Chapter 27: Are We Truly Helpless?
Ming Ji naturally knew what his disciple was about to ask, but to prevent alerting the enemy, he gently shook his head, signaling Wei Zixi not to speak.
Then, maintaining his usual calm expression, he said, “Shen Yi must have loathed her sister to the extreme. That, combined with her desire to obtain Zhao Qingshan, is why she collaborated with the Thousand-Faced Ghost.”
Wei Zixi immediately realized there was a hidden meaning in Ming Ji’s words. Always sensible, he understood it was inconvenient for Ming Ji to say more and played along.
“This Shen Yi is truly too unscrupulous for the sake of romantic love.” Wei Zixi suddenly realized something and continued, “Could it be… this formation is Shen Wan?”
Catching her own name, Shen Wan lifted her head sluggishly.
Unfortunately, her soul had long been devoured by the Thousand-Faced Ghost. Even such a simple movement appeared puppet-like, her eyes hollow and lifeless.
“That’s right, it’s her! Immortal Venerable, choose quickly—” The surrounding women laughed loudly upon seeing this.
Their voices were extremely ethereal, accustomed to bewildering the minds of others, to the point that for a moment, even Wei Zixi suspected: Is this formation really Shen Wan?
How could the Thousand-Faced Ghost give them such a huge loophole?
Ming Ji, however, appeared as light as the clouds and breeze, remaining quietly in place.
When he looked into Shen Wan’s hollow expression, time seemed to stand still.
It lasted so long that… the surrounding white mist gradually permeated the air again, then drifted away.
“Immortal Venerable.” Shen Wan finally spoke. She no longer sounded like the controlled women around her; her tone held a trace of human vitality.
She said, “Immortal Venerable, if you can get out, can you let me…”
At this point, Shen Wan seemed to have scruples about something. She choked on her words for a moment, unable to spit out the rest of the sentence for a long time.
This detail was not obvious; even Ming Ji nearly missed it.
Shen Wan calmed her emotions, her gaze complex. “Can you… let me be free?”
Ming Ji nodded, looking once again at this woman whose soul had been trapped for so long.
—Shen Wan’s death state was not pleasant. One could notice at a glance that her heart had been dug out alive, leaving a gaping hole in her chest.
Hearing his response, Shen Wan smiled. Her smile was extremely brilliant, moving anyone who saw it.
Then, she slowly pointed to a woman and said, “She is the locus of the formation.”
When pointed at, the woman looked at Shen Wan with resentment, her eyes filled with darkness.
Incidentally, she was the first woman who had asked Ming Ji to choose her. Now, even after being identified by Shen Wan, she denied it in a panic: “Immortal Venerable, do you really think what she says is true?”
“Do you really believe…” Her words were cut short as Ming Ji’s sword pierced her chest.
As the move landed, nothing unusual happened to the formation.
“It really is you, Thousand-Faced Ghost.” Ming Ji said knowingly, watching the dissipating soul.
To be precise, saying this was the Thousand-Faced Ghost’s main body wasn’t quite right. A more accurate description would be that it was a wisp of a divided soul he had left behind.
After being pierced by Ming Ji, he chuckled low. With a wave of his palm, he dispersed the beautiful woman’s appearance, gradually reconstructing his original form.
“Not bad, not bad.”
The wisp of soul left by the Thousand-Faced Ghost sighed with genuine admiration. When he looked at Ming Ji, his eyes held appreciation. “Immortal Venerable is indeed formidable. You have already guessed half of it correctly.”
Right, there is still the method to break the Maitreya Array!
Ming Ji suddenly remembered the text displayed in the ancient book he had consulted earlier.
—Using people as a mirror, one can understand gain and loss.
Ming Ji extended his hand, looking at the complex lines on his palm.
Soon, he knew what to do.
In an instant, Ming Ji unsheathed Xuanshuang. Under Wei Zixi’s incredulous gaze, he actually thrust the sword toward himself!
“Reality is born from the heart; everything is an illusion.” He said softly.
Just as he expected, when stabbing himself, Ming Ji felt no pain, and the fog in the space gradually disappeared.
“Flowers in the mirror, moon in the water; the human world is everywhere a dream.” After speaking, Ming Ji coughed. Having lost a great deal of spiritual power to break the array, his face had turned pale.
