Meanwhile, Ye Jingyu galloped along the Tiangang Mountain Range on a white steed gifted to him by Jiu Feng. Based on the horse's speed, he should have reached Yunjing in just a day and a half, but after covering several thousand meters, a figure materialized and blocked his path...

"Brother Gui, it’s broad daylight. What are you doing here?" Ye Jingyu asked from atop his horse, looking down at Gui Jianchou, who stood blocking the entrance to the road ahead, speaking casually.

"Everyone calls me Gui Jianchou (Ghost Makes One Fear), yet you show no fear upon seeing me?" Gui Jianchou said coldly, his expression utterly unreadable.

"Heh, if you were a beauty, I’d worry about how to woo you. If you were a wild beast, I’d worry about how to cook you after slaying you. If you were a ghost, I’d worry about how to send you to the afterlife. But since you are neither a beauty, nor a beast, nor a spirit, what is there for me to fear?" Ye Jingyu gave a slight smile.

"Aren't you afraid that I will kill you?" Instead of anger at Ye Jingyu's teasing, Gui Jianchou seemed only perplexed. How could this fellow be alive again when his soul was clearly shattered? Even if he lived, how could he be this arrogant? Didn't he know that without the ability to use Soul Arts, he was no match for him, even if his physical strength seemed immense?

"Kill me? Heh, we have no quarrel, why would you kill me? And even if you truly intended to kill me, can you… actually kill me?" As he uttered the last sentence, a mocking smile played on Ye Jingyu's lips, his eyes filled with undisguised, absolute contempt.

Even though he couldn't use his soul power, even though his body held not a trace of True Essence power, only he knew that his current strength far surpassed what it had been before. Let alone Gui Jianchou, even if Xuanyuan Jing were present, he was fully confident he could strike him down.

"You..." Hearing Ye Jingyu's naked mockery, Gui Jianchou’s expression finally shifted. He truly couldn't fathom where this confidence stemmed from. Did he imagine Jiu Feng hadn't actually left?

"What 'you'? Brother Gui, I'm in a hurry to reach my destination. If you have nothing else pressing, please step aside..." Before Gui Jianchou could reply, Ye Jingyu cut him off.

"Very well. Since you are so eager to travel, I shall accompany you for a short while!" Hearing Ye Jingyu’s utterly presumptuous tone, even the usually placid Gui Jianchou felt a surge of indignation. A fierce killing intent radiated out, locking firmly onto Ye Jingyu.

Sensing Gui Jianchou’s overwhelming aura of slaughter, the white steed beneath Ye Jingyu suddenly trembled in terror. Its four legs buckled under the pressure, causing it to collapse onto its knees.

At that exact moment, Gui Jianchou lunged forward, his hand shooting out to grasp Ye Jingyu’s crown, aiming for the Tianling acupoint.

Ye Jingyu swayed his body slightly, narrowly avoiding the strike, but felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as a spurt of blood erupted. He quickly launched himself into the air, only to see hundreds of spectral claws suddenly materialize in the sky, radiating an icy chill, continuously snatching at his form.

"Sss-sss-sss..." With several sharp tearing sounds, no matter how Ye Jingyu tried to evade, he couldn't entirely escape. In an instant, his body was lacerated with countless wounds, blood streaming out profusely. Many gashes were deep enough to expose bone.

All this happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Gui Jianchou’s figure swept past where Ye Jingyu had been, Ye Jingyu was already drenched in blood.

"How is it? Brother Ye, what do you think of my Nine Nether Void Palm?" Gui Jianchou’s lips curved into a faint smile as he observed Ye Jingyu, seemingly unable to fight back. However, his smile quickly froze, for he saw the wounds on Ye Jingyu’s body healing at a visible rate. Even the Nine Nether Cold Qi he had left in Ye Jingyu’s body couldn't halt the recovery.

"If you want to kill me, bring out some real skill. Your Nine Nether Void Palm is only fit for bullying three-year-old children!" Ye Jingyu merely smiled faintly, deeply satisfied with his current body. The healing ability had become terrifyingly effective; he hadn't even felt much pain before the wounds vanished without a trace, and even the opponent's chilling Nine Nether energy had been completely absorbed.

"You… court death…" Previously, Gui Jianchou had only intended to torment Ye Jingyu and hadn't used his full strength. Now, seeing Ye Jingyu mock him so openly, he held nothing back. His True Essence power circulated wildly within him, and he stomped forward fiercely, slamming a powerful palm strike towards Ye Jingyu.

Almost simultaneously as he struck, a pitch-black palm materialized from the void directly in front of Ye Jingyu, shooting towards his sternum with blinding speed.

Sensing the immense power contained within that incoming strike, Ye Jingyu sneered and suddenly clenched his fist, driving it directly toward the illusory palm extending from the void.

The moment his right fist shot out, the surrounding void emitted a crisp cracking sound. Streams of black fissures began to split open around him, instantly causing a dark radiance to coat the surface of his fist.

To shatter the void with mere physical strength—how immense must that power be?

Gui Jianchou had no time to contemplate the consequences. He watched as his full-force Nine Nether Void Palm was smashed into fragments, and that rapidly advancing punch instantly arrived at his heart.

Feeling the terrifying power concentrated in that single blow, Gui Jianchou’s face instantly changed color. His physical body was strong, but it absolutely could not withstand the void itself. Facing a punch capable of ripping open space, Gui Jianchou dared not hesitate any further. At this critical moment of life and death, his potential surged to its peak, and he retreated backward at a speed three times faster than normal. In the blink of an eye, he had pulled back hundreds of paces. Yet, despite this, Ye Jingyu’s seemingly simple punch remained glued to his chest. If he stopped, or even slowed for a fraction of a second, he would be pulverized by this strike.

Utterly horrified, he accelerated his footwork again, and in his right hand, a blood-red scimitar suddenly appeared. With a slight flick of his wrist, a streak of crimson light flashed out, slashing towards Ye Jingyu’s arm.

"Clang..." With a sharp metallic sound, Ye Jingyu's fist slammed directly into the blood-red scimitar. The immense force instantly shattered the precious blade, which was forged from blood jade and represented countless efforts invested by Gui Jianchou.

Splinters of crimson light shot outward, and Gui Jianchou’s body was violently thrown backward by the shockwave.