Book 08 Chapter 086: Ghost Head Lifespan Ritual Array

The Physical Soul Scattering Calabash’s divine sand had indeed severely injured Gu Hai’s fire deity, but he had not been weakened to the point of helplessness. That was why Ba had confidently declared that not even Hou Yi could vanquish the weakened Gu Hai.

For two days and nights, the Unborn Man and Gu Hai withstood the relentless assault of an ever-increasing number of Nether Fire Divine Commanders. Ten had answered Lifespan Xiahou’s summons so far, converging from far-flung reaches.

During these two days, loud reports from powerful attacks rang out in the East Spiritual Fire Sea. The ground quaked, and Ba’s cries rent the air.

Perched weakly atop a flaming warhorse, Gu Hai listened to the distant reports, each marking Ba’s victory over another of the ritual arrays Jiang Lianshan had left behind.

“Jiang Lianshan, is it really you?” Gu Hai mused in silence.

“Your Holy Eminence, we are in trouble this time!” the Unborn Man suddenly said with a bitter smile.

Gu Hai turned his head and saw that the ten Nether Fire Divine Commanders had ceased their assault. He and the Unborn Man had been driven to the outskirts of a colossal blue barrier.

The blue barrier was extremely sinister because it was densely covered with heads—no, with blue ghost heads.

These heads, still conscious, had their facial features contorted to the extreme, evincing terror.

A massive barrier filled with countless ghost heads forced the surrounding flames to retreat.

From a distance, it was particularly horrifying.

“Ghost heads? This is one of the vilest ritual arrays. Is Lifespan Xiahou inside?” the Unborn Man said anxiously.

“Ghost heads? A ritual array using severed ghost heads? What is the purpose of this lifespan ritual array?” Gu Hai asked.

“It collects the Terror Energy of these ghost heads!” the Unborn Man explained.

“Terror Energy?” Gu Hai questioned in confusion.

“I do not know what exactly he is doing, but generally, Terror Energy is used for extending life. It is incredibly malevolent, sacrificing thousands to extend one life. The sin is immense, and all of it falls upon the one who extends their life. Normally, no lifespan cultivator would use such a method; moreover, there are millions of these ghost heads. Whose life requires such a massive extension?” the Unborn Man replied worriedly.

“Unborn Man, you did not expect us to meet here, did you?” A chilling voice emanated from the ghost head lifespan ritual array in front.

“Lifespan Xiahou? What are you doing here?” the Unborn Man shouted.

“Now, it is I who is questioning you. You are not here to reminisce with me, are you?” Lifespan Xiahou’s voice came from the array.

The Unborn Man’s mood turned somber.

“There’s no need to pretend to be confident. This is the East Spiritual Fire Sea, and it suppresses everyone. Among the eight lines of lifespan cultivation, the seven of you combined are no match for me here, for I am of the Li trigram line. Oh! It’s you; you alone are two lines? Lifespan Ximen and Lifespan Qiufeng?” Lifespan Xiahou’s mocking laugh rang out.

“The seven combined? Hah! You have not been out for a long time, have you?” the Unborn Man scoffed.

“Long time? It’s only been thirty years. What could change in thirty years? Even if there were changes, what would it matter to us, the eight lines of lifespan cultivation? You mean this Gu Hai next to you? He is indeed powerful. I saw his battle with Jiang Lianshan two days ago. If he were at his peak, I would not have driven you here. Now, his fire deity is crippled, and with the fire deity crippled, he is essentially useless. You are not still counting on him, are you?” Lifespan Xiahou’s mocking laugh came again.

Thud!

At this moment, Gu Hai jumped off the flaming warhorse.

“Your Holy Eminence!” The Unborn Man approached with concern.

Gu Hai shook his head and took back the Absolute Zero Calabash and the True Flame Calabash with a wave.

“Oh! Still trying to resist? In your sickly state, you would have already become a pile of bones if I had not restrained the Nether Fire Divine Commanders earlier!” The mocking voice from the ghost head lifespan ritual array rang out again.

Gu Hai looked at the ghost head lifespan ritual array and revealed a cold smile. “What can change in thirty years? Hah! Thirty years ago, I was but an ordinary person with no cultivation. Don’t you think that thirty years can change a lot of things?”

“Huh? You achieved such cultivation in thirty years?” Lifespan Xiahou’s voice came again.

“Thirty years, and every year, you go out once to capture millions of ghosts for this ghost head lifespan ritual array, right?” Gu Hai said coldly.

“So, you want to act as Heaven’s enforcer? Hahaha!” Lifespan Xiahou’s disdainful laugh sounded.

“I am not acting as Heaven’s enforcer; I simply believe that even the ghosts have rights. By desecrating them in such a way, you are indeed deserving of death!” Gu Hai’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Deserving of death? Hahaha! Do you really think you can deal with me? Your fire deity is riddled with holes; you are already a cripple!” Lifespan Xiahou’s voice came again.

“Is that so?” Gu Hai let out a cold laugh.

“Humph! You feel sympathy for these dead spirits, don’t you? Well, then, I’ll turn you into a dead spirit first and let you keep them company!” Lifespan Xiahou said coldly.

“With just these Nether Fire Divine Commanders?” Gu Hai scoffed.

“You are already seriously injured. Do you still think you can wield the True Flame Calabash and Absolute Zero Calabash to become invincible? If you could use them, why did the Unborn Man have to wield them for two days? If I had not held back earlier, you would have already died!” Lifespan Xiahou said coldly.

“You five, go, twist off this Gu Hai’s head!” Lifespan Xiahou’s voice came again.

“Yes!” the five Nether Fire Divine Commanders shouted in response.

“Your Holy Eminence!” the Unborn Man said anxiously.

