“This is—”Life drained away from Granny Snake’s face as she recalled the horror that she had tried to buried under her old memories.
“This is it; it is the power of the Young Master’s Primordial Ghost Flute. It has the ability to blot the sun and unleash the Ghost Realm into this world.” Bai Wuji put on a hopeless smile and said: “No wonder the combined force of the five families failed to slow him down. I had forgotten about his artifact.”
Granny Snake’s body started to tremble uncontrollably after hearing Bai Wuji’s words.
“Is this Primordial Ghost Flute really that powerful?” Chen Fan sat calmly in his chair and didn’t seem to be disturbed by the danger around him.
Chen Fan’s assuredness calmed many people’s minds, helping them to get ready to fight.
Bai Wuji had no time to reply to Chen Fan; the ghostly phantoms were already coming after him. He hurried to produce a handful of paper talisman and spread them around himself. As soon as the yellow paper talisman were out of his hand, they froze in mid-air and didn’t continue to fall to the ground. All the while, the red inscriptions on the paper started to glow brighter by the second.
“Eight Gate Immortal Fire Array!”
Bai Wuji stomped the ground as he charged up his Dharmic powers. When his power reached the peak, he snarled at his enemy.
“BOM! Kaboom!”
The eight paper talisman caught on fire and burned into ashes in the blink of an eye. In their place, stood eight columns made out of two-meter long flame that formed a protective octagon firewall. As the vengeful ghosts slammed themselves onto the firewall, they were burned to crips and were quickly reduced to ashes.
“Hew!”
After Bai Wuji had completed the spell, he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Two of Master Cui’s disciples hurried to help him to his feet.
“Bai Wuji, What an impressive array! You are really worthy of being called the top caster among the six major families.”
Youg Master’s voice came to everyone inside the protective shield in fits and starts, at the behest of the hot air.
Sometimes the voice came to them from all directions, and other times it came from only one direction. The sun had completely gone out, and through the burning fire, they could only see elusive phantoms whizzing through the air, but could not discern the location of the Young Master.
“What a shame that your Eight Gate Immortal Fire Array was supported by only the paper talisman, but not the powers of the Heaven and the Earth that belong to a real cultivator. How long do you think that your array can last? Three minutes, or five minutes? Haha! As soon as your array is spent, you will have to face your own demise.”
The Young Master laughed out loud with a contemptuous expression on his face.
Surrounded by flying ghosts and darkness, fear slowly found its way into everyone’s mind as the octagon shaped firewall shrunk in size by the second.
Yu Wenjin held tightly onto the only thing that could offer some comfort at such a distressing moment: Chen Fan’s shoulder. Without its solid support and warm touch, Yu Wenjin might have already fainted.
Bai Wuji wiped the sweat off his forehead and managed to get on his feet again.
“Master Chen, he is right. My array won’t last long. We have to think of ways to break out of this Ghost Realm. Once we are out, his power will be greatly diminished.”
“Oh?” Chen Fan didn’t seem to care about their safety at all. His interest was piqued by something else: “What is that Primordial Ghost Flute all about?”
Everyone was shocked by how nonchalant he sounded.
This was not the time to care about anything but getting the hell out of here.
Bai Wuji was a leader of a household, and therefore he had more forbearance than most people. He reined in his anxiety and explained quickly:
“The Primordial Ghost Flute is Young Master’s one of three Dharma Artifacts. Rumor had it that it was made out of the rib bone of a ghost-cultivator that died right before he was about to make the immortal ascension. This flute was further refined by generations of perfected cultivators until it was passed down to Young Master.
“The Ghost Flute contained the spirit of over a hundred vengeful ghosts. Playing one simple note on this flute would turn a swath of area into a Ghost Realm. Young Master used to trap Transcendent Masters in the ghost realm for over half an hour. According to the legend, if the flute was used by a powerful perfected cultivator around an ancient battleground, it would awaken ten thousand ghosts to fight for their master.”
Bai Wuji breathed heavily and said: “I wager that the Young Master is not powerful enough to summon anything beyond what’s already in the flute. Therefore, as long as we can break out of the Ghost Realm, we should be safe from the power of the flute.”
“Hehe, Bai Wuji, you know me well. But do you really think that you and your band of misfits could break through my spell? Dream on!” The Young Master announced maliciously.
“Is that so?”
Chen Fan cracked a smile and then waved his right arm, summoning the Bone Whip of Malicious Yin once again.
The long whip made out of jade-like bones swept across the air. This time, the apparition of the Yin Snake was much more visible than last time. The Yin Snake had hidden under the pond for over hundreds of years and had long since reached the Ethereal Enlightenment. It could swallow even the angriest ghost and tear apart the most malevolent phantom.
