27: Ghost Servant

Hong Yu focused his gaze and recognized at once that these four figures were Ghost Servants.

Humans possess Three Ethereal Souls and Seven Corporeal Spirits. After a normal death, the soul's memories are washed away, leaving only a trace of true spirit to be reborn into Rebirth, which is known as Reincarnation.

The souls of Cultivators are more resilient. A Cultivator with a sufficiently high cultivation can preserve their soul after their Physical Body dies and become a Ghost Cultivator. Those with insufficient cultivation can also use other means to retain their memories and exist in the world as spiritual bodies; such beings are collectively known as Specters.

For example, the two maidservants by Xu Jing's side, Chen Yu and Wild Goose Descending, are Specters. Their thinking is no different from ordinary people, and they possess cultivation, even being able to continue making a Breakthrough to a higher Realm.

However, Ghost Servants lead a much more tragic existence than Specters. Their souls are forcibly imprisoned using Divine Ability methods, their memories wiped, turning them into servants who only know how to attack and kill. Some are even subjected to inhuman torture before death to increase their resentment and strength.

Most importantly, once refined into a Ghost Servant, the possibility of Reincarnation is lost forever.

Generally speaking, unless there is a deep-seated hatred or one is an utterly wicked Devil Head, most people would not go to such extremes. After all, Cultivators tend to believe in Luck, and many think that refining living Ghost Servants will damage one's Luck.

Hong Yu was now fully alert. The seven absolutes sword in his hand blurred as he swung it, and he unleashed the Blood Slaughter Sword Technique with full force, slashing out streaks of blood-colored sword shadows at the four Ghost Servants.

He knew the characteristics of Ghost Servants well: they had no physical form and felt no pain, so ordinary attacks yielded little result. Furthermore, once they locked onto an enemy, they would not stop until one of them was dead.

He had heard of the Ghost Servants' fearsome reputation back in the Outer Sect, so Hong Yu reacted immediately.

Fortunately, the Blood Slaughter Sword Technique was quite powerful and even seemed to slightly counter the Ghost Servants. When the blood-colored sword shadows sliced through their bodies, it was like boiling water meeting snow, cutting them into pieces.

Yet in the next moment, they reformed their bodies and continued to pounce as if nothing had happened. Aside from their forms appearing slightly fainter, their Aura was undiminished. Carrying a surging tide of resentment and hatred, they surrounded Hong Yu, their ghastly faces staring fixedly at him.

Hong Yu continued to use the Blood Slaughter Sword Technique to protect himself while rapidly retreating. He shouted loudly, "Senior Brother Sun, Senior Sister Mu, are you there? There’s something strange about this City Lord's Mansion!"

However, the only response was still a deathly silence and the increasingly violent attacks of the Ghost Servants.

Seeing that his cries for help were futile, Hong Yu's heart sank. Had they already met their end before him?

City Lord Wang seemed to have an old acquaintance with Sun Yang, and their relationship was decent. Moreover, with his Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, he wouldn't need to resort to a sneak attack. If he truly wanted them dead, no one would have survived the main hall.

If the City Lord wasn't the problem, then who was the sacred being daring to play tricks Inside the Mansion?

And by using methods like Ghost Servants, the opponent must be an utterly wicked Devil Head. A small fry at the Qi Refining Stage like himself shouldn't have offended such a ruthless character.

Could it be that the opponent was here for revenge?

Was the target City Lord Wang?

Were he and the others just caught in an unmerited disaster?

Then, as long as he could hold out and escape the City Lord's Mansion, the opponent probably wouldn't care about a small fish like him.

The more Hong Yu thought, the clearer his reasoning became. He felt he had found the truth, but while distracted by his thoughts, his defense inevitably faltered.

A Ghost Servant seized a flaw in his move, grabbed his sleeve, and bit down hard on his right hand, which was holding the sword.

There was no wound, but a bone-chilling coldness instantly invaded his entire body from his right hand. Hong Yu shivered from the cold, and his right hand began to lose sensation.

In his alarm, Hong Yu poured in his Spiritual Qi with all his might. With a nimble flick of his right hand, the blood energy around him surged. The blood mist on the seven absolutes sword became even more vivid, and with a few slashes, he hacked the Ghost Servant into nothingness. This time, it could no longer reform.

Seeing this, Hong Yu knew how to defeat the remaining three Ghost Servants.

He continued to execute the Blood Slaughter Sword Technique. With each swing, his physical strength and Spiritual Power depleted rapidly, and sweat poured down from his forehead.

Hong Yu could no longer remember how many times he had swung his sword. By the time he slew the last Ghost Servant, he was near the end of his strength. Leaning on the seven absolutes sword, he knelt on one knee, gasping for breath.

During the fight, he didn't know how many times he had been hit. The residual Ghost Poison from the Ghost Servants was accumulating in his body. Although he could barely suppress it for now, he had no way to completely expel it.

Hong Yu knew he couldn't stay here long. He clearly felt that the bone-chilling coldness had not dissipated; instead, it had grown denser. After a brief recovery, he identified the direction of the City Lord's Mansion's exit and bolted without looking back.

However, before he could run far, he felt his head spin. The scenery before him changed as everything vanished, leaving only an endless darkness surrounding him.

"Is this a Formation?"

Despair rose in Hong Yu's heart. Then, he steeled himself as a bold idea came to mind.

Should he activate the System's auto-pilot to see if he could escape?

Before he could act, a faint sigh drifted over, followed by a seductive and mournful female voice that sounded somewhat familiar.

"Young Master Hong Yu, since you have already mastered the Blood Slaughter Sword Technique, why are you in such a hurry to flee from Inside the Mansion? Do you know how hard This servant girl has been looking for you?"

Then, Hong Yu felt a soft, cold body pressed against his back. Two fair, tender arms wrapped around his neck, and sharp nails with a cold touch slid repeatedly across his throat.

It seemed like an intimate moment between lovers, but Hong Yu couldn't feel anything except dread. He spoke with difficulty, "Miss Wild Goose Descending, you've misunderstood. I've just been short on Spirit Stones lately, so I joined Sun Yang and the others to earn some."

"But This servant girl went to your residence, and the Soul Lamps of your three roommates had already gone out. There were obvious signs of a struggle. This servant girl thought you had fled to escape punishment."

Wild Goose Descending suddenly appeared before him, her beautiful but pale face less than an inch away. Her bright red lips curled into a strange arc as she continued, "If you hadn't used the three of them for your practice, could you have mastered the Blood Slaughter Sword Technique so quickly?"

Hong Yu was momentarily speechless. He couldn't even understand what was written in that manual; his current achievement was entirely thanks to the System. But he couldn't tell others about that, so he honestly explained everything except for the System.

At the same time, he patted his chest and vowed that he had absolutely no intention of defaulting on his debt and running away.