Young Noble Be Monster Slaying
Chapter 949: Perilous City (II)

It was as if a blazing sun had risen above the city walls.

Huo Tianya and Ji Lingjue were thrown out of the firelight and slammed into the ground in a battered heap. The ghosts nearby let out shrill cries as their forms disintegrated and vanished from the mortal realm.

"Guardian Ruler!" an Eminent One cried out.

The figure who had arrived was none other than the Guardian Ruler of the Celestial Northern Prison. Since the prison had yet to be rebuilt, he had remained in the imperial city. When the ghosts began to run rampant, he could no longer stand by and do nothing. As soon as he received word of the Celestial Charm Sect’s attack, he descended upon the battlefield.

Bathed in a searing brilliance that rivaled the sun, the Guardian Ruler furrowed his brows and shouted, "You wretched evildoers are like cockroaches. No matter how many times we crush you, you keep coming back."

Ji Lingjue, lying on the ground, showed no trace of fear. Instead, he let out a low chuckle and smiled with a savage glint in his eyes. "Impressive as always, Guardian Ruler. But unfortunately for you, we are not your true enemy."

"I don’t care who it is. I will crush you both first," the Guardian Ruler roared as he charged forward.

The intense brilliance of the Guardian Ruler's power reflected in the eyes of Huo Tianya and Ji Lingjue. A flicker of fear passed through their expressions. They were not without fear, but they chose not to dodge or retreat. Their stillness made it clear they were placing their trust in something else.

In the very next moment, a beam of black light descended from the distant sky.

Whooooosh!

The black light collided head-on with the Guardian Ruler, who was charging at full speed. At the point of impact, the shockwave alone caused half the city wall to collapse. That devastating force came only from the clash of foundational qi from a distance. One could only imagine how terrifying the direct impact must have been.

Boom!

The result stunned everyone.

The Guardian Ruler, whose brilliance had blazed like the sun, was sent hurtling backward. He crashed into the main street of the city, gouging a deep trench over one hundred zhang long. The ground along his path was scorched and continued to smolder.

Yet in the sky, the black figure remained completely motionless. Slowly, it revealed its full form.

The figure that approached was pitch-black from head to toe, as though forged from solid metal. Countless chains were coiled around his body, each one etched with glowing talismans. With every step he took, the chains broke apart one after another and vanished into the void, leaving no dust behind, as if they had never existed in the first place.

His face was entirely metallic, completely devoid of flesh. His gaze was terrifying, sweeping across the city and regarding every living being as nothing more than prey.

Many immediately recognized the figure. This figure had been recorded in the Catalog of the Mortal World’s Ten Thousand Treasures as the True Form of Ksitigarbha, a legendary artifact of the Dark King Sect!

However, the eyes of this figure now glowed with sentience, and his size had shrunk from that of a towering mountain to the height of an ordinary man.

What made him truly terrifying was not his former massive size, but the fact that he had become small. That change meant a soul had taken possession of the body.

From the bottom of the pit, the Guardian Ruler groaned, "Ugh… That damned thing… it’s actually come alive."

Evil Ksitigarbha hovered motionless in the sky, as if waiting for his opponent to rise again.

After a brief pause, when he sensed no trace of an aura, his eyes narrowed. He raised a finger and pointed.

Fwoosh. Boom!

The pit exploded. Only then did he realize the Guardian Ruler he had struck was merely a clone formed from a spark of divine energy. Beneath the false body, another crater glowed faintly.

Having seen how invincible and powerful Evil Ksitigarbha was, the Guardian Ruler had used the clone to delay Evil Ksitigarbha while he tunneled deep underground to escape. The long passage he left behind seemed to mock Evil Ksitigarbha’s effort.

"Humans…" Evil Ksitigarbha’s eyes burned with fury, and murderous intent surged from his body.

Of course, even without this provocation, he had come with the intent to destroy every human in the city.

With a roar, Evil Ksitigarbha suddenly expanded and grew to a towering, mountain-like size. His terrifying spiritual pressure tore open the air around him and fractured the void. The nearby ghosts were dragged into the spatial rifts, screaming as they vanished into the cracks.

Even more ghosts, having fled to the mortal realm to escape Evil Ksitigarbha, were struck with horror upon seeing him here. In that instant, both mortals and spirits were consumed by despair.

Evil Ksitigarbha had arrived with the sole purpose of bringing ruin to the mortal world.

…

"Something terrible has happened! Where is Mingde?"

The Guardian Ruler erupted from the ground like a blazing sun, rising straight from the ground of the Divine Fire Hall.

Imperial Guardian Mingde had been using his divine sense to scan the city and monitor the situation. Yet, when the Guardian Ruler appeared suddenly, he was stunned.

While extinguishing the yang fire that enveloped his entire body, the Guardian Ruler continued, "The disaster tonight is far worse than we imagined. The True Form of Ksitigarbha has come back to life, and the cultivation power of that thing is too terrifying!"

At this moment, the Guardian Ruler was drenched in blood. Much of his bones and flesh had been shattered and ripped. He had almost been crippled by that full-force strike from the Evil Ksitigarbha. If he had not escaped when he did, he might have died at the city gates.

Under normal circumstances, the prideful Guardian Ruler would never have fled in such disgrace.

At this moment, Mingde also sensed the overwhelming surge of devilish qi coming from the city gate. His expression turned grim as he muttered, "Evil Ksitigarbha?"

Immediately, Mingde ordered, "Take the imperial family and flee. I will stay behind with the Imperial Supervisory Bureau to defend the city!"

"You are the Dao Master of the Path of Incinerating Heaven. Protecting the imperial family is your duty," the Guardian Ruler replied.

Mingde pressed a hand on the Guardian Ruler’s shoulder and said, "You’re in no condition to keep fighting. I still have the strength for one last battle. Enough talk. Open all four gates and let the people escape so that whoever can escape will make it out alive."

As soon as Mingde finished speaking, he ignited into a blazing beam of fire and shot toward the massive surge of devilish qi.

He was not alone. Experts from the Imperial Supervisory Bureau, Ascending Dragon Academy, Monastery Tower, and the imperial city all rose in unison. Every eighth-realm cultivator in the area stepped forward to protect the capital.

The Guardian Ruler said nothing more. In a flash, he arrived at the Night Dragon Hall. The emperor stood outside the hall in full armor, giving orders to his ministers as he prepared to personally lead the defense against the invading ghosts.

The emperor had not yet received word of Evil Ksitigarbha’s resurrection. And so, when the Guardian Ruler suddenly appeared, everyone stood frozen in shock.

The Guardian Ruler seized the emperor by the shoulder. "There’s no time to explain. Evil Ksitigarbha has reclaimed his true form. I’m taking you and the crown prince to Mount Shu. The Demon God is there. With the Demon God present, Evil Ksitigarbha might not dare to show himself there."

The emperor trembled and asked in disbelief, "What… Evil Ksitigarbha?"

"If we’re even a moment too late, the imperial city will fall!" the Guardian Ruler said, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He had no time to tend to his wounds. At this moment, a trail and pool of blazing golden blood had already spread beneath him.

"The crown prince!" the emperor shouted urgently. "Where is the crown prince? He must come with me!"

Palace attendants hurried to deliver the command. The Guardian Ruler spread his divine sense in every direction, searching desperately.

But all signs pointed to the same conclusion.

"The crown prince is missing?!"