A faint struggle could be discerned within, between the Wraithhawk King and the old man whose robes were shredded by the "Flurry of Petals." Yet, in less than two seconds, the two figures separated, and the elder, now looking like a beggar, shot upward in haste.

"Trying to flee?"

Qie Kong let out a cold laugh, his thick arm swinging out with a whoosh.

"Ah."

The old man was focused only on escape and never anticipated Nie Kong's speed of attack. Having just ascended six or seven meters into the air, his ankle was seized by Nie Kong's massive hand. The old man felt a sudden tightening around his foot and let out an involuntary gasp, but before he could react, his body plummeted rapidly downward.

"BOOM!"

Sand and grit sprayed as the old man’s body slammed into the ground, gouging out a deep pit.

"Take that for sneak-attacking this lord!"

The Wraithhawk King flapped its wings and hopped over in a rage, its sharp beak stabbing directly toward the old man’s left chest.

Though dizzy and disoriented from Nie Kong's throw, the old man was a Ninth Realm expert. Sensing the Wraithhawk King’s beak closing in, he sprang out of the pit almost reflexively, tumbling rapidly to the side. Unfortunately, the Wraithhawk King's beak followed his body like a shadow. Moments later, the sharp beak struck like lightning into the old man’s chest, driving him crashing back to the ground.

Nie Kong had intended to shout a warning, but the Wraithhawk King’s speed was extreme; his words hadn't even left his throat before the hawk struck. When it lifted its head, a deep, bloody hole gaped in the old man's chest, blood welling out in a gruesome spectacle.

"Nie Kong, you... you are dead meat..."

The old man seemed to clearly sense his life draining away, his face contorted in hatred and despair as he stared into Nie Kong’s eyes.

"Die quicker for this lord!"

Seeing that the elder still dared to threaten him on the brink of death, the Wraithhawk King became even more enraged. It shrieked and pressed its iron-hook-like right claw onto the old man’s head. With a wet thwack, the skull burst open like a watermelon, scattering red and white matter violently.

"A pity."

Nie Kong shook his head with a trace of regret. He had intended to force the old man to reveal why he was hiding here, but now both assailants were utterly finished under the Wraithhawk King’s assault. Nie Kong could only let it go and look toward the king's abdomen: "Soul, how badly are you hurt?"

"Big Brother, I'm fine."

Having slain two enemies, the anger in the Wraithhawk King’s chest finally subsided. Seeing Nie Kong inquire, it quickly stood upright, flattering him. Nie Kong focused his gaze and saw a large area on the Wraithhawk King’s abdomen was a mess of torn flesh and blood. Fortunately, the creature had thick skin, and its exceptionally tough feathers had absorbed the majority of the force from the arrow blast, sparing its vital organs and causing little impact on its strength.

"Eat them."

With a thought, Nie Kong summoned two white herbs into his palm and tossed them to the Wraithhawk King. His gaze then fell upon the bow and arrows on the ground. He was quite astonished—for an Eighth Realm Black Spiritualist to wound the Wraithhawk King with such a weapon meant it was no ordinary artifact.

But this was hardly the time for study. With a mental command, Nie Kong stored the great bow and the remaining black arrows into his pet pack.

"Nie Kong, look at this... They are likely from the Spirit Sovereign Palace." Qing Yue had slipped from Nie Kong's chest to the old man’s side at some unknown time. With a rip, she tore away the small patch of blood-soaked fabric on his left chest and floated it back to Nie Kong.

Glancing closely, Nie Kong's expression shifted slightly. The scrap in Qing Yue's hand bore a small white insignia, identical in shape to the White Bone Palace he had seen in the Ghost Domain, though the pattern was now stained crimson with blood, making it hard to discern without careful inspection.

Nie Kong turned to examine the other man’s left chest—sure enough, the same White Bone Palace mark was present.

"Spirit Sovereign Palace! It truly is the Spirit Sovereign Palace..."

Nie Kong took a deep breath.

He had gathered some information about the Spirit Sovereign Palace over the past few days from those pursuing him. A lineup of nearly thirty Ninth Realm experts and over a hundred Eighth Realm masters was powerful enough to sweep aside any Super-Tier Sect, including the Heaven-Evasion Sect.

When he first learned of this, Nie Kong wasn't overly surprised. As the sole Spirit God of the Netherworld, the Spirit Sovereign Palace had been managed by the Great Evolution Spirit Sovereign for millennia; it would be strange if they didn't possess strength far surpassing Super-Tier Sects like the Heaven-Evasion Sect or the War Clan.

Previously, the Spirit Sovereign Palace remained transcendent above the Sect Alliance, keeping its strength hidden. But now, with Nie Kong having stolen the Great Evolution Spirit Sovereign’s "Gaze Back Grass" avatar, and with members from the War Clan, Heaven-Evasion Sect, Slaughter Island, and Ethereal Cloud Sect successively breaking through to the Spirit Sovereign realm, the entire Netherworld was restless. If the Spirit Sovereign Palace didn't display its full might, how could it adequately intimidate the other sects into obeying the "Blood Killing Edict"?

Yet, having such immense power deployed solely to hunt him down left Nie Kong unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Despite the news of the Spirit Sovereign Palace causing immense shockwaves across the Netherworld these past two days, no Palace members had appeared before him. Nie Kong had allowed himself a sliver of hope that he might evade their notice and return to the God Extinguishing Cave.

