The Mountain Lord's Roll Call (3)

Nan Zhi had originally intended to ask why the government didn't deploy heavy destructive weaponry, but Hu Ban'er misinterpreted her meaning and hurriedly explained:

“This yaksha is utterly ruthless and evil. By day, it hides in the cemetery, its form dispersed and intangible. By night, it turns into a gust of black wind and goes to crowded places to catch living people and sentient demons to devour.

“Though the government has powerful firearms, this yaksha has no solid physical form to begin with, nor is it afraid of light and heat like ordinary little ghosts. On top of that, it possesses abilities to pass through walls, burrow into the earth, and capture souls. The authorities can only drive it out of the busy city centers for now and find people from the Daoist sects to deal with it.

“As for the firearms made by humans, those are merely things they use for their own internal struggles. With Your Ladyship's profound cultivation, I am sure those things couldn't harm even a single strand of your fur.”

No—while she could withstand attacks from ordinary artillery fire, she was hardly completely invincible.

Though she was curious how many rounds of artillery fire her Foundation Establishment Level 1 cultivation could take, Nan Zhi had no intention of taking a nuclear bomb with her bare body.

At least not for now.

The hideous yaksha squinted its eyes as if asleep, completely unconcerned about exposing its weaknesses as it lay there in open repose. It hadn't even bothered to respond to the tiger roar Nan Zhi had used to warn it earlier.

—This thing truly possessed the right to be arrogant.

【Ghost Faced Yaksha: Level 27】

A Level 27 red-named monster was the highest-level wild monster Nan Zhi had encountered in the real world so far.

!!

Only then did the yaksha seem to react. It opened its ghostly eyes and stared over. Upon sighting Nan Zhi, a series of bizarre "squeaks and squawks" issued from its throat:

“A tiger can turn into a spirit too? Wow! If I eat you, will I evolve like in video games?!”

“I've eaten foxes, wild cats, and wild dogs, but I've never eaten a white tiger!”

“I just wonder which tastes better... tiger meat or human flesh...”

At first listen, the voice sounded neither male nor female. Listening closely, it sounded like many people speaking together in low voices, thoroughly eerie.

—In life, Ghost Faced Yaksha had been a death row convict who committed heinous crimes and took a bullet over a decade ago. When he regained consciousness and realized he wasn't dead, but had instead turned into an extremely ugly yaksha, far from feeling afraid, he felt utterly delighted.

“I haven't eaten a tiger before, but you look pretty good. Quite human-like. Can you speak? Chirp, chirp, chirp... Come over here, I have delicious meat for you... Quack, quack, quack...”

The yaksha cackled weirdly, pulling out a half-eaten human corpse from under its backside, calling to Nan Zhi as if teasing a dog:

“Come on, come here, Daddy has nice, savory meat for you... Good girl...”

Hu Ban'er excitedly licked his fur, his beastly eyes practically shining.

【Wood Manipulation Art】!

Nan Zhi whispered a few incantations under her breath. Instantly, four thick, python-like giant vines erupted from beneath the cemetery, coiling like snakes to bind the yaksha's four limbs firmly in place!

“Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit! Today, I'm gonna slaughter you, skin you, and eat your flesh!”

Enraged, the yaksha ghost possessed immense, unnatural strength in its emaciated limbs. It instantly broke free from the giant vines and grabbed them, whipping them back at Nan Zhi!

Nan Zhi hadn't expected to capture the yaksha with just a single spell anyway. Level 27 was equivalent to a high Qi Refinement level, and it had even developed self-awareness—she naturally couldn't underestimate her opponent—

Leaping backward, she effortlessly dodged the vine, reached out, and grabbed the other end. Swinging it like a kite, she sent the yaksha ghost flying, slamming it heavily into the middle of the cemetery!

The cemetery was built on a hillside. When the yaksha ghost was slammed down, it smashed a giant pit directly into the slope. Becoming even more furious, it pulled a massive white bone from who-knows-where and charged toward Nan Zhi once again with a roar!

Having gauged the yaksha's strength, Nan Zhi held back no longer. Charging straight ahead, she slammed a fist into the Bone Club, then whipped around to land a heavy kick directly into the yaksha ghost's belly!

How could the yaksha ghost have ever anticipated the immense force behind this blow?

With a loud crash, the yaksha's bulging belly burst open with a pop. What spilled onto the ground wasn't shattered meat or stone, but the chewed and severed souls of lesser ghosts.

“It hurts...”

“Ahhhh...”

“It hurts... Save me...”

“Save me...”

Countless soul fragments took the shape of arms, thighs, feet, and heads as they rained onto the ground. Sharp, piercing wails echoed across the sky above the cemetery—

The yaksha ghost lay on its back, its belly torn wide open. Countless undigested lesser ghosts scrambled over one another to crawl out from inside its gut. Severed limbs, chewed body parts, and scattered foul-smelling liquid covered the ground...

The scene was nothing short of a hell on earth.

“Heh... heh... How... What... on earth... are you...”

The yaksha opened its eyes in unwillingness, seemingly unable to accept that a single casual blow had punched a giant hole straight through its body.

Wasn't it supposed to be special?

Why did it have to die yet again after becoming a ghost?

Before it could figure it out, Nan Zhi crushed its head beneath her foot.

The yaksha's head instantly exploded. The three bulges on its forehead shattered with it, spraying rotten flesh and bones everywhere. A large splash of foul-smelling liquid hit the ground, but it wasn't blood—it was a dark, reeking green fluid.

【Ghost Faced Yaksha (27) Has Died.】

【Congratulations to the cultivator for slaying the Level 27 red-named monster "Ghost Faced Yaksha." Obtained Upgrade EXP × 100, "Ghost Faced Yaksha Spirit" × 1, Heavenly Treasure Tree Lottery Ticket × 2, Spiritual Energy Cluster (Large) × 1, Spiritual Energy Cluster (Small) × 5, Rejuvenation Pills × 5, Qi-Augmenting Pills × 5】

With the yaksha's total death, the gaunt body on the ground suddenly flickered between visible and invisible, sputtering like a dropping frame rate. The three swollen fleshy bulges on its head deflated rapidly like leaking balloons.

—Until the yaksha ghost vanished completely, leaving behind only a scorched black mark at the scene as if burned by fire.

The mark resembled a human outline sprawled across the layered tombstones, smelling faintly of urine.

A massive bone club lay right in the middle, entirely clean.

This club actually didn't break?

Surprise flashed in Nan Zhi's eyes.

It was a good item.

【Bone Club (Blue Quality): This is a leg bone picked up at random on the Yin Yang Road when the yaksha ghost escaped from the Underworld. The identity of the bone's original owner can no longer be determined, but fortunately, it is sturdy and durable, making it a rather decent tool.】

The Underworld?

Yin Yang Road?

Did this yaksha ghost escape from the Underworld?

A ghost had told her before that there was no Underworld in this world.

Judging by this, as spiritual energy became increasingly abundant, the Underworld seemed to be gradually reviving as well.

Did this mean the real world would eventually have a distinction between the Heavenly Court and the Underworld as well in the future?

However, as long as she seized her opportunities and stayed one step ahead of everyone else, she was confident she could stay safe and achieve the Great Dao even if immortals and gods descended and chaos broke out in the future.

Nan Zhi raised her eyebrows high. The next second, she narrowed her eyes toward a certain direction.

Someone had entered the boundaries of the white fog.

It was an immortal cultivator.