Chapter 306: What Exactly Is the Background

The black-robed figure laughed heartily. Encountering a few living people today was exactly what he needed in his pressing situation.

Zhou Xing and Ke Yunqin fainted instantly after being grabbed by the ghostly claw. The black-robed figure then looked at the two collapsed figures on the ground; both had been so terrified that they lost control of their bladders and also fainted under the watchful eyes of the surrounding ghosts. However, he showed no disgust.

“Heh, at least they have tender flesh!”

The black-robed figure was extremely pleased with the four and was about to take them away.

“My lord, my lord, these people were dining in my inn and we discovered them first. Please, at least leave some for us. Could you leave the two on the ground to us? You can't just take all of them…”

The innkeeper couldn't help but try to bargain, but before he could finish speaking, the black-robed figure glared at him with glowing eyes.

“You dare to contend with me? Be careful, or I'll scatter your soul!”

Having said this, the black-robed figure stopped arguing further and didn't bother to discipline the surrounding ghosts. Instead, his two arms stretched out like spectral snakes, wrapping around the four individuals, binding them. He then dragged them directly out of the inn and strode away.

Inside the inn, from the innkeeper and staff to the other customers, everyone could only watch, their faces contorted in grotesque and terrifying expressions.

Seeing the black-robed figure brazenly take the people away, the innkeeper's suppressed rage finally erupted. With a flash, he transformed into a hideous demon with a sloped head, disheveled hair, a greenish face, and fangs.

“Even if you are a Black Emissary, you shouldn't be so arrogant, should you?”

The echoes of the demonic roar rattled the cups and dishes in the inn. Outside, on the street, the black-robed figure smirked and glanced back at the throng of ghosts inside.

“Fine, I'll give you a chance. Come out and take them.”

Inside the inn, many ghosts revealed their deathly forms, their gazes grimly fixed on the black-robed figure on the street. Within this ghost city, which they could enter but not leave, the temptation of four living people was simply too great.

The black-robed figure waited indifferently, dropping the four unconscious living individuals by the roadside. Several breaths passed, but the ghosts in the inn still didn't rush out. This was because the black-robed figure had lifted his robe, revealing a special black soul-reaping rope coiled around his waist.

“Hmph, a bunch of useless creatures daring to make noise.”

After a cold snort, the black-robed figure grabbed two individuals in each hand, lifted all four, and vanished as a spectral shadow down the street.

Inside the inn, the ghosts were enraged, and the innkeeper, with his greenish face turned skyward and his hair bristling, roared loudly.

“Ah! Black Emissary, you've gone too far!”

Elsewhere in the ghost city, Ji Yuan, accompanied by Niu Batian and Yan Fei, had just finished visiting an inn and were preparing to go to the next. The two inns closest to the stable they had emerged from were the most likely places for the carriage owner to have stayed.

Just then, Ji Yuan suddenly heard some roaring echoes.

“Ah! Black Emissary, you've gone too far... gone too far...”

The moment he heard the sound, a ripple went through his mind, which was as clear as a mirror. His steps paused. Following this intuitive impulse, he quickly performed a simple divination with his fingers, and his brows instantly furrowed.

“Mr. Ji, what's wrong?”

“Let's go this way; something has happened to them!”

With that, Ji Yuan's steps quickened as he veered off and swiftly moved towards another direction. Niu Batian and Yan Fei hurried to keep up.

This ghost city was much larger than expected, far surpassing cities like Nandao County. It housed countless ancient ghosts and undoubtedly concealed many ghost cultivators. Ji Yuan even felt it was considerably more potent than any underworld he had ever visited, almost like a sacred land for demonic cultivation.

Therefore, even with a bull demon of considerable cultivation beside him, Ji Yuan dared not draw too much attention here, nor did he rashly employ flight techniques.

Ji Yuan might not fear many immortals, demons, gods, or devils in a one-on-one confrontation, but if their numbers exceeded his limits, it would also be very dangerous for him.

When Ji Yuan and the two reached the street outside Tengyuan Tower, they saw a pervasive aura of intense resentment emanating from within. Inside the inn, staff were righting an overturned table. On the floor, besides some scattered bowls, dishes, and food scraps, there were two small puddles of urine, giving off a faint human odor.

“Mr. Ji, it seems we arrived a step too late?”

Niu Batian whispered to Ji Yuan, who nodded but still walked towards the inn, his voice preceding his arrival.

“Oh... what happened here? Was there a fight?”

The innkeeper had returned to his normal appearance, but his resentment lingered. Hearing the voice from outside, he replied coldly.

“Lord Black Emissary is truly mighty. Four foolish living people came to the inn today, and we discovered them first, but he relied on his cultivation to forcibly take them, without even settling their dining bill!”

The innkeeper sighed as he spoke, then composed himself, trying to greet the new ghosts with a smile.

“However, if guests wish to dine, that is also possible.”

“Oh, is that so? Living people can come here? That's quite rare. Did the Black Emissary take them to absorb their Yang essence himself?”

Ji Yuan entered, chatting with the innkeeper in a tone of surprise.

“Indeed, it's rare. But he didn't take them for himself. Tonight, the City Lord is holding a grand banquet to celebrate his successful cultivation. The Black Emissary intends to present these living people to the City Lord then. Who knows where he's hiding them now. Hmph, it's only out of respect for the City Lord that we didn't fight the Black Emissary; otherwise, we would never have been afraid of him!”

