Main Text, Volume Two, Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Terrifying Ghost Head

She stepped between the two of them, shooting Yu Mu a fierce glare, and without exchanging a word with the priestess, she led the way into the cave.

"Hey, wait! It's dangerous inside. Let me take the lead." Then, with an awkward smile to the priestess, he added, "Your cultivation naturally restrains ghosts, while her arts are useless against them. Please stay behind and help protect us."

"Mm." The priestess gave a slight nod.

Ye Yu, hearing this, seemed unsure what to make of it. Her expression shifted several times, but in the end she obediently took her place between the two and went on inward.

With the priestess now among them, they encountered no ghosts along the way. Whether they had all been frightened off by the spirit crystal in her hand, or whether some vast and dreadful aura deep within the cave had drawn near, keeping no ghost brave enough to approach, none could tell.

Seeing such miraculous effect from the spirit crystal in the girl's hands, Yu Mu was almost tempted to bring out the Ghost King body and trade it back.

The farther they went, the heavier the dreadful pressure became. At last, under Yu Mu's perception, the three reached the end of the cavern.

At the cave's terminus the ground suddenly opened out, and before them appeared a colossal vertical sinkhole.

The mouth of the shaft was nearly twenty to thirty meters across, plunging into unfathomable darkness. Like a gaping maw devouring all things, it sent a chill through the soul.

From the opening burst forth wave after wave of immense ghostly qi, while faintly, from within, came cries of agony and lamentation. Even Yu Mu, in his ghostly form, could not help but feel a creeping terror.

Yet Ye Yu's behavior was wholly unlike the rest. She showed no sign of fear at all; instead, she crouched down and pressed herself to the opening, listening in silence.

Yu Mu was astonished beyond measure and could not help lowering himself as well, asking softly, "What's wrong?"

"Hush." Ye Yu made a silencing gesture and whispered, "Listen carefully. Do you hear knocking?"

Yu Mu listened as instructed. Sure enough, from the depths came a faint clanging, as though something were struggling to break free and rush out.

At once Yu Mu manifested a shade spirit and sent it down the shaft.

This was one of the abilities he had gained after cultivating the Ghost King body: a shade avatar. It possessed no real attack power, but it was useful for scaring people and scouting ahead. Since he had only cultivated up to the realm of shade spirits, he could manifest only a shade spirit.

The shade spirit descended slowly, and Yu Mu could clearly feel the thick ghostly qi below, growing denser the deeper it went. This was unquestionably an excellent place to cultivate the Ghost King body, comparable to the field of bull spirit grass beyond Demon Hill.

Suddenly, Yu Mu's expression changed drastically, and he cried out, "Run! Something is coming up, and it's very powerful!"

Without another thought, he seized one girl under each arm and fled at full speed.

Caught suddenly beneath Yu Mu's arms, the two girls instinctively struggled. But seeing his face turned pale and drenched in cold sweat, as though he had been struck by a tremendous fright, they dared not move and obediently let him carry them away.

Especially Ye Yu: she had known Yu Mu for some time, and had never seen him in such a state of panic.

Yu Mu was truly terrified nearly to death; the feeling just now had been too horrifying.

The shade spirit he had released had, in that instant, been swallowed whole by an invisible maw. And now that thing was already surging toward the cave mouth.

Yu Mu had keenly felt its overwhelming power, and the murderous intent radiating from it.

They had barely run half the distance when the dense killing intent pouring from behind them was already clearly felt by both girls. It seemed almost solid, as if the thought of it alone were enough to make one feel death approaching.

What sort of existence was this cave, in the end?

Why would such a ghostly pit appear here?

Where did this ghost pit lead?

Could it be connected to the Netherworld?

And who was the powerful being struggling to break free?

Why would such a terrifying creature burst from this ghost pit?

What a dreadfully sinister place this was. No wonder even a powerhouse like Sky-Pillar would hold it in awe.

Yu Mu was frantic with anxiety and had no time to ponder such questions. Though he was already using every ounce of strength to run, he was carrying two people; at his current speed, the thing behind them would certainly catch up before they reached the exit.

Both girls had mortal bodies, and flight was impossible here. In sheer running speed, they were no match for him. Moreover, the cave was riddled with branching paths; once separated, survival would be difficult indeed.

