Chapter Twenty-Two: Escape

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Sword light blazed, breathing out sword energy.

The sword energy glimmered like starlight, and as Xu Zhong willed, thousands upon thousands of sword shadows burst forth, causing the stele to tremble.

“The more proficient I become in this sword technique, the more sword energy within the stele I can command. Correspondingly, its suppression of the Ghost Mother weakens.” Threads of sword energy flowed between Xu Zhong’s fingers.

The distance between the pool and the stele was narrowing, yet, paradoxically, Xu Zhong and the Ghost Mother were drifting farther apart.

The Ghost Mother was puzzled. In Xu Zhong, she recognized the very sword that once suppressed her—its former splendor and might on full display, though no longer as formidable as before. Instinctively, her body recoiled, widening the gap between her and Xu Zhong.

“With the power of this stele, escaping from here should be possible. But to slay the demon—I am far from confident.”

Xu Zhong tapped his fingers, and the mysterious light circled around him, inhaling and exhaling sword energy and light.

He gazed at the stele.

Cracks had already begun to appear upon its surface.

“If I cannot kill the Ghost Mother, she will surely break free. The monk outside seems to be preoccupied as well. Once she escapes, I fear no one will be able to restrain her…” Xu Zhong hesitated.

And just then, Xu Zhong heard footsteps outside the eggshell.

Through the dim shell, Xu Zhong saw the cultivators who had been successfully parasitized by the dragon-shaped worms.

Their faces were blank, moving by some primal instinct, returning to this place from outside.

The woman in red within the egg smiled upon seeing them. She parted her robe to admit the cultivators within.

The Ghost Mother was formed from the blood essence of those who had hunted Bai Zhaoju for three thousand years. Not only had their essence forged her, but it also became the dragon-shaped worms—these, too, longed to return, rather than remain imprisoned in the Ghost Mother’s body. Now, at last, they had returned.

“If the Ghost Mother escapes, how many will fall prey to parasitism?” But then he thought, “No, her escape is inevitable—even without this sword, she would still break free…”

The moment the seal that bound Bai Zhaoju was torn asunder, the Ghost Mother’s departure became certain.

Realizing this, Xu Zhong instantly rallied his entire being. Every acupoint circulated spiritual energy, which he poured into the Mysterious Light Sword.

But in the