The assailant's body trembled violently, his entire essence surging into the arm shrouded in black necrotic energy. Peng Hua slowly emerged from the earth, but the assailant had vanished without a trace, leaving only a set of black combat fatigues in Peng Hua's hand. The previously near-dead Peng Hua was suddenly revitalized, a healthy flush even coloring his face.

Xinjia stumbled backward, struck by the slender shadow, but even as he retreated, he pushed both hands forward fiercely. A massive stalagmite, nearly ten feet in diameter, materialized from thin air amid dull sonic booms, shooting toward the slender black shadow. The shadow shrieked, its voice sickeningly sweet as it drawled, "What a heartless one! Such a large spike coming at me, how am I supposed to bear it?" The stiletto, thin as a toothpick yet several feet long, flashed rapidly in its hand, slicing the stalagmite into fragments with streaks of silver light.

The slender black shadow landed lightly. Xinjia seized the momentum, hammering a punch into the ground. "Chhh-chhh-chhh," thousands of stone spears and earth spikes, slender as fingers and thirty feet long, erupted from the ground. The shadow, having just landed, let out a miserable cry as dozens of earth spikes flashing with yellow light pierced its body simultaneously. Finer barbs jetted out from the stone spears and earth spikes, almost shredding the shadow’s form into minced meat. Wu Jia, fearing it wouldn't die thoroughly enough, summoned nine more formations of Wutu Divine Thunder that roared down from the sky. The heavy Wutu Divine Thunder first shattered the shadow’s combat suit, then reduced its physical body to a pile of charcoal.

Gu Xichen’s finger slammed violently into the fist of that bizarre coloration.

Peng Hua and Wu Jia both looked over simultaneously. Peng Hua roared, “…Be careful, I was taken by his fist a few days ago…” Peng Hua’s mouth opened impossibly wide, the sound of a crack faintly audible from his jaw joint; the shocked Peng Hua’s jaw had dislocated from the sheer shock. Gu Xichen’s long middle finger, carrying a sharp chill, stabbed into that fist, piercing it, and shattering it.

The fist’s owner, a small black shadow no taller than four feet, roared in utter terror: "What is on your hand? It is impossible for there to be flesh stronger than my body!" For the first time, someone noticed the strangeness on Gu Xichen’s hand. Gu Xichen sneered coldly as the Snow Soul Divine Aura surged wave upon wave into the shadow’s body. The chilling energy froze the meridians in the shadow’s arm, bursting through them like a bamboo shoot, rushing straight into its viscera, turning its body into a massive block of ice. Gu Xichen swept his left hand in one motion; his left palm, a hundred times sharper than any steel blade, cleaved off the shadow’s head. A stream of cold air jetted from the shadow’s neck, sending the tiny head flying upward for over ten meters.

"That settles it. All members of Team Ao should be accounted for here," Gu Xichen sneered:

"Three units to lure the enemy, one unit for the ambush. A pity, such a pity, the one setting the ambush has been blown to dust by me." Peng Hua stared blankly at Gu Xichen for a moment, then glared angrily at Xinjia. After a long pause, he sighed heavenward: "What a waste, such a waste. The blood essence of these two was abundant, great nourishment for the Yuan Qi. If I had been allowed to drink their blood, not only would my injuries be significantly healed, but I would have gained much benefit too. But one was charred to charcoal, and the other frozen into ice—how am I supposed to consume them?" Shaking his head, Peng Hua lamented with heartache: "Hurry aboard the vessel… We must leave this place before that bastard Wagri turns against us."

Gu Xichen said nothing more. He urged the warriors of the Hell’s Angels Mercenary Group to board the transport vessel quickly and personally ran out to help the severely and lightly wounded comrades embark. Xinjia walked over excitedly and picked up the great saber left behind by the assailant Peng Hua had killed. He hammered his fist heavily against the blade surface and nodded with satisfaction. This great saber was forged from many rare metals, and Xinjia could use it to upgrade his iron chain with superior materials.

The mercenaries of the Hell’s Angels Mercenary Group were extremely fast. In less than ten minutes, over twenty thousand mercenaries were swiftly aboard the transport ships.

The plasma engines at the rear of the transport vessels spewed blue flames, and with a deep roar, the three transport ships shot skyward, startling the ground-attack aircraft circling overhead into evasive maneuvers—they certainly couldn't withstand a collision with the transports. The ships blasted straight out of the atmosphere and flew eastward at maximum speed.

Their flight speed outside the atmosphere was extreme. Half an hour later, the three transport vessels arrived above a small island three thousand kilometers to the east. The ground control tower sent the signal to land shortly. Under the surveillance of nearly a hundred large-caliber laser cannons, the transports rapidly descended. As they neared the ground, a flat area on the small island slowly parted to the sides, revealing a massive circular opening over six hundred meters in diameter. The three transport ships flew directly into this opening, arriving at the underground base nearly a thousand meters beneath the island.

As the transports flew into the underground, Gu Xichen looked curiously at the rather large base.

Everywhere was brightly lit, teeming with high-spirited soldiers on patrol. More auxiliary combat robots were densely packed everywhere, their red electronic eyes cautiously scrutinizing every movement around them.

