Chapter 781: Chapter 784: The Bizarre Old Man Chapter 781: Chapter 784: The Bizarre Old Man “Uh…” Xiao Han said with an embarrassed face, “I just thought it was expensive, I wasn’t saying I wouldn’t pay!”

“If you can take it away directly, then it’s free!” the old man looked up at Xiao Han and then said, “If you can take it, then it belongs to you.”

“Xiao Han, this thing is a bit odd, be careful!” the Ghost King spoke, “This old man is also a bit peculiar, I can’t discern his cultivation, nor can I tell what kind of deity he might be.”

“Mm!” Xiao Han nodded slightly.

He didn’t care what was eerie about the sword, nor what was off about the old man. He walked over slowly and carefully examined the sword.

It was evident that this was an ancient sword, its scabbard had already split into two halves, only the top half remained, but there was a ruby attached to the scabbard, faintly feeling energy fluctuations within it. This suggested that the ruby might be a Divine Artifact.

The handle was a dragon’s head, with an emerald embedded in the golden dragon head, likewise with energy pulsations.

Just these gems alone were probably worth a fortune? Xiao Han kept his composure and continued to observe; the blade was damaged, several nicks were chopped into its edge, yet it still retained its sharpness. The blade carried a trace of murderous aura. And on the blade, it seemed there were golden Runes, though he did not know what those gilded Runes were for, he felt that the sword seemed to always be drawing him in.

“So, am I really going to take it?” Xiao Han asked.

“If you take it, it’s yours.” The old man gave a faint smile.

Meanwhile, the Ghost King curiously watched Xiao Han; he also seemed nervous. If anything slightly wrong happened, he was ready to rush in and rescue Xiao Han.

Xiao Han’s lips curved into a smile as he extended his hands and then slowly reached for the sword.

“Be careful!” the Ghost King softly warned.

Xiao Han ignored this remark. He firmly grasped the sword, initially expecting some immense obstacle, but surprisingly, he easily grasped the sword.

The Ghost King was stunned; he had just been blocked back by a Seal, but why wasn’t Xiao Han affected by the Seal? That was… too peculiar, wasn’t it?

“This…” the Ghost King, stunned.

Xiao Han was also curious; he held the sword and lightly lifted it. It seemed as if the sword was not made of metal but of wood. Holding it felt as light as a feather, very nimble. It didn’t feel heavy at all.

“You actually lifted it?” the Ghost King exclaimed in surprise.

Lazily, the old man’s eyes emitted two beams of golden light.

“I didn’t expect…” the old man looked at Xiao Han with complexity and said, “This old man has waited ten thousand years, and finally, the time has come!”

“Who are you!” the Ghost King stared harshly at the old man. He feared that the old man had set a trap for Xiao Han; if a trap had been set, that would be troublesome.

“Who I am is not important.” The old man laughed heartily and said, “Shenzhou Continent, Netherworld, I fear… from now on it will be fraught with fierce storms and bloodshed again!”

Boom…

In the overcast skies filled with dark clouds, streaks of lightning slashed violently. Ghost City shook vigorously.

“Goodness, this…”

“What’s happening?”

“No good, something must be wrong with the foundation of Ghost City!”

Ghost City was not located in any particular fixed place, but at a spatial-temporal Plane. Tens of thousands of years ago, it was created by a powerful Cultivator who, with his own power, split the space-time, establishing Ghost City within this spatial-temporal rift. At the same time, he set up Ghost City portals in many places for the convenience of interaction between humans and ghosts.

However, the violent shakes did not last long and soon subsided.

Xiao Han held the sword, and in an instant, he felt a streak of Spiritual Light penetrate into his forehead and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Han felt disoriented, as if his head was throbbing with pain. He touched his forehead and said, “It hurts… what’s going on?”

The Ghost King glanced around and was about to confront the old man, but he discovered that the old man who had just been in front of them had disappeared. The Ghost King stared in awe: “Damn it, where did that old ghost go?”

“He ran away.” Xiao Han scoffed.

“What about the sword in your hand?” the Ghost King asked.

“Here!” Xiao Han extended his hand.

Both of them stared in astonishment; Xiao Han was even more shocked. The sword that had just been in his hands had now vanished. This left him somewhat at a loss, and he muttered, “Strange, it was just here, how did it disappear?”

“That old man is tricky!” the Ghost King gritted his teeth.

“He is a ghost after all!” Xiao Han was speechless.

The two stood still, as if nothing had happened.

“Let’s go back,” the Ghost King said. “I have a weird feeling about this.”

“Mm!” Xiao Han nodded.

Afterward, the two immediately left the scene. As Xiao Han left, a smile curled at the corner of his lips.

The incident had left Xiao Han feeling uneasy; the sword had vanished without reason, and now his head was throbbing as if it was about to explode. Xiao Han hurriedly left Ghost City. After leaving Ghost City, he quickly returned to Chang’an Cemetery.

“Are you alright?” the Ghost King asked.

