Chapter 73 : Shatter

Chapter 73: Shatter.

These days, Ghost Demon had been in high spirits. It was because Black Cloud Phantasm had developed a power different from before.

The temperature of the pitch-black fog plummeted rapidly, and everything the black fog touched froze solid.

Within Black Cloud Phantasm, everything except Ghost Demon himself—grass, trees, rocks, and even the air—had frozen.

Crack.

When Ghost Demon infused inner energy and touched it, the frozen tree shattered and collapsed in pieces.

It was only a tree now, but what if it were an enemy who entered Black Cloud Phantasm?

Just imagining it made him feel as though he had gained the entire world—until Ghost Demon’s expression stiffened.

The Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, holding a Crescent Blade, had appeared.

“Alright. Let’s start today’s training.”

At Yul Han’s words, Ghost Demon forced an awkward smile.

“Uh, um, Vice Cult Leader.”

“Yes?”

“Could we… maybe train tomorrow…?”

“I believe you said the same thing yesterday.”

“Well, that’s because I’m not feeling well… cough, cough.”

As Ghost Demon clutched his waist and coughed theatrically, Yul Han glanced at the tree that had crumbled like a pile of stones and was now melting.

“You look fine to me.”

“I’m weaker than I look. The inside is a total mess.”

“All the more reason to strengthen yourself through training. Let’s begin.”

“V-Vice Cult Leadeeeer!”

Ghost Demon’s voice stretched into a scream as it trailed off.

In an instant, the Crescent Blade swept in, brushing past the tip of his nose.

To avoid it, Ghost Demon had to slide back nearly seven jang—about twenty-one meters—in a blink.

That wasn’t all. He bent his upper body completely backward, and even then had to twist his neck in shock as the Crescent Blade followed.

Taking on a posture no human should be capable of, Ghost Demon barely avoided the blade—only for his stance to collapse and his body to fall.

Thud.

As Ghost Demon lay sprawled flat on the ground, his face filled with confusion, shock, and disbelief, the Crescent Blade flew in again and stopped right in front of his nose.

“I don’t know about your health, but your skills certainly haven’t improved.”

With that harsh assessment, Yul Han withdrew the Crescent Blade. Grinding his teeth, Ghost Demon got back up.

Not improved? That wasn’t true. He had improved. He had confirmed it clearly during his spar with Iron Demon.

After being utterly crushed in his first spar with the Vice Cult Leader and receiving that evaluation, he had been shocked enough to test himself against Iron Demon.

He challenged the Vice Cult Leader several more times after that, and each time—borrowing Iron Demon’s words—he was “absolutely obliterated.”

Honestly, he had never thought he could win. He hadn’t even hoped to land a successful strike on the Vice Cult Leader’s body.

He had only wanted to properly receive just one move—just one.

But over nearly ten sparring sessions, Ghost Demon failed to withstand even a single blow from the Vice Cult Leader.

The one small consolation was that he could at least dodge the first strike. Like just now, he could narrowly avoid it by the slimmest margin.

Of course, doing so required pouring out everything he had, and his posture collapsed every single time.

Still, compared to Iron Demon—who couldn’t even manage that—he was hundreds, thousands of times better.

But to the Vice Cult Leader, whether it was the first strike or the second, Ghost Demon’s lack of skill was the same.

That was the problem. In the Vice Cult Leader’s eyes, Ghost Demon looked like a mess that needed constant correction and harsh polishing.

“Let’s try again.”

“N-Now?”

“Training continues until you gain something.”

“D-Do we really have to…?”

Ghost Demon’s troubled eyes widened.

The Vice Cult Leader’s Crescent Blade, worn with a grin, flew in like the wind.

If Flashing Light Blood hadn’t rushed over in time, Ghost Demon would have been battered senseless again until he lost consciousness, just like before.

Thanks to Flashing Light Blood’s appearance, the training ended with Ghost Demon taking only a couple more hits.

“They’re moving.”

Who they were was obvious.

Yul Han sheathed his Crescent Blade and ran forward, and Ghost Demon—helped up by Flashing Light Blood—followed behind.

