Chapter 452: A Chinese Ghost Story: Yan Chixia
"Courting death!"
Ning Laoye didn't take the Hellfire Demon Lord summoned by Akainu seriously at all.
The churning sea of roots would devour it soon enough—any struggle was meaningless.
What he hadn't expected,
Was that these fools he had tricked would dare to approach him of their own accord.
It was nothing short of provocation.
Demonic Vine Sea!
With a low growl from Ning Laoye,
The root sea turned crimson. Barbed thorns sprouted from the surface of each vine, and a red mist of blood began to seep out.
The Hellfire Demon Lord, which had previously been able to resist the vines, could no longer move. Even with Akainu's constant support, it was being visibly devoured.
"Radiant Mirror!"
Kizaru spread his arms. A radiant, golden circular mirror materialized in his embrace.
Pfft pfft pfft.
Countless radiant spears shot out like embroidery needles, pelting toward Ning Laoye.
The nine-headed ghost leapt in front of him, summoning her blood mirror, which devoured and reflected every radiant spear.
"Hmph. Just the death throes of the doomed."
Ning Laoye sneered. His face was more wrinkled and hideous than ever.
Demonic Vine Sea – Whip!
Thick roots slammed down like tentacles from some deep-sea monstrosity.
Garp reacted, leaping high into the air...
He twisted mid-air, positioning himself at the center of the falling roots—and swung his fist.
Boom!
The crashing roots exploded skyward. Splintered vine flesh and sap rained down like a storm.
Garp fell hard toward the vine sea. Just as he felt the looming maw of the meat grinder behind him, Smoker's flame-poison dragon wrapped around him and pulled him back atop the Hellfire Demon Lord.
"Die!"
The nine-headed ghost's alluring face twisted into venomous rage.
She rotated the blood mirror to face the demon lord, and the absorbed radiant spears shot out like quills toward the Navy team.
"You idiots. Did you forget what the blood mirror does? You still dare attack my master..."
She smiled obsequiously, like a dog begging for praise.
But before she could finish—
"You think I'd forget the mirror's ability? What a pity... you've all fallen into our trap."
The radiant spears launched from the mirror never reached the demon lord.
Instead, Kizaru's form materialized right beside Ning Laoye and the ghost, radiant spear in hand, lunging to kill.
"Light? But it's not hot..."
Ning raised his hand. Two vine-like limbs, tough as iron, crossed over one another to form a massive vine shield.
Feeling the force from Kizaru's strike, Ning snorted. "A clone?"
Under normal circumstances,
Beings like him and the ghost feared sunlight most.
Originally, he had regarded Kizaru as the greatest threat—but now realized that Kizaru's light lacked the intense yang energy of real sunlight.
It was no different than the glow of a candle or lantern.
As such,
He had nothing to fear. Especially since this was only a clone.
Glancing over, he saw Kizaru's true body still standing atop the demon lord.
He dismissed the shield and summoned two more vines to crush the clone.
"Radiant Burn!"
The clone dropped low, spinning his spear in an arc, shredding the incoming vines.
But moments later, the spear was shattered, and a thin vine pierced through his stomach, hanging him like a flag.
The clone exploded into specks of light.
But he smiled before vanishing. "Didn't I say? You've been tricked."
From beginning to end, the clone had distracted them, and on Ning's blind side—
A dark necrotic sigil had been placed on the back of his neck.
When the clone exploded, it released dense black smoke.
"Ning Laoye, going back on your word isn't a good look."
From atop the demon lord, Orochimaru collapsed—his body turning into a slithering necrotic serpent.
His true body surged out from the sigil on Ning's neck.
His neck stretched like rubber, then swelled and grew into a sky-blackening serpent.
Netherworld Death Serpent.
Its lantern-sized pupils glowed with deathly aura. Its massive tail lashed out and coiled around Ning Laoye and the burnt peach tree.
Black necrotic flame surged skyward like deep-sea cold fire.
Necrotic Curse Corrosion.
"AAARGH!"
Ning screamed, writhing, but couldn't escape. The curse sank into his very bones.
His flesh and skeleton turned black in seconds.
The necrotic energy was so potent that in just two seconds, his body dissolved into black liquid—leaving only the enchanted face skin.
"No... Stop! I'll help you! I'll fight the Tree Demon Matriarch with you—I mean it this time, really—!"
The bloody face skin trembled, desperately resisting the curse.
It changed expressions rapidly—pleading, sincere, afraid.
He had been trapped in this dimension by the Matriarch.
He had waited so long for someone to break the seal, and now, with his face about to be destroyed, she would reinforce it—and everything would return to square one.
He'd be caged again.
"You're crying to the wrong person."
The serpent's eyes were cold and merciless—Orochimaru had no interest in mercy or alliances.
The black serpent's head dipped low—
And bit down, tearing the face skin to shreds.
The raging vine sea stopped instantly.
Then, like a tide retreating, it flowed back underground.
"NO!"
The nine-headed ghost was stunned. Then terrified.
She whispered, "Master..."
She knew—once Ning's face was gone, the five would kill her next.
She fled toward Guobei County.
Snap!
The serpent flicked its head—
And devoured her whole.
Necrotic fire consumed her, purifying her into pure yin energy.
"To think we were fooled by that ghost's little performance."
Akainu was exhausted, his Hellfire energy depleted.
He sat on the ruined ground, pale, face twisted in frustration.
Ding.
A bronze key with rings clattered to the ground—it was loot from the dead ghost.
[Key to the Underground Prison]: Unlocks a certain jail beneath Lanruo Temple.
Smoker released his detection mist and found a hidden path beneath the shattered peach tree.
Creak.
He uncovered a trapdoor buried beneath leaves and dust, revealing a staircase into darkness.
The five descended.
The stone walls were damp and narrow. The pitch-black space was suffocating.
Akainu managed to summon a small Flame Demon to light the way.
At the end was a rust-covered iron cell.
Inside was a tightly wrapped cocoon, hanging in the center of the cell.
The surface was covered in densely packed talismans inked in blood-red glyphs—a powerful sealing spell.
Orochimaru inserted the bronze key.
The rust fell away, and the cell door creaked open.
A system message appeared—describing the cocoon.
[Yan Chixia (Sealed)]: A wandering Taoist swordsman of righteousness. Severely weakened. Consequences of freeing him are unknown.
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