This stunning beauty was neither human nor ghost, but a spirit demon—Ian Song saw through her at a glance. She was a white-chicken spirit.
"Lead the way!"
Ian nodded calmly and followed the white-chicken spirit into the palace.
Soon.
They were led into a magnificent, gold-and-jade palace. At the top sat a throne, and lounging on it was a breathtakingly beautiful female ghost in scarlet robes.
In her arms was a child—the very Nine-Lives Wraith Child who had escaped earlier.
At the same time, thirty-six ghost kings stood on either side of the hall, including six Unihorn Ghost Kings.
Seeing such a grand lineup, the old Daoist in hemp robes couldn't help but feel a chill. This was the Ghost Emperor's lair—if the Carefree Prince couldn't defeat her, his old bones would likely be left here for good.
The girl, on the other hand, looked around curiously.
"I've long heard of the Carefree Prince's fame. Meeting you in person, you truly live up to your reputation!"
The Ghost Emperor suddenly sat up, her eyes filled with curiosity as she sized up Ian Song.
"Since you know who I am, you should also know why I've come, right?" Ian said with a smile. This Ghost Emperor was indeed formidable—already at the peak of early-stage Golden Core, and with her ghost realm's support, she could fight at mid-stage Golden Core strength.
Aside from him, probably no one on the entire Frontier Wastes Continent could match her.
Suddenly, the Ghost Emperor's face took on a seductive air. She lightly twisted her alluring body: "What's the point of being a human prince? Carefree Prince, why not join me? I'll make you a royal consort—and I can be yours too!"
Ian wasn't tempted in the slightest. He replied coolly, "Cultivation is hard. For you to reach Ghost Emperor level and condense a new physical body—almost like a human—is no small feat. If you're willing to stop harming the people of the Yan Kingdom, I might just spare your life."
"Heh heh!"
Ian's words made the Ghost Emperor giggle. She reached out and stroked the Nine-Lives Wraith Child's head, who showed a look of pure enjoyment.
The next moment—
The Ghost Emperor spoke again: "Carefree Prince, don't you know this is my ghost realm? Even if you've reached Golden Core, you're no match for me. Spare my life? With what, exactly?"
Ian's brows furrowed slightly, then he let out a soft sigh. "I didn't want to be ruthless, given how hard you've cultivated. But if you insist on seeking death, I'll oblige you!"
"Hmph!"
The Ghost Emperor's eyes flashed with murderous intent. She snorted coldly, "Seize this arrogant fool!"
Instantly, the thirty-six ghost kings in the palace moved. Each raised a formation diagram, and beams of black light shot forth, weaving together into a towering grand array.
Inside the array, Ian Song's expression remained calm.
But the old Daoist's face grew extremely grave, while the girl's face turned deathly pale, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"Stay close to me!"
Ian spoke softly and formed a hand seal. Immediately, two spheres of light fell onto the old Daoist and the girl, expanding into shields that enveloped them, completely isolating them from the ghost king array's assault.
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
The old Daoist said gratefully.
"It's nothing."
Before his reincarnation, Ian Song had been unmatched in formation arts. The rules here were a bit different, but after scanning the formation diagrams held by the ghost kings, he already fully understood the grand array—he now knew it better than any of the ghost kings themselves.
As he moved forward—
Ian sent out a stream of formation hand seals.
"Buzz buzz!"
Heaven and earth inverted, yin and yang shifted. As he cast the seals, the yin and baleful qi within the array began transforming into waves of righteous energy.
"Not good!"
The thirty-six ghost kings controlling the array all turned pale. They realized the grand array was frantically sucking the energy from their bodies, and they couldn't stop it from draining away. At this rate, they'd soon be sucked dry.
"Ghost Emperor, save us!"
One ghost king cried out in terror.
With her cultivation, the Ghost Emperor could naturally see that something unimaginable was happening to the grand array.
With a thought, she raised her hand and sent out an incredibly dense surge of ghost qi, blasting it straight into the grand array.
But to her shock, the ghost qi she unleashed vanished instantly, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.
"No, help!"
The ghost kings' shrill cries rang out—as the array intensified its energy drain, in a flash, half the power in their bodies was sucked away.
"Ghost Emperor, save me!"
"Help me!"
The screams didn't last long; soon they fell silent, as all thirty-six ghost kings were completely drained, reduced to empty ghost skins.
Seeing this, the Ghost Emperor's expression grew even darker.
After draining the thirty-six ghost kings, the grand array began absorbing the roaming yin, ghost qi, and baleful energy from the world itself.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
One swirling vortex after another appeared, madly converging toward the array.
At this, the Ghost Emperor's face turned even uglier.
She shouted, "Stop, now!"
Unfortunately, the array didn't stop at her command; instead, it grew even more frenzied in its absorption.
"Crack!"
Cracks appeared in the ghost realm.
"Damn it!"
The Ghost Emperor flew into a rage, a long sword appearing in her hand.
With a swing, a hundred-zhang-long blade of ghostly sword qi took shape, slashing toward the array—only to be absorbed as spiritual energy.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
The cracks on the ghost realm multiplied rapidly.
