Chapter 381: A Close Call, Killing the Ghost Staff Elder
"Ghost Staff Elder!"
Looking at the Ghost Staff Elder who suddenly appeared by tearing through space, Mo Yu was stunned for a moment, then his expression darkened. "You caused the disturbance in the spatial wormhole!"
"Hehe, smart as expected."
The Ghost Staff Elder let out a sinister laugh, lightly waving his eerie staff. In the next moment, a cold and eerie ghostly energy drifted out of Mo Yu's body and slowly flowed into the Ghost Staff.
This strange event made Mo Yu's brows furrow tightly. The Ghost Staff Elder chuckled coldly. "I had originally planned to create a spatial storm and make you die silently in the wormhole. But I didn't expect you to be so lucky, managing to escape. Fortunately, I had left a trace of ghostly energy on you, which allowed me to track your location. Otherwise, you might have really gotten away."
Hearing this, Mo Yu's face darkened further. He hadn't realized that the Ghost Staff Elder had planted such a trap on him. However, thinking that the elder was likely a semi-Saint-level expert, Mo Yu understood why he hadn't noticed.
Although Mo Yu had many tricks up his sleeve, he was still far from being able to deal with the methods of a Saint-level expert.
"Hmph, aren't you afraid of the Thunder Clan's wrath for doing this?" Mo Yu's silver eyes narrowed slightly, his hand discreetly searching for something inside his sleeve, while he coldly questioned.
"Thunder Clan..." The Ghost Staff Elder's face tensed for a moment, but he quickly laughed coldly. "Out of the eight ancient clans, aside from the once-powerful Xiao Clan and the mighty Gu Clan, when has my Soul Clan ever feared the others? Besides, if you die here, what proof is there that it was the Soul Clan's doing? Without evidence, hehe… what can the hot-tempered leader of the Thunder Clan say?"
The Ghost Staff Elder spoke with confidence, fully trusting in the strength of the Soul Clan.
Mo Yu remained silent. The elder was right. In the Dou Qi Continent, the Soul Clan, Gu Clan, the Xiao Clan from a thousand years ago, and the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan before its fall were the top four superpowers.
Though the Thunder Clan and other factions were considered their equals in name, in actual power, there was a notable gap.
Of course, this didn't mean the Thunder Clan was weak. If Mo Yu weren't under their protection, the Ghost Staff Elder wouldn't have needed to sneak around. He would have openly assassinated him during the Yun Lan Mountain incident long ago.
"Youngster from the Thunder Clan, being able to defeat Hun Feng, the candidate for our Soul Clan's young leader, means your talent in the Thunder Clan must be exceptional. You could one day become a great power on the continent. However, since you've provoked my Soul Clan, and your talent poses a threat, today, you must die at my hands."
With those words, the Ghost Staff Elder sighed. His right hand, holding the eerie Ghost Staff, slammed into the ground. Five thick black strands of ghostly energy shot out from the end of the staff, quickly forming into dark, sinister chains. The chains wriggled like snakes, pierced through space with a hiss, and appeared above Mo Yu's head in the blink of an eye.
The sudden attack made Mo Yu's face change. His demonic bone wings emerged from his back, and at the same time, the white lightning imbued with spatial power flashed around him, allowing him to retreat a dozen steps at lightning speed.
"Whoosh!"
The chains stabbed downward, grazing past Mo Yu and slamming into the hard black rock beneath, causing cracks to spread across the ground like a spiderweb.
"Oh, bone wings made from the remains of a Sky Demon Phoenix and lightning infused with spatial power... Could it be that you're an illegitimate child of the Thunder Clan's leader?"
Seeing that Mo Yu had dodged his strike, the Ghost Staff Elder was momentarily stunned. His eyes gleamed when he noticed the bone wings on Mo Yu's back.
As a semi-Saint expert, the Ghost Staff Elder immediately recognized the origin of Mo Yu's bone wings. The Sky Demon Phoenix was one of the three great clans of the Beast Domain and rivaled the eight ancient clans. The Sky Demon Phoenix Clan was considered one of the continent's top forces.
