Nie Kong’s rapidly moving fingers froze abruptly in the empty air, exchanging a look of surprise with Bai Yuqing and Mu Hongling.

“Roar! Roar! Roar…”

It seemed as if every slumbering spirit beast in the surrounding world had awakened at this instant, tearing open their throats to unleash fervent roars. The sound continuously transmitted through the surrounding walls, causing Nie Kong, Bai Yuqing, and Mu Hongling’s ears to buzz deafeningly.

“Rumble!”

It was like ten thousand horses galloping, countless hooves striking down, causing the ground to tremble ceaselessly.

“Did this Dark Water attract all the spirit beasts?”

Mu Hongling widened her beautiful eyes in astonishment, a serious expression involuntarily spreading across her delicate face.

“It seems so.”

Raising his eyes to look at the still excitedly leaping “Netherfire Gloom Spring,” Nie Kong could only offer a wry smile. He hadn't expected to attract the Spirit Masters, but instead, the spirit beasts arrived first!

Judging by the sound alone, the number of spirit beasts must be immense. If their ranks were low, it wouldn’t be an issue, but if even two beasts as powerful as the “Netherfire Soul Heaven Dragon” showed up, even if he, Bai Yuqing, and Mu Hongling employed the Three-Body Cycle, they likely wouldn't be able to cope!

“Perhaps this time, we’re really done for.”

Mu Hongling sighed somewhat helplessly, tossing the “Dragon Heart” in her palm. Faint wisps of crimson light began piercing through the barrier of the “Azure Sea Sky,” swirling around her body. A moment later, she smiled mischievously, “Apprentice, don’t be afraid. Master will protect you. Even if we must die, Master will die before you.”

Bai Yuqing’s beautiful eyes flickered slightly, and she remained silent, but a cold, faint azure ghostly light began to flow along the length of her broadsword.

“It’s not certain yet.”

Nie Kong ignored Mu Hongling’s jest and began rapidly working his mind.

In the pillar space of the Fiery Mountain, escape was impossible; they could only await death. But the situation here was different. Perhaps he could find a way to manage the spirit beast riot before they arrived.

“Soul Phantom!”

Nie Kong’s thoughts raced. He wrapped his mental projection around the residual soul of the Soul Phantom Eagle King and brought it outside, preparing to question it about the Dark Soul Palace.

“Ah-yah!”

Before Nie Kong could utter a word, the “Soul Phantom Eagle King,” upon seeing the leaping spring water and hearing the overlapping roars around them, immediately cried out in panic, “Big Brother, you’ve caused a huge mess! This is the source of the ‘Netherfire Gloom Spring.’ Once it goes wild, it alerts every spirit beast in the entire Illusionary Space to its location. This ‘Netherfire Gloom Spring’ not only helps Spirit Masters condense a second incarnation but is also a fatal temptation to spirit beasts! Just watch! It won't be long before the spirit beasts of the ‘Dark Soul Palace’ arrive first!”

Seeing the creature fussing about, Nie Kong frowned slightly. “Are those surrounding beasts all from the ‘Dark Soul Palace’?”

“That’s right.”

The Soul Phantom Eagle King confirmed, “When I came out last time, I wasn’t entirely certain of this location, but now, I can confirm it completely! I spent so many years in the ‘Dark Soul Palace’; I can recognize the voices of those scoundrels the moment I hear them.”

Nie Kong secretly let out a breath of relief. “If they are the spirit beasts of the ‘Dark Soul Palace,’ then this is manageable! Didn't you say there was a barrier between the front and rear halls that even your kind of spirit beast found difficult to cross?”

“Big Brother, that was in the past.”

The Soul Phantom Eagle King was almost in tears. “When you took that red leaf, I suddenly obtained memories that never surfaced before. That ‘Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf’ is the key to the Dark Soul Palace. Once it was taken, the barrier between the front and rear halls also vanished. Originally, this wasn't a major issue—all the spirit beasts of the ‘Dark Soul Palace’ were locked up. Though the prison binding them would weaken as the barrier disappeared, it wouldn't pose a threat to us. But now, Big Brother has agitated the ‘Netherfire Gloom Spring’ to this extent, causing those beasts to go berserk. Listen to the sounds outside—those aren't footsteps, they are the spirit beasts crashing against the cages that hold them!”

The creature chattered incessantly, but Nie Kong was communicating with it purely through mental projection. In just a moment, Nie Kong had processed everything it said. Suppressing the urge to crush its soul, he said angrily, “Soul Phantom, why didn't you mention this earlier?”

“Big Brother, I didn’t know you could stimulate the ‘Netherfire Gloom Spring’ to this degree!”

The Soul Phantom Eagle King flinched and muttered timidly.

“…”

He couldn’t really blame it. The “Soul Phantom Eagle King” was locked within his mental projection and couldn't perceive external movements as readily as Qing Yue could.

In his thoughts, Nie Kong looked at the “Netherfire Gloom Spring.” He wasn't feeding it spirit treasure essence now, yet it was still leaping excitedly, as if injected with stimulants; its frenzied state showed no signs of abating. Nie Kong took a deep breath. “What is the rank of the spirit beasts in the Dark Soul Palace?”

The Soul Phantom Eagle King quickly replied, “Most are fifth-grade, but there are also many sixth-grade, and a few seventh-grade beasts. All together, there are at least a hundred of them!”

