: Wangchuan Mansion Lord vs. Ghostfire Mansion Lord

2025-07-07 Author: Gu Zhenren

Ning Zhuo was puzzled, sensing that Buddhist Physician · Meng Yaoyin had underlying meanings in her words, but he couldn't figure them out.

Unable to grasp it, he immediately inquired using his divine sense.

Buddhist Physician · Meng Yaoyin, however, said, "Heaven’s secrets cannot be fully revealed. Though the ways of fate are profound and extraordinary, overuse will bring the envy of the earth and punishment from heaven."

"Especially certain things—if you learn of them prematurely, it will inevitably provoke the heavens and earth to intervene, drastically altering the future, deviating from your calculations, or even leading to the opposite outcome."

"I’ve already given you too many hints, Xiao Zhuo."

Ning Zhuo hurriedly replied, "Mother, you know more than I do. I won’t ask anymore. Please take good care of yourself!"

Buddhist Physician · Meng Yaoyin turned around and walked in front of the paper army.

This was the seventh army, and it was precisely because it was incomplete that there was an opportunity to exploit, which Meng Yaoyin had utilized during her lifetime.

The paper soldiers stood silently in place, having endured the passage of long years.

The cinnabar on their thin armor seemed to have congealed into bloodstains, with the scent of aged incense ash seeping from the joints.

The foot soldiers' long spears stood like a dense forest, while droplets of condensed dew hung from the arrows of the crossbowmen.

Thirty-six divine chariots rested like coffins, the three-headed, six-armed paper deities holding cloud gongs and wind flags, yet appearing as motionless as clay or wooden statues. Only the nine-zhang, nine-chi plain silk banner occasionally fluttered in the gloomy wind.

Buddhist Physician · Meng Yaoyin also stood motionless, gathering her momentum.

After a dozen breaths, her lips parted slightly as she softly chanted an incantation.

*Mouth Seal.*

Simultaneously, her fingers fluttered like butterflies.

*Finger Seal.*

Her spirit and magical power were channeled into the formation disk, formally activating the arrangements she had made during her lifetime.

The vast ground began to emit a faint glow.

The glow quickly intensified, becoming dazzling, and infused into each paper soldier.

This process lasted twenty breaths. The paper soldiers swelled up as if lit from within, each becoming a human-shaped paper lantern.

Finally, the soul-summoning banner at the top of the great standard trembled violently, its seven-layered tails writhing like furious snakes.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…*

The sound of fluttering paper money filled everyone’s ears.

The eye sockets of the paper soldiers lit up, gaining a spirited glow. Countless talismans appeared all over their bodies, glowing as if branded with hot iron!

As if a heavenly hand were wielding a brush, colors spread across the paper soldiers until they were fully painted.

The ox cavalry glared ahead, their mounts snorting heavily, hooves beginning to paw the ground.

The fluttering paper armor rapidly thickened, turning into heavy iron armor.

Spears and shields successively solidified, as did the bows and crossbows.

The three paper deities coiled on the chariot shafts were an exception, showing no change.

The central commander slowly opened his eyes, his armor brilliantly colored and resplendent, the most ornate of all.

Buddhist Physician · Meng Yaoyin slowly ascended and then landed on the chariot, standing beside the central commander.

She waved to Sun Lingtong.

"Coming, coming!" Sun Lingtong hurriedly brought her ox cavalry squad to merge into the main army.

In the next moment, this paper army began its march with a thunderous roar!

***

Altar Battlefield.

The Wangchuan River had reached a towering, overwhelming momentum, encircling and lifting the entire altar, flowing ceaselessly.

The Wangchuan Mansion Lord hid within the river, not showing himself.

High in the sky, the Ghostfire Mansion Lord sat cross-legged on the Charred Bone Lotus Throne, looking down upon the river. Beside him, in the lotus seed holes of the throne, nine candles were inserted. Each candle was as thick as an adult’s forearm.

Only the candle directly in front of the Ghostfire Mansion Lord was burning.

"The Soul-Snaring Candle truly lives up to its reputation," the Wangchuan Mansion Lord inwardly praised while healing his wounds.

To inherit the position of Ghostfire Mansion Lord, one must traverse the Flowing Ember Barren Land on foot and guard the Fire Soul Purgatory for eighty-one days.

This was an extremely difficult task.

Thus, there were many periods when the previous Ghostfire Mansion Lord passed away without a qualified successor, leaving the position vacant and causing the mansion's strength to decline.

Often, this was the perfect opportunity for the Wangchuan Mansion to launch an offensive.

Yet, once a mansion lord ascended to the position, meeting the succession criteria meant they were inherently formidable.

Therefore, almost every mansion lord brought prosperity and strength to the Ghostfire Mansion. A Ghostfire Mansion with a lord was often very dominant.

The current Ghostfire Mansion Lord was no exception.

In life, he was a master of the Chiyang Dao Academy, specializing in fire-element techniques. After death, he continued his path as a ghost cultivator.

