance clashed, indicating an intense battle.

A half-hearted scream echoed as the Ghost Blade ultimately succumbed to Cangyue's assault, dissipating into thin air, its soul scattered. Moving to Aoxue's side, Cangyue looked at her junior sister with concern, her eyes filled with worry.

"Alright, time is of the essence now. Yunfeng and the others are still in danger, let's hurry to their aid. Once everyone is out of danger, we can consider other matters." With a shout, Lun Yun's aura surged, emanating a destructive force that filled the entire royal city's sky. With a roar, the Divine Soul Sword erupted into a burst of intense light, and the Divine Fire Dragon soared into the air, its massive body enveloped in rolling waves of heat, appearing above everyone.

Cangyue swiftly landed beside Ziyang True Person, her divine sword rotating and cleaving the air, instantly obliterating the four ghost soldiers before her. Supporting Ziyang's body, Cangyue then forcefully propelled him towards Aoxue before darting towards Yunfeng.

Watching Aoxue and listening to her voice that hadn't disappeared, Ziyang True Person's pale face revealed a trace of extreme excitement. His gaze shifted to Lun Yun in mid-air, who was engaged in combat with the Ghost Immortal. Above, the flaming dragon's jaws opened wide, and the roaring flames swept around. The wails of ghosts never ceased, and countless ghost soldiers and spirits turned into flying ash under the dragon's formidable flames.

At the same time, Yunfeng and Feng Yuanyang, both revitalized by Lun Yun's voice and the sight of Cangyue, felt a surge of hope amidst their despair. With a quick movement, Feng Yuanyang pulled Yunfeng's weakened body and gently landed next to Aoxue, looking at Cangyue and Lun Yun with astonishment. Silently, a pair of weak arms grasped the arms of the two. The three of them met each other's eyes, their faces filled with immense joy in this moment of misty mist. Without speaking, they silently watched the sky, their eyes filled with firm belief.

Sweeping his gaze around, Lun Yun's eyes turned ruthless in an instant. In a rapid rotation, Lun Yun unleashed his most mysterious mental attack. Taking advantage of the opportunity when others were less likely to notice any anomalies in his movements, Lun Yun abruptly raised the frequency of his mental waves to over a hundred and eighty thousand times, instantly shattering the thirty-six ghost soldiers around him. Meanwhile, the Divine Soul Sword, flying and spinning, shimmered with a dazzling red light, a faint aura of bloodthirst swiftly annihilating nine ghost soldiers and one ghost fiend.

Cangyue engaged two ghost fiends in battle, the fight becoming extremely intense. The dazzling divine sword, exuding a sacred aura that restrained ghosts, forced the fiends to roar repeatedly, panic-stricken as they dodged. As Cangyue killed the second ghost fiend, the ghostly aura around them faded. In the distance, Lun Yun's divine sword pressed against a mass of black ghostly energy, swiftly refining the Ghost Immortal.

Retracting the Dragon Soul, Lun Yun returned to the group's side, casting a concerned glance at everyone. Seeing the exhaustion on everyone's faces, Lun Yun spoke softly, "Let's go, let's leave this place. With our current condition, going further would be equal to walking into death. Let's find a place to rest first, then decide what to do."

Under Lun Yun's lead, the group easily crossed the mysterious barrier and left the Ghost King City. Along the way, Ziyang True Person inquired about Lun Yun and the two women's experiences after entering the Ghost King City. Cangyue briefly recounted her and Aoxue's ordeal, leaving Lun Yun and the other four deeply shocked.

Looking at the two women, Lun Yun remained silent at this moment, but his heart was moved by their actions. Their persistence, their no regrets, were feelings he would never forget in his life, and a spiritual sustenance he could hardly repay in his lifetime.

Gazing at the sky, at this moment, Lun Yun recalled the feeling of calling before his life faded away. That soft call, that strong persistence, in that moment, awakened his dormant heart, bringing him back from hell.

As Lun Yun's body fell into the Soul-Locking Well, a surge of indignant rage, accompanied by the heart of an unwilling youth, slowly descended into darkness. In the Soul-Locking Well, the incredibly powerful Soul-Severing Qi crazily tore at Lun Yun's body. The swirling currents, tinged with the malevolent aura of devouring all, emitted sinister laughter, incessantly consuming Lun Yun.

Fresh blood turned into wisps of blood mist under the mighty Soul-Severing Qi. Lun Yun's hands and feet ruptured, blood flowed from his seven orifices, and he plummeted into the blood mist. His black Ghost King battle armor continuously absorbed the blood flowing from Lun Yun's body, gradually changing color. Simultaneously, as it absorbed more blood, a faint blood-red radiance, mixed with a hint of dark aura, formed a thin shield around Lun Yun, vigorously resisting the domineering force of the Soul-Locking Well's Soul-Severing Qi.

