The surroundings had been completely transformed. The once clear sky was now shrouded in an eerie darkness, as if night had suddenly fallen.
Thousands of ghostly spirits filled the air, their ethereal forms twisting and writhing in unnatural ways.
There were many types of these spirit bodies. Some had beastly heads like wolves and tigers. Others were just bodies, floating independently.
There were also human-like spirits, their faces contorted in eternal agony.
These were essentially the soul bodies of all those that the Demon Prince had killed before.
Their collective auras exuded a bone-chilling cold that seemed to freeze the air.
At this very moment, a handsome man with dark flowing hair emerged from the sea of ghostly spirits.
He was riding a blood-red sword as he stopped before them at a distance of about ten meters.
He wore night-black robes with Demonic Sect symbols on them. An aura of death and blood-lust emanated from his very being.
He first looked at Iris, his eyes roaming her figure hungrily. A cruel smile played on his lips as he spoke, “My little Princess, How I have missed you.”
Then he turned his head towards Lucian who was suspended in the air beside Iris.
His eyes narrowed as he examined Lucian.
“Iris, is this your guard?” He turned back to iris and asked arrogantly, his voice dripping with disdain, “I didn’t know you needed protection! You could have just asked me.”
Meanwhile,
As Lucian saw Aldric, he immediately opened System’s Side Quest option. Soon a transparent screen only visible to him appeared in his field of vision.
—
[Sub Quest(s)]: 2
[2> The Anomaly Must Die]
[Description]: Aldric, a cultivator of the Ghost Path, has blocked the Heavenly Secrets and sent his Consciousness back in Time.
[Objective]: Kill him
[Reward]: Mandates of Heavens; a Ghost Path Cultivation Technique
[Status]: In progress
—
As Lucian willed in his mind, an ethereal arrow emerged above Aldric’s head, with its arrowhead pointing downward.
Once he had confirmed this, his gaze sharpened. For someone who could traverse back in time, they were surely no ordinary person.
But then, thinking about his new break through in his Cultivation Technique after reaching the 7th stage of Foundation Establishment, he relaxed and a cold grin spread across his face as he gazed at Aldric.
“Hmm? What’re you grinning about?” Aldric sneered, noticing Lucian’s expression, “Scram! Iris and I have some… private matters to discuss.”
Lucian’s grin only widened. His hand moved, grabbing Iris’s plump asscheeks. She blushed deeply but didn’t push his hand away.
“Y-Y-Y…YOU! HOW DARE YOU, FUCKER!!” Aldric roared in anger as he noticed Lucian’s bold action.
Lucian didn’t reply. Instead, he pulled out his Halberd.
At this moment, Iris saw a fight was inevitable.
She let out a long breath and said to Lucian through Qi Sense, “You should handle these Ghostly Spirits. With your fire element, you should have an advantage. While I transform into my Dragon Form and try to kill him swiftly.”
He could feel Iris’s concern through their connection.
Aldric’s face twisted with rage. Dark energy swirled around him, making the air grow colder.
“You dare touch what’s mine?” he roared, “I’ll rip you apart! Then I’ll take care of this bitch!”
He took out the white flag treasure again.
As Aldric waved the white flag furiously, more bizarre spirit bodies appeared.
These were even stranger than before. Some had multiple heads, others had limbs in odd places.
He pointed them towards Lucian and they screeched. The sound was like a thousand nails on metal.
At this moment, just as Iris was about to transform, Lucian said, “Wait! I want to try something.”
He walked in the air as if it were solid ground. His Halberd blade glowed with darker flames, almost as if blood was burning.
The spirit bodies rushed at him from all sides, their ghostly forms stretching and twisting abnormally.
Lucian’s [Celestial Flame Lotus] Cultivation Technique had three Divine techniques.
Upon reaching the third level, he could resist almost all types of fire unless the opponent’s cultivation was significantly higher. By the sixth level, his Qi would be infused with a hint of Celestial Flame, capable of incinerating even souls!
…
In the sky, the spirit bodies created a ball around Lucian, their ghostly forms merging together, forming an “impenetrable” barrier.
