Gazing at the young man who had put on the circular ring, Jian Chou’s gaze lingered for a while, then slowly fell to what lay beneath him.

The scale armor was pierced with holes, dim and lightless.

Yu Chen, who had been showing off so arrogantly before, had now been completely destroyed in body and soul, with hardly any traces left to find. Yet everyone in this tower was excited about it, as if their blood was boiling.

The intense curiosity in Jian Chou’s heart at this moment seemed to scatter like clouds blown away by a gentle breeze, disappearing completely.

Zhang Tang and Chen Tingyan also said nothing, just watching quietly.

However, if one looked carefully, one could detect the faint wariness in their eyes.

Obviously, this was a very formidable opponent.

With such abilities, he only ranked sixth in the Ghost King clan and couldn’t even get a nomination slot, yet still had to come to this Above Ground Tower to compete? What must the situation be like for those ranked in the top five of the Ghost King clan?

People only needed to think about this briefly to feel a chill run down their spines.

Brother Lihan in the arena listened to the boiling sounds around him, yet seemed completely uninterested.

There was even some gloom condensed in his eyes. He fell from the high altitude on his own, heading directly toward the exit, with no intention of lingering.

He came quickly and left quickly.

After his figure disappeared, a wisp of ink-green light emerged from the empty tenth floor of the pillar, and a new circular ring reappeared.

This also meant that new competition would soon begin.

However, few people present cared about this.

Everyone had been waiting bitterly for Brother Lihan’s arrival, but instead got the opportunistic Yu Chen.

The opportunistic Yu Chen had charged forward triumphantly, his hand already on the circular ring, but who would have thought he’d be ambushed from behind with one move, his chest split open!

Only when that person withdrew his hand did everyone see clearly that the one who came was indeed today’s main character—Brother Lihan!

In this brief moment, the development of events could be called unexpected with dramatic turns. The battle was more of a one-sided crushing—clean, efficient, bloody, and brutal!

Even though Brother Lihan had an aloof demeanor and left so quickly, everyone still felt their hearts stirring.

The boiling sounds in the arena had quieted somewhat, but the number of people discussing hadn’t decreased.

When exactly had Brother Lihan arrived, when had he gotten behind Yu Chen, what was the origin of that killing move…

One sentence after another, each with their own theories.

Chen Tingyan was from one of the Ten Great Ghost Clans and understood this quite well.

His brow had been tightly furrowed, and it hadn’t relaxed since he saw that ghost claw appear.

At this moment, as people around discussed, he also glanced at the circular ring hanging high on the tenth floor and said: “The cultivation methods of the Ghost King clan have always been the most domineering, with formidable battle power. That ghost claw should come from the Immovable Wisdom King Dharma Body. Though the Fish Gill clan’s scale armor is strong, Yu Chen was only at the early stage—how could he match Brother Lihan’s momentum strike at the middle Jade Nirvana stage?”

Therefore, defeat and death were ordinary matters.

Everyone understood Chen Tingyan’s explanation.

Only Jian Chou, after hearing this, felt her heart skip a beat. She raised her eyes and asked: “Immovable Wisdom King Dharma Body?”

“Right. Isn’t there a fifth realm called ‘Golden Body’ in cultivation? The ghost cultivators here aim to cultivate human form, but above human form, there’s still the Dharma Body. The Immovable Wisdom King Dharma Body is one of the strongest among them. The entire Ghost King clan, starting from the Jewel Formation realm, cultivates this technique.”

This wasn’t a secret in the Extreme Realm, so Chen Tingyan spoke without reservation.

However, “Dharma Body” was something ordinary people never touched, so it was limited to just knowing about it—few people entertained such thoughts.

“Dharma Body…”

Jian Chou murmured, but strange colors swirled in her eyes.

Dharma Body—if she remembered correctly, wasn’t this something that Buddhist great powers cultivated?

How was it that in the Extreme Realm, even these heretical ghost cultivators were practicing it?

Ming meant brightness.

Wisdom Kings borrowed the wisdom and brightness of Buddha to destroy the karmic obstacles and afflictions of all beings.

In such a grim underworld, in this barren land of the Extreme Realm where plants could hardly grow, someone was seriously talking about “Immovable Wisdom King” and “Dharma Body”?

Jian Chou truly found this subtle.

The others all observed her condition.

Little Head Ghost blinked and carefully asked: “Is… is there something wrong?”

