Li Jian pointed to the Wuqu Kaiyang star, and the wind and clouds between heaven and earth surged. It seemed that everyone's ears began to ring with earth-shattering shouts. This sound was as if it was shouted out by millions of people on the battlefield. It was not only meant to be heard, but also meant to make your heart and soul tremble violently!
Among the various schools of thought in Chinese history, Li Jian was not only a disciple of the military strategist but also a military commander and a great general cultivated by the Tang Dynasty, possessing an extremely powerful destiny. These combined factors granted him an incomparably powerful supernatural ability.
"The blood of mountains and rivers."
Every inch of land is bought with blood; this is the ultimate military strategy, enabling commanders of thousands to remain invincible.
In an instant, the blood energy drifted in mid-air, transforming into an ancient seal script character "Tang," which unfurled in the air without wind and even looked like a giant dragon tumbling!
The army roared in unison, and Li Jian's white robes fluttered without wind, instantly uniting the entire army with him, as immovable as a mountain.
The blood energy that had gathered in mid-air began to boil, with flashes of sword light and the neighing of horses, as if a large army was hidden within, before it began to crush the eerie ghost energy.
In an instant, the ghostly energy behind Gui Li surged forth like waves, and within the black mist, indistinguishable human figures could be seen. Half the world was filled with yin energy, as if it had transformed into a ghostly realm.
One black, one red; one extremely yin, one extremely yang; they collided with a deafening roar.
Ghost soldiers are invisible, making them difficult for mortal armies to subdue, and swords and blades are useless against them. Blood and qi, being the most yang element, are the opposite of ghost soldiers and can kill them.
Li Jian's use of "Blood of Mountains and Rivers" was the best supernatural power to defeat the enemy.
The black and red colors intertwined and collided several times, but neither could gain the upper hand.
However, Jiang Liu glanced around and noticed that some ordinary soldiers looked rather pale. He immediately understood that although they hadn't directly participated in the battle, the blood energy Li Jian was using originated from them.
The clash between blood energy and ghost soldiers naturally resulted in losses, which were then borne by the soldiers in the army.
Fortunately, the blood and energy are shared by all the soldiers in the army, and no one will die from it. Even if they are drained ten more times, they will only be weak. After eating a lot of meat and fish and resting for a few days, they will recover.
"With an army of 100,000 as our support, we are invincible from the start!" Jiang Liu nodded to himself. This "Blood of Mountains and Rivers" supernatural power was indeed suitable for leading an army.
"Li Jian, if that brat hadn't pierced my protective armor, you wouldn't have been able to find me. Heh heh... Although I've lost the chance to assassinate you, killing Mo Xuan and severing your arm is enough, I think!"
Gui Li laughed loudly and pointed his hand in mid-air. A strange noise came from the large military equipment camp, and more than a dozen mechanical men and mechanical beasts that had made great contributions during the day instantly went berserk.
This is the Mo family's war machine, now entirely under the control of this Gui Li, and it has begun to attack the Tang army.
However, the Tang army was not to be trifled with, and the riot was suppressed within ten seconds of it starting.
The Yin-Yang Master looked at Li Jian and said in a low voice with doubt, "Junior Brother, why don't you use your full strength? This dragging on is not good for us! Why don't you risk going to meet him?"
"Great Master of Fate, please calm down. You must know that although the Ghost King Sect has been destroyed for ten years, its remnants still exist. Most of the city gods, land gods, and mountain gods in various parts of Jiangnan are related to the Ghost King Sect. The Great Tang Dynasty was unable to deal with them before, but now that the nation is powerful, we can take this opportunity to wipe out Jiangnan in one fell swoop. I am not here just to eliminate the invaders, but to build an everlasting foundation for the Great Tang Dynasty."
The Grand Master of Fate smiled and said, "Junior Brother, do you intend to follow their example and besiege Tiger Hill, attacking reinforcements from a distance? Or do you want to seize Gui Li's memories and obtain information?"
Li Jian watched as the blood energy clashed and fought fiercely with the dark clouds, then shook his head and said, "Gui Li, as the son of the Ghost King, is arrogant but powerful. Capturing him alive will not be easy!"
"You never do anything you're not sure of, junior brother. Now that you have a plan, what do you need your senior sister to do?"
"Wait a minute, he might fight desperately. You need to block his attack. I'm afraid the army won't be able to hold him off."
Are you sure he's really that strong?
"I hope he's not that strong!"
Chapter 125 Hungry Ghost Realm: Hungry Ghost Spirits (Bonus Chapter)
The blood energy of tens of thousands of soldiers was incredibly overwhelming. The blood energy spread like silkworms binding silk. By the time Gui Li of the Ghost King Sect reacted, it was too late. Escaping would not be so easy.
Li Jian still stood in the night wind, dressed in flowing white robes. He had never moved from beginning to end. With a single finger, he used "Blood of Mountains and Rivers" to keep a ghost cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining busy running for his life.
"Be careful, he's about to use his ultimate move! Beat the drums, raise your troops!"
Li Jian narrowed his eyes, and then a thunderous drumbeat sounded behind him.
