Rebirth of the Peak Young Master-Chapter 17: Reap What You Sow

"Heh heh! I didn't expect that after vanquishing one evil spirit, another one would appear!"

Seeing the green-faced man emerge, Master Ma immediately let out a cold laugh. Clutching the Black Iron tightly in his hand, he said with a smirk, "Well then! With the sect's treasured relic in my possession, no number of evil spirits pose any threat to me—they're no more than weeds to a poor Taoist like myself!"

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As he spoke, Master Ma stroked his beard, appearing every bit the image of a wise and accomplished Taoist, which left the Guo Brothers marveling at his boundless mana!

"Master Ma possesses divine power! Please vanquish this evil spirit swiftly to protect the people and rid the world of harm!"

Guo Wenyuan, seeing Master Ma's calm demeanor in addition to the earlier defeat of the previous evil spirit, naturally felt unafraid compared to his first encounter with the specter.

"It is of no concern. Purging demons and upholding the righteous path is a poor Taoist's solemn duty. I do not expect your gratitude, just as I will not tolerate any vulgar soul trampling upon my dignity!"

As he said this, Master Ma threw a pointed glance at Ye Fei, who hadn't uttered a single word since entering the room, his eyes filled with cold mockery.

Guo Wenyuan, noticing this, sneered with disdain and said, "Master Ma, please do not stoop to the level of such ordinary folks. Seeing your divine presence, he must have been scared stiff!"

"Very well! A poor Taoist like myself has no time to deal with a man of clouded judgment. Let me take care of this evil spirit instead!"

With that, Master Ma began muttering incantations under his breath.

Ye Fei noticed this and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

He was a Cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage; such a mere evil spirit could not possibly scare him.

He was actually scrutinizing the green-faced man before him since the so-called "evil spirit" was, in fact, a Ghost King—thousands of times more fearsome than a mere specter!

It was just that Master Ma, with his meager mana, mistook the green-faced man for a common evil spirit.

Watching Master Ma prepare to attack the Ghost King with the same old method using the Black Iron, Ye Fei immediately shouted, "Halt!"

"You brat! I'm executing spells to banish the ghost—why are you interrupting me?" Master Ma snapped in annoyance.

"This is not an evil spirit; it's a Ghost King!"

Ye Fei sighed and said, "This Ghost King has clearly just awakened and is stabilizing its ghost body. While the Black Iron you wield possesses ghost-banishing abilities, it has been tainted with ghost energy due to years of use in dispersing specters' souls. As such, you are not weakening the Ghost King but rather aiding in the stabilization of its ghost body!"

"A Ghost King?"

Master Ma scoffed and said, "A poor Taoist like myself has exorcised ghosts and soothed souls for years, and I've never even heard of such a thing as a Ghost King. Do you insignificant brat think you know more than I do?"

Disregarding Ye Fei's warning, Master Ma raised the Black Iron high and began chanting incantations while aiming it toward the green-faced man.

Standing nearby, Guo Wenyuan snorted coldly and said, "Kid, you fooled my father with your nonsense, but do you think you can deceive me? Get out of my sight quickly, or don't blame me for being merciless when we leave here!"

Ye Fei responded with a faint smile and stood with his hands clasped behind him.

He had merely tried to warn them out of goodwill. Despite the Guo Family's disrespect toward him, Elder Guo had always treated him with great respect, which was why he chose to offer some measure of protection.

But since they refused to heed his advice, so be it.

Guo Wenyuan, seeing Ye Fei remain silent, thought he was intimidated. His gaze grew even more contemptuous, and he began singing praises for Master Ma's prowess.

At that moment, however, Master Ma began to sense something amiss.

The Black Iron, which had never failed him before, not only failed to restrain the green-faced man's movements but also caused the surrounding ghost energy to grow denser. In fact, the energy soon covered half the cemetery.

The green-faced man simply waved his hand, unleashing a surge of ghost energy that directly engulfed Master Ma's palm.

Crack!

The Black Iron instantly crumbled and shattered into dust.

"How... how is this possible?" Master Ma felt the terrifying power of the man's attack and cried out in alarm.

"How is this possible?"

With a chilling tone, the green-faced man let out a sinister laugh. "Cackle cackle cackle! Silly Taoist, thank you so much! If not for the ghost energy on your iron trinket, this king's ghost body would have needed more time to stabilize!"

Ghost body stabilized?

Could the boy have been telling the truth?

Terror surged within Master Ma's heart, but before he could react, the green-faced man suddenly stretched out his hand.

In an instant, furious winds swept through, and Master Ma was blown off his feet, landing hard against a nearby coffin as blood gushed from his mouth.

The entire Guo Brothers stood frozen in silent shock, their faces etched with disbelief.

"What... what is going on? Master Ma, are you... are you alright?"

Guo Wenyuan hurried forward to ask.

"Get away from me! Don't bother me!" Master Ma showed zero gratitude for Guo Wenyuan's concern.

Slowly rising to his feet, Master Ma walked toward the green-faced man once more.

Just as everyone thought he might engage the green-faced man in battle again, he suddenly fell to his knees with a thud and began pleading, "Ghost King, my lord, I... I was misled by these mortals into disturbing you. I present them to you—please spare my life!"

"Ma... Master Ma, what in the world are you saying!" Guo Wenyuan was dumbfounded upon hearing this.

Who could have predicted that this Taoist, hired at great cost and entrusted with their highest hopes, would betray them at such a critical moment simply to save himself by offering up Guo Huaiyuan and his daughter!

However, Master Ma sneered coldly and said, "Did I not make myself clear? What stands before us is a Ghost King! I was only drawn into this because of your Guo Family. Now, the wrath of the Ghost King shall of course be borne by your Guo Family—I will have no part in it!"

"You... you... I'll kill you!"

Unable to contain his rage at Master Ma's treachery and the terrifying visage of the green-faced man, Guo Wenyuan charged at Master Ma in blind fury.

But Master Ma was still a cultivator—how could he possibly be a match for Guo Wenyuan?

With a look of utter disdain, Master Ma raised a leg and kicked Guo Wenyuan aside. Clapping his hands, he sneered, "Kill me? Heh, with what, you fool?"

Thud!

Guo Wenyuan spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.

"Uncle!"

"Big Brother!"

Guo Can and his father, Guo Huaiyuan, exclaimed in panic, rushing forward to check on him.

"Master Ma, how can you do this? The Guo Family will never let you get away with this!" Guo Can yelled furiously as she glared at Master Ma.

"Never let me get away with this?"

Master Ma burst into laughter and said, "Do you think any of you will make it out of here today alive? When the dust settles, and all that remains of the Guo Family is one decrepit old man, won't the Guo Family's fortune fall seamlessly into my hands? Heh heh. I'll leave now, while you remain here as a feast for the Ghost King!"

With that, Master Ma sprinted toward the stone door.

Meanwhile, Guo Can, staring at the green-faced man who was now locking eyes with her, felt nothing but utter despair.

"Someone save us! Please, someone save us!"

Dragging Guo Wenyuan's body with her father, Guo Can retreated into the corner of the room.

"Sigh..."

A soft sigh filled the air. Out of the shadows, a lone figure slowly stepped into the light, just as Guo Can was sinking into overwhelming hopelessness.