The three Nine Palaces Guardians towered nearly a hundred zhang high, their scales gleaming with a frigid, piercing black luster. The demonic flame black halberds held in their hands were wreathed in rolling malevolent energy, appearing as if an infinite amount of ink had coalesced.
Each Nine Palaces Guardian was forged by Ye Chen, using one-third of his ghostly power—simply put, over 3,000 points of Ghost Power amplified by the amplitude of the majestic Nine Palaces, reaching the level of ten thousand Ghost Power!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three Nine Palaces Guardians stood at the edge of the towering Nine Palaces, their icy, violent eyes sweeping the entire scene. Each one’s strength nearly rivaled that of an eighth-tier Ghost God expert!
“Kill!” Ye Chen’s voice was like a chilling, merciless gust of wind.
One of the Nine Palaces Guardians swung its long halberd and charged into the army of over a thousand Ghost God experts. Those below the fifth layer of Ghost God, without high-grade Ghost Treasures for protection, were essentially skewered and killed in a few strikes.
Everyone’s expression turned to horror, finding it difficult to believe Ye Chen could unleash such formidable combat power purely through his own strength. Those with rich combat experience could see at a glance that the majestic Nine Palaces was an exceedingly mysterious cultivation method, and these three Nine Palaces Guardians were manifested entirely by Ye Chen’s inherent might!
To condense three monsters of nearly equal strength by sheer individual power was exceedingly rare, making even Pseudo-God Realm experts frantic with desire.
All eyes fixed on Ye Chen, burning with intense avarice. If they could slay him and devour his Ghost Power, the embedded brainwave patterns within that power would allow them to obtain this volume of cultivation technique! If only they knew that Ye Chen himself hadn't fully mastered the technique, and that mastering it to its peak would allow him to manifest nine monsters of equal strength, the ensuing madness would be unimaginable.
“Kill!”
“No matter what, strike him down!”
Greed flared in everyone’s eyes as they looked at Ye Chen, who was apparently adorned with treasures. Merely observing how he withstood a dozen attacks while possessing only seventh-tier Ghost God strength told them his armor was extraordinary, likely a precious peak Ghost Treasure! As for the divine sword, capable of slicing through low-grade Ghost Treasures in a single slash, it surely couldn't be far behind!
Swish! Swish!
Everyone surged toward Ye Chen, frantically driving the Ghost Qi within their bodies, unleashing a cascade of ultimate skills—some favored close combat, others preferred ranged assaults.
In an instant, the sky boiled with spectral energy. Skulls and sharp spears rained down upon Ye Chen, dense and myriad, almost submerging him. Beneath this overwhelming barrage, several hundred figures charged forward, brandishing weapons and roaring.
“Die!” Standing on the periphery, the Lord of Purple Cloud Island gripped his Shadow Hunter Spear, his eyes icy. His purple hair whipped backward as his body flickered once, then shot forward with breathtaking speed, leaving a trail of afterimages.
Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!
Piercing through four or five bodies in succession, achieving instant kills!
The Lord of Purple Cloud Island’s expression was cold. With a grasp, he drew in the fractured Ghost Qi released by the four or five slain Ghost God experts, compressing it into a sphere, and tucking it into his robes before moving toward the next target.
Though he had only just entered the Ghost God Realm, his foundation was incredibly deep; upon entering, he stood at the apex of the tenth layer! A common tenth-layer peak Ghost God possessed 51,200 points of Ghost Qi! But the Lord of Purple Cloud Island’s Ghost Qi neared one hundred thousand—far surpassing ordinary tenth-layer peak experts, making him a peak Ultimate Ghost God!
Now, combined with the Shadow Hunter Spear, which dealt an additional 3,000 Ghost Power damage, rending defenses below high-grade Ghost Treasures nearly useless, and supplemented by the recently comprehended subtleties of the Nine Absolute Spears—though he hadn't fully mastered the first form, he had crossed the threshold, rendering his moves far more exquisite. Coupled with his centuries of experience as the Lord of Purple Cloud Island, his insights into martial arts were exceptionally unique, allowing him to move freely and with practiced ease among these thousands of Ghost God experts!
One man, one spear, challenging the entire world!
Just then—
Boom~~~
A world-shaking explosion erupted. One of the Nine Palaces Guardians had charged into the crowd and detonated violently. A ferocious shockwave swept outward in all directions, vast and mighty, raising a wave of white foam in the air.
“Not good!”
“Ah—!”
“Run!!!”
Feeling the world-annihilating aura, everyone’s hearts seized with terror, and they spun around, fleeing madly. Those who couldn't retreat in time were caught in the shockwave, their screams drowned out in a blaze of destructive white light as they were reduced to dust.
“Explode!” Ye Chen’s expression remained calm as he raised a hand and pointed.
The second Nine Palaces Guardian stiffened, shot into the sky, and violently self-destructed in the face of the oncoming torrent of attacks!
Boom!
A ripple akin to a nuclear detonation spread across the sky, scattering the countless incoming attacks backward. Remember, the power of self-detonation was magnified tenfold! A Nine Palaces Guardian with ten thousand Ghost Power, upon exploding, unleashed one hundred thousand points of lethal Ghost Power! Many Ghost God experts wearing high-grade armor could mitigate five times the damage, yet they still endured nearly twenty thousand points of harm—only experts above the eighth layer of Ghost God could withstand it.