“It’s nothing.” Xiao Han shook his head, saying, “Just a bit of a headache.”

“Go rest well when you get back!” the Ghost King admonished.

After that, the two of them quickly left, with the Ghost King swiftly following Xiao Han. The white cat, to outsiders, seemed very human-like. In fact, this cat was indeed very astute.

Having returned from Chang’an Cemetery, Xiao Han knew that the school must have already closed, as had the dormitory. Therefore, Xiao Han immediately went back to Li Xiaoya’s villa.

Around three in the morning, Li Xiaoya was already asleep.

Xiao Han had the keys to the house, he directly opened the door and went upstairs to the third floor.

Thud…

Just as he walked in, he immediately fell to the floor. His body couldn’t withstand such heavy pressure, and his head felt like it was about to explode.

Meow…

The Ghost King meowed from behind.

Xiao Han quickly fell asleep.

In his dream, Xiao Han felt himself on a cliff, facing a vast sea. A figure stood on the cliff, a middle-aged man with a robust build, dressed in a white robe. However, the man’s expression was forlorn.

Xiao Han immediately noticed the sword the man wore.

It was the very sword Xiao Han had seen today. However, the intact appearance of the sword gave off a vibe of strong spiritual power, definitely a weapon of Divine Artifact Level. Just as Xiao Han was curious, suddenly, a dark shadow moved rapidly from the sky toward them.

“Xuan Mingzi, today is your doom!” the shadow transformed into a human figure.

“Yama, you killed my wife and child, I will never coexist with you.” Xuan Mingzi’s anger surged, his momentum climbed, and the surrounding spiritual energy swirled, its power majestic and overwhelming.

“Kill!” Xuan Mingzi roared furiously.

The Spirit Sword was unsheathed, flashing tens of thousands of Sword Qi in the air instantaneously.

Yama was not afraid, with a wave of his hands, he cast Sowing Beans to Summon Soldiers, unleashing thousands of Fierce Ghosts in Red Clothing like a tide. Yama mobilized thousands of fierce ghosts to battle Xuan Mingzi, and this battle, known as the Underworld War from ten thousand years ago.

It is said, the battle lasted half a month long, the Underworld suffered heavy losses, countless fierce ghosts perished. Xuan Mingzi won with his formidable Qi and cultivation, Yama’s whereabouts became unknown, and Ghost City was left without a master. The Ghost Domain turned into a barren land. Even after ten thousand years, it remained a desolate place.

Time passed, and the years hurried by.

Xuan Mingzi stood on the cliff for decades. His face grew old, losing his wife and child was undoubtedly a tremendous blow to him. To save his wife and child, he ventured into the turbulent flow of space-time, forcefully entered the Ancient World, attempting to defy the heavens and change his fate.

Unfortunately, he failed.

Defying the heavens was not so easy, even for someone as powerful as Xuan Mingzi, who was like a Heavenly God.

Following his failure, Xuan Mingzi was devastated, furiously slaughtering around, butchering humans, ghosts, and demons across the Three Realms. Thereafter, he disappeared. Some say Xuan Mingzi has died, others believe he’s still alive.

…

Knock knock knock…

Suddenly, a sound of knocking on the door.

Xiao Han woke up from his dream, that night, he felt unbearable pain, seemingly empathizing with Xuan Mingzi’s torment. He felt as if he was Xuan Mingzi, feeling every inch of pain and every bit of agony in his body, all deeply etched in his heart.

“How can this be?” Xiao Han clutched his chest.

“Xiao Han, are you there?” Outside, Li Xiaoya’s voice came through.

“I’m here!” Xiao Han quickly opened the door.

Li Xiaoya stood at the door, enchanting and attractive, and curiously said, “What time did you come last night? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It was quite late, so I didn’t want to disturb you,” Xiao Han said with a smile.

“Silly boy!” Li Xiaoya’s face reddened slightly, saying, “Today’s Tuesday, don’t you have classes?”

“What time is it?” Xiao Han glanced at his phone and exclaimed, “Nine… nine o’clock?”

“I’ve prepared breakfast for you, come down to eat after you wash up,” Li Xiaoya instructed.

“Yes!” Xiao Han immediately nodded.

That last night’s dream was vivid beyond comparison, and that person called Xuan Mingzi lingered deep in his mind, his voice, his growth, his rise, and his immense sorrow, all deeply engraved in Xiao Han’s heart. So much so that Xiao Han still felt the illusion that he was Xuan Mingzi, that Xuan Mingzi was him. Or perhaps he was the reincarnation of Xuan Mingzi. However, Xiao Han quickly dismissed this thought.

After a quick wash, Xiao Han went downstairs for breakfast.

After breakfast, Xiao Han drove back to school.

In the classroom, the class had already started. Today was Lan Yudie’s finance lecture, and Lan Yudie was on the podium analyzing a classic case of Soros’ sniper attack on the stock market in Southeast Asia, speaking fluently.

Xiao Han quietly slipped in through the back door.