The Ghost Demon King, cast into a spatial rift atop East Heaven Peak, managed to return to the Five Elements Continent from the Southern Dipper Star Domain by exploiting the battle between the Asura King and Gu Bang, finally descending upon the Northern Barbarian Territory.
The now-manifested Ghost Demon King continued to devour the nearby evil spirits; these spirits, though able to slip free from the restraints of the Tianyuan Orb, could not escape his consumption. Even when the Yaksha King exerted his full strength, he could not control the spirits, watching as they vanished into the colossal maw conjured by the Ghost Demon King.
Having returned from the Southern Dipper Continent, the Ghost Demon King was now even more powerful than when he was last seen on East Heaven Peak!
Ji Changkong, who had only just departed with Li Hentian, suddenly froze in place, turning back with a look of utter horror: “The Ghost Demon King!”
Li Hentian was slightly startled as well. Seeing that the attention of the Northern Barbarian Heavenly Masters and the Yaksha King behind them was entirely fixated on the Ghost Demon King, he didn't press his pursuit. Li Hentian also paused in the void and asked Ji Changkong, perplexed, “Didn’t you say he had already been driven out of the Five Elements Continent?”
Ji Changkong managed a wry smile and quickly relayed the intelligence he had gained from Mang Gang on the moon to Li Hentian, concluding, “The Ghost Demon King was supposed to be in the Southern Dipper Star Domain. He acquired the soul power of many Seven-Star Heavenly Masters there, making him even more terrifying now. This clash between my maternal grandfather and the Asura King was so intense it tore open spatial fissures. The Ghost Demon King must have discovered one and used it to return to the Five Elements Continent. This is a huge problem.”
Upon hearing this, Li Hentian furrowed his brow. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Let’s watch for now.”
Ji Changkong nodded. “We should indeed assess the Ghost Demon King’s might. He holds a deep grudge against me. Since he’s back from the Southern Dipper Star Domain, he will come for me sooner or later. Let’s gauge the situation first and see if we can gain any advantage.”
Meanwhile, the Yaksha King also sensed the terrifying power emanating from the Ghost Demon King—a power no weaker than a Nine Palaces Heavenly Master!
The Yaksha King’s expression shifted dramatically. At this point, he could no longer focus on pursuing Li Hentian and Ji Changkong; all his energy was channeled toward the Ghost Demon King. He roared, “Who are you?”
The Ghost Demon King offered no reply, giving the Yaksha King a cold glance with his icy eyes before rapidly continuing to devour the evil spirits the Yaksha King had gathered. As one spirit after another vanished into his belly, the Ghost Demon King’s power grew stronger.
The Asura King, who had been standing proudly near the Asura Imperial City, finally could not restrain himself. He shot out from the city, instantly arriving beside the Yaksha King. The Asura King summoned his hand, and dense, inky black smoke poured from his palm, surging toward the Ghost Demon King.
The Ghost Demon King’s eyes, devoid of any human emotion, glanced coldly at the Asura King and stated, “You cannot kill me.”
The Ghost Demon King’s form flickered, twisting and transforming into a smoky haze that merged with the black smoke released by the Asura King, vanishing instantly. The next moment, the Ghost Demon King reappeared, resuming his consumption of the Yaksha King’s evil spirits nearby.
“Recall the evil spirits!” the Asura King commanded sternly.
The Yaksha King’s face turned pale. He tried to use his soul power to draw the spirits back, but even after expending his entire divine soul force, he could feel the connection to the spirits; yet, they seemed suddenly inert, refusing to return to his command.
“It’s his power! His power is affecting me!” the Yaksha King cried out in alarm.
A strange light flashed in the Asura King’s eyes, and he suddenly declared, “I will send him back to his mother again!”
No one knew what power the Asura King unleashed, but spatial rifts reappeared in the void. These rifts shimmered with bewildering light and suddenly emitted a powerful suction force.
While dodging, the Ghost Demon King continued to devour the evil spirits. His body remained as unyielding as a boulder, constantly buffeted within the spatial rifts but utterly unaffected by them.
Suddenly, everyone understood how troublesome and terrifying the Ghost Demon King was. The Heavenly Masters of the Northern Barbarians unleashed all their attacks, directing them toward the Ghost Demon King in the sky.
In an instant, the sky filled with a dazzling array of brilliant colors, blooming like fireworks in the void. Various attacks rained down, all aimed at the Ghost Demon King. Most of these forces were useless against him; only energies specifically targeting the divine soul, such as Heavenly Thunder and Heavenly Fire, could truly inflict damage.