At this moment, Lun Yun's true energy was depleted, blood splattered under the powerful Soul-Severing Qi. A profound exhaustion surrounded him, countless dark breaths shrouding him. As he looked around at the rolling black waves, boundless and infinite, Lun Yun felt powerless, a feeling of wanting to give up. Yet whenever he thought of giving up, a strange voice in his mind encouraged him. What exactly was it? He didn't know, he could only speculate slowly.

As Lun Yun's body continued to fall, in the depths of the dark well, a faint red light flickered, it was the Divine Soul Sword. Sensing Lun Yun's weakening breath, the divine sword couldn't help emitting a mournful cry, as if trying to convey something to him.

After an unknown amount of time, Lun Yun's body had completely ceased to react, and it seemed like his blood had stopped flowing. He looked like a dead person, with the only light emanating from the black Ghost King battle armor, along with the Divine Soul Sword above, silently guarding him.

Suddenly, a trace of red light flashed below, a strange and eerie voice filled the surroundings. In the darkness, a blood shadow suddenly appeared, silently watching Lun Yun's descent, its bloody mouth emitting terrifying laughter. Bathed in the red light, a creature entirely blood-red, protected by a layer of light, could be seen. The creature resembled a human in shape, with a face elongated like a wolf. Its eyes alternated between purple and red, emitting a cruel and bloody light. Atop its head, a dark red horn and between its eyebrows, a peculiar and mysterious crimson blood demon eye appeared.

The blood light surged, a terrifying aura enveloping Lun Yun. In the midst of the blood-red radiance, a supremely evil aura instantly shrouded Lun Yun, rapidly corroding his body, attempting to devour him. At this moment, under the influence of the powerful airflow, Lun Yun's body began to approach the strange blood shadow. Just as Lun Yun was about to be engulfed by the blood shadow, the Ghost King battle armor seemed to sense the danger. Instantly, a black light flashed, a powerful defensive force firmly protecting Lun Yun's body, desperately pulling him away. Unfortunately, under the influence of the sinister aura, its efforts seemed futile.

A cry of a dragon and the whistle of a sword resounded, as the Divine Soul Sword transformed into a stream of light, fiercely attacking the blood shadow. With its left eye flashing purple and its right eye flashing red, the blood shadow, full of sinister aura, coldly snorted as it watched the incoming divine sword, and suddenly a blood shadow appeared in front of the Divine Soul Sword. The crimson blood demon eye on its forehead emitted a red light, directly hitting the Divine Soul Sword.

The divine sword trembled and was pushed back three zhang, but then its radiance flourished again and it charged towards the blood shadow once more. In mid-air, numerous evil laughs were heard, as the blood shadow suddenly split into two, then four, instantly dividing into thousands of identical blood shadow phantoms. These thousand blood shadows formed a strange enclosed space around the divine sword, where nearly a thousand blood radiance attacks madly assaulted the Divine Soul Sword.

The sword body quivered, and the divine sword mourned. Under the attacks of the thousand blood shadow phantoms, the divine sword gradually dimmed, falling into crisis. Meanwhile, the blood shadow, seeing Lun Yun's body, emitted a trace of greed from its eyes. With a triumphant laugh, the blood shadow's mouth opened, and a powerful airflow rolled Lun Yun's body towards it. At this moment, just as Lun Yun was about to be devoured by the blood shadow, the Divine Soul Sword once again rose with divine power, turning into a strong stream of light and shooting straight into the mouth of the blood shadow.

Sensing a crisis, the blood shadow roared in fury, unable to swallow Lun Yun in time, and hurriedly dodged. The crimson blood demon eye widened, and a blood-colored light column suddenly converged, instantly hitting the Divine Soul Sword. Another sigh resounded as the divine sword was knocked back, falling in front of Lun Yun, firmly protecting his body. As the blood shadow approached, the divine sword trembled violently, and suddenly a red radiance flashed, and the Dragon Soul, trapped within the sword all this time, was released under the consciousness of the Divine Soul Sword, automatically rushing out.

The red light surged, and the Dragon Soul looked at the blood shadow, a few traces of vigilance flashing in its eyes. It harbored a deep fear towards this mysterious entity, which was many times smaller than its own body. For some reason, the Dragon Soul felt a tremor in its heart, as if the overwhelming blood aura emanating from the blood shadow had instilled fear within it. However, at this moment, the Dragon Soul also felt Lun Yun's breath weakening, understanding that once he died, it would be trapped within this divine sword forever, unable to escape.

