Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 445: Virtue of the Living and the Dead

After drawing his sword, Ji Yuan looked curiously at the ghosts holding flags and weapons. There were men and women, young and old, and they did not seem like true military spirits at all, but their performance just now was quite remarkable.The local Land God below was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and hurriedly bowed to Ji Yuan.

“Thank you for your help, Immortal Master. Otherwise, Maotan Village would surely have been overrun by the plague demons. At this moment, there must also be plague demons causing trouble in the county as well. If you have the time, Immortal Master, please lend a helping hand!”

Ji Yuan looked back in the direction he had come from, and replied to the Land God.

“There are no more plague demons in the surrounding counties. You should remain vigilant for now. Everything should be fine before dawn.”

Leaving these words behind, Ji Yuan flashed away into the distant sky once more. Now was not the time for idle talk; he would come back to this village only after he was certain that all the plague demons had been eliminated.

Once Ji Yuan left, the local Land God murmured with a look of relief on his face.

“Thank goodness…”

However, looking back at the battlefield in front of the village, the ghosts of the graveyard had suffered heavy losses, going from over a hundred at the beginning to less than half of that number now. Many of them were wandering aimlessly on the battlefield, but most were converging on a location to the side.

He gazed in the direction where the ghosts were gathering. Already, over a dozen ghosts had gathered there. The local Land God felt something was wrong and hurried over. When he grew closer, he saw that the leader of the armored soldiers was present, but he was lying down.

At this moment, the warrior’s soul was weak and semi-transparent, and was being supported by another armored warrior.

“The Land God is here! The Land God is here!”

The ghosts beside him moved aside, allowing the Land God to approach.

“Lord Land God, can you save him?”

“Yes, save the general!”

“Yes, Land God, please save the general!”

These ghosts knew that the soldier must not have held a high position in the army when he was alive, but at this moment they all called him general and begged the local Land God to save him.

“Gather around, everyone. Ghosts are yin in nature. Your gathering will benefit him. I’ll try to see if I can save him!”

At the Land God’s command, all the ghosts gathered around, forming several layers around him.

At the center, the diminutive Land God waved his cane, gathering spiritual energy with his own power, and then slowly approached the armored ghost, gently touching his forehead.

Streams of spiritual energy flowed into the ghost’s body, making the armored warrior’s form a little clearer, but it was remained translucent, as if it could dissipate at any moment.

“No, he’s too badly injured. His ghostly body is unstable. Right now, the yin energy is strong, which is good, but once dawn breaks, the sun’s energy will be at its peak. Even if he hides in his grave, it’s hard to say whether he can withstand it. And even if he can survive a day, it won’t last long. Sigh…”

The Land God’s words silenced all the ghosts.

“If only that immortal had intervened just now, but alas, he’s already gone!”

As the immortal mentioned by the local deity, Ji Yuan dared not let his guard down. He high into the sky and used his supernatural eyes to investigate. His vision was extremely sharp when it came to such peculiar evil creatures.

After about half an hour, Ji Yuan could no longer see any more plague demons, and Chang Yi had already met back up with him in the sky somewhere above Dahe County.

“Mr. Ji, strictly speaking, these things that have spawned from the earth’s poison cannot even be considered demons; calling them evil spirits would be more appropriate. Although the plague demons have been eliminated, the plague has already spread. It is a great calamity for mortals!”

Ji Yuan looked around at the land. This plague spread particularly rapidly under the influence of the plague demons. The affected area was comparable to the entirety of Ji Province. Although there were significantly fewer people affected than the population of Ji Province, due to the lower population density, it was still quite a significant number.

“There are so many infected!”

Although cultivators were named immortals by some mortals, ghosts, gods, and even demons, even the most powerful cultivators had limited abilities. At least, they could not truly bring the dead back to life, and when they could it was only under special circumstances.

From what information they had briefly gathered tonight, this plague had lasted for over half a month. moreover, due to the plague demons, the disease was extremely severe. It was manageable during the day, but at night the plague demons would wreak havoc and drain away the yang energy, so countless people had died.

Ji Yuan and Chang Yi could exterminate the plague demons and even gather a spiritual wind in the process to blow away the remaining poisonous energy left behind by the plague demons. However, they could not directly cure countless people immediately, nor could they bring the dead back to life. At most, they could let the spiritual wind blow over those currently ailing now, making them feel better and increasing the probability of recovery.

However, people’s physical condition varied, and the scope was too vast and the number too large. Ji Yuan and Chang Yi could only achieve this much even after expending a great deal of spiritual power. In the future, many more would surely die from the disease, and there would be no shortage of infected. In fact, if some of those infected escaped from this place and allowed the disease to bloom and spread again elsewhere, then even a miracle wouldn’t save them.

Seeing that Ji Yuan was frowning, Chang Yi thought for a moment and then spoke his mind.

“The country of Yuanzhao is in utter chaos. Its people are suffering, and there are bones scattered everywhere. Famine is rampant. This calamity was destined long ago, only its form has changed. Now the plague is sweeping across the land, and the state of disaster relief is certainly worrying. Its fate is sealed, and the country is doomed!”

