Chapter 98: Why are you even arguing about who dies first? It’s all a waste of time.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, Louis and Robert were gritting their teeth as they ran, their bodies covered in blood.

Louis glanced anxiously over his shoulder and said, "Robert, aren’t you a cultivator? How could you be in such a sorry state?"

Robert roared, "I got smacked right in the face with that huge ruler! Can’t you see how swollen my face is?"

He pointed to his back and yelled, "Can’t you see I’ve been bleeding for two kilometers?"

The next moment, disciples dressed in black and riding on fierce beasts caught up from behind.

"Run!" Louis shouted.

The two continued their frenzied sprint through the forest.

...

Elsewhere, Alexander had stripped an Order of the Wandering Oracles disciple of his clothes and donned them himself, shrugging his shoulders in satisfaction.

Around him, ten disciples from the Order lay on the ground, their eyes filled with terror even in death.

Alexander continued deeper into the forest. But shortly thereafter, he stopped short.Before him, the forest suddenly filled with a rolling white mist.

Simultaneously, a rustling sound echoed through the forest, like a snake hissing and flicking its tongue.

And then, in the next instant, Alexander’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Out of the mist emerged four women, shrouded in white robes with masks covering their faces, levitating an ancient sedan chair through the fog.

On the sedan chair sat an old crone, leaning on a cane, her eyes exuding an unparalleled malevolence as she let out a series of eerie chuckles at Alexander.

"You’re quite the handsome man. You’d make an excellent living corpse," she mused.

At the same time, Alexander sensed the peculiar hissing sound growing ever closer. Turning abruptly, his eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Holy crap, that’s a huge snake!"

Looming out of the mist was a serpent’s head twice the size of Alexander himself, its eyes locked onto him, its tongue flicking in and out.

The old crone cackled, licking her parched lips as she said, "It’s unfortunate you’ve crossed paths with me. I am the Chief of the Evil Ghosts Hall in the Order of the Wandering Oracles. But fear not, we’ll get along splendidly once I’ve turned you into a living corpse. Ha-ha!"

The colossal snake hissed out words in a raspy voice, "I am the Chief of the Brute!"

Taken aback, Alexander chuckled, "Brute? That’s a nice name!"

The snake circled Alexander, eyes narrowed, asking, "Aren’t you afraid I’ll swallow you whole?"

With a grin, Alexander took an apple out of his pocket and took a bite, replying, "I don’t taste good. If you’re hungry, go eat Robert; he should taste fine."

The snake snorted, "You do have nerves of steel. Meryl, he’s mine today, back off!"

Meryl, the old crone, beamed, "Are you kidding me? I found him first. Such a handsome man should belong to me. It would be a waste not to turn him into a living corpse!"

The snake turned its head towards Meryl, eyes narrowed, stating, "When I say he’s mine, he’s mine!"

Meryl scoffed, "Don’t think you can intimidate me, you little snake. You’re far behind me in terms of both seniority and strength."

The snake squinted its eyes, "So, you really want to fight over him?"

Meryl sneered, "Absolutely."

The standoff between the human and the snake was palpable, filled with an explosive tension. Each eyeing the other, the atmosphere was thick with animosity.

Munching on his apple, Alexander interjected, "Do you two really need to fight over this? All headed for death anyway. Does it matter who goes first?"

Meryl looked at Alexander with a delighted grin, "I love your attitude. The resignation in your face, knowing you’ll die no matter what, truly tickles my fancy!"

The snake narrowed its eyes, "So, you’re intent on competing with me?"

Meryl scoffed, "Absolutely."

The tension escalated as the two locked eyes, refusing to give an inch. Alexander stood beside them, playing mediator. "Could you both decide already? I’m on a tight schedule here!"

Neither the snake nor Meryl yielded an inch. Alexander shrugged, stepping between them and pulling out a coin.

"How about this? Let’s flip a coin! Heads, Meryl goes first; tails, Brute goes first. Fair enough?"

Still glaring at each other, Meryl grudgingly agreed, "We can’t keep this up forever. Fine, let’s go with the man’s suggestion. Whoever wins gets him, no interference from the other."

Brute growled, "Agreed."

Alexander raised the coin, shouting, "Here goes!" The coin spun in the air and with a flick of his wrist, he caught it. "Ready? Remember, no take-backs. Let’s see who wins!"

"Reveal it!" commanded Brute.

Nodding, Alexander uncovered the coin, and chuckled, "Tails! Ha-ha, Brute, you won! You go first!"

The snake burst into uproarious laughter, relishing its victory. Meryl clenched her teeth, casting a spiteful glare at Brute, as if she could tear him apart with her eyes alone.

Alexander turned his head toward Brute and smiled, "Well, Mr. Snake, it looks like it’s goodbye for us. Remember to be good in hell and pick a nice family to be reborn into."

Brute nodded, "Alright—wait, what did you say?"

Before Brute could finish, Alexander’s fist erupted in a blinding golden light. Imbued with elemental power, the sheer force of his punch was unimaginable.

Frozen in place, the enormous Brute trembled as he looked at Alexander. "You...you..."

In the next instant, Brute’s body disintegrated into pieces, each chunk crashing to the ground as blood painted the floor a vivid red.

"Holy shit!" Meryl screamed, her hand covering her face.

Alexander shrugged, "Honestly, why are we even arguing about who dies first? It’s all a waste of time."

Meryl’s eyes widened in terror, and the four women carrying her sedan chair paled in disbelief.

What just happened?

How is this possible?

Alexander turned his head again, this time directing his smile toward Meryl. "Don’t worry, your turn is next."

In a panic, Meryl began to backtrack, "Hold on, weren’t we deciding who gets to kill you first? Why—"

Alexander tilted his head, "Who said we were deciding that? Weren’t we figuring out who gets killed by me first?"

