Although the ghosts before them were not strong, their numbers were vast, and their grotesque appearances were truly terrifying.
Quantity breeds quality, and these ghosts devoured everything.
Under the ravenous consumption of so many ghosts, the surrounding spiritual energy rapidly diminished at a visible rate. Within a few breaths, the spiritual energy had become as thin as water.
After siphoning the spiritual energy, the remaining ghosts lunged towards Su Xi, eager to tear a piece of flesh from her.
While spiritual energy was alluring, fresh flesh and blood was undoubtedly more appealing to them.
To prevent the specters from consuming her, a protective light automatically emanated from Su Xi, warding off the approaching phantoms.
However, her protective light did not completely repel the specters; instead, they constantly gnawed at it. Within a few breaths, the protective light quickly weakened, leaving only a thin layer. Once this luminous membrane disappeared, the ghosts would be unstoppable.
Aware of the dire situation, Su Xi took out a talisman she had neglected, intending to activate it.
After all, the Heaven's Thunder Talisman was highly effective against spirits.
Yet, after numerous attempts, the talisman in her hand remained completely unresponsive, behaving like ordinary yellow paper, impossible to wield.
"The surrounding spiritual energy has been cut off by me. I advise you not to waste your efforts," Monk Zhiyuan sneered upon seeing this.
In his ghost realm, he was the king. By leveraging the resentment generated by the ghosts, he could easily isolate the surrounding spiritual energy. Without spiritual energy, even the most powerful artifacts could not be activated.
This tactic had always been his most effective means of dealing with enemies, and now Su Xi was destined to become another soul in his grasp.
Although he looked down on Su Xi, his cautious nature meant he showed no carelessness in his actions.
Knowing the talismans were useless, Su Xi abandoned the idea and took out the fire-poker from her hand.
Monk Zhiyuan's mockery deepened as he watched Su Xi holding the fire-poker.
If a Level Three talisman was ineffective, a plain, unranked stick would surely be futile. He was curious to see what further tricks Su Xi could conjure.
Su Xi brandished the fire-poker, swinging it at the ghosts closing in on her.
The fire-poker required no magical power to activate, so even without spiritual energy, she had no cause for worry at this moment.
The ghosts struck by the fire-poker were swallowed whole before they could even emit a scream. After absorbing the specters, the fire-poker's glow intensified slightly.
"It really works!" Su Xi exclaimed, seeing the effect of the fire-poker, and her movements quickened.
Surrounded by a dense mass of ghosts, Su Xi had no fear of missing her attacks. Every swing of the fire-poker claimed a swath of specters.
Initially, Monk Zhiyuan almost burst into laughter watching Su Xi's actions.
Ghosts, lacking physical form, were inherently difficult to destroy and immune to all physical attacks. Su Xi's actions, besides exhausting herself, were utterly pointless.
However, soon, the smile on Monk Zhiyuan's face froze.
He noticed a significant decrease in his perception of the ghosts. In just a short while, more than half of the ghosts around Su Xi had vanished. The remaining specters trembled and dared not approach.
The sudden turn of events caught Monk Zhiyuan completely off guard.
"Truly troublesome," a hint of ruthlessness appeared on Monk Zhiyuan's face as black threads erupted from him, merging into the formation.
Empowered by Monk Zhiyuan, the Myriad Ghost Soul Devouring Formation blazed with black light.
The specters, which had been trembling moments before, now had glowing red eyes and began to tear at each other. The scene instantly became brutally violent.
Observing this, Su Xi was utterly bewildered.
Even if they were afraid to attack her, they shouldn't be attacking their own kind. Didn't they know that if the ghosts were depleted, she wouldn't be able to power the fire-poker?
Therefore, to stop the specters from devouring each other, she absolutely could not tolerate it.
Thus, a highly peculiar scene unfolded.
The ghosts were now solely attacking each other, paying no heed to Su Xi. And just as they were about to tear into one another, Su Xi would suddenly strike, absorbing them both.
Monk Zhiyuan noticed Su Xi's actions but did not intervene.
With tens of thousands of ghosts, Su Xi could not possibly absorb them all. As soon as his spell was complete, it would be Su Xi's demise.
"Roar~"
Just as Su Xi was frantically powering up the fire-poker with the ghosts, a guttural roar echoed from within the formation. Immediately after, a colossal aura began to manifest.
Through the mutual devouring of ghosts, a Ghost King had been formed.
The Ghost King stood eight zhang tall, with a pair of long horns adorning its head. Its pair of emerald eyes fixed on Su Xi as it continuously emitted roars.
Su Xi swallowed hard as she looked at the Ghost King before her.
Compared to the Ghost King, she was like an ant facing a giant; the disparity was clearly immense. One of the Ghost King's legs was larger than her entire head, and it could crush her with a casual step.
The Ghost King, seeing Su Xi, did not hesitate and stomped down.
Su Xi swiftly dodged to the side.
"Boom."
The Ghost King's stomp missed, creating a massive pit in the ground. Black miasma continued to seep from the crater.
Missing its target, the Ghost King did not cease its advance. It continued to press forward, its gaze treating Su Xi as easily as crushing an ant.
The fire-poker had accumulated sufficient energy, so even without the ability to channel spiritual energy, it could now be activated.
"Ice and Fire Nine Heavens!" Su Xi shouted, and the fire-poker in her hand instantly unleashed a blue and red beam of light, striking the Ghost King.
The Ghost King, facing Su Xi's attack, did not evade at all. Relying on its sheer physical might, it withstood Su Xi's assault head-on.
The attack, which had previously been unassailable, only managed to turn the Ghost King's lower body into ice.
Su Xi's face filled with shock at this sight.
The fire-poker possessed a natural resistance to spirits; she had never expected it to have any effect on half of the Ghost King's body. She had to admit, large, imposing beings were incredibly difficult to deal with.
The Ghost King, restrained by Su Xi's fire-poker, roared continuously, struggling to break free from its icy bonds.
However, the ice was incredibly solid, and it was unable to break free in a short time, only managing to emit furious roars.
Despite its movement being hindered, the Ghost King was not willing to let Su Xi go easily.
"Roar~"
A deafening roar transformed into a powerful sonic wave attack, sweeping towards Su Xi.
Even before the sonic wave fully reached her, Su Xi felt a tingling sensation on her scalp, and a powerful gust of wind swiftly enveloped her entire body, leaving her no room to retreat.