Chapter 4

The dark green skin was full of wrinkles, the ears drooping like those of a pig, and two fangs protruded from the corners of the mouth. The red eyes looked extremely fierce.

Standing nearly two meters tall, the upper body resembled that of a human, with only four fingers on each hand. The creature held a dark green, long-handled double-bladed battle-axe, the blades crescent-shaped, one larger than the other, gleaming with a terrifying cold light. The bloodstains on the axe indicated that it had recently tasted blood.

The lower half of the Head-Cleaving Ghost resembled the legs of a bull, making a dull sound as it walked, extremely strong and powerful.

Bai Cangdong had just approached the Head-Cleaving Ghost when he was discovered. Taking advantage of his height, the ghost raised the battle-axe and swung it down from above.

Years of hunting Knife Demons had given Bai Cangdong sufficient calmness, observational skills, and patience. Just as the battle-axe was about to strike him, he gracefully sidestepped, dragging his pure white greatsword behind him, and slid past the Head-Cleaving Ghost like a butterfly.

Blood bloomed like a flower around the ghost's waist. The Head-Cleaving Ghost roared in anger, turned, and swung the battle-axe down at Bai Cangdong again.

Bai Cangdong dodged the axe's attack once more, elegantly dragging the greatsword and drawing a beautiful arc, leaving another bloody mark on the ghost's body.

"The pain points on the Undead are indeed different from those of humans." Although the two attacks had injured the Head-Cleaving Ghost, they had not triggered the special effects of the Pain Blade technique.

Bai Cangdong patiently slashed his sword at the Head-Cleaving Ghost, testing all the positions on the pain points chart. He cut the ghost into a bloody mess, but it still did not die and return to the altar, and it could still fight.

The pain points chart, which was effective on over a thousand points on humans, was only effective on eleven points on the Head-Cleaving Ghost.

"Look at that person. Is he crazy? He has cut the Head-Cleaving Ghost into a bloody mess. He could have killed it with one strike, but he doesn't, and instead tortures it with each slash. How cruel," a young girl said in shock as she passed by with a few companions, seeing the bloodied Head-Cleaving Ghost.

"Miss, that's just how the lower class is. All kinds of perverts exist among them. That's why you, a born noble, should stay away from them," a man with a small mustache said respectfully to the girl, showing extreme disdain when mentioning Bai Cangdong.

"Whether someone is cruel or not has nothing to do with whether they are a lower class. They are lower class to us, but we are lower class to dukes and marquises. Does that mean we are also perverts?" the girl said calmly.

"Th-this..." The mustachioed man was speechless.

"Miss, should we stop him?" another man asked.

"Killing that Head-Cleaving Ghost is enough; don't bully him," the girl nodded.

The man responded, bowed respectfully, and quickly ran towards Bai Cangdong. Upon reaching the Head-Cleaving Ghost, he suddenly summoned a thin sword and stabbed it through the ghost's heart, piercing its body and causing it to disintegrate into countless light points, returning to the Undead altar.

Bai Cangdong frowned slightly. He still needed to test the pain points on the Head-Cleaving Ghost, but the man had silently killed it, forcing him to find another one to test.

"Lowly lower class, you are not allowed to torture Head-Cleaving Ghosts like that. Even the Undead have their dignity. You can kill them, but you cannot be so cruel," the man revealed a mark on his forehead, indicating he was a baron.

Bai Cangdong bowed silently and then turned to leave. In the first tier of the Light, even if you are in the right, if the other person has a higher rank, you must obey their orders, or your life is at risk. This was not a world of reason.

"Stop!" The baron was very dissatisfied with Bai Cangdong's attitude and wanted to give him a lesson, or even execute him.

"Let him go. Don't waste time; we still need to find a Skull-Cleaving Ghost," the girl said from a distance.

"Yes, Miss," the man responded, glaring at Bai Cangdong. "Lower class, consider yourself lucky."

After leaving, Bai Cangdong continued searching for Head-Cleaving Ghosts. His luck was good, and he soon encountered another lone Head-Cleaving Ghost, continuing his tests on the pain points.

The pain points on the Head-Cleaving Ghost were very different from those on humans. Bai Cangdong found thirty-five pain points on the ghost, and although there might be more, there wouldn't be many. Compared to the over a thousand pain points on humans, the Undead had far fewer.

Thirty-five pain points were enough for Bai Cangdong. The Head-Cleaving Ghost was just a low-level Undead, and it wasn't necessary to waste too much time on them.

Just as he was about to finish off the Head-Cleaving Ghost, which had been cut over a thousand times, the ground suddenly shook violently. A red and black light column shot up from the distant forest, turning the sky red and black, enveloping the entire forest in red and black.

"The Undead altar has appeared!" Bai Cangdong was shocked.