When Yul Han reached the defensive line set up by the Eighteen Demon Sects, the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale, who already knew him, hurried over.

“A message from the scouts. They’ve left Sichuan and are advancing north at full speed.”

“What about the Martial Alliance?”

“They’re opening the roads like before and evacuating the people.”

Blatant. But it wasn’t something they could criticize. If they themselves could have avoided it, they would have done the same.

“For now, stay here.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll go ahead and clash with them once—see if I can find a way.”

At Yul Han’s words, the Ghost Lotus Sect Master, who had appeared beside the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale without anyone noticing, spoke up.

“We will help as well.”

At his words, the sect masters of the Xinjiang Five Provinces nodded in unison. Looking at them, Yul Han said,

“For now, only Ghost Demon and I will go. With just the two of us, we can move lightly and escape no matter the situation.”

After that, no further objections were raised.

There was no one here who could compare to the strength of those two.

Soon, dragging along Ghost Demon—who muttered, “I could’ve stayed behind too”—Yul Han left Gamdeok, where the Eighteen Demon Sects had set up their defenses.

The place where the two encountered the Living Jiangshi was a place called Gold River.

It lay almost exactly midway between Chengdu, where the Tang Clan had been, and the border of the Cheonghae Region.

The figures walking unsteadily along the main road of the desolate, evacuated city showed no signs of vitality in their eyes.

Watching them, Ghost Demon muttered,

“They’re called zombies, but they’re not hopping around.”

“That’s because they’re Living Jiangshi. Zombies have stiff muscles since their bodies were already dead. Those ones became zombies while alive, so their muscles are intact.”

“Ah!”

Ghost Demon exclaimed, eyes widening. Seeing his reaction, Yul Han asked,

“What is it?”

“Over there—that…”

Yul Han’s gaze darkened as he looked where Ghost Demon pointed.

It was because he had spotted someone whose movements were slightly different from the other Living Jiangshi.

Not the staggering gait of a Living Jiangshi, but perfect mobility. He was alive.

“They say zombies need a controller nearby. Looks like that man’s carrying out that role.”

At Yul Han’s cold voice, Ghost Demon nodded.

“Seems so. He’s the Tang Clan Head.”

At Ghost Demon’s words, Yul Han’s eyes hardened further.

That meant the rumors were true—the Tang Clan had created the Living Jiangshi.

“For now, let’s strike the head.”

As Yul Han spoke, his figure scattered—and in the next moment, he appeared as if by magic more than a hundred jang, roughly three hundred meters, away.

In an instant, Ghost Demon’s vision caught the astonishing sight of the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult crossing more than a hundred jang in a single bound—and in that same moment, the Tang Clan Head’s neck was severed in one clean strike.

According to the common knowledge about zombies, once the controller died, they should have stopped.

However, the moment the Tang Clan Head—suspected to be their controller—was killed, the Living Jiangshi instead grew more active and charged at the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult all at once.

Surrounded in an instant, Yul Han moved like a flash of lightning.

Each time he moved, the necks, arms, and legs of the Living Jiangshi flew off in all directions, yet they seemed hardly affected, rising again and rushing back in.

Seeing that, Ghost Demon dashed forward without hesitation.

From Ghost Demon’s entire body, pitch-black fog as dark as ink swelled and burst forth.

The black fog pouring out as Black Cloud Phantasm, on moonlit nights, caused ghostly wails to echo and even displayed the power to scatter the inner energy of those who entered its range.

But under the blazing sun of daytime like now, it only blocked the enemy’s vision and amplified fear.

Perhaps because of that, it did not work on the Living Jiangshi at all.

As if frustrated by that fact, a chill swept through Ghost Demon’s clenched gaze, and the temperature within the black fog dropped sharply.

When even the air froze from the frigid black fog, the Living Jiangshi were frozen solid as well.

Just then, Yul Han’s Crescent Blade swept in and shattered the frozen Living Jiangshi into pieces.

For a moment, Yul Han’s and Ghost Demon’s gazes met.

Reduced completely to ash, or shattered utterly into fragments!