“It’s alright!” Gu Hai shook his head.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a Nether Fire Divine Commander stepped forward, and a chain shot towards Gu Hai, set to pierce his chest.

However, Gu Hai reached out and grabbed it.

Bang!

Gu Hai caught the powerful chain as flames flared around him.

“What?” The Nether Fire Divine Commander was startled.

Gu Hai held on to one end of the chain and jerked it fiercely.

That Nether Fire Divine Commander was suddenly dragged up and flung towards the other Nether Fire Divine Commanders.

“How dare you?!” the Nether Fire Divine Commanders cried out in shock and anger.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gu Hai seemed to possess divine strength. Like a meteor hammering down, the Nether Fire Divine Commander smashed into the other nine, sending them sprawling, screaming in agony.

Boom!

Finally, Gu Hai flung the Nether Fire Divine Commander into the ghost head lifespan ritual array.

With a single move, he had defeated ten Nether Fire Divine Commanders?

The Unborn Man was taken aback and looked at Gu Hai in surprise, but he quickly understood what had happened. His Holy Eminence feigned illness earlier to find Lifespan Xiahou.

Indeed, it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack otherwise. Here, Lifespan Xiahou is the local tyrant. Why not appear weak and let him come to you?

“Hah!”

The Nether Fire Divine Commanders, who had been thrown off their feet in disarray, were now enraged and pounced again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gu Hai threw three palm strikes in rapid succession, forming three manifested palms out of nowhere that thunderously smashed the Nether Fire Divine Commanders into the ghost head lifespan ritual array.

This sudden turn of events certainly surprised Lifespan Xiahou.

“So, you were deceiving me?” Lifespan Xiahou’s icy voice came from the ghost head lifespan ritual array.

Gu Hai’s fire deity had indeed been riddled with holes and severely damaged, but two days had passed, and some Mending Heaven Energy had entered the fire deity, along with the nourishment from the Spiritual Progenitor deity king. Gu Hai’s injuries had already healed.

Even if the injuries had not healed, these Middle Heavenly Palace Realm Nether Fire Divine Commanders could not compare to his powerful physical body.

Gu Hai stepped forward and looked coldly at the ghost head lifespan ritual array in front of him.

“Lifespan Xiahou? Will you come out on your own, or shall I come in to capture you?” Gu Hai demanded coldly.

Inside the ghost head lifespan ritual array, Lifespan Xiahou showed an uncertain expression.

“Gu Hai? You wasted all that effort pretending to be injured just to find me? Why?” Lifespan Xiahou asked coldly.

“Because I promised the Unborn Man to help him gather all eight lines of lifespan cultivation!” Gu Hai replied solemnly.

“Gather all eight lines?” Lifespan Xiahou exclaimed.

“Besides you, there’s still Lifespan Dongcang left. If you don’t want to suffer, come out on your own!” Gu Hai said coldly.

“What? Unborn Man, you’ve already captured four? Unborn Man. Hahaha! I knew you had wild ambitions from the start. Who would have thought you’d really do it after finding a backer?” Lifespan Xiahou sneered.

“Is all this talk necessary? Lifespan Xiahou, I am now a subject of the Han Heavenly Dynasty. This is the heavenly emperor of our Han Nation. You have been inhumane for years in pursuit of extending your life, doomed to a bad end. Today is the day you pay for your crimes!” the Unborn Man scoffed.

“Hah! I’m inhumane? You are not much better. Back then, you followed Old Mister Guan Qi, hoping he would help you catch us, right? Unfortunately, Old Mister Guan Qi ignored you, so you found this backer? Gu Hai? Humph! I want to see if your injuries have really healed!” Lifespan Xiahou laughed coldly.

However, Gu Hai looked at the Unborn Man. “Do you know how to break this ghost head lifespan ritual array?”

“I do not know what he is doing inside, so…” The Unborn Man shook his head.

“If you do not know, then never mind. We’ll just smash it open!” Gu Hai stepped forward.

Rumble…!

As Gu Hai stepped forward, thunderous rumbles came from all directions.

Gu Hai looked back and saw herds of warhorses coming from a distance, shattering mountains as they quickly approached.

Nether Fire Divine Commanders.

Many Nether Fire Divine Commanders rushed over. In a short time, one thousand Nether Fire Divine Commanders had already rushed over, all radiating bloodlust and fierce auras.

“Are these all of Lifespan Xiahou’s subordinates in the East Spiritual Fire Sea? A thousand Nether Fire Divine Commanders?” The Unborn Man’s face changed.

The aura of these Nether Fire Divine Commanders was immense, with ten of them in the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm, commanding the others, quickly surrounding Gu Hai and the Unborn Man.

“Capture these two for me!” Lifespan Xiahou’s voice came from the ghost head lifespan ritual array.

“Yes!” the one thousand Nether Fire Divine Commanders shouted in unison.

Rattle…!

Instantly, a thousand chains surged towards Gu Hai and the Unborn Man.

The oncoming chains had the momentum of a thousand galloping horses, especially the chains of the ten Upper Heavenly Palace Realm Nether Fire Divine Commanders, which were like ten flaming dragons opening huge maws and lunging to devour Gu Hai.

Gu Hai let out a cold laugh, and the Absolute Zero Calabash suddenly appeared in his hand.

When the mouth of the gourd opened, an overwhelmingly cold, blue energy surged out in all directions.

Boom!

With a loud noise, all the surrounding flames were forced back, and the scene of a thousand chains charging came to a halt. No, they had frozen.

The thousand Nether Fire Divine Commanders—including the ten Upper Heavenly Palace Realm Nether Fire Divine Commanders—had all become ice sculptures. A thousand chains hung in midair, frozen in place, pointing at Gu Hai.