A single utterance, "I'm still here," scared Lei Jia half to death. Pressing forward toward Yu Ziling, he had already begun to fantasize about how he would slowly toy with her later. Who would have thought that at the most crucial moment, Ji Changkong would suddenly reappear.

Lei Jia had chosen to ambush Ji Changkong because he viewed him as an opponent equal to Meng Gang. In his view, powerful adversaries like Ji Changkong should be eliminated early to prevent them from causing trouble at a critical juncture.

It was precisely this deep-seated fear of Ji Changkong that led Lei Jia to strike while Ji Changkong was engaged with Meng Gang. Lei Jia harbored a beautiful plan: he believed that if both Ji Changkong and Meng Gang were killed, everything he did afterward would proceed smoothly, with no one left to disturb him.

Ji Changkong's sudden appearance made Lei Jia shudder. He immediately turned back, staring blankly at Ji Changkong, chuckling awkwardly: "This... this... Hmph, I think there might be some misunderstanding between us."

"Misunderstanding?" Ji Changkong smiled, a cold edge to it. "We have quite a large misunderstanding, don't we? Hey, if my soul technique weren't so unique, I fear I would have completely dissipated by now, leaving not even a trace of my divine soul. Tell me, is this misunderstanding minor?"

"This... this, well, inside the Moon Core, everyone acts this way. Little brother, you must understand, there are never any true friends in the Moon Core. What I did was simply following the rules here," Lei Jia stammered with a forced smile.

"I understand!" Ji Changkong grinned, baring his teeth. "So, I also plan to handle this matter according to the rules of the Moon Core."

"No!" Lei Jia exclaimed, rushing to plead with Ji Changkong. "We can be friends, real friends! You know, without my guidance here, even if you obtained the treasures atop Moon Peak, you wouldn't be able to leave the Moon Core. Truly, you relied on me to enter, and you will rely on me to leave! Without me, no one here gets out!"

Lei Jia held this trump card, believing that only he could point the way to survival for everyone.

"Number Twenty-Four!" Yu Ziling stared at Ji Changkong in disbelief and couldn't help but cheer out loud. Because she was farther from Ji Changkong, the soul thought forming her cheer arrived slightly later.

Yu Ziling was overjoyed and surprised. She had fully expected Ji Changkong to be utterly destroyed by Lei Jia’s sneak attack; in fact, she had clearly seen his divine soul dissipate into motes of scattered light.

At the most critical juncture, Ji Changkong’s sudden, utterly strange reappearance was clearly beyond Yu Ziling’s expectation. With a look of mingled shock and delight, she called out from a distance: "Number Twenty-Four, kill this wretch! This guy is despicable and shameless to the extreme. A person like that living only makes everyone uneasy!"

"Girl, if I die, none of you will leave here alive. For your own sake, you should be flattering me properly, understand?" Lei Jia glanced disdainfully at Yu Ziling, treating her as utterly witless.

"Number Twenty-Four, how about it? Let's put the past behind us! I promise I will never harbor ill intentions toward you again. You know, you are still useful to me. With you, we can evade the Soul Hunting Squad and the Moon Demons. Let's cooperate! We can join forces to take the treasures from Moon Peak, and then I'll lead you out of the Moon Core and back to the surface of the Moon. How about it?" Lei Jia proposed.

"Indeed, I still have some use for you," Ji Changkong smiled. Just as Lei Jia breathed a sigh of relief, he added suddenly, "However, for me, you are completely useless now."

"What are you saying? Without me, how will you leave Moon Peak alive? Don't you realize that right now, only I can get you out of here? Otherwise, you'll spend your whole life trapped in the Moon Core and eventually be killed by the Moon Demons!" Lei Jia sneered viciously.

"Lei Jia, you despicable scoundrel, can't I lead them out?" Meng Gang's voice suddenly boomed from the distance, laced with fury. "Back then, if I hadn't guided you, would you even know how to enter or leave the Moon Core? With me here, when did it become your turn to threaten people with this matter?"

Meng Gang’s soul transformed into a storm, gradually devouring the souls of Numbers Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, and Twenty-Five. Meng Gang’s soul possessed this peculiar ability; after absorbing the souls of those three, his soul power began to slowly recover. In just a moment, Meng Gang appeared energetic once more.

Meng Gang's loud declaration instantly extinguished any hope of reconciliation between Lei Jia and Ji Changkong.

"You're alive?" Lei Jia stared at Meng Gang dumbfounded, shrieking, "How is this possible? How could you possibly still be alive?"