After just a few breaths, with a thunderous crash, the entire ghost realm collapsed. The surroundings shifted back to the haunted town, but the grand array still didn’t stop—madly absorbing every shred of yin energy from within the town.
The Ghost Emperor was horrified to discover that even her own ghostly power was destabilizing, with a tendency to leak out and converge toward the array.
“Not good, this Carefree Prince is too freakish—run!”
In a flash, the Ghost Emperor shot skyward, trying to escape into the void.
But just then—
A giant golden hand appeared above her head, slamming down and knocking her straight back to the ground.
“Carefree Prince, spare me! I swear I’ll never harm another Yan Kingdom citizen!”
The Ghost Emperor cried out in terror.
“Too late!”
Ian Song replied coolly, stepping out atop the array.
A long sword appeared in his hand, and he slashed directly at the Ghost Emperor.
Meanwhile, the hemp-robed old Daoist inside the array watched in utter shock, muttering, “This Carefree Prince is truly unfathomable—even such a powerful Ghost Emperor is begging him for mercy!”
“Carefree Prince, don’t go too far! You may have the upper hand, but I’m not without the strength to fight!”
The Ghost Emperor shouted, her voice fierce but inwardly weak.
“You’re welcome to try.”
Ian Song gave her a look of disdain, then swung his sword.
“Then I’ll fight you with everything I’ve got!”
The Ghost Emperor slashed back with her own sword.
“Clang!”
A deafening crash rang out, rippling shockwaves radiating in all directions, pulverizing the ruined buildings into dust.
At the same time, the Ghost Emperor was blasted backward, her face full of shock and fear.
“Baby, it’s up to you now!”
The Ghost Emperor whispered to the Nine-Lives Wraith Child, who nodded and casually drew open a void tunnel.
“Carefree Prince, I’ll remember today’s grudge. Someday I’ll pay you back double!”
With that, the Ghost Emperor, carrying the Nine-Lives Wraith Child, stepped into the void passage.
But just then, Ian Song swung his sword at a patch of empty space.
“Ah!”
The void split open, revealing the Ghost Emperor’s figure—and the sword qi struck her directly, sending her tumbling out with black smoke pouring from her wounds.
“You… how can you see through the void?”
“That little spatial trick doesn’t impress me in the least!” Ian said, slashing again at the Ghost Emperor.
Escape was impossible.
The Ghost Emperor could only fight desperately.
Unfortunately, she was already injured, and the raging array heavily restricted her. Plus, Ian Song’s cultivation was far greater—within ten moves, she was defeated.
The Nine-Lives Wraith Child tried to escape into the void, but was killed by a single sword strike from Ian.
Then Ian stepped into the grand array and found the hemp-robed old Daoist sitting cross-legged, cultivating. The righteous qi within the array was extremely dense—perfect for training.
The old Daoist had already reached the peak of early-stage Great Grandmaster; with this opportunity, he could break through to mid-stage.
After a moment’s thought, Ian sent a beam of light into the old Daoist’s brow.
Instantly, the old Daoist’s aura changed; with a boom, some inner bottleneck shattered, and he advanced successfully to mid-stage Great Grandmaster.
“Thank you, Your Highness, for making it possible!”
The hemp-robed old Daoist stood up and bowed to Ian Song.
“No problem!”
Ian waved his hand, “The righteous qi inside this grand array will greatly benefit your cultivation. You should stay here and train. I’ll take my leave for now!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ian shot into the sky and disappeared.
That evening, Ian returned to his princely residence.
“Junior brother, did everything go smoothly?”
Chloe Cao asked, holding their son in her arms.
“Very smoothly!”
Ian nodded, then teased his son for a moment.
After the founding of the Yan Empire, the realm entered a period of rest and recovery. Unnoticed, six years had passed.
Carefree Prince’s residence, back garden.
Flowers bloomed everywhere. A group of rowdy kids ran around the courtyard chasing butterflies, while several maidservants followed nervously behind, afraid they might fall.
The chaos of the previous era had spawned many demons and spirits. Over the years, Ian had repeatedly acted to destroy these threats.
Now, the Yan Empire was truly peaceful, and after six years of rest, the realm had regained much of its vitality, showing signs of a coming golden age. Notably, in these six years, Ian had gained two more sons and two daughters.
His relationships with his three wives had also deepened.
With Ian’s careful guidance, Chloe Cao had advanced to late-stage Great Grandmaster.
Sylvia “Xueji” Cai and Yoyo Chen had both reached late-stage Master and were about to break through to Great Grandmaster.
As for his three sons, they had all begun martial training at age five. Since Ian had sealed innate qi into their bodies at birth, each started cultivating directly from the Innate realm.
The eldest, Song Yuan, had already reached late-stage Innate; Song Qi and Song Yun were at mid-stage Innate, just a step away from late-stage.
Ian was confident all three would reach Master realm before turning ten.
On this day—
Adrian Cao summoned Ian to the palace.
Ian changed clothes and headed for the imperial palace.
“You’re here!”
Adrian Cao smiled. He now looked noticeably older—being a wise ruler was exhausting, with far too many affairs to handle each day.