The memories of all humanity are awakening, except for mine.

Ding Gui continued.

"What's even stranger is that you didn't utter a sound when you were tied to the rack and whipped, and you didn't beg for mercy even when the branding iron was almost poking your eyeballs. That kind of composure..."

He shook his head.

"This is something that cultivators in the lower three realms cannot possess."

Jiang Chuan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled softly.

"Elder Ding is indeed insightful. Indeed, I am not an ordinary person, but my cultivation level is only at the lower three realms."

"However, I am very interested in the things in the Holy Land."

The wrinkles on Ding Gui's face smoothed out.

"The sacred ground's restrictions wavered a few days ago, and I sensed a powerful sword intent..."

He deliberately dragged out his tone.

"I heard there's a Heavenly Sword in the sinkhole?"

Jiang Chuan's heart suddenly raced, and the sound of his blood rushing through his veins almost shattered his eardrums.

He forced himself to remain calm, but his fingertips still trembled slightly uncontrollably—this was the very clue he had been searching for while lurking in the Ghost Clan's territory for many days.

"Heavenly Sword..."

Jiang Chuan repeated in a low voice.

"Okay, I'll go to the Holy Land with you."

Ding Gui revealed a satisfied smile, showing a few yellowed, broken teeth.

"At midnight three days from now, the Heavenly Demon will lead a group to the old site of the Holy Land. We will blend into the group."

That night, Jiang Chuan sat cross-legged in the stone chamber, meditating. Suddenly, a soft sound of footsteps approached.

He opened his eyes and saw Ah Gui groping his way in through the wall.

"Still not resting?"

Jiang Chuan asked.

Ah Gui shook his head, a look of hesitation appearing on his pale face.

She slowly squatted down and wrote on the ground in front of Jiang Chuan with her finger.

"I don't want to go to the holy site."

Jiang Chuan raised an eyebrow.

"Why? Isn't that the sacred ground of your Night Demon clan?"

Ah Gui's fingers trembled as he continued writing.

"A voice keeps calling my name...it's terrifying."

Jiang Chuan stared at the crooked handwriting and suddenly understood something.

"So after you escaped the sinkhole, you were never truly able to leave Thousand Caves City?"

Ah Gui nodded and wrote again.

"I am a saint, and I must protect the sacred land."

"You can choose to leave."

Jiang Chuan's voice was low and deep.

"Come with me, and get away from all of this."

Ah Gui shook his head, saying he wrote very quickly this time.

"Ding Gui will be heartbroken."

Jiang Chuan knew he couldn't persuade this stubborn girl.

He gently grasped Ah Gui's cold hand.

"Perhaps... once you obtain the treasures within the Holy Land, you will be truly free."

Ah Gui remained silent for a long time, then withdrew his hand and left a final line of words on the ground.

"I knew I couldn't escape. I came back; I had no choice but to go."

She got up and left, her slender figure appearing even more lonely in the dimly lit passageway.

Jiang Chuan watched her retreating figure, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

What kind of fate does this seemingly fragile girl bear?
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. At midnight, the main gate of the Ghost Clan's territory was brightly lit.

Tian Gui, dressed in a black robe, stood at the front of the group, with Shi Chaoyuan beside him, his face grim.

Xin Gui and the twelve Earthly Branches Ghosts stood on either side, with 108 elite Ghost Clan members behind them.

"Everyone is here?"

The Heavenly Demon surveyed the crowd, his voice cold and stern.

"On this journey to the Holy Land, we must break the seal before Ding Gui and the former Holy Maiden. The Holy Land's most precious treasure must be in our hands!"

Shi Chaoyuan stroked his long beard, speaking with confidence.

"I have been researching the restriction for many years, and I am confident that I will succeed this time."

Within the group, three figures draped in cloaks remained silent.

Jiang Chuan lowered the brim of his hat and glanced at Ding Gui and A Gui beside him out of the corner of his eye.