The innkeeper narrowed his eyes, which gleamed with a faint light. After uttering his fierce words, he suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, right, esteemed guests, do you wish to dine? We... uh...”

The guests who had just been speaking to him right before his eyes had now vanished.

“Where are they? Did you see when they left?”

The surrounding staff members all shook their heads.

“Didn't notice. They were gone in the blink of an eye.”

On the street, Ji Yuan and his companions naturally went to search for the so-called Black Emissary, but it was clear that the Black Emissary must have feared other ghosts coveting his prize, thus he had done an excellent job of concealing himself.

At least with Ji Yuan's current divination methods, he couldn't pinpoint the exact location. Furthermore, this made it impossible to perceive any potential traces of Yang energy within the city.

'This is a bit tricky!'

In the current situation, there were only two options: either turn the ghost city upside down now and forcibly find the Black Emissary and the unlucky individuals, or wait until the Ghost City Lord's grand banquet and demand their release then.

The former option would be a direct affront, potentially making them enemies of the entire ghost city if handled carelessly. The latter would also be an affront, similarly risking conflict with the entire ghost city if not managed well.

Yan Fei was a mortal; although he realized things were going awry, he didn't fully grasp the implications. Niu Batian, however, had already recognized the complexity of the situation.

“Mr. Ji, what should we do? Why don't we just unleash our power?”

Old Niu now had a blind faith in Ji Yuan, even believing that if Mr. Ji willed it, he could directly use great magic and divine powers to transform the very heavens and earth, letting the powerful True Yang energy directly sweep through the ghost city, perhaps even destroying its foundation. Who would dare provoke such a formidable figure?

“Unleash power? Against whom? The entire ghost city? Are you, this brute of a bull, going to lead the charge?”

Ji Yuan retorted, and Niu Batian scratched his head.

“Though I, Old Niu, am a bit arrogant, I don't know the full extent of this city's ghosts, so I can't quite handle them. But with your abilities, Mr. Ji, I don't believe anyone in this ghost city can stop us!”

“You're quite...”

Before Ji Yuan could utter the phrase "easy for you to say," he suddenly saw a towering demonic aura rising in the direction of the city gate.

“Has someone come knocking?”

Niu Batian said excitedly, but Ji Yuan shook his head in disagreement.

“Unlikely. Although this demonic aura is strong, it's not aggressive. It seems more like a way to display status. I remember the innkeeper mentioning some celebration tonight; it's probably guests arriving for that.”

As Ji Yuan and the two spoke, they walked towards the direction of the aura, intending to see what kind of demon had arrived.

Judging from the current situation, with the guests' demonic auras being so potent, it was likely that the Ghost City Lord was also far from simple. This made Ji Yuan even more cautious.

A peculiar carriage, enveloped in mist and covered in fish scales, was slowly moving along the main street of the city. Pulling the carriage were not horses, but a four-legged aquatic demon beast. The mist exhaled from its nostrils drifted backward, making the entire carriage procession appear wreathed in a hazy glow.

Besides the large carriage, the procession also included several attendants both in front and behind, some carrying weapons, others carrying boxes. Each of them exuded a demonic aura, suggesting a grand entourage.

It was daytime, and few ghosts roamed the city. Many city ghosts initially wanted to approach and observe, but the strong demonic aura emanating from the procession forced them to keep their distance.

Seated within the carriage were a handsome man and a beautiful woman. After entering the city, they observed the cityscape through the side beaded curtains.

“I must say, this Boundless Ghost City truly has its intricacies. I wonder how Old Ghost Boundless's cultivation has progressed after this breakthrough?”

“Regardless, he's still a ghost!”

“You can't say that. While it's true that a ghost body has its limitations, even if...”

The man's words stopped abruptly.

“Even if what?”

The woman beside him turned and looked at him strangely, discovering that he was staring blankly straight ahead, his wide eyes tracking something as the carriage moved forward.

“Stop the carriage!”

The man suddenly shouted, startling the woman beside him.

“Quick, come down with me, come down with me! I never thought Old Ghost Boundless could even invite *him*!”

The man, in an agitated voice, grabbed the woman's hand and pulled her out of the carriage.

On one side outside the procession, Niu Batian frowned as he looked at the nearby carriage train, tilting his head towards Ji Yuan.

“Mr. Ji, why did this carriage suddenly stop?”

No sooner had Old Niu finished speaking than two richly dressed individuals, a man and a woman, disembarked from the carriage and hurriedly jogged towards them. When they were about ten feet away, both bowed respectfully at a ninety-degree angle, performing a deep bow in their direction.

“I am Gao Tianming from Heavenly Lake, and this is my wife, Xia Qiu. We pay our respects to Mr. Ji!”

Ji Yuan furrowed his brow in thought for a moment before a look of realization crossed his face. He simply cupped his hands in return.

“Ah, so it's Mr. Gao from Heavenly Lake. I recall you attending the old dragon's birthday banquet in Tongtian River of Da Zhen?”

“Exactly! Exactly! Mr. Ji, that you remember me is truly my honor! I wouldn't dare presume before you; please, just call me by my name. This is my humble wife, also an aquatic being, who has not yet transformed into a flood dragon!”

Niu Batian suddenly felt a tingling sensation on his scalp, and Yan Fei, beside him, felt the same way.

'Good heavens... Just who is Mr. Ji?'