"Number Twenty-Four helped me out, Lei Jia. Tell me, with me around, does Number Twenty-Four still need you?" Meng Gang roared with laughter. "Lei Jia, you despicable wretch, just wait! After I digest the soul power of Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, and Twenty-Seven, I will naturally settle accounts with you!"

"Then you better hurry up; otherwise, I fear you might be too late," Ji Changkong said with a slight smile, nodding toward Yu Ziling over Lei Jia’s form. "You and I join forces—let's kill this Lei Jia first!"

"I've been waiting for you to say that!" Yu Ziling was ecstatic. She immediately gathered the power of her divine soul once more. A new Wu Blade materialized in front of Yu Ziling's spectral soul form. The evil blade radiated boundless malevolence, saturated with Yu Ziling's soul imprint, and rapidly lunged toward Lei Jia.

Lei Jia's expression shifted. He once again released that strange water pattern, hoping to use its incredibly sticky force to ward off Yu Ziling's evil blade attack.

"Heh heh, with me here, do you think your soul power can still secure a victory?" Ji Changkong sneered, rapidly closing in on Lei Jia.

A great net, formed purely from condensed soul power, materialized before Ji Changkong. This was the Destruction Net, a soul technique from the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art. As the Destruction Net appeared, streaks of light resembling lightning shot out from its body, emanating an aura of absolute soul annihilation. Terrifying killing intent surged wildly within the net.

Some surrounding essence of moonlight that carelessly fell into the net was instantly pulverized. The Destruction Net slowly descended from the sky, targeting Lei Jia directly.

Lei Jia was currently using the water patterns to resist the attack from Yu Ziling’s evil blade, dedicating the majority of his mental energy to the defense. Suddenly noticing the terrifying tide of destruction descending from behind, Lei Jia was clearly panicked. He immediately began diverting some energy to condense more of that intensely sticky water pattern, manifesting more of the viscous substance in the area where the Destruction Net was about to land.

"Heh heh, your soul technique is useless against me," Ji Changkong scoffed.

With a thought, the Destruction Net suddenly pressed down, instantly enveloping the water patterns Lei Jia had released. The Destruction Net erupted with a dazzling brilliance. Under this astonishing light, the sticky water patterns released by Lei Jia were rapidly and systematically disintegrated!

In that brief moment, every water pattern condensed by Lei Jia seemed to be violently shredded as if by a meat grinder.

Lei Jia's spectral form convulsed violently, and a piercing pain shot through his soul. At this very instant, Yu Ziling’s Wu Blade pierced through the barrier of the forward water patterns, surging forward suddenly and appearing right before Lei Jia.

Lei Jia was truly terrified. Even his face, formed purely of soul power, displayed an expression of sheer horror. He pleaded: "Unfair, Number Twenty-Four, fight me one-on-one if you have the guts!"

"One-on-one?" Ji Changkong burst into laughter, shaking his head. "I forgot to tell you, I actually prefer to gang up on the weak! What I enjoy most is overwhelming the few with the many!" His expression suddenly turned frigid. "Against trash like you, any method can be deemed honorable and upright!"

"Hahaha, my friend speaks wisely! Against a vile scoundrel like Lei Jia, any tactic is justifiable! Because when he attacked you, he was a hundred thousand times more despicable than you are now!" Meng Gang also roared with laughter.

Meng Gang was not one to stand on ceremony. Without needing an invitation from Ji Changkong or Yu Ziling, the moment he arrived, he unleashed his soul technique. His frenzied soul thought, forming boundless hatred, slammed directly into Lei Jia’s soul perimeter.

Lei Jia had already begun projecting that bright, crystalline light capable of weakening others. However, this intense light, meant to debilitate opposing souls, proved ill-timed in this moment. Under the combined lethal force of the three, the brilliant light failed to serve its intended purpose.

An even more intense radiance erupted—this time, it was Lei Jia’s own divine soul!

Lei Jia’s soul suddenly crystallized, and rays of shimmering light poured out from it. Under this fierce brilliance, the souls of Meng Gang and the others were somewhat affected, and the speed of their attacks slackened momentarily.

Ji Changkong’s Destruction Net, Yu Ziling’s Wu Blade, and Meng Gang’s endless torrent of hatred struck simultaneously. The soul power of the three attackers was instantly halved by the time it reached Lei Jia’s crystalline soul form. The attacks caused Lei Jia's crystalline soul to burst with brilliant light but did not immediately cause his divine soul to scatter into oblivion.