The old blind man was now hunched over, showing no trace of his usual shrewdness.

Ah Gui wrapped her cloak tighter, as if that would shut out the voice that was calling her.

"go!"

At Tian Gui's command, the procession wound its way into the vast night.

The roadside was desolate and bleak, with withered trees stretching their branches toward the sky.

Jiang Chuan noticed strange patterns gradually appearing on the ground. They weren't naturally formed; they looked more like traces left by some giant creature crawling across the ground.

Why did the demon clan leave the holy land ten years ago?

Jiang Chuan asked Ding Gui in a low voice.

The old blind man's lips barely moved, yet his voice clearly reached Jiang Chuan's ears.

"Chaos. It is said that something in the sacred land has awakened and devoured a third of the people."

Jiang Chuan felt a chill run down his spine.

"Then are we still going to our deaths?"

Ding Gui sneered.

"Fortune favors the bold. Besides..."

He gave Ah Gui a meaningful look.

"The Holy Maiden is here this time."

Ah Gui seemed to sense their conversation, and his body trembled slightly.

Jiang Chuan noticed that her fingernails had dug deeply into her palms, drawing out traces of blood.

After three days of trekking, the leader of the celestial demons suddenly raised his hand, signaling the group to stop.

Ahead lay a vast expanse of ruins, overgrown with weeds amidst the crumbling walls. And in the center of the ruins stood a strange, towering mountain.

"arrive."

Ding Gui whispered in Jiang Chuan's ear.

"That is the holy land of the Night Demon Clan."

Jiang Chuan squinted. The mountain was completely black, with honeycomb-like holes on its surface, from which a cold, eerie aura constantly seeped out.

Even more strangely, as the group moved forward, the size of the mountain remained unchanged—it seemed to stay at the same distance even as they were getting closer.

"Space-time chaos..."

Jiang Chuan muttered to himself, recalling the chaotic spacetime order that the mountain spirit had mentioned in the sinkhole.

He turned to look at the old blind man in the group.

"Senior, this mountain..."

The old blind man's wrinkled face was unusually solemn at this moment. He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out an old copper coin. After rubbing it in his palm for a moment, his expression suddenly changed drastically.

"Spacetime is distorted! Every step we take is actually just spinning in place!"

Shi Chaoyuan sneered.

"Little tricks."

He took a small black flag from his sleeve, muttered some incantations, and then slammed it into the ground.

Suddenly, the surrounding space seemed to be torn apart, emitting a piercing buzzing sound.

"Follow!"

Shi Chaoyuan strode forward, with the crowd following closely behind.

This time, the mountain began to gradually grow larger in their field of vision.

When the distance closed to within a hundred feet, the entire mountain turned a glaring blood red, as if it were piled up from countless corpses. The surface of the mountain was covered with strange patterns, like some kind of ancient runes, or dried bloodstains.

"Mountains of corpses and seas of blood..."

Ah Gui stood beside Jiang Chuan, his voice trembling.

"The legendary holy land of the Night Demon Clan actually exists."

Shi Chaoyuan's face was filled with fervor.

"Start setting up the formation!"

One hundred and eight black array flags were quickly planted around Blood Mountain, forming a massive demonic array.

Each banner was adorned with intricate crimson runes, gleaming eerily in the dim light.

"The blood sacrifice begins!"

Shi Chaoyuan stood at the core of the formation, his hands forming a mudra, and he uttered obscure and difficult-to-understand incantations.

The runes on the array flags gradually lit up, forming a blood-red net of light that enveloped the entire Blood Mountain.

Jiang Chuan suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation. Looking down, he discovered that his wrist had been cut open at some point, and blood was flowing uncontrollably toward the nearest battle flag.

"Oh no!" He tried to pull back, but found that his feet were stuck.

The surrounding demon clan members also screamed in terror, their life essence being frantically drained by the array flags.

"Shi Chaoyuan! What have you done?"

