The fact that there was this layer in between made Lei Dong's brow furrow slightly, giving him the intuition that today’s events would not be simple. This Heavenly Ghost Emperor not only sought to usurp the throne, but likely harbored a desire for vengeance as well. However, these kinds of grievances within the Nether Domain had little bearing on Lei Dong. At this point, his objective had shifted from obtaining the Nine Nether Ghost Flame to prioritizing survival, with escaping the demonic clutches being the secondary goal.

Being caught between two warring Ghost Emperors was undoubtedly an exceedingly perilous situation. All Lei Dong could do was remain as far outside the conflict as possible.

The Nether Ghost Emperor remained silent for a brief moment before speaking, his voice somewhat desolate and hoarse: "So it is you, little brat. Heh, you have quite good luck to have survived under those circumstances."

"Indeed. If not for a Nether Storm sweeping through at the critical moment, allowing this remnant soul of mine to escape, how would I have this opportunity today to seek revenge on you? Nether Old Ghost, the time is ripe." The Heavenly Ghost Emperor’s eyes, deep as the void, sharpened: "Procrastination invites trouble. Let me be the one to take your life. Rest assured, I will fulfill your ambition of unifying the Nether Domain for you."

With a sweep of his sleeve, the Heavenly Ghost Emperor sent hundreds of streams of dense black energy intertwining towards the black sphere suspended in the void.

Boom, boom, boom~

However, unexpectedly, when the black energy arrows were still several dozen zhang away from the black sphere, they seemed to strike an invisible wall, exploding one by one.

Nine flags, radiating endless gloom, slowly materialized from the void, circulating ceaselessly around the black sphere. On each flag flickered indistinct patterns of demonic beasts that Lei Dong could not comprehend. Yet, even merely gazing upon the patterns, the beasts exuded an overwhelming pressure.

"Innate Spirit Treasure? The Nether Dark Fiend Formation?" The Heavenly Ghost Emperor sucked in a sharp breath, recognizing the item as the Nether Dark Fiend Formation, reputed to be the strongest formation in the Nether Domain, handed down from ancient times. This artifact was comprised of a set of nine formation flags; only a complete set could unleash its full might.

Yet, even in the Nether Domain, this artifact was legendary, something no one had ever managed to gather entirely since antiquity. Some flags were lost beyond recall, or had only appeared momentarily. Nowadays, the fame of this artifact was fading within the Nether Domain. The Heavenly Ghost Emperor had only heard of this set of flags by chance; their renown in the ancient era was immense. Each flag sealed a Soul of a Nascent Soul-stage beast, and the main flag held the soul of a high-level Nascent Soul demonic beast.

Even more precious was that these nine Nascent Soul-stage demonic beast souls all belonged to the Nether lineage. Combined, their power was boundless. Even a powerful cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage would be unable to return if they rashly entered this formation. While a single beast soul might not exert its peak strength from its former life—unable to fight a true Nascent Soul expert—the nine combined were enough to tear apart a mid-stage Nascent Soul expert. It must be remembered that even in the resource-rich ancient era, the Nascent Soul stage represented the pinnacle of existence, exceptionally rare. To gather nine Nether-lineage Nascent Soul demonic beasts was an immensely difficult task. It was achievable in ancient times, but in the present day, it was nearly an impossible feat.

It was fortunate that this artifact was a defensive formation; otherwise, the Heavenly Ghost Emperor’s only thought would be to flee. He lacked the ability to force his way through the Nether Dark Fiend Formation head-on.

"Nether Old Ghost, you play a hard game," the Heavenly Ghost Emperor sneered, "to actually manage to assemble the Nether Dark Fiend Formation."

"Heh heh, I have existed for five or six thousand years, and I have sat on this Imperial Throne for four thousand of them. I naturally possess things you cannot imagine," the Nether Ghost Emperor was in good spirits, explaining expansively. "Moreover, with the experience accumulated over my long life, why would I risk such a great danger without absolute certainty? Little brat, are you perhaps too naive?"

Hearing these words, Lei Dong nodded slightly. Indeed, even low-level creatures become cunning after living for millennia, let alone an old fellow like the Nether Ghost Emperor who held the position of Emperor, constantly in the public eye. This also served as a reminder: no ancient monster who has lived a long time should ever be underestimated. If the Nether Ghost Emperor could not be taken lightly, neither could the Heavenly Ghost Emperor.

"Heh heh, worthy of being the Nether Old Ghost who suppresses the other three Emperors. However, no matter how well you calculate, you failed to account for one thing." The Heavenly Ghost Emperor laughed instead of getting angry. "You, Nether Old Ghost, have your fallback, but do you think I lack means? Nether Old Ghost, I believe you can already sense that the girl beside me is the recently born Celestial Spirit Ghost. Her aptitude is among the best of the Celestial Spirit Ghosts. At such a young age, already possessing the body of a Ghost General, she has grasped the Laws of Space far more profoundly than either of us—it will only be a matter of time before she surpasses us."

The Nether Ghost Emperor fell silent.

But Lei Dong inwardly felt things were bad. He had been pondering why the Heavenly Ghost Emperor went to such lengths to lure them here. Helping him fight the Nether Ghost Emperor was clearly unrealistic; he couldn't intervene in any way. Lei Dong had been utterly perplexed by this.