As if their thoughts had aligned, Yul Han began to fly about wildly beside Ghost Demon, who was pushing Black Cloud Phantasm to its limit.

Once Black Cloud Phantasm was withdrawn, the open field reeked of blood.

It was the stench of gore released as the flesh fragments of the Living Jiangshi—shattered into countless pieces—melted away.

Despite the horrific sight, Yul Han and Ghost Demon remained there for quite some time, worried that the Living Jiangshi might revive again.

As they stood guard like that, they were suddenly swept up by a fierce gust of wind.

The wind battered them violently enough to make their bodies stagger, then dispersed and vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

Those who revealed themselves were people they had never expected to encounter in a place like this.

“Senior Brother!”

At Yul Han’s startled voice, the Cult Leader smiled.

“Ah! Han-ah. What is all this?”

“They’re Living Jiangshi.”

“But how did this happen…?”

At the Cult Leader’s question, Ghost Demon stepped forward quickly, his face full of pride.

“I froze them, and the Vice Cult Leader shattered them.”

“Froze them? You did?”

“Yes.”

At the Cult Leader’s look of disbelief, Ghost Demon excitedly explained everything that had happened, practically spraying saliva as he spoke.

Listening from the side, the Eightfold Confusion Monk let out an exclamation.

“Fortunate indeed, fortunate indeed. You have received the protection of the World-Honored One. Amitabha.”

“Who…?”

As Ghost Demon looked on in confusion, the voices of the Cult Leader and Yul Han rang out at the same time.

“A bald monk you don’t need to know!”

“Eightfold Confusion Monk.”

“Oh! You’ve been well, my friend.”

“Friend?”

At Yul Han’s puzzled question, the Eightfold Confusion Monk flashed a genial smile.

“They say even brushing sleeves is a bond of countless kalpas. We’ve endured hardship together—are we not friends greater still?”

That was a stretch. By that logic, everyone met as enemies would have to be friends too.

Moreover, the Eightfold Confusion Monk had never endured hardship together with Yul Han.

Back in Tibet, when they encountered the Martial Alliance’s strike force and it was revealed that their target was Yul Han, the Eightfold Confusion Monk had opened the way and stepped aside.

Still, Yul Han did not take issue with it.

If the monk were the type to retreat just because of that, he would never have had the shamelessness to call him a “friend” in the first place.

“You must have your reasons for calling me that, so I won’t ask. But I do have to ask why you’re here. This isn’t Tibet.”

“I came because of that.”

As the Eightfold Confusion Monk gestured toward the remains of the Living Jiangshi, Yul Han asked,

“You mean because of the Living Jiangshi?”

To be honest, he was thinking of the one suspected of creating and controlling them.

Just as the Eightfold Confusion Monk was about to explain, Ghost Demon’s loud explanation to the Cult Leader reached the topic of the Tang Clan Head.

“The Tang Clan Head? He was controlling the Living Jiangshi?”

At the Cult Leader’s shocked question, Ghost Demon nodded vigorously.

“Yes, Cult Leader. But even after the Vice Cult Leader cut his head off in one stroke, the Living Jiangshi didn’t even flinch. No—they became even more active.”

Hearing Ghost Demon’s answer, the Eightfold Confusion Monk cut into their conversation.

“That’s because the Tang Clan Head wasn’t the creator.”

“The creator?”

“Indeed. According to the records left to us, when someone who isn’t the creator guides the Living Jiangshi, their movements are restricted. They shuffle along awkwardly, like people who desperately need to relieve themselves.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ghost Demon clapped his hands.

Clap!

“That’s right. Exactly like that—they shuffled along. Then when the Tang Clan Head died, they suddenly became lively, like colts freed from their reins, and charged all at once…”

As Ghost Demon mimed pouncing on something, the Eightfold Confusion Monk nodded, meeting the Cult Leader’s eyes.

Watching the two of them, Yul Han asked,

“What is it? What do you two know?”

At Yul Han’s question, the Cult Leader spoke.

“It’s not a certainty, but…”

Yul Han listened quietly as the Cult Leader’s explanation continued.