“Yes, this country is like a dilapidated house, already plagued by war and bandits. This plague has caused even greater damage to the people and even to the underworld in large regions. This house is probably going to collapse…”

Chang Yi nodded and spoke to Ji Yuan.

“Sir, we’ve found the remnants of the earth’s evil energy. Shall we search for those demons again?”

Ji Yuan shook his head. Those demons would likely have all fled far away. Putting himself in their shoes, if he had witnessed the Heaven-Rending Sword, he would have run as far away as possible as well.1

“No need for now. Hmm, come with me somewhere.”

With that, Ji Yuan rode the clouds and flew towards Maotan Village.

There were bound to be many ghosts and spirits trying to approach Ji Yuan and Chang Yi in this large area, but precisely because there were so many, Ji Yuan avoided them as much as possible. In comparison, he was more curious about the group of ghosts fighting with weapons outside that small village.

Outside Maotan Village, the ghosts of the cemetery had not yet dissipated. After all, it was unclear whether the plague demons would return. They had to wait until dawn. But the plague demons did not return; instead, a white cloud drifted in.

The Land God and the ghosts saw two immortals were standing on the clouds from afar, one of whom was the one who had previously slain the plague demons with his sword.

“The Land God of Maotan Village, along with the ghosts of the cemetery,2 pay homage to the two immortal masters!”

Having failed in their previous etiquette, this time the Land God led the ghosts in a deep bow before the white cloud had completely landed. By the time they looked up, Ji Yuan and Chang Yi had already landed on the ground.

Upon hearing the Land God’s words, Ji Yuan repeated his question with slight surprise.

“A cemetery?”

He had previously thought that these ghosts, if not military spirits, might be the deceased ancestors of the villagers, but he was puzzled by the large number of young individuals among them. Now he understood that they were all ghosts from a cemetery.

The Land God quickly replied.

“Indeed, the ghosts fighting tonight are the remains of those the people of Maotan Village had found by the roadside and buried in the cemetery for many years. To repay this kindness, the spirits of the cemetery fought desperately to block the plague demons for the people of Maotan Village!”

As he spoke, the Land God pointed with a hint of shrewdness to the area where the ghosts were gathered.

“The armored ghost general who was leading the charge is now severely injured and is on the verge of having his soul scattered!”

“Is that so?”

Ji Yuan frowned and quickly walked towards the group of ghosts, while the ghosts around him subconsciously gave way.

When Ji Yuan arrived at the location where the ghosts had gathered, he saw a spirit in armor lying there, its body ethereal and its yin energy constantly dissipating.

“Mr. Ji, I, Chang, possess Yin Water Essence, which should be able to stabilize the ghost’s dissipation!”

Without hesitation, Chang Yi flicked his sleeve and revealed a slender, white bottle in his hand. He then approached the soul of the armored warrior and tilted the bottle slightly, revealing a drop of water with a faint luster.

Water droplets fell onto the armored soldier’s as if falling into water, creating ripples in his soul.

As the drop of water merged into his body, the armored ghost’s form solidified at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“That’s great, that’s great!”

“The general is saved…”

Some of the ghosts whispered among themselves, unable to hide their excitement. Although their time together was short, the armored warrior had freed them from their aimless daze, making their afterlives as ghosts more meaningful, and making them feel more human than when they were alive.

In reality, many of the ghosts in the cemetery were in a dazed and numb state, barely reacting to their surroundings. However, with the armored soldier’s encouragement, a spiritual resonance arose and grew stronger, allowing many many ghosts to awaken from their numb and dazed state, regain their senses, and rekindle their emotions.

This sense of resonance was the foundation of the camaraderie among the ghosts in this cemetery, and it was also a grace of rebirth that the armored warrior had bestowed upon these compatriots. All the ghosts here deeply respected him.

“The Yin Water Essence has a miraculous effect on stabilizing the soul, but his soul is too weak to wake up for the time being. Send him back to his grave to rest and recuperate, and he will surely awaken within three days.”

“Yes, yes, you all hurry and take him to the grave. There is nothing more to do here now!”

The Land God chime in after Chang Yi finished speaking, and the ghosts hurriedly bowed in thanks. Afterwards, they took the soul of the armored soldier back to the cemetery.

With the ghosts gone, only Ji Yuan and two others remained, including the local Land God, remained. The former looked at the still-peaceful Maotan Village and finally had the leisure to inquire about the cemetery.

The local Land God, of course, spoke frankly and recounted the events surrounding the establishment of the cemetery with a touch of emotion.

“In less than ten years, no fewer than two hundred corpses have been buried in the cemetery. The local underworld has limited power, and there are wandering ghosts everywhere, so they cannot manage everything. So I have just been guarding it all this time…”

The Land God spoke at length, and Ji Yuan and Chang Yi listened quietly the whole time. After listening to his words, Ji Yuan was moved.

“Such virtue is truly rare in chaotic times!”

He looked at Maotan Village and then at the cemetery, then Ji Yuan added another sentence.

“This applies to both the living and the dead!”

At this moment, the sky began to lighten, and dawn broke.

T/n: LOL at least he’s aware and honest about how terrifying that technique is This seems to be translated as Ghosts of the Righteous Grave, which in my opinion is an AWESOME name, but don’t think that was an intentional name, more a quirk of MTL. If anyone else has a different opinion let me know

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