Meryl broke out in a cold sweat.

This guy...

Did he know from the moment he arrived that he could effortlessly kill them both?

Is that why he was so carefree, casually playing a coin-flip game with them?

Meryl clutched her head in terror, cold sweat dripping profusely. "He’s feigning weakness, luring them to kill him, only to strike back. This bastard is despicable! I must think of something, or I’ll die here!"

Alexander shouted, "Hey Meryl, could you please get out of your sedan chair?"

Meryl snapped back to reality, trembling, "Why... why should I?"

Alexander chuckled, "I like your sedan chair; I don’t want it to get stained with your blood when you die!"

Meryl let out a horrified shriek. "You’re pushing it too far, you bastard!"

In an instant, she screamed like a hellish banshee. Black smoke exploded from her body, contorting into twisted human faces that let out terrifying screams. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"I’ve lived for two hundred years and killed eighty thousand people; how could you possibly be my match?" Meryl snarled.

She howled to the sky, "My loyal servants, come!"

Suddenly, dark mist appeared in the forest. The next moment, massive coffins of peach wood burst forth, one after another.

Thud! Thud!

The coffins slammed into the ground before Meryl and stood upright. The doors creaked open, and ghastly zombies leapt out.

"These ten zombies have been nurtured by me for years and have never been defeated. Today, you too will be killed by them!"

The ten zombies stared vacantly at Alexander.

Taken aback, Alexander pointed at them and questioned, "Do you often use them to satisfy your... physical needs?"

Meryl hesitated, "Occasionally..."

Alexander shook his head, wearing an expression of having seen through her.

"No, it can’t be ’occasionally’. These zombies have such vacant eyes; it’s clear that they’ve been abused by you, an unsatisfied old witch. And most importantly, their faces and crotches have so many lipstick marks. Don’t you plan to clean that up? It makes your perverse tendencies immediately apparent!"

Stunned for a moment, Meryl clenched her trembling fists and roared, "You bastard, I’ll kill you!"

In an instant, she extended her arm, her cane emitting piercing shrieks as a gust of wind whipped up around her. Alexander was surprised to find a host of translucent ghosts appearing in the forest.

Alexander exclaimed, "Impressive! I’ve never seen ghosts before!"

Meryl coldly replied, "This cane is called ’Ghost Caller’; it summons evil ghosts from the dark hell. Today, you’re doomed!"

The ghosts swarmed, encircling Alexander. Anyone else would have been trembling with fear by now, but not Alexander. He employed his supreme dual cultivation technique of Yin and Yang, effectively warding off the ghostly aura.

"Do you really think you’re the only one with a magical artifact?" Alexander leisurely said.

Meryl squinted, "Oh? You’re referring to the Fire Spirit Talisman?"

"No," Alexander abruptly looked up, "I have something far more potent!"

With a roar, Alexander summoned a figure who appeared completely bound. He grabbed the figure by the scruff of the neck and yanked off the hood.

"Behold, my magical artifact!" Alexander said.

Charming Prince’s mouth was stuffed full of Fire Spirit Talismans, making it impossible for him to speak, but he emitted terrified whimpers.

At that moment, both Meryl and her ten zombies, as well as the surrounding spirits, all caught sight of Charming Prince’s face.

They paused.

The next moment, laughter filled the air as Meryl and her zombies burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Ahahaha! Why would anyone’s face be so uniquely absurd?"

But in that very moment, Alexander clenched his fists, imbued with elemental force.

"Elemental Fist!" Alexander roared.

Alexander lunged, fist rocketing toward Meryl. By the time she tore her gaze from Charming Prince’s absurd face, it was too late.

"You—tricked—" Meryl began, her voice a tremor of dread.

With a resounding thwack, her head—along with those of her ten zombies—exploded in an instant. Trees behind them toppled like dominoes, trunks splintering.

A collective gasp arose from the ghosts. "So powerful! This human is formidable!"

"Meryl got obliterated!"

"Terrifying!"

Alexander walked up to the four trembling young women crouching on the ground, who were serving as palanquin bearers.

Casting a glance at the horrified head of Meryl lying on the ground and staring back at him, his eyes lit up as he said, "You’re still alive? Are you some sort of decapitated ghost?"

"Who... who exactly are you?" Meryl’s severed head stammered in fear.

With a subtle smile, Alexander replied, "Believe it or not, I am actually the richest man in America."

"The richest man in America? You’re Alexander? But he’s clearly a 90-year-old man!" Meryl exclaimed.

"You seem to know quite a bit about him," Alexander chuckled. "Alright, I’ll ask you a question about Alexander. Answer it correctly, and I might consider sparing you. Get it wrong, and you’re out of luck."

"Go ahead, ask," Meryl responded.

"What is Alexander’s current hobby?" Alexander inquired.

"Investing?" "Healthcare?" "Traveling?" Meryl threw out three guesses, but Alexander simply shook his head at each one.

"You obviously don’t know Alexander at all," he said with a grin. "Though he may be 90 years old, his true interest lies in beautiful women."

In the next instant, Alexander kicked Meryl’s head into the air, snatched her cane from the ground, and executed a 360-degree, home-run swing aimed directly at her floating cranium.

With a resounding ’thump,’ her head vanished from sight.

Whirling around to face the quivering, petrified ghosts staring at him, Alexander bellowed, "Hear me, all you ghosts! Your master is no more; from this moment, you are all free!"

As the words left his lips, the evil ghosts around him couldn’t contain their jubilant surprise. Excited cries erupted from the ghosts.

"Is it true? Really true? Are you truly setting us free?" they clamored.

Alexander roared, "Of course it’s... not true!"