“This is the man you chose over me, Iris?” Aldric laughed mockingly as he watched the scene unfold, “How pathetic. Watch as I crush him like an insect! Then I’ll make his soul my slave.”
He controlled the white flag, sending more spirits to join the fray. The ball of darkness grew larger, completely engulfing Lucian from view.
Iris was about to go and help Lucian,
However, in that very moment, a mournful scream suddenly echoed, followed by more. The ball of spirits began to tremble and shake violently.
A ray of light soared into the sky from the black ball, piercing through the ghostly barrier.
Soon, a burst of flame erupted from within the spirit ball. As the spirits burned, their screams grew louder, filling the air with agonized wails.
Where they touched the spirits, the ethereal forms simply ceased to exist, leaving behind nothing but wisps of dark smoke.
“W-what? How could this happen? No one should have the ability to burn my pets in this Secret Realm of my past life! Did my return change the future!?” His eyes narrowed in shock and disbelief.
Iris was also shocked as she didn’t expect Lucian’s fire could easily burn the soul.
She sighed in relief and this time directly transformed.
Her body grew larger as two dragon horns sprouted from her head. Purple scales covered her body as she transformed into her hybrid form!
“ROAARRR!!!”
With a mighty Dragon roar, Iris flew towards Aldric at lightning speed. Her body cut through the air, leaving a trail of purple light behind her.
But Aldric was just momentarily shocked.
How could he, who had traversed time itself, be defeated so easily?
“At last, you showed your true self. I must admit you really look beautiful, Iris,” He said while his eyes flashed with a cold light as he raised his hand. Dark energy swirled around his fingers, forming into sharp claws.
Right now Iris had already guessed that Aldric might have discovered her true race, so she didn’t reply, instead circulating her Cultivation to increase her speed to the limit.
As Iris neared him, Aldric slashed out with his energy claws. They collided with Iris’ purple Dragon scales, sending sparks flying.
As Iris’s dragon tail lashed through the air, about to strick, Aldric suddenly disappeared without a trace.
He emerged from a shadow of his ghost spirit on the ground, a sinister smile on his face.
In an instant, he emerged from another shadow behind Iris.
He swung his blood-red sword, and a crimson sword Qi erupted from the blade. It sliced through the air with a piercing sound, aiming for Iris’s unprotected back.
She refrained from using any artifacts, relying solely on her innate powers.
As the sword Qi drew near, she opened her mouth and spat lightning.
A bolt of purple lightning surged forth, colliding with the blood-colored sword Qi.
Boom!!
As the destructive energies collided, mountains shook and the earth trembled. A massive shockwave rippled outwards, uprooting trees and shattering rocks.
As dust and debris cleared, Lucian stood beside Iris.
He had already obliterated all the ghostly spirits. For him, they weren’t threatening but time-consuming to deal with.
His Celestial Flame had made short work of the incorporeal beings, reducing them to nothingness.
“I didn’t expect someone to have a fire that can burn souls in this remote corner of the continent,” Aldric spoke, his eyes narrowing as he assessed Lucian, “Who are you?”
Lucian smirked, twirling his Halberd casually, “Why? We didn’t meet in your past life?”
Aldric’s expression darkened, his cold smile faltering for the briefest of moments.
But he quickly gathered his emotions, his face settling into a cold mask.
His white flag treasure trembled violently as the remaining Ghostly Spirits emerged and entered his body.
An aura of blood and death began to swirl around him, growing stronger with each passing moment…
“Hmph, it seems you know more than you should,” Aldric’s lips curled into a sinister grin, his eyes gleaming with malice, “But it matters not. I’ve changed my mind. Iris, I wanted to make you mine. But now you’ll both die here today!”
His body began to change, growing larger and more monstrous!
His skin turned black, and bony protrusions erupted from his back! His eyes glowed with an eerie black flame as he transformed into a terrifying Blood Fiend!
Lucian’s eyes narrowed as for the first time he felt an oppressive pressure emanating from Aldric.
“It seems this is his trump card,” Iris said with a solemn expression, her dragon eyes narrowing, “His aura is similar to someone halfway into Golden Core. If it was not for the Secret Realm’s restriction, I’m afraid he might have entered that realm already.”