Chapter 1478: World of the Living

‘What… happened?’

In the instant when the fallen Hungry Ghost got back up, whether it was the militia who bravely took a step forward to overcome their fear of demons and land a finishing blow, or Kikuchi Dingji who hurriedly closed the distance for a decisive kill, such thoughts flashed through their minds.

Everything happened in an instant.

As the Hungry Ghost stood up, it simultaneously opened its twisted and horrifying mouth wide, letting out a strange scream.

And after that scream…

Kikuchi Dingji’s previously steady steps suddenly showed a visible faltering knee action.

As if the sudden rush of standing up after sitting for too long, causing poor blood circulation.

But that’s impossible!

He’s been patrolling all along and just swung a sword with an ‘Upper Formation’ strike! How could he suddenly be weak in the legs and have disordered breathing now?

And the militia closer to the Hungry Ghost showed even poorer performance.

Though combat is the most physically exhausting activity, and it’s the militia’s first time facing a demon.

But it’s still hard to believe that after just stabbing down with a knife, they’d pant as though they’d run several kilometers!

This sudden physical drain shouldn’t be restored with just a few gasps of breath?

Panting like reaching the limit of aerobic exercise—what’s going on?

Physical and stamina anomalies were the first to be sensed, and soon, other abnormal sensations came rushing in.

Kikuchi Dingji felt as if his nasal cavity and throat were clogged by some invisible sticky gas.

His eyes couldn’t see anything, but the tactile abnormality was undeniable.

——Beside this Hungry Ghost that has just stood up and roared, there is something making his body uncomfortable, preventing his energy from recovering!

The Hungry Ghost’s bulbous protruding eyes, glaring wide, flickering with a bloody glow.

It screamed excitedly, looking at the brave militia closest to it.

The ‘Hungry Ghost’, a pitiful soul fallen into the Hungry Ghost Dao. Their hunger can never be satisfied, and it’s said that anything stuffed into their mouths turns to ashes before reaching their throat.

Thus, they are tormented by thirst, thus they resent those who can still eat and live.

“Ouwawa!”

With the strange scream, the Hungry Ghost’s dry, twisted jaw suddenly opened!

The sound of the joints rotating was almost like the mechanical ‘ka-ba’ sound.

Its mouth opened to no less than a hundred and fifty degrees!

And relentlessly pounced on the militia beside it, exhausted to the point where they couldn’t move their feet!

The huge head with its twisted big mouth open as if to bite off the militia’s neck in one gulp!

Kikuchi Dingji’s eyes tightened with tension, and the already energy-depleted militia began to subconsciously stop breathing.

Demons, to these villagers living in this world, are such a thing that can easily claim lives.

But then…

“Bang!”

A large hand!

A large hand that still seems large even when grasping the Hungry Ghost’s deformed head, abruptly and neatly stopped the ghost’s feeding attempt!

The bone-white hand armor, seemingly called a ‘basket glove’ in Japan, appeared to casually grasp an apple thrown at its head, stopping the Hungry Ghost’s head.

Its emaciated limbs and bloated, sickly stomach swung forward in the air from the inertia before coming to a complete stop.

And then without pause.

The arm that interjected from beside the militia directly grabbed the Hungry Ghost in its grip and tossed it out.

“Ouwawa!”

The Hungry Ghost bounced far away on the ground, letting out a painful strange scream.

And the militia who was frightened and hadn’t yet come to their senses, alongside the dazed Dingji, stared blankly as Lann’s tall figure emerged from behind them.

They only saw this mysterious, self-claimed ‘Ming Ren’ powerful warrior look down with those unusual cat-like eyes to the empty ground.

Then, after taking a step forward, he furrowed his brows.

After this step, Lann was already considered standing alongside the militia.

In the Demon Hunter’s ‘Spiritual Vision’, he could clearly see: right where the Hungry Ghost had fallen and got back up, a two-meter diameter circle of ink was surging endlessly.

Called ‘ink’, but it clearly was not true ink.

As observed from the corner of his eye, it seemed this young warrior and the militia couldn’t see this ink spot at all.

This was not something ordinary people could see.

The Hungry Ghost’s roar seemed to summon some kind of force here.

Lann subtly and gently pushed aside the militia and the young warrior while passing by.

After staggering away from the ink-like circle on the ground, both of them subconsciously took deep breaths as if they had surfaced from underwater, sweating coldly.

But even so, the brave militia who previously couldn’t walk suddenly found his breath much smoother, standing steady without assistance.

From his expression, he seemed bewildered himself.

And even when Lann stepped into this ink-like circle, he subconsciously took a deep breath.

Trying to use this conventional method to make up for his suppressed stamina recovery.

But it didn’t work.

It’s as if this circle summoned by the Hungry Ghost does not belong to the living realm, irrelevant to life.

Life in the living realm can only be consumed here, hardly recovered.

However, the influence of this ink-like circle on Lann…

“Although the essence of this power is profound enough to touch [Body Light], the force pressing on me is weaker than diving.”

Lann’s palm tightened and then relaxed, the Smaug gauntlet on his hand making a sound of plates clashing, while the demon hunter murmured.

