Chapter 2696 The Mad City Lord's Love-Hate Relationship 18

A residence outside the city.

Liu Shuoyue led them into a secret room, where Liu Zhou's body was laid flat on a straw mat, and Liu Shuoyue stuffed a vital-protecting pill into his mouth to keep him alive.

The four people stood in the four directions of east, south, west, and north, surrounding Liu Zhou's physical body in the center.

The secret room was dark, with doors and windows tightly shut, and only the smoke from the four burning incense sticks in the corners wafting out.

The four of them simultaneously formed hand seals, circulating their spiritual energy, which transformed into four beams of light of different colors, flowing from their fingertips and converging at the center of Liu Zhou's brow.

They must work together to perform the art of guiding the soul back to its body, forcibly opening the channel connecting the yin and yang realms, and pulling back Liu Zhou's soul, which was lingering in the ghost city.

Meanwhile, a ghost town.

Inside the cold, damp, and sunless stone prison, Liu Zhou huddled in a corner, his soul trembling incessantly.

The cell door slid open, and a crimson figure appeared in the doorway.

Yin Chaosheng walked in slowly, his stunning face appearing even paler and more eerie in the dim light, his scarlet pupils fixed on Liu Zhou.

"Who taught you to hide like this? I've gone to great lengths to find you."

Yin Chaosheng's voice was icy cold, "It's Jin Chen."

When he uttered the name, his tone became slightly somber. "Where is he?"

Liu Zhou shuddered, remembering Jin Chen's instructions to him before he disappeared.

"No matter who asks, you must not reveal my whereabouts. Just say you don't know. Whether you can return to the mortal world depends entirely on whether you can grit your teeth."

The will to survive overcame the fear of the ghost king before him. Liu Zhou suppressed the scream that was about to burst from his throat, lowered his head, and insisted in a trembling voice, "I...I don't know...Lord Jin Chen...just gave me a sanctuary, and then...he never appeared again..."

Liu Zhou added, "Lord Jin Chen also said... he was struck by your... ghost seal, City Lord, and that shortly after saving me, he will probably... be annihilated..."

"Shut up!" Yin Chaosheng's face suddenly darkened.

Yin Chaosheng's figure blurred and appeared in front of Liu Zhou, grabbing Liu Zhou's throat from a distance and lifting him off the ground.

Liu Zhou's soul emitted painful gurgling sounds, and his legs kicked weakly in the air.

"He won't be completely destroyed." Yin Chaosheng stared at him, enunciating each word with a chilling killing intent in his voice, "If you dare to spout any more nonsense, I'll let you taste what it's really like to be completely destroyed!"

Liu Zhou was so frightened that he shook his head desperately, but he couldn't utter a complete sound.

Yin Chaosheng looked at him coldly, a surge of anger rising in his heart for no apparent reason.

This human being, with an ordinary appearance and a weak soul, was clearly just an ordinary ant.

Yin Chaosheng curled his lips in a sarcastic smile, the vibrant color appearing particularly cruel at this moment. "He's really good to you. He can barely protect himself, facing death, yet he still thinks about protecting the life of a mere human like you."

Liu Zhou didn't quite understand the complex emotions in the words. He only felt the grip on his throat loosen slightly, and he fell to the ground coughing violently. He didn't dare to look up at Yin Chaosheng, but buried his face deep in his arms to minimize his presence.

Just then, Liu Zhou trembled all over, feeling a faint warmth from head to toe, as if it were pulling him somewhere.

...It's the world of the living!

Someone is performing a ritual to summon his soul; it's Lord Jin Chen!

His heart pounded wildly within his soul, and Liu Zhou clenched his teeth tightly, not daring to let the fierce ghost in front of him notice anything.

Yin Chaosheng looked at the humble, trembling soul at his feet, his heart filled with turmoil.

Thinking that this was someone that Jin Chen, that mad dog, had risked his life to protect, his killing intent rose and fell, but for some reason he didn't want to take his life immediately. He still held onto a sliver of hope that even he himself didn't have any hope for.

Yin Chaosheng irritably flicked his sleeves, his trailing red shirt drawing a cold arc as he turned to leave.

As Liu Zhou approached the prison gate, his fingers trembled slightly inside his sleeves with excitement, his heart screaming with rage.

Hurry! Hurry up!

Hurry up!

But just as he was about to leave the prison, Yin Chaosheng stopped in his tracks.

He turned to the side, his brows furrowed, and stared once more at the terrified soul within the cell.

