Chapter 0: The Demon Star and the Evil Ghost
The Egu Remnant Soul’s face was as dark as water. “What did I say to you? What’s wrong with calling you a ‘Little Demon’? Ridiculous. Are you really looking for an excuse to fight me, young man?”
“Wasting words is useless,” Li Xiaogou sighed helplessly. If this person were to call someone ‘Ancestor’ right now, it might still be salvageable.
Qin Gou stared intently at the Egu Remnant Soul. “This is your last chance. Stop the spirit arts immediately and let everyone inside the maze leave the secret realm.”
Upon hearing this, the Egu Remnant Soul looked Qin Gou up and down and said in disbelief, “You kid, you actually plan to protect those people in the maze?”
“Nonsense. The moment Qin stepped into this secret realm, I had but one mission: to protect the safety of others as much as possible. This idea has never changed from beginning to end!” Qin Gou stared with fierce eyebrows, his chest full of righteousness and his body upright.
“Do you think I’m blind?” The Egu Remnant Soul’s face was full of strangeness. He couldn’t help but remark, “However, this habit of breaking promises and being moody is indeed the act of an Innate Bad Seed!”
“You’re dead.”
“Stop!”
The Egu Remnant Soul suddenly stood up and shouted sternly, “If you dare to make the slightest move, with a single thought, I can ensure all the ants in the maze die without a whole corpse!” Of course, he was just bluffing; he had already expended too much Remnant Soul Power earlier to allow everyone to easily find Qin Gou’s location.
“You can’t do jack!” Qin Gou said with a look of disdain. “You’re already so weak, yet you’re still babbling? The so-called taking their lives must be due to some formation or mechanism preset within the maze, not something you’d do yourself. Otherwise, why aren’t you attacking me directly right now?”
The Egu Remnant Soul did not panic. He smiled wickedly and said, “Have you forgotten? The Guijou Talismans that you personally returned to their rightful owners earlier! Those are my reliance. Each talisman is connected to my mind; I can activate them with a single thought! Otherwise, why would I have gone to so much trouble before?”
“Moreover, you three also have them. If it weren’t for you barging in here by mistake, and me worrying about harming myself, how would I allow you to be so presumptuous!”
At this, Qin Gou’s expression changed slightly, and he suddenly fell silent, not knowing what he was thinking.
The Egu Remnant Soul immediately looked smug and grinned sinisterly, “What? Weren’t you going to attack me? Where’s your might now? You can try it.”
Qin Gou gritted his teeth. “You despicable scoundrel, you’re actually threatening me with so many living lives? Damn demon!”
“So what? My success comes from the bones of countless others. I advise you, young man, to behave yourself now. If you dare to act out again, I will directly detonate the three Guijou Talismans you have, and we’ll perish together.” The Egu Remnant Soul laughed wildly, his threat unmistakable.
Qin Gou’s face turned as pale as paper, his eyes dim and defeated. “Senior! I’ll tell you the truth, the reason I’m causing this chaos is because there are people I cherish within the maze. Moreover, I really can’t understand why you would set up such a trap? Is it just to drag more people down with you?”
“Or do you want to rely on the lives of others and a large amount of resentment to transform into a Ghost Cultivator? No, many unwilling to fall have tried this before, but successfully transforming into a Ghost Cultivator is already difficult, and the probability of precisely transforming oneself into a Ghost Cultivator is even more remote. Records show no one has ever succeeded. It’s better to hope that after reincarnation, you get lucky and unlock the mystery of the womb.”
“That’s why I praise your intelligence!”
“What?”
The Egu Remnant Soul was extremely proud. “I am determined to obtain the body of a Ghost Cultivator! Moreover, I am different from those fools who failed to transform before. That small Guijou Talisman on you took me hundreds of years to craft! Once the person wearing it dies, the Guijou Talisman will immediately invade their soul with ghost energy. About eighty percent of them will turn into vengeful spirits, and then a unique curse will be branded onto them, ultimately forcibly gathering a large amount of resentment to nourish only me!”