It’s worth noting that the Chiyang Dao Academy was a superpower dedicated to fire-related techniques, collecting fire seeds from across the world. Yin Jiuzhu held an important position there during his life, and his ability to become a mansion lord after death was due to his accumulated expertise in handling fire.

Although the fire element was less prevalent in the underworld compared to the mortal realm, Yin Jiuzhu found an alternative path. Using the accumulated resources of the entire mansion and mobilizing all its power, he amassed a wealth of knowledge and eventually developed nine different types of extraordinary fires.

These extraordinary fires had not yet reached the level of fire seeds and could only be utilized by storing fuel.

This fuel was continuously adjusted, refined, and upgraded, ultimately becoming the nine candles surrounding him.

This was the culmination of his lifelong cultivation, and Yin Jiuzhu couldn’t help but feel proud.

Thus, he abandoned his name from life and adopted this nearly nickname-like title.

*Soul-Snaring Candle!*

Once lit, this candle could ignite an extraordinary fire, forcibly drawing the souls of nearby living beings into the flame to be burned as fuel.

Even the Wangchuan Mansion Lord’s soul trembled within his body under Yin Jiuzhu’s full power.

Of course, part of the reason was the Wangchuan Mansion Lord’s significant consumption from the previous two battles.

If the Wangchuan Mansion Lord was affected, his subordinates outside the altar suffered even more. They had already lost a small half earlier, and now only one Nascent Soul expert and fewer than ten thousand imperial guards remained.

Especially the imperial guards—the Wangchuan Mansion Lord had continuously weeded out and cultivated them after taking over, gradually replacing them with elites loyal only to him. This was the result of a century of painstaking effort!

Such losses were severe.

Therefore, the Wangchuan Mansion Lord channeled a small tributary of the Wangchuan River, not only encircling the altar but also containing the power of the Soul-Snaring Candle, bearing most of its effects to protect his subordinates outside the altar’s vortex.

Yin Jiuzhu, seated within the Charred Bone Lotus Throne, looked down with hidden caution, unwilling to venture into the river.

The Wangchuan River was not a river that anyone could casually enter.

Most beings would lose their memories and emotions after soaking in the Wangchuan River; in severe cases, their souls would sink into oblivion.

It was only the current Wangchuan Mansion Lord, relying on his unique talents, who could frequently and extensively traverse the Wangchuan River and utilize it to such an extent.

Witnessing this, the Ghostfire Mansion Lord’s resolve only grew stronger.

"I must stop the Wangchuan Mansion Lord’s plans at all costs!"

"With such talent already, if he succeeds, he will become terrifying."

Although the Ghostfire Mansion Lord still didn’t know the Wangchuan Mansion Lord’s ultimate goal, it didn’t stop him from obstructing with all his might.

After the Wangchuan Mansion Lord’s grand actions, the Ghostfire Mansion Lord sensed danger and, feeling threatened, visited an expert skilled in divination.

The results of the calculation horrified him—if the Wangchuan Mansion Lord succeeded, after lying low for a few years, his strength would skyrocket unreasonably. Eventually, with his personal combat power, he would lead the entire Wangchuan Mansion to conquer nearby territories, swallowing the Ghostfire Mansion and other forces.

Not only that, he would extend his reach into the mortal realm, capturing the White Paper Immortal City, infiltrating the entire Yin Tide Black Marsh, and establishing a Ghost-Human Kingdom spanning both Yin and Yang realms!

A cold glint flashed in the Ghostfire Mansion Lord’s eyes as he activated his magic power, igniting the second candle.

The *Abyssal Ice Coffin Candle* suddenly lit up!

It wasn’t shaped like a traditional candle but resembled a miniature ice coffin the size of a palm, crystal clear and exuding cold air. A small hole in the coffin lid contained an ice-crystal wick.

An extraordinary fire ignited at the wick.

This fire was only the size of a soybean, ice-blue in color, burning quietly without the flickering or swaying of ordinary flames.

The ice-blue candlelight shone onto the flowing barrier encircled by the Wangchuan tributary.

Ice spread like a plague!

Waves that had been raging like furious dragons a moment ago instantly froze into static ice sculptures, preserving their ferocious, crashing forms.

Where the ice passed, even space groaned under the strain, condensing into fine, dark blue frost patterns.

The Wangchuan Mansion Lord, hiding within the tributary, immediately felt an eerie, bone-piercing cold enveloping him from all sides.

The Wangchuan Mansion Lord faced a dilemma.

"If I go out, I’ll be exposed to the Soul-Snaring Candle’s light, and my soul will be drawn out."

"If I stay here, I’ll likely become a prisoner frozen in the Wangchuan ice river."

His thoughts raced, and he quickly devised a solution.

In the next moment, a figure shot through the air, charging directly at the Ghostfire Mansion Lord in mid-air.

The Ghostfire Mansion Lord took a closer look and saw a giant as his enemy.

Standing three zhang tall, the giant’s body was pitch-black, with rough, knotted muscle textures like cracked riverbeds. Beneath his skin, dark red blood vessels glowed like molten magma, flowing slowly.

