Even a spirit comparable to the fourth level of Qi Refinement, its ghostly body is technically on par with a fourth-level Body Refinement cultivator. Even in broad daylight, though weakened, it would still remain within the range of a fourth-level Body Refinement entity.

This was precisely why, despite a century of trials conducted by the Night Patrol Division, the top ten techniques—including the Wind-Piercing Sword Art and the Hundred Gold Hammer—failed to repel it even when combined. At best, they could hold it off. After all, it was daytime.

But the ghostly entity before them, even under daylight, effortlessly shattered the Wind-Piercing Sword Art and a high-quality first-grade protective talisman in a single strike.

"Damn it!"

Li Ye's expression darkened. He hastily pulled out a palm-sized golden bell artifact and threw it forward.

The moment the golden bell flew out, it rapidly expanded to over a person's height before slamming down toward the oncoming black ghoul.

This bell was called the Earthly Gold Bell—his master's life-saving treasure.

Though only a first-grade lower-tier artifact, its defensive capabilities were formidable, and it had a restraining effect on ghostly beings.

Two years ago, he had used it to kill a spirit comparable to the third level of Qi Refinement. But he didn't expect it to kill this ghost; he only hoped to trap it for a moment, buying time to escape.

As for Mu Ye…

He could only fend for himself.

Dong!

The golden bell vibrated, its sound spreading for hundreds of meters.

The moment the black ghoul was enveloped by the bell, a loud tremor rang out, followed by a sharp cracking sound.

"As expected, it can't harm it!"

Feeling the overwhelming power of the ghostly entity once again, Li Ye finally understood why even Elder Gong Chi was after it.

Without hesitation, he turned to retreat.

Mu Ye, seeing this, shouted anxiously.

"Brother Li!"

"Li-ge! Help me!"

But in that split second of distraction, the half-faced ghost tore a large chunk of flesh from Mu Ye's chest. The agony made him wail uncontrollably, leaving him no time to call for help.

Li Ye acted as if he hadn't heard him. Crushing a Swift Talisman, he turned and dashed away.

But just then—

A massive blood-red ghostly hand materialized out of thin air and lunged at him.

At such close range, he had no chance to evade.

The Blood Ghoul Hand of the Blood Robe Tower!

Seeing the ghostly hand, Li Ye's expression changed drastically.

But before he could react, the hand had already seized him. No matter how he chanted incantations or activated his flying sword artifact, he couldn't budge it in the slightest. Instead, the grip of the Blood Ghoul Hand only tightened, sending a suffocating pressure through his body.

"Die."

A voice suddenly rang out.

The moment he heard it, Li Ye's pupils shrank, shock filling his eyes.

It was Wen Jiu!

That was Wen Jiu's voice!

But how could it be him?

The blood energy in this Blood Ghoul Hand was so rich—it had at least reached the third level of cultivation. The amount of blood essence and time needed to cultivate it wasn't something achievable in just a few days. But Wen Jiu had only recently stepped into the second level of Qi Refinement!

Crack!

With a sickening crunch, Li Ye's doubts were silenced forever.

Blood gushed from his seven orifices, his bones shattered completely as the Blood Ghoul Hand crushed him.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The next moment—

Boom!

With a loud explosion, the black ghoul shattered the golden bell artifact and lunged at Li Ye.

But seeing that he was already dead, it abruptly halted—

As if unwilling.

As if furious.

Clearly, it had wanted to kill Li Ye itself.

Sensing the ghoul's emotions, Wen Jiu was secretly startled. This had never happened before. Was it due to the Three Fiends Corpse-Nurturing Technique?

"There's still one more."

Wen Jiu had no time to ponder further. He quickly reminded the black ghoul.

Although Mu Ye was already cornered by the half-faced ghost, as long as he was alive, Wen Jiu wouldn't be able to rest easy.

The black ghoul let out a furious roar and turned toward Mu Ye.

Seeing this, Mu Ye's fear deepened—far more than when he had seen Wen Jiu's Blood Ghoul Hand.

The ghost was listening to Wen Jiu!

Had Wen Jiu not been searching for spirits all this time, but instead been lying in wait for him and Li Ye?

Was the half-faced ghost appearing in daylight also Wen Jiu's doing?

Doubt crept into his mind, and he could no longer remain calm.

In that instant—

Mu Ye's survival instinct surged.

He had to escape.

If he didn't die at the hands of the ghosts, he would die at Wen Jiu's hands.

Boom!

His hammer-shaped artifact flew out first, detonating in midair.

Then the second—

Then the third—

Boom! Boom! Three magical artifacts exploded simultaneously, not only forcing the half-faced ghost to retreat but also making Wen Jiu take cover behind the black ghoul.

"You're really willing to pay the price just to survive." The self-destruction of a single magical artifact was far stronger than a full-force attack from a third-layer Qi Refinement cultivator, but the cost was at least a hundred spirit stones.

