Chapter 44: Yinwind Skeleton Claw

Hu…

The mountain was cold, and colder still at night. A biting cold wind blew past, and suddenly a large hand reached out from below the cliff at the mountain’s peak. Its five fingers spread wide, gripping the hard ground like nails.

Following that, a head appeared. Just as he was about to climb up, his right hand suddenly slipped, leaving five deep fingermarks on the ground, his fingertips dripping with blood. It was only when his fingertips touched the edge of the cliff, nearly causing him to fall, that he managed to grasp it firmly again. After a long while, a nimble figure finally climbed up perilously.

This last stretch of the climb was full of dangers, with several close calls where he almost fell. After stubbornly reaching the mountaintop, Mu Feng’s ten fingers were all bleeding, and he was utterly exhausted. Not wanting to alert the people on the summit, he didn’t have time to bandage his wounds. Carrying Jing Wushuang on his back, he quickly hid behind a large boulder near the cliff edge, cautiously peeking out with half his head to observe.

Below was a bottomless cliff that even monkeys couldn’t climb, yet the mountaintop was surprisingly flat, about a hundred steps wide. At a glance, apart from a few scattered rocks, there were only smooth, level stone slabs. Touching them felt like the marble tables in wealthy homes, so smooth they could reflect a person’s image. It didn’t seem naturally formed but rather as if someone had used great power to carve it out.

A dozen steps away, the sinister and evil Ghost Mother was locked in a fierce battle with a woman in white. They moved back and forth, leaving afterimages in their wake. Their movements created gusts of strong wind, causing even the large boulder where Mu Feng and Jing Wushuang were hiding to shake violently. The scene was terrifying.

“Brother Mu Feng…”

Jing Wushuang whispered his name. Once her feet were firmly on the ground, she nervously opened her eyes. Just as she was about to peek out to see the situation on the mountaintop, she suddenly shuddered and reflexively threw herself into Mu Feng’s arms.

Beside the large boulder, there was a horrifying stack of eerie skulls, piled in seven layers to form a tight pyramid. What was even more chilling was that each skull had five ghostly holes in the forehead, as if they had been pierced by some sharp weapon before death. Under the hazy moonlight, the empty eye sockets seemed to stare right at them, making their scalps crawl. Caught off guard, not only was Jing Wushuang terrified, but even the usually brave Mu Feng was startled.

“Shh, don’t speak!”

Mu Feng reacted quickly, covering Jing Wushuang’s mouth with his hand.

The two people fighting fiercely on the mountaintop, whether the evil Ghost Mother or the woman in white, were both top-tier experts. Their Spiritual Power was as deep and unfathomable as the sea. If they were accidentally disturbed, no one knew what the consequences would be!

“Mmm…”

After the shock, Jing Wushuang nodded, signaling Mu Feng to remove his hand. After catching her breath, she didn’t dare look at the terrifying skulls again. She quickly took out a medicine bottle from her robe and sprinkled some powder onto Mu Feng’s bleeding fingertips. This was the Snake Skin Ointment she had made herself. It stung a bit when applied, but it stopped bleeding much better than the Golden Sore Medicine sold elsewhere.

“Thank you!”

Mu Feng nodded, then turned to watch the intense battle between Ghost Mother and the woman in white not far away.

The woman in white’s weapons were her long sleeves, which dragged on the ground. When fully extended, they could reach nearly ten meters long. They fluttered up and down, sometimes turning into tough ropes to entangle Ghost Mother’s body, other times becoming hard, sharp spears that thrust forward with a whooshing sound.

Unlike the woman in white, the fierce-looking Ghost Mother was better at close combat. She fought empty-handed, using her sharp nails as her deadliest weapons. With a single grab, the air hissed, creating sharp, cutting gusts of wind.

“Mu Wuyan, you and I have no grudges between us. Why must you pursue me so relentlessly?” After missing a strike, Ghost Mother’s eyes turned red as she glared venomously at the woman in white with her flowing sleeves.

Her face was covered in wrinkles, stained with blood and pus, as if it had been mauled by some wild beast. At a glance, it was as disgusting and terrifying as could be, with no trace left of the beautiful woman she once was. Compared to her appearance after midnight, she was completely unrecognizable.

“No grudges?”

The woman in white, Mu Wuyan, gave a cold laugh, her expression icy. “Li Feifei, you tell me—how many Mu Manor disciples and servants have died at your hands over the years? Yes, it’s true that you’ve held back these past two years, not daring to casually attack our Mu Manor people anymore. But how many ordinary families in Jianning City have you destroyed? How many woodcutters and hunters entered the mountains and never returned?”

“Gah gah gah, Heaven and Earth are not kind, treating all things as straw dogs! For us cultivators, what does killing a few ordinary people matter?”

Ghost Mother cackled, completely unbothered. Then her tone suddenly shifted as she continued viciously, “Mu Wuyan, don’t push me too far! Coming here to harass me every few months—don’t think I’m actually afraid of you! If it weren’t for Mu Manor’s reputation, you’d have died here long ago, with five extra holes in your forehead!”

Ghost Mother’s face was ferocious. As she spoke, she took a step forward. Her seven-inch-long nails gleamed with a dark light, clearly coated with some deadly poison. They were as frightening as ten sharp daggers.

“Enough talk. There’s no way I’ll allow you to practice the evil Yinwind Great Art in our Back Mountain.”

The woman in white, Mu Wushuang, remained cold-faced. After a pause, she continued, “Li Feifei, back in the day, you were the stunning beauty of Yinfeng Sect, forever youthful. Was it worth turning yourself into this state just to practice Yinwind Great Art? If you’re willing to come back with me to Mu Manor’s Smokeless Grotto-Heaven, I swear on my life that I will find a way to fully restore your former beauty within my lifetime. How about it?”

“Hahaha, stunning beauty?”

Ghost Mother laughed wildly, as if gone mad. “Mu Wuyan, even if you could restore my appearance, could you also heal a shattered heart? Don’t say it’s you—even if all the Grand Elders of Mu Manor joined forces, who could help me seek vengeance and kill that heartless man?”

Perhaps recalling some past event or provoked by something, the already frightening Ghost Mother’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent. With a sharp cry, she viciously lunged at the woman in white, Mu Wuyan. “Gah gah gah, Mu Wuyan, if you have the skill, don’t dodge! Let me dig five holes in your forehead! Let me see whether your Skyward Method is stronger or my Yinwind Skeleton Claw is superior!”

Sss…

With each swipe of Ghost Mother’s claw, the air hissed. Seeing several gusts of sharp wind coming straight at him, Mu Feng instinctively ducked. The fierce wind narrowly brushed past his scalp, leaving his forehead aching faintly.

Yinwind Skeleton Claw?

Looking at Ghost Mother’s dark, gleaming seven-inch-long nails, then at the eerie five holes in the skulls beside him, Mu Feng suddenly understood with a shock. Even though he was normally decisive and courageous, at this moment, he couldn’t help but nervously swallow, his scalp tingling.