Chapter 74: One Net to Capture All

However, before they could flee, they ran into another squad of ghost soldiers and were blocked in their path. Amid the yin wind, the City God ghost officials led a detachment of ghost soldiers to arrive, encircling them tightly.

According to the Great Cheng military regulations, five formed a squad, ten a team, and fifty a platoon. The ghost soldiers serving under the government followed the same structure, so this unit numbered fifty in total. These City God ghost soldiers were particularly well-equipped; they unleashed a storm of arrows first.

The Qi Condensation cultivators dared not clash with them directly and scattered to evade. Yet one of them lacked sufficient skill and was struck by an arrow. His body stiffened instantly, as if pierced by a thousand-year block of ice, leaving him nearly frozen and unable to move. The arrows were infused with yin qi, though their penetration was not their strongest point, they proved deadly poison to living beings.

This Qi Condensation cultivator suffered the same fate: rigid and unyielding, he tried desperately to circulate his inner qi to dispel the yin energy. But even on a small battlefield, it was fatal. Unable to shift his stance, he was hit by seven or eight yin qi long arrows in an instant. Yin qi invaded his heart, draining his color and turning his lips blue, and he collapsed on the spot. Without the cultivation to form true qi into a gang, surviving such a barrage of arrows depended entirely on luck.

After a single volley of yin qi arrows, the disciplined ghost soldiers formed ranks, drew their bows, and drew their long halberds and shields, closing in around them.

"Kill..."

The leading Qi Condensation cultivator had reached the qi solid realm, with true qi condensed into a gang. He charged forward, determined to carve out a path to safety. Cultivating to the qi solid boundary was already rare; the next stage was the out-of-body realm, where one could unleash divine abilities and magical powers, known as the realm of human immortals.

For loose cultivators without any inheritance, reaching the qi solid realm was exceptionally difficult. Across the entire Wuji Mountain, though many Qi Condensation cultivators existed, those who could truly attain the qi solid level and condense true qi into a gang numbered no more than fifty.

Among the Qi Condensation cultivators present, only this one had achieved the qi solid realm and emitted true qi as a gang.

Yet these cultivators truly underestimated the might of the Great Cheng government. The ghost soldiers were exceptionally well-trained and coordinated seamlessly.

In an instant, this expert was stabbed through by long spears five or six times and hacked and slashed by long blades seven or eight times. That powerful true qi gang proved no match for the relentless damage; the outer gang depleted too quickly, and true qi could not replenish in time. His hands and feet grew limp, and the spears struck again. This time, without any gang qi to shield him, the yin qi-infused halberds pierced his chest, abdomen, back, and thighs, draining his life force until he became a lifeless corpse.

The remaining Qi Condensation cultivators were stunned, never imagining their strongest expert would fall so easily. They no longer dared assault the ghost soldiers' formation and instead turned to flee. Yet arrows rained down from behind, claiming two more lives. The other cultivators scattered in every direction. One suffered terrible luck and collided straight into Wang Zhenling's side.

Focused solely on escape, seeing the blockade, he charged like a mad tiger, swinging his long blade toward Wang Zhenling. This cultivator could manage no more than the qi lower realm, relying only on inner qi without converting it to true qi. How could he possibly oppose Wang Zhenling?

Wang Zhenling stepped forward. The Taiyin Slaying Demon Sword flashed into use, avoiding the solid to strike the weak, and drove the blade straight into the man's chest.

The cultivator froze instantly, eyes bulging wide, as if turned to stone. Yet he did not die; he still breathed. It was Wang Zhenling's deliberate choice to spare him alive, intending to extract information through interrogation.

"Thank you for the rescue, Wang Jun..."

At that moment Chen San arrived and cupped his fists in greeting.

Wang Zhenling smiled. "Brother Chen is far too courteous. By the way, I wonder how many of the Qi Condensation cultivators who attacked us managed to escape..."

Chen San's expression shifted slightly. Though he had already reached the out-of-body realm and his cultivation surpassed Wang Zhenling's, he was merely a servant of the Chen family, holding the status of a slave. Others flattered him, yet Wang Zhenling was the first to treat him as a true brother. Little did Chen San know that Wang Zhenling spoke the words only under the influence of his past life.

Then a booming laugh rang out. "Not a single one of these Qi Condensation cultivators can escape. They'll all be caught in one fell swoop!"

When Wang Zhenling charged in to reinforce, Chen Bushi had not been idle on the other side. He had assembled ghost soldiers and men to provide support, already sealing off the swirling mist. The fugitives broke free from the fog's cover and ran straight into the county soldiers' encirclement. In the ensuing clash, they were soon either slain on the spot or captured. Without even reaching Wuji Mountain, they had already secured a small victory. Of the fifteen Qi Condensation cultivators who had come to attack, not one returned alive.

As for the losses on the Danling County side, they were negligible. Interrogating the captives revealed that the army's movements within Wuji Mountain had been known in advance, prompting their proactive assault.

This attack was not limited to Danling County alone; county soldiers from every jurisdiction would suffer the same fate. Sure enough, messages soon arrived from across the counties, all struck by Qi Condensation cultivators. Yet no other county possessed as many experts as Danling, and their commanders' abilities fell short by comparison, so each suffered varying degrees of loss. Even one unfortunate county magistrate was killed, his official seal seized by the enemy...

It was easy to imagine how enraged the news would make the prefecture when it reached the higher authorities. Losing an official seal was already a grave offense, and one robbed by enemies would likely bring the magistrate nothing but calamity. Moreover, official seals embodied authority. In this world, power was directly tied to strength. Seizing such a seal would only complicate matters further if wielded by the Qi Condensation cultivators.

Yet this was not the worst of the tidings. After all, the matter had nothing to do with Danling County...

One might say that red flowers require green leaves to set them off, and one's own brilliance requires pig teammates to highlight...

Still, from the captives' confessions, a far more troubling piece of information emerged. Those Qi Condensation cultivators within Wuji Mountain had reached an agreement with several ghost kings to jointly oppose the imperial court officers. As previously noted, this world lacked a unified underworld or a single master ruling all ghosts beneath the heavens. Instead, each city's City God and certain powerful mountain gods and earth deities maintained their own ghost prisons and yin offices to govern the spirits under their jurisdiction. This left many ghosts without fixed abodes, wandering the mortal realm and hiding deep within mountains and marshes. Wuji Mountain was one such place. Every year the surrounding counties prepared for bandits and drove out ghosts, targeting only the wild spirits that spilled out from that mountain.