Divine Tang Era

Chapter 136 The Curtain Falls

"Boom boom boom boom boom..."

The booming sound of cannons echoed in the night sky, like the roar of an ancient beast, shaking the earth.

The massive warships did not remain in one place, but instead circled Jingning City, continuously bombarding the boundless, gloomy mist.

Each cannon shot was accompanied by the shattering of a dark mist, and countless ghosts turned to ashes and vanished into nothingness in the blazing firelight.

The combined firepower of the giant warships, along with the sonic waves and dazzling, intense light emitted by the rooster-like form of the Pleiades Star Lord, was like divine punishment descending from the heavens, unstoppable and invincible, forcing the gloomy mist to retreat repeatedly.

Xu Dan stood on the city wall, together with the guards, watching the gradually receding damp mist, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This damned Ghost Festival has finally passed safely.

Outside the city walls, the black-faced armored riders and their followers relentlessly pursued the scattered ghosts, slaughtering them until they reached the edge of the eerie, misty atmosphere.

After all, no one knew how many dangers lurked deep within the fog. It was nighttime, and even the radiant sun, a manifestation of the Pleiades, could hardly penetrate the thick, dark fog. Therefore, the black-faced armored rider and his followers wisely chose to stop and turn back to the city.

As the first hint of dawn appeared on the horizon, the light of day was about to tear through the veil of darkness.

As dawn approached, the eerie mist dissipated more quickly. The colossal warship pursued and bombarded the mist for a while before stopping and landing in an open area outside Jingning City. Pleiades Star Lord also withdrew his Dharma form and flew towards the colossal warship.

The black-faced armored rider and the men who had chased the ghosts back returned to the city walls and were warmly welcomed by the people on the city walls and the citizens of the city.

Everyone cheered, laughed, jumped, and danced to celebrate the victory and the new life.

The night has passed, and the sky is bathed in moonlight. As dawn breaks, a different hue leaps from the horizon.

"Ooh ooh ooh..."

A tremendously loud rooster crowed from the house near the city wall—or more precisely, from the roof of Xu Dan's house. Xu Dan turned around and saw his own rooster standing proudly on the highest point of the roof, crowing loudly.

As the morning sun slowly rises, it shines upon the creature, bathing it in a golden glow, making it appear exceptionally majestic.

"This is a demon chicken," Xue Diao said with certainty.

Enraged, Xu Dan took a clod of earth from the Hidden Mystic Cauldron and threw it at the rooster, yelling, "What are you crowing about? Get off the rooster! You didn't crow at night, but you're crowing here so early in the morning. I'll stew you!"

The rooster, which had been about to crow again, saw that its owner was angry, shrank back, and wisely jumped off the roof. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared.

"Junior brother, did you raise these chickens?" Xue Diao asked with great interest.

"Yes, we just bought it not long ago, and it's still very wild. It's not usually very obedient. But last time a ghost came near our house, we were lucky to have it. Otherwise, we would have killed it long ago, so it wouldn't be making all that noise so early in the morning and not letting anyone get a good night's sleep."

"This chicken is good. Keep it healthy and it might come in very handy in the future," Xue Diao said.

"Of course, this thing is a bit noisy, but it's still pretty good."

As the sun rises higher, its golden rays spread across the earth.

"Master Xue and the others are back!" Xue Bao'er suddenly shouted, pointing into the distance.

Xu Dan followed his gaze and saw Xue An and the others guarding the city flying in from afar. As for the people from Fengzhen Temple who had surrounded and killed the powerful figures, they were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps because he had just finished killing, Xue An still exuded a sharp aura. He landed on the city wall, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally settling on Xu Dan, where he nodded slightly.

"Master Xue, are you alright?" Xu Dan stepped forward and asked with concern.

"It's alright."

Xue An waved his hand, and seeing their inquisitive looks, he thought for a moment and said, "I suppose you all have some guesses about what happened last night. That's right, what happened last night was a scheme set up by Fengzhen Temple and Beiting Prefecture to lure out the forces behind the ghosts."

"Are there forces behind these ghosts?" Xu Dan's eyes widened.

"Demon birds and beasts are attacking the city, ghosts are coming, and bandits are causing chaos. It seems chaotic, but in reality, someone is manipulating things in the dark. Fengzhen Temple has long been aware of this force, but has not been able to find a suitable opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop. What happened last night was just a convenient way to lure them out."

"Master Xue, what exactly is the force behind those ghosts?" Xu Dan couldn't help but ask curiously.

"There's more to this story than I can say, but in general, they're nothing more than clowns who covet the world of the Divine Tang Dynasty."

A sudden commotion arose from below the city walls.

Xu Dan looked down and saw the people from Fengzhen Temple, who had previously surrounded and killed the peerless expert, escorting several prisoners toward the city gate. The prisoners were covered in wounds, clearly having just finished a fierce battle. One of them was none other than the Ghost King who had previously sat majestically on his throne, exuding an aura of power and majesty.

But now, the throne had lost its former majesty, leaving only a face full of terror.

"That's... the leader of the ghosts?" Xu Dan couldn't help but ask.

"That's right, this is one of the manipulators behind the ghosts. Fengzhen Temple and the Beiting Army joined forces and finally wiped them out. After this battle, Jingning County can enjoy peace for many years to come." Xue An nodded slightly.

Xu Dan was greatly shocked and couldn't help but glance down a few more times.

He never expected that the peerless powerhouse who had been so imposing and all-consuming just moments before would be in such a sorry state.

"Let's go, this matter is over, we should go back." Xue An led Xu Dan, Xue Diao, and Xue Bao'er away, and the people who helped guard the city also left one after another.

By this time, it was already broad daylight, and people in the city came out of their homes to bask in the sunlight, as if trying to wash away all the bad luck with the blazing sun.

The people of Fengzhen Temple paraded the captured peerless expert and the Ghost King through the city, and finally beheaded the peerless expert, hanging his head above the city gate as a warning to others. As for the Ghost King, he was imprisoned in Fengzhen Temple's prison and dealt with separately.

Xu Dan's home was right next to the city wall, so after going down, he said goodbye to Xue Shi, Xue Diao, and Xue Bao'er, and returned to the inn.

Despite not having slept all night, he showed no signs of fatigue; on the contrary, he was full of energy.

Lying in bed, I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, my mind replaying everything that happened last night.

From the attack of demonic beasts and birds on the city, to the nameless woman killing the demons with the True Phoenix Immortal Sound, to the ghosts attacking the city, to the peerless experts attacking the city's protective formation, to the Sealing Star Lord revealing the stellar Dharma form, to the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends surrounding and killing the peerless experts, to the warships bombarding the Yin Tide Mist, and to Master Xue killing two peerless experts with a single arrow.

All of this, scene by scene, was a spectacle he had never experienced in his two lifetimes.

Even though it was over, I was still deeply moved. Lost in thought, I drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

The rooster suddenly appeared out of nowhere, peeked into the house, and then tiptoed downstairs, proudly strutting around the yard.