The collective power of the masses was formidable. The dazzling offensive descended like a fine, heavy drizzle, leaving the Ghost Demon King nowhere to hide. Under such dense assault, avoiding any attack became impossible.
Even if the Ghost Demon King could obscure his form, he could not evade so many strikes. He was forced to abandon his pursuit of the evil spirits and instead lunged directly at the Yaksha King.
The Ghost Demon King had become more cunning!
As soon as he closed in on the Yaksha King, the Northern Barbarian Heavenly Masters ceased fire. At this point, pressing the attack against the Ghost Demon King would inevitably result in friendly fire against the Yaksha King. In the Northern Barbarians, the Yaksha King was second only to the Asura King in strength, and the Yaksha Clan was one of the most powerful races; few dared to offend him.
All assaults halted, but the Ghost Demon King had already reached the Yaksha King, unleashing his soul-affecting power, which even influenced the Yaksha King.
Suddenly, the Yaksha King lost control of the evil spirits. The spirits that had formed the Evil Spirit Celestial Diagram seemed liberated, scattering toward all directions. The power the Yaksha King had imposed on them vanished completely.
The Yaksha King’s face was filled with deep resentment. He finally released his divine soul power, choosing to confront the Ghost Demon King head-on with the unique soul power of a Nine Palaces Heavenly Master.
The evil spirits were the result of the Yaksha King’s painstaking efforts, collected over several hundred years. He had endured immense suffering to successfully cultivate the Yaksha Clan’s Evil Spirit Celestial Diagram, which was one of his most formidable techniques.
Now that the diagram had scattered uncontrollably, the Yaksha King was so enraged he felt he might vomit blood.
The Asura King frowned, watching the Ghost Demon King fix his target on the Yaksha King. He retracted the ineffective spatial rifts and then released his own soul power to engage the Ghost Demon King. A wicked blade suddenly materialized in the void, condensed purely from soul power, brimming with the most primal evil energy in existence. Once revealed, the wicked blade seemed to possess eyes, locking onto the Ghost Demon King and shooting toward him swiftly.
The Ghost Demon King, usually fearless, reacted immediately upon seeing the wicked blade condensed from the Asura King’s soul power; he abandoned the Yaksha King and resumed his desperate escape.
The wicked blade pursued relentlessly, seemingly locked onto the Ghost Demon King. No matter if the Demon King cloaked himself or altered his aura, he could not evade the blade. Under its relentless chase, the Ghost Demon King was forced to utilize every trick he possessed to flee.
The Yaksha King immediately gathered his own divine soul, attempting to use secret methods to summon the escaped evil spirits back to his side.
Six Pillars of Primordial Force quietly appeared in one direction. Strange symbols of the Purgatory Ghost Clan twinkled like stars in the void, releasing a mysterious power from the pillars that seemed to exert an irresistible attraction on souls.
The evil spirits that had fled the Yaksha King, who were previously scattering everywhere, suddenly—sensing something—changed direction and began flying toward the location of the six pillars.
The Yaksha King immediately perceived the strange influence of the Six Pillars of Primordial Force on the evil spirits. Following the line of the pillars, the Yaksha King’s face turned ashen, and he spat out hatefully, “Ji Changkong!”
Ji Changkong completely ignored him, concentrating intently on manifesting the power of the Soul-Quelling Tune, shaping the melody to summon souls.
This was a unique technique of the Purgatory Ghost Clan’s Soul-Quelling Tune. While the tune was known as a technique to annihilate souls, it also possessed the power to gather divine souls. As soon as the melody shifted to the Soul-Summoning configuration, nearby souls would be drawn in and converge from afar.
One by one, the lesser spirits burrowed into the Six Pillars of Primordial Force. Within the pillars, a radiant sphere of light floated silently.
As soon as an evil spirit entered the pillars, it discovered the Tianyuan Orb hidden within. The Yaksha King had lost all control over them; every spirit that neared the Tianyuan Orb was immediately absorbed into it.
Soon, nearly a hundred powerful evil spirits, first lured by the influence of the Six Pillars of Primordial Force, then plunged one after another into the Tianyuan Orb.
The Yaksha King was nearly sick with rage. The Ghost Demon King had expended tremendous effort to consume barely a few dozen spirits, yet Ji Changkong, without anyone noticing, had seized a hundred of his spirits! Furthermore, judging by the trend, he intended to take them all, which sent the Yaksha King into a frenzy.