The more Nie Kong listened, the heavier his heart sank. A hundred spirit beasts of fifth-grade and above—even if he possessed some form of restraint over them, he couldn't possibly handle the attacks from so many at once! Should he try to leave the Dark Soul Palace before those beasts arrived?

Soon, Nie Kong dismissed this idea. If those Hua Ling tribesmen were drawn by the “Netherfire Gloom Spring” and encountered those powerful spirit beasts, wouldn’t they suffer the same fate? After all, Nie Kong couldn't guarantee he could intercept them outside the Dark Soul Palace.

“Big Brother, I do have a solution,” the Soul Phantom Eagle King tentatively offered.

“Speak!”

“Outside the barrier between the front and rear halls of the ‘Dark Soul Palace’ lies my physical body. If I can be brought back to life, I can frighten all the spirit beasts of the Dark Soul Palace!” The Soul Phantom Eagle King said cautiously, “Big Brother, don't overthink it. I just don't want us all to die here.”

“You mean, you want me to return your soul to your physical body?” Nie Kong’s tone made the Soul Phantom Eagle King tremble, afraid to speak. But just as it thought there was no hope, the situation suddenly turned around. “If you can truly frighten those spirit beasts, this is not a bad idea after all!”

“Big Brother, you agree?” The Soul Phantom Eagle King barely suppressed its excitement.

“Yes!”

A strange smile played on the corner of Nie Kong’s mouth. He turned to Mu Hongling and Bai Yuqing. “Little Master, Sister Bai, let’s go scout the way. We can’t just stay trapped here!”

With that, Nie Kong's figure flashed, and he leaped swiftly off the high platform. Mu Hongling and Bai Yuqing exchanged slightly confused glances but quickly followed.

“Creak!”

A moment later, the hall door opened easily.

The three felt the view before them suddenly open up. Outside the door, a wide avenue, twenty to thirty meters across, stretched straight for a hundred meters. Along the sides of the road were towering walls that reached into the clouds. At this time, the booming sounds from the distance grew louder, and the three hesitated no longer, speeding forward rapidly.

The hundred meters passed in an instant…

After traversing this avenue, another blood-red stone wall, soaring to the clouds, stood before them. In the center of this stone wall was a four-slotted recess shaped like a small sword, identical in form to the one they encountered outside the pillar space.

“Since there is a gate like this, perhaps the spirit beasts outside cannot break in!” Mu Hongling’s eyes lit up, her face breaking into a joyful smile.

Mu Hongling clearly remembered the stone door outside the pillar space at the bottom of the Fiery Mountain crater. At that time, she had resented the stone door a little, but now she was deeply grateful for it. Back then, if the stone door hadn't suddenly closed, the three of them rushing out might have been buried by the collapsing crater, never having the chance to reach this place.

“Hard to say.” Bai Yuqing’s delicate eyebrows furrowed; she was not as optimistic.

Nie Kong hesitated slightly before taking out the dark, small sword and pressing it toward the recess. As Bai Yuqing had said, it truly was hard to say. The existence of a stone gate here that required a key to open suggested that perhaps the beasts couldn't enter. But he, Bai Yuqing, and Mu Hongling had still managed to bypass this stone door and enter the hall beyond through another route.

This space was incredibly bizarre; who knew if there were other passages?

“Boom!”

However, before the key could take effect, the stone wall before them violently dissipated, instantly melting away completely. Another vast and open hall came into the trio's sight. Mu Hongling subconsciously gasped in surprise. If they had truly believed the stone gate could stop the spirit beasts, the final outcome would surely have been tragic.

“See, Big Brother? After taking the red leaf, this gate also became ineffective. Once the spirit beasts break in, it won’t offer any resistance,” the voice of the Soul Phantom Eagle King buzzed into Nie Kong’s mind again.

“Hmph!”

Nie Kong let out a soft snort through his nose and continued forward.

Perhaps it was this door that Meng Tianjun saw fifty years ago. When entering the “Netherfire Gloom Spring,” Nie Kong had also assumed he would first enter the “Dark Soul Palace” and then use the key to open this rear door, exploring the unknown mysteries hidden within. Unexpectedly, he had first used the key to open the gate to the pillar space in the Fiery Mountain, and then, guided by the “Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf,” arrived behind this door, in the hall beyond.

After nearly another hundred meters, Nie Kong pushed open the closed door ahead, revealing a space subtly undulating like water ripples.

“Big Brother, this is that barrier. Passing through here is the front hall of the Dark Soul Palace. My discarded physical body is also there.” No matter how hard the “Soul Phantom Eagle King” tried to suppress its emotions, the hidden joy in its soul couldn't help but reveal itself.

“Very good! Soul Phantom, after your soul returns to your body, I will have to rely on you heavily!”

“Big Brother, it’s my duty, my duty.”

“…”

The Soul Phantom Eagle King was overjoyed, and Nie Kong’s tone was exceptionally amiable when transmitting his thoughts to it. However, Nie Kong was secretly sneering. This creature presented itself as honest, and its soul showed no signs of rebellion, but Nie Kong knew perfectly well what reaction its soul would have once it truly returned to its physical body. The reason he maintained an appearance of complete trust was naturally because he had other plans.

“Rumble!”

A more intense roar sounded, as if something had suddenly shattered. Immediately, countless cries of liberation pierced through the air.

The Soul Phantom Eagle King grew anxious. “Big Brother, hurry! Those spirit beasts have broken free of their confinement and are all rushing out.”

“…”

Nie Kong hesitated no longer and stepped forward…