Chapter 71: Open the Door for Me!

The situation was dire. From the muddy ground, more and more arms continued to emerge.

Each arm was alive.

“What... what on earth is happening?” The elder of the Bamboo Grove Society, whose legs were gripped by those ghostly hands, looked terrified. He immediately drew the tempered steel blade at his waist and slashed at the ghastly limbs.

To his horror, even a blow infused with inner force failed to sever the ghostly hand. The sharp blade became embedded in the flesh of the spectral arm, and copious blood streamed down, soaking into the earth at his feet.

Faced with this, panic overtook him. It wasn’t just him—nearly everyone present was being attacked by the ghostly hands.

Ning Xiu stood atop a tree branch, looking down at the chaos below. In truth, these ghostly hands, up to now, had done little more than create confusion; they hadn’t shown any real combat prowess. Ordinarily, the stewards and elders of the Bamboo Grove Society would not have lost their composure so completely. But after witnessing the battle just now between Jia Sizhen and his foes, they instinctively assumed their opponents were similarly monstrous and overwhelming.

Indeed, they were afraid.

What they did not realize was that the most terrifying thing in the world is fear itself. The more afraid you are, the less you can afford to show fear.

Just then, Ning Xiu sensed something. He drew his Divine Retainer Sword from his back and slashed downward at his feet.

To his surprise, a ghostly hand had also appeared on the branch where he stood!

As the blade was about to strike the ghostly hand, it suddenly stopped. Ning Xiu felt his wrist gripped tightly by something. Turning his head, he saw an arm protruding from the trunk behind him, clutching his wrist and preventing him from attacking.

“Tricks and illusions!” Ning Xiu sneered. With his left hand formed into a fist, he unleashed the force of his Wild Ox Fist, smashing it into the tree trunk behind him.

His entire being radiated power; the perfected Nine Yang True Force surged forth. Even before his fist landed, the air split with a thunderous roar.

With a crash, wood chips flew, and the trunk, thick as a man’s waist, shattered.

Ning Xiu dropped from the tree as a white figure shot out, trying to escape. But with lightning speed, Ning Xiu’s right hand reached out and seized it.

His right hand, shrouded in Nine Yang True Force, crackled with a sizzling sound. Unperturbed, Ning Xiu yanked the figure back, planted his right foot, drew his short Divine Retainer Blade with his left hand, and stabbed forward.

A piercing, anguished scream rang out.

On the ground, all the arms froze instantly.

“Split up and go!” Ning Xiu barked, his voice sharp.

The members of the Bamboo Grove Society nodded at his command, each fleeing in a different direction.

He glanced around, then turned and left as well.

Though this ghost creature had not reached the level of a true abomination, it was still far beyond ordinary specters. With their strength, the stewards and elders of the Bamboo Grove Society would only hold him back; better for them to disperse, drawing fire away from him. Whether they survived would depend on fate.

Ning Xiu pushed his Shadowstep technique to the limit. The wind howled past his ears, and the scenery on both sides blurred as he sped through the darkness.

But soon, he sensed something amiss. He stopped abruptly and looked around—his pupils contracted sharply.

The scenery hadn’t changed at all. He was back where he started!

In the end, the ghostly creature had set its sights on him.

Ning Xiu drew his Divine Retainer Sword, gazing ahead. His eyes hardened as he spoke in a low voice, “Come out. Don’t you want revenge for that sword strike just now?”

The night wind whispered as a specter slowly emerged before him.

It took the form of a young man, but his body was covered in countless arms, densely packed, making one’s skin crawl with dread.

The ghost glared fixedly at Ning Xiu, muttering incessantly, “...You die... You die...”

Despite its dull, almost childlike demeanor, Ning Xiu did not let down his guard for an instant.

These specters were the product of deep-seated hatred and obsession; as such, they acted on instinct, driven by an urge to kill. Their intelligence was inferior even to that of a child.

But that did not mean they were weak—their instinct for combat and slaughter remained formidable. Luckily, this one had not yet crossed into the realm of the abominable; it was still just a ghost.

Ning Xiu decided to seize the initiative.

The first eighteen forms of the Sacred Spirit Sword Technique emphasized speed, precision, and lethal force.

Unleashing them, he sent a sweeping tide of murderous intent surging toward the many-armed monster.

Sensing danger, the creature roared anxiously. Yet, instead of dodging, it thundered toward Ning Xiu in a reckless charge, its many arms flailing—prepared for a head-on clash.

Such reckless aggression was rare among ghosts, who were usually known for their insidiousness.

“Courting death!” Ning Xiu sneered, utterly unafraid. His sword danced faster and more ruthlessly.

Severed arms flew through the air in a gruesome scene.

Yet, astonishingly, the many-armed monster forced its way through the storm of blades, protected by its limbs, and crashed into Ning Xiu’s chest.

In the past, this might have unsettled him. But now, with the Iron Bell Shield and Steel Body techniques, his skin and bones were like bronze and iron, further protected by the perfected Nine Yang Divine Skill.

He truly had nothing to fear.

Ning Xiu sneered, planted his right foot, and executed an Iron Mountain Lean, colliding directly with the monster.

A metallic clang rang out beneath the night sky.

This exchange left both man and ghost evenly matched.

But what happened next caught Ning Xiu off guard.

From the stumps of its severed arms, new limbs sprouted instantly. Four arms shot out and locked around Ning Xiu.

Two more reached for his throat, trying to twist his neck.

A powerful force squeezed him, as if iron hoops were binding his body, tightening ever more.

These mindless ghosts were capable of tactics most people would never imagine.

Waves of pain crashed over Ning Xiu, and he heard the sound of bones cracking.

“Open!” he roared. “Break, damn you, break!”

He struggled furiously, unleashing torrents of true energy. Shockwaves battered the many-armed monster. The air resounded with a series of loud cracks.

It was the sound of bones breaking—Ning Xiu’s own, for the ghost had none.

Yet his face showed no pain; he glared at the ghostly creature, visage twisted in fury. “Break for me!”

He lifted his foot and kicked hard at the creature’s chest. Using the recoil, he finally tore himself free of its grip.

In the next instant—

A dazzling sword light flared.

A head flew into the air.