Great Demon Sun Wukong

At that moment, the Chi Ghost finally revealed its formidable Attack Power. The 'Flame Spirit' part of the Heavenly Punishment Flame Spirit Lance merely referred to the material from which the lance was forged, using Fire Spirit Divine Iron. The 'Heavenly Punishment' part, however, was what made this weapon so powerful. Just as the Chi Ghost swiftly retreated and uttered a low shout, an extremely fine red light descended from the sky, landing directly on the forehead of one of the Soul Bodies.

The moment the Soul Body was struck by the light as thin as silk, its body stiffened, and then it vanished instantly. To say it vanished may not be accurate; rather, it was more accurate to say it was evaporated by that silk-like red light, which was none other than the Nine Heavens Cleansing Fire Tribulation. But don't forget, the Chi Ghost had mentioned there were Three Layers. Naturally, the red light was the First Layer of the Nine Heavens Cleansing Fire Tribulation, but what about the second and third Layers? Were they absent?

Of course, the answer was no. The very next moment after the red light struck the Soul Body, two bright red spots suddenly lit up inside the bodies of the two adjacent Soul Entities, who then also evaporated into nothingness. Although the Chi Ghost had obliterated three Soul Bodies of a Heavenly Venerate at the Primary Grade, his actions didn't cease. Right after the third Soul Body vanished, the Chi Ghost had already reappeared in front of the Spirit Controller, and another punch crashed down.

This time, there were no Soul Bodies to help the Spirit Controller block the attack, for the other two had already moved behind the Chi Ghost, intending to launch a sneak attack upon his command. To their surprise, the Chi Ghost's reaction was so swift that while the two Soul Bodies missed their target, the Spirit Controller found himself in a completely defenseless position. Confronted with the fierce punch from the Chi Ghost, the Spirit Controller didn't seem too panicked, merely turning his body and positioning his right arm horizontally above his head as if to block the punch with his own body. Was the Spirit Controller courting death? He surely couldn't fail to see that the Nine Heavens Cleansing Fire Tribulation, manifested from the Chi Ghost's Heavenly Punishment Flame Spirit Lance, was targeting him through Chi Ghost's attacks. So why did the Spirit Controller still use his arm to defend?

The answer was unveiled in a moment, for after blocking the Chi Ghost's punch, an additional, thick arm made up entirely of Soul Body material appeared on that arm of the Spirit Controller. That arm, after detaching from the Spirit Controller's arm, struggled for a moment, and then a very tall Soul Body emerged from within the Spirit Controller's body. Given the difference in their sizes, one could surmise that the Soul Body must have been entirely beneath the Spirit Controller's skin, providing him with a final layer of defense.

"Hmph, a mere jester can only flaunt such petty tricks," he said. With a stretch of his hand and a flick of his finger towards the Chi Ghost, he coldly added, "Annihilate. The flesh is yours, but leave the soul for me." As soon as the Spirit Controller finished speaking, the tall Soul Body let out a cackling laugh and lunged straight at the Chi Ghost. The Chi Ghost was secretly astonished, for the Spirit Controller was actually able to command a Soul Body of a higher Rank than his own, which was truly incredible. Moreover, this tall Soul Body's strength far surpassed the combined force of the previous five Soul Bodies.

However, the Chi Ghost was no longer the same. After merging with the shadow within him once again, the Chi Ghost's true Realm was now at the Intermediate Grade of the Heavenly Venerate. At the same rank, Chi Ghost, who possessed a physical body, had a significant advantage in a fight against a Soul Body, and, at this moment, he was more capable, not to mention the Heavenly Punishment Flame Spirit Lance that had already merged into the dark clouds above their heads. Just the Chi Ghost's own abilities were enough to deal with that Soul Body.

Watching the tall Soul Body charge at him, Chi Ghost suddenly lifted his right hand and bit down viciously on the back of his own hand. The bite was so fierce that two streams of fresh blood trickled down from the corners of his mouth. Opening his mouth, there were now two bloody marks on the back of the Chi Ghost's right hand where he had bitten himself, and the fresh blood that flowed from them quickly formed the pattern of a headless evil spirit on his hand. With the emergence of this headless evil spirit pattern, the Chi Ghost himself seemed to exude an eerie and gloomy aura, with fresh red blood began to ooze from the corners of his eyes.

