Ji Yuan was naturally extremely disgusted by the uproar around him. However, he knew that he really couldn’t get rid of so many ghosts and monsters at once, particularly in such a stronghold of ghosts and evil spirits like the Endless Ghost City. But this didn’t mean that Ji Yuan was afraid. In fact, he knew very well that no one, not even Xin Wuya, the City Lord of the Endless Ghost City, could withstand the full power of the Green Vine Sword. There was no way for him to overwhelmingly control the whole situation, so he would have to make an example of them, to give a warning to the ghosts and demons.1 Ji Yuan had reason to believe that most of the crowd were weaklings,2 and that those few powerful ghosts and monsters were only looking out for themselves. At least, not many would give their lives for Xin Wuya. As long as he could dispatch Xin Wuya cleanly with a single strike, the vast majority of these troublemakers would most likely not dare to cause any major disturbances. Even if some refused to obey, he also had a readied lightning control technique. However, Ji Yuan narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings, observing the ghostly aura permeating the city. Without Xin Wuya’s restraint, as the City Lord of the Endless Ghost City, the countless ancient ghosts within might not remain there peacefully. “Hahahahaha…Gao Tianming, although you may be the black dragon of Tianshui Lake, this is still the Endless Ghost City, after all, and only City Lord Xin has the final say!” “Hehehehe… The guest should follow the wishes of the host. Even if the City Lord changes the banquet now, Master Gao wouldn’t have any objections, right?” Endless laughter and ridicule filled the air. Gao Tianming’s silence was taken as a sign of weakness, emboldening the demons and evil spirits even further. Under these circumstances, even the more powerful ghosts and monsters nearby began to take the current situation a bit more seriously. As the center of the dispute, Ji Yuan, Gao Tianming, and the others naturally attracted the most attention, even City Lord Xin Wuya, who still had yet to react, was watching them. Xin Wuya suddenly noticed that, aside from the four rescued mortals huddled together and trembling, Gao Tianming, Niu Batian, and the others simply looked around with a cold gaze, showing no trace of anger at all, even boasting sneers tinged with sarcasm. Ji Yuan, on the other hand, completely ignored everyone around him, simply staring at him, the City Lord. His pale eyes were devoid of emotion — or perhaps seemed to absorb any thoughts or feelings. For some reason, Xin Wuya felt a strange sense of intimidation at the sight of thoat pair of eyes. They were too peaceful, without any traces of fear, regardless of whether he was bluffing. Ji Yuan looked at Xin Wuya for a while, then shook out his sleeves and stood up slowly. “City Lord Xin, I can hardly be considered a guest if I came here uninvited, but I still wish to ask: is this corrupt and filthy atmosphere truly what the City Lord desires?” Ji Yuan’s words were filled with the sound of an Edict. His voice was still calm and quiet, yet it could be heard by every ghost, monster, and creature present. Although the sound was not loud at all, it instantly drowned out the laughter and mocking voices in the venue, bringing the hall to an eerie silence. Everyone’s eyes lingered on Ji Yuan and the City Lord. Seeing that Xin Wuya narrowed his eyes and was about to speak, Ji Yuan raised a hand to stop him, then opened his eyes a little wider and spoke again lightly. “I hope the City Lord will speak carefully, and not be provoked to rash decisions. Do not speak out of anger, as anything you say I will take seriously.” As Ji Yuan spoke, the slight ringing sound faded from the ears of Niu Batian, Gao Tianming, and his wife, but this disappearance brought more chills to their bodies. The Old Bull, Gao Tianming, and the others all exchanged glances, seemingly able to sense something in each other’s eyes. High in the sky, the Green Vine Sword continued to rise up to the clouds. A faint symbol, gleaming with a wisp of lightning, emerged from the Green Vine Sword and ascended into the dark cloudy sky. Bzzzt…Bzzzt… The most update n0vels are published on 𝗻𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗹•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥 The entire dark cloud stretched for tens of li. Originally formed through Yin Qi, it now shimmered with faint flashes of lightning. A mantra composed of golden light flickered within the clouds. If someone were to soar above the clouds at this moment and can see the talisman amidst the fog, they would have seen four characters within the golden light: “Exorcise and Bind Evil.” Ji Yuan’s lightning control was quite poor, practically the worst of his techniques, but it was nonetheless quite powerful. This thunder talisman had been nurtured by the previous mysterious yellow Qi, and had absorbed nearly all the water and thunder essence that the Black Dragon Mo had dispersed before his death. After having used it only briefly to dispel