Chapter 115: The Useless Coffin

Xu Cheng, secretly astonished, had originally intended to lend him a hand, but never anticipated such a sudden turn of events.

The situation was dire. Gu Qixiang now appeared like a desperate warrior, his cultivation no less than Xu Cheng’s, posing a potentially lethal threat to him.

“Yellow Springs Dao Immortal Technique: Hell Seal!” Xu Cheng murmured slowly. Drops of black liquid fell between his hands, spreading outward. Within moments, the waters of the Wangchuan River extended three miles around, all dyed a deep black.

Gu Qixiang, initially swift under the aid of the Evil Ghost Seal and Fierce Ghost Seal, was now thoroughly slowed by the influence of the underworld waters.

“Disgusting black water!” Gu Qixiang snarled fiercely, his body sinking further. If he were to be fully submerged, he would fall into the true Wangchuan River of the Underworld, ultimately entering the cycle of reincarnation.

“Infinite Ghost Path: Ghost King Seal!” His eyes glowing crimson, Gu Qixiang cast another spell upon himself. A terrifying ghostly apparition, over twenty zhang tall, materialized in the air before merging into his body.

Xu Cheng focused intently, manipulating the Wangchuan water to shift form, from which emerged numerous black arms reaching to grasp Gu Qixiang.

But by then, Gu Qixiang had completed his enchantment; his muscles swelled, and his figure towered like an iron giant. On his chest were three tattoos: Ghost King, Fierce Ghost, and Evil Ghost.

Black smoke poured from his nostrils. Seized by countless black hands, he fiercely broke free with a roar, “You think this is enough to defeat me?”

Then, Gu Qixiang opened his enormous, fang-filled mouth—so large it could swallow a man whole. His distorted features and rows of jagged teeth were enough to terrify any ordinary person. His target, however, was Xu Cheng, seemingly intent on devouring him outright.

Seeing his adversary break free and charge toward him, Xu Cheng’s mind shifted. The many arms vanished, merging into one massive limb that lunged at Gu Qixiang.

“I’ll eat you!” Gu Qixiang’s eyes burned crimson as he snapped at the black arm.

Crackling sounds rang out. Gu Qixiang bit down hard on a finger of the black arm, rapidly devouring the spell Xu Cheng had unleashed.

His red eyes locked onto Xu Cheng, conveying a chilling promise: “You’re next.”

In the blink of an eye, Gu Qixiang reached him and began gnawing at the protective barrier formed by Xu Cheng’s Great Radiance Boundless Wisdom Immortal Technique.

“Addicted to eating, aren’t you?” Xu Cheng thought angrily, summoning chains laced with Underworld Flame from the black water on the ground, swiftly binding Gu Qixiang.

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Just as Gu Qixiang gleefully gnawed a hole through the protective barrier, he saw the fiery chains wrapping around him and, without hesitation, opened his mouth to swallow the iron chains and the black flame whole.

But Underworld Flame was no ordinary feast.

The flame summoned by Xu Cheng’s cultivation was hellfire, capable of burning souls, a force not to be underestimated.

Suddenly, a large hole appeared in Gu Qixiang’s chest. Black flames flickered quietly within, not fiercely blazing, yet causing him to writhe in pain, desperately trying to extinguish the fire but failing utterly.

Unconscious low growls escaped his throat. If the Underworld Flame continued its burning, Gu Qixiang’s primordial spirit would be destroyed, his soul utterly dissipated, vanishing from this world forever.

“Senior, please save him!” The spider spirit Zhu Yixue pleaded tearfully.

Gu Qixiang had stopped moving, patches of white bone showing through his chest and body.

Xu Cheng controlled the Wangchuan River water to drench Gu Qixiang, extinguishing the flame and preserving his life.

Calming himself, Xu Cheng sat quietly. He had long suspected that the mysterious stranger had instilled dark thoughts in Gu Qixiang, luring him onto the path of becoming a monster.

After a while, Xu Cheng’s spirit and energy were replenished, and Gu Qixiang’s body on the ground was healing. But what if he woke and caused trouble again?

“Perhaps I should seize this chance to seal his power?” The thought flashed, but then Xu Cheng considered a more secure method—reviving him with a coffin.

Although the coffin had transformed into Xu Cheng’s blood vessels, summoning it again should pose no problem.

Carefully, he guided his blood vessels to emerge from the fingertips, slowly winding toward Gu Qixiang’s body.

It wasn’t that Xu Cheng wanted to be slow, but the emergence of the blood vessels from his body caused excruciating pain, akin to having one’s bones scraped.

“Senior, didn’t you say to spare him?” Zhu Yixue hurried over.

Startled, Xu Cheng retracted all the black blood vessels from his fingertips.

“I’m saving him, not killing him! This spell can turn him back into an ordinary human!” Xu Cheng said angrily, inwardly thinking how troublesome this spider spirit truly was.

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“Turn him back into an ordinary human?”

The spider spirit’s eyes gleamed.

“Indeed. I am a messenger of the Yellow Springs; I command who lives and who dies!” Xu Cheng said with pride, anticipating surprise or shock from Zhu Yixue.

Yet she showed no reaction, leaving Xu Cheng momentarily speechless.

After a moment, Zhu Yixue stood aside calmly and said, “If you intend to take Gu Qixiang as your disciple, then turn him back into a human. If not, it’s better not to.”

This...

Well, it turned out she had her own plan. Xu Cheng realized he couldn’t teach Gu Qixiang; all his spells had transformed into Yellow Springs techniques. To instruct Gu Qixiang in magic, he would need to become a messenger of the Yellow Springs himself—a rather unlikely prospect.

Turning him into a ghostly official was an option, making him a “civil servant” of sorts, though it was uncertain if Gu Qixiang would accept.

Since his spider spirit wife opposed it, Xu Cheng couldn’t just sit idly by. In a flash, he sealed Gu Qixiang’s power to prevent any sudden outbursts.

After a long time, Gu Qixiang finally awoke, glaring at Xu Cheng with great hostility. Yet, with his power sealed, he was powerless to act.

“Speak. Why do you harbor such enmity toward me?” Xu Cheng asked, puzzled.

“I want to become a cultivator, to be with her forever! And you... you must be here to take her from me!” Gu Qixiang stammered, pointing at Zhu Yixue, whose face flushed slightly.

It was truly a baseless accusation. Xu Cheng had no such intentions, despite the spider spirit’s alluring beauty.

Besides, jealous men were truly terrifying...