Page 1029

Not only was his robe torn, but a chunk of flesh was ripped off, leaving him instantly bloodied.

Though the injury wasn’t severe, it was still shocking—who would have thought the Ghost Face Flowers’ fangs could be so vicious?

When the Ghost Face Flower tasted the flesh of a Yuanchuang stage cultivator, imbued with abundant spiritual energy, its ferocity surged. Its ghostly eyes gleamed with malice, its blood-dripping maw gaping wide as it attacked even more fiercely.

The surrounding Ghost Face Flowers, stimulated by the scent of blood in the air, also went berserk. The hellish plants kept coming...

Wu Xiongan was instantly enraged. How dare these wretched Ghost Face Flowers treat him, a dignified Yuanchuang stage cultivator, like this? He could tolerate being bullied by Wen Qiao, that freakishly strong late-stage Yuanling realm brat—after all, she had the skills—but these things?

Just watch him smash their ghostly heads to pieces!

Wu Xiongan gripped his sword with both hands, spiritual energy flaring as he hacked at the meaty stalks connecting their heads. Meanwhile, any heads that fell to the ground but still snapped with bloody maws were swiftly pulverized with a palm strike.

Seeing this, everyone realized that even if the Ghost Face Flowers’ heads were severed from their root-like tendrils, they wouldn’t die easily and could still attack. The only solution was to destroy their heads completely.

Wen Tuti and Wu Xiongan, both cultivators at the Yuanchuang Stage, took up positions not far from the valley entrance. No matter how many ghostly heads came flying, they either smashed them with a hammer or crushed them with a palm strike.

Wen Qiao and Wu Jingping flanked them, booting any stray Ghost Face Flowers that tried to escape toward the two to be dealt with.

With their help, the ragged survivors of Human Cultivators and Ghost Cultivators finally escaped disaster, slumping to the ground, wheezing.

They bore injuries of varying degrees—some from the Ghost Face Flowers, others from other vicious creatures. Clearly, even before encountering the Ghost Face Flowers, they had endured countless battles, which was why they had been chased down so desperately earlier.

Ning Yuzhou approached and asked, “Where did you come from?”

The surviving Ghost Cultivators and Human Cultivators turned to look at him. Instantly, the Human Cultivators’ faces lit up with joy, while the Ghost Cultivators instinctively bristled.

Their reactions were understandable. Ever since the Fallen Dragon and Human Cultivators entered the Netherworld half a year ago, Ghost Cultivators had treated Human Cultivators as mere objects—capturing and trading them at will, denying them basic humanity. This had bred deep resentment among many Human Cultivators.

Numerous escaped Human Cultivators had begun ambushing Ghost Cultivators in secret, inexplicably pitting the two groups against each other as if they shared some blood feud.

These newly arrived Human Cultivators were clearly powerful—far beyond what Ghost Cultivators could handle. If they, too, harbored hatred toward Ghost Cultivators and attacked on sight…

The Human Cultivators, however, were overjoyed. No matter who these people were, in a place like the Netherworld, they were still fellow humans—far safer than Ghost Cultivators.

“We came from over there,” a female cultivator said through clenched jaws, flashing a venomous look at the Ghost Cultivators nearby. “Earlier, we were brought to this island by Ghost Cultivators, only to encounter soul beasts. After that, we got separated…”

Though she didn’t elaborate much, Ning Yuzhou quickly connected the dots.

It seemed the group of Ghost Cultivators and Human Cultivators who had gone ahead of them had faced plenty of close calls—many had been scattered, and due to the gray mist on Moonview Island, they couldn’t even contact each other.

The gray mist on Moonview Island interfered with communication tools like message talismans.

Earlier, Ning Yuzhou had tried sending a message to Ji Chengsi to ask about their whereabouts, but the talisman had been completely unresponsive.

“That valley must be the Ghost Face Flowers’ territory. They usually lie in wait inside, and if any living creatures pass by, they’ll suddenly rush out and sink their fangs into anything moving.”

“Earlier, when we passed by, they jumped us out of nowhere. Several of our companions were even dragged inside.”

“Exactly…”

The Human Cultivators chimed in all at once, their voices thick with grief as they recalled their fallen brothers-in-arms.

Ghost Face Flowers weren’t actual living creatures but carnivorous ghost plants. They lacked the aura fluctuations of living beings, letting them blend right in as harmless vegetation.

And precisely because of this, they often got the drop on folks—deadly every time.

Once he'd heard enough, Ning Yuzhou told them to stay put and recover.

The group thanked him in turn. Though unable to focus on meditating to heal, they felt far more at ease than those Ghost Cultivators.

The other Ghost Cultivators were uneasy but dared not leave rashly, nor act recklessly. After all, there were two Human Cultivators at the Yuanchuang stage present—way out of their league—so they could only obediently stay put.

Fortunately, apart from questioning them, Ning Yuzhou did nothing further, and the Ghost Cultivators quietly breathed easier.

After nearly a full day of intense fighting, the number of Ghost Face Flowers gradually dwindled.

Whether it was because the valley’s Ghost Face Flowers had nearly been wiped out or the plants had instinctively grown fearful, no more ghost heads came charging out in the end.

The ground was littered with crushed ghost heads, their mangled remains resembling human flesh, enough to turn your stomach.

Wen Tuti and the others made a quick retreat from the valley’s vicinity to rest at a distance.

This was the territory of the Ghost Face Flowers, top predators around here. As long as the Ghost Face Flowers did not attack, no other dangerous creatures would approach, allowing them to rest here temporarily.

Seeing their spiritual energy nearly depleted, Ning Yuzhou took out a pile of Spirit Restoring Pills for them to replenish their strength.

The escaped Ghost Cultivators and Human Cultivators watched enviously but kept their mouths shut.

"Chui, you’ve worked hard. Come sit here." Ning Jichen cleared a spot for his daughter-in-law to rest after the battle.

Wen Qiao smiled at him and chimed, "Thank you, Father."

Wiping her sweat, she was about to take out some sweet resin to eat when someone grasped her hand. She looked up to see her husband frowning as he summoned fresh water to wash her hands, then dried them with a plain white handkerchief.

The onlookers—both Human and Ghost Cultivators—averted their eyes; the air practically reeked of jealousy.

Only after washing her hands and feeding her a piece of sweet resin himself did Ning Yuzhou take his sweet time looking around.

Everyone and every ghost immediately looked away, not daring to meet his gaze.

For some reason, though this Human Cultivator’s cultivation wasn’t particularly high, and he appeared gentle and harmless, nobody would dream of laughing at him—like some invisible rule prevented it.