“Even so, the number of living beings sacrificed will be enormous.”
“The number of people in the maze is more than enough.”
“Bang!”
Qin Gou suddenly pulled out a Guijou Talisman from his bosom and tossed it aside.
Li Yuanzhen and Qiu Lingyun followed suit.
The Egu Remnant Soul’s expression remained unchanged. “Throw it. The three of you are no longer within my considerations.”
However, Qin Gou then suddenly took out the Ban Qin Saber and handed it to Li Yuanzhen. “You and Little Ball, immediately spread this matter… first find Xiao Yan, A’, and Ban Wei!”
Li Yuanzhen didn’t ask too many questions. She immediately took the Ban Qin Saber, pulled Qiu Lingyun’s small hand, and left without hesitation.
“You!”
The Egu Remnant Soul exploded with rage. “Are you intentionally forcing me to activate the Guijou Talismans immediately, causing the people in the maze and your subordinates to die without a burial place?”
“Yes.” Qin Gou smirked, all previous dejection vanishing.
“Wh-what?” The Egu Remnant Soul was utterly astonished. Was this person a madman?
Immediately after, Qin Gou reached into his bosom, and amidst the Egu Remnant Soul’s disbelieving roars, he pulled out a second Guijou Talisman, a third, a fourth… He directly unbound his ‘Azure Emperor Robe,’ which had the effect of illusory appearance, and shook it. Dozens of Guijou Talismans, inside and out, not one less.
“Connected to my mind? A single thought?” Qin Gou smiled and said, “The moment I walked into this dark room, I knew you could no longer control these Guijou Tokens. Otherwise, how would you not know that I never returned any of them?”
“This is impossible! How would those disciples who don’t know the truth allow you to monopolize them?” The Egu Remnant Soul’s face suddenly paled in horror, and he screamed uncontrollably.
“They thought they got what they wanted,” Qin Gou said, spreading his hands lightly.
Bud of Taihuang, Effect Two: ‘Agile Stance’. As long as the host has sufficient spiritual power, they can freely change the size, length, ‘appearance,’ and ‘quantity’ of the plant simulated by Effect One.
For a moment, the Egu Remnant Soul’s phantom flickered repeatedly, appearing extremely崩溃. “What, what is your name? Which sect are you from? Perhaps I know your elders! Immediately send a sound transmission to tell your subordinates to stop, don’t ruin my grand plan!”
“Your Excellency, please do not panic. Li Yuanzhen and Qiu Lingyun are not that fast. Furthermore, I am not necessarily here to cause trouble for Your Excellency. I can even swear to assist Your Excellency wholeheartedly in transforming into a Ghost Cultivator from now on, as long as… you immediately open the door to the secret realm’s treasury before me!” Qin Gou waved his hand, his tone amiable.
“You’re talking nonsense. Do you really think I’ll believe your lies?”
“Believe it or not, I’ll give Your Excellency thirty seconds to consider. Once the time is up, the number of people in the maze will be reduced by nearly a hundred before they even have time to be branded with the curse! At that point, even if all your preset Guijou Talismans explode later, the remaining number will not be enough for you to successfully transform into a Ghost Cultivator, and all your efforts will be in vain.” Qin Gou’s eyes hid a cunning glint.
A delicate Bud of Taihuang appeared in his palm. At the same time, the ‘Guijou Talismans’ in the bosoms of nearly a hundred disciples in the maze quietly transformed into ordinary red roses.
“Do you feel it?” Qin Gou deliberately activated the Bud of Taihuang, making the Egu Remnant Soul clearly sense the secret connection between this tiny sprout and the nearly a hundred disciples in the maze. “This is what I call a single thought, instantly deciding life and death!”
For a moment, the Egu Remnant Soul trembled all over, and his entire person collapsed back onto the throne, roaring hysterically, “You despicable scoundrel, you’re actually using these living lives to threaten me?! Damn Evil Ghost!”