Countless small black holes on the giant’s head emitted streams of black smoke.

The Wangchuan Mansion Lord’s split spirit—*Earth Fiend Filth God!*

It breathed Yin energy, had the filth of the earth as its blood, and ancient sunken iron as its bones. Its defense was as solid as a mountain, possessing immense strength!

The Wangchuan Mansion Lord’s main body cultivated water-element Yin techniques, but the split spirit he painstakingly trained was closely related to the earth element.

Regardless of his reasoning, the moment the Filth God was released, it immediately broke the stalemate.

Its iron fists tore through the air with a roar, smashing and grinding the glaciers, turning them back into flowing branches of the Wangchuan River.

The force of its punches swept across the battlefield, shattering the frozen space and destroying the countless dark blue frost patterns with sheer brute force.

The Filth God, seizing the advantage, charged at Yin Jiuzhu.

Offended, Yin Jiuzhu snorted coldly and boldly ignited the third candle.

The *Heart-Gouging Blood-Weeping Candle* lit with an eerie glow.

This candle was dark red, like congealed dirty blood, its surface uneven, slightly expanding and contracting as if a heart were beating.

Its wick was a slender, seemingly blood-seeping black bone needle.

When lit, the flame was also dark red, burning silently.

Where the extraordinary fire shone, all living beings would experience severe heart pain and continuously lose heart blood.

Although the Earth Fiend Filth God’s divine body wasn’t made of flesh and blood, it was still affected.

The extremely compressed earth-lung filth energy within its body, thick like mercury and shimmering with earth-element spiritual light, was now drawn out from all over the Filth God, quickly staining its entire body red.

"Urgh… Roar!" The Filth God let out a pained roar, its expression扭曲, its charge halting abruptly as its massive body staggered and half-kneeled mid-way.

The Wangchuan Mansion Lord was greatly shocked. "It seems this candle of the Ghostfire Mansion Lord transcends the conventional concept of blood. Anything resembling blood will be affected and continuously drained."

What caused the Filth God such agony wasn’t just the Heart-Gouging Blood-Weeping Candle but also the combined effects of the Soul-Snaring Candle and the Abyssal Ice Coffin Candle!

Even a split spirit, under the illumination of three candles, suffered a heavy blow.

The Wangchuan Mansion Lord had to act to save his split spirit.

He took a deep breath and used a mouth seal: "Earth-Lung Breath, Filthy Waves Overwhelm the Heavens! Activate!"

He spread his arms, his aura soaring wildly. Even if it revealed his main body’s location, he had no choice but to go all out, racing against time.

In the next moment, a rumbling sound shook heaven and earth, echoing across the battlefield.

The formation roared, erupting with hundreds of pillars of energy shooting into the sky.

These pillars were as thick as giant pythons, viscous like petroleum, and filled with a foul, filthy stench.

They were the earth-lung filth energy, accumulated over endless ages deep within the underworld.

This filth energy could corrupt magical treasures and tarnish spiritual nature, but for the Wangchuan Mansion Lord’s Earth Fiend Filth God, it was a treasure, the most suitable peerless elixir.

One pillar of filth energy, like a galloping python, poured into the Earth Fiend Filth God’s body, immediately restoring it at full speed.

In the next moment, the Earth Fiend Filth God straightened up, standing even morevigorously than before!

Not only that, these filth energy pillars intertwined and entangled, forming a thick, viscous, boiling curtain of filth energy over the battlefield!

Within it, Yin Jiuzhu immediately found it hard to breathe, feeling无形的 pressure from all sides. He was as if stuck in a quagmire, every movement more strenuous than before. Even channeling magic power became difficult.

Not daring to be careless, he quickly responded.

On one hand, he activated the *Yin Crow Ghost Eye Candle* to observe the battlefield; on the other, he cast a ghost technique, still targeting the Earth Fiend Filth God.

A giant bone hand shot out, incredibly fast, directly grabbing the Filth God’s arm.

The bone hand instantly burst into flames, burning with a pale green phosphorescent fire, causing the Filth God to roar in agony once more.

Its originally indestructible sunken iron body softened and collapsed under the fire, emitting thick, sickly green toxic smoke. The bone hand’s fingers sank deep into the Filth God’s arm like hot knives through butter.

Restrained, the Filth God was then invaded by Yin Jiuzhu’s second ghost technique.

Thin, hair-like purple-black fire threads pierced and twisted within its divine body, like thousands of venomous snakes.

The Filth God’s internal organs were punctured, its dark red veins flashing violently with red light. It trembled violently in pain.

The third ghost technique, after brewing, formed nine three-legged silver crows in mid-air!

The silver crows, wrapped in ghost fire, slammed into the Filth God’s chest one after another, exploding on impact.

*Boom, boom, boom…*

Nine consecutive explosions blasted a huge hole in the Filth God’s chest, leaving only a layer of skin connecting it at the back.

(End of )