Lei Jia seized this opportunity to unleash another burst of intense light from his soul, forcing the three soul attacks back a considerable distance.

Lei Jia did not linger. His soul shot away like a sharp sword toward the distance, leaving fragments of crystal-like debris scattering from his form. His crystalline body swayed precariously, utterly battered.

"You haven't won! You won't get out, and you can never leave the Moon Core! I promise, I will return soon!" Lei Jia's soul thought echoed faintly from afar.

Ji Changkong, Yu Ziling, and Meng Gang gathered silently where Lei Jia had stood. Meng Gang used his divine soul to carefully lift a piece of the translucent crystal, looking gravely at the direction Lei Jia had vanished with a strange expression.

Ji Changkong paused only for a second before immediately preparing to pursue Lei Jia.

"Wait!" Meng Gang stretched out a hand, stopping Ji Changkong's pursuit. He held up the strange crystal in his hand higher for Ji Changkong to see and said with a bitter smile, "Don't chase him. I truly didn't expect this. I never thought Lei Jia would become like this. As he is now, he will be incredibly difficult to deal with within the Moon Core. Even if you caught up, you might not kill him, not to mention that there are still so many things on Moon Peak. Don't forget the true purpose of why we all came here."

Hearing Meng Gang say this, Ji Changkong looked puzzled. "What's going on with Lei Jia? Why... why did his soul suddenly become crystalline?"

"What does his soul form remind you of?" Meng Gang did not answer immediately but instead asked Ji Changkong and Yu Ziling in return.

"Moon Demons," Yu Ziling answered honestly.

Ji Changkong also nodded. "Indeed, the Moon Demons! The form of the Moon Demons is exactly this crystalline structure. However, the soul of a Moon Demon is different from Lei Jia's. Meng Gang, do you know what this implies?"

Meng Gang nodded with a grim smile. "It means Lei Jia obtained the Tear of the Moon during his last time on Moon Peak. He used the Tear of the Moon to refine his divine soul anew. In the Moon Core, he can transform his divine soul, allowing it to gather potent lunar essence to form a crystal layer that appears almost solid. With these crystals, he can shield his soul from injury. I never expected he would actually do this?"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ji Changkong asked, seeing his worried expression, genuinely puzzled. "In the Moon Core, he can use this method to greatly enhance his soul's defensive power, almost like forming unbreakable armor on his spectral body. While it lacks the agility and power of his original form, it's far superior to a purely spectral ordinary person. Why... why do you look so unable to comprehend this? If anyone else had obtained the Tear of the Moon, they would certainly do the same."

"No! If I had obtained the Tear of the Moon, I absolutely would not have done this!" Meng Gang shook his head, then explained, "You don't know the full story. The Tear of the Moon is an incredibly miraculous substance found on Moon Peak. I have been here many times, but I've only heard rumors; I’ve never seen it. Legend says that once the Tear of the Moon merges with a Celestial Master’s divine soul, that soul gains the attribute of the Tear of the Moon, allowing the soul to become crystalline. In the Moon Core, a soul refined by the Tear of the Moon gains an advantage, but if a soul refined this way ever enters the Sun, the crystalline soul will instantly dissolve under the sun's light, taking the soul refined by the Tear of the Moon with it into complete annihilation!"

"You must understand, our purpose in cultivating in the Moon Core is merely to let our divine souls adapt to the essence of lunar light, using that essence to temper the soul. The fundamental goal is not to transform our divine souls into a solid form. The high heat of the Sun is completely different from the coolness of the Moon. Souls in spectral form struggle somewhat in the Sun; a solidified soul entering the Sun means certain death. If Lei Jia never dares to cultivate under the Sun, how can he ever advance further?"

"So that's how it is," Ji Changkong nodded, smiling. "It seems this Lei Jia is nothing to fear after all."

"He is not nothing," Meng Gang stated firmly. "Within the Moon Core and on the Moon, a soul refined by the Tear of the Moon is still extremely terrifying. Little brother, you must remember, the next time you face Lei Jia, you must treat him as you would a Moon Demon. Condense your soul to an extremely fine degree to be able to penetrate his crystalline body and harm the essential soul hidden within that crystal!" Meng Gang solemnly warned Ji Changkong.

"Mm, I understand. By the way, those Moon Demons in the Moon Core—could they also be transformations of the souls of Celestial Masters like us?" Ji Changkong suddenly voiced this thought.

"I don't know..." Meng Gang shook his head. "The formation of Moon Demons is a mystery; no one knows how they came to be. A very, very long time ago, when Celestial Masters first set foot in the Moon Core, the Moon Demons were already present."

