The entire area around the East Gate was shrouded in a vast expanse of ominous, inky black mist, accompanied by gusts of chilling wind and the wails of ghosts. Within this spectral fog, it seemed countless vengeful spirits and malevolent souls lay hidden, wantonly slaughtering any cultivator who dared enter.

Nascent Soul cultivators still possessed some measure of self-preservation, but numerous low-level Golden Core cultivators were swiftly drained of flesh and blood by the malevolent entities, reduced to mere husks in the blink of an eye. Those who survived fled in sheer terror, turning the entire East Gate into chaos.

The Ghost Lord burst into Black Sand City, relentlessly pursuing Ye Qin, showing no mercy to the cultivators who attempted to impede him.

If Ye Qin managed to escape the city via the existing teleportation array, the vastness of the Cultivation World meant the chance of finding him again would be infinitesimally small.

As for incurring the wrath of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, the Ghost Lord paid it no mind. The war between Immortals and Demons was intensifying daily; the Alliance could hardly afford to commit fully to hunting him down at this critical juncture. By the time the Alliance finished dealing with the Demon cultivators and could turn its attention to him, he would either have overcome the Tribulation to ascend to the Divine Transformation stage or already have relocated to the Western Nether Continent for reincarnation and renewed cultivation.

He sensed Ye Qin’s aura gradually receding, yet the surrounding Nascent Soul guards stubbornly persisted, attacking without cease. Though individually weaker, their sheer numbers, coupled with their duty to defend the city, prevented them from retreating.

Although the Ghost Lord had established dominance with his Nether Flames, he was reluctant to squander his rare resource on these low-tier Nascent Soul cultivators. His other techniques were insufficient to swiftly crush the tightly packed, harassing guards.

The murderous intent within him intensified.

Under the Ghost Lord’s unrestrained slaughter, the cultivators in the eastern sector of Black Sand City suffered terribly. In a short span of moments, more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators had perished by his hand, and the number of Golden Core casualties already exceeded several hundreds.

Such a massacre, occurring within the city walls and during a time that was not the peak of the Immortal-Demon War, represented an unbelievably devastating loss.

Just as the Ghost Lord was locked in a desperate struggle with the host of Nascent Soul guards, over a dozen streaks of dazzling light tore through the sky, accompanied by faint rumbles of thunder.

Before the figures within these streaks of light could be clearly seen, the furious shout of a middle-aged cultivator leading the group resonated: "Stop! Which ghost cultivator dares to forcibly enter my Black Sand Immortal City and slaughter the cultivators of my Heavenly Dao Alliance's Southeast Sect?" The overwhelming spiritual pressure and chilling killing intent emanating from the newcomers instantly enveloped the rampaging Ghost Lord within the city.

Behind this leader were more than ten formidable spiritual pressures closing rapidly on the Ghost Lord; nearly all were late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

These were the powerful cultivators who had been resting and recovering within the city after the Immortal-Demon War, finally forced out by the Ghost Lord! Only such a formidable foe would compel them to reveal themselves so easily.

The Ghost Lord finally ceased his frantic spectral dash, hovering in the low sky, and sneered, "You arrive quickly enough. With such escorts flanking you, are you perhaps Sect Master Ji Hao of the Heavenly Dao Alliance?"

"Insolent! How dare a mere ghost cultivator utter Sect Master Ji’s name directly!"

Seeing the Ghost Lord address the Sect Master so familiarly, a white-haired elder wearing a ceremonial crown beside him immediately barked a reprimand.

"It matters not!"

Sect Master Ji waved his hand, halting the elder, clearly unconcerned by the Ghost Lord's chosen address.

Sect Master Ji’s current standing and power were no accident. After sweeping his gaze across the ravaged East Gate district, he recognized the sheer might of this ghost cultivator—a true overlord of the Blood Sea region. Shock quickly gave way to calm resolve. "Speak. Which cultivator are you, and why do you slaughter the cultivators of my Black Sand City?"