the curse from the Black Dragon, Ji Yuan had nurtured it every since. Thunder was the most potent technique against Yin creatures and evil. With enough time, Ji Yuan could wait for the thunder talisman to assimilate with the entire cloud. If it dissipated in an instant and transformed into a thunder technique, the force released would unleash a devastating thunderstorm. As a flood dragon, Gao Tianming was extremely sensitive to the aura of water and thunder. At this moment, besides the sharp, cold feeling he had previously sensed, he now noticed that his hair had begun to flutter lightly, and a tingling sensation rose within his spirit. He suddenly raised his head and looked at the sky. Although it was still overcast, and the Yin energy still permeated the atmosphere, it seemed as though above the clouds a surge of thunder, a radiant transformation of Yin into Yang, was raging. ‘Who is wielding thunder energy? Such a terrifying and subtle pressure…Mr. Ji! ‘ Gao Tianming gulped hard, feeling out of breath. Coincidentally, his wife also happened to be looking at him with an inexplicable expression. He nodded slightly, and spoke to Xia Qiu with silent transmission. “Old Ghost Wuya, it’s time for you to make a life-or-death decision!” Xin Wuya really wanted to sneer at first, but Ji Yuan’s last words inexplicably gave him a sense of alarm. He glanced at Gao Tianming and Niu Batian, and suddenly noticed that the two of them were acting strange. Gao Tianming had lost his previous aggressive demeanor, and his expression was now tinged with fear and horror, though he quickly regained his composure. However, there was no way that this old flood dragon could be afraid of the surrounding ghosts and demons. Similiarly, Niu Batian, with his simple and honest appearance, had his gaze darting all around, revealing a hint of mockery and gloating. This kind of micro-expression expressed a kind of desire to watch a good show, but that the people around him were the spotlight. Surely, they weren’t the ones putting on a show, were they? The sheer intensity of the odd actions made Xin Wuya uneasy. He restrained his ghostly aura somewhat. Instead of directly answering Ji Yuan’s question, he instead gazed out at the surrounding ghosts and demons. “My Endless Ghost City has never been fond of so-called living sacrifices. Besides, the presence of so many ghosts and gods among the guests is a sign of respect and honor for this City Lord. If you find the food in my Endless Ghost City is not to your liking, you may enjoy your own once you leave the city.” With this, Xin Wuya suddenly turned to look at Ji Yuan again, his eyes glinting. A chilling ghostly aura erupted, obscuring half of the sky above the palace courtyard. A cold wind swept through the space, freezing and frosting over some of the soups and dishes on the nearby tables. Xin Wuya’s voice, now filled with ghostly echoed, sounded in waves. “However, should I consider the Immortal’s words just now a threat to me? There are ghosts, demons, gods, and monsters at this banquet. Judging from the sound of the Tao just now, you are the only one here who cultivates immortality. I would like to ask you: if I, Xin Wuya, truly did not see the bigger picture, or if I simply wished to harm you, Immortal, what means would you have to resist?” But Ji Yuan only really cared about his previous statement. Hearing Xin Wuya’s words, he felt a little relieved. It seemed that conflict could be avoided, and that he could conserve his thunder technique. “It’s no wonder City Lord Xin can invite many ghosts and gods to congratulate him. The Endless Ghost City truly has its own way of dealing with things. If my words just now offended you, I hope the City Lord can forgive me!” Ji Yuan didn’t even respond to the implicit threat, nor did he intend to answer Xin Wuya’s subsequent questions. After he bowed with cupped hands and resumed his seat. Simultaneously, he glanced at Niu Batian and Gao Tianming with a warning look, hoping to prevent them from causing any more trouble. The Old Bull and Gao Tianming’s hearts trembled suddenly, especially the latter, who was still in shock. Thinking back just now, I felt that his behavior had simply been provocative, hoping that the other party would anger Mr. Ji, a combination of complacent and gloating. This was clearly not appreciated by Mr. Ji. Faced with Ji Yuan’s response, Xin Wuya felt as though he had punched into empty space. Nearby, a ghost general with a sinister look in his eyes approached him, leaning in and muttering. Gao Tianming glanced at Mr. Ji and, with a sudden thought, he hurriedly kept his gaze down while speaking to Xin Wuya via mental transmission. “Old Ghost Wuya, stop while you’re ahead!” Xin Wuya had been listening to the ghost general’s words when Gao Tianming’s voice suddenly came to his ears. He was slightly taken aback. He looked at Gao Tianming, but found that the other party was just sitting there, staring at the table, not facing him. “Don’t look. It’s me, Old Gao. Old Ghost Wuya, I’m reminding you, you have already escaped with your life, don’t be