Chapter 1838: Chang Ghost
The reason behind Huangpang City turning into a ghost city lay with the Mo Fei sitting at its center. He was a great cultivator at thirtieth level sequence, able to manipulate anyone who arrived here if they were weaker than him. They would live out their days in the ghost city without ever thinking anything was wrong.
Qu Cu was able to remain clear headed because he was thirty-three levels of sequence; he was stronger than Mo Fei. He’d issued many requests for help from others, but for some reason, everyone who came here walked into the ghost city despite themselves. Even if they knew the truth beforehand, they would ultimately become part of the city and part of the sight in front of him.
In Qu Cu’s view, this was the beguilement of the ghost city. There was a restriction planted in his soul that made it impossible for him to speak of the truth unless he was near it. But if others were near it, they found their feet carrying them in. The only thing he could do was ask for help again and again, bringing over strong foreigners or geniuses tied to supremes. Only then could he make a proper plea for help.
……
Dejection flashed through Qu Cu’s eyes when he saw Lu Yun walk into the city. Another one. He followed the young man in.
A great hubbub rose over the metropolis as passersby jostled each other on the streets, voices and sweat alike flying through the air. A large sun high in the sky threw off bright radiance. It was a picture of thriving prosperity and the people’s expressions seemed perfectly normal.
“Have you ever heard of the saying ‘the ghost of one devoured by the tiger’?” Lu Yun’s voice suddenly rang in Qu Cu’s ears.
“Huh? What?” The man blinked. How was the brute lost in the city talking to him? Is this a coincidence? Or maybe he remembers me, but doesn’t know that he’s already in the ghost city?
“The ghost of the tiger’s victim helps it devour others… that’s a saying from the mortal world. As the legend goes, someone that the tiger eats turns into a ghost that obeys the tiger. Instead of seeking revenge from the tiger, they become their murderer’s henchman. The ghost lures more people to the tiger so that the tiger can eat them too.” Lu Yun turned around to face Qu Cu and said haltingly, “The ghost… speaks complete bullshit… It cajoles and beguiles… rousing the listener’s curiosity and greed…
“I’ve been wondering why I grew curious simply because you threw down some mystifying statements. It turns out you’re the ghost. A chang ghost.”
It didn’t necessarily take a tiger to turn someone into a chang ghost.
“The immortal wasn’t scared out of his wits,” Lu Yun murmured. “Rather, he was no longer under the city’s control after he cultivated the way of ghost immortals. That’s why you killed him.”
It felt like lightning had struck Qu Cu. He stared dumbly at Lu Yun, not able to say a word.
“Do you mean… I’m dead? That I’m a chang ghost who keeps luring people here to feed that ghost king?” he said blankly.
Twin beams of black light flashed through Lu Yun’s eyes, reflecting Qu Cu’s ashen face out of his pupils.
“Yes, that’s the case, you just don’t know it yet. Everyone in this city, including that so-called Ghost King Mo Fei, is alive. You are the only one dead. You are the chang ghost by the vengeful ghost’s side.
“It’s not your fault, Qu Cu. You remain unaware of your true state because your heart is kind. You have no idea that you’ve already been refined into a chang ghost by the vengeful ghost of the supreme.” Lu Yun patted the man’s shoulder again when he saw black smoke waft upward from Qu Cu’s body.
Qu Cu had thought that everything he was doing would save people, that his actions would help the situation. The vengeful ghost used this mindset to blind him and steer him into helping the ghost instead.
Sometimes people had no idea they’d died; they thought they were still alive. Lu Yun had encountered that situation in the world of immortals. Qu Cu was already a chang ghost, but he was completely oblivious and thought that he was still alive. Since Lu Yun had pierced through the veil of misdirection, Qu Cu’s balance between life and death was shattered and he could clearly see himself for who he was.
“The vengeful ghost of the Huangpang Supreme doesn’t need dead souls, he needs the resentment of the living. The living in this city have only lost themselves—they haven’t been hurt in any way. But when the time comes, they’ll all become the ghost’s sacrifice and be tormented unto death. The massive resentment that results from this will become food for the vengeful ghost.”
The Huangpang Supreme had died an unjust death—he shouldn’t have died at all. What made his death particularly undeserved was that he’d suffered needlessly before his final breath.
The resentment of the aggrieved dead was the greatest. Even if it was a saint who died, and one who died without a hint of bitterness, they would still become a vengeful ghost after death. As a ghost, their desire for revenge would flare and they would wreak havoc on the living.
The living and ghosts walked separate paths… While one might be kind in life, resentment after death could change everything.
Lu Qingtian was a prime example of this. He’d died peacefully and content, having achieved all of his lifelong goals. But he still turned into a vengeful demon in death and plagued Lu Yun after his disciple gained the ability to resurrect him.
“The ghost city grows at every second. It will be big enough to devour the entire major world after another few hundred million years, turning it into a ghost world.” Lu Yun continued, “The enigma stones you’ve collected aren’t to keep the ghost king in check. Instead, the city’s eaten them as food.”
The vengeful ghost hadn’t collected all of the world’s living beings due to this reason. If the major world was empty, no one would ever dare set foot on its soil again. However, the resentment of one world’s inhabitants was far from enough.
Qu Cu nodded expressionlessly. He was well aware of his identity now and there was no longer the presence of the living around him. Everything that Lu Yun said to him was meaningless.
“I’m, I’m going to kill that ghost and eat it!!” he suddenly shrieked. Black smoke drifted from his body and soared to the sky with towering resentment. His bitterness was aimed at only the ghost that’d killed and continued to manipulate him.
Lu Yun patted him on the shoulder for a third time. A variety of expressions rapidly flickered across his face as Qu Cu returned to his initial state.
“Ah…” He looked blankly at Lu Yun.
“Go find the ghost king. If my guess is right, the vengeful ghost is near the ghost king and is watching us right now.” Lu Yun was a bold person with skills to back up his impulses. The Myriad Spirit Supreme didn’t dare draw near the ghost of the fallen supreme, but he was eager to give it a try. “It won’t require a supreme for me to take care of it.”
He chuckled and strode forward, the surroundings changing around him. He was already at the center of the city—the old city lord’s manor. It looked sumptuous and magnificent, but it lay in disgraceful ruins without a single intact building.
Mo Fei sat in the middle of the courtyard. There was no one here other than him.
“Would you believe me if I say that I let myself be covered in resentment and turned into a ghost king?” he said before Lu Yun could speak. Plainly, he’d heard the entire conversation between his visitor and Qu Cu.
“You still retain your consciousness?” Lu Yun blinked. “Are you the Huangpang Supreme’s disciple? Or descendant?”
“I am her dao partner,” he responded softly. “Collecting the resentment of countless beings to help her grow beyond the form of a vengeful ghost is also my idea. Everything here is my plan…” Mo Fei gently caressed a crystalline skull next to him—the Huangpang Supreme’s skull.
The Huangpang Supreme was a woman! Mo Fei had sacrificed himself for her. Although he was still alive, he was neither human nor ghost.
“What is the meaning of this?” Lu Yun shook his head. “This won’t resurrect the dead.”
“It won’t because her resentment is too strong from her unjustified death. I’m doing this to dispel her resentment so that she can be revived!” Mo Fei’s expression twisted and he roared, “Why?! Someone else already took the legendary item, so why did that bastard vent his spleen on Huang Pang?! Just because we are the closest to the damned Firmament Prison?!
“So then what of killing everything alive for Huang Pang and setting myself against existence itself?!”