"Hand over one cultivator within the city, and this lord will depart immediately!" the Ghost Lord stated coldly.

"Who?" Sect Master Ji inquired.

"Ye Qin of the Violet Sword Palace!"

The Ghost Lord replied.

In truth, while the Ghost Lord and Sect Master Ji were conversing, Ye Qin was still within a different district of the city, conferring with the Spirit Fox Demon Saint, having not yet departed. The Ghost Lord knew Ye Qin remained inside, hence his demand for a handover.

Sect Master Ji paused upon hearing Ye Qin’s name.

The Violet Sword Palace belonged to the Northern Sect Masters’ Immortal Palace; Northern cultivators did not fall under his jurisdiction in the Southeast Sect. Furthermore, he knew a little about Ye Qin’s background—a newly appointed member of the Heavenly Dao Alliance Elder Council, a Divine Alchemist. There was no conceivable way he could surrender a member of the Alliance Elder Council to a ghost cultivator unless he wished to forfeit his position as Sect Master.

Only a select few high-level cultivators were privy to Ye Qin’s true status. To ordinary cultivators, the name Ye Qin merely elicited confusion.

"So, you have come for Elder Ye!" Sect Master Ji's face darkened. "Elder Ye is a figure from the Violet Sword Palace; his presence in my Black Sand City is an honor. This Sect Master is unaware of any conflict between Elder Ye and you, but he absolutely cannot meet with misfortune here! You have misjudged the situation."

"Oh? Is that so? Does this mean, Sect Master Ji, you wish to contend with this lord?" The Ghost Lord’s spectral eyes flashed fiercely, though internally he felt a degree of surprise that Sect Master Ji would risk a deadly battle for a mere Nascent Soul cultivator. He remained ignorant that Ye Qin held the rank of Elder within the Alliance Council; otherwise, he would not have made such a demand or engaged in such idle talk.

"Sect Master, this cultivator has slain many of our Southeast Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators. You must avenge our fallen brothers!"

"If we allow him to leave alive, what face will the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Southeast Sect of Black Sand City have left?"

The city-guarding Nascent Soul cultivators, who had been scattered by the initial chaos, found their morale soaring upon the Sect Master’s arrival, as he provided a backbone. They clustered together, shouting demands for retribution.

"Regardless of your cultivation level, so long as you have not reached the Divine Transformation stage, you should not come to my Black Sand City to cause trouble. With Palace Master Wei present, this Sect Master need not act personally."

Sect Master Ji, unexpectedly, shook his head and gestured towards the white-haired elder beside him—the one wearing a towering crown and a dark, flowing robe. "Palace Master Wei, this Ghost Friend shall be entrusted to your personal attention!"

The ten-plus late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators who accompanied Sect Master Ji observed a subtle hierarchy. Top-tier figures holding titles like Sect Master or Palace Master maintained their dignity and were hesitant to jointly attack a single late-stage Nascent Soul ghost cultivator. Only early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators felt comfortable ganging up on a high-tier Nascent Soul opponent.

"That is only proper. To think a mere ghost cultivator dares act so presumptuously in Black Sand City! Allow this old man to teach it a lesson. This is the East Sea—the domain of cultivators, not a place where ghost cultivators can wander in as they please. Die!"

The elder Wei had been eager for a fight. With a sharp roar, he raised his right palm. Within the center of his palm, a spark of dark light pulsed and flickered.

Crack!

In an instant, that minuscule spark of lightning shot forth, transforming into a blinding electric beam over ten zhang long, which instantly tore through a vast section of the ghost mist.

It revealed the Ghost Lord’s form: a figure clad in a wide black robe, his skeletal face expressionless yet chillingly imposing.

"A Thunder Cultivator!"

