Chapter 267: A Miasma of Chaos

Four Corners Town was originally a land of spiritual vitality. Thanks to its natural environment and the favor of two successive emperors, the local people had gradually grown prosperous.

But once people become wealthy, they are easily swayed by external temptations.

Even before the arrival of the four chang ghosts, the shifting desires of some villagers had already begun to disturb the spiritual essence of Shengxian River.

By the time the Four Chang Ghosts’ corruption erupted, those villagers who had already lost their original simplicity due to their newfound wealth were instantly corrupted by the surge of malefic energy.

Initially, Gu Ning’an and his group had managed to slow the spread of this evil force.

However, no one had expected that the four chang ghosts would be so resolute—or perhaps they had deliberately waited for the Golden Guard to intervene before making their move, placing a heavy bet to transform the entire Four Corners Town into a land of great corruption!

At this rate, the chang ghosts wouldn’t even need to act further—just the pervasive corruptive energy alone would be enough to plunge the entire town into chaos, turning its villagers into beings neither human nor ghost!

In West Corner Village, Yu Ling the Courtesan had just fallen asleep after a night of “teaching” when she suddenly felt a heavy pressure on her chest, as if something was weighing her down!

Nearly suffocating, she abruptly sat up, gasping for air and coughing violently.

With that one cough, a bright red drop of blood trickled between her fingers.

Realizing something was wrong, she hastily wrapped herself in a robe, slipped on her shoes, and stepped out of her room.

What she saw stunned her—outside, the entire building echoed with wave after wave of coughing, and familiar voices crying out, “Help me!”

Yu Ling lived on the third floor. Leaning over the railing, she looked up and immediately locked eyes with the brothel madam, whose bulging eyes were fixed on her. The madam’s face was flushed red with agony.

“Help me…”

The next second, the madam’s pupils contracted, and her body stiffened.

Then, as if her support had been suddenly yanked away, she toppled over the railing and plummeted to the first floor!

Thud!

A sickening splatter rang out, and the air was instantly thick with the stench of fresh blood…

Yu Ling’s legs nearly gave out, but she forced down her terror and rushed downstairs.

Just as she reached the entrance and pushed the doors open, she saw a young girl—around ten years old—standing outside.

“The outside is in chaos. Stay indoors, and you’ll be fine.”

“Do not open the door.”

As she spoke, Qiao Min pulled out a yellow talisman and pasted it onto the door before firmly shutting it again.

Yu Ling, utterly bewildered, stood frozen in place.

Yet, for some reason, she instinctively wanted to trust this little girl.

So, she turned back inside, thinking of what she could do to help the other residents of this pleasure house…

The same horrifying scenes were unfolding in the three other villages.

Livestock had gone berserk—some broke through their pens and rampaged through the streets, others turned on their own kind, tearing them apart in a frenzy. Some even let out a final wail before smashing their own heads against walls, killing themselves…

And the horrors weren’t limited to living creatures.

In many households, blood suddenly began seeping from the ceiling beams.

The meat simmering in kitchen pots emitted a nauseating stench of rot; when opened, the pot revealed chunks of meat covered in moldy green fuzz.

People went to drink water, only to find their water jars reeking of blood…

Within moments, Four Corners Town had become a nightmarish realm of ghosts and despair!

Meanwhile, at the center of Shengxian River, aboard a large wooden boat, the four chang ghosts lounged in eerie leisure.

Seated around a table, they sipped fine wine, listening to the agonized screams echoing in the distance. The thick scent of blood in the air only deepened the smiles on their faces.

“Lustful Ghost, your decision was truly admirable!”

“Seizing the perfect moment—right in the midst of their internal chaos—sacrificing cultivation in one grand move!”

“Such ruthless foresight… tsk, tsk…”

“Enough talk—let’s toast to you!”

With that, the cart-puller raised his cup and downed the wine in one gulp.

Beside him, the opera ghost and the butcher also raised their cups in tribute to the plump woman.

Smiling, she returned their toast and replied,

“It’s all thanks to your trust. If we are fortunate enough to earn our master’s favor and be granted freedom this time…”

“I hope we can continue working together—at least until we regain our cultivation. Then, we can go our separate ways. How about it?”

“Alright! Sounds good to me!”

“We’re all capable folks, working together—no problem!”

“Uuu~ I want to follow Old Sis Lustful Ghost~ Uuu~”

The chang ghosts readily agreed, casually discussing their next moves.

“By the way, that Universal Temple temple keeper is actually quite skilled. I can sense that all the minor ghosts have gathered at their location.” The cart-pulling man turned to the plump woman and asked, “Should we do something about it?”

The plump woman shook her head. “No need. Now that the corruptive energy has formed, cursed ghosts are naturally born from it. Kill a cursed ghost, and it turns back into corruptive energy. That energy then breeds more cursed ghosts.”

“This cycle will continue endlessly. Even if they fight until they drop dead from exhaustion, it won’t make a difference.”

“The only thing they can do now is save as many people as possible. That’s it.”

“Without our cultivation, going up against that bow-wielding Golden Guard and the temple keeper would be a disaster for us.”

“Let’s just wait for our master to descend and suppress everything.”

“That makes sense!”

On the other side, Zhao Li was growing impatient with the seemingly endless cursed ghosts.

He had expected that the chang ghost would intervene to stop the yellow weasel, but after waiting for so long, not only did they fail to show up, but the cursed ghosts kept respawning as if they were inexhaustible.

Moreover, he noticed something odd—Gu Ning’an, who stood at the courtyard gate, wasn’t being attacked by minor ghosts at all. Even the cursed ghosts actively avoided him!

There were only two possibilities: either Gu Ning’an was in league with the minor ghosts, or he possessed some kind of obscuring technique that made him invisible to ghostly eyes.

So Zhao Li called out, “External Agent Gu, the cursed ghosts aren’t attacking you. Do you have some special technique?”

“If you do, cast it on the rest of us. In this moment of crisis, let’s put aside our differences and fight together!”

Gu Ning’an glanced at him and responded calmly, “I didn’t cast any spell, nor do I know why the minor ghosts are avoiding me.”

“Ah!”

A Golden Guard, surrounded by minor ghosts, was bitten in the neck.

Even though Zhao Li swiftly fired an arrow, killing the attacking cursed ghosts, it was too late.

The Golden Guard, whose throat had been completely pierced, collapsed onto the ground—immediately swarmed and devoured by the minor ghosts.

“You bastard, Gu! You’re an External Agent, yet you’re deliberately hiding your abilities and refusing to save us?!”

A panicked Golden Guard, too afraid to lash out at Zhao Li or Yang Wei, redirected his fury at Gu Ning’an.

Gu Ning’an chuckled and replied, “Well, you Golden Guards abandoned the people of Four Corners Town and fled early on, didn’t you?”

“When your comrade Guard Yang had his soul taken, not a single one of you tried to help. Instead, you all chose to run away.”