Moreover, the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan was extremely strict about their bloodline. Even in death, their bodies had to be buried in the clan's sacred grounds. Outsiders who acquired Sky Demon Phoenix remains or blood essence were given two choices: surrender them or face extermination.
For Mo Yu to use the remains of a Sky Demon Phoenix to create wings, even as a member of the Thunder Clan, was an exceptionally bold move.
As for the lightning infused with spatial power, the Ghost Staff Elder had heard rumors from Hun Feng but was still surprised to see it in person. While the Thunder Clan had many lightning-based techniques, he had never heard of lightning with spatial abilities.
"This boy must be eliminated, or he will become a great threat to the Soul Clan in the future!" the Ghost Staff Elder thought, his killing intent surging.
Without hesitation, he flicked his fingers, sending the chains shooting toward Mo Yu like venomous snakes, aiming for his vital points.
The speed of the chains was terrifying, leaving afterimages in the air, making them nearly impossible to dodge.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Faced with such an onslaught, Mo Yu gripped his black lightning spear. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned countless spear shadows around him to form a defense.
However, despite the Ghost Staff Elder's casual attack, the difference in their power was vast. Even though Mo Yu gave it his all, it was impossible to block all of the chain attacks.
"Clang!"
A chain struck heavily against the black spear, and the force of the blow dragged Mo Yu's feet across the ground, carving a deep trench beneath him.
As the two forces collided, Mo Yu's face paled. The seemingly light chains felt as heavy as mountains. At the moment of contact, he heard the bones in his arms creak under the immense pressure.
"Boom!"
Mo Yu's feet were driven deep into the ground by the sheer force of the strike, the hard rock beneath him crumbling like tofu.
Having barely survived the blow from the ghostly chain, Mo Yu felt his blood boiling within his body. Quickly spinning his spear, he pushed off the ground and retreated at full speed.
As he steadied himself, Mo Yu glanced at his beloved black lightning spear, only to realize that the tip had been completely shattered.
Without the spearhead, the black lightning spear, which had accompanied Mo Yu for years, was no better than a fire poker. Its destruction pained him deeply.
"You're tougher than I thought..."
The space several meters in front of Mo Yu distorted, and the Ghost Staff Elder's figure emerged. He glanced at Mo Yu's broken spear and smiled faintly.
Mo Yu's eyes remained cautious. Facing an expert of this caliber, it was time to play his final card.
"Hehe, don't bother with tricks. In the face of absolute power, such things are useless."
The Ghost Staff Elder smirked, as if seeing through Mo Yu's intentions. With a tap of his eerie staff on the ground, thick ghostly energy condensed into a black spear, which shot toward Mo Yu like an arrow released from a bow.
This time, the elder's expression turned far more sinister, signaling that he no longer intended to toy with Mo Yu.
Mo Yu, sensing the shift in the elder's attitude, quickly put away his broken spear. His bone wings flapped furiously, and his body retreated at lightning speed, white lightning swirling around him.
As he retreated, golden lightning rapidly condensed in his palm, quickly forming into a small, delicate spherical thunderbolt. An incredibly violent energy emanated from it.
As soon as the black-gold thunderball appeared, Mo Yu hurled it toward the oncoming ghostly spear while speeding up his retreat.
"Boom!"
When the black-gold thunderball came within a half-meter of the ghostly spear, it exploded like a thunderclap, the sound reverberating across the land.
The terrifying lightning storm ripped through the desert, leaving visible cracks in the ground.
Despite the explosion, Mo Yu didn't relax. He knew that a simple black-gold thunderball wouldn't be enough to kill a semi-Saint expert like the Ghost Staff Elder. Everything he did was merely to set up for his final strike.
His prediction proved correct. Shortly after the explosion, the Ghost Staff Elder walked out of the lightning storm, completely unharmed. It was as if the explosion hadn't affected him at all.
"As expected of the Thunder Clan genius who defeated Hun Feng. To wield such power with just Dou Huang strength is impressive."