Lo, and behold, only after one loud cracking of the whip, the swarm of ghosts broke apart with countless ear-piercing shrieks. Those who reacted fast got away and those who were too slow or too stubborn were swallowed whole by the spirit of the Yin Snake.
In one fell swoop, Chen Fan had cracked open the dark sky and let a ray of sunlight into the otherworldly dimension they were trapped in. The sunlight improved the visibility of their surroundings significantly.
“Your Dharma Artifact can swallow spirits?”
The Young Master gasped, his eyes were brimming with disbelief.
Everyone looked around and thanks to the sunlight, they quickly found the Young Master hiding in a corner while holding a slightly curved bone flute.
It’s appearance matched the description. Its curve and the color both suggested that it was made out of a human rib. It looks almost beautiful with its smooth surface and excellent craftsmanship. No one would have suspected that this flute would have contained over a hundred malevolent spirits.
“I told you that your spell is just a child’s play for me. Without moving a finger, I can easily crush you.”
Chen Fan put away the bone whip and remained seated calmly.
“I will give you one more chance. If you come to me and accept your own death, I will not harm your family; otherwise, I will make sure that your bloodline will end with you.”
The Young Master shut his eyes in anger and surprise. Blood rushed into his head and eyes.
He had never endured such humiliation. Rage spurred him to attack with abandon. He pointed the pointy end of the flute at himself and plugged it through his chest.
The bone flute was as sharp as a dagger, and it pierced his flesh with ease.
Suddenly, the bone flute was covered with blood. To everyone’s surprise, the flute sucked in the blood, and its color of mutton-fat-jade started to gain a crimson hue.
“Overcharging his weapon with blood?”
Chen Fan cracked a light smile.
He had seen such an inefficient primitive technique on some planets he had visited during his space travel. This technique was a huge waste of the user’s vitality and therefore had long since gone out of love with the cultivators.
“You are right; I will do away with you today! I must!”
The Young Master let out a burst of wry laughter. His lifeless face was turning greyer by the second.
Even if he could kill Chen Fan using this sacrifice technique, his cultivation should take a toll and set him back at least ten years. There would be no winner at the end of this fight.
Bai Wuji was frightened by the development. He had never thought that the Young Master would go all out. Granny Snake shouted at Chen Fan. “Master Chen, leave with Xiao Jin and protect her. We will hold him back for you.”
Bai Wuji was not entirely happy with being voluntold to stay back. However, he plastered on a smile and said: “Master Chen, he is going to attack with abandon. Let’s pull back for now.”
“Too late!”
The Young Master laughed deliriously.
After absorbing Young Master’s blood, the ghosts increased their size drastically. Every one of those a hundred or so ghosts were as powerful as Master Wu’s “Seasoned Spirits” that he so preciously held in the Ghost Growing Urns.
Chen Fan was able to destroy the Ghost Growing Urns with a blow of lightning strike. However, there were over a hundred malevolent ghosts around here, could he unleash over a hundred lightning strikes at once?
Young Master’s blood had increased the power of the spirits, and they were no longer afraid of the fire and bone whip. They rammed their bodies onto the fire column without taking too much damage.
“Ban… Ban… Ban!”
The columns of fire reduced its brightness and size after each impact. The array was supposed to last a few more minutes, but at this rate, it would be put out in less than thirty seconds.
“Master Chen?”
Bai Wuji looked to Chen Fan desperately.
Bai Wuji wasn’t the only one that looked to Chen Fan, so did everyone else.
By then, no one knew what was going on nor did they know how to deal with it. Their only hope of getting out alive rests on the shoulders of Master Chen.
“Haha! Even if he is a Perfected Cultivator who had reached the level of Dharma Cultivation, he won’t be able to escape the spell in one piece.” The Young Master laughed. Blood dripped out from the corner of his mouth, but he didn’t seem to care. His mind had long since consumed by rage. “I hope you enjoy the taste of my power. I will tear you apart piece by piece and feed your soul to the spirits.”
Everyone’s heart sank to their stomach after hearing the Young Master’s threats.
However powerful Master Chen was, he wouldn’t be a Transcendent Master at such a young age.
Yu Wenjin gazed at the young man before him; suddenly, she felt she was finally at ease.
“It will be worth it if I can die with him, ”
After a few suspenseful moments, Chen Fan finally made a move.
“Stubborn fool.”
He shook his head and stood up slowly under many pairs of desperate eyes. He looked up at the Young Master and announced: “You brought this onto yourself. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.
“Can you look at me in my eyes?”
“Why not?” The Young Master cracked a contemptuous smile.
It wasn’t long before his smile froze on his face. His eyes were brimming with disbelief as he watched Chen Fan’s eyes turn into two glowing golden flames.
The flame was tiny in the beginning, but it quickly grew in size and became as large as the ever-expanding universe.
“With one look, I shall reduce the world into ashes.”