Shengjing Avenue, behind the Grand Marshal's Bathhouse
This was the northernmost point of Shengjing Avenue. Beyond it lay the undeveloped areas of the outer city. However, real estate developers knew that such barren, unproductive "white land" wouldn't yield much profit, so there was no human habitation here.
If they had known the eventual outcome, the mayor of Shengjing City would have been immensely grateful to these people.
Because now, this place had been reduced to scorched earth.
A colossal fissure, originating from the south, tore through the desolate mountains to the north, splitting the land in two. Within this fissure, several meters deep, the freshly unearthed soil still emitted white heat. The smoke and dust churned up by the collision of spiritual energy had also refused to dissipate for a long time.
Xin Lei lay in the very center of this crack.
A shocking wound marred his chest, almost cleaving him in two. Yet, he could no longer bleed, as his injuries had been cauterized by the high temperature generated by the spiritual energy fluctuations. His lungs, heart, and other organs had suffered varying degrees of damage, especially his lungs, forcing him to constantly struggle for breath.
King Taishan watched the violent smoke and dust swirling in the air. Though he couldn't see Xin Lei, his lips still curled upwards as he coldly sneered, "Hehehe... Do you see? This is the gap between us! You couldn't even withstand one of my moves, so how can you prove me wrong?"
But Xin Lei found it increasingly difficult to answer King Taishan. His vision grew progressively blurry, and his life flashed before his eyes.
Awakening… apprenticeship… great battles… betrayal… love…
In a daze, Xin Lei seemed to see his long-deceased wife and daughter.
"Qianqian… I'm sorry… Qianqian…" Xin Lei tried to reach out and grasp his wife's hand but was unable to due to his severe injuries.
Just as Xin Lei's gaze began to scatter, an exceptionally terrifying voice whispered into his ear:
"Are you topping up QQ coins to cheat?" (Not really)
"Do you want to live?"
Xin Lei's consciousness, like a final burst of light, suddenly became much clearer. He immediately wanted to understand what was happening, but a pair of somewhat cold hands gently supported his head, and the voice continued, "Don't you want to defeat and conquer that person?"
This voice, like one from the Nine Nether Purgatory, made Xin Lei, who was clearly on the verge of death, instinctively shiver. However, he knew he was about to die, and this might be his only chance to perish alongside King Taishan.
"I… I want to defeat him… No! I will eliminate him!"
"Good…"
Mo Chuan (Crimson Moon) chuckled and pressed the mark of the Death Contract onto Xin Lei's chest.
(Death Contract: Karthus can sign a death contract with the living. The living gain a 10% bonus to your base attributes. For every person you have contracted with who dies, you will permanently gain 50% of their base attributes.)
This was one of Mo Chuan's few healing skills, but the problem was—10% of his maximum health, which was nearly 800!
This was far more effective than a healer's buff and directly increased his maximum health capacity, unaffected by healing reduction effects. (It directly adds to max HP and fully restores stamina, rather than recovering stamina as a percentage of current HP. For example, if Xin Lei is at full health 100 and currently at 10 HP, adding 100 to his max HP would restore him to 110, not 20.)
As expected, after the flesh on his chest was corroded by the mark, Xin Lei's wound actually began to heal. Mo Chuan then, with great reluctance, sprinkled a bottle of Corrupting Potion on it, turning the wound into a scar resembling a centipede.
The sudden pain, the healing of his wound, the restoration of his vitality, and his now clear consciousness, along with an unprecedented surge of strength, left Xin Lei in disbelief.
Xin Lei instinctively sat up from the ground, clenched his fist, and looked back behind him in astonishment. Just as he was about to speak, he froze at the sight of the "person" behind him.
A spectral aura of dark red emanated from his body; flowing white hair; a purple robe paired with black armor adorned with gold paint, and from within the armor, dark red flames seeped out, covering the exposed flesh; a red and white mask depicting a ferocious ghost stared at Xin Lei. The eyes within the mask's seams gleamed with an eerie red light. In Xin Lei's eyes, it felt as if those eyes contained immense terror, making him afraid to look directly.
Xin Lei recognized this "person" – it was none other than the new Ghost King from the previous Hundred Ghosts Night Parade incident!
At this moment, Xin Lei suddenly detected a subtle trace of evil and decay within his spiritual meridians.
Wait a minute!
Xin Lei suddenly recalled what the Heavenly Emperor had said, which made him look at the ghost before him again.
This Ghost King… was human! Someone who had approached the state of a ghost infinitely closely! Perhaps throughout the history of spiritual energy resurgence in both Japan and the Dragon Country, no human had ever replaced the king of a great clan so directly.
…
King Taishan looked at the still undispelled smoke and dust, suddenly feeling that something was amiss.
His vigilance and suspicion, honed over years, prompted him to personally inspect Xin Lei's body. Thus, he beckoned a bamboo slip, activated his spiritual energy to create a protective shield around himself, and then, with a swift movement, cautiously drifted into the smoke and dust.
King Taishan scanned his surroundings. Visibility in the smoke and dust was already low, forcing him to land on the ground to continue his search.
Before long, he spotted the shocking fissure.
Just as he was about to investigate further, a loud shout suddenly came from outside the smoke and dust: "Attention, person inside! The Dragon Country Army has surrounded this area! Cease resistance immediately! Lay down your arms and surrender!"
King Taishan heard this and was unconcerned. He waved his hand and threw out three bamboo slips.
The three bamboo slips turned into three streams of light and flew away. King Taishan paid them no further mind, continuing to search for Xin Lei's body along the fissure.
Suddenly, a surge of extremely violent and chaotic spiritual energy emanated from behind King Taishan. King Taishan frowned and looked back again.
He saw a dark silhouette, flashing with cold light, speeding towards him from the direction where the smoke and dust were gradually clearing.
King Taishan directly waved his hand, and a scroll flew out from his sleeve, unfolding in mid-air. Spiritual energy converged and flowed, and the phantom image of a beast-faced bronze shield inscribed with the character "干" (Gan) appeared in the air.
*Clang! Crack!*
The dark silhouette struck the shield almost instantly. However, to King Taishan's surprise, the Xingtian Gan shield, which could withstand a blow from a seventh-tier demon beast, shattered into spiritual energy fragments.
The dark silhouette's advance faltered, and it immediately retreated several steps.
King Taishan no longer cared whether the entity before him was human or ghost; he intended to kill this thing that dared to charge at him so recklessly!
King Taishan snorted, "The armored warriors are instruments of ill omen; the sage uses them only when there is no other choice."
Several blood-red halberds, accompanying King Taishan's words, gradually began to appear around him.
"Go, rites, music, and conquest."