Jiang Chuan roared.

Shi Chaoyuan ignored him and instead sped up the incantation.

The essence and blood absorbed by the array flags turned into blood mist, which condensed into a blood dragon in mid-air and roared as it charged toward the blood mountain.

Just as the blood dragon was about to crash into the mountain, the entire blood mountain suddenly began to shake violently!
"Boom-"

A heartbeat resounded from inside the mountain, making everyone's eardrums ache.

Several weaker members of the ghost clan bled from all seven orifices on the spot, their bodies shriveling up at a visible speed, turning into dried corpses in the blink of an eye.

"Boom-thump-"

My heartbeat grew louder and faster.

Jiang Chuan felt as if his heart was being gripped by a giant hand, and the terrifying heartbeat pounded in his chest.

He turned his head with difficulty to look at Ah Gui and found that the other's face was pale and blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"This is not a mountain."

Jiang Chuan suddenly understood something and shouted hoarsely.

“It’s alive!”

The old blind man reacted the fastest, swinging his cane and snapping the battle flag in Ah Gui's hand.

Ah Gui felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, staggered back a few steps, and gasped for breath.

But it was too late; the tremors of Blood Mountain had already reached their peak.

With a deafening roar, a huge crack appeared in the center of Blood Mountain, as if it had been cleaved open by a divine sword.

Deep within the crack, the outline of an ancient palace can be vaguely seen.

The palace was entirely black, exuding a terrifying aura of absolute dominance that could terrify anyone who even glanced at it from afar.

"The ban is lifted!"

The Heavenly Demon shouted excitedly and charged towards the crack first.

Shi Chaoyuan and Xin Gui followed closely behind, their eyes filled with greed.

Just as they were about to step into the crevice, a slender figure suddenly blocked their way.

"A ghost?"

Shi Chaoyuan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"It's you?"

Ah Gui stood there expressionless, his small frame giving off an insurmountable aura.

Her eyes had turned completely black at some point, with no whites showing.

"Step aside!"

The Heavenly Demon roared and swung out a claw, but it was easily blocked by Ah Gui raising his hand.

The two forces collided, unleashing a blinding black light.

The old blind man's expression changed drastically, and he shouted at Jiang Chuan.

"Kid! Get out of here!"

Just as Jiang Chuan was about to ask the reason, he heard a sinister roar coming from the depths of the crack.

The palace gates are slowly opening!

"Roar--"

Countless ghostly soldiers poured out of the palace gates, clad in decaying armor, wielding rusty weapons, and with eerie green flames flickering in their empty eye sockets.

The roars of the ghostly soldiers converged into a terrifying sound wave, shaking the entire space.

"not good!"

Shi Chaoyuan retreated hastily, but was still bumped into by the Yin soldiers who were charging at the front.

His chest caved in instantly, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The Heavenly Ghost and the Joyful Ghost fared no better. In the blink of an eye, seven of the twelve Earthly Branch Ghosts were torn to pieces by the Yin Soldiers, leaving only five who fled the Blood Mountain area in terror.

Jiang Chuan felt the Demon Prison Sword hidden in the chess piece at his waist suddenly vibrate violently, emitting a sharp sword cry.

"what happened?"

He tried to suppress the sword's unusual movements, but found it was completely futile.

The voice of the ghost general echoed in his mind, filled with unprecedented terror.

"Master! The Demon Prison Sword has sensed the Ghost Emperor's aura! It wants to break free from its seal!"

"What kind of demon emperor?"

Before Jiang Chuan could react, the Demon Prison Sword transformed into a streak of black light, shooting out from the chess piece at his waist and heading straight for the Blood Mountain Crack!

Jiang Chuan swiftly grabbed the Demon Prison Sword, but it suddenly pulled him up.

Jiang Chuan felt a sharp pain in his wrist as the Demon Prison Sword dragged him across the sea of ​​Yin soldiers.

