Chapter 78



Chapter 78: Pavilion

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The Ghostly Escape Technique was extremely fast. In an instant, Ouyang Xianxing’s throat was inches away.

Miao Chengyang did not have any tender feelings for the fairer sex. Just as he was about to kill her, the scene in front of him changed. He appeared in a dilapidated courtyard!

The courtyard should have been lush with leaves, but now the plants were withered and the surroundings were dilapidated.

There were occasional traces of broken walls in the dense fig vegetation. In the depths of the vegetation, there was a pavilion. There was a figure in the pavilion with his head lowered, doing something.

Miao Chengyang looked around and realized that there was a courtyard door not far away. It was half-closed and there seemed to be some movement behind the door.

Everything in sight was gray, as if there was a layer of grayish-white fog between them. He could not see far or clearly.

Miao Chengyang felt a little dizzy after hesitating for a moment.

He was shocked by the sudden change in the situation. However, as a branch master, although he was shocked, he did not panic. He quickly regained his composure and thought for a moment before quietly retreating towards the courtyard door.

However, just as he reached the door, before he could reach out to push it open, he heard a commotion behind the door. It was the sound of some creature chewing something.

A strong smell of blood wafted in.

At the same time, a malicious gaze seemed to land on him through the door.

The overwhelming pressure made Miao Chengyang’s heart sink slightly, and he immediately retracted his hand.

He stood there for a while, then quickly turned around and carefully touched the pavilion.

After walking for a while on the ground, the distance between him and the pavilion did not seem to have changed.

Moreover, no matter how Miao Chengyang changed directions, the person in the pavilion did not move. All he saw was a back view.

After an unknown period of time, Miao Chengyang panted slightly and stopped. He stared at the back view with fear and asked in a low voice, “May I know which lady under core disciple Li has arrived?”

“Jiao Ni.”

At this moment, in the Skeletal Crane Swamp, Ouyang Xianxing’s forehead was covered in sweat. She looked around warily for Miao Chengyang’s appearance.

“Ghostly Escape!” In contrast to her vigilance as if she was facing a great enemy, Xue Ying and Fang Ji felt the pressure disappear at this moment. They were filled with joy. Xue Ying looked up and laughed, praising loudly, “Branch Master Miao was indeed the number one person in the outer sect back then! It’s Clear River Faction’s fortune to have Branch Master Miao in charge. Now that the Ghostly Escape is complete, and once Branch Master has cultivated the Five Ghosts Heavenly Network in the future, your future is limitless. The sky’s the limit!

Ouyang Xianxing, you don’t know how to appreciate favors. You even dared to reject Branch Master Miao’s personal recruitment. You’re simply courting death!”

Fang Ji also smiled sinisterly and advised her hypocritically, “Senior Sister, a good bird chooses a tree to perch on. Branch Master Miao has good intentions, so why are you so stubborn? Senior Sister’s potential is outstanding, and you have an advantage like the Netherworld Coffin Girl. In time, your future will be limitless. If you die here, it will be a pity.”

Ouyang Xianxing glanced at them disdainfully. The chains in her hand shook, and the corpse aura in the black coffin became even stronger. It was like thick smoke that quickly filled the surroundings!

With Miao Chengyang watching from the side, Xue Ying and Fang Ji were not afraid at all. One in front of the other, they attacked Ouyang Xianxing together.

Fang Ji was especially sinister. He kept attacking Pei Ling, who was protected by the chains, and attracted Ouyang Xianxing’s attention.

“You dare to betray the Branch Master. In the future, when the Branch Master reports to core disciple Li, she will be furious. Do you really think that the Clear River Faction can protect you?!” Ouyang Xianxing was not afraid of fighting against two people by herself. However, at this moment, she had to protect Pei Ling and guard against Miao Chengyang. For a moment, she was a little flustered. Finally, she said angrily, “How can a traitor who is afraid of death end up well?!”