The Ghost Staff Elder stared at Mo Yu, but his face now held a more chilling expression.
Mo Yu's face remained calm, his silver eyes flashing. Then, with a powerful stomp on the ground, he shot into the air. His bone wings expanded, carrying him away at even greater speed.
"Trying to run now? Too late!"
Seeing Mo Yu flee, the Ghost Staff Elder thought the young man had been intimidated. With a cold smile, he chased after him like a cannonball, ghostly staff in hand.
In an instant, the elder closed the distance of several kilometers.
As the ghostly energy surged toward him, Mo Yu suddenly looked up. The eerie staff, entwined with thousands of ghostly spirits, was now only a few dozen meters away, the chilling wind already drawing small cuts across his skin.
"Dying by my Ghost Staff should be an honor for you!"
The Ghost Staff Elder sneered as he neared, confident that Mo Yu had no chance of escape. He could already see the terrified look in the boy's eyes.
But instead of fear, a faint smile slowly spread across Mo Yu's face.
"You're far too confident," Mo Yu said softly.
With that, Mo Yu's hand shot out from his sleeve, and with a loud, commanding voice, he yelled, "Black Thunder Talisman!"
As his words fell, an ancient black talisman with lightning patterns appeared in Mo Yu's palm.
The moment the talisman was released, the surrounding space collapsed. A dark, bone-chilling circle of black lightning rapidly expanded from the talisman, colliding head-on with the Ghost Staff.
"Zzz..."
Contrary to expectations, there was no loud explosion. Instead, the Ghost Staff seemed to sink into an abyss of black lightning, vanishing without a trace, as if it had never existed. Even the black lightning circle continued to expand undeterred.
Anyone witnessing this scene would have been utterly shocked.
The Ghost Staff Elder's attack, as a semi-Saint, was formidable enough to threaten almost anyone on the continent. Yet, in front of this strange black lightning, it couldn't even put up a fight?
Seeing his Ghost Staff disappear, the elder's face froze in disbelief. As he snapped out of his daze, he stared at the black lightning circle in horror, his eyes wide with shock.
"This is the power of a high-tier Dou Saint! How did you get your hands on this?!"
Although the Ghost Staff Elder hadn't reached the Dou Saint level himself, he was familiar with the power of that realm. The terrifying energy Mo Yu had just released reminded him of the abilities wielded by the highest-ranking experts within his clan.
"It must be from the Thunder Clan leader!"
The Ghost Staff Elder quickly pieced it together. Mo Yu likely possessed the rare divine bloodline of the Thunder Clan, so it wasn't impossible for the Thunder Clan leader to have granted him such a powerful trump card.
"That sneaky brat!"
Fear filled the Ghost Staff Elder's heart. The leader of the Thunder Clan was one of the most powerful figures on the continent. Even within the Soul Clan, only a few could stand against him.
Realizing this, the elder's expression darkened. Watching the black lightning circle expand toward him, he hastily began to retreat.
"Think you can run?"
Seeing the Ghost Staff Elder flee, Mo Yu let out a cold laugh. He had spent significant effort luring the elder close, worried that he might try to escape.
With a firm shake of his hand, the speed of the black lightning circle's expansion surged. At the same time, a massive suction force erupted from within the circle.
Under the pull of the force, the Ghost Staff Elder's retreat slowed. To his horror, he saw the rapidly expanding black lightning rushing toward him.
For the first time, true fear gripped his heart. He knew that if he were caught in that lightning circle, even he, a semi-Saint, would meet his end.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Desperately, the Ghost Staff Elder unleashed wave after wave of powerful Dou Qi, but all his attacks vanished without a trace upon touching the black lightning. It was as if the lightning absorbed everything.
The elder's heart sank in despair.
"Die!"
As the Ghost Staff Elder drew nearer, Mo Yu's eyes turned cold. With a final burst of energy, the black lightning circle expanded swiftly, swallowing the Ghost Staff Elder whole.
(End of Chapter)