Chapter Eighty-Five: The Heavenly Ghost Breaks Into the Estate, and the Fiend Is Destroyed by Fire Punishment

The demon lord let out a ghastly laugh and vanished into the heavenly sword.

A succession of dull pops and ringing clinks burst forth, yet the sword did not budge in the slightest. The fiend then reappeared.

This heavenly sword was not only the treasure that suppressed the demon lord, but also his refuge; ordinary force could scarcely harm it at all.

Han Chong opened his mouth and spat a stream of blue-green flame, coiling like a serpent around the sword. Within that fire lay a pure and righteous Daoist aura, fierce and scorching beyond measure.

The iron chains were burned red-hot, while the sword’s dark body merely hissed, sending up wisps of green smoke as the demon howled within.

“Daoist spirit flame! Brat, what sect are you from?”

Han Chong frowned. Though the fiend clearly felt the pain, his voice remained full and vigorous; he seemed utterly unafraid of fire.

Mingzhen sat cross-legged, placing the black demon-subduing bowl above his head. With palms joined, he chanted sutras and mantras, and one after another, Buddha seals the size of beans rose from the bowl.

In the blink of an eye they grew to the size of battle drums and pressed into the sword wrapped in fire. Astonishingly, they pierced through the sword’s body and drove inward, and only then did the demon cry out in fear, shrieking piteously like a crow.

It was working.

All three men brightened with joy. Yet at that very moment, the cavern of the mountain trembled violently, and thunderous booms rolled down from above as though the peak itself had been struck by some colossal weight.

The cavern floor even began to split in places, and the six dragon pillars showed signs of instability, their iron chains clattering sharply.

“What is happening? What kind of monster could possess such power?” the old manor lord asked in alarm.

A thought suddenly sprang into Han Chong’s mind: could it be that the Ten-Aspect Sky Ghost Formation had been activated? But he had clearly destroyed one of the array’s ghostly eyes. By reason, it should not have moved so quickly.

The mountain belly shook harder and harder, making the four of them unable to keep their footing. Mingzhen’s Buddha-seal art was broken; a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Yet the booming above still had not ceased.

“This is bad. At this rate, the four of us will gain nothing here, and the manor will be crushed into ruins. By then, when the demons and ghosts come searching, they will also release this fiend!”

“Old manor lord, Daoist, Mingzhen, the three of you go out first to hold the line. Leave this place to me!” Han Chong made up his mind and shouted.

“Brother Han, you—very well, go!” The old manor lord grabbed Mingzhen and rushed with the Treasure Talisman Daoist toward the passage.

Meanwhile, the demon within the heavenly sword sensed the changes outside and once again broke into a wild laugh as it took shape anew.

“Truly, Heaven aids this lord. Today is the day I break free. Demon-Suppressing Sword Sect, Yun Xiansheng, just wait. This lord will settle accounts with you and make you all crawl beneath my feet. Hahaha!”

Having said this, it completely ignored Han Chong’s presence and madly urged its demonic qi to pull and wrench at the six dragon pillars, which were already swaying slightly, in an attempt to tear free of the chains.

Han Chong looked at the arrogant demon lord, and though alarmed, his mind was racing for a countermeasure.

Time would not wait. He could seal this fiend with spiritual flame, but who knew how long the sword warriors outside could endure?

Once the Heavenly Sword Manor fell, the hordes of demons and ghosts would come here. They would free the fiend from its cradle, and by then it might be impossible to suppress it again.

But if he left, the seal here would become unstable. Under the demon lord’s desperate struggle, it might still break through the confinement and escape.

He had to strike with thunderous force and deal this fiend a grievous wound, such that it could no longer stir up trouble.

Yet even now, using the Eye of Merit would not achieve such an effect, for the merit power it could unleash was exceedingly limited.

At that thought, a flash of inspiration struck Han Chong, and he recalled the scene that day when the vengeful souls’ immortal-killing net had once tried to strangle him.

In the demon lord’s eyes, Han Chong’s figure suddenly paused. Then he lifted his head sharply, his eyes spilling faint golden light, and charged toward it like a madman.