With a "boom," several infantry formations, carrying heavy, dark shields, advanced step by step, pushing forward.
As expected, seeing that he couldn't escape, Gui Li gritted his teeth and pulled out a bamboo slip. This bamboo slip was extremely ancient, and its surface was covered with a very peculiar ancient pictographic script.
He unfolded the bamboo slip and threw it forward.
With a "whoosh," the bamboo slip fell to the ground, and from the point of impact, the space around it rippled strangely, like waves on water.
Immediately afterwards, a huge, long "rumbling" sound rang in everyone's ears, like the rumbling of a hungry stomach, but a hundred or a thousand times louder!
Li Jian frowned, and immediately felt an extremely evil aura emanating from the sealed bamboo slip.
The space was hazy and indistinct, with countless black fragments seemingly floating in the air, as if countless hands were scattering torn pieces of joss paper in the air.
Before long, the black fragments spread through the air, and a cloud of black mist swelled into a huge shadow, obscuring the bright summer moon.
The shadow exuded a strong aura of evil, as if it would drag people into a bottomless purgatory, to be cursed and tormented for eternity, and to be forever mired in darkness.
A low, chanting sound lingered in my ears, its eerie and drawn-out tone sending chills down my spine. At first, the sound was inaudible, but after a few breaths, it suddenly changed, its tone becoming sharp and piercing, like the screeching sound of glass being scratched, or like the wailing and howling of a thousand babies in my ears.
Immediately afterwards, the space seemed to be torn apart, and the monster inside was finally revealed.
First of all, the sheer size of this monster was enough to make ordinary people despair; it stood a full three zhang tall. Its overall form resembled a human, yet it was exceptionally terrifying. Large chunks of rotting flesh and rotten skin clung to its body, and its head resembled a skull covered by a layer of skin, revealing a gaping, black mouth with a scarlet tongue protruding from it. Its eyes were a yellowish-green, flickering like two points of flame, and a few wisps of dry, grass-like hair clung to its deformed head.
What truly catches the eye is its belly, which is swollen high like that of a woman in her tenth month of pregnancy, with even its navel turned outwards. If this monster were fat, it wouldn't be so bad, but the rest of its limbs are extremely thin, best described as emaciated.
Above the huge belly were two rows of ribs, each one flared outwards, and the limbs were even thinner, bony and bony.
Upon seeing this monster, Jiang Liu's first impression was of African famine victims, specifically those who had been starving for months. Of course, it would be dozens of times larger!
"What is this?" The water buffalo's hand gripping the "Baxia Axe" was bulging with veins, and the aura emanating from the monster made him feel a deep threat.
Jiang Liu narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice, "They are hungry ghost spirits from the hungry ghost realm!"
In this vast world, life reincarnates within the six realms. After death, the rebirth of a mortal is determined by their karma and blessings. The three good realms are: gods, asuras, and humans; the three evil realms are: animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings.
Reincarnation in the heavenly realm is only possible for those with great fortune, such as those who have been virtuous for nine lifetimes.
Reincarnated in the Asura realm, one is surrounded by warlike and belligerent beings.
Whether one is reborn as a human or an animal depends entirely on karma and good fortune. Although the animal realm is bitter, if one has the right opportunity, one can cultivate into a demon and escape the animal body.
The fifth of the six realms is the realm of hungry ghosts.
Beings in the Hungry Ghost Realm live in a special space. Although they do not suffer the torment of the eighteen levels of hell like those in the Hell Realm, they live in perpetual hunger. Their gender is neither male nor female; like humans, they are born from wombs, and each birth produces hundreds of hungry ghosts!
Hungry Ghost Spirits, despite having the word "ghost" in their name, are not ghosts at a deeper level. Rather, they are monsters unique to the Hungry Ghost Realm, and are completely different from the ethereal and sinister ghosts.
That small piece of bamboo slip actually opened a passage to the "Hungry Ghost Realm." Smelling the blood, the hungry ghosts swarmed into the human world. Fortunately, the passage only lasted for ten breaths before closing on its own; otherwise, it would have been a catastrophic disaster for the army.
Even so, now that seven hungry ghosts have appeared, they are attacking everything in a frenzy!
These creatures living in the "Hungry Ghost Realm" are extremely powerful. Their physical defense is almost to the point that they are not afraid of ordinary weapons. Moreover, they can devour flesh and blood to recover quickly and sustain themselves through battle.
That gaping, black maw seemed to be a bottomless pit. Having just swallowed two soldiers, it let out a painful groan, then sighed in a trembling, drawn-out voice, "Hungry...hungry..."
Ordinary soldiers were no match for these hungry ghosts, and even the elite Shence Army of the Tang Dynasty was no match for them. These monsters would stuff whatever they could catch into their mouths and then chew and eat it. Despite the soldiers' frantic attacks, they were somewhat embarrassed to find that their attacks were often not as fast as the monsters' healing.
Seeing the hungry ghost demon's millstone-sized foot stomp down, crushing the soldiers who couldn't dodge into bloody mud, Li Jian was clearly furious, but the blood energy surrounding the ghost demon remained completely unchanged.
Cheng Tieniu led the "Great Demon Army" to the front, but with little success and lost dozens of soldiers.