Liu Zhou tensed up instantly, his heart leaped into his throat, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

Yin Chaosheng raised his voice and gave a soft "hmm," his eerie pupils gleaming.

After a few moments of silence, he reappeared beside Liu Zhou like a ghost, leaning down in a chilling manner.

"Is someone in the mortal realm... guiding your soul?"

The taut string in Liu Zhou's mind snapped with a loud crack!

It was discovered!

Liu Zhou struggled violently, his voice shrill, "Let me go! I want to leave here! I want to live! Let me go back!!!"

Yin Chaosheng's dark eyes revealed a chilling, sinister glint as he sneered.

"Who in the mortal world would go to such lengths to perform this heaven-defying soul-summoning technique for an ordinary commoner like you?"

The next moment, Yin Chaosheng's long, pale fingers, gleaming with a bluish-black light, plunged into Liu Zhou's head.

A chilling, ghostly aura forcefully surged in, and Liu Zhou let out a shrill, inhuman scream as his soul twisted violently.

Yin Chaosheng closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, then slowly withdrew his finger, and blood dripped down.

He looked at Liu Zhou, who was slumped on the ground, his eyes flashing with murderous intent, and then let out a snort of laughter, "Want to leave? Fine."

Yin Chaosheng leaned close to Liu Zhou's ear, his voice chilling like a venomous snake's tongue.

"If it is him... if it really is him, then let him come to Ghost City in person and take you away from me."

In the mortal realm, a residence outside the city.

Jin Chen, who was performing the soul-guiding technique, was violently thrown back by a force filled with cold and malevolent energy.

The traction light array enveloping Liu Zhou's body shattered and vanished without a trace.

On the straw mat, Liu Zhou's body turned bluish-purple and stiff at a visible speed, with black veins faintly emerging under his skin, his life force rapidly fading away.

"what happened?!"

Chu Jiushan clutched his aching chest, horrified. "Forget about us, Senior Brother, even you can't bring his soul back?"

Jin Chen raised his hand to wipe the blood from his lips, his brows furrowing slightly. "...Yin Chaosheng has probably found out."

Liu Shuoyue's face was pale. She suppressed her surging blood and said urgently, "No! If the soul leaves the body for more than seven days, it will become separated from the physical body and will be difficult to return!"

"At that time, Liu Zhou's soul will be completely assimilated by the Yin energy of the Ghost City, becoming a true wandering ghost, never to be reincarnated."

Zang Huai'an took a deep breath, suppressing the frustration in his heart, and said in a deep voice, "The only thing we can do now is wait for the Grand Preceptor's arrangement to enter the Ghost City again and try to rescue people. It will only take a few days. Hopefully... it's not too late."

Three days later, at the Imperial Palace in the capital.

Five days have passed in the mortal realm since we left the ghost town.

For the past five days, Jin Chen and the other three have stayed at home, recuperating and healing their injuries, and dispelling the yin energy.

On this day, the Imperial Advisor once again summoned everyone to the palace square, but this time, the selected individuals were not limited to Jin Chen and his three companions.

Perhaps sensing that Jin Chen was difficult to control and that his strength was unfathomable, the Grand Preceptor arranged for four other people to enter the Ghost City together.

The leader of these four was none other than Fu Lingjing, who had a past conflict with Jin Chen but whose strength had greatly increased thanks to a "fortuitous encounter".

There are also the Zhao brothers, Zhao Tian and Zhao Di, who are skilled in combined attacks, and Black Wing, a burly, dark-skinned man known for his Maoshan talisman techniques.

The eight people stood together, and the atmosphere was subtle.

Although they entered together, the reward promised by the Grand Preceptor upon successfully destroying the Ghost City was only for four people. Therefore, as soon as the team was formed, a sense of competition began to emerge.

Jin Chen and the other three were well aware of this intention, but they didn't take it to heart.

The Imperial Advisor solemnly said, "This journey to the Ghost City will be even more dangerous than before. Your primary task remains reconnaissance. We are still searching for a way to completely eliminate the vengeful ghost city lord and eliminate future troubles. Remember, preserving your lives is the most important thing."

Jin Chen suddenly spoke up, "Grand Preceptor, there is something I don't understand."

The Imperial Advisor turned his gaze to him and said, "Speak."

Jin Chen's voice was cold. "Ghost City is dangerous, concerning the safety of the capital and even the world. Grand Preceptor, you are a master of profound Taoist arts. Why don't you go and investigate yourself, instead of sending us juniors to risk our lives time and time again?"