The merit-gold radiance in his eyes broke through the obstruction of demonic qi and rushed unimpeded to the heavenly sword, where he suddenly wrapped both arms around the blade.

Then an astonishing force, a hundredfold and a thousandfold greater, erupted from within Han Chong’s body, spreading out as merit-gold light and grinding its way into the sword, eroding and penetrating it.

“Ah! Is this the power of merit? Brat, let go at once! Isn’t it enough if I promise not to run?”

A shrill howl and plea for mercy came from inside the sword, but Han Chong clung to it as though glued there, refusing to release it no matter what.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the demon’s cries of supplication faded to a whisper, then fell silent.

At the same time, the ground split farther and farther. A chorus of crackling snaps rang out from all six coiling dragon pillars as they collapsed in a thunderous heap, and the six iron chains lost their luster and shattered inch by inch.

Han Chong let go of the sword and thought that perhaps the demon lord had already been utterly destroyed. If so, there was no need to keep the heavenly sword sealed any longer, and he could immediately hurry to the battle above.

The shaking above still continued. Han Chong had no choice but to circle to the edge of the area and burrow up through the earth until he reached the manor.

There, between several mountain peaks, stood a terrifying three-headed, six-armed, four-legged ghostly monster. Its body was black-blue all over, and when it stood erect it towered nearly sixty feet high.

Across its three heads, strange faces of male and female, old and young, evil and benevolent, Buddha and demon, rage and delight turned in constant rotation.

In its six bone-spurred arms it held short weapons of heavy type, which it used to batter the surrounding peaks. As boulders shattered and fell, they crashed down upon the hundred or so sword cultivators of the clan nearby.

At the same time, its four legs kept stamping and kicking at the mountain walls, directly causing the stone belly at the mountain’s base to cave in violently.

Outside the manor walls, hundreds more demons and ghosts howled and clamored, fighting the many sword cultivators atop the outer ramparts.

Seeing this, Han Chong felt a wave of helplessness. This Ten-Aspect Sky Ghost was seemingly nearly twice as powerful as Little Gray, and even ten cultivators in the Heavenly Manifestation Realm would have found it hard to resist!

No—he had clearly slain one of the ghost-spawned beasts in the eight array eyes. Even if this ghost formation truly possessed heaven-shaking might and summoned such a monstrous fiend, it could not possibly be without the slightest flaw!

Han Chong concealed himself beneath the earth and moved around while observing the heavenly ghost closely.

Then he noticed something odd about the head on the left side of the three.

That head seemed slightly smaller than the other two, and upon closer inspection, its features were somewhat blurred, the manifested form not fully stable.

Han Chong rose on his sword, swept his hands, and more than ten demon-slashing sword energies shot out in a straight line toward that head.

The White-Faced Sword Cultivators and the heavenly ghost immediately sensed Han Chong’s presence.

Ming Tianjian instantly understood Han Chong’s intent and came to an enlightened realization. It was a pity that the other sword cultivators could only attack the heavenly ghost’s legs from the ground with crossbows and sword force. Only he could take to the air and join Han Chong in assaulting that head, which might well be the weak point.

The three heads of the heavenly ghost released waves of miserable, shrieking wails. Its six ghost arms hammered at the two men as they flew upward, while it tried its utmost to shield the left head and evade the attacks.

Still, one or two out of every ten sword energies struck that head. Its unstable illusion became ever more obvious, and even a faint crack appeared, like a shattered porcelain vase, while the ghostly visage upon it grew ever more ferocious and ghastly.

Yet the two men, their bodies tiny as flies, were also forced into frantic flight beneath the barrage of six ghost arms, too afraid to make the slightest contact. They could only seize whatever brief openings they found to release as many sword energies as possible and stab at that one and only weakness.

Just as Han Chong was preparing to risk everything by drawing out the true body of the Clear Mind Sword for a desperate strike, a four-zhang silver-gray monstrous shark suddenly appeared from the clouds above and plunged downward. By the time Han Chong reacted, the distance between them was already less than thirty feet.

That shark was blue and red in hue, covered in iron armor, and exactly the same as the one on the token—none other than the Iron Shark Demon Marshal.