Among the three, only Yu Mu could sense the location of the exit, so he had no choice but to carry them both and run.

If only Yan Xiao San were here. With his speed, even carrying two people, he would still run faster than me.

Thinking of Yan Xiao San, Yu Mu's heart suddenly stirred, and he recalled those two lines of incantation.

As he raced madly onward, he silently chanted them.

Why was there no reaction? Could the incident that day have been an illusion? Impossible. He had clearly escaped that fatal blow.

Yu Mu recited the formula over and over, dozens of times, yet the same thing that had happened that day never appeared.

"Why is this happening?" Yu Mu was still unwilling to give up, and continued muttering the two lines. Besides, he also needed the distraction, for the pressure behind him was far too heavy.

Whoosh.

"Aiya! Watch where you're going! That hurts!"

"It worked!" Yu Mu was overjoyed and no longer cared that Ye Yu had been bumped on the head.

At last, the same rapid shifting movement he had used to evade Yan Xiao San's assassination appeared. Though he had lost control of the direction and slammed Ye Yu's head against the cave wall, it had still succeeded in moving him forward a good distance in a flash.

Yu Mu silently repeated the incantation again. After another several dozen attempts, he succeeded once more.

So there is a success rate!

Yu Mu did not know whether to rejoice or despair; the success rate was simply too low. It took nearly fifty or sixty recitations before the shifting movement would activate once.

What use could such a thing possibly be in combat? If he tried to rely on this skill in battle, he would be gambling with his life.

It seemed that surviving Yan Xiao San's assassination had truly been a matter of heaven opening its eyes.

No. This still won't do.

First, the success rate is far too low. Second, the distance of the shift is too short. Even on a straight path, it can only move about two meters. That is nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

As Yu Mu ran, he suddenly flung the two girls into the air, and at the same instant transformed into a giant white pig. The girls fell neatly, one in front and one behind, onto its back.

Ye Yu had already grown immune to the bizarre things happening around Yu Mu. The priestess, however, was seeing this for the first time and could not help but be curious.

The white pig shot forward on all fours, its speed clearly much greater. But the three of them still felt the thing behind them closing in rapidly.

Yu Mu thought to himself in frustration, yet found no good solution. Finally he asked, "Do either of you have a way to stop that ghost from pursuing us?"

His words reminded the priestess. Without answering, she formed hand seals and laid layer upon layer of barriers behind them.

After running a while longer, they indeed felt the thing behind them slow slightly. But the priestess cried out in shock, "How fierce! It shattered my holy barrier with just one impact. What kind of ghost is this?"

Yu Mu was shocked as well. This priestess seemed to be at roughly the level of late-stage Golden Core, and her arts were also effective against ghosts; yet she could only barely hinder it. That alone showed how formidable the thing behind them truly was.

Still, her effort was not in vain. Before the ghost could catch up, Yu Mu finally saw the cave entrance.

When Yan Xiao San saw the three of them in such a bizarre state, he was just about to come over and ask what was going on, when Yu Mu shouted, "Quick, catch her and run outside!"

As he spoke, he hurled Ye Yu toward Yan Xiao San. Yan Xiao San, though bewildered, reached out and caught her, then leaped out of the cave.

With one girl gone, Yu Mu felt suddenly lighter and sped up even more, reaching the entrance in the blink of an eye. By then, he could already clearly sense the pursuer at his back.

Yu Mu manifested a bear's body, sprang around, and roared, "Prepare to meet it!"

He then spat a mouthful of wine-fire toward the rear. Only when the two turned around did they see a huge black misty head, its ghastly maw agape, swallowing toward them.

Yu Mu's wine-fire only scattered the edges of the head. In desperation, the priestess began to chant holy hymns, and the spirit crystal in her hand instantly shone with blinding brilliance.

"Great Purification Art!"

Amid the booming chant, the priestess cast the spirit crystal away.

With a thunderous blast, the crystal shattered, and the cave seemed to give birth to a sun.

The fierce radiance instantly purified nearly half of the ghostly head. By the time it reformed, the two had already flown out of the cave.

Once they stepped onto the stone platform, they could no longer feel the threat from within. That platform seemed like the boundary between the realms of yin and yang.

The reassembled ghost head had already shrunk to half its former size. It hovered at the cave mouth, cast an eerie glance at the four of them, then dispersed without a trace.