The Ghost Lord was startled. Thunder cultivators were exceedingly rare, and late-stage Nascent Soul Thunder Cultivators were akin to phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Having remained on the Desolate Spirit Ghost Island since achieving the Nascent Soul stage, the Ghost Lord had rarely ventured into the Cultivation World and had no prior experience fighting a Nascent Soul Thunder Cultivator.

It was common knowledge throughout the Cultivation World that ghost cultivators were significantly more potent than ordinary cultivators. However, Thunder Cultivators were the sole exception; they were the natural bane of all spectral beings. At the same cultivation level, a Thunder Cultivator could leave a ghost cultivator utterly battered.

The Ghost Lord dared not delay. With a sweep of its robe, thick ghost mist billowed out, engulfing thousands of zhang around it. It also released the thousands of fierce ghosts and spirits it had nurtured, positioning them warily within the mist’s perimeter. These were the souls of demonic beasts collected from the Blood Sea and refined into spirits, most being late-stage Golden Core level. Once these spirits amassed their strength, even Nascent Soul cultivators would struggle to repel them.

"Thunder Light Shield!"

Elder Wei roared, and a dense, inch-thick shield of crackling thunder light enveloped his body. Pizhi, countless tiny arcs of lightning danced across its surface.

Ignoring everything else, he charged violently into the ghost mist, heading directly for the Ghost Lord at the center. Wherever he passed, the ghost mist parted like receding tide water.

"Aoooh!"

Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of white-headed wolf-shaped and skeletal ghost spirits within the mist immediately bared fangs and brandished claws, throwing themselves frantically at the elder. Pili palala! Explosions erupted as they struck the elder's Thunder Light Shield. Lightning flashed amidst shrieks of pain and furious resentment as numerous ghost spirits were reduced to wisps of grey smoke by the backlash of the thunder technique.

"Ghost Path, meet your doom!" Elder Wei’s speed was incredible; he reached the Ghost Lord in what felt like a single breath, laughing maniacally. Slaying this fierce Nascent Soul ghost cultivator would certainly cause his fame to soar, potentially rivaling the Sect Master within the Southeast Sect.

"Scram!"

A spectral gleam flickered in the Ghost Lord’s skull eyes as it roared, slamming out a massive ghostly palm wreathed in dancing specks of Nether Flames.

Smack!

The gigantic ghostly palm smashed squarely onto Elder Wei’s Thunder Light Shield. The indestructible Nether Flames on the palm desperately attempted to pierce the shield, causing the light to rapidly dim. However, the Nether Flames were swiftly countered by the surrounding thunder energy, incinerated, and ultimately extinguished. Elder Wei was blasted back a hundred zhang, and seeing his protective shield nearly shattered, he gasped in horror. He immediately channeled his internal magic power to restore the dimmed shield to blinding brilliance. Elder Wei sucked in a cold breath, no longer daring to rush forward rashly.

This ghost cultivator was far more formidable than any he had previously encountered. Had his own cultivation not been exceptionally deep, he might have suffered a grave loss.

"Damn it!"

The Ghost Lord felt a sharp pang of resentment. A single bloom of its Nether Flames could instantly kill an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator, yet several bursts had failed to harm this Elder Wei in the slightest. A late-stage Nascent Soul Thunder Cultivator had managed to fight him to a standstill.

The Ghost Lord began to contemplate retreat.

It had initially assumed that only Black Sand City’s Sect Master Ji, acting personally, could match its strength. It hadn't anticipated a Thunder Cultivator proving to be such a difficult obstacle. It could not afford to deplete its strength against a single late-stage Nascent Soul Thunder Cultivator.

Moreover, Sect Master Ji had not yet made a move; the strength of the Heavenly Dao Alliance's Southeast Sect Master was likely comparable to that of Sect Master Yu or the Hateful Mountain Old Freak.

"Kill it!"

"Sect Master, give the order! We shall surround and annihilate this ghost cultivator together!"