“No.” Jian Chou slowly shook her head, only saying, “I just think the Ghost King clan’s reputation is great, and I’m wondering about this Immovable Wisdom King Dharma Body. Seeing how this Brother Lihan only showed one hand, I wonder what level he’s cultivated to?”

“When the third round of the ding competition opens, won’t it be clear?”

Chen Tingyan shrugged, showing no curiosity at all.

He only sighed: “This one is so formidable. It seems when I participate in the ding competition later, I’ll definitely need to bring several more treasures to save my life. If I’m accidentally killed, that would be embarrassing.”

Jian Chou couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

She finally understood—from swallowing pills for cultivation to treasures for life-saving, he had never thought about “real skill” or “self-reliance” at all.

Though the path was unorthodox, it quite matched Chen Tingyan’s consistently profligate style.

“Don’t laugh—I’m serious. Every ding competition has heavy casualties. One careless move and you lose your life. Think about those major masters who were effortlessly killed by an early Jade Nirvana cultivator. Tsk tsk, I don’t want to end up that miserably…”

He was talking about the “luckiest” ding champion they had heard about before.

Jian Chou was about to joke a few words when her peripheral vision caught sight of a group of people approaching.

“This year the Ghost King clan will probably make a big splash again.”

“Just one Brother Lihan is so formidable, and he only ranks sixth. The others are truly unimaginable…”

“I heard one of the highest-ranked has approached the Golden Body realm. I wonder if he’s broken through—do you believe it?”

“No way?”

“From early to late Jade Nirvana stage is already dozens of times the power difference. The Golden Body realm has never existed before. Even Cui Jue in those days was only at Jade Nirvana Great Perfection…”

“Sigh…”

This group of people all began sighing, each with their feet off the ground.

Suddenly one person turned his gaze and immediately spotted Jian Chou’s group, pointing with some surprise: “Hey, isn’t that Tingyan?”

Chen Tingyan heard the voice and looked back with some surprise. Those walking by were none other than ghost cultivators from the Day Wandering clan.

He had declined these friends’ invitation today to come with Jian Chou, but hadn’t expected to encounter them here.

The Day Wandering clan ghost cultivators’ gazes immediately fell behind Chen Tingyan.

Big Head Ghost and Little Head Ghost were obviously small fry, not worth attention, but the other two were interesting.

One was actually Zhang Tang, who had been the talk of the City of Unjust Deaths recently. Chen Tingyan had looked down on this person more than once, yet he sat nearby.

The other was even more unexpected—actually a female cultivator!

Her cultivation was weak, only at the Jewel Formation realm, and especially that soul pearl—wasn’t it too small?

However, her appearance was rarely delicate and beautiful.

Especially those eyes were extraordinarily clear and lively, quite different from most ghost cultivators in the Extreme Realm.

Seeing this, everyone’s thoughts became active.

Several ghost cultivators familiar with Chen Tingyan even showed knowing expressions: Oh, so he declined them for this reason? Understood!

Seeing their expressions, Chen Tingyan wanted to explain that they had misunderstood.

But thinking about it again—misunderstood what? Hadn’t he indeed declined them for Jian Chou?

Immediately, Chen Tingyan looked somewhat sheepish. He first greeted his friends, then looked back at Jian Chou with some guilt, touching his nose and saying: “These are all friends from my Day Wandering clan. I didn’t expect to meet them here. I’ll go over to gather and chat for a bit.”

“No problem, Fourth Young Master, please go ahead.”

Jian Chou naturally noticed those people looking at her strangely, and the implications contained therein made her somewhat amused.

However, she felt at ease and didn’t mind much. She politely nodded to those people, replied to Chen Tingyan, then watched him turn and walk toward the group of Day Wandering clan members.

The Day Wandering clan was quite prestigious among the Ten Great Ghost Clans.

This branch in the City of Unjust Deaths was a very important branch of the Day Wandering clan. Chen Tingyan, who had been nominated to participate in the ding competition, might not necessarily win in the end, but his performance probably wouldn’t be too poor.

Therefore, Chen Tingyan had been well-connected within the clan recently.

“…I knew you’d all think randomly. Why bother? Can’t you see I’m miserable enough already? You say sitting with Zhang Tang? That’s not because…”

Chen Tingyan walked among this group of Day Wandering clan members, talking as he walked, his expression quite confident and casual.

Throughout the seventh floor, people came and went continuously.

People in the Extreme Realm mostly chose dark, heavy colors for clothing, so the man wrapped in a black cloak who brushed past them appeared completely unremarkable.