Especially after An Ran passed through Fubo Mountain, Nie Kong felt temporarily safe, only to realize the Spirit Sovereign Palace hadn't failed to appear; they had merely been lying in wait ahead of him. Perhaps the entire perimeter of the Gobi desert surrounding the God Extinguishing Cave was already saturated with Ninth Realm experts and Eighth Realm masters from the Spirit Sovereign Palace!

"We cannot stay here! Soul, can you still fly?" Nie Kong's pupils constricted.

"Yes!" The Wraithhawk King seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation, hastily swallowing the two herbs it had been chewing, and beat its wings sharply.

Nie Kong made an immediate decision, stepping onto the Wraithhawk King’s back and shouting, "Go! Don't fly too high!" If they ascended another thousand meters, encountering opponents like the ones just fought, just five or six arrows could destroy any hope the Wraithhawk King had of landing, trapping it high in the air to be shot down alive.

Having learned from the previous lesson, Nie Kong would not make the same mistake twice. The Wraithhawk King, whose strength rivaled that of a Ninth Realm expert, had been injured by those arrows and naturally understood Nie Kong's order. With a beat of its wings, it soared up, but its altitude remained less than ten meters above the ground.

"Go?"

However, before the Wraithhawk King could fly for two seconds, a cold laugh echoed through the heavens—"Nie Kong, where do you think you can get?"

"Swish!"

A streak of black light pierced the void, shooting in from hundreds of meters away to the left.

"Hiss!"

Another black streak whistled in, emerging from the right.

"They're fast!"

Nie Kong had no time for shock. His figure instantly detached from the Wraithhawk King’s back, plunging toward the ground, while the Wraithhawk King abruptly accelerated, diving forward and down to evade the two electric bolts of black arrows.

With a thud, it dug its talons fiercely into the ground, its wings kicking up a storm of dust and sand. The Wraithhawk King suddenly flipped its body and bolted toward the dense woods at maximum speed.

"Whoosh!"

The moment his feet touched down, Nie Kong’s peripheral vision caught sight of the edges of the forest to the left and right. Two figures materialized simultaneously at each location: a Ninth Realm expert paired with an Eighth Realm master wielding a bow. All four wore black robes embroidered with a small white insignia on the left chest.

The instant the four appeared, the two Ninth Realm experts rushed forward like flying arrows without pausing. The two Eighth Realm Black Spiritualists remained in place, drawing and nocking arrows with astonishing speed, their drawing hands flashing between the quiver at their waist and the bowstring, creating streaks of afterimages.

"Swish! Swish! Swish..." "Swish! Swish! Swish..."

It was the same technique that had injured the Wraithhawk King before—six arrows released in a single volley. Six arrows targeted Nie Kong, while the other six shot toward the Wraithhawk King, which was turning toward the woods.

"Qing You!" Accompanied by this loud shout, Nie Kong hurtled directly toward one of the Ninth Realm Black Spiritualists. At almost the same moment, a crimson shadow suddenly rushed out from Nie Kong’s chest and expanded rapidly. In an instant, a massive, translucent red sphere of water materialized before Nie Kong, enveloping his bulky frame.

"Plop! Splat..."

The black arrows struck the water sphere sequentially, their speed drastically reduced, and the death energy lingering around the arrowheads dissipated quickly. By the time the arrows pierced the sphere and struck Nie Kong’s chest, their power had been reduced by more than half. Loud boom sounds rang out in succession, causing negligible damage to Nie Kong’s body. Although the third arrow suddenly split into two, striking Nie Kong’s neck, it only left a tiny red dot on his skin.

"Oh?"

A soft exclamation carried over from dozens of meters away, laced with slight surprise. The white-haired, black-robed old man hadn't expected Nie Kong to evade the arrow fire so effortlessly.

"Swish!"

The Eighth Realm Black Spiritualist in the distance drew his bow again. A black arrow actually traced a semi-circular arc through the air, deliberately bypassing the black-robed elder in the center, shooting toward Nie Kong from the side.

The water sphere rapidly stretched toward Nie Kong’s left, blocking the incoming arrow once more.

Nie Kong’s steps grew heavier with each footfall, leaving a deep pit in the gravelly Gobi floor. After a few steps, the Wraithhawk King’s pained cry sounded behind him. The next moment, Nie Kong understood: the Wraithhawk King had been struck again by one of the split arrows. The previous injury was to its abdomen, but this time it was its left wing. Instantly, killing intent flared in Nie Kong’s eyes.

"Dong!" "Dong!" "..."

The Heart Drum Battle Sound suddenly rang out, its heavy, violent beat echoing across the heavens, sending powerful sound waves rolling outward. Nie Kong had been reluctant to use this technique because it created too much commotion and could easily reveal his location, but now that other Black Spiritualists from the Spirit Sovereign Palace were likely rushing toward him, further exposure mattered little. Nie Kong had no more reservations.

As the drumbeats raged, the two lower-ranked Eighth Realm experts were the first to be affected; the speed at which they drew and nocked arrows instantly slowed considerably. When Nie Kong and the Ninth Realm expert were less than twenty meters apart, the intensity of the drumming reached a new peak. Each beat felt like a massive hammer striking the heart. The bodies of the two Eighth Realm Black Spiritualists trembled slightly, their arms supporting the great bows involuntarily dropping.

"Nie Kong, prepare to die!"

The white-haired old man, having recovered from his initial moment of shock, had his aged face flushed red. He forcefully endured the impact of the Heart Drum Battle Sound, unleashing a mass of black energy from his body that transformed into a gigantic battle saber, hacking madly toward Nie Kong’s waist...