How do little ghosts gnaw on people?
They bite into flesh and blood, then yin energy seeps into the bones, pulling and tearing.
"Ahhh!" Daoist Master Qu Yi let out an agonized scream.
He never imagined that after killing countless ghosts, he would end up being bitten by a group of little ghosts clinging to him that he couldn't shake off.
He desperately tried to kick his leg up, wanting to strike the Eastern Emperor's Bell. But the bell had been kicked too far away. If only he was 6 feet tall - now he just couldn't reach it no matter how hard he tried.
"What are you all doing standing there like idiots? Can't you see how arrogant this fierce ghost has become? He's actually commanding ghosts to bite me! Once they've all had their fill, do you think you'll fare any better?" Daoist Master Qu Yi shouted with all his might, looking utterly pathetic.
He really hadn't expected that not only had Jing Jiujiu escaped his predicament, but he had actually become powerful enough to control ghosts!
The Thin Man frowned. "Indeed, using ghosts to harm people is going too far."
Just as he finished speaking, they heard the beautiful youth seated in the chair slowly open his mouth and say: "He was the one who tried to strike the bell to kill me first."
The Thin Man fell silent.
Daoist Master Qu Yi nearly died of anger on the spot.
"What's wrong with you people? How can you just listen to whatever this ghost says? He's a ghost - what's wrong with me trying to kill him?"
"But when I was alive... I was human," Jing Jiujiu said softly.
At these words, everyone was stunned. Even Bai Yuhuai was momentarily taken aback, then his brow furrowed as he stepped on Daoist Master Qu Yi even harder.
Daoist Master Qu Yi: "Ahhhh, Bai, who the hell are you really? Are you really going to make enemies with the entire metaphysical community for the sake of one ghost?"
"It's just you I'm making an enemy of," Jing Jiujiu corrected from behind.
"Let's stop this for now," the Bearded Man sighed and spoke up. "And you too, Mr. Bai. If Qu Yi truly helped commit such evil acts - killing people and creating arrays - then he should be punished according to the rules of our community. Not be bitten to death by ghosts in this haphazard way..."
Bai Yuhuai asked calmly: "How should he be punished? Who will make that judgment?"
The Thin Man said: "The Cloud Return Sect is supreme in the metaphysical world. Why don't we let them decide?"
Bai Yuhuai nodded. "Mm, you're right. I am from the Cloud Return Sect, so I judge that he should be bitten to death by ten thousand ghosts, his bones crushed to pieces, and his remains used to sacrifice to the evil god he raised. How's that?"
The Thin Man: "..."
The others: "..."
Damn, that logic... they really couldn't find fault with it.
Daoist Master Qu Yi: "Fu-"
Bai Yuhuai casually grabbed a porcelain cup and shoved it into his mouth, blocking the curse words and forcing them back down his throat.
Those words couldn't be allowed to sully Jing Jiujiu's ears.
Daoist Master Qu Yi's eyes bulged as he stared fixedly in Jing Tinghua's direction.
But Jing Tinghua didn't move at all, completely ignoring his control.
You... forced me to do this.
Daoist Master Qu Yi bit down hard, his mouth and teeth scraping blood on the porcelain cup. Blood slowly trickled down from the corners of his mouth...
A talisman on his body suddenly lit up, knocking away Bai Yuhuai's hand and the little ghosts.
The little ghosts crawled on the ground, trembling.
Bai Yuhuai frowned slightly and jumped down from the table.
Daoist Master Qu Yi finally stood up straight again, but this time he didn't reach for the Eastern Emperor's Bell, as he couldn't touch it anymore.
Master Tingyi suddenly stood up and cried out hoarsely: "You've set up an array on your own body? You... you've let ghosts into your body... you're not human anymore!"
The others sighed softly, not expecting Daoist Master Qu Yi to have gone to such extremes.
He had once been on par with Master Tingyi in fame, and in his early years was known as a genius in metaphysical circles. How had he come to this...
Everyone began chanting and throwing talismans again.
Daoist Master Qu Yi sneered: "Ghosts? Look carefully..."
As he spoke, he tore off his outer robe, ripped apart his inner clothes, and exposed his chest.
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
Was it really necessary to strip just to make a point?
