Chapter Fifteen: Undercurrents Stir

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In the dead of night, a chilling wind swept through the withered forest, the air trembling with dread. The mountain gale howled with the wails of ghosts and wolves, lending the place a sinister, hellish atmosphere, as if the gates of the underworld had burst open, unleashing a nocturnal parade of spirits.

Startled by the sudden frenzy of the ghostly woman, Luo Longyu stumbled back three steps. Then, abruptly, he remembered—he was no longer among the living; he too was now a corpse. What could she possibly do to him? At most, her appearance was more terrifying than before.

“What now? Do you want to kill me again?” Luo Longyu forced himself to speak.

The ghostly woman hovered in the air, her arms gnarled and sharpened, the once ethereal white robes now drenched in blood. A red parasol spun at her side, exuding a murderous aura in every direction.

She let out a shrill scream as the paper parasol unfurled with a crash, transforming into an umbrella of bones. Countless skeletons swept down like a tide, stunning Luo Longyu. He had no idea how long this ghostly woman had been dead, or how she could possess such formidable resentment.

Perhaps sensing an external threat, Luo Longyu’s eyes abruptly turned blood-red, his pupils blazing silver. Two seals flashed forth, instantly striking the bone umbrella to the ground, where it lay immobile.

Seeing the umbrella fall, Luo Longyu finally remembered to fight back. In his mind, the killing techniques his mother had left him flashed by. His entire body swiftly desiccated, flickering with crimson light. His claws tore through the air, conjuring the first stance of the Heavenly Slaughter. In an instant, he broke through layer upon layer of ghostly mist, striking straight at the ghostly woman.

Almost simultaneously, alarms blared at the Xuan Yi Center. All personnel rushed to their stations. The radar operator monitoring global abnormal energy dynamics reported quickly, “Unit One reporting! Satellite surveillance has detected a powerful, unidentified energy surge near Jiulong Village. Energy type undetermined—this is a new form of energy fluctuation!”

“Energy surge has vanished! Energy surge has vanished!”

Elder Ge stared at the central screen, where the explosion of light swiftly faded. His heart skipped a beat. He hurried from the command hall and contacted Long Shaoxian, speaking in a grave tone: “Speed up. I fear Luo Longyu has encountered a formidable adversary and is currently engaged in combat.”

“Understood!” Long Shaoxian raced across mountains and ridges, his figure a streak of crimson lightning across the sky. Many night owls below caught sight of the red streak, sparking heated discussion.

At the same time, the PLA garrison nearest Jiulong Village also detected the intense energy wave from that direction. Within ten minutes, two Zhi-18 helicopters had taken to the air, flying swiftly toward Jiulong Village.

Back at Xuan Yi Center, Wu Yifeng and Elder Xuan were also alarmed by this turn of events. As they watched the satellite replay on the screen, their faces grew grave. The incidents over the past days had made it clear: the Void Clan regarded Luo Longyu as a significant threat. Each time they acted, it was almost always aimed at him.

Now that Luo Longyu had unleashed such a powerful corpse-path fluctuation, whether he had lost control or was battling an unknown enemy, his location was completely exposed. If China's technology could detect it, then the major powers—America, Russia—would surely be aware as well. Their satellites, no doubt, were already adjusting orbit.

More worrisome still, with the Void Clan’s abilities, discovering Luo Longyu was inevitable.

In the Jiulong Village mountains, Luo Longyu was oblivious to the commotion caused by his first attack. After subduing the ghostly woman, he quickly approached the massive pit nearby. It plunged several dozen meters deep and measured over twenty meters in diameter, with cracks radiating across the landscape. Some even crept up the mountainside, threatening collapse at any moment.

At the bottom, the ghostly woman had not yet perished, but she was gravely wounded. The coming dawn hastened her demise.

Yet she had regained her senses. Her white robe was tattered, hair disheveled, her clear eyes fixed on Luo Longyu at the rim of the pit. Her expression was bewildered, as if she could not comprehend what had happened.

“Divine Child…” she murmured, fear in her voice. Gazing around, she seemed to realize something, whispering, “Could it be… I truly am no longer myself…?”

Luo Longyu was taken aback. Seeing the despair on her face, he realized, for some reason, how much she resembled himself in this moment. He had no idea what havoc he wrought when he lost control.

With this thought, Luo Longyu slowly lowered his hand. The ghostly woman floated up from the pit. Her form had grown so insubstantial that she seemed on the verge of vanishing altogether.

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Luo Longyu sighed, unable to suppress his compassion. Was he not in the same predicament?

“Forget it. Go on to your next life,” he said.

“Reincarnation?” The ghostly woman gave a bitter smile. “I’ve searched for the path to reincarnation long ago. I couldn’t find it.”

Luo Longyu paused, then said, “In that case, let me help you find the way. I know some friends—very powerful ones—they will help you.”

“Really?” A flicker of hope lit up her face. Clearly, she did not wish to remain a wandering spirit in the mountains.

Seeing Luo Longyu nod, the ghostly woman knelt before him, bowing repeatedly. “Thank you, Divine Child! Thank you for your great kindness!” With that, she dissolved into a wisp of blue smoke and entered the red paper parasol. “Divine Child, I will hide in the parasol for now. If the morning sun rises, I will vanish forever.”