“Explode!” Ye Chen’s gaze was cold as he watched the fleeing Brute people. He raised his hand and pointed again; the final Nine Palaces Guardian charged forth and detonated.
Three successive explosions churned the energy in the sky into chaos, instantly wiping out several hundred Ghost God experts, harvesting lives as easily as mowing grass.
As the last Nine Palaces Guardian exploded, Ye Chen’s Ghost Qi was completely drained. His face was pale, utterly devoid of color. Every self-detonation of these Guardians consumed not just Ghost Qi, but also spiritual energy! Spiritual energy was an ethereal thing. Many people could only strengthen it as their cultivation rose or through tempering in continuous slaughter. However, Ye Chen, as a being of the Spiritual Civilization, possessed inherently powerful spiritual energy, allowing him to barely endure it, though he was left extremely weak.
Lacking Ghost Qi supply, the magnificent palace flickered between bright and dark.
Ye Chen clenched his jaw, braced himself, and plunged into the blast radius. Inside, the air was thick with residual, fractured Ghost Qi. He opened his mouth and inhaled, like a whale at sea; the surrounding Ghost Qi surged toward his mouth in a grand, indiscriminate manner.
Hoo!
Slowly, a tornado of Ghost Qi formed, enveloping Ye Chen completely.
Devour!
Refine!
Devour again!
Refine again!
This cycle repeated ceaselessly. The Ghost Qi within Ye Chen’s body increased wildly; the speed of refining this spectral energy far exceeded anyone's imagination. If anyone could witness the scene inside Ye Chen, they would surely be dumbfounded.
A moment later, Ye Chen slowly stopped, his eyes snapping open, his gaze sharp as lightning. He looked at the mass of Ghost God experts fleeing into the distance, daring not to return, a cold curve playing on his lips.
“Nine Palaces!”
Ye Chen pointed a finger, injecting immense Ghost Qi into the magnificent palace. The structure slowly grew larger, its height even more imposing. With a flicker of faint black light, Guardians began to materialize, each about six hundred zhang in size.
“Tenth layer peak of the Ghost God Realm!” Ye Chen clenched his fists, feeling his meridians expand once more, an irrepressible surge rising in his heart. On Earth, reaching such power would have required slaughtering countless people.
In the sky on the opposite bank, the Brute Civilization, once over a thousand strong, was instantly reduced to just over 600 survivors. Their auras varied in strength, but all watched Ye Chen with undisguised terror and disbelief.
“How is this possible!”
“He was clearly just a piece of trash at the sixth layer of Ghost God, how did he become this strong?”
“He refined the bodies of the others, but why was the refining speed so fast?”
“This is terrifying! What kind of secret art is that? If he keeps this up, continuously manifesting those three monsters and making them self-destruct! Wouldn't that make him invincible within the Ghost God Realm?”
Everyone exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat shaken. A thousand Ghost God experts, even if all were only first-tier, should have been enough to slay one or two peak Ghost Gods. But now, it seemed that charging in to fight again would only result in suicide; the enemy simply let the monsters explode like bombs—wherever they sent them, they died.
Although the thousand people present all possessed Superhuman Mode, Ghost Power attacks completely ignored Superhuman Mode! Even if the physical body was enhanced ten thousand times, Ghost Qi could still penetrate directly to damage the soul, resulting in instant kills! Therefore, when facing the monster’s self-detonation, most people only activated Superhuman Mode to flee, foolishly believing they could confront it head-on.
“Ah—!”
Just then, a piercing scream that made the scalp tingle echoed from nearby. Everyone startled, turning their heads to see the golden-armored man and the beast-hide man being held by the foreheads by Kabah’s hands. The two struggled frantically, channeling their divine power to bombard Kabah, but it was like sinking into quicksand; the power was absorbed directly by their captor.
“You think this half-god level divine power can harm me?” Kabah wore a mischievous smile. “You two little friends are too unruly, running right into my path. In my prime, I slaughtered half-gods like butchering dogs! Wherever I went, Ghost Gods retreated and half-gods fled. Only Pseudo-God Realm experts had the capital to face me!”
These words were spoken without reservation, causing those watching from afar to gasp in horror due to their hearing range.
“Become my nourishment!” Kabah smiled pleasantly, radiating warmth, but his hand slowly tightened. The golden-armored man and the beast-hide man let out a cry as their bodies rapidly shriveled and withered. Their skin, once smooth and fine like fine porcelain, quickly became wrinkled and dull.
Until they became skeletal husks!
“Stop!” Ye Chen suddenly spoke.
Kabah frowned, glancing at him with clear displeasure, but upon meeting Ye Chen’s cold eyes, he reluctantly released his grip, saying lightly, “Take them if you want.” With a wave of his hand, he tossed the two corpses aside.
Xu Tianguo, his eyes sharp, moved instantly and rushed over to catch them. He immediately felt that although the two withered corpses were dead, they still emanated an extremely terrifying oppressive aura, making him feel as if he were holding two venomous snakes, chilling his heart. He trembled inwardly but managed to hold on tight.
Ye Chen glanced at the 600-plus Brute people and said plainly, “Remember this: we are the ‘Spiritual Civilization.’ This is a warning. If you dare to invade a second time, your Brute Civilization need not exist any longer…” Having spoken, he turned, stepping through the void, and began to walk away.
The Lord of Purple Cloud Island gave Ye Chen a look of admiration, then turned his attention to the numerous Ghost Treasures and weapons scattered on the square below, darting down to collect them one by one.