Chapter 144: Crisis

The white ghoul, under complete anesthesia, knew nothing about what was happening. Zuo Zhicheng cut open its skull and searched through its brain.

He kept poking and searching through the ghoul’s brain with his dagger, as if he were picking vegetables.

‘It should be right here…’ Zuo Zhicheng kept recalling everything he knew about ghouls in his mind.

Their entire bodies could perform Super Rapid Regeneration, but the brain was their only weak point. Once the brain was destroyed, they would die completely. If there was a Life Grove, it had to be located in the brain.

The next moment, Zuo Zhicheng used his dagger to pick out something fluffy, like a tiny dandelion. That was the ghoul’s Life Grove, the Corpse Vein.

It was a Life Grove that was not even recorded in the South Saint Sect’s Daoist Canon.

‘Next is…’

Zuo Zhicheng lightly touched his own head. He set the Corpse Vein aside and shaved off all the hair on his head.

Even under intense pain like giving birth, Zuo Zhicheng’s movements remained steady and quick. In the blink of an eye, his hair was completely shaved off by the dagger. Then, the tip of the dagger pointed toward his own skull.

The pain made Zuo Zhicheng alert, but the blood around him kept trying to pull him into sleep. He felt as if half of his brain was on fire and the other half was in the sea.

‘Life Grove transplantation… The Blood Curse of the ghoul, in the end, is still a power brought by its Life Grove. If I can transplant it, I might be able to resist the Blood Curse, or even remove it.’

‘But many preparations for Life Grove transplantation can’t be done now.’

‘Even though the chance is slim, I have to risk it at this point.’

The next moment, the dagger cut into flesh. Zuo Zhicheng slowly cut open his own scalp.

…

Several tens of minutes earlier, three large black warships were sailing toward the island where the pirates were.

On the deck stood three men and one woman, looking at the faintly visible island in the sea. One of the men said, “They should be hiding here. I can already sense the evil aura.”

The man had white hair, a rough beard, and a clearly Western face. He wore leather clothes and a cloak, with various bottles and jars attached to his belt and vest. He also carried a silver rapier.

Hearing this, the young girl beside him said, “Mr. Abel, are you sure?”

“There’s no mistake. I could never forget the stench of those ghouls.” The white-haired man named Abel glared hatefully at the distant island. “I swear on the honor of a demon hunter, they are hiding on that island.”

The girl nodded. Her face showed obvious arrogance, and when she heard Abel mention honor, a flicker of disdain flashed in her eyes, though she clearly hid it.

The girl turned to the two gray-robed men beside her and said respectfully, “Senior Apprentice Brothers, this foreigner said the ghouls are on that island ahead. Should we attack now?”

She had been speaking the Western language with Abel, but now she spoke the Great Qi Language. The two gray-robed men nodded slightly after hearing her words.

The girl thought for a moment, a hint of hesitation in her eyes, but finally reminded them, “According to this foreigner, those ghouls each possess superhuman physiques and Immortal Bodies, making them very difficult to deal with. When demon hunters face powerful ghouls, they often suffer heavy casualties.

When the battle starts, please be careful, Senior Apprentice Brothers.”

“Hmph.” A disdainful snort came from one of the gray-robed men. He said coldly, “Barbarians from beyond our borders, they think they’re invincible just because they have some evil tricks. How could they know the power of my Flying Sword?”

The man took off his hood, revealing a handsome face with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. An extremely fierce aura emanated from him, giving off an overwhelmingly arrogant feeling.

Hearing this, the other man beside him also removed his hood and said calmly, “Since these ghouls can cause trouble in this area, they must have their own strengths. We should not underestimate them.”

This man, in contrast, seemed like an ordinary person, with no extraordinary qualities at all.

But the previously arrogant young man was extremely respectful toward him and said with a bowed head, “Senior Apprentice Brother is right. However, I think the reason these ghouls have been able to cause trouble is simply because they are good at hiding, so the navy hasn’t found them yet.”

“Even so, we must still be cautious.”

Ten minutes later, one warship headed toward the west of the island, while the other two circled to the east. They began firing continuously at the Pirate Base.

The two gray-robed men, the girl, and Abel disembarked from the west shore. They led two hundred soldiers and several Martial Artists to attack the Pirate Base by land.

The other two warships provided support from the sea, continuously firing cannons and covering them.

Soon, shouts and the sounds of fighting came from the forest on the island. The human army, with their strong bows, sharp blades, and superior numbers, easily wiped out several ghoul patrols in the forest.

But as they passed through the forest, an earth-shaking roar greeted them, followed by countless furious howls coming from the direction of the Pirate Base.

Abel’s face changed, and he hurriedly said to the girl, “Not good! Among these ghouls, there is a ghoul with royal blood!”

“This foreigner is too cowardly. A few ghostly howls scared him like this.” The younger gray-robed man laughed coldly after hearing the girl’s translation. “Evil creature, today you will taste the power of my Flying Sword. I will also let you barbarians from beyond our borders witness the might of the Central Plains Dao.”

Before his words faded, he charged forward.

In the earlier skirmishes in the forest, the ghouls had been overwhelmed by numbers and instantly decapitated or dismembered. In his view, the enemy’s strength was nothing special.

Seeing him vanish like the wind, charging toward the direction of the roar, Abel grew anxious and said, “What is he doing? When dealing with ghouls, we must stick together. We can’t go one by one!”

The girl looked at the other gray-robed man, who appeared calm, and asked worriedly, “Senior Apprentice Brother Li, I heard that ghoul’s breath is long and powerful. It might be a tough opponent. Is it safe for Senior Apprentice Brother Jin to go alone?”

“It’s fine,” the man called Senior Apprentice Brother Li said casually. “With the Flying Sword in hand, even if he can’t win, he can always escape.”