The Nascent Soul cultivators guarding the city were no slouches either, certainly not allowing a Ghost Cultivator to rampage outside the Immortal City with impunity.
Under the loud shouts of the leading Nascent Soul elder, seven or eight rather indignant cultivators in the early or mid-Nascent Soul stages immediately flew out from the city, tossing out their respective Dharma artifacts to attack and deal with the Ghost Lord. Most of their cultivation levels were several tiers below the Ghost Lord's, so while they were ganging up, it wasn't exactly bullying.
Many Nascent Soul cultivators did not attack, either because they were wary of the Immortal Alliance's prohibitions or because they considered their status too high to participate in a siege.
"Fellow Daoists, let us join forces and slay this Ghost Cultivator!"
"How dare it show such contempt for the cultivators of Black Sand City! Give it a taste of our strength! Let it know this is the territory of the Heavenly Dao Alliance's Southeast Sovereign, not a place where a mere Ghost Cultivator can act so presumptuously!"
The cohort of Nascent Soul cultivators attacked together, dozens of Spirit Artifacts and Minor Divine Ability Artifacts dazzling the sky, instantly exuding an intimidating aura.
The Golden Core guards at the city gate, along with hundreds of cultivators who had rushed over to watch, immediately grew excited, cheering and roaring. If the clashes between Nascent Soul cultivators hadn't been so ferocious, many Golden Core cultivators might have charged forward to pick up scraps.
"This Lord intended no harm to any of you, yet you dare provoke this Lord—seeking death!"
The Ghost Lord roared with laughter, utterly enraged, seeing seven or eight Nascent Soul cultivators besieging it.
It suddenly extended its blackened ghostly claws, upon which bloomed wisps of dark Nether Flames, and slammed them toward the attacking Nascent Soul cultivators. The Nether Flames moved with incredible speed, vanishing in a flash as they shot toward the cultivators.
This first move was meant to be fatal.
The Ghost Lord knew clearly that as a lone Ghost Cultivator, resisting the cultivators of an entire Immortal City was impossible. It needed to establish dominance swiftly, to shock the assembled cultivators in one blow, ensuring they dared not act rashly. For this purpose, it didn't mind wasting a few wisps of Nether Flame.
The surrounding Nascent Soul cultivators, unaware of the Nether Flame’s true power, took it for ordinary ghostly fire and used their protective shields and Dharma artifacts to resist. But they couldn't hold it back; once the Nether Flame made contact, it spread and burned with destructive force.
"Ah, this is bad!"
"Dodge this fire quickly—don't let it touch you!"
Instantly, the protective shields of several Nascent Soul cultivators were burned through, and the Nether Flame touched their flesh, instantly consuming them entirely, eliciting several piercing, agonizing screams!
Under the gaze of all present, several Nascent Soul cultivators were immediately engulfed by the Nether Flame, their nascent spirits and physical bodies simultaneously incinerated to ash.
In the blink of an eye, the aggressive assault launched by the seven or eight early-to-mid Nascent Soul cultivators had dissolved and reversed before they could even exert their full power. The few who barely survived fled in near despair, scrambling desperately back toward the Immortal City, only wishing to preserve their lives.
The guards at the Immortal City entrance, along with the numerous observing Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators, fell into a deathly silence, all cheering and clamor gone. They stared in horror at the shocking scene, their eyes filled with dread and panic.
To instantly kill five or six Nascent Soul cultivators, with only two or three who participated in the siege managing to escape alive—what terrifying strength was required to achieve such a feat!
They had initially assumed that a group of Nascent Soul cultivators rushing forward could easily deal with one Ghost Cultivator. They never expected such a crushing defeat at the first encounter, resulting in the death of so many Nascent Soul cultivators!
"Which lineage does this Ghost Cultivator belong to? How can they be so powerful!"
"Daoist Wang, what do you think should be done about this?!"
By this time, dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators had appeared atop the city wall.
Among them were several late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators of considerable power, but upon seeing how formidable this Ghost Cultivator was, none were willing to step forward.
