Chapter 105: The Mist Barrier

Virgin blood? Upon hearing this, Zheng Lan was momentarily stunned, but she quickly recalled that Old Yang had previously employed similar methods, such as using the blood of black dogs to combat unclean spirits. This time, however, it was virgin blood that was needed.

The situation felt extremely urgent. If that ghostly shadow broke free from the “Heaven’s Net,” it would bring about a whole new wave of trouble.

Naturally, Zheng Lan didn’t have any virgin blood on her own, but she knew that among the subordinates she had brought along, there was a young man who had never had a girlfriend. The responsibility naturally fell to him.

“Xiao Liuzi, come here quickly! We need some of your blood—Old Yang requires it!” Zheng Lan urgently called out to the young man.

“Y-you want me to—”

Though Xiao Liuzi was usually obedient to Zheng Lan, the sudden request to let her take some of his blood caught him off guard. Unlike Zheng Lan, he was not familiar with Old Yang’s practices, so he found the idea rather unbelievable.

Zheng Lan figured Xiao Liuzi must have missed what Old Yang said earlier. Given the urgency, she had no time to elaborate or hesitate. She shouted at him, “Hurry up! We need virgin blood—”

Virgin blood?!

Now Xiao Liuzi fully understood the gravity and peculiarity of the situation and realized what kind of dark magic was about to be performed.

“I... I’m not a virgin anymore!” he stammered suddenly.

“What?” Zheng Lan’s temper flared, and she kicked Xiao Liuzi away in fury. “Go to hell! You haven’t even had a girlfriend yet and you’re already not a virgin? I don’t even know what to say about you…”

But she trailed off, unsure of what exactly she was scolding. Her eyes suddenly brightened as she spotted Zhang Pu—whom she immediately recognized as merely a high school student.

Excellent! The virgin blood was on this young man! Zheng Lan felt an overwhelming surge of joy.

At the same time, she glanced at Liu Yingde, who was already on his feet, chanting spells with Old Yang to prevent the ghostly shadow from escaping the “Heaven’s Net.” He was rushing toward Zhang Pu like a whirlwind.

Zheng Lan’s mind was made up: whether Zhang Pu consented or not, she would forcibly take his blood.

“Let me borrow your blood for a moment!” Zhang Pu saw Zheng Lan rushing toward him, a gleaming dagger suddenly appearing in her hand.

As Zhang Pu tried to figure out how to respond, suddenly the “Heaven’s Net” shattered as if it had exploded.

Zhang Pu didn’t believe in the superstition of virgin blood being necessary for such dark rites. To him, it was just the ignorance of mortals like Old Yang and the others. Seizing the moment when Zheng Lan turned to look at the broken net, he swiftly slipped away like a ghost, evading her attempt to forcibly draw his blood.

But Zheng Lan couldn’t take his blood anyway. Even if Zhang Pu was helpless against her next move, the ghostly shadow had already broken through the “Heaven’s Net,” overpowering Old Yang and Liu Yingde, and was now flying straight toward Zheng Lan and Zhang Pu.

Zheng Lan had to swing her dagger defensively at the ghostly shadow coming from above, not at Zhang Pu.

But in the next instant, Zheng Lan and her dagger were struck down by a powerful force wielded by the ghostly shadow.

Zhang Pu had no choice but to act. Suddenly, a vortex-like whirlwind spun him around like a top.

Liu Yingde and the others had just gotten up when they saw Zhang Pu being carried away by the ghostly shadow.

“This...”

Zheng Lan was dumbfounded but utterly powerless.

Even Zhang Pu himself found it strange. Despite having stepped firmly into the cultivator’s path, he was utterly helpless before the ghostly shadow.

If Zhang Pu couldn’t resist, then Liu Yingde was equally stunned.

Suddenly, a thick mist began to rise under the moonlight.

The fog thickened, forming what seemed like a barrier that separated the retreating ghostly shadow and Zhang Pu from the others. By now, nearly everyone at the bonfire had been alerted to the commotion.

But what met them was only this dense mist.

The ghostly shadow and Zhang Pu soon vanished into the fog.

Zhang Pu truly didn’t understand why the ghostly shadow’s power had suddenly become so terrifying. After all, he had already truly stepped into the realm of cultivators, yet before the ghostly shadow’s might and sorcery, he was completely powerless.

However, he gradually became certain of one thing: the ghostly shadow was not a real ghost. He was no martial arts grandmaster, nor was he any kind of superhuman or mutant from Earth.

Zhang Pu became increasingly convinced that the ghostly shadow was either a demon or a spirit, perhaps even a cultivator like himself. Only, for some unknown reason, the shadow’s physical body had vanished, leaving only his spiritual essence intact—and this essence could continue to be cultivated.

Thanks to his millennia of experience in the cultivation world, Zhang Pu understood these principles well.

Although he didn’t yet know why the ghostly shadow had taken him, he decided to try communicating with the entity.

“This is a fog barrier, isn’t it?” Zhang Pu finally found a chance to speak.

At that moment, he realized he had been carried far away from the bonfire, seemingly toward a place he once knew well.

“You know the fog barrier?” The ghostly shadow trembled slightly.

Ah! So this was the place!

Zhang Pu then saw the very cave where he had once stayed.

Of course, he remembered it well—the place where he had completely overwhelmed the ninja. At the time, he hadn’t sensed anything unusual deep within the cave, but now he realized the ghostly shadow’s cultivation was so profound that Zhang Pu had simply been unable to detect him.

Without hesitation, Zhang Pu followed the ghostly shadow into the cave.

Outside, the thick fog barrier still cloaked the area, and combined with the ghostly shadow’s magic, Zhang Pu understood how difficult it would be for those at the bonfire to find this place. Even if they did, what chance would they have against the ghostly shadow? After all, even someone as skilled as Zhang Pu had been captured.

Inside the cave, it was not dark as before when he and the ninja had needed light. Zhang Pu’s eyes could see clearly, likely aided by the ghostly shadow’s magic.

“Tell me honestly—who exactly are you?” The ghostly shadow seemed to withdraw some of his power and then asked Zhang Pu.

Zhang Pu recalled that the ghostly shadow’s first question hadn’t even been answered yet, and now he was asking a second one so quickly.