When Ming Ji untied the red string, Wei Zixi felt a moment of loss. But seeing Ming Ji’s poor complexion, he immediately went to support him.
Yet, that sentence echoed in his mind.
Could it be that his desire for Master’s affection…
Is also a Nanke dream? (A fleeting dream).
When they first emerged, there was little color in Ming Ji’s face; clearly, breaking the formation had caused a temporary loss of massive spiritual power.
Due to his weakness, he could only lean half-supported against the cave wall, held up by Wei Zixi.
“Immortal Ming Ji, even now you don’t forget to seduce people?” The Thousand-Faced Ghost’s eyes seemed angry, the malice within them growing heavier.
His gaze lingered unsatisfied on Ming Ji’s neck, wanting to peer through and see more “spring scenery.”
“Since Immortal Venerable has lost his magic power, why not let me properly…”
Hearing this, Ming Ji’s eyes grew even colder. He hadn’t expected the Thousand-Faced Ghost to still harbor such filthy thoughts. From an angle the ghost couldn’t see, his hand quietly moved toward Xuanshuang.
The Thousand-Faced Ghost hooked his lips, about to reach for Ming Ji’s collar.
Beside them, Wei Zixi’s eyes were overflowing with rage. He wanted nothing more than to chop off those dirty hands, and he silently drew his sword.
For some reason, the Thousand-Faced Ghost suddenly withdrew his hand, staring at Ming Ji’s face and clicking his tongue in admiration. “If it weren’t for the need to sacrifice these women at noon, I would definitely love you properly right now, Immortal Venerable.”
His gaze was extremely obscene, fixed on Ming Ji.
It wasn’t until the light formed by the sacrificial array became blinding that the Thousand-Faced Ghost withdrew his gaze and sneered, “I really didn’t expect that Immortal Ming, who saves the world and helps people, cannot protect these innocent women now. You can only watch helplessly as their fragrance vanishes and jade perishes, only to be used by the Ghost Tribe…”
Having said this, the Thousand-Faced Ghost slowly walked onto the sacrificial array. He pressed his palm against the stone wall at the center of the formation, creating a dazzling barrier.
“Rest assured, Immortal Venerable. Once I forge my physical body, I will definitely take good care of you.”
No matter how obscene the Thousand-Faced Ghost’s words were, Ming Ji lowered his eyes and remained silent. Wei Zixi, however, felt filled with fury.
—If the Thousand-Faced Ghost really achieves a physical body, not only will his cultivation increase greatly and harm so many innocent women, but Master will also be…
Wei Zixi suddenly felt he was too useless.
Before experiencing these trials, he had always thought of himself as a favored son of heaven; no one his age improved faster in cultivation.
But now, Wei Zixi could only watch helplessly as all this happened, his heart dripping blood.
His family was exterminated by the Thousand-Faced Ghost, and his Master had temporarily lost spiritual power to escape the Maitreya Array…
The enemy was right in front of him, yet he was powerless!
Wei Zixi was filled with resentment. Just as he raised his sword to break the barrier, his action was interrupted by the Thousand-Faced Ghost’s voice.
The ghost looked at him with almost contemptuous eyes—just like the look he gave dead objects when Wei Zixi was five years old—and slowly spat out a sentence: “I almost forgot about you, remnant.”
He laughed as he spoke, his gaze toward Wei Zixi sinister and vicious. “While this array is active, the barrier formed cannot be broken by outsiders. And you, after I complete the sacrificial array, will become its first offering.”
The Thousand-Faced Ghost seemed to loathe Wei Zixi immensely, finding the sight of him supporting Ming Ji an eyesore.
Hearing this, Wei Zixi actually paused.
Not because of what the Thousand-Faced Ghost said, but because Ming Ji suddenly tugged at his sleeve, shook his head at him, and silently comforted him: Don’t worry.
Ming Ji’s comfort was like a timely rain, quelling most of Wei Zixi’s impulse.
When he looked back at the Thousand-Faced Ghost, he unintentionally noticed something—Shen Yi, who had seemingly had no presence until now, wore a strange expression.
Shen Yi lowered her head, the corners of her lips curling into a slow smile. When Wei Zixi looked over, she suddenly nodded lightly in their direction.
Seeing this in a flash, Wei Zixi felt only confusion.
The place Shen Yi is looking at, could it be…
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