From the moment he arrived at the Dead Water Prison, Gu Tan had maintained a purely defensive posture, entirely out of concern for Ji Changkong. Now that Ji Changkong had miraculously escaped the Dead Water Prison, Gu Tan was finally free to act without reservation, needing to worry about nothing else.

Only then did he truly set his heart at ease, freed from all constraints. Gusts of biting cold air suddenly erupted from Gu Tan's body.

The sweltering summer instantly transformed into deep winter, a change so profound that everyone in the Dead Water Prison sensed the unusual shift in the world around them; some of the less powerful Celestial Scholars even began to shiver uncontrollably. Another character—the character "Qian"—materialized out of thin air.

As this massive character appeared, it dominated the entire space, emanating an intense, bone-chilling cold that radiated an icy aura. The Ghost Demon King, suspended in mid-air, drifted lightly like a thin sheet of paper in the wind.

As the waves of cold struck him, the Ghost Demon King’s emotionless eyes suddenly blazed with a ferocious, bloodthirsty intent for annihilation. In an instant, his form blurred, strangely and unpredictably shifting into a dark, murky phantom.

His pale, bloodless face contorted into a malevolent, grotesque expression. The phantom seemed weightless, yet it was impervious to the invasive cold radiating from Gu Tan, drifting serenely toward him.

Simultaneously, an endless tide of resentment and the aura of absolute slaughter swept throughout the Dead Water Prison. Mixed within this evil atmosphere was a damp, chilling scent of death, transforming the prison into something resembling a graveyard, striking deep terror into the hearts of all present.

The Ghost Demon King had cultivated for countless years in the Nether Ghost Domain, and being a spirit entity himself, he excelled at insidious and unpredictable soul attacks. Seeing Gu Tan finally unleash his full power, the Ghost Demon King ceased his previous tactics and immediately brought forth the strength he mastered best.

Gu Tan poured his spiritual energy forth and immediately perceived the Ghost Demon King’s pervasive spiritual assault. The icy, bloodthirsty, and violent essence clinging to the enemy’s spirit seemed to draw upon the very source of all wickedness in the world.

Even Gu Tan dared not be careless; his eyes flashed brightly, and he immediately began to exert himself to the maximum. Hah!

Gu Tan roared, the sound of his voice manifesting distinct, wave-like ripples. Wherever these ripples passed, the hard stone ceiling above the Dead Water Prison instantly crumbled into fine dust, which was then swept away by the foul wind.

The accumulated negative energy gathered by the Ghost Demon King was struck by the wave-like vibrations and violently recoiled, not a single fraction managing to impact Gu Tan. The marvelous undulations continued to spread.

All the negative forces the Ghost Demon King had amassed were violently pushed back, and the Ghost Demon King himself seemed affected by these wondrous waves, continually retreating backward, appearing as if being pushed back by relentless ocean tides. In the void, the bone-chilling cold instantly contracted to a single point, and an ice shard, about the length of an arm, coalesced in a flash.

The moment the ice formed, the deep chill gripping the Dead Water Prison vanished without a trace, and the prison instantly grew hot again. The arm-length ice shard, crystalline like refined jade, glittered with dazzling radiance and shot forward like a sharp sword, slamming toward the Ghost Demon King.

Rumble! The Ghost Demon King, already being driven backward by the water-ripple impact, had no time to defend and was struck squarely by the ice shard.

A shower of ice shards scattered everywhere. With that loud impact, the Dead Water Prison seemed to plunge back into mid-winter, the swirling fragments carrying the frigid cold across the expanse once more.

The Ghost Demon King’s phantom form was instantly shredded into countless wisps by the ice shard, which the foul wind then dispersed in the void. Upon seeing the Demon King’s form utterly torn apart, experts such as Huangfu Tong, Huangfu Yue, Murong Tuo, and Tu Bashan all changed expression and hurriedly retreated.

The formidable might of the Nine Palaces Celestial Scholars was deeply ingrained in their minds; without the Ghost Demon King leading the charge, not a single one dared to engage Gu Tan in combat. “Sister Zhang, it’s up to you now!” Huangfu Tong cried out urgently, as the group’s gaze inevitably flickered down toward the Dead Water Prison below.

At that moment, Zhang Yueqin, clad in a long robe shimmering with flowing light, was continuously dancing her sleeves, fending off the splatter of the dead water while struggling desperately against Ji Changkong’s relentless bombardment. A sky full of azure lightning crashed down with thunderous roars, while the binding power of the multi-colored halos and the furious assault of the Nine Forms of the Blood Dragon pressed hard, forcing Zhang Yueqin into a ragged defense, making her look utterly distressed.

Ji Changkong, fighting at full strength and empowered by the Celestial Origin Pearl, utilized his diverse and esoteric techniques to gain an absolute upper hand! “Little Yue!” Huangfu Tong shouted loudly.

Huangfu Yue did not hesitate for an instant, charging straight into the Dead Water Prison, intending to lend Zhang Yueqin aid so they could subdue Ji Changkong sooner. Everyone understood that Gu Tan’s restraint was solely because of Ji Changkong.

Once Ji Changkong was no longer a concern, a Gu Tan fighting without inhibition would be terrifyingly destructive. “Huangfu Tong, I will kill you, for the sake of the Water Cloud Kingdom,” Gu Tan declared, his deep eyes fixing onto Huangfu Tong, each word delivered distinctly.

As the words fell, Gu Tan raised his hand, summoning a gigantic palm condensed purely from violent primal force, which swooped down like a vulture toward Huangfu Tong’s head. Huangfu Tong’s face turned ashen with horror, and he hastily dodged backward, desperate to put distance between himself and Gu Tan.

However, the hand formed purely of raw energy seemed imbued with life; it was something Huangfu Tong could not possibly evade. The massive hand obliterated all obstructions above the Dead Water Prison and enveloped Huangfu Tong entirely.

Once caught by the immense hand, Huangfu Tong lost any chance of escape, feeling as though he had plunged into a mire, utterly immobile. CRUSH!

Gu Tan slammed the hand downward. Huangfu Tong’s body was flattened like a ball of mud, splattering flesh and blood between the giant fingers.

At the same moment, a multi-colored halo flew up from beneath the Dead Water Prison. Miniature blood dragons weaved through the streams of colored light, suddenly bathing the area beneath the prison in kaleidoscopic hues.

These dragons, carrying a thick, bloody stench, grew stronger with every circuit through the luminous ring. This state persisted for a time, causing even the multi-colored halo to gain a deep crimson stain, and a tyrannical, fierce aura slowly began to brew beneath the Dead Water Prison.

Zhang Yueqin and Huangfu Yue watched helplessly as the colorful halos surrounding Ji Changkong multiplied, feeling powerless to stop the gathering momentum. Many techniques they deployed failed to halt the intensifying power radiating from the rings.

The new secret technique Ji Changkong had developed and refined at the Chen residence was being deployed for the first time today, immediately yielding astonishing results. Zhang Yueqin and Huangfu Yue wore expressions of profound gravity.

Under the increasing pressure of the multi-colored halos, the space they could occupy dwindled, and the pressure on their bodies grew heavier and heavier.