Bai Yuhuai quickly unbuttoned his jacket with one hand, took it off, and threw it over Jing Jiujiu's head, covering him tightly so he couldn't see the man stripping.
Daoist Master Qu Yi: "..."
He grinned viciously: "Look! Look carefully!"
If they didn't look, how could he intimidate them?
Meanwhile, Jing Jiujiu was confused for a moment, then slowly pulled the jacket down a bit so he could see Daoist Master Qu Yi's current appearance—
In the middle of his chest was embedded a grotesque head. Half of the head was cast in gold, while the other half seemed to be made of flesh and blood, gradually merging with his chest. The blood vessels connecting them were faintly visible.
The golden half of the head had lowered brows and eyes, with a somewhat divine appearance, while the flesh and blood half had ferocious features with a split mouth.
"I have merged the serene and wrathful aspects of divinity into my flesh and bones. I am the incarnation of divinity, I am divinity itself!" He pointed at Jing Jiujiu. "How is he worthy of worship and sacrifice? He is a ghost. Even if there are statues of him, he is still a ghost! I am divine, and all who see me must kneel and kowtow. I am the one who should be worshipped!"
As he spoke, a faint golden light truly began to float around his body.
Jing Tinghua sighed softly and casually grabbed a chair to sit down.
He couldn't discern much else, but he could see that Bai Yuhuai's expression hadn't changed at all. Clearly, such an impressive display of power was nothing more than child's play to him.
...Their defeat had been inevitable from the moment this man walked into the castle and met Jing Jiujiu.
The others were still anxiously discussing: "These talismans have no effect on him..."
"He's gone mad, truly mad! How can a person become divine through such evil methods?"
"What exactly is he now? Half-human, half-ghost, half-divine?"
"Then it will be very difficult to deal with him... Methods for killing humans won't work, methods for killing ghosts won't work. And as for divinity... who can kill a divine being?"
Jing Jiujiu spoke softly: "We may not be able to kill him, but we can make him suffer. Look, the Eastern Emperor's Bell he brought himself - why don't one of you strike it a couple times?"
Daoist Master Qu Yi: ???
Master Zhou moved quickly, grabbing the hammer first and striking it hard.
Jing Jiujiu frowned slightly, but the discomfort wasn't as intense as he had imagined. It even felt like the impurities in his internal organs were being washed away.
Daoist Master Qu Yi, being closer, didn't fare so well. His body suddenly trembled, blood flowing from the corners of his mouth again, his features contorted in pain.
"You... I underestimated you," Daoist Master Qu Yi forced out through his throat.
Daoist Master Qu Yi violently threw his personal pouch at Bai Yuhuai: "I know you're powerful in the Cloud Return Sect, but just how powerful can you be? You think I only brought one evil god? No, not just one..."
The pouch flew heavily towards Bai Yuhuai, who caught it with one hand.
The contents spilled out, revealing statues of various sizes and shapes...
He was... creating gods.
From initially creating statues of evil gods, to later becoming unsatisfied with just that, so he wanted to turn himself into a divine being as well...
A murderous aura suddenly rose between Bai Yuhuai's brows: "Tingyi! Bai Fu! Take Jing Jiujiu and leave first!"
He didn't care about the lives of others, but Jing Jiujiu couldn't be harmed.
Bai Fu was the name of the young boy.
Bai Fu's expression changed slightly, and he obediently walked towards Jing Jiujiu.
A huge ethereal image rose from Daoist Master Qu Yi's body, the golden light on it even more intense, seeming about to break through the ceiling of the entire private room.
He laughed with abandon: "Do you see? This is something you're all powerless against..."
Bai Yuhuai's hand gripping his bracelet tightened, then loosened.
In the past when he was filming, he would casually take it off, not caring about the lives of other ghosts and monsters. But now it was different - he was afraid of scalding Jing Jiujiu.
Thinking of this, Bai Yuhuai's face darkened as he drew out a peach wood sword and stabbed it into Daoist Master Qu Yi's shoulder.
Daoist Master Qu Yi's face only twisted in pain for a moment, then that ethereal image separated from his body and pressed straight down towards Jing Jiujiu.
