Mountain Patrol Military Officer-Chapter 1077 - 702: The Vanished Old Ghost

On the other side, at midnight on this night, the western slopes of the undulating Dragon Ridge.

A grand pass stood tall among the mountains, the mountain wind carried the majestic aura of Dragon Ridge, sweeping past the steep walls of the pass, emitting wailing sounds. Upon the city walls, the valiant soldier formations stood as steadfast as boulders. The rows of black gold armor formed a line, and the dense ranks of soldiers extended for miles, their armor shimmering with a cold silver sheen in the moonlight, long spears like a forest, their tips pointed at the night sky, reflecting the sparse stars.

Dasan Pass, the western gateway to the Central Pass Plain, was breached by the Beiliang Iron Cavalry a month ago.

Now it has become a strategic outpost for the Beiliang Iron Cavalry to attack the Central Pass Plain!

Within this pass, there lies a place called Sanling. Between the hills of Sanling, a layer of earthy yellow, flowing light forms a big formation, like quicksand that encompasses and forms an impregnable barrier. Inside the big formation, mountain structures were spirally built around a peak. They seemed rather crude in design and newly constructed, with a strictly guarded environment. Every ten steps stood a Liang Soldier holding a long spear, wearing black gold Mystic Armor, with a waist knife, their eyes as sharp as eagles, observing every movement in their surroundings.

Near the peak, the vigilance was even stricter, with patrolling soldiers coming and going incessantly, the sound of armor leaves clashing one after another, creating an impenetrable defense.

The buildings at the peak, though newly constructed, were evidently more meticulous and exquisite, forming the core area, heavily guarded.

Here lay the location of the distant transmission array used by Beiliang to breach the pass on that fateful day, a crucial "transportation hub" for deploying troops inside the border, heavily protected layer by layer.

In a two-story stilt house built against the cliffside at the mountain top, it was pitch dark, with the cold light reflecting off armor outside, and armored soldiers standing guard.

"Why does it suddenly feel so cold?" In front of a door, two heavy-armored soldiers stood on duty with their legs spread wide apart. Suddenly, one of them asked suspiciously in a low voice.

"I feel it too, perhaps the night temperature in the mountains suddenly dropped. Look, it’s foggy now." The other responded, unconcerned.

"I didn’t feel this way during the previous watch." The first soldier muttered softly, circulating his True Qi within himself to dispel some of the cold.

However, under their night vision, a gust of wind carrying the fog surged toward them.

As the fog enveloped the unsuspecting pair, they inhaled the mist, and within the next second, an abrupt transformation occurred.

Their throats seemed to be gripped by something, emitting muffled gargling sounds, the veins bulging under their helmets, their faces twisted, seemingly in great pain.

Then, the flesh on their faces quickly withered, as if a balloon had deflated.

"Plop"

"Plop"

In the span of just a few breaths, there was only the barely audible sound of their armor sliding heavily to the ground.

"Creak—"

A piercing sound of door hinges broke the dead silence, the door was blown open by the wind, which carried the mist inside.

Inside, it was so dark that one couldn’t see a hand in front of them, the objects within were hidden in the shadows, their outlines blurred, like a beast lying in wait.

At this moment, deep within the room, a faint light suddenly flickered to life without warning—a small flame, as tiny as a bean, flickered in the thick darkness, barely illuminating a small area.

The dim and weak light separated a figure sitting in a cross-legged position from the darkness. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The person sat at the very back of the room on a dais, layers of white gauze draped in front, giving off a grim feeling in the lamplight.

Clad in a robe woven with golden threads, what was startling was the red ghost mask on his face. The mask was entirely scarlet, eerily red, seemingly seeping blood pearls in the dim lamplight and surrounding darkness. A few fierce protrusions jutted from the forehead, the lines sharp, like the bulging veins of an angry Evil Ghost; the eye sockets hollowed deeply, forming two bottomless pits. The weak glow of the lamp fell upon this mask, against intertwining shadows, making it even more sinister and terrifying, chilling to the core.

As the wind stirred the mist and caused the gauze to flutter, the lamplight swayed gently in the breeze, casting the shadow of the red ghost-masked figure onto the wall behind, stretching and distorting, resembling an Evil Ghost.

And the mist rapidly surged forward, yet suddenly halted at the edge of the lamplight’s reach.

Beneath the red ghost mask, the eyes suddenly gleamed with a ghostly light, and a voice with a hint of surprise and mockery rang out,

"Old Ghost, you’re not dead?"

As the words fell, the mist outside the lamp’s weak glow suddenly turned from white to black, violently churning, forming an old face, fiercely malevolent, as if it wanted to consume someone, the voice cold enough to chill the bone,

"I am not dead, and you seem very pleased?" This was the Old Ghost who had been "killed" at the Chengsheng Land on Ghost Cry Mountain, now appearing miles away at the Dasan Pass.

"I am merely surprised, that’s all. That Chen-named Martial Saint, even Heavenly People died by his hand, yet you managed to escape. Does that not mean you’re even stronger than a Heavenly Person, Old Ghost?" The voice beneath the Nine Candles mask was eerie, truly a bit unexpected. The Ghost Path line indeed has its merits.

"Stop with your sarcastic remarks." The Old Ghost’s voice was gritted with teeth, "You have no idea the cost I paid to escape from death this time, deceiving the heavens, and I need to replenish my Primordial Qi."

"Hurry and make arrangements for me!"

"Old Ghost, you mean you’re severely injured and need to restore your Primordial Qi? What do you need me to arrange?" The Nine Candles voice was very light, very light, with a sharp and elusive tone.