"Fighting demonic cultivators, I might earn some merit and climb the Nascent Soul Demon Slaying List. But what do we gain by fighting a Ghost Cultivator, besides draining our own strength? The Immortal Alliance won't offer any rewards for it!"
"Exactly! Even if we managed to kill this Ghost Cultivator at great cost and seize a Ghost Artifact, we can't even use a Ghost Artifact!"
"We should quickly report this to the Sect Master and let him decide how to handle it! We cultivators here are likely no match for this Ghost Cultivator!"
"We only need to prevent it from entering the city. If it wishes to linger outside the city, then let it linger!"
Cultivators gathered increasingly at the Immortal City gate, discussing in hushed tones. However, the terrifying scene they had just witnessed silently deterred them; not a single one dared to advance further.
The Ghost Lord remained standing calmly outside the city gate, as if its earlier actions were trivial.
Its divine sense swept across the Immortal City wantonly, meticulously searching every street sector, every residence, hunting for any trace of Ye Qin, any residual spiritual aura. The auras of the tens of thousands of cultivators inside the city were incredibly chaotic, requiring careful searching to find any clue.
It paid no mind to the Nascent Soul cultivators here; it only wished to find Ye Qin quickly and retrieve the Ice Lotus Seed that Ye Qin had snatched from it.
Anxiety gnawed at it.
There wasn't much time left; perhaps one or two years, perhaps three or five, before its life limit arrived.
Time was dwindling, and the urge to reclaim the Ice Lotus Seed, forge a Soul Transformation stage Ghost Artifact, and break through to the Soul Transformation realm grew increasingly urgent.
It didn't mind killing a few troublesome Nascent Soul cultivators—killing one or killing a crowd made little difference. Since its lifespan was ending anyway, what did it matter if it antagonized the most powerful cultivation force in the East Sea Immortal Realm, the Heavenly Dao Alliance!
...
"Hey, did you hear? A Ghost Cultivator appeared outside the East City Gate and publicly killed several Nascent Soul guards. Everyone else is so scared they dare not even breathe loudly, let alone seek revenge!"
"What? Such an absurd thing happened?!"
"Is there any falsehood in that! At least several hundred people witnessed that scene. Rumor has it that the Ghost Cultivator’s strength probably surpasses even our Heavenly Dao Alliance's Southeast Sovereign!"
The news of a powerful Ghost Cultivator appearing outside the city and instantly killing several Nascent Soul cultivators spread rapidly throughout the entire Black Sand Immortal City.
Such news was too shocking and unbelievable.
"That Ghost Cultivator is still at the city gate. Let's go take a look!"
"Aren't you afraid of death!"
"Afraid of what? There are so many Nascent Soul Ancestors at the East Gate now. If anyone is going to die, it won't be us mere Golden Core cultivators! Let's go see where such a fearsome Ghost Cultivator came from!"
The cultivators within the city clearly became stirred up, and many Nascent Soul cultivators hurried toward the city gate to assess the situation. A large number of Golden Core cultivators also rushed to watch the spectacle.
Ye Qin was casually strolling down a street, hoping to find some demonic spirits from the Demonic Cultivators, when he heard the excited discussions among the street cultivators about this astonishing news, causing his expression to freeze in shock.
He had been in seclusion in Black Sand City for a month; why hadn't the Ghost Lord left yet? Had it pursued him all the way to Black Sand City!?
As Ye Qin was momentarily stunned, he suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body, his hair standing on end.
A powerful divine sense swept over him, locking onto his position.
Ye Qin instantly recognized it: it was the Ghost Lord's divine sense.
Immediately, a cold, eerie, and emotionless voice boomed from the direction of the East City Gate, echoing throughout the entire Immortal City.
"Boy surnamed Ye, come out to this Lord! This Lord knows you are inside the city. If you do not emerge, this Lord will only enter the city and slaughter!"
"Hand over that item, and this Lord can spare your life!"
That grim, muffled voice reverberated through the city.