"...I know you're not afraid of me. But you must be afraid of him getting hurt," Daoist Master Qu Yi said through gritted teeth.
Bai Yuhuai spoke coldly: "Then you try it. Just try and see how many pieces I'll chop your two heads into afterwards."
Daoist Master Qu Yi's heart trembled.
No, what am I afraid of?
The next moment, that ethereal image pressed down completely.
Bai Yuhuai abandoned even the peach wood sword, turning back to form a seal with his hands, about to push the ethereal image back up.
Master Tingyi hurriedly removed the prayer beads from his neck and began to chant.
Earlier, he had prepared himself to perish alongside the evil god... Who knew he would end up making quite a bit more money afterwards? Now it was enough. Today, he wouldn't mind dying together with Daoist Master Qu Yi!
With each word he uttered, Daoist Master Qu Yi experienced more pain, and in the blink of an eye, his face had contorted into a grimace...
The others realized they probably couldn't help at this point, so they could only close their eyes and maintain clarity of mind.
It all happened in just a few seconds.
In that instant—
Jing Jiujiu instinctively reached out his hand, wanting to make the same gesture as Bai Yuhuai.
As Bai Yuhuai's palm touched the shadowy figure, it immediately burst into flames and retreated a bit.
But when Jing Jiujiu's hand made contact...
"Squelch."
Everyone heard that sound.
They saw the young man's hand plunged right into the shadowy figure's chest.
Daoist Master Qu Yi let out a blood-curdling scream, so agonizing it hardly sounded human.
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then they saw the young man withdraw his hand, cradling a golden light.
And from Daoist Master Qu Yi's chest, the head simply rolled off, tumbling towards Jing Jiujiu's direction.
Jing Jiujiu: "Urgh—"
Jing Jiujiu quickly stood up and threw himself at Bai Yuhuai, clinging to him: "It's too scary, too scary, Bai Yuhuai!"
Bai Yuhuai supported him with one hand, feeling the softness beneath his touch, and realized he was holding his bottom.
Bai Yuhuai's heart raced, his throat tightened, and for a moment, he had the inexplicable thought that... his bottom felt much nicer to touch than the paper doll's...
Bai Yuhuai quickly shifted his hand position to support Jing Jiujiu's legs, allowing him to cling more comfortably.
Everyone else stared in disbelief: "..."
Who... who was more terrifying here?
How could you just reach in and pull out someone's brain from their chest?
Looking at the golden light that Jing Jiujiu had grabbed earlier, it had now disappeared.
It seemed as if he had absorbed it.
Daoist Master Qu Yi's throat made a "gug-gug" sound, as if air was escaping, or as if blood was blocking his airway.
He fell to his knees: "...I am a god, I am the real god."
He lifted his head, glaring at Jing Jiujiu with resentment: "You ate... ate my true form..."
Bai Yuhuai felt slightly relieved.
He raised his hand to stroke Jing Jiujiu's hair, holding him tighter, and then said calmly: "He is now genuinely a ghost body, with some remaining divine and human essence. By eating him, you can become even more powerful."
Hearing this, the others looked at Bai Yuhuai in disbelief.
Is this what someone from the Cloud Return Sect would say?
Has he... has he disregarded everything just to raise a ghost?
Even the young boy stood there, dumbfounded.
But Jing Jiujiu burrowed deeper into Bai Yuhuai's embrace, shaking his head repeatedly: "Ugh, ugh, I won't eat him. He's too disgusting."
Daoist Master Qu Yi was so angry his eyes rolled back, and he finally collapsed.
Bai Yuhuai: "Alright."
"Then I'll leave him to you," Bai Yuhuai looked at the others, "It shouldn't be difficult to deal with him now, right?"
The others blushed slightly and quickly said: "Not difficult at all." Meanwhile, their impression of this fierce ghost improved a bit. He could resist eating when food was right in front of him. Indeed, he wasn't some mindless, vicious ghost.
No matter how unwilling Daoist Master Qu Yi was, he had now become nothing more than a shapeless mess on the ground for others to deal with.
How could he still look human?
Jing Jiujiu finally calmed his inner terror, then slowly climbed down from Bai Yuhuai. He casually took out his phone, switched to the front camera, walked up to Daoist Master Qu Yi, and took a picture of him.