ungrateful. I’m not threatening you. It’s just that I got carried away just now, and Mr. Ji was displeased. So let me remind you again Mr. Ji is not someone you can afford to offend. The clouds overhead are already surging with thunder. The Endless Ghost City could collapse at any moment. That’s all I can say. It is up to you whether you believe me or not!” Gao Tianming didn’t even lift his face throughout the entire transmission, but it had a profound impact on Xin Wuya’s judgment. After squinting at the table, he glanced at the sky from the corner of his eye. He couldn’t see what was happening in the clouds, but he nimbly transformed his own ghost energy into a line, rapidly extending it from his head upwards. After just a few breaths… Xin Wuya’s body went slightly numb, and his heart stuttered. He turned to look at the ghost general who had been spouting insults at Ji Yuan and the others. “City Lord, we are so far away from Tianshui Lake, and that immortal cultivator…” As soon as Xin Wuya revealed his palpable fury, the ghost general didn’t dare to say anything more and hurriedly retreated to the side. “As expected of a brilliant Immortal Cultivator, you are truly magnanimous. Mr. Ji as an Immortal Cultivator has honored us by attending this ceremony, and I am not one to disregard the situation. Let us simply treat previous events as a misunderstanding!” WIth this, Xin Wuya returned to normal, brushign aside the previous incident, and invited the guests to resume the feast. No one, neither host nor guests, disrupted the atmosphere. The music of the suona and zither resumed. After a brief moment of tension, the whole celebration banquet quickly returned to the previous lively and bustling atmosphere. Rather than a celebration, it was more apt to say that it was an announcement of the City Lord of the Endless Ghost City’s remarkable advancement in cultivation, and as such a demonstration of the Endless Ghost City’s influence on all surrounding ghosts, monsters, and gods. During this period, some interesting developments occurred. Most of the evil spirits ignored Gao Tianming’s general location, and aside from some friendly monsters who had a good relationship with Tianshui Lake who came to pay him a visit, most monsters at least pretended to distance themselves from him. However, many ghosts and gods came to toast Gao Tianming. The fervor of the banquet did not subside until after the Yin hour,3 when Ji Yuan and his group departed. The convoy from Tianshui Lake did not stay overnight either. After the banquet, they passed through the bustling streets of the Endless Ghost City, before exiting through the city gates as soon as the banquet had ended. Outside, the bustle of the Endless Ghost City gradually subsided, growing increasingly further away before fading completely. Yan Fei and the other four mortals in the group breathed a sigh of relief. It was clearly much warmer out here than in the city. At this point, Niu Batian finally couldn’t hold back his words. “Mr. Ji, are you just going to leave this ghost city alone?” “Oh? What do you think I should do?” “With your supernatural powers, I don’t believe it’s outside of your power to wipe out the ghost city entirely!” Niu Batian hesitated before speaking. Gao Tianming and his wife were also listening nearby. Ji Yuan just smiled and shook his head. He did indeed have that ability, but he would feel a little distressed for some time; it would be best if he could avoid it. Gao Tianming hearing those words, he thought to himself: ‘Perhaps it was indeed almost wiped out…’ Before Ji Yuan could reply, Lady Gao, Xia Qiu, said thoughtfully. “Uncle Niu does not appreciate Mr. Ji’s painstaking efforts. While destroying the Endless Ghost City might not be a difficult undertaking for Mr. Ji, there are countless evil spirits in the city, and it is not certain that they would all be eradicated. Once the Endless Ghost City is destroyed, there would be one less place to contain and restrain evil spirits. The country of Zuyue and the northern lands are all in chaos, a breeding ground of evil spirits. In the future, there will be wars and chaos under the sun in the Yang world, and evil spirits rising in the nighttime Yin world. With the rise of corrupt officials and bandits, the power of the gods will be weakened, and the world will suffer desolation!” “Wife, you are absolutely right. I, Gao, also came to this realization at the banquet. Brother Niu, do you understand now?” Gao Tianming gave Xia Qiu an approving look, while patting Niu Batian on the shoulder, speaking in an earnest tone. Ji Yuan looked at Xia Qiu and nodded. “Lady Gao is quite insightful. Additionally, City Lord Xin is can be regarded as a great talent among ghost cultivators.” As Ji Yuan spoke, he gazed toward the road ahead. Ghostly figures appeared there one after another, Xin Wuya standing prominently among them. Beside him stood a ghostly deity in a blue robe and a tall hairpin crown. Seeing the convoy approaching, the ghost deity was the first to bow and greet them. “The City God of Queliu City, Taoist Yue Jing, greets Mr. Ji!