The ground was covered in blood and gore. A hungry ghost roared and swept its skeletal hand across the ground like a bulldozer, carving a deep trench. With a whoosh, it shoved the mud and gore into its huge mouth, crunching and chewing. It swallowed it after only two bites.
At this moment, the Grand Commander, standing in the midst of the army, dressed in red, formed various hand seals with his fiery red hands. A yin-yang energy emanated from between his palms, resembling a tai chi symbol, and in an instant, ten thousand hand seals shot towards a hungry ghost spirit.
The hungry ghost was struck by the blood-red handprint, and its chest immediately caved in, with a series of crisp "crackling" sounds clearly heard. At least seven or eight of its ribs were broken.
Suddenly, a raging flame burst forth from its body, which could not be extinguished no matter how hard it was tried, and it even seemed to be seeping into its body. It could be clearly seen that its skin and rotten flesh were burned to charcoal by the flames, falling off in large chunks, and even consuming flesh and blood could not restore it.
Perhaps seeing that it could not escape being burned to death, the hungry ghost grabbed its pregnant belly with both hands, its sharp nails already piercing into the skin, and then tore it apart violently!
Chapter 126 Behold My Haotian Mirror
The hungry ghost ended its painful life by committing suicide, but with the death of this hungry ghost, an even greater crisis appeared before the Great Master of Fate.
If a pregnant woman's belly were torn open after ten months of pregnancy, one could clearly see that what was inside was not the internal organs, but a black hole, filled with unfathomable darkness.
The Great Master of Fate immediately sensed something was wrong and shouted "Get out of the way!" Then she saw countless tiny hungry ghost spirits bursting out of the darkness like an explosion.
These young hungry ghosts are very similar in appearance to the hungry ghost spirits, except that they are only the size of infants, with huge heads, sharp teeth, thin limbs covered with sharp nails, and swollen bellies.
Although it had just been born, it moved like the wind, rushing towards living people. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers surged in like a tide, and instantly, painful screams echoed through the ranks.
As soon as there is even a sliver of exposed skin, those Japanese soldiers will seize the opportunity to pounce on it, and within a few breaths, they can suck most of the blood from the body.
The Grand Master's expression twisted, and a dozen fireflies flew out from his fiery red robe, instantly incinerating the dozen or so hungry ghost children to ashes. Fortunately, the Tang army was also elite enough. Although they had just been caught off guard, they quickly adapted and killed the ghosts one by one.
"Li Jian, you are truly heartless! Even seeing your army slaughtered, you refuse to quell your anger?"
As the blood and yin energies clashed, the ghostly demon let out a furious roar. Then, a banner appeared behind him, unfurling in the wind, from which hundreds of skulls flew out.
Li Jian snorted coldly, and another beam of starlight descended from the Wuqu Kaiyang star above his head. The blood energy condensed and transformed into the image of a great general. A halberd flew out of his hand, landed in the general's hand, and was thrust towards Gui Li.
Jiang Liu watched all this with a cold eye, knowing it was time for him to make his move. Immediately, five sword lights shot into the sky.
"The cicadas are singing!"
Jiang Liu murmured, and a sword light slashed down towards a hungry ghost spirit. The sword light flashed, and the sound was like the chirping of cicadas.
"puff!"
A spurt of black blood shot out, and the hungry ghost demon immediately let out a shrill scream, a horrific wound appearing on its neck. The spurting blood was like thick ink, pitch black and putrid. Wounded by this, the hungry ghost demon flailed wildly, grabbing anything it could get its hands on—dirt, weapons, flesh—and stuffing it into its mouth, chewing and devouring it greedily.
"Such strong defense, not much weaker than the Golden Armored Corpse King! Hmm... the flying sword has been corrupted by evil spirits!"
Jiang Liu flicked his finger, summoning the "Cicada Sword" back, and then chanted, "Azure Ox!"
A beam of blue light swept across the area, circled the neck of the hungry ghost, and then a hideous head shot into the sky. The head paused for a moment before crashing to the ground.
Xie Chou stared in utter shock, his eyes wide, while Bai Lu looked at him with curiosity, both of them filled with a million questions. They had known each other for some time, but they had never seen Jiang Liu use such sword techniques before. Not only had they never used them, but they had never seen him cultivate them.
"It's him?" Li Jian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although the army could definitely wipe out these monsters, there would certainly be some losses. Now that someone could kill the enemy with just two sword strikes, he was naturally secretly delighted.
The red-clad Grand Priest stared intently at the remaining sword light, then summoned a fire to incinerate the corpse, preventing it from releasing more demons to harm the enemy.
The two sword lights fell back, and Jiang Liu caught them with his hand, but frowned. There were specks of black blood on the blades, the blood of the hungry ghost spirit.
"Are even the blood of beings in the hungry ghost realm so tainted?"
With a flick of his wrist, Jiang Liu frowned. The black bloodstains remained, seeping into the sword's body. It would need to be refined again before it could be used.
"That's enough!"
The sword light that had been suspended in mid-air returned to its sheath with a "whoosh," and a bronze halberd appeared in Jiang Liu's hand.