The wide cloak seemed to carry some strange power, concealing all the aura this person emanated.

If one tried to discern carefully, they might think there was only a cloak here, feeling no human presence at all.

His footsteps moved silently and soundlessly.

The hanging edges of the cloak also swayed slightly with his movement.

He left together with those departing the Above Ground Tower, but just after exiting the main gate, his figure disappeared instantly.

On both sides of the long street in the City of Unjust Deaths, tall buildings stood in rows with peculiar designs, often giving people a sense of grimness and imposing height.

A young man in a dark blue long robe walked coldly alone in the street.

An ink-green circular ring on his index finger clearly displayed his identity—Brother Lihan.

Having just won a beautiful victory in the Above Ground Tower, his face showed no happy expression, but rather grew increasingly gloomy.

Brother Lihan had been in the Ghost King clan for many years.

The City of Unjust Deaths was an important stronghold of the Ghost King clan. Initially, he had been noticed by clan elders, brought into the clan, and began cultivating the Immovable Wisdom King Dharma Body.

On this path, he progressed rapidly, early drawing the attention of the entire clan.

Everyone who saw him had to call him “Young Master Li.”

It could be said that from when he began cultivating in the Extreme Realm until now, everything had been smooth sailing.

For this ding competition, he had originally thought that among the clan’s five nomination slots, one should definitely be allocated to him.

Who would have thought that the Ghost King clan branch in Fengdu City had somehow found a middle Jade Nirvana stage fellow named Zhong Lanling, forcibly seizing away the slot that belonged to him!

No matter how strong the City of Unjust Deaths branch was, how could it compete with the deeply rooted Fengdu City branch?

The clan elders had no choice but to yield.

Thus came today’s city-wide announcement, clearing the way for him to go to the Eighteen-Story Above Ground Tower to seize the circular ring.

For others, winning decisively and instantly killing the opponent could be considered unlimited glory.

But for the proud Brother Lihan, this was undoubtedly a huge humiliation.

Walking in the street, his withered fingers rubbed the circular ring on his left index finger. The rough surface had solidified patterns, like Brother Lihan’s solidified heart.

Since this place was still near the Above Ground Tower, many people around knew of the power of that strike in the tower earlier, and now they all stopped to respectfully greet him.

But Brother Lihan didn’t even glance at them, as if he hadn’t heard.

The further forward he walked, the fewer people there were.

Everyone had gone to watch the excitement, so the streets far from the Eighteen-Story Above Ground Tower seemed desolate.

A black shadow appeared silently in front of Brother Lihan. A pair of eyes hidden in the shadow of the hood watched Brother Lihan, with flowing brilliance flashing beneath.

Walking Brother Lihan hadn’t noticed anything unusual at thirty zhang distance, but at twenty zhang his brow furrowed, and at ten zhang he completely stopped and looked up abruptly!

An indescribable sense of crisis suddenly surged from his heart!

Brother Lihan instinctively raised his hand. Fierce black energy flashed as the ghost claw was about to reappear—

However, the figure wrapped in the black cloak was even faster!

Even silent!

With Brother Lihan’s middle Jade Nirvana cultivation, he couldn’t even see the opponent’s movement clearly before feeling intense pain in his raised palm!

A hand with well-proportioned flesh and bone, slender yet carrying an indescribable strange and eerie quality, gently pressed on his wrist.

The technique that was only half-cast instantly crumbled and collapsed under this press!

At this moment, that person was already extremely close to Brother Lihan.

Thus, the face hidden in the wide hood finally revealed a little outline in Brother Lihan’s eyes.

Slightly curved lips held a trace of mystery.

A pair of eyes, dark and deep, yet seemed to contain vast galaxies, able to see the evolution of seas, with both youthful rawness and ancient coldness.

Even with the surrounding skylight blocked, the skin on this face appeared somewhat pale.

The moment Brother Lihan saw the opponent’s appearance, the opponent’s gaze also fell on him.

“Borrowing your identity for use.”

That person smiled slightly, seeming very polite, but then unceremoniously reached out and grabbed Brother Lihan’s neck!

Brother Lihan’s heart was truly terror-stricken!

He mobilized everything he had learned in his life, only wanting to escape this approaching palm, but the moment he tried to channel his soul power, he discovered that he was now like a powerless scholar!

Throughout his entire body, all the profound soul power had completely disappeared!

No!

He widened his eyes, opened his mouth, seeming to roar, but couldn’t make a sound!