Slowly bending his body, with knees flexed, he crouched down like a leopard ready to pounce, easing his body lowly to the ground. Then, with an extremely unpleasant roar from the Chi Ghost's mouth, those of lesser strength would probably be scared stiff. Amidst this roar, the Chi Ghost turned into a streak of blood and shot out. Even the Ghost Charm couldn't match his speed; he had already struck before the tall figure managed to cover half the distance.

This time, the Chi Ghost made no use of special attack techniques; he simply bit down hard on the shoulder of the tall Soul Body. In that instant, the Chi Ghost had truly transformed into a starving ghost from the deepest pits of Hell, with four long and sharp fangs, and a mouth full of fine teeth as sharp as knives, all proving that this bite was bound to tear off a large chunk of flesh from his enemy. Although the opponent was a Soul Body, it still tore away a great chunk of Soul Energy. Not only that, as he skimmed past the tall figure's shoulder, the bite was just the beginning. Before the tall Soul Body could cry out in pain, a subsequent knee strike from the Chi Ghost had already hit it squarely in the forehead.

The immense impact force almost shattered the large soul body's head—it's fortunate that it was a soul body because if it had been a flesh and blood body struck by that power, the head would have definitely burst open with flesh flying in all directions. Despite that, the soul body's head still seemed a bit more ethereal than its body. These events were far from over; Chi Ghost, after swooping by, had already sprung up again the moment it hit the ground, but this time it did not turn back to continue assaulting the large soul. Instead, it pounced directly towards the Spirit Controller.

The Spirit Controller had been closely observing the battle dynamics and, although he was surprised by the sudden increase in Chi Ghost's speed, his reaction wasn't the slightest bit slow. With a stamp of his foot, he had already dodged. However, the two souls behind him weren't so lucky; unable to avoid in time, they were directly grabbed by the Chi Ghost, whose hands had grown sharp claws, shattering their heads. Of course, as soul bodies, even if their heads were smashed, it would only result in the loss of some soul energy, and they wouldn't die. In the end, however, Chi Ghost bit directly into the neck of one of the decapitated soul bodies and then suddenly sprayed out crimson flames from its mouth. These flames started out as thin as hair strands, but once they entered the body of the soul body, they quickly scattered into countless threads of flame.

These flame threads seemed to have the ability to dissolve the soul body. In an instant, the soul body was burned to nothingness, marking the death of the fourth soul body. As the headless soul body beside Chi Ghost was about to attack, Chi Ghost had already slapped its chest with its palm, and the next moment Chi Ghost vanished as Heavenly Punishment descended. With the roar of the Nine Heavens Cleansing Fire Tribulation plummeting to the ground, Chi Ghost once again bit into the back of the neck of the large soul body.

This time, Chi Ghost didn't bite and run, since its body was tightly hugged by the large soul body. Yes, it was indeed hugged, which might seem strange—why was the large soul body able to hug Chi Ghost even after it had been bitten in the neck from behind? But once you understand that although soul bodies have human forms, they are ultimately just clusters of soul energy, you wouldn't be surprised anymore.

The soul body's arms were like two iron chains, making Chi Ghost temporarily unable to break free. Seeing that Chi Ghost was finally trapped, the Spirit Controller let out a relieved sigh, "I thought you could entertain me a bit longer. Frogs at the bottom of a well remain just that, although you're a stronger frog than most, you still can't make it to the stage. Since you're so eager to die, I'll oblige you!"

As he spoke, a wisp of blue flame suddenly ignited in the palm of the Spirit Controller's right hand. Seeing this flame, Chi Ghost finally understood why the Spirit Controller could manipulate soul bodies of a higher grade than himself.

"Is that so? Although I'm not afraid of death, today, I won't die. You will!"

No sooner had Chi Ghost's words fallen than the Spirit Controller suddenly felt the surroundings darken. Yet it wasn't the darkness of night, but rather as if the light from the sky had been blocked. A thought crossed his mind, and he abruptly looked up, only to see an impossibly massive wall. At that instant, the Chi Ghost that was tightly embraced by the soul body suddenly split in two—one Chi Ghost still being held while the other vanished in an instant.

Then, with thunderous rumbles as if the sky was falling and the earth was splitting, the Spirit Controller found himself crushed beneath an enormous blood-red mountain peak thousands of feet high.(To be continued. If you like this work, please feel free to cast your recommendation votes and monthly pass at Starting Point ). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)