Ye Qin shook his head helplessly. "Truly a persistent spirit!" he thought, yet he also felt a measure of respect—for the Ghost Lord to be so powerful and yet openly defy the tens of thousands of cultivators of Black Sand City, daring to threaten an invasion.
He certainly would not go out, nor would he ever hand over the Ice Lotus Seed. There was only one seed, and he planned to use it later to refine a Soul Transformation stage Dharma Artifact for Bing'er to survive the impending tribulation.
Ye Qin didn't believe the Ghost Lord truly dared to attack the city.
As long as he remained inside and the Ghost Lord stayed outside, it could do nothing to him.
He intended to refine his sword here and collect a batch of Demonic Cultivator spirits. Furthermore, he was already a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator and could rapidly advance to the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage in a short period. Once he reached the peak of Nascent Soul, holding the Eight Trigrams Sword Array, the Ghost Lord would no longer be a threat to him.
Moreover, Black Sand City housed several teleportation arrays. If he decided he no longer wished to stay in this city, he could instantly teleport to another Immortal City. Would the Ghost Lord chase him from one Immortal City to the next? That would be absolutely impossible, even for the Ghost Lord.
Since the Ghost Lord was guarding the city gates, Ye Qin decided to let it guard them.
The Ghost Lord’s voice echoed hollowly through the city several times, but Ye Qin remained stubbornly unresponsive.
The numerous Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators in the city finally understood the Ghost Lord's threat: this ridiculously powerful Ghost Cultivator had tracked a cultivator surnamed Ye here, demanding he hand over some item.
Receiving no reply, the Ghost Lord’s voice finally fell silent.
After a while, seeing that nothing was happening, many cultivators assumed it was about to leave.
Suddenly, the ghostly mist surrounding the Ghost Lord exploded, and an eerie, ghostly aura surged madly. Its spiritual pressure, at the peak of late Nascent Soul, climbed relentlessly, and the massive cloud of ghost mist coalesced into a sharp, black current, charging into Black Sand City.
Within the ghost mist, a streak of black flame swept aside everything in its path, utterly unstoppable.
The towering ghostly aura pointed directly toward the street where Ye Qin was located.
"Ah! This is bad, the Ghost Cultivator has broken in!"
"The Ghost Cultivator is slaughtering the city! Run for your lives!"
"Quick, stop it from entering the city!"
"Kill! The Southeast Sovereign of the Heavenly Dao Alliance has decreed that all Nascent Soul cultivators must immediately kill this Ghost Cultivator! Kill it, and don't let it cause chaos within the Immortal City!"
The East City Gate area instantly descended into chaos.
Black Sand City’s protective shield had not been activated, and the guarding Nascent Soul cultivators would never open it just because of one Ghost Cultivator. In an instant, they were overrun by the vast ghost mist accompanying the Ghost Cultivator.
They never imagined the Ghost Cultivator would genuinely dare to assault the Immortal City with its single entity and massacre the cultivators within.
The defending Nascent Soul cultivators inside the city were thoroughly enraged and rushed toward the mass of ghost mist to attack. Now that the Ghost Lord had breached the city, even if they were reluctant, they had no choice but to act. Otherwise, if important parts of the Immortal City were destroyed, they would face severe punishment from the Immortal Alliance.
Innumerable watching Golden Core cultivators fled the range of the ghost mist, crying out in alarm, fleeing for their lives. Where the ghost mist current passed, large numbers of low-level Golden Core cultivators instantly withered into mere skeletons, piling up in heaps, still emitting black smoke.
Ye Qin, seeing the surging ghostly energy and hearing the clamor of battle from the direction of the East City Gate from afar, felt his expression fluctuate wildly.
Astonishment, disbelief, and fury warred within him.
It was actually slaughtering the city!
He suppressed his rage and quickly moved toward other streets within Black Sand City, attempting to evade the Ghost Lord's sharp focus. The city’s dozens of major districts provided ample space to evade the Ghost Lord's pursuit. His current strength was utterly insufficient to stop the Ghost Lord from ravaging the city; going in would only be sending himself to his death.