The Yaksha King abandoned all caution, ignoring the clash between the Asura King and the Ghost Demon King behind him, and turned toward Ji Changkong with savage determination.
“Old Li, hold him off for a moment!” Ji Changkong urgently called out.
Li Hentian materialized precisely where needed beside the Yaksha King, wielding the Blazing Sun Dharma Wheel to counter the Yaksha King’s assault, buying Ji Changkong more time to absorb all the evil spirits into the Tianyuan Orb.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Before the Yaksha King could even engage Li Hentian, sounds of tearing air came from afar. A hulking figure, drenched in blood, suddenly appeared from another direction of the Asura Imperial City and cried out mournfully to the Yaksha King, “Clan Lord, our clan... our clan is almost finished! The Young Lord... the Young Lord’s soul has shattered!”
The Yaksha King, who had been preparing for a desperate fight against Li Hentian, stopped dead. A streak of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth as he stared with a ferocious expression at the newcomer. “Xue E, what did you say? Dare you repeat that!”
The arrival was Xue E, a Bagua Heaven expert from the Yaksha King’s forces who had fled back from the Mountain Range.
Xue E’s face was a mask of grief and indignation, his eyes streaming with tears as he wailed, “Clan Lord, our clan... our clan is devastated! Many people... so many people have died!”
The Yaksha King swayed, almost falling, then roared maniacally toward the Asura King, “Fan Tian! Was that you?! Did you do this?! My son may have failed in the Mountain Range, but it wouldn't cost me my entire clan! Do you see that I’ve reached the Nine Palaces Heaven realm and now seek to exterminate my Yaksha Clan? Fan Tian, I refuse to accept this!”
The Yaksha King screamed hysterically.
The Asura King, focused on dealing with the Ghost Demon King, spared a frowning glance toward the Yaksha King and replied coolly, “If I wanted to destroy your Yaksha Clan, I would have notified you beforehand.”
“If not you, then who?!” The Yaksha King clearly didn't believe him and continued to roar, “In my Barbarian Kingdom, only your Asura Clan has the ability to deal with us. If it wasn’t you, who was it?”
“You should ask Xue E,” the Asura King stated casually, treating the Yaksha King’s madness as a minor issue in his eyes.
“Who? Who could be so vicious? I will kill him! I will annihilate his entire lineage!” The Yaksha King shrieked miserably.
“He’s here! He’s here!” Xue E suddenly exclaimed in panic, looking behind him with utter terror.
Nine colossal demonic dragons, carrying world-shattering demonic energy, suddenly charged in from a distance. The earth-shaking demonic might echoed through heaven and earth. As the nine dragons passed over the Northern Barbarian Heavenly Masters, their bodies exploded, sending plumes of blood raining down like fine mist.
Each of the nine demonic dragons possessed the strength of a peak Bagua Heaven expert. The dragons swept over, obliterating all living beings.
A majestic figure with a wild mane of hair obscuring his face, shrouded in dense demonic energy, with massive chains piercing his limbs, collarbones, and floating ribs—nine piercing points in total—appeared to be dragged by the nine demonic dragons. The surging demonic energy emanating from him was utterly ferocious. With his arrival, the sky over the entire Asura Imperial City was blanketed in black, oppressive demonic mist that inspired sheer terror.
The Asura King, who had been wholly engaged with the Ghost Demon King, was shocked to see the newcomer. His expression shifted, and he suddenly warned, “Yaksha King, you are no match for him!”
The Yaksha King paid no heed, roaring hysterically, “He killed my son and my clansmen! I will have vengeance!”
Bones suddenly sprouted all over his body, filling the surrounding space with sharp protrusions. He charged violently toward the massive figure whose demonic energy now obscured the entire Asura Imperial City.
On the other side, Li Hentian had been preparing to counter the Yaksha King’s impending rampage, never expecting that at this critical juncture, another powerhouse would descend and steal his opponent away.
Hoo!
Ji Changkong took a deep breath, then burst into loud laughter. “Yaksha King, all your evil spirits are now in my Tianyuan Orb! From now on, you will struggle to ever deploy your Evil Spirit Celestial Diagram again! I swear, I will wipe out your entire Yaksha Clan!”
“He’s already been wiped out,” Li Hentian said to Ji Changkong with a strange look, his eyes fixed on the approaching figure.
“What! Who? Who has such power?” Ji Changkong asked, astonished.
“Your father!”
Connecting the third chapter with an extra eleven thousand words—today is a huge recommendation day, a good day indeed. Ha. Asking for monthly ticket support! Thank you in advance!