Chapter Sixty-Nine: A Divine Trap

Dong Weike let out a cold laugh and fixed her gaze on Fu Yang. “Wherever there are people, there are rivalries. The world of the supernatural is, in essence, no different from the ordinary world. Don’t think that monks and priests are void of desires.”

Fu Yang was taken aback, as if something had suddenly dawned on him.

Imagine having a classmate who spends every day indulging in pleasures, never lifting a finger to work, while you rise before dawn and toil into the night, studying with all your might—yet your exam results are still worse than his. How would you feel?

Any normal person would inevitably experience a certain emotion: jealousy.

That’s right—the other branches of Daoism began to envy Ghost Dao’s core secret. And so...

“Weike, you don’t mean to say… that the other Daoist sects joined forces and wiped out the entire Ghost Dao, do you?” Fu Yang’s face turned pale with fright, his eyes widening as scenes from martial arts dramas played out in his mind.

But before he could finish the thought, Weike smacked him lightly on the head with her delicate hand.

“You’ve been watching too many martial arts shows, haven’t you? The so-called orthodox sects may have their share of scoundrels, but they’re not so depraved as to do something so monstrous. In truth, Ghost Dao was indeed exterminated—but not by the great Daoist strongholds like Dragon Tiger Mountain or Mount Mao. Rather, it was destroyed overnight by a mysterious power allied with countless demons and vengeful spirits.”

“But… those orthodox sects made a grave mistake as well.”

“In fact, the major Daoist sects are quite well-informed. The moment Ghost Dao was attacked, they received word. But perhaps out of selfishness, some leaders decided to delay their rescue by two hours.”

A delayed rescue?

Fu Yang was puzzled, but after a moment’s thought, he understood.

“These people wanted Ghost Dao to be weakened first, and only then would they step in—killing two birds with one stone!”

Weike nodded in agreement.

“You’re right. Those at Dragon Tiger Mountain and Mount Mao thought the Ghost Dao disciples were all powerful enough to hold out for a couple of hours. What they didn’t realize was that Ghost Dao’s numbers were too few! Even at its height, there were only a few dozen members, and those who truly possessed the core secret technique, Devouring Desolation, were fewer than ten. Faced with the combined assault of that mysterious force and myriad monsters, how could they last? Within an hour, they were slaughtered…”

“When the Daoist sects finally arrived, they found only ashes and ruins where the Ghost Dao had once stood.”

Fu Yang gasped sharply.

He hadn’t expected the story to end like this.

“But Ghost Dao did not die out completely! Because the strongest member of the younger generation was away training at the time, not present at the sect, he escaped the massacre…”

“However, from then on, he became extremely radical. Not only did he hate the evil demons and spirits, he also bore a deep grudge against the orthodox sects who failed to help in time!”

“Whenever he encountered disciples from Dragon Tiger Mountain, Mount Mao, Gezao Mountain, Mount Putuo, Mount Laoshan, or the great Buddhist and Daoist sects, he would kill them on sight. Over time, he became enemies with both the Buddhist and Daoist worlds…”

Fu Yang was speechless.

This guy is a bit much, he thought. Just because someone failed to help in time, it’s like blaming passersby for not picking up an old lady who’s fallen on the street. You can criticize them morally, but you can’t criminalize or sentence them—after all, they’re under no obligation.

Besides, Ghost Dao wasn’t exactly on friendly terms with the others, to begin with…

Going on a killing spree like that only made enemies on both sides of the moral spectrum!

Sure enough, Weike went on to explain that ever since that survivor, Ghost Dao was branded as evil by the orthodox sects. They began hunting him down, and whenever a Ghost Dao heir surfaced, they would try to eliminate him early on.

And so, centuries passed, the world changed, and since the late Qing Dynasty, Ghost Dao has all but vanished from the supernatural world. Only then did this tangled web of grudges finally draw to a close.

Nowadays, those who claim to be heirs of Ghost Dao are mostly pretenders, having picked up a few tricks from secret manuals or hidden abodes and flaunting them around. The orthodox sects usually ignore these charlatans with a smile, but in the shadows, they’re hunted by a mysterious force—likely the same one that annihilated Ghost Dao all those years ago.

But if a true heir of Ghost Dao were to appear, neither side would tolerate him!

Once confirmed, he would be attacked by both the Buddhist and Daoist factions.

“In fact, though few Ghost Dao spells survive, there are still some out there. But none of those who practice them can be called true heirs! The sole mark of a true Ghost Dao successor is…”

At this, Dong Weike paused deliberately.

Fu Yang’s face had already changed. He stammered, “Devouring Desolation… Devouring Desolation is the true sign of a Ghost Dao successor!”

“Very clever—correct! Now you see why I told you, the only true heir of Ghost Dao, that you must do everything you can to keep this secret and to conceal your Devouring Desolation technique?”

Fu Yang’s mind went blank, as if he’d fallen into a pit—a bottomless one.

He knew. He knew all too well!

To put it plainly, Ghost Dao sounded fearsome and formidable, but in reality, being its heir meant you were cursed and vilified by all.

On one side, there were evil forces of unknown origin still lurking, while on the other, the so-called righteous ones bore a grudge thanks to the senseless slaughter committed by that brainless Ghost Dao survivor.

In these circumstances, if his identity was ever discovered, what hope would there be? Game over, plain and simple.

Fu Yang stood up quietly.

Weike was surprised. “What are you doing?”

He replied in a low voice, “Might as well go all the way—just grab a kitchen knife and finish off Ah Huang… If you and I are the only ones who know the secret, it should be safe.”

Weike couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “You look like you’re joking—what’s the matter, scared?”

Fu Yang dropped heavily onto his seat, furiously rubbing his hair until it was a tangled mess.

“My queen, you’ve landed me in real trouble! In this situation, only a brainless fool wouldn’t be scared, wouldn’t you say? Never mind that mysterious evil force that destroyed Ghost Dao in the first place—just those on the surface, like Dragon Tiger Mountain, Mount Mao… Any one of their experts could ruin me in an instant, believe it or not?”

Dong Weike put on a deliberately stern face.

“So, you don’t want to be the Ghost Dao successor anymore? Well, there’s only one way…”

“What way?”

“Kill yourself. If you’re dead, there’s nothing left to fear.”

Fu Yang nearly spat blood at her.

Wasn’t she supposed to be the cold and aloof Queen of Ghosts? Since when did she start telling such terrible jokes? And they weren’t even funny…