Jade Primordial Qi erupted, forming a Sword Light nearly ten meters long. It instantly swept through the horde of Evil Spirits chasing him, then vanished.
The next moment.
The dozen or so Evil Spirits swept over by the Jade Sword Light suddenly stiffened, then were instantly severed in two.
SIZZLE!!
The sound of Yin Qi being seared by Primordial Qi rose in unison. Even in their frenzied state under the Blood Moon, the remaining Evil Spirits froze. They seemed shocked by the scene, and a flicker of fear ignited within them.
But this fear lasted only for a moment. Provoked by the potent aura of life emanating from Ren Fei, they roared and pounced once more.
At the same time, more Evil Spirits were gathering. Ren Fei also sensed a powerful fluctuation of Yin Qi—a far more terrifying Evil Spirit was approaching.
He frowned deeply.
'There's no end to them.'
A vicious glint then flashed in his eyes.
'Then I'll just have to see if I can kill every last one of you!!'
「Elsewhere, on another street.」
A young man in an Orange-Striped Xiezhi Robe had golden blade light erupting from his palms. Evil Spirits were swiftly slain wherever he passed. With each one he killed, the golden light on his palms grew another fraction more brilliant.
'This can't go on. I'm relying on the Incense and Candle Dao's power of Virtue, which makes my attacks stronger with every Evil Spirit I kill, but the drain on my Primordial Qi is very real. No matter how powerful my attacks get, if I run out of Primordial Qi, I'll be swamped by their sheer numbers. I have to think of something.'
'The intelligence was wrong. This trip into the Ghost City is riddled with problems. With this sudden change, I have no idea how many people will be lost. I need to come up with a solution, fast.'
Xu Jingtian's expression was grim. The accumulation of 'Virtue' continuously increased his attack power, which was gradually reaching a terrifying level.
With a single slash, he could cut down even an Evil Spirit covered in blood-red patterns. The golden light seemed to be a powerful counter to them.
Everyone had their own unique Divine Techniques to rely on.
Although they had encountered an unexpected crisis upon entering the Ghost City, this onslaught was not yet enough to pose a fatal threat to the top Blood Strengthening realm masters from the various sects.
However, the less powerful disciples who had followed them in were a different story. If they were also unlucky enough to run into unusual circumstances, casualties were inevitable.
「In the real world.」
All the disciples chosen to enter the Ghost City were under the strict protection of their respective sects; any change in their condition would be noticed immediately.
「Guming County, the main hall of the Dianmao Office.」
After Qiu Qing and a group of Stewards finished checking the condition of the unconscious disciples, they were about to sit down and wait. According to their intelligence, the Ghost City event had just started. This was supposed to be a relatively safe period, and it was highly unlikely that anything major would happen.
However, just then, something unexpected occurred.
"The Primordial Qi in their bodies is suddenly boiling!"
"It's the same with this one!"
"And this one!"
"..."
An expert at the Refining the Internal Organs realm stood guard over each disciple who had entered the Ghost City. They were the first to notice the strange transformations happening inside the disciples' bodies.
Their Primordial Qi was boiling and being consumed at a rapid rate—it was as if they were engaged in a fierce battle.
"What?!"
Hearing this, the expressions of Qiu Qing and the others, who had been about to take a rest, changed. They immediately rushed back to check and found it to be true. It wasn't just one person—the Primordial Qi in every disciple's body was boiling and draining away.
'This... Did they run into a fight?'
'But how could it be all of them at once? The Ghost City event has only just begun. Logically, this shouldn't be happening.'
"This is bad!"
Just then, Qiu Qing's expression changed once more. He sensed the boiling Primordial Qi in one of the disciples rapidly dissipating, as if a black hole had opened up inside him and was devouring it all. In its place, a dense wave of Yin Qi surged forth from the disciple's body.
GURGLE GURGLE!!
The disciple, who had been in a deep sleep, began to convulse violently. Strange sounds gurgled from his mouth as his face twisted in a pained, hideous expression.
At the same time, his body began to transform.
White hair sprouted from his pores as his skin rapidly shriveled, turning sallow and wrinkled.
Evil Transformation!!
Everyone stared in shock, instantly realizing what was happening.
WHUMP!!
Qiu Qing slammed his palm onto the disciple's chest. Golden Fire immediately blazed to life, engulfing the disciple's body.
SIZZLE!!
Scorched by the Golden Fire, the Yin Qi inside the man's body rapidly evaporated. The signs of the Evil Transformation began to reverse. Once all the Yin Qi had been driven out, the transformation stopped, and his body returned to normal.
But at the same time, he went completely still, devoid of any sign of life.
The Primordial Qi in his body had already been devoured by some unknown entity. Even though the Evil Transformation had been stopped, his life was already gone.
Qiu Qing's face darkened. The event had only just begun, yet something like this was already happening. 'What in the world is going on?' he thought.
"Elder!!"
Just then, a disciple burst in from outside the hall, drawing everyone's attention.
"An urgent message just arrived from the Government Office! All of their people who entered the Ghost City are experiencing strange changes and their Primordial Qi is draining away. Two of them have undergone Evil Transformation. They're asking about our situation."
The disciple reported loudly.
At these words, the expressions of Qiu Qing and the others changed yet again.
It wasn't just the disciples of their Red Heart Sect; everyone else who had entered the Ghost City was experiencing the same thing. What in the world was going on?!