Chapter 104: The Spirit Capital Ghost King

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A wedding procession? In this cursed place?

A chill suddenly surged through my heart. At that moment, the wedding procession seemed to materialize out of thin air ahead of me.

At the front were several tall, majestic horses, each ridden by warriors wearing black iron masks, resembling the ghostly samurai that haunted the Eye of the Giant Stone.

Behind them was a group of suona players, all dressed in festive attire, though their faces were unnaturally pale.

Following them came the grand palanquin, carried on the shoulders of eight pitch-black, shirtless ghost slaves.

Trailing behind were maidservants and elderly women.

I swallowed hard, goosebumps rising all over my body.

Not to mention anything else, those eight palanquin bearers were fierce ghosts; the ghostly samurai leading them looked even more formidable.

So, what level of ghost was hosting this wedding? Surely not a Ghost King?

Yet, strangely, I saw no groom.

There was nowhere to hide in this place; I could only stand aside, hoping to avoid trouble.

My landing spot was already off; if I stirred up more trouble, the danger would escalate considerably.

The ghost samurai passed before me without a glance. I exhaled slightly, relieved that my disguise had not been seen through.

As the palanquin passed, the crimson curtain was suddenly lifted, revealing a beautiful face.

I was momentarily stunned. The ghost bride was stunningly beautiful—truly a vision that could topple cities.

“Stop,” the ghost bride suddenly spoke.

The procession halted, and she stared straight at me.

My heart leapt—could it be that my vitality had leaked, and these ghosts had discovered I was a living person?

Then, unexpectedly, the ghost bride smiled. That smile made my heart pound wildly. I hurriedly recited a cleansing charm in my mind.

“You are my groom,” she said.

What?

No sooner had she spoken than two maidservants floated over, immediately producing a bright red groom’s outfit and dressing me in it. With a wave, a horse appeared, and the two maids helped me mount it.

No matter how quick-witted I was, I was utterly at a loss now—was this a ghostly abduction for marriage?

“Return home and wed in the ancestral hall!” an elderly woman commanded loudly.

The suona sounded again, and the procession turned around, swiftly drifting into the endless darkness.

Soon, a ghostly green light appeared ahead.

Underneath its glow, a city emerged.

Surrounded on all sides by ghost samurai, I was utterly trapped.

Seeing the ghost city ahead, I was shocked. How vast was this underworld?

As we drew closer, I saw that the city walls were built entirely from human bones, with countless skulls embedded on the surface.

Ghost samurai patrolled atop the walls.

As we neared, all the ghost samurai knelt down, which made my heart race with fear.

Inside the city, thousands of ghostly spirits wandered. Yet, even though fierce ghosts and ordinary spirits mingled, there was order—no devouring like the chaos I had witnessed at the Eye of the Giant Stone.

At the city’s center stood a massive castle, each turret burning with eerie flames, majestic beyond measure.

The castle gates opened, and two rows of ghost samurai emerged, standing guard on either side.

Inside, a maidservant helped me down from the horse.

I was led into the main hall, where red wedding characters decorated the walls and wedding candles burned.

But I clearly saw that two of these candles were stuck into the mouths of two men, fashioned into human-shaped candlesticks.

My pupils contracted sharply. I wondered what I might be turned into if discovered.

Then, a faint, ethereal fragrance wafted into my nose.

Could ghosts have a scent? It must be an illusion!

The ghost bride, now standing beside me, lowered a red bridal veil over her head.

“One bow to heaven and earth,” an elderly woman intoned loudly.

A terrifying force pressed on my waist, forcing me to bow.

“Two bows to the elders,”

“Couple bows to each other!”

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Like a puppet, I was led through the motions with the ghost bride and then taken to the bridal chamber.

Normally, the bride waits inside the chamber, but now, it was I who waited there.

I opened my eyes and looked around.

“How can this not be an illusion? Could everything in this room truly be real? It can’t be,” I thought. With the Yin-Yang Eye, besides the swirling ghost aura, everything in this room—including the furniture—seemed tangible.

I sat on a chair and opened a teapot made of pure gold, revealing a ghostly green liquid inside.

I sniffed it and found it carried a sharp, refreshing fragrance.

“My lord, are you curious? This tea is brewed from the Three Yin Fruit. It solidifies the ghostly body and fills one with ghost energy,” the ghost bride said as she entered, still veiled, accompanied by two maidservants.

“Is that so? My lady, would you mind letting me try some?” I asked.

Suddenly, the footsteps of the ghost and the maidservants stopped simultaneously, and they stared at me as if seeing a ghost.

You are the ghosts! Why are you looking at me like that? I felt uneasy.

“No… I don’t mind,” the ghost bride replied, her voice tinged with excitement.

I took a large gulp. A cold, sinister chill shot through me, nearly freezing my blood.

Fortunately, the Eye of the Nether Dragon emitted a suction force, drawing the cold away, allowing me to recover.

“Good tea,” I said.

“Senior Maids One and Two, please leave,” the ghost bride commanded.

The two maids bowed and floated out.

I thought silently that this ghost was at least a few centuries old.

A few centuries’ worth of ghost, and seemingly the undisputed ruler of this ghost city. She must be a Ghost King. Yet, my Nether Dragon Eye was remarkable—it hid my living essence even from the Ghost King.