The Undead altar was hidden somewhere unknown, and humans could not find it. Sometimes, however, an altar would appear. When it did, the area around the altar would be sealed by a strange force, preventing outsiders from entering and those inside from leaving.

More terrifyingly, all the Undead in the altar area would undergo mutations, becoming more powerful and terrifying, and would go on a rampage, hunting and killing all living beings in the area until they were all dead, after which the Undead altar would disappear again.

The only way to survive within the altar area was to rush to the altar and shatter the Eternal Crystal on it, causing the altar to disappear and the spatial seal to be lifted, allowing one to leave alive.

However, when the Undead altar appeared, the strongest Undead in the area would guard it. This meant that the baron-level Skull-Cleaving Ghost was now on the altar, and after the mutation, its combat power was almost on par with a viscount-level Undead. Defeating it and destroying the Eternal Crystal would not be an easy task.

Seeing the Head-Cleaving Ghost on the ground, whose body was emitting a blood-red glow and whose wounds were rapidly healing, Bai Cangdong decisively beheaded it with one strike.

A light ruler fell from the dissipating body of the Head-Cleaving Ghost, with as many as twenty notches. Normally, a Head-Cleaving Ghost would drop at most ten life notches, but the mutated Head-Cleaving Ghost clearly had no such restriction.

After absorbing the life notches, Bai Cangdong felt no excitement. The appearance of the Undead altar meant that the killed Head-Cleaving Ghost would quickly revive on the altar. This meant that as long as the Undead altar existed, the Head-Cleaving Ghosts in the area would be endless, and except for the first kill, they would not drop anything, including life notches.

A scream came from nearby, and a few people were being chased by a Head-Cleaving Ghost. Originally, they could have dealt with the Head-Cleaving Ghost, but after its mutation, they were only being slaughtered.

"Help!" Seeing Bai Cangdong, the people being chased by the Head-Cleaving Ghost cried out.

"I wonder if the pain points are still effective on the mutated Head-Cleaving Ghost." Bai Cangdong did not flee. Since he was already in the altar area, there was no point in running.

Facing a mutated Head-Cleaving Ghost now was better than facing a group of them later without knowing their weaknesses.

He walked steadily towards the Head-Cleaving Ghost, and the people who had called for help passed by him without any intention of joining forces to fight the ghost, still running for their lives.

The blood-soaked Head-Cleaving Ghost, with its battle-axe already ravenous, swung it down at Bai Cangdong's neck, much faster and stronger than before the mutation.

Bai Cangdong slightly sidestepped, the battle-axe almost slicing past his nose. He suddenly thrust his pure white greatsword upwards, piercing the ghost's left armpit.

"Roar!" The Head-Cleaving Ghost let out a painful cry, its left hand contracting like a spring, curling unnaturally, and dropping the double-bladed battle-axe in pain.

Moving like a butterfly around the Head-Cleaving Ghost, he wielded the heavy greatsword as if it were weightless, delivering thirty-four slashes in a moment.

Each slash caused the Head-Cleaving Ghost to scream in excruciating pain, until the final strike pierced its heart, causing it to disintegrate into light, leaving behind a glowing life ruler.

"All thirty-five pain points are still effective. It seems the mutation only enhanced the Head-Cleaving Ghost's physical strength and speed, but did not make it invincible," Bai Cangdong felt slightly relieved. As long as the pain points were still effective, the mutated Head-Cleaving Ghost was not much different from before the mutation.

After taking the life notches dropped by the Head-Cleaving Ghost, Bai Cangdong headed towards the location of the altar.

To survive, the only way was to destroy the Eternal Crystal. The longer he delayed, the more difficult it would be to reach the altar, as all the killed Head-Cleaving Ghosts would quickly revive on the altar. This meant that the more Head-Cleaving Ghosts he killed now, the more dangerous the situation at the altar would become.

"Was that person a baron?" When the Head-Cleaving Ghost let out a painful cry, the people who had been running for their lives stopped and turned to see the ghost being brutally killed by Bai Cangdong.

"Judging by the greatsword he has, he doesn't seem to be a baron," one person said uncertainly.

"How could he easily kill that mutated Head-Cleaving Ghost if he wasn't a baron? He must be a baron."

"Whether he is a baron or not doesn't matter. The Undead altar has appeared, and the Skull-Cleaving Ghost has mutated to the level of a viscount. With the altar's ability to revive it infinitely, even more barons would be useless. Perhaps only a viscount-level warrior could have a chance to reach the altar and destroy the Eternal Crystal."

"Where would a viscount come to such a place? Even the barons only come here for the Skull-Cleaving Ghosts and don't usually set foot in such places."

"So we are doomed!"

"Pretty much. We can only pray for a miracle."