Within the Ghost Domain.
In just a few breaths of time, dozens of ghost soldiers had already perished under Lin Ji's sword.
But to call it a night march of a hundred ghosts, the number of ghosts at this moment far exceeded a mere hundred.
"If the ghost soldiers can't be killed off, then I'll find the fierce ghosts first."
Lin Ji made up his mind. In his spiritual eyes, he had already seen the areas around him where the ghostly aura was denser.
The nearest one was only a few dozen meters away from Lin Ji.
With a flicker of his figure, Lin Ji intercepted a fierce ghost.
Raising his hand, he struck with his sword.
"A Spirit Realm cultivator?" The fierce ghost seemed to know Lin Ji's strength and had no intention of resisting, instead choosing to retreat.
The surrounding ghost soldiers gathered once again, driven by instinct, fearlessly attempting to tear Lin Ji apart.
"Such a nuisance." Lin Ji's expression turned grim.
The vast number of ghosts forming the Ghost Domain was ultimately the ghosts' home ground.
The fierce ghosts that could be easily dealt with on ordinary days were now a bit troublesome for Lin Ji within this Ghost Domain.
Lin Ji could only chase after the fierce ghost while cutting down the ghost soldiers blocking his path.
After a moment, he had already ventured deep into the heart of the Ghost Domain.
Suddenly, a sound of breaking wind came from behind.
Lin Ji turned around and struck with his sword.
Clang!
Sparks flew as a ghost claw landed on his sword.
"Seeking death!"
Lin Ji coldly watched the fierce ghost with a twisted expression. But when he was about to strike, the fierce ghost disappeared into the ghostly aura.
Over a hundred ghost soldiers had already gathered around, a number that even Lin Ji found somewhat daunting.
It would be manageable outside, but within this Ghost Domain, over a hundred ghost soldiers could easily deplete a significant amount of his spiritual energy.
Furthermore, within this Ghost Domain, he had no means to replenish his spiritual energy and had to constantly defend against the invading ghostly aura.
For a moment, Lin Ji felt somewhat helpless.
"I can only retreat for now."
As he pondered, the fierce ghost attempted several sneak attacks on Lin Ji, all of which were blocked by him.
But just as Lin Ji had moved in the direction he came from not long ago, three fierce ghosts appeared in front of him, blocking his way.
"Come and go as you please?"
"Don't underestimate us."
"The anger of a cultivator, the soul of a cultivator."
The eerie voices echoed from all directions, annoying Lin Ji to no end.
"A group of rabble gathering together, daring to seek death voluntarily!"
Lin Ji gritted his teeth, fully activating the spiritual energy in his dantian, turning into a blur in an instant.
Next moment, his figure appeared in a place where the ghostly aura was particularly dense, his sword edge glowing with a blue light as he struck down.
"Ah!"
A wail sounded as a fierce ghost's soul dispersed.
"A mere fierce ghost with only second realm strength, dares to be so arrogant?" Lin Ji scanned around but could only see the ghostly aura, the fierce ghosts that had blocked his path nowhere to be seen.
But under his spiritual eyes, they had nowhere to hide.
Lin Ji's figure disappeared once again.
"Be careful, he's coming again!"
"Let the ghost soldiers stop him!"
The voices of the fierce ghosts continued, but they were unable to hinder Lin Ji's movements.
After a while, three more fierce ghosts fell under Lin Ji's sword.
"I'm leaving, who dares to stop me?" Lin Ji said coldly.
That previous action had consumed over thirty percent of his spiritual energy.
Fierce ghosts that could be easily dealt with on normal days were now much more troublesome within this Ghost Domain.
No one answered, seemingly intimidated by Lin Ji's decisive killings, even the surrounding ghostly cries and wails had lessened.
Not wanting to delay, Lin Ji hurried back in the direction he came from.
But just as he took a few steps, he halted his steps.
It wasn't that he didn't want to move forward, but his path was once again blocked, just a dozen meters away.
A figure over two meters tall stood quietly in front of Lin Ji.
With surging soul energy, clad in armor formed by condensed ghostly aura, only the pair of crimson eyes remained fixed on Lin Ji.
"I thought so, a few fierce ghosts leading a group of ghost soldiers, how did they manage to create such a grand scene?" Lin Ji sneered, then continued, "What's this, even the Ghost General under the Ghost King of Liang City has also betrayed like these confused fierce ghosts?"
"The Ghost King is indecisive, naturally unworthy of my allegiance." The blocking Ghost General casually replied.
Lin Ji narrowed his eyes slightly, "I've heard that the Ghost Marshal and Ghost General of the Ghost King City have their souls left in the hands of the Ghost King, fearing your betrayal! If you're discovered here by the Ghost King, with a single thought, your soul will dissipate. Aren't you afraid?"
"Hehe, I know quite a bit."
With that, the Ghost General did not respond but took a step forward.
As his foot touched the ground, his entire body transformed into a mass of ghostly aura.
The next moment, the ghostly aura condensed behind Lin Ji.
"Such a nuisance." Lin Ji's expression turned extremely grim. The other party's immediate attack attitude made it clear that they were relentless.
Originally, he had thought of chatting a bit more, perhaps using some verbal tricks to resolve the situation. After all, the Ghost General, in a certain sense, was also a cultivator, and there was a possibility of reasoning with them. But now, it seemed impossible.
Lin Ji dodged the Ghost General's attack with a step forward, simultaneously striking with his sword.
"It's useless." The Ghost General's voice sounded again.
The sword strike landed on the Ghost General, turning him back into ghostly aura.
Suddenly, a black greatsword appeared by Lin Ji's side.
Instead of the Ghost General's figure, it was the ghostly aura in the Ghost Domain controlling the greatsword, slashing towards Lin Ji.
Lin Ji retreated, but the greatsword changed its position, appearing in the direction Lin Ji was escaping to.
"This Ghost Domain." Lin Ji's expression turned extremely grim.
With no other choice, he raised his longsword to defend.
The immense force pushed him back several steps before he could stop.
Just from this one direct confrontation, Lin Ji felt a bit more solemn.
"Thankfully, I've only just entered the Fourth Realm, I should be able to withstand it for a while." Lin Ji thought to himself.
The strength of the Ghost General was between the Third and Fourth Realms compared to human cultivators.
The Ghost General he had slain on the official road last time was only at the Third Realm, but the current Ghost General possessed the cultivation of the Fourth Realm. Moreover, there were several fierce ghosts and countless ghost soldiers' ghostly aura forming the Ghost Domain to bolster him.
"Surrender, and I'll let your soul become a fierce ghost under my command," the Ghost General's voice rang out.
"Dream on." Lin Ji sneered.
"Then you shall perish! Once I've slaughtered Qingyang County, I can achieve the realm of Ghost Marshal!"
The Ghost General's figure finally appeared, wielding a large sword in both hands as he descended from above, ruthlessly striking down.
Lin Ji hastily retreated.
The large sword left a mark on the ground several meters long.
Before Lin Ji could catch his breath, the Ghost General suddenly appeared in front of him.
This time, Lin Ji was unable to defend in time.
The large sword, enveloped in ghostly aura, fell heavily on Lin Ji's chest.
(End of Chapter)