Seeing Elder Wei successfully withstand the Ghost Lord's ferocious assault, the surrounding cultivators’ morale surged. With one powerful Thunder Cultivator holding the line, perhaps with the aid of a few more late-stage Nascent Soul experts, successfully cornering this fierce ghost cultivator was not impossible.

Sect Master Ji, however, appeared deaf to the cheers of his men.

He looked up, staring blankly into the clear, sunny sky. Nothing seemed amiss, yet he perceived a faint speck of Golden Crow light plummeting rapidly from tens of thousands of zhang overhead. A height unattainable by even late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

These points of light were targeting Black Sand City directly.

The speck of Golden Crow light grew larger, transitioning from an imperceptible dust mote to the size of a grain of rice in the span of a few breaths.

"What is that? Bearing the scent of demons... its power grows stronger?" Sect Master Ji’s rigid face twitched, overcome by an inexplicable pressure and a deep, primal terror welling from his core. He couldn't even articulate what he feared; having been the Southeast Sect Master for over a century, he had never felt such panic, not even when warring against the Blood Sea Demon Clan.

The Nascent Soul cultivators looked around quizzically, then turned their gazes skyward, spotting the descending specks of Golden Crow light. Even ordinary Golden Core cultivators could now see them clearly. The shimmering specks seemed to resolve into the shape of a three-legged bird.

The Ghost Lord also looked up, its spectral essence momentarily shaken upon seeing the increasingly bright Golden Crow radiance. It almost shrieked, "Three-Legged Crow—!"

Others might not recognize it, but the Ghost Lord had witnessed such Golden Crow light firsthand in the Demon Realm. This was the radiance emitted by the True Solar Fire erupting from the wings of a Three-Legged Crow Demon Saint!

The Ghost Lord no longer cared about Elder Wei, Sect Master Ji, or the others. It swept its robe, rapidly recalling its vast ghost mist and spirits, then spewed a ball of black miasma from its mouth, transforming into a streak of blinding black light that shot out of the city. Its speed in fleeing was so great that the Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't even manage an interception. The Ghost Lord had fled.

Sect Master Ji finally snapped out of his oppression and terror. The three words the Ghost Lord had cried out just before escaping caused his robust frame to tremble.

In the East Sea Cultivation World, there were no Three-Legged Crows. Those were ancient demons from the Demon Realm!

In the space of mere breaths, the massive expanse of thousands upon thousands of Golden Crow light points in the sky was drawing near. Each light point had become a fist-sized fireball, densely packed, almost blotting out the heavens, covering an area spanning hundreds of li.

An unimaginable, heavenly might of a Demon Saint descended, enveloping all of Black Sand City.

"Quickly activate the City Protection Barrier!" Sect Master Ji roared with all the strength left in his body.

He transformed into a streak of light and bolted back toward the city center.

The cultivators who had just been clamoring to chase the Ghost Lord were now paralyzed with fear, their limbs cold, scattering in panicked flight.

Boom, boom, boom!

Just as his shout echoed, several Golden Crow fireballs plummeted into Black Sand City, instantly consuming all cultivators, stones, and wooden structures within hundreds of zhang, turning them into rolling magma before a scream could even escape.

Continuous waves of Golden Crow fireballs rained down densely upon Black Sand Immortal City.

The protective barrier’s light had only just managed to ignite before it was destroyed by the bombardment of the fireballs. Fast Nascent Soul cultivators might still have a chance to dodge the strikes and survive, but the Golden Core cultivators were too slow; they couldn't escape.

The entirety of Black Sand City, under the relentless assault of the fireballs descending from the heavens, instantly transformed into a sea of raging flame. Tens of thousands of Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators frantically rushed towards the teleportation array, attempting to flee Black Sand City as quickly as possible. No one understood the reason for this sudden, horrific catastrophe, but every cultivator knew: Black Sand City was finished.

The Immortal City, which had consumed the entire financial and human resources of the Heavenly Dao Alliance's Southeast Sect for over a decade of construction, suffered a devastating blow in a single moment.