From beginning to end, Brother Lihan could only watch helplessly as that hand approached and then gripped his neck.

With a forceful twist!

“Crack.”

A light sound!

A strange power burst forth from that person’s palm, yet extremely subtle, like a blade blooming, following Brother Lihan’s neck straight through his entire body!

Thus, the clear world before Brother Lihan’s eyes finally darkened.

Until the moment he lost consciousness, he still didn’t understand—

What did I encounter?

The person wrapped in the dark black cloak slowly closed his five fingers.

“Bang!”

The body beneath his palm, as if unable to withstand the pressure of these five closing fingers, suddenly exploded, instantly turning into misty smoke and disappearing!

A white soul pearl the size of a baby’s fist appeared after the smoke dispersed, flying directly toward this person’s mouth and disappearing without a trace.

Simultaneously, there was a crisp “ding” on the ground.

The ink-green circular ring fell to the ground, rolled around twice, then stopped.

A hand reached down from above.

That person bent his waist, the edges of the wide black cloak also falling to the ground, getting a bit dusty.

The circular ring was picked up by him and casually put on his finger.

So this was the entry circular ring for the ding competition?

It didn’t look particularly special.

“Index finger.”

A somewhat hoarse voice came heavily from his sleeve.

The hand holding the circular ring paused, and this person laughed: “I know.”

Only then did he slowly put this not-very-attractive circular ring on his index finger.

That voice said again: “Clothes.”

“You’ve really become verbose…”

Hearing those brief two words, that person shook his head in the hood and raised the hand wearing the circular ring on the index finger. The originally well-proportioned palm suddenly became sinewy and bony, with distinct joints, extremely withered!

This palm grabbed the cloak draped on his body and casually threw it off.

A dark blue long robe, with cuffs, collar, and robe edges all spiraling with patterns of yaksha evil spirits—exquisite yet carrying several points of grim eeriness.

It was exactly identical to Brother Lihan’s robe!

More importantly, the person now revealed under the skylight—

His outline was slightly angular, his ink-blue eyes like glazed craftsmanship, carrying that bit of aloof coldness, his face expressionless yet appearing somewhat gloomy.

If not the Brother Lihan who had just been killed by him, then who?!

On the long street, people were already walking over from far away.

He glanced at the ground before him, now completely empty. No one knew what person had stood here just moments ago.

“This appearance of yours really makes people uncomfortable…”

Still the previous voice, seemingly able to see the current appearance of “Brother Lihan,” with slight disdain.

Looking down at his right sleeve, this person showed neither joy nor anger, saying leisurely: “At least it’s a human body, better than a salted fish.”

“…”

That voice finally fell silent, seemingly finally stabbed by this “salted fish” comment. After a long while, it continued: “She’s also here. When will you return that fish eye?”

Hearing this, “Brother Lihan” slowly turned his head back, gazing far toward the towering Eighteen-Story Above Ground Tower in the center of the City of Unjust Deaths, as if…

He could penetrate those thick walls to see the lively scenes inside, and certain people within.

He lowered his eyes again, only saying: “When it’s time to return it, I will.”

With leisurely steps, after speaking, he had already walked toward the direction Brother Lihan had been heading, saying not another word.

Eighteen-Story Above Ground Tower, seventh floor.

The most exciting dispute had passed, and many people in the arena had already dispersed.

Chen Tingyan had only recently left with his clansmen, and they seemed to still be talking over there.

In the distance, several elders from the Fish Gill clan were slapping tables and shouting diagonally across, seemingly angry about something.

Yu Chen was said to be quite talented, and now that he had unexpectedly died like this, there would surely be some turmoil within the Fish Gill clan.

Jian Chou sat thinking these thoughts while withdrawing her gaze to look at Zhang Tang sitting across from her.

Dark black official robes, completely composed, but his gaze fell on the tall pillar in the arena, seemingly looking at that circular ring.

“I heard Lord Zhang has gained Lord Qin Guang’s favor and obtained a nomination slot from the Eight Directions Yama Palace. You shouldn’t need to compete with so many people here. Congratulations.”

Jian Chou offered some flattery with a smile on her face.

Zhang Tang’s face remained calm.

For him, where the nomination slot came from didn’t matter much. Whether the Eight Directions Yama Palace or the Ten Great Ghost Clans, as long as he could later go see the Eighteen Layers of Hell, there was no difference.

Since Jian Chou brought it up now, he didn’t appreciate it.

Moving his gaze away, Zhang Tