Chapter 74: Gods and Ghosts Appear, Hordes of Demons Feast
Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Gods and Ghosts Appear, Hordes of Demons Feast
Wisdom is the pillar upon which the Human Race stands unyielding.
Zhu Ge was weak, but that didn’t stop him from laying a "Spider’s" trap to ensnare the Raincoat Fisherman.
Now, the Spider was drawing in its web.
Even with his so-called prodigious talent, the Raincoat Fisherman could only find himself trapped and bound.
"The Yi People’s Witch?"
The Raincoat Fisherman looked toward Sui Niang and the old crone, his expression turning grave. His earlier arrogance was gone.
He scanned his surroundings before his gaze finally landed on Zhu Ge.
"You little bastard." The Raincoat Fisherman’s expression was sinister. "This is all your doing. I gave you Spirit Pills and precious medicines, martial arts and Cultivation Techniques, and you repay me like an ungrateful cur?"
"Jianshan Village endured the Fungus God’s terror, and out of more than a hundred people, only a few of us were left," Zhu Ge said, his voice seething with fury. "To think that after we barely survived the Fungus God’s control, we would then have to suffer humiliation at the hands of our own kind!"
"You tell me—Xianxian was just a little girl. She didn’t die in the slaughter by the Fungus God, a different kind of monster, but she died after being raped and murdered by you, one of her own people... How could I not hate you?"
"You scraped the flesh from the bones of the common folk to build your own fortune, a fortune built on blood and filth, and then you try to buy me with it?"
"You killed my friends and family, killed my people, and then you try to gift me their inheritance?"
"You offer me pills? You give me techniques? If I had the choice, I’d throw it all away! I only want your life!"
Zhu Ge’s tone was bone-chilling.
At that moment, the Xigui, Hua Liusha, and the Tiger God were already charging toward the Raincoat Fisherman, who was enveloped and protected by his fish basket.
The two were incorporeal, yet they still couldn’t pass through the basket.
’I know this is your last line of defense.’
’On this land, it’s difficult for beings like gods and ghosts to manifest. I already anticipated your fish basket could defend against them, so this is to be expected.’
Zhu Ge seemed to have predicted the fish basket’s ability to block spiritual beings, but his expression remained calm as he continued:
’I don’t know what Divine Sense is. I only know that you can control both the fish basket and the fishhook with it at will. A single thought from your Divine Sense, and both move as you please.’
’I also don’t know if Divine Sense is a type of Soul Power or something else, or whether a god or a ghost is needed to counter your Divine Sense and stop you from moving while you’re protected by the basket.’
’But luckily, I know the Tiger God, and I have the Xigui... This means with a god and a ghost by my side, they can suppress whatever soul or spiritual power emanates from the basket. Your fish basket won’t be able to move anymore.’
’You...’
’...are trapped inside your fish basket.’
Zhu Ge’s voice continued to ring out, influencing the minds of all the strange beings on the battlefield, as well as the Raincoat Fisherman’s.
The Raincoat Fisherman’s face was utterly grim.
But the demon beasts and spirit monsters, one and all, looked invigorated.
Just as Zhu Ge had said, it was incredibly difficult for beings like gods and ghosts to be born.
But such beings were also extremely difficult to defend against.
A single Fungus God could wipe out an entire village.
If used correctly, they could produce unimaginable results.
And as it happened, Zhu Ge had a god and a ghost by his side.
Hua Liusha was a given. As for the Tiger God, who had nearly been killed by the Raincoat Fisherman, he was naturally eager to tear the man’s flesh from his bones.
Now, the two of them took action, clinging to the outside of the fish basket and suppressing the soul power emanating from within. This rooted the basket to the spot, rendering it immobile.
If the Raincoat Fisherman wanted to move, he would have to retract the basket, but that would mean being attacked by the horde of demons.
If he didn’t move, it would be like a frog in slowly boiling water—sooner or later, the basket would be breached, and he would die.
"Hahaha, so he’s all show and no go!"
"I just love the taste of Human Race flesh."
"Delicious, so delicious!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
"Break the Spiritual Artifact!"
The other Demons, Ghosts, Spirits, and Monsters all responded in kind, charging the Raincoat Fisherman’s basket with demonic shrieks and beastly howls.
