Chapter 108: The Golden Armored Guard

Old Huo had clearly underestimated his opponent—a female ghost nearly at the level of a Ghost King, no wonder she was so brazen.

It now seemed possible that her captive domain extended beyond just Shangwan Village, which explained her rapid cultivation progress.

The woman in the green robe sneered disdainfully.

“Show me whatever skills you have left.”

Old Huo, furious, laughed bitterly and cursed, “Grandpa’s got plenty of tricks. No mercy later!”

“Hmph, enough talk. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Black mist swirled around the green-clad ghost as she floated in the air, her ghostly claws slowly reaching upward.

“If you love playing so much, then I’ll play along!”

Suddenly, the burial ground beneath their feet trembled. Tombs stirred as skeletal remains and broken bones crawled slowly from the earth, recombining haphazardly. Strange skeletal monsters multiplied across the ground.

Some had four legs, others bore two heads, and some were nothing but grotesque, ragtag assemblages, crawling ominously.

Cui Yue stared at the bizarre skeleton creatures, his scalp tingling, sweat beading on his forehead, and his grip tightening on his sword.

What to do? They had no choice but to face the threat head-on.

At a command from the green-robed ghost, the skeletal horde surged forward, encircling Old Huo and Cui Yue tightly.

The two had no option but to stand back to back, fighting side by side.

“Kid, you scared? You can tell me if you are.”

“Would telling you help?”

“Nope!”

“Then shut up!”

Cui Yue silently lamented his poor judgment in joining Old Huo’s reckless venture.

A skeletal figure at the front brandished a thigh bone, struggling as it charged.

Cui Yue stepped forward and delivered a flying kick, sending the skeleton flying.

“Seems their combat power isn’t that great,” he remarked, but immediately sensed something wrong—the skeleton reassembled itself as if nothing had happened, flexing its bones before rushing again.

Old Huo was equally stretched thin, unable to aid Cui Yue.

A dark glow pulsed from the ring on Old Huo’s iron fist, while the tattoo on his palm seemed alive, swirling and shifting.

Several bold skeletons who tried to close in were violently dismantled with a single punch each, scattered into many fragments.

But almost instantly, the bones on the ground reformed into new monsters, charging once more—a maddening cycle.

Old Huo realized this was futile; the enemy intended to wear them down with endless waves.

Cui Yue was growing weary too—the creatures seemed to have no weaknesses, simply enduring hits and reforming instantly, eagerly attacking again.

Old Huo struck another powerful blow, shattering a skeleton, then pulled a few clay figurines from his bosom—small soldiers clad in armor, wielding swords and knives.

Muttering incantations, Old Huo invoked the Three Pure Ones.

“Great Immortals of the Three Pure Ones, grant me divine soldiers and celestial generals, armored in gold, wielding silver blades, to protect and vanquish evil, invincible and unstoppable—appear!”

He bit his finger, squeezing a few drops of blood onto the figurines’ foreheads, shouted, then hurled them forward.

With a loud crash, the clay soldiers sank into the earth, swaying unsteadily at first, then growing rapidly with the wind until they became formidable, muscular generals clad in golden armor, brandishing shining silver blades.

As soon as the golden-armored guards formed, they clashed fiercely with the skeletal horde.

Displaying great prowess, a single swing of their blades cut through the bones like slicing melons, felling a large number.

With these celestial soldiers joining the fray, the tide turned swiftly. Cui Yue felt a great relief and couldn’t help but praise:

“Old Huo, this move of yours isn’t bad at all. If you could call forth a few dozen more, we’d wipe out their lair and restore this burial ground!”

“At my current cultivation, I can only summon three or four, no more,” Old Huo replied regretfully.

“That’s a shame. If we had dozens, we’d flatten this cursed ground and rebuild a peaceful home.”

“Cough, cough! I think you’re dreaming too much!” Old Huo said helplessly.

The green-robed ghost, seeing Old Huo summon such powerful allies, withdrew her earlier disdain and gave a cold, sinister smile.

“Very well, this just got interesting.”

Cui Yue was not idle either, charging with his sword, gradually discovering the weak points—the joints connecting the skeletons’ bones—striking precisely to break them down.

Suddenly, a skeleton leapt from behind, grabbing Cui Yue tightly. Its terrifying jaw opened wide, aiming to bite his head fiercely!

Feeling the threat from behind, Cui Yue quickly braced himself and grasped the skeleton’s throat.

“Crunching sounds filled his ears, cold sweat dripping—good grief, was this thing a dog in a past life, biting everything in sight?”

He gathered strength to counterattack, almost breaking free from the skeleton’s grasp.

But then, the skeleton suddenly unfolded its ribcage and sternum, wrapping Cui Yue’s body tightly before snapping back together.

Cui Yue was completely trapped, unable to resist, suffering silently. From afar, it looked as if he was encased within a deadly skeletal shell—horrifying indeed.

“Old Huo, help me! If you don’t come, this thing’s going to swallow me whole!”

“You look no different than if you were already swallowed!” Old Huo teased from a distance.

He flipped nimbly, transforming a fist into an open palm, and struck the skeleton’s neck vertebra with a precise hand chop.

With a whoosh, the skeleton’s head flew off like a bouncing ball rolling far away.

Freed from the threat, Cui Yue pushed himself up with both hands, channeling inner power.

Crackling sounds echoed as the skeleton’s ribcage shattered, bones falling in fragments.

“Phew, finally out!” Cui Yue exhaled in relief and quickly kicked away the scattered bones.

The golden-armored guards had gained overwhelming victory, the ground littered with broken bone shards piled nearly into mounds.

“How about that? You faceless monsters, now you know our strength!” Cui Yue taunted the green-robed ghost.

Old Huo chuckled and corrected him, “It’s my strength you should praise; those guys are mine!”

Pointing to the three golden-armored generals before them, he teased.

“At a time like this, no need to argue about mine or yours, is there?”

“But—”

“No buts.”

The ghost’s expression darkened as the two foolish men bickered, utterly dismissing her presence. She realized they were truly reckless, oblivious to the fact they already had one foot in the grave.

By this time next year, they wouldn’t even have a memorial day.