"A grand undertaking! This base must have cost the Nongshen Province considerable effort, eh?" Gu Xichen praised, his voice tinged with admiration, "To construct a base like this on Paradise Star in such a short time is truly remarkable." Peng Hua stood with his arms crossed, glancing proudly out the viewport at the base and laughing:

"This is nothing. Our capabilities far exceed your imagination, otherwise why would you ask to ally with us?" Gu Xichen smiled faintly, giving Peng Hua a deep look. "When faced with two evils, joining forces brings mutual benefit. The situation on Paradise Star is complex now, the Romans are lurking watchfully, and Admiral Wagri holds no good intentions toward either of us. Only by helping each other can we maximize our gains." "I hope so!" Peng Hua shot Gu Xichen a glare and said, "Follow me… Little Daoist Zhang was seriously injured and has only just managed to get out of bed these last couple of days… Heh-heh-heh-heh. I hope you show a measure of sincerity and present us with enough bargaining chips to satisfy us, otherwise our alliance is void right now." Peng Hua thumped his chest forcefully and laughed, "I can speak for Little Daoist Zhang. Heh heh, you had better not provoke me! That incident last time in London…" Gu Xichen spread his hands, looking at Peng Hua: "Why are you, you old zombie, so petty?

We were comrades in London, weren't we? Have you forgotten? We are comrades!" Peng Hua rolled his eyes, snorted a few times, and led Gu Xichen and Xinjia out of the transport vessel.

A large number of medics rushed over inside the base. The wounded of the Hell’s Angels Mercenary Group were sent to the medical bay. The plump Linghu was beaming with joy, gesticulating wildly, urging the mercenaries to prioritize sending their most severely wounded comrades for treatment.

Under Peng Hua’s guidance, Gu Xichen arrived at a small room deep within the base.

As they walked, Gu Xichen estimated this room was at least several thousand meters beneath the surface. Moreover, somehow, the colder it got the deeper they went. Near the room’s entrance, the cold air in the atmosphere was so dense it had condensed into clumps of white mist, like goat’s milk. Gu Xichen unintentionally touched a wisp of white mist drifting past him; the touch was bitterly cold, feeling like a knife cut.

"Be careful, this is the Nine Nether Underworld Spring Qi I summoned using the Nine Nether Dao Secret Art. It is the coldest there is; it can freeze not just flesh, but your very soul," Peng Hua pointed out proudly amidst the white mist, forcefully pushing open the door that was sealed shut by ice.

With a crack, chunks of ice fell from the door, and Peng Hua led Gu Xichen into the room.

It was a small, perfectly octagonal room. The intensely cold Nine Nether Underworld Spring Qi was nearly waist-high. Having just stepped inside, Gu Xichen immediately felt the sensation drain from the lower half of his body. Fortunately, the Taoist robe and phoenix cloak on him automatically emitted a warm current that flowed throughout his body, and Gu Xichen felt his body lighten, becoming much more comfortable.

In the exact center of the chamber stood a translucent black profound ice formation, about two meters tall. Within the ice was a beautiful, pale-faced young nun.

Little Daoist Zhang stood before the profound ice with his hands behind his back, looking lost, muttering repeatedly, "Senior Sister Shujing… Senior Sister Shujing…"

Peng Hua coughed, but Little Daoist Zhang didn't even notice Gu Xichen had entered. Gu Xichen looked at Peng Hua with surprise. Peng Hua rolled his eyes, strode over, and delivered a fierce kick to Little Daoist Zhang’s rear. With a thump, Little Daoist Zhang was kicked flying two to three feet high. He let out a strange cry, turned around in a rage, lifted the front of his robe, pulled out a bronze brick about a foot square, and swung it down at Peng Hua.

The bronze brick was crudely shaped but engraved with countless patterns of wind, fire, thunder, and clouds, along with over a dozen vivid talismans. As the brick emerged, a gust of cool wind wrapped around it, and the brick slammed down onto Peng Hua’s face with the speed of lightning. Peng Hua’s high-bridged nose was smashed askew, and he too cried out, knocked back nearly ten paces.

Gritch. Under Gu Xichen’s horrified gaze, Peng Hua forcefully twisted his nasal bone, forcing the crooked bridge back into place. Peng Hua roared in exasperation: "You long-nosed brat, how many times have I told you? Don't hit my face… Have you ever seen a zombie as handsome and dashing as me? If my looks are ruined, how will I pick up girls at the bar later?" Little Daoist Zhang hopped around, roaring back: "Nonsense! How many times have I told you, don't kick my rear end… Mr. Gu Xichen!" The furious Little Daoist Zhang suddenly became gentle and refined, bowing politely to Gu Xichen: "Please forgive my rudeness, Mr. Gu. This humble Daoist and Peng Hua have been close friends since childhood, so our words and actions are often absurd. Please excuse us… excuse us…" Gu Xichen returned the salute with cupped hands: "No trouble, no trouble. You two possess true temperament, which this old fellow envies!" Uh… The unlucky fate of the Siren was about to befall… Lucky doll!