The Raincoat Fisherman was too preoccupied to defend himself, let alone attack Zhu Ge. All he could do was struggle to maintain the basket.
’Perish.’
Watching the Raincoat Fisherman being besieged and overwhelmed, Zhu Ge’s eyes were as placid as an old well.
In his eyes, an invisible spider’s thread was attached to every one of the Demons, Ghosts, Spirits, and Monsters.
The center of all these threads was the Raincoat Fisherman himself, like a moth struggling ever deeper into a web, about to meet its death.
But even at this final moment, the Raincoat Fisherman was still struggling. Boundless Spiritual Qi erupted from his body.
Zhu Ge could even faintly see the Raincoat Fisherman trying to pull something from his robes, apparently attempting to turn the tables.
As he did this, the Raincoat Fisherman’s eyes stared venomously at the distant Zhu Ge.
Zhu Ge met his gaze with an indifferent expression.
From the very beginning, Zhu Ge had been setting his trap.
From the fishhook, to the small boat, to the fish basket... a plan that should have taken nineteen days to set up was accelerated by the arrival of the Plague God Sparrow.
Therefore, there was no way the Raincoat Fisherman could survive.
’You’re reaching for something? Trying to turn the tables?’ Zhu Ge calmly shook his head. ’Don’t worry. I won’t give you the chance to survive.’
’Kunpeng, equip!’
[Name: Zhu Ge]
[Lifespan: 1 Year]
[Trait: Kunpeng]
[Inventory: Spider]
After his recent period of cultivation, he now only needed to expend eight years of his lifespan to equip a trait.
He previously had nine years of life left, but for the sake of revenge, Zhu Ge no longer cared.
Mental clarity was crucial.
Besides, if the Raincoat Fisherman didn’t die this time, he would.
So, the Raincoat Fisherman had to die!
The next moment, wearing the [Kunpeng] trait, Zhu Ge’s gaze swept across the entire battlefield.
’As expected of the Demon Race, the Black Tiger and the Great Ape are already growing wary of each other. They’re preparing to claim the Raincoat Fisherman’s spoils.’
’The Tiger God didn’t bring a single Chong Ghost. He must have just brought a doppelgänger to stir up trouble. Surprisingly, there are no other gods here.’
’There are a few other Ghosts, but they’re all just First Realm Ghosts. Hua Xiaomei is the main force.’
Zhu Ge instantly grasped the entire situation.
In his eyes, countless threads representing fate were all converging. It was the last straw that would break the camel’s back.
’Fortunately...’
’I am the Kunpeng!’
Zhu Ge closed his eyes, and his great egg-shaped soul instantly shot toward the sky.
Trait—Calm!
Trait—Shell-Break!
Trait—Insight!
Trait—Defiance!
...
The Kunpeng trait was a unique trait, an aggregate of many others.
With his soul now out of its shell, Zhu Ge unhesitatingly charged toward the Raincoat Fisherman.
Under the influence of the [Defiance] trait, Zhu Ge could even enter the shrine refined by the Fungus God, let alone this mere fish basket.
Thus, Zhu Ge’s soul passed directly through the fish basket.
HEH—
At that moment, Sui Niang saw Zhu Ge’s body go limp, as if she had received some kind of signal.
Veins bulged on her neck, and a clear, piercing song immediately shattered the phantom image of the Raincoat Fisherman in the sky, extinguishing the fisherman’s song that filled the air.
However, this song that silenced the fisherman’s only lasted for two seconds.
After just two seconds, Sui Niang bent over, coughing up blood incessantly, even spitting out fragments of her internal organs.
The song stopped abruptly, and blood even seemed to seep from the scars on her face.
Seeing this, the old Yi crone beside her quickly steadied Sui Niang.
"You can actually let your soul leave your body?!"
But the Raincoat Fisherman had no time to look at Sui Niang. His attention was fixed on Zhu Ge, his expression one of utter horror.
After all the time they had spent together, Zhu Ge had never once let his soul leave his body.
To prevent anyone from discovering his ability, Zhu Ge had never revealed that he practiced the >, let alone that his soul could leave his body.
So, in just an instant, the protective fish basket that the Raincoat Fisherman could have maintained for a long time was pierced directly by Zhu Ge.
The defiant Kunpeng could not be trapped or hindered by even heaven and earth; a mere fish basket could only block gods and ghosts.
