Chapter 555

Chapter 555: The Killing Maniac

If it hadn’t been for the Ghost Realm Patriarch’s final words, You Youzi wouldn’t have dared to step onto the stage.

Who was Fang Lie? A youngster who’d only gained fame in recent years, starting as an outer disciple with mediocre talent that paled compared to Heavenly Dao favored children. You Youzi felt completely confident facing Fang Lie. Challenging him under the pretense of sect vengeance promised both glory and rewards!

But Mo Lanyun was different. Born with spiritual roots—a rarity even among the gathered elites—she was also the direct descendant of a Semi-Immortal. Raised since childhood by a Semi-Immortal, she’d recently acquired a mount infused with high-grade divine beast bloodline!

Facing such a terrifying opponent, You Youzi doubted he could withstand even a few strikes. Though "Guan Yin water" sounded benevolent, its true power was merciless—it could instantly reduce anyone to mere water. Who wouldn’t fear that?

Fortunately, the Ghost Realm Sect had declined. After Fang Lie’s theft and subsequent attacks by allied sects, their strength had waned. They could no longer casually nurture core disciples, making You Youzi all the more precious.

In the sect’s prime, the Ghost Realm Patriarch would’ve let You Youzi die in battle rather than surrender shamefully.

Mo Lanyun now stood upon the Celestial Platform with her Dragon Turtle.

The young girl wore pristine white robes, seated atop the hundred-zhang-long Dragon Turtle with its dragon head and tortoise shell. Around them stretched endless waves, rippling beneath the wind.

The scene resembled an immortal’s portrait, uplifting the hearts of all who witnessed it.

You Youzi finally shuffled onto the stage.

He appeared as a short youth of thirteen or fourteen, face serene as autumn waters, eyes bright as stars. Clad in a blue Dao Robe, he exuded an Immortal-Style Appearance.

But those who knew him understood—this was a true demonic path master.

Nearly thirty in truth, he’d once been crown prince of a great nation. His childhood shattered when his empress mother conspired in rebellion. After the plot failed, she endured torture until death in the cold palace.

Imprisoned himself, he watched his attendants slaughtered. New guards tormented him, drenching the eight-year-old in icy water during winters.

The child soon fell gravely ill. Yet as the saying goes: the virtuous die young while the wicked thrive. Nearing death, his raging hatred drew a Ghost Realm Sect Cultivator’s attention. They discovered his supreme Dark Spiritual Root—a High-grade Spiritual Root perfectly suited to their Dao magic.

His fortunes reversed instantly. The Cultivator cured his illness and brought him to the sect.

Within five years, You Youzi emerged as an Inner Elite Disciple, though not yet among the top three. His first act? Vengeance.

Logically, his family’s failed rebellion warranted punishment. But You Youzi unleashed horrors beyond reason.

Had he killed dozens or even hundreds responsible, it might’ve been overlooked. Instead, his cruelty shocked the world.

He manipulated his emperor father into summoning every soldier and martial expert to the capital. When they gathered, he activated the Ghost Realm Sacrifice Formation, offering everyone present—millions of citizens plus summoned forces, totaling over ten million lives.

The sacrifice’s scale proved ideal—strong warriors and martial masters provided potent energy. This atrocity empowered his Netherworld Ghost Fire while settling grudges.

Such mass slaughter carried consequences. The resulting karma would crush most—hence why even demonic path masters avoided indiscriminate killing.

Yet You Youzi outmaneuvered fate. Before departing the sect, he’d borrowed his master’s Seventh-rank Treasure: the Sky-Deceiving Order. This artifact masked karma by magnifying existing grievances. Since the nation had wronged him, the treasure deemed his retaliation "proportional," drastically reducing karmic backlash.

Without such pretext, slaughtering innocents would’ve rendered the treasure useless.

But while heaven might be fooled, humans weren’t. Nearby Righteous Sects raged at the massacre. Only the Ghost Realm Sect’s reputation shielded him from immediate destruction.

Powerful sects undeterred by this reputation sent Fire Tribulation Immortals to hunt him. You Youzi fled desperately, cornered without escape, nearly meeting his end.

During this time, You Youzi displayed astonishing talent. For three long years of pursuit with enemies surrounding him, he relied on his wisdom to evade capture repeatedly. Not only did he escape encirclements, but he also killed many Righteous Cultivators during these encounters.

His remarkable performance caught the attention of the Ghost Realm Sect, who urgently dispatched experts to retrieve him safely. They intensified his training until he gradually became a Core Inner Gate Disciple.

In subsequent years, You Youzi remained active, periodically emerging to slaughter entire families of his former pursuers or sacrifice entire cities. Shielded by the Sky-Deceiving Order, he grew increasingly brazen.

Now approaching thirty, his purple Netherworld Ghost Fire – requiring absorption of over a hundred million souls – surpassed even that of most Fire Tribulation Immortals. Compared to him, other so-called mass murderers paled into insignificance.

Indeed, You Youzi earned the infamous title of Soul-Devouring Maniac across the land, his notoriety eclipsing even millennium-old demons. Yet this fearsome figure bowed politely to Mo Lanyun, greeting her with clasped fists: "Greetings, Junior Sister Mo!"

Mo Lanyun responded coldly: "A demon who slaughters countless has no right to address me as sister."

You Youzi’s face darkened at this public humiliation. Even the meekest soul would react to such insult, let alone a notorious killer. He sneered: "How presumptuous of me! Let’s see your true power, wretched girl!"

With a wave of his hand, dense black clouds materialized and spread across thousand-mile skies, blinding both vision and divine sense – the Ghost Realm Sect’s infamous Remnant Soul Smoke.

This malicious spell derived from impurities left when refining souls for advanced Netherworld Ghost Fire. The toxic smoke not only obscured senses but contained soul-corrupting poison that could drive ordinary people mad.

Knowing this wouldn’t defeat Mo Lanyun, You Youzi used the smoke as cover while stealthily relocating outside the cloud. Producing a black banner, he summoned millions of zombies through secret techniques – from Green-Hair Zombies (equivalent to Golden Pool Masters) to Flying Zombies rivaling Thunder Tribulation Immortals.

These represented years of harvesting sacrifice victims’ bodies with his Eighth-rank Treasure Zombie Banner, pitting billions of corpses against each other until only the strongest remained.

Though zombies typically suffered sluggish speed, You Youzi’s Remnant Soul Smoke enhanced their mobility dramatically. This deadly combination of undead horde and obscuring smoke became his signature tactic.

Wasting no time, You Youzi commanded his army to charge through the smoke toward Mo Lanyun.

Initially uneasy in the smoke, Mo Lanyun scoffed upon seeing the zombies. Channeling magic into the vast rolling waters below, she conjured tsunami-like waves hundreds of zhang high that engulfed the undead forces.

Ordinary water couldn’t harm zombies, but Mo Lanyun’s Guan Yin water – imbued with her sacred power – dissolved weaker zombies instantly. Only the strongest specimens resisted briefly before succumbing, their struggles merely death throes.