Everyone: ???
After taking the photo, Jing Jiujiu showed the distorted, bloody, barely recognizable image to Daoist Master Qu Yi: "Look, you're really ugly now, really disgusting..."
Daoist Master Qu Yi spewed more blood from his throat.
He couldn't even lift his hand, just glared with angry eyes, and suddenly... stopped moving.
Everyone: ???
Did he die from anger???
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Ah.
He didn't expect that either.
He was just stating a fact to Daoist Master Qu Yi.
Jing Jiujiu quickly turned his head, looking to Bai Yuhuai for help.
Bai Yuhuai stood up and walked over: "Anyway, he's just a pile of waste now. If you won't eat him, it doesn't matter if he's dead."
Hearing these words, the others secretly shuddered.
Actually, Daoist Master Qu Yi was right about one thing.
This figure from the Cloud Return Sect was neither purely good nor evil, impossible to categorize. And he was incredibly powerful. Earlier, when he told Master Tingyi and that young boy to take the fierce ghost away, it didn't seem like he wanted them to escape, but rather to clear the way for him to unleash a greater attack.
Unfortunately... in the end, they didn't get to see what this Mr. Bai's ultimate move was. Just how terrifying could it have been?
"Although Qu Yi is dead, what needs to be said should still be said. Has Mr. Bai thought about how to explain this to the Cloud Return Sect? Does Mr. Bai truly intend to keep raising a ghost like this? Why not let him enter reincarnation? We won't perform last rites or kill him, that's all," the Bearded Man spoke up.
Bai Yuhuai looked up, his eyes cold, with a hint of murderous intent that couldn't be suppressed: "Reincarnation? It was precisely this Mr. Jing Tinghua, together with Qu Yi, who turned him into a fierce ghost, eternally unable to enter reincarnation..."
Jing Jiujiu was stunned for a moment.
Oh, so I can't even reincarnate.
But thinking about it, it's actually normal.
In horror stories since ancient times, fierce ghosts have never been able to reincarnate.
It's precisely because they can't reincarnate that they become increasingly vicious and lose all reason, becoming fierce ghosts.
"..." The private room fell silent for a moment.
They never imagined that Qu Yi's methods could be so vicious.
"He has no malice at all, yet he can't enter reincarnation?" the Thin Man asked.
Seeing this young man in such a predicament, he felt a twinge of sympathy. Oh, but then again, thinking about how he had just reached into Daoist Master Qu Yi's chest... well, maybe he wasn't so pitiful after all.
Bai Yuhuai: "He can't."
Master Tingyi also sighed: "If he could, why would this old monk need to sculpt a statue for him?"
Jing Tinghua glanced at the now silent Daoist Master Qu Yi and interjected: "So, Jiujiu, kill me. It's my fault you've ended up like this. I've fought against fate for decades, and now, I'm tired."
Bai Yuhuai, whose heart was already filled with anger and murderous intent, felt his inner fire of ferocity being stoked even more by these people's questions.
Bai Yuhuai stepped forward and grabbed Jing Tinghua by the collar.
"You dare say such things only because you believe Jiujiu won't kill his own father."
Jing Tinghua hissed in pain.
Looking at his current state - limping, with a black eye and blood stains all over his face.
During the fight earlier, he hadn't moved at all, but due to the evil god's curse, whatever fell seemed to hit him first.
So he ended up in this sorry state.
"I don't believe that," Jing Tinghua looked at Jing Jiujiu, "Jiujiu, come here."
Jing Jiujiu pursed his lips and took a step.
Bai Yuhuai: "Don't go."
Jing Jiujiu paused, but still walked up to Jing Tinghua.
Bai Yuhuai felt a surge of murderous intent.
Why does this worthless person still force Jiujiu to face these old wounds?
"Mr. Bai, you're quite protective," Jing Tinghua said.
He then laughed painfully: "Jiujiu, do you remember? When you were little, you were afraid of insects, but you loved the rose garden behind the old castle. Even ladybugs would scare you. After being frightened, you would call my name. I would come to help you, catch them and kill them.
"When you got a bit older, you started to like horseback riding, but you were still timid, so you wanted me by your side all the time. If you fell, I had to catch you.