POP~
The next second, Zhu Ge’s egg-shaped soul sank directly into the Raincoat Fisherman’s body.
But just as quickly, the egg-shaped soul was forced out.
Zhu Ge was, after all, only at the First Realm, while the Raincoat Fisherman was at the Third Realm.
He couldn’t deal with the Raincoat Fisherman the same way he had dealt with the Fungus God.
The Raincoat Fisherman easily expelled Zhu Ge’s soul.
But that brief moment was enough.
BOOM!!!!
That momentary faltering caused the Raincoat Fisherman’s fish basket to be sent flying.
Immediately, the Tiger God and Hua Liusha slammed into the Raincoat Fisherman.
One seized his spirit, the other bewildered his soul.
The horde of demons seized the opportunity, swarming forward the moment the basket was gone to gnaw on the Raincoat Fisherman’s body.
"His heart is mine!" the Black Tiger’s massive claws swiped at the Raincoat Fisherman’s chest.
"You take the heart, I’ll take the fish basket," the Great Ape replied in a low voice.
The two had a perfect understanding.
"Get lost!!!"
The Raincoat Fisherman roared, power surging from his body, and in an instant, a dozen or so of the closest Demon Beasts were crushed.
But the next moment, another seventy or eighty Demon Beasts pressed in.
"Hahahaha, succulent human flesh!"
"Eat, eat, eat! I want to eat his brain!"
"The stomach is mine! It’s mine! I’m going to eat his liver!"
"With such a powerful soul, after this, I, the Tiger God, will ascend to the Third Realm and rule over all spirits!"
The demons swarmed and fed, while god and ghost invaded his very being.
Meanwhile, in the distance, Zhu Ge stood up straight again as Hua Liusha returned to his mind.
He glanced over at Yu the Scholar and Sui Niang in the distance.
Yu the Scholar was laughing wildly, two streams of clear tears running from the corners of his eyes, before he fainted backward and was caught by a chair-shaped puppet.
Sui Niang, on the other hand, dropped directly to her knees and kowtowed nine times heavily toward Zhu Ge, her fair, delicate forehead becoming stained with blood and dirt.
Then, the white-haired Yu the Scholar was carried away by the puppet while still unconscious.
After kowtowing, Sui Niang also fainted to the ground and was carried away by the old crone, who shook her head and sighed. Before leaving, the old crone even gave Zhu Ge a nod.
After seeing that Yu the Scholar and Sui Niang were taken care of, Zhu Ge finally relaxed and continued to observe the battlefield from afar, ready to deliver the finishing blow at any moment.
"Insolence! I am an official! You are forbidden to kill me!"
"You pack of monsters! The Human Race will exterminate you!"
"No, no, save me! Zhu Ge! Save me, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong!"
"I’ll give you high office and great wealth, I’ll give you a vast fortune, I’ll give you beautiful women, I’ll give you handsome men, I’ll give you anything you want!"
"No, no, NO!!!"
The Raincoat Fisherman’s voice went from rage to panic, then to screams, and finally faded into a groan and then silence. "I... I was clearly an official..."
After that one murmur, only the sound of tearing flesh remained.
"It’s over..." Seeing the Raincoat Fisherman die, Zhu Ge instantly felt a sense of mental clarity.
WHOOSH—
With his mind clear, the Blood Qi in his body naturally coalesced into three streams.
Martial Arts Resentment Realm... Late Stage!
One begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things.
Three streams of Blood Qi, yet they could fill his entire body.
One remained in his head, one in his heart, and one in his Dantian.
As the three circulated, Zhu Ge felt a ceaseless power welling up from every part of his body.
’I’ve gotten stronger... I should get some proper rest...’
Although he had broken through, Zhu Ge really wanted to get a good night’s sleep.
He hadn’t had a proper rest in days, ever since the Fungus God incident, constantly running for his life.
Just then, however, two pairs of terrifying eyes suddenly shot toward him from the distance.
"This boy has stirred up a storm. He could become a major threat in the future! Why don’t we..."
"Indeed. Besides, this little man faked a command from a great god. I’m going to eat his heart!"
Having killed the Raincoat Fisherman and divided the spoils, the Black Tiger and the Great Ape now turned their sights on Zhu Ge.
Seeing this, Zhu Ge, who had just been about to relax, felt his heart clench.
’Not good!’