Then, he walked straight across the ink circle with a diameter of two meters, looking at the ghoul he had slapped away.

“Or is it because you’re too weak?”

Under the dim moonlight, Lann’s hair shimmered like silver, and his cat-like eyes slightly glowed.

“Woo waa waa!”

The ghoul stood up again, and somehow, its strange screams summoned an inexplicable power.

Using its feet as the center, it formed another ink circle.

But the moment after it finished screaming.

“Boom!!”

Lann’s large hand pressed directly on the ghoul’s sparse head!

The ghoul’s height was only knee-high compared to him.

Bend down and press!

The ghoul that had just stood up was pushed forcefully, its head ground into the earth!

Then Lann straightened his body, his foot lifted… “Bang!!!”

Soil and stones splattered! A cloud of yellow dust was shaken out from under Lann’s foot, beneath the ghoul’s huge head!

The hard bones and skin that even an old hand trained in swordsmanship for over ten years found painful to cut with a blade, emitted a series of ‘Kara La’ cracking sounds under Lann’s foot.

The ghoul’s strange cries left only a particularly piercing shriek before falling silent.

Lann pulled his foot out of the earth.

He also shook it casually, shedding dust.

Meanwhile, the villagers swallowed dryly, and the young warrior whose hand clenched and unclenched on the hilt of his blade due to nervousness didn’t know what expression to wear.

So he could only look at each other blankly, speechless.

“Such impressive martial arts.”

At this time, a voice came from the darkness of the village, breaking the brief silence.

Wearing only a bathrobe, Kikuchi Daisuke emerged, his hand on his blade hilt.

His upper garment was still unsecured, chest open, with the haori coat worn during the day nowhere in sight, his topknot fallen, making him look like a non-mainstream bald with long hair.

Evidently, he had been awakened from sleep, hurriedly carrying a blade out.

Seeing the young warrior unscathed but confused, he sighed in relief.

Then bowed to Lann: “Thank you for your help, my son is useless, and has never truly confronted a demon.”

He glanced at the motionless ghoul corpse under Lann’s feet, now dissipating in invisible black gas just like the ink circle it summoned.

Yet Kikuchi Daisuke seemingly had the ability to see the two ink circles on the ground summoned by the ghoul’s cries.

This long-haired warrior’s face was solemn and fearful as he deeply bowed to Lann again, making the demon hunter a bit uneasy.

“To think it had already summoned two Worlds of the Living… That ghoul almost consumed something just now, right? Fortunately, fortunately. Otherwise, it would’ve been real trouble!”

World of the Living? Is that the name of this ink circle?

In an instant, Lann analyzed some insight from the name.

In the Japanese context, ‘World of the Living’ isn’t the ‘ordinary world’ as in Chinese context. It corresponds to the concept of ‘Netherworld.’

In other words — it refers to the ‘underworld.’

Ghouls trapped in the Hungry Ghost Dao can summon the power of the World of the Living, and in the World of the Living, living beings will naturally be suppressed.

“Fool!” Kikuchi Daisuke had strode to the young warrior’s side, smacking his helmet and scolding.

“I’ve told you before! Be cautious when encountering demons! Don’t panic regardless of the situation! Slash decisively! Did you knock the ghoul down once and fail to kill it instantly afterward? Hmm?!”

“Do you know if that ghoul stood up again near you, just standing beside it you might have exhausted yourself to death?!”

“If you were exhausted to death it wouldn’t matter! What if it bites you? That’d be a big problem!”

Dingji, idle in the village, dared not breathe before his father, possibly due to narrowly escaping death just now.

‘Big problem?’ Lann pondered, ‘If a ghoul truly gets its wish and consumes something, will it undergo other transformations? Become more dangerous?’

The old warrior, who was furious after reprimanding his son, finally seemed to calm somewhat and turned to Lann.

He looked at the demon hunter with a bit of puzzlement.

“Um…” The old warrior pointed at the two Worlds of the Living on the ground under ordinary people’s confused gaze, politely speaking to Lann, “You won’t purify the World of the Living?”

“Rest assured, it’s entirely your honor, my son didn’t help at all, don’t mind him.”

In the old warrior’s view, purifying the World of the Living seems to be a way to affirm the honor of slaying a demon for a warrior?

Yet unfortunately, even the concept of the World of the Living was newly learned by Lann, how could he know how to ‘purify’ this Netherworld power?

Thus Lann opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say, merely thinking to find an excuse to cover it up.

But before he spoke, Kikuchi Daisuke seemed to understand.

“Oh, I see, are you the type… who avoids dirt?”

“Actually, no need to worry, the village chief can use the Divine Cherry Blossom’s power to purify the demon’s slaying, cleansing the residual impurity of the World of the Living.”

“However, if you’re uncomfortable, shall I handle it?”

Saying so, Kikuchi Daisuke drew the blade from his waist.

Yet Lann felt no intention of chopping anything.

Adhering to the principle of ‘if you don’t know, just quietly watch,’ Lann calmly stepped back two steps.

Indicating he indeed wanted no part in it.

And the old warrior held his blade, entering the ink circle World of the Living.