C9 There Was a Ghost!

He vanished without a trace.

Who wouldn't be terrified?

"Report... Report, we're missing one!" Wang Yang, the head of the Liger Guard, informed Lu Yi.

"I'm aware. Let's start searching immediately! We arrived together, we leave together! Listen up, we'll split into three groups. We're twelve in total, so four in each group! Whether we find him or not, regroup here in fifteen minutes. Got it?"

"Got it!"

At Lu Yi's command, the twelve quickly divided into teams.

One led by Xia Shan.

Another by Wang Yang.

And the last by Lu Yi and Gong Binghan!

"Move out!"

Along the way, the rosy hue had drained from Gong Binghan's once-flushed face, leaving her looking pale and drained.

"How... How could someone just vanish like that?"

Gong Binghan asked, her voice trembling as she looked at Lu Yi.

Lu Yi could clearly see the fear in Gong Binghan's eyes.

But seeing her display such vulnerability, he couldn't suppress a chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm not laughing. Did I laugh?" Lu Yi responded, trying to keep a straight face.

"You definitely laughed!"

"No, have you been so frightened that you're seeing things?" Lu Yi joked.

"It's you who's out of your mind!"

Gong Binghan's temper flared at Lu Yi's teasing, but before she could retort, Lu Yi let out a piercing scream.

"A ghost!"

"Ahhh!"

Gong Binghan's scream was filled with hysteria.

The remaining two elites were petrified with fear.

Had their training not been so ingrained, they were sure they'd have wet themselves by now.

Seeing their reaction, Lu Yi doubled over with laughter.

"You said you weren't scared, so why are you hiding in my arms? I was just joking!"

With those words, the two elites felt a surge of anger.

If they thought they could take Lu Yi, they would have lunged at him without a second thought.

They were so frightened, they could hardly recognize themselves.

Don't they know that scaring someone can be deadly?

"You..."

Realizing she'd been played, Gong Binghan shoved Lu Yi away, but the words she wanted to say just wouldn't come out.

"What's the matter with me?"

Lu Yi asked with a nonchalant tone.

"You..."

Gong Binghan's eyes bulged as she stumbled backward, her arm rigidly lifting to point ahead, seemingly spotting something alarming.

Following Gong Binghan's pointed direction, two elite members of the Liger Guard felt their legs give way and they knelt on the ground in shock.

They were staring at one of their comrades, a fellow Liger Guard elite who had vanished without a trace and was now unrecognizable.

His face was ghastly green with sharp fangs, and his emaciated body resembled a corpse freshly risen from the grave.

But what was even more unbearable was the stench emanating from him, a smell hundreds of times fouler than the foulest latrine.

"Ugh!"

Gong Binghan couldn't take it anymore and began to retch violently.

"How did this happen!"

In such a brief span, how had he become a zombie-like creature?

Lu Yi was baffled.

Who possessed such a dreadful power?

After some thought, an answer dawned on him.

It had to be a poison-based skill!

Nothing else could transform a living person into this state so quickly.

Just then!

The shambling corpse exploded with astonishing speed.

In an instant, it was upon the two weaker Liger Guard elites.

Caught completely off guard, they hastily unleashed their abilities.

"Water Arrow!"

"Earth Thrust!"

The old adage goes: meet the soldier with a general, stem the water with earth!

But their simultaneous attacks did nothing to harm the creature.

Meanwhile, the walking corpse had already opened its gaping maw, lunging to bite one of them.

"Gale Summon!"

Lu Yi sprang into action, thrusting his arm into the corpse's mouth in a desperate rescue attempt.

It was a heart-stopping moment.

One of the Liger Guard elites was moved to tears by the gesture.

But with the situation so dire, Lu Yi had no other choice.

As his arm was jammed into the corpse's mouth, the Cold Winter Sword swung in a wide arc.

"Clang!"

Lu Yi had assumed that a single strike from the Cold Winter Sword would decapitate the corpse.

But to his surprise...

To everyone's astonishment, the Cold Winter Sword only managed to knock the corpse back.

Even more shocking, the corpse rose to its feet once again.

With a rigid mouth, it uttered a few notes: "Poison... Vine..."

Unbelievable, it could still use a skill after death!

Lu Yi was taken aback.

"But if I'm not mistaken, this guy was focused on Earth skills before becoming a corpse. Could he have been assimilated?"

What kind of twisted skill is this?

In the midst of his thoughts, several white vines burst forth from the corpse's body, lashing out in all directions.

"Watch out! The vines are poisonous!"

Lu Yi reacted first, slicing through one of the vines and evading the poisonous assault with Gong Binghan, who was still in shock.

The other two weren't as fortunate; they were ensnared by the vines, writhing in excruciating pain.

Lu Yi hurried to sever the vines, but it was too late.

In a blink, the other two also became corpses, unleashing the same skill.

Confronted with the maze of vines, Lu Yi kept his cool, and Gong Binghan regained his composure.

"Frost Grip!"

The vines were encased in ice.

Lu Yi quickly cut through the frozen vines.

It wasn't until the severed vines hit the ground that a shiver ran down Lu Yi's spine.

They weren't vines at all, but sinewy bones!

If that was the case, was the corpse completely hollowed out?

How were they going to save them now?

He distinctly remembered his promise: not one could be lost.

With no other choice, Lu Yi had Gong Binghan freeze the three of them, then used the broken bone vines to craft a rope as thick as a bowl to tie them up.

"So, what's our next move?"

Gong Binghan asked, gazing at the trio now turned corpses.

"We need to find the gathering place. When the time comes, finding the poisoner is our only chance to save them."

Back at a safer location,

Lu Yi briefed Xia Shan, Wang Yang, and the rest on the situation.

They were livid with rage.

"This is beyond cruel. If I get my hands on that person, I'll flay them alive!" Xia Shan exclaimed furiously.

Compared to the others, Lu Yi's mind was razor-sharp.

He had also come to appreciate the terrifying nature of poison abilities.

But what was even more crucial was his understanding of the disparity in strength.

With sufficient power, any skill, no matter how extraordinary, would be rendered ineffective.

"Let's not get angry now. I have a question for you, and I'm hoping you can tell me everything you know," Lu Yi said calmly.

Xia Shan could tell that Lu Yi had already devised a strategy.

"Go ahead. If I know anything, I'll share it all," Xia Shan replied, his face etched with gravity.

"Have you encountered a Holy Soul Master wielding Poison Element skills in Smallfrost?"