Fang Ji said disapprovingly, “Senior Sister is being stubborn. What right do you have to ask us to live and die with the Double Mulberry Faction? Besides, with core disciple Li’s status, why would she care about such a small matter? Not to mention that you and I are just ants in her eyes, even if Zheng Jingshan claims to have a close relationship with core disciple Li, he was beaten black and blue by Branch Master Miao in the outer sect many times back then. When did core disciple Li ever help him?”

“And Senior Sister, have you forgotten?” Xue Ying added with a cold smile, “The Holy Sect doesn’t only have one core disciple! Zheng Jingshan has core disciple Li behind him, and Clear River Faction has core disciple Zhou’s support.”

As they spoke, the three of them exchanged blows several times. Ouyang Xianxing’s body became more and more lifeless. She looked like a living corpse that could move, and the chains that suddenly shot up from the ground covered the sky!

Xue Ying’s strength was inferior to Fang Ji’s. After suffering a few losses in a row, he saw that Miao Chengyang had not appeared. He had thought highly of Ouyang Xianxing’s strength and wanted to give her a chance. Now he could not help but shout, “Branch Master Miao, please take down this lowly servant quickly! This lowly servant’s personality is different from ordinary people. She has always kept her promises and would rather die than change them… That’s why Zheng Jingshan entrusted Pei Ling to her. I’m afraid that Branch Master’s good intentions have been treated as ill intentions!”

With that, the grayish-white fog in front of Miao Chengyang instantly dissipated. He was slightly dazed, but he realized that he was sitting in the pavilion.

Opposite him was a translucent woman in a palace dress. She wore her hair up, and she had a crown of flowers on her head. She looked like a refined lady in a large mansion. However… if one looked carefully, below her knees, she did not have physical legs. There was only a ball of black fog that did not dissipate.

At this moment, she was slowly putting down the embroidery in her hand.

In her slender and pale hand was an embroidered taut made from human skin. An image of a hungry ghost under the moon was half embroidered. The threads through the bone needles were actually made from souls, which emitted a faint, mournful wail.

Jiao Ni stopped embroidering for the time being and looked at Miao Chengyang with her dark eyes. Miao Chengyang felt a chill run down his spine and could not help but shiver.

“Please.”

With a soft sound, a bowl of tea suddenly appeared in front of him.

The tea was so dark that the bottom of the bowl could not be seen. It was cold to the touch and a small patch of frost appeared around the bowl on the moss-covered stone table. Something seemed to be swimming quickly inside the bowl, causing ripples on the surface of the tea.

How would Miao Chengyang dare to touch it?

He lowered his head slightly and asked in a low voice, “May I ask if core disciple Li has any instructions? Or do you have any?”

Damn it!

Why would a ghost maid appear here?

Miao Chengyang was frightened and puzzled. Last time, when he attacked the small courtyard of Kulan, he beat up Zheng Jingshan in front of the disciples of the Double Mulberry Faction and left without a word. He did not encounter any ghost servant attacks.

Why is she here now?

It couldn’t be that she suddenly thought of standing up for Zheng Jingshan after so many days. Could it be… for the Cold Marrow Fire?

No, that is unlikely.

What kind of status and cultivation does core disciple Li have? A mere Cold Marrow Fire is useless to her and her personal attendant.

Then what is it for?

“Don’t touch Pei Ling.” Just as Miao Chengyang’s mind was racing and he was racking his brains to guess, Jiao Ni began to embroider again. With every stitch, a fresh smear of blood would gush out of the human skin, as if the owner of the skin was still alive.

At the same time, wails could be heard from the human skin.

The wails sounded, one after another, but it was not just one person. Sometimes it was a young woman, sometimes a child, sometimes an old man, and sometimes a young man. All of them were filled with extreme pain and despair.

Jiao Ni did not care at all. She did not stop and said calmly, “Remember this. You can leave now.”

As she spoke, a passageway silently opened outside the pavilion.

As expected, the outside of the passageway was not dilapidated, but it was not the Skeletal Crane Swamp.