The incomplete ghostly soldiers let out piercing roars, and their broken armor gleamed eerily in the reflection of the blood-red mountain.

"Ghost!"

He only had time to shout that one word before he was dragged into the crevice of the blood mountain.

All I could hear was the howling wind and the incessant roars of the ghostly soldiers, and everything before my eyes was a blood-red mess.

"This damn sword!"

Jiang Chuan tried to control the Demon Prison Sword, but the resistance from the sword almost tore his arm apart.

He remembered the good things about the Mountain Spirit—at least that bladeless sword never dragged him around like this.

The ghostly soldiers surged out of the Ghost Emperor's Underworld Palace, and Blood Mountain was instantly shrouded in dense ghostly energy.

Jiang Chuan was carried through the horde of ghost soldiers by the Demon Prison Sword, and the ghosts all gave way as if they were afraid of something.

"Ghost Emperor!"

Jiang Chuan felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the ghost general's terrified screams from afar.

Legends about the Ghost Emperor are widely circulated in Kyushu—Yama is all-powerful, with three powerful subordinates: Naraku, the Ghost King, and the Ghost General, whose strength is comparable to that of a legendary figure in the Seven Realms.

The Demon Prison Sword suddenly accelerated, and Jiang Chuan's vision blurred as he was thrown into a magnificent palace.

He fell heavily onto the stone slabs of the outer hall, his bones almost shattering.

"Cough cough."

Jiang Chuan struggled to get up and found that the Demon Prison Sword was no longer in his hand.

The outer hall was dark and gloomy, with eighteen eternal lamps flickering with an eerie green light.

A person was sitting on the steps.

The man was dressed in black armor, his face was pale, and he was playing with the Demon Prison Sword in his hand.

Jiang Chuan's heart tightened—Ghost King!
"A mere mortal dares to wield the Earth-grade sword?"

The Ghost King raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife.

A terrifying pressure swept over, and Jiang Chuan felt his soul tremble. He felt a sweet taste in his throat and almost vomited blood.

"Give me back my sword!"

Jiang Chuan suppressed his discomfort and shouted sternly.

The Ghost King chuckled and lightly stroked the sword with his fingertips.

"The sword spirit should be formed from the spirit of the Earth-rank sword. Does that little ghost general even deserve it?"

He stood up, his imposing presence even stronger.

"I am very curious, how did you become the Sword Master of the Demon Prison?"

Before he could finish speaking, a murderous glint flashed in the Ghost King's eyes, and he drew his sword to slash at Jiang Chuan.

The Demon Prison Sword emitted a piercing buzz, and the aura of death instantly enveloped Jiang Chuan's entire body.

A dazzling sword light suddenly burst forth from Jiang Chuan's body.

A figure as aloof and cold as the moon blocked his way, flicking a finger.

"clang--"

The clang of metal against metal reverberated throughout the hall. The Demon Prison Sword was knocked away, and the Ghost King staggered back three steps, his face showing surprise.

"Mountain ghost!"

Jiangchuan was full of surprises.

The sword spirit, Mountain Ghost, dressed in white, was as ethereal as a celestial being.

She stared coldly at the Ghost King.

"You've hurt my master, you're asking for death."

The Ghost King steadied himself, somewhat wary.

"Another Earth-class sword? Interesting."

The mountain spirit did not answer, but lightly raised her delicate hand, and the bladeless sword appeared out of thin air.

The sword had no blade, yet it exuded a suffocating aura of power.

"Hand over the Demon Prison Sword, or die."

The mountain spirit's voice was icy cold.

The Ghost King laughed loudly.

"How dare a mere sword spirit be so insolent before me!"

He swung his sword fiercely, and the Demon Prison Sword erupted with a monstrous black aura, transforming into a black dragon that lunged at the Mountain Demon.

The mountain spirit snorted coldly and lightly slashed with his bladeless sword.

A seemingly casual sword strike cleaved the black dragon in two. (End of Chapter)