Thirteen disciples of the Ghost Sect were missing; not a single hair or piece of clothing could be found.
In the Ghost Sect, a place permeated with ghostly Yin energy, the sect master was deeply distressed about her missing daughter. Three thousand Ghost Sect disciples were dispatched to search the four regions and uncover the truth behind their disappearance, but nothing was found. Some speculated that they might be trapped in a powerful secret realm, as a cultivator at the Golden Core Realm could not simply cease to exist.
However, the sect leader knew that something had happened to her daughter and the twelve disciples—an instinctive feeling that any parent or loved one would experience.
Soon enough, the Ghost Sect Master visited the Fiend Sect, as her daughter had last been seen with one of their elders.
"Zhing Chen, open this barrier right now!" the Ghost Sect Master demanded, her voice echoing like a loudspeaker, resonating among the sect members of the Fiend Sect as if she were shouting directly into their ears.
"Yang Fan, we have been friends for two thousand years. Why act in such a manner? Didn't your dead mother teach you how to behave in someone else's home?" Zhing Chen replied, irritation creeping into his voice.
"Courting death?"
Suddenly, visible ripples swept across the sky, infused with profound Qi. It was not an attack, but rather a powerful Qi wave emanating from two formidable cultivators. A large number of the Fiend Sect disciples fainted from the shock wave of the Qi release.
"What do I owe you for behaving this way, old friend?" Zhing Chen asked.
The Ghost Sect Master, dressed in purple robes, held what appeared to be a flag—a mortal treasure. Towering at about 200 cm, with hair as dark as the abyss, his face looked remarkably young for someone who had survived for 2000 years, appearing just like a middle-aged man.
"Where's my daughter? What have you done to her?" Yang Fan, the Ghost Sect Master, feared that the leader of the Fiend Sect might have trapped his daughter.
"I know nothing of what you're talking about. If your daughter is missing, I am definitely not responsible for her disappearance," Zhing Chen replied.
"Break for me!" Yang Fan commanded, shifting his flag and striking the barrier of the Fiend Sect. It shattered like glass falling from a height of 7 feet.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
This deeply angered the leader of the Fiend Sect. Zhing Chen soared into the air, his aura both frightening and powerful, like that of a mythical beast. With his striking red hair and dark robes, he towered at an imposing 190 cm.
"Are you not going to give me a chance to explain that I'm innocent?" Zhing Chen asked, pulling out his sword—a mortal treasure.
"Ha...hahahaha! I have not killed a single soul since the Demonic War took place 500 years ago, but I will enjoy killing you for taking my daughter's life!"
The two began to exchange blows, matching each other strike for strike. In just a short time, they had exchanged 100 blows, both equally matched at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul Realm. Anyone of a lower realm would immediately fall into a coma.
Boom!
An explosion engulfed the sky, shaking the landscape for a thousand kilometers.
"Was that your strongest attack? After 500 years of cultivation, you're still as weak as ever!" Zhing Chen mocked.
"You want strength? I will show you strength!" Yang Fan declared as he raised his flag. "Ghost of a Hundred Valleys!"
But just as he was about to unleash his attack, Zhing Chen vanished, seemingly completely gone.
Suddenly, Zhing Chen appeared behind Yang Fan. "Surprise!" he shouted as he delivered a terrifying slash from behind with his sword. He didn't use any fancy techniques; it was pure swordsmanship.
"Die for me! Ghost Bow!"
"Too weak! Way too weak! Since you're using skills, I'll also honor you with a technique I learned."
Zhing Chen closed his eyes. "Serene Sword!"
A ripple far superior to the last swept across the horizon, creating another powerful explosion and pushing back all nearby cultivators, including Zhing Chen and Yang Fan.
Boom!
Trees fell, and the clouds parted from the impact, leaving a massive crack in the ground due to the force of the explosions.
Both combatants smirked, relishing the battle. However, Zhing Chen's expression shifted when he noticed his sect disciples being crushed like bugs, some fainting from the energies released by the two cultivators.
In anger, he yelled, "Elders! What are you doing? Come and help me!"
The elders rushed out to assist their leader.
"This is a declaration of war. I will make sure to kill and destroy everything you own, zhing Chen, prepare to meet your end soon."
Yang Fan used a transversing talisman to teleport back to his sect.
"Coward."
"This is just the beginning," he declared. "But I won't be waiting for you to come back to me. I will be coming to you. Elders, let's show the Ghost Sect what we're made of!"
"Let's go back for now and prepare ourselves." Zhing Chen returned to his sect and crafted a healing talisman to help the disciples of the fiend who were close to the battle recover.
Soon, the Third Elder walked into the sect hall. "I greet the sect master," he said.
"What brings you here, Bai Ning?" Zhing Chen asked, his presence commanding respect.
Bai Ning, intimidated, knew he had to confront the sect master before things got worse. "Well, I'm here to tell you that I know how the 13 golden core disciples of the Ghost Sect disappeared. And no, they are not trapped in a secret realm."
Zhing Chen lifted his face, stood up, and walked closer to the Third Elder. "Look me straight in the eye. You know I hate fighting with my friends. How did they disappear?"
"Well," Bai Ning began, "you know I was in a relationship with the Ghost Sect master's daughter under your order. We saw a golden immortal light while we were exploring as usual. When we arrived at the source of the light, we found only four mortals, each possessing immortal-grade treasures." Sweat began to bead on his temple.
"And?" the sect leader pressed, his gaze piercing into Bai Ning's soul.
"And… when the Jade Beauty of the North confronted the man who seemed to be the master of that place… he—"
"He what? Tell me what happened, damn it!"
"He erased her from existence, sect leader. Not only her, but her friends too. He let me go for some reason."
"So he let you live out of pity? This is why I don't keep useless people around me; you should have died right then and there."
"Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?" Zhing Chen asked, his tone rising.
"I… I was afraid!"
"Afraid? Afraid of what exactly?"
"Death," Bai Ning answered truthfully, his face drenched in sweat and his legs shaking from despair.
"Since you are afraid of death," Zhing Chen said as he grabbed Bai Ning's head and lifted him off the ground, "then die and be courageous in your next life."
With that, his head exploded like a watermelon, and Bai Ning fell to the floor.
Thud...
"Hey, you," he pointed at a passing disciple who was minding his business " clean up this mess now."
The disciple stared at the floor and saw the third elder lying on the floor lifeless " yes sir, right away"