At this moment, the divine sword trembled, and a sword chant sounded, a sense of attack appeared in the Dragon Soul's mind, it was the consciousness of the divine sword. With a roar, the Dragon Soul, enveloped in scorching dragon flames and accompanied by the Divine Fire, fiercely attacked the blood shadow. With a loud roar, the blood shadow's sinister blood eyes once again emitted a blood-red light, meeting the dragon flames head-on. The collision of the two powerful forces caused a violent explosion, appearing somewhat weak under the influence of the Soul-Severing Qi. The Dragon Soul felt a shock, a surge of malevolent aura piercing its brain, causing it immense pain. Dodging the blood shadow's attack in horror, the Dragon Soul began guerrilla warfare. Meanwhile, the Divine Soul Sword, accompanied by the powerful Pure Yang Qi, cooperated with the Dragon Soul, fiercely attacking, guarding Lun Yun with all its might.

In the silence, Lun Yun's consciousness grew fainter and fainter, slowly drifting towards the dark end. It seemed like there was a voice calling out to him, telling him that there he could find liberation. Just as he accelerated towards liberation, wanting to be free, a voice echoed in his mind once again. "Lun Yun, don't go, that's the destination of all lost souls, that's hell. There are many things in this life that you haven't accomplished yet, have you forgotten? You once said that this life wouldn't be dictated by fate, but have you forgotten?"

Slightly turning back, Lun Yun stopped in the darkness, seemingly pondering that question. Was this life going to end like this? No! I am Lun Yun, I won't give up so easily, I will defy the heavens. With this thought, Lun Yun began to turn back, drifting towards the way he came. However, just as he moved, a powerful force stopped him from leaving, making his forward movement exceptionally difficult.

At this moment, Lun Yun realized that it was easy to die, but unfortunately, it wasn't so easy to live because that force was too powerful. It made him, exhausted and powerless at this moment, unable to struggle. Feeling more and more tired, his consciousness becoming increasingly blurred, Lun Yun once again fell into a predicament, his body being pulled towards the boundless darkness by that powerful force.

In the Soul-Locking Well, Lun Yun floated motionlessly in mid-air, the Ghost King armor on his body flickering with a faint light. Beside him, the Dragon Soul and the Divine Soul Sword were also in trouble. The blood shadow could easily transform into thousands of figures, unmatched in speed. The thousand blood radiance attacks, carrying the most vicious and evil aura, firmly trapped the Dragon Soul and the Divine Soul Sword, slowly devouring their energy.

Amidst the screams, the Dragon Soul's body trembled violently. After a long battle with the blood shadow monster and its blood aura, the Dragon Soul's divine consciousness was severely damaged, and its breath weakened considerably. At this moment, the Divine Soul Sword suddenly emitted a low hum, a strange consciousness wave entering the Dragon Soul's mind, engaging in a very mysterious exchange with it. The Dragon Soul glanced at the blood shadow, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded in agreement to the Divine Soul Sword's request.

Launching another attack, the Dragon Soul transformed into a strange energy body, like a nebula, appearing and disappearing intermittently, launching mysterious attacks. Meanwhile, the Divine Soul Sword, relying on its indestructible nature, began a frontal assault, attracting the attention of the blood shadow. The two cooperated seamlessly, momentarily forcing the blood shadow into constant retreat. As the Dragon Soul transformed into a strange light, concealing its true form, the effectiveness of the blood shadow's attacks greatly diminished, putting it on the defensive.

Enraged, the blood shadow suddenly emitted a flash of light, also transforming into a blood cloud, rapidly changing shape and launching an attack on the Dragon Soul and the Divine Soul Sword. Within the strange blood cloud, a dazzling blood demon eye emitted an extremely fierce blood aura, forcing the Dragon Soul and the Divine Soul Sword to scream and evade with all their might.

As the red cloud appeared lightly above Lun Yun, it began to roll towards his body. In response, the Divine Soul Sword hummed and whistled, swiftly launching a counterattack with tremendous force. At the same time, the Dragon Soul also transformed into a blood mist, instantly enveloping the blood shadow, intertwining with it in a frantic battle. Screams continued endlessly as the Dragon Soul, under the blood shadow's attack, emitted a miserable roar, obviously experiencing extreme pain. However, it firmly entangled the blood shadow, binding the two beams of light tightly together, as if they were one.

Above the Dragon Soul, the Divine Soul Sword, at this moment, suddenly began to rotate automatically, its speed increasing. With the acceleration of the rotation, a red light gradually grew stronger, and the entire dark Soul-Locking Well erupted into a dazzling column of light at that moment. The light column emanated from the Divine Soul Sword, instantly enveloping the Dragon Soul and the blood shadow below.

Roaring angrily, the blood shadow suddenly emitted an extremely furious roar, greatly enraged. As it roared in fury, the Dragon Soul's screams also instantly rose, obviously suffering severe damage from the blood shadow's relentless attacks. However, although the Dragon Soul was in unbearable pain, it was also ruthless enough not to let go, firmly binding the blood shadow to itself and slowly flying towards the Divine Soul Sword that suddenly appeared in the gap.