Mu Ye's artifacts were certainly not of ordinary quality.

Which meant they were even more expensive.

Three exploding at once—at least four hundred lower-grade spirit stones!

For a rogue cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refinement, that was likely the savings of twenty or thirty years, gone in an instant.

But Mu Ye was already at the end of his rope.

With the speed of the black ghoul, there was no way he could escape. Self-destructing those artifacts was nothing more than a desperate struggle before death.

In the next moment, the black ghoul leaped into the air, charging toward Mu Ye, who was flying low with the aid of a non-ranked magical artifact.

The half-faced ghost let out a furious growl and chased after him as well.

A ghost.

A corpse.

Perfectly in sync.

The half-faced ghost cultivator didn't even realize that the creature beside him—his supposed ally—was actually his mortal enemy: a zombie.

Meanwhile, Wen Jiu remained where he was, absorbing Li Ye's corpse into the Corpse-Nurturing Coffin, planning to refine it later so that the Night Patrol Division wouldn't be able to trace a thing.

"Didn't expect the Corpse-Nurturing Coffin to have a corpse-disposal function as well."

As long as there was no body left behind, the Night Patrol Division wouldn't even have a chance to search his soul for the truth.

After dealing with Li Ye's body, Wen Jiu didn't put the coffin away immediately—there was still that half-faced ghost to deal with.

A Yin soul comparable to a fourth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator was a tremendous source of nourishment for the black ghoul. Such things were impossible to find in the Wasteland of Broken Corpses. He had already used up all the Yin techniques stored in his Corpse Eye, so now, his only option was the Corpse-Nurturing Coffin.

Before long, Wen Jiu caught up to the black ghoul.

What he hadn't expected was that the black ghoul was already fighting the half-faced Yin soul—because they were fighting over Mu Ye's corpse.

The half-faced Yin soul had wrapped ghostly energy around Mu Ye's lower half, while the black ghoul held a firm grip on his throat.

With a gruesome tearing sound, Mu Ye was ripped in two. Blood, organs, and intestines spilled all over the ground. He died instantly, unable to even let out a scream. His soul was immediately pulled out and swallowed whole by the half-faced ghost.

But Wen Jiu had no time to care about that.

The Three Rivers Ghost Veil was about to wear off.

Once it ended, the black ghoul would start leaking corpse energy.

And once that happened—he would be exposed.

"Restrain it!"

Wen Jiu commanded without hesitation, activating the Corpse-Nurturing Coffin with Yin energy, trying to pull the half-faced Yin soul inside.

The black ghoul understood immediately. It lunged forward, clamping down on the Yin soul with all its strength, its four fangs sinking deep into the ghost's body, greedily sucking in the ghostly energy.

At the same time, Wen Jiu opened the coffin.

A powerful suction force erupted from within, pulling at the half-faced Yin soul, trying to drag it inside.

However—

The ghost's resistance was far stronger than Wen Jiu had anticipated. Its ghostly energy raged and surged before suddenly exploding in a violent tide of spectral power, sending the black ghoul—despite its three-layer Blood Transformation Body—flying backward.

Wen Jiu was taken aback.

So it hadn't been fighting at full strength earlier!

By the time the black ghoul tried to pounce again, it was already too late—the half-faced Yin soul had abandoned Mu Ye's corpse and was charging straight at Wen Jiu.

A torrent of ghostly energy and murderous intent surged forward.

Wen Jiu hastily raised the Corpse-Nurturing Coffin as a shield.

With a thunderous boom, a terrifying force slammed into him.

Even with the coffin protecting him, he was still sent staggering back over ten steps before crashing into the trunk of a massive tree, finally coming to a stop.

In the next instant, the half-faced Yin soul suddenly retreated into the distance and spoke in a chilling voice.

"Yinzhou… Corpse-Nurturing… I will remember this!"

After spitting out these eerie words, the half-faced ghost immediately activated a spectral technique and vanished into the dense forest, disappearing without a trace.

Wen Jiu wanted to pursue, but the Three Rivers Ghost Veil was about to end. He had no choice but to order the black ghoul back into the coffin immediately.

"What a pity."

He sighed as he watched the ghost vanish.

A Yin soul comparable to a fourth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator… It had even hidden its trump cards.

Good thing it was daytime.

If it had been nighttime—

He would have been the one running for his life.

Retracting his gaze, Wen Jiu looked down at Mu Ye's corpse.

His storage pouch was still hanging at his waist, but Wen Jiu didn't search him.

Ghosts didn't loot corpses.

Regrettable, but he had no choice.

He swept the area with his divine sense, making sure he hadn't left any traces behind. Then, crushing a Swift Talisman, he swiftly departed.

But as he fled further away, he couldn't stop thinking about what the Yin soul had said before leaving.

"What was that half-faced ghost, exactly? It actually saw through the black ghoul's true form beneath the Three Rivers Ghost Veil…"