“My lord, a moment of spring night is worth a thousand gold. Please lift the bridal veil for the red-dressed one,” the ghost bride cooed.

I cursed silently. She hadn’t seen through me, but surely I couldn’t really do *that* with her.

“Red-dress, your name is truly elegant and refined,” I said, lifting the red veil.

Her delicate face flushed pink, her eyes like water, shy and tender.

“I still do not know my lord’s name,” she said softly.

“My surname is Qin, given name Feng. They call me the Dragon Spear that shatters the heavens, the Jade-faced Young Gentleman who outshines pear blossoms and crabapples,” I said, going all out and treating her like an ordinary woman.

Her eyes sparkled with admiration. “Your title is impressive. From now on, I am Qin’s wife.”

I chuckled, but the smile faded into a strange expression. In the Nether Dragon Eye, a shadowy Yin thread entwined with hers.

Well, this meant karmic entanglement.

“My lord, let me loosen your clothes,” she said, rising to undo my garments.

I wanted to refuse, but found myself unable to move. Her terrifying power was such that if she wished me dead, it would be as easy as crushing an ant.

Could such a formidable Ghost King truly not detect my living essence?

I thought so, but as she undressed me, nothing unusual happened.

Then she pushed me onto the bed and began undressing herself.

I bit my tongue, trying to close my eyes, but was irresistibly drawn to her.

She wore only a bellyband and nestled into my arms.

“My lord, sleep now,” she murmured lazily.

I then involuntarily closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

The ghost bride opened her eyes in my embrace, sat up, and examined me carefully.

Then she smiled.

“So, that’s how it is,” she whispered.

I don’t know how much time passed before I awoke.

Still alive! That was my first thought.

Sitting up, I saw the ghost bride facing a bronze mirror, combing her hair.

I knew she was a ghost—a powerful Ghost King—but honestly, she was truly captivating.

She possessed the aura of an ancient noble lady, the kind one only sees in period dramas.

Yet admiration aside, I had not forgotten the mission that brought me to this underworld.

Recalling my last visit to the Eye of the Giant Stone, whose space connected to the Nether Rift, I wondered how this underworld and the Nether Rift were related.

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“My lord, you are awake. Let me help you dress,” the ghost bride said, bringing me a noble garment from ancient times.

“Madam, I wonder what city this is, and what your status is?” I asked bluntly.

“This is Spirit Capital City; I am the city’s ruler,” she answered without hesitation.

Spirit Capital? That name sounded familiar.

I pondered for a moment, then suddenly recalled: centuries ago, there was a city called Spirit Capital in this desert. It was a crucial gateway from the Hua Kingdom to the Western Regions, extremely prosperous.

But later, due to drastic changes in geography, the entire city was buried beneath the desert, leaving only countless legends behind.

Could this Spirit Capital be the same? The entire city turned into a ghost city, its inhabitants become ghosts?

“Are there other cities besides Spirit Capital?” I asked.

“No cities, but there are gathering places,” the ghost replied.

I was about to ask more, but she interrupted.

“My lord, let me play the zither for you,” she said, sitting at an ancient zither and plucking its strings.

Her skill was superb—master level. She did not use ghost illusion magic but true, genuine technique.

In Spirit Capital Ghost City, I lost all sense of time, unaware of the situation outside.

I was trapped here. Each day, the ghost bride and I played music, painted, composed poetry, and then embraced as we slept.

Every time she told me it was time to sleep, I fell into a deep slumber.

Until one day, I awoke and, unlike usual, did not see her combing her hair.

I left the room, followed by a maidservant.

“Senior Maid, where is the city ruler?” I asked.

She remained silent, her ghost aura flickering restlessly.

“And Junior Maid?” I asked again.

She held out a hand containing a golden hairpin I recognized as Junior Maid's.

I took it, suddenly stunned. The hairpin bore fragments of Junior Maid’s shattered soul.

That meant Junior Maid had been destroyed.

The ghost bride was also gone. Something must have happened.

Suddenly, the entire Spirit Capital City erupted in a ghostly uproar, ghost aura surging skyward.

What the hell? Was this a rebellion?

“Master, help Spirit Capital City,” the senior maid implored.

The moment she spoke, the Nether Dragon Eye in my chest reacted.

I rushed to the city walls and saw armies of zombies and demon spirits besieging the city.

Was this an undead war? Zombies and demon spirits allied against the ghost bride—my ghostly wife.

Huh?

I spotted the golden-armored zombie leading the horde. Its crystalline claws were the same ones I had traded with it before. The bracelet I exchanged had become a mark branded on my wrist.

My heart stirred, and I roared loudly.

The golden-armored zombie’s blood-red eyes swept over me, flickering.

It growled back, a thunderous sound rolling across the land.

It warned me to stay out of it; I told it I was taking charge of this matter.

In the end, for reasons unknown, it roared twice more and led the zombie army away.

But then the demon spirit army began its assault.

Before they could reach the walls, a red shadow descended from the sky, and ghostly energy surged like a tide.

The city ruler of Spirit Capital had returned. Upon her appearance, the demon spirit army immediately retreated.

“My lord,” the ghost bride turned to me, smiling warmly.

Suddenly, her ghostly form twisted violently, becoming incredibly weak.