"Later on, you wanted to learn painting, but you refused to have the teacher come to our house. You insisted on attending art classes with other children. So I had to carry your art tube and accompany you there.
"You grew up so fast, fast enough to make me feel happy yet anxious. Like a kite, I feared that if I wasn't careful, you'd fly away beyond reach... Yuran said we should take lots of photos of you every year, so that when we're old, we can look back and reminisce about how you grew up bit by bit. I said photos only capture a moment, which isn't very meaningful, so I decided to paint a portrait of you every year..."
"I wish you would kill me, but I know clearly that with your nature, you won't commit patricide. You would rather watch me die under the power of evil gods than do it yourself."
Jing Tinghua raised his hand and forcefully plunged it into his own chest, tearing open his clothes.
Underneath, almost fully formed, was a head growing from his chest, just like Daoist Master Qu Yi's.
That head was purely made of flesh and blood. As he thrust his hand in, he smashed the face of the head.
"If I tell you that I never treated Jing Long the way I treated you when you were little - from holding you as a baby, to telling you bedtime stories, teaching you to make your first sound, cooking for you with my own hands... All those things you experienced, I never gave him even a bit of it. Your father and I weren't just a business marriage either. We were truly in love once... If I tell you all this, would you be able to be a little happier in the future?"
The veins on Jing Tinghua's neck bulged. After he methodically finished his last sentence, his eyes were still open, but his breath had completely ceased in an instant.
Jing Jiujiu gripped his wrist tightly. "No, you still have one last thing to tell me... Where's my father? Why did he disappear?"
"Jing Tinghua."
"Jing Tinghua!"
Master Tingyi let out a long sigh. "Amitabha."
Bai Yuhuai stood frozen. "...Jiujiu."
Jing Jiujiu's face was cold as ice. He stood there and asked hoarsely, "Now that he's dead, will he have a soul?"
Tingyi said, "If he used the same evil method as Qu Yi, once dead, he's truly dead. His soul will disperse."
Jing Jiujiu: "Oh."
Bai Yuhuai stepped forward and embraced Jing Jiujiu.
The others didn't know what to say for a moment, and could only squeeze out a few words, asking, "What about those little ghosts..."
"After all, we can't keep so many ghosts."
"Yes, Mr. Bai can keep this young master, we can't say anything about that. But so many ghosts..."
Jing Jiujiu leaned lifelessly in Bai Yuhuai's arms. When he heard this, he finally tilted his head, revealing an indifferent face.
"Why can't we keep ghosts? They're mine. Not Bai Yuhuai's."
The Bearded Man said softly, "In this world, only one type of being can keep countless little ghosts under their control."
The Thin Man continued, "That's right. Only the Ten Kings of Hell."
Jing Jiujiu: "Oh."
Seeing his response, they thought the young man was about to give in, and they would finally have an answer today.
Jing Jiujiu said softly, "Then if I kept one of the Kings of Hell, and the King of Hell keeps ghosts, wouldn't all his ghosts be mine?"
Everyone: ??
Jing Jiujiu: "You don't believe me?"
Jing Jiujiu lowered his gaze, his eyelashes trembling slightly, making it impossible to discern his emotions. He said softly, "You can open my backpack..."
Master Tingyi bent down at his words, opened the backpack, and took out an object.
Everyone stared at it.
The object was entirely blood-red, with a heavy yin energy emanating from it, but simultaneously accompanied by an even stronger divine aura.
The only thing that could possess both these auras at once was...
"One of the Ten Kings of Hell?" the Bearded Man mumbled.
The Thin Man's face turned pale with shock. He hurriedly bowed: "It's the real thing, no doubt."
The others suddenly came to their senses and quickly bowed as well.
In their world of mysticism, they feared two things most: heaven and the Kings of Hell.
Because no matter how powerful they were, after death, they would still be under the Kings' jurisdiction.
But why did this young man have something like this?!
Was he really the pitiful young man that Mr. Bai had described, who had been schemed against by Daoist Master Qu Yi?
Jing Jiujiu curled up in Bai Yuhuai's arms, lowering his eyes to look at Jing Tinghua's corpse, and said softly, "...Huh, you couldn't have imagined this. I've become incredibly powerful now."