Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 932: Chapter 666: Murderous Night Under a Dark and Stormy Sky, Encountering an Old Friend at the Peace Hotel

At the critical moment, the man suddenly shook a square inkstone from his garment and flung it onto the ground. Yang Xiao felt his footing give way beneath him, stumbled in his forward charge, and nearly fell to the floor.

As the inkstone hit the ground, an eerie force visibly corroded the surface, turning it into a thick, pitch-black hue, as if he was now standing within an enormous inkstone.

Ink remained in the inkstone, the dense, black ink engulfing his instep like something alive, relentlessly crawling up Yang Xiao’s calf.

This inkstone was one of the Magic Artifacts of Pingxi Marquis, which he had seen used in their previous encounter. Yang Xiao was caught off guard and suffered greatly then, and if it weren’t for Daoist Qingfeng’s timely arrival, his life would have been forfeited. freewebnoveℓ.com

Now, Yang Xiao couldn’t even stand firm and had no choice but to switch from the Ghost Duster to the Ghost Lantern. As spiritual power was poured into it without regard for the cost, the flame within the Ghost Lantern grew more intense. The green light not only stopped the ink from climbing but also dispersed the ink underfoot. Green light and ink entwined in battle, as two forces of spiritual power clashed, forming a circle around Yang Xiao.

In this exchange, Yang Xiao gained a clearer understanding of Pingxi Marquis’s condition. The man was gravely injured, his strength of spiritual power also greatly diminished—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been driven into such a wretched state by Yang Xiao. Yet, Yang Xiao dared not be careless; after all, the man was a Ghost-level Apostle, his Magic Artifacts top-tier, and his control over spiritual power was still a cut above his own. The outcome of this battle was unpredictable.

"You actually possess a Magic Artifact from the Black Buddha Mother, you are in big trouble!" Seeing that he had stabilized the situation, the man roared at Yang Xiao.

The area around was awash with ink, effectively trapping him. Fortunately, the Soul-Capturing Mirror was still usable. He carried with him a copper mirror gifted by the Chamber of Commerce—if worst comes to worst, he could still escape, if he wished to.

However, now that he had shown himself today, he could not leave empty-handed, or else endless trouble would await him in the future.

Yang Xiao swung his Human Bone Staff at the man from a distance. With a ghastly laugh, the man fell backward, landing with a "thump" into the pool of ink, his figure vanishing instantaneously.

The energy waves emitted by the Human Bone Staff did not dissipate but moved erratically along the ink’s surface, seemingly in search of a target.

A similar scene occurred when Yang Xiao battled the original owner of the Human Bone Staff, Huang Sanbing. Back then, Yang Xiao took refuge within the Mirror World, making the staff’s attack lose its target.

Soon after, the voice of Pingxi Marquis chanting could be heard from the pitch-black ink: "In books, one finds beauties fair, and houses made of gold are there!"

The next second, a crude wooden hut materialized out of thin air in front of Yang Xiao, like a phantom. Choppy sounds of reading also came from within the hut, but the tone was icy and rigid, as if some unknown entity was learning to speak.

"The Way that can be told is not the eternal Way; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. Nameless, it is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; Named, it is the mother of all things. Thus, always without desire, one can see its subtlety... If a man achieves no fame, he deeply feels the shame; looked down by others, he longs for the day he attains glorious feats, basks in success, and returns home in triumphant robes. Only through the bitterest of hardships can one rise above others. Willingly hanging oneself by the beams and stabbing oneself in the legs, sparing no effort, such is the spirit of scholars!"

The hut was in shambles, its roof thatched with straw, and through the broken windowpane, one could see a shadowy figure inside.

The figure, with its back to him, sat at a wooden desk, clothed in coarse fabric, long braids dangling behind, nodding and shaking as though reading, with the sound emanating from within. A crooked signboard hung on the door, inscribed with the word "Humble Abode" using ink.

This scene was vaguely familiar to Yang Xiao, evoking an exceptionally unpleasant memory buried deep in his mind.

Indeed, the instant the reading stopped, the shadow within the hut tied its braid with a hemp rope, looped one end over a beam above, and hoisted the braid high. Yang Xiao’s scalp tightened, feeling a strong tug as he was forced to lift his head.

With a "puchi," the shadow in the hut jabbed a large awl into its thigh, and Yang Xiao felt the pain as if it were his own; his right leg too was fiercely stabbed, and blood began to flow.

"Great Marquis Pingxi, I... I concede defeat!" Yang Xiao howled, "I’ll give you a Magic Artifact, please... please spare me!"

"It’s impossible to spare you, but I can make it quick," the man’s voice contained a cold laugh, "I know you have a mirror you snatched from the Resentment Sect, throw that mirror away, and also, toss out that short stick that can wound one’s spirit!"

Pingxi Marquis knew well that once these two objects were out of hand, Yang Xiao had no chance of escape today. The mirror could Instant Teleportation, and the Human Bone Staff could attack at range; right now, only these two Magic Artifacts posed a threat to him.

After another stab, Yang Xiao gave in, tossing both the Human Bone Staff and the copper mirror away. Both artifacts were engulfed by the black ink.

Seconds later, about 5 meters from Yang Xiao, the viscous ink inexplicably began to quiver, and then a figure stood up from it—it was Pingxi Marquis!

Standing atop the ink, as if it were firm ground, he walked step by step towards Yang Xiao, stopping 3 meters away, and approached no closer.

"Extinguish that lantern!" ordered Pingxi Marquis in a threatening tone. freewёbnoνel.com

"If I extinguish the lantern, I’ll die immediately unless... unless you first remove this ink," Yang Xiao struggled to maintain his composure, his voice weak.

Pingxi Marquis sneered. Of course, he would not recall the Magic Artifact; with the inkstone in place, he was virtually invincible in this little world. How indispensable these two artifacts had been in securing his footing in Xiang Ma Town over the years, how many skilled opponents he had killed—including Ghost-level Apostles like himself—he had lost count.