The splitting of the earth shook the entire Dongtai Prefecture.
The violent tremors travelled through the city, causing houses to sway and rooftops to collapse, while the enormous rift continued to widen beneath the streets, spewing dense Yin Qi into the heavens. The commotion was so great that countless experts throughout the prefecture were alerted, their gazes turning towards the same direction as they sensed the terrifying change in the world's Yin Qi.
Then the first ghosts emerged.
Wandering Souls drifted out of the rift, their translucent bodies carried by the dense Yin Qi, followed by Ghostly Specters whose forms were considerably more distinct. Some possessed pale human faces, others had distorted limbs and elongated mouths, while Vengeful Spirits emerged among them, their bodies wrapped in thick resentment that caused the surrounding temperature to plummet.
The number continued to increase.
They poured into the city like an endless tide.
The common people had no means of resisting them.
A Wandering Soul descended upon a fleeing man, its ghostly claws penetrating directly into his body. The man's scream lasted only for a few breaths before the colour drained from his face, his flesh rapidly withering as the ghost devoured the Yang energy within him.
His skin shrivelled.
His muscles dried.
His body rapidly became thinner.
In the span of only a few seconds, the once-living man collapsed onto the street, leaving behind nothing but a dried corpse.
Nearby, another person was dragged into the air by several Specters.
The ghosts swarmed around him, greedily devouring his Yang energy.
His screams echoed through the street.
His flesh dried at a terrifying speed.
Then his body fell.
Only a skeleton remained.
"Run!"
"Ghosts!"
"Get out of the city!"
"Save the children!"
The entire city descended into chaos.
People abandoned their belongings and fled through the streets, trampling over one another in their desperation to escape.
Some tried to hide inside their homes.
It was useless.
The ghosts passed through walls.
Some attempted to fight.
It was even more useless.
Ordinary weapons passed directly through the bodies of the weaker ghosts, while the stronger Specters simply tore through the defenders and continued hunting the living.
The yamen constables quickly realised that allowing the common people to scatter throughout the city would only increase the casualties.
"Gather the commoners!"
A constable captain drew his blade and shouted.
"Move them towards the safe zones!"
"Anyone capable of fighting, destroy those ghosts immediately!"
The constables split into groups, some guiding terrified civilians towards fortified areas while others formed lines and began attacking the ghosts.
Talismans were thrown.
Weapons flashed.
Yang energy erupted.
Across Dongtai Prefecture, every available force began responding to the disaster.
Yet the source of the disaster remained beneath their feet.
At the centre of the chaos, Lin Sheng stood before the enormous rift.
His expression was solemn.
The Yin Qi pouring from it was far denser than before.
More than ten times denser.
Even Lin Sheng could clearly feel the difference.
The Yin Qi was no longer merely spreading through the city.
It was contaminating the surrounding environment, turning the entire region into a place increasingly suited to ghosts.
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes.
"What exactly have they opened?"
Before anyone could answer, a powerful aura suddenly descended from the heavens.
Lin Sheng turned his head.
A figure landed beside him.
It was the Empress Dowager.
Her expression was unusually serious as she stared into the enormous rift.
"They succeeded."
Lin Sheng's gaze hardened.
"The ritual?"
The Empress Dowager nodded.
"They opened a deeper layer of the Nether Rift."
Her eyes remained fixed upon the darkness below.
"And something capable of releasing a Vicious Soul."
Lin Sheng's expression changed slightly.
"Vicious Soul?"
The Empress Dowager glanced at him.
"You haven't encountered one before."
Lin Sheng shook his head.
"Explain."
"The ghosts you've seen until now are still fundamentally incomplete."
She pointed towards the sky.
"The Wandering Souls, Ghostly Specters and Vengeful Spirits may possess considerable strength, but they are still Yin beings whose existence depends heavily upon the Yin Qi surrounding them."
Her voice became heavier.
"A Vicious Soul is different."
"The moment a Vengeful Specter completes its transformation from corporeal existence into a truly spiritual body, it becomes something entirely different."
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed.
"How strong?"
"Rank Four."
The Empress Dowager's answer was immediate.
"Comparable to a Yin Soul Daoist."
Lin Sheng's expression became solemn.
"In martial terms?"
"Grandmaster."
The word carried considerable weight.
A Rank Four ghost.
A Grandmaster-level existence.
And unlike an ordinary martial artist, a Vicious Soul possessed characteristics that made killing it exceptionally difficult.
"The most troublesome thing isn't merely its strength," the Empress Dowager continued. "It possesses an insatiable hunger for Yang energy."
"Every living creature around it becomes food."
"Humans, beasts, martial artists, even the Yang energy contained within a powerful cultivator's body, all of it can be devoured."
Lin Sheng looked towards the countless ghosts filling the sky.
"And the other ghosts?"
"The Vicious Soul can establish a Ghostly Domain."
The Empress Dowager's expression darkened.
"Within that domain, the surrounding ghosts and Specters can be brought under its control, turning an already terrifying ghost tide into an organised army."
Lin Sheng's gaze became colder.
"So how do we kill it?"
The Empress Dowager was silent for a moment.
"That is the problem."
She pointed towards the rift.