"Shouldn't we stop talking nonsense? If we keep talking, all the good treasures on Moon Peak will be snatched by other people," Yu Ziling suddenly interjected.

Her words brought Ji Changkong and Meng Gang back to their senses simultaneously. They looked up and saw that everyone on Moon Peak was frantically scrambling for the treasures, their eyes bloodshot, completely disregarding everything else.

"It matters not," Meng Gang said with a cold smile to the other two. "Let them fight. Before long, they will gradually calm down. Remember one thing in the Moon Core: the one who strikes last is often the ultimate victor! The one who strikes first doesn't necessarily gain much advantage and might end up being the one slain by another!"

"That makes sense. Should we keep watching then?" Ji Changkong asked with a smile.

"No, we can start scouting for targets..." Meng Gang replied.

Ji Changkong was momentarily stunned, then gave a wry, internal laugh. He understood Meng Gang's meaning: Meng Gang now viewed everyone on Moon Peak as potential hunting targets. Having come to his senses, Meng Gang now held no reservations.

Hearing Meng Gang speak, a flicker of caution crossed Yu Ziling's eyes, and she subtly moved closer to Ji Changkong, secretly guarding against Meng Gang.

Meng Gang clearly noticed Yu Ziling's subtle action and let out a booming laugh before looking seriously at Ji Changkong. "I am different from Lei Jia. While I will be merciless here too, and I will also engage in seizing and slaughtering others, I still possess a certain set of principles. [...] Don't worry, little brother, you helped me, and I remember that. As long as you don't disappoint me like Lei Jia did, I absolutely will not harbor any malicious intent toward you."

"Even if you wanted to make a move, it doesn't matter. I'm not afraid of trouble," Ji Changkong chuckled dismissively. "Even though you, Meng Gang, are powerful, have I ever feared you?"

"That's true!" Meng Gang laughed heartily and generously. "We’ll just watch right here and see what outcome these people face."

Yu Ziling nodded, then her expression soured abruptly, and she muttered under her breath, "Damn woman."

Just then, Numbers Five and Six snatched a Moon Meteorite on Moon Peak. Upon obtaining it, the two sisters were deliriously excited, joyfully flying down from the peak as if preparing to retreat immediately.

These two sisters, Five and Six, had remained safe on Moon Peak until now precisely because they always acted in unison when facing any adversary.

However, the moment they secured the Moon Meteorite through their combined effort, they immediately drew the attention of everyone else, and people began to genuinely focus on the two sisters, preparing to move against them.

If Numbers Five and Six worked together, they could maintain a slight advantage against two ill-intentioned individuals because their coordination and mutual trust were absolute. But when four Celestial Masters were focused on the pair, intent on seizing the Moon Meteorite in their hands, the sisters found resisting exceedingly difficult.

The two sisters flying down from Moon Peak scanned desperately for an escape route. Then, their eyes lit up simultaneously, and they flew toward the location where Ji Changkong and Yu Ziling stood.

"Fellow companions, please help us! We came together," Number Five began broadcasting her soul thought before she even got close, acting as if she and Ji Changkong and Yu Ziling were close allies.

The four pursuing Eight Trigram Celestial Masters attacked the sisters fiercely, unleashing endless waves of soul attacks that forced the two into desperate flight.

Numbers Five and Six cried out, rushing toward Ji Changkong and Yu Ziling, clearly hoping the pair would step in and offer aid.

The four Celestial Masters chasing the sisters saw that the pair were about to reach Ji Changkong and the others. They hesitated slightly. One of them shouted loudly: "Meng Gang, are these two little vixens your friends? If you say yes, we won't bother with that Moon Meteorite!"

Those four figures, who had originally been followers of Manganese Steel, knew his terrifying nature well. Seeing Manganese Steel present, they began to hesitate.

"Yes, we are his friends!" Before Manganese Steel could even answer, Number Five spoke up eagerly.

Manganese Steel frowned slightly, couldn't help glancing at Ji Changkong, and asked, "Young man, are these women your friends?"

Ji Changkong grinned, and under the expectant gazes of Number Five and Number Six, he softly shook his head, saying, "In the Moon Heart, I don't have any friends this close. Other than Number Seventeen, I don't know anyone here."

Manganese Steel nodded, then immediately waved his hand with an expression of disgust toward the four who had caught up, saying, "It has nothing to do with me; do as you wish."

"Haha, thank you!" The four burst into loud laughter and immediately surrounded the two sisters, Number Five and Number Six.