“Very well,” Luo Longyu nodded, put away the parasol, and headed down the mountain.

Barely two minutes after Luo Longyu disappeared, the two Zhi-18 helicopters arrived at dawn. Four rapid-response squads deployed swiftly, but found only devastation. They soon expanded their search.

As Luo Longyu descended the mountain path, he sensed something unusual above. He glanced back, detecting dozens of vital energies on the summit. Looking up at the distant helicopters, he realized the military had arrived. But why now, of all times? A faint unease crept into his heart.

“Iron Eagle One reporting: individual spotted at ten o’clock, approximately eight hundred meters away. No thermal infrared response—subject is not human. Over.” The pilot’s voice crackled over the radio.

“Roger. Unit One, intercept. Over.”

“Unit One, roger. Over!”

Luo Longyu continued walking, sensing people approaching rapidly. Sure enough, twelve fully armed soldiers burst from the forest on either side, weapons raised to block his path.

“Don’t move! We are the Chinese Army. Get on the ground!” A sergeant rushed up, grabbing Luo Longyu’s shoulder and forcing him down.

Though confused, Luo Longyu did not resist. The sergeant pinned him, knee pressing hard into his back.

“Hey, hey, brothers, what’s going on? I’m Chinese too!” Luo Longyu called out from the ground.

Another squad arrived from behind. A lieutenant eyed Luo Longyu with suspicion. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“I’m Luo Longyu, a villager from here. Check my bag if you don’t believe me—my ID is inside,” Luo Longyu said quickly.

“Damn, is this some kind of ghost?” a soldier muttered, glancing at his infrared detector and nudging the lieutenant.

The lieutenant glanced at the detector, his expression changing subtly. He eyed Luo Longyu with a strange look and said, “Fix this piece of junk.”

“But, Captain, the detector—ah, got it!” The soldier cut himself off, seeing the lieutenant’s stare, and hurried away to tinker with the device.

The lieutenant squatted beside Luo Longyu, pressing a hand to his cheek—there was no warmth at all. He was startled but kept his composure, fingers deliberately pressing Luo Longyu’s neck. There was no pulse.

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“Ahem.” The lieutenant cleared his throat and stood. “You claim you’re a villager from Jiulong Village?”

“Yes, you can check my bag—my ID’s inside!” Luo Longyu exclaimed.

The soldier pinning Luo Longyu quickly rummaged through the bag, dumping its contents out and handing the ID to the lieutenant. The officer examined it, then scrutinized Luo Longyu before saying coolly, “Take him away.”

“Hey, hey! Why are you taking me? I’m Chinese!” Luo Longyu protested. He had no idea that the lieutenant had already deduced—he was not human. At least, not a normal person. No body heat, no breath, no pulse—how could he be?

As Long Shaoxian landed nearby, the helicopters were already lifting off. Watching them fly away, he bit his lip, took a deep breath, and contacted the Xuan Yi Center. “Long Shaoxian reporting: Luo Longyu has been taken by the local garrison…”

Before he could finish, a black vortex abruptly enveloped the helicopter carrying Luo Longyu. A demonic gale howled, black smoke billowed—and when it cleared, the soldiers inside found Luo Longyu had vanished.

“Long Shaoxian reporting! A demon has seized Luo Longyu. I’m pursuing now. Over!” Without hesitation, Long Shaoxian followed the unique scent of the creature, transforming into a crimson streak and vanishing into the distance.

At the Xuan Yi Center, Ju Feng kicked over a chair, cursing under his breath, “Useless fools! With Long Shaoxian on your tail, even if you survive, you’ll be skinned alive!”

Before long, Long Shaoxian spotted a giant owl with a wingspan over ten meters clutching Luo Longyu, flying deep into the mountains. Ignoring the risk of exposure at dawn, he assumed his dragon form, soaring above the owl and slamming a dragon claw down on its head. Feathers flew; the owl shrieked and plummeted.

“Aaah!” Luo Longyu’s scream was heart-rending. Long Shaoxian twisted in midair, catching Luo Longyu in his dragon claw and landing before resuming his human form.

Still shaken, Luo Longyu clutched his chest, repeating, “That scared me to death, scared me to death!”

Long Shaoxian regarded Luo Longyu with disdain. “Have you no dignity? Did you truly inherit the corpse path? Then why are you still like this?”

“You can fly—I can’t! Every time I meet you, nothing good happens!” Luo Longyu roared, clearly still rattled.

Long Shaoxian ignored him and strode toward the wounded owl in the nearby woods. The beast was enormous, over four meters long, flattening much of the surrounding forest. Its eyes glowed an eerie green, and its skull was cracked from Long Shaoxian’s blow, blood streaming to stain the earth.

Seeing Long Shaoxian approach, the owl struggled in terror. After all, it now faced a dragon that preyed on monsters.

The owl transformed into a gray-haired little demon, its face still covered in feathers. Clearly, its cultivation was shallow; it could not even complete its transformation.

“Please, don’t eat me, don’t eat me!” The little demon’s skull was split, blood pouring out, yet it kowtowed desperately, terrified of being devoured by the dragon.

Long Shaoxian seized the feathers atop its head, lifting its face. “Are you unaware of the Hundred Tribes Accord? To take such a risk—tell me, who sent you?”