"A Vicious Soul can gather the surrounding Yin Qi and use it to restore itself."
"Even if you destroy its body, as long as sufficient Yin Qi remains nearby, it can reconstruct itself."
Lin Sheng frowned.
"So it is almost impossible to kill."
"Not impossible."
The Empress Dowager shook her head.
"But the attack must possess extremely powerful Yang energy."
"Powerful enough to not only destroy the Vicious Soul but also disperse the Yin Qi surrounding it."
"If even a significant amount of Yin Qi remains, the Vicious Soul can use it to recover."
Lin Sheng understood immediately.
"And the Yin Qi is continuously coming from the rift."
"Exactly."
The Empress Dowager looked towards the enormous fissure.
"It is a deadlock."
"To kill the Vicious Soul, we must first clear the Yin Qi."
"To clear the Yin Qi, we must close the rift."
"But to close the rift..."
Her gaze shifted towards the darkness.
"We must first deal with the Vicious Soul guarding it."
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed.
A vicious cycle.
The ritual had been designed specifically to create this situation.
At that moment—
Boom!
A violent tremor erupted from beneath the city.
The surrounding ghosts suddenly scattered.
A terrible pressure emerged from the depths of the rift.
Even the Ghostly Specters that had been mindlessly hunting the living suddenly became restless.
Then a hand emerged.
It was pale.
But unlike the translucent claws of the surrounding ghosts, this hand appeared completely physical.
Five fingers.
A palm.
Blood vessels.
Skin.
It looked like the hand of an ordinary human being.
Yet the instant it appeared, the surrounding Yin Qi surged violently.
A second hand emerged.
Then a head.
A shoulder.
A torso.
The being slowly climbed out of the rift.
When its feet finally touched the ground, Lin Sheng's pupils contracted.
It looked like an ordinary person.
If one ignored the terrifying Yin Qi surrounding its body, there was nothing particularly strange about its appearance.
It had flesh.
It had bones.
It had a physical body.
Yet Lin Sheng could clearly sense the terrifying existence hidden within that body.
The Empress Dowager's expression became extremely grim.
"Vicious Soul."
The being raised its head.
Its eyes were completely black.
A smile slowly appeared on its face.
Then it inhaled.
Hu!
The Yin Qi surrounding the battlefield surged towards it.
Countless ghosts shrieked as the surrounding Yin Qi was pulled into its body.
Its aura rapidly climbed.
The Empress Dowager didn't give it the opportunity to continue.
Her hands formed a seal.
"Heavenly Thunder!"
Boom!
Dark clouds suddenly gathered above the city.
Lightning erupted within them.
The Empress Dowager's spiritual power surged into the heavens, causing a gigantic bolt of lightning to descend.
Rumble!
The lightning struck the Vicious Soul directly.
The explosion was enormous.
A blinding flash engulfed the battlefield.
The shockwave swept outward, tearing through the surrounding streets and annihilating countless weaker ghosts caught within its range.
Wandering Souls dissipated instantly.
Ghostly Specters screamed as their bodies were torn apart.
Even several Vengeful Spirits were blown into fragments.
For a moment, the Vicious Soul disappeared beneath the lightning.
Then the smoke cleared.
Half of its body had been destroyed.
Its flesh hung from its bones, and enormous cracks covered its remaining body.
Yet it didn't fall.
Instead, it smiled.
The Yin Qi surrounding it suddenly surged.
Hu!
Dark mist poured into its damaged body.
Its flesh regenerated.
Its bones reformed.
The wounds vanished.
Within several breaths, the Vicious Soul had completely recovered.
The Empress Dowager's expression became ugly.
"It recovered already..."
The Vicious Soul raised its head.
Its black eyes stared directly at her.
Then it laughed.
"You cannot kill me here."
The Empress Dowager's face became cold.
"I know."
Her gaze shifted towards Lin Sheng.
"That's why I need your help."
Lin Sheng looked at her.
"I can close the rift."
She pointed towards the Vicious Soul.
"But I cannot do so while it is guarding the entrance."
"Keep it away from me."
Lin Sheng understood immediately.
"How long?"
"Long enough."
Lin Sheng's lips curved slightly.
"That's enough."
The Empress Dowager immediately turned towards the rift.
Lin Sheng stepped forward.
The Vicious Soul noticed him.
Its black eyes narrowed.
Then it suddenly grinned.
"You..."
Its gaze swept across Lin Sheng's body.
"So much Yang energy."
Its voice became filled with hunger.
"You are far more delicious than the others."
Lin Sheng continued walking.
His Qi-Blood began to surge.
Boom!
A terrifying golden-red radiance erupted from his body.
The surrounding Yin Qi was immediately forced backwards.
The Vicious Soul's smile disappeared.
Lin Sheng's aura rose like an enormous furnace.
"Come."
He clenched his fist.
"I'll give you something to eat."
The Vicious Soul's body suddenly expanded.
Its flesh swelled.
Its arms became enormous.
Its body grew several times larger until it resembled a towering giant standing over the battlefield.
The ground beneath its feet cracked.
It raised its gigantic palm.
Then it swung it down towards Lin Sheng.
The palm blocked out the sky.
The Vicious Soul intended to crush him like a fly.