He never expected the Heavenly Ghost Emperor’s true target to be Xiao You. It was a good thing he had thought he managed to conceal Xiao You’s true potential from the Heavenly Ghost Emperor, making him believe she was merely a peak-grade Spirit Ghost. Looking back, Xiao You’s faint sense of familiarity and closeness toward the Heavenly Ghost Emperor during their first audience clearly stemmed from the special resonance between Celestial Spirit Ghosts that the Heavenly Ghost Emperor mentioned.

In truth, Lei Dong was unaware that the resonance between Celestial Spirit Ghosts was extremely intense. However, Xiao You had never displayed such a phenomenon before, and secondly, the Hidden Dragon Pendant on the Heavenly Ghost Emperor was interfering, obscuring most of the connection. This is what allowed everyone to fall for the Heavenly Ghost Emperor's scheme.

"Nether Old Ghost, you think you're safe by staying quiet?" The Heavenly Ghost Emperor seemed perpetually tormented by his two thousand years of hatred for the Nether Ghost Emperor, causing a distortion in his attitude regarding this matter. "Have you not always desired a suitable successor? If I kill her, will everything you hold dear still have meaning?" His chilling gaze swept towards Xiao You, standing beside Lei Dong.

Lei Dong’s figure flashed slightly as he moved to stand in front of Xiao You, stating gravely, "Senior, this seems to violate our prior agreement, does it not?"

"Nephew Lei, slaying you, this Celestial Spirit Ghost servant, will at most leave you severely weakened. Life or servant, you may choose for yourself." The Heavenly Ghost Emperor seemed excessively fixated on his revenge.

"Senior, although this junior values his life, some matters demand knowing what one should and should not do. Although Xiao You is my servant, the bond between us is no less than that of siblings." Lei Dong’s expression was calm as he stopped Xiao You, who was about to speak, and said coldly, "If Senior insists on proceeding, then even if this junior is merely a mantis trying to stop a chariot, I might have no choice but to overreach myself this once."

"Young Master~" Xiao You’s moist, bright eyes trembled faintly.

"Lei Dong, since you are determined to court death then..." The Heavenly Ghost Emperor’s voice dropped, "I shall oblige you."

With that, he violently flung a punch towards Lei Dong’s position. The vast, black fist shadow’s kinetic force shook the very void, and its immense aura seemed capable of shattering form itself.

"Young Master, dodge!" Although Xiao You was only a high-rank Ghost General, she had already gained some initial insight into the Laws of Space. Her form blurred, and she met the Heavenly Ghost Emperor's fierce and tyrannical punch. Her hazy figure drew a mirror-like, illusory circle in mid-air, faintly seeming to contain one of the most primal secrets between heaven and earth. That area of space had become completely different; visible to the eye, but when divine sense swept over it, it abruptly halted.

Simultaneously, Ding Wanyan and Qi Feifei’s expressions shifted subtly, and each moved at top speed to shield Lei Dong.

"Pah!"

Dongfang Fu did not hesitate. Opening her crimson lips, she spat out an icy-hued, pure white orb. As soon as this orb appeared, the temperature within several li seemed to instantly drop below freezing. Especially within a radius of ten zhang around the icy bead, the blackness of the abyssal void was actually frozen into a snowy white, and glittering, translucent snowflakes began to dance in the air.

Wielding this artifact made Dongfang Fu appear strained; her once smooth, jade-like face turned instantly pale. This bead, whatever precious item it was, arrived faster than expected, intercepting the Heavenly Ghost Emperor’s almost fatal punch a step ahead of time.

Boom! Upon impact, the bead shattered into pieces, yet it managed to neutralize the majority of the Heavenly Ghost Emperor’s punch. This outcome momentarily stunned the Heavenly Ghost Emperor. Although that punch was thrown casually, utilizing less than thirty percent of his strength, even thirty percent would be difficult for an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator to withstand. Yet, a mere mid-stage Golden Core cultivator managed to block half its power using some kind of secret art.

The remaining half fell before Xiao You, and with a loud crash, it was completely annihilated along with the mirror-like defense. However, the Celestial Spirit Ghost, Xiao You, was sent flying backward. Lei Dong spread his wings and caught her. Just as he prepared to risk everything and flee, a furious roar cut through the air: "Heavenly Ghost, you truly have high aspirations, bothering a group of juniors is interesting?"

As the voice fell, a tall, indistinct, wavering figure appeared in the sky. Silver hair spilled over his shoulders, his features somewhat ashen. He raised a hand and pointed downward, sending forth a highly condensed stream of black Nether Ghost Qi: "Let me meet you!"

"Haha, Nether Old Ghost, you finally deign to crawl out of your turtle shell. Ao You, that fool, is indeed worthy of being your personal guard for a thousand years; his analysis of you was quite accurate." The Heavenly Ghost Emperor raised his hand, summoning a black shield, squarely blocking the Nether Ghost Emperor’s strike, and sneered endlessly, "Nether Old Ghost, you are severely weakened now and are no match for me. Surrender quickly, and I will grant you a swift end."

...RO