Chapter 193: Ghost King Overate?

Chu Xuan and Duan Que continued their stroll within the city.

With many cultivators having ventured into the Deity Transformation cave, Righteous Dao City felt markedly desolate. The streets were mostly populated by early-stage Golden Core cultivators, with mid-stage ones rare to see.

A cultivator at the sixth level of Golden Core could easily dominate all others in Righteous Dao City, much like the proverbial king of the mountain when no tiger is around.

"Is that Wan Wuying? He's here too."

Chu Xuan's gaze fleetingly caught a familiar figure hurrying past—it was his former master and now senior brother, Wan Wuying.

Chu Xuan was surprised to see him not entering the cave; Wan Wuying had once dared to venture into the Ghost Palace of the Nether Dao Sect. Why would he hesitate now at a Deity Transformation cave?

However, after spotting Zhao Wuya and Huang Yuanwu, Chu Xuan roughly guessed their intentions. His senior brother clearly preferred to wait it out and reap the benefits later. Chu Xuan's motivation was different; he sincerely wanted to collect the corpses of those cultivators.

As for how Wan Wuying managed to sneak into Righteous Dao City, Chu Xuan wasn't particularly curious. If Wan Wuying couldn't even infiltrate a city like Righteous Dao, that would be the real surprise. A Golden Core demonic cultivator who couldn't even alter his aura was truly a disgrace.

"Now, we wait." Chu Xuan mused. "The five major powers must have contingencies in place. I hope their moves provide me with some surprises."

His main reliance now was on Four Arms, his four-armed ghost king. Although only a first-level ghost king, Four Arms wielded four lifebound ghost weapons and could easily kill any False Soul cultivator.

Even a real Nascent Soul cultivator, if only at the early stage, was no match for him and would be utterly overwhelmed. Unless he encountered a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, he was in a position of clear dominance.

This realization made Chu Xuan suddenly more alert. He had already investigated: the Nascent Soul cultivators from Feather Transformation Heaven Palace, Majestic Sword Sect, Celestial Sound Zen Temple, as well as the patriarchs from the Duan and Lei families, were all at the early stage of Nascent Soul. The higher-stage Nascent Soul cultivators seemed to be in more perilous outer realms, not this one. But that was just based on the information at hand.

What if there were mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators lurking in the shadows? What if some of these early-stage cultivators advanced to mid-stage in the heat of battle?

No, Four Arms's level had to be elevated.

"The struggle for the treasures within the Deity Transformation Cave would take at least two to three months to resolve, right?" Chu Xuan pondered. "While we wait, it's time to enhance Four Arms's level. Let Four Arms suffer the hardships; I'll bear the infamy."

Chu Xuan promptly used his usual method, cutting away one-tenth of his soul, and with the Sky-Shielding Umbrella, he headed towards Soul Star…

As soon as Chu Xuan appeared, Two Arms hurried over, exclaiming, "Father! You're finally here!"

His excitement was palpable as he continued, "Father, I've divined using the divination plate that I am about to become a Ghost King. Are you here to help me achieve that? I am fully prepared to ascend to the rank of Ghost King!"

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Chu Xuan cleared his throat, "That's not quite why I'm here. I came to boost Four Arms's level."

Advancing from a Ghost Commander to a Ghost King required a massive amount of ghost souls. To elevate from a first-level Ghost King to a second-level required roughly seventy percent of the ghost souls needed for the initial ascension. Chu Xuan had already calculated how to allocate these resources efficiently.

The excitement on Two Arms's face momentarily stiffened. Chu Xuan painted a pie picture for him, suggesting that he would certainly become a Ghost King eventually, but there was no rush—it was better for Two Arms to continue his efforts for now.

After a moment, Chu Xuan casually asked, "Has anything significant happened recently?"

Two Arms shook his head, "No, the Soul Clan of the Slaughter Faction hasn't dared to approach recently. Though, about a month ago, a group from the Husbandry Faction tried to capture members of the Ascendant Faction and inadvertently discovered our formation. They thought they could feast here. I couldn't tolerate that and turned them into the feast instead." ????àNỐ????ĘṨ



Chu Xuan nodded, "Any movements from the Ascendant Faction?"

Two Arms nodded, "The Dark Cloud Squad visited once, bringing quite a few things and again earnestly hoped I would join the Ascendant Faction. I rejected them on the spot."

Chu Xuan nodded slightly. Two Arms had reported before that the Ascendant Faction had tried to make contact multiple times. The first couple of times, they hadn't brought any offerings. It seemed they had learned their lesson this time and delivered the goods directly.

Chu Xuan casually inquired, "What did they bring?"

Two Arms brought out the items, "Several soul techniques and some peculiar fruits that are quite tasty, good as snacks. They call these fruits 'Infant Soul Fruits.'"

Chu Xuan glanced at them. These so-called Infant Soul Fruits carried a heavy Yin Qi, beneficial for ghost soldiers and generals, but had minimal effect on ghost commanders.

For a Ghost King, relying on these fruits for strength was less effective than absorbing the Yin Evil Qi from the environment.

"These fruits are good. Plant some in the formation; perhaps their quality might improve," Chu Xuan commented nonchalantly.

"Yes," Two Arms nodded.

Chu Xuan glanced over the soul techniques, shaking his head repeatedly. They were all mid-level soul techniques, not a single high-level technique among them. Even these mid-level techniques were inferior to the Slaughter Faction's mid-level technique, the Spiraling Devour.

They were mostly trivial in Chu Xuan's eyes, hardly worth his attention. He wondered whether the Ascendant Faction truly lacked valuable offerings, or if they were holding back their best items, unwilling to part with them.

"Four Arms, it's feeding time."

With a snap of his fingers, Chu Xuan summoned Four Arms from the Umbrella of Obscuration. The ghost king dove straight into the Yellow Springs Soul Refining Formation. After several days, Four Arms belched loudly, sticking half its head out of the formation with half a ghostly hand still in its mouth.

It whimpered pitifully.

Two Arms scratched his head, "Dad, Four Arms says it's too full."

Chu Xuan scoffed, "Even if it's full, it must eat."

"How can a Ghost King be too full to eat? Is that reasonable?" he added sternly.

Four Arms looked even more aggrieved but had no choice but to burrow back into the formation and continue devouring spirits. For the first time, it felt that eating could also be a torment.

While Four Arms was busy "eating," Chu Xuan took Two Arms for a stroll around the area. The landscape of Soul Star remained unchanged; devoid of any greenery, it was a land of pitch-black desolation. Every hundred kilometers or so, there was nothing but ruins that spoke of past glories. These remnants, like dead giants unable to decay, inherently repelled onlookers.

"I think this place should be renamed to Dark Soul Star," Chu Xuan mused internally.



...

In the City of Light.

Within a spacious palace, the petite queen of the Ascendant Faction paced back and forth, a hint of irritation in her eyes.

"Why does that man continually refuse to join the Ascendant Faction?" she wondered aloud. "Is it because the offerings I made were insufficient? I've already given him everything except high-level soul techniques and large Infant Soul Fruits. He thinks too highly of himself..."

With a cold huff, the queen dismissed the thought. The individual's soul strength was comparable to a Soul King but wasn't an actual Soul King. If he were a true Soul King, she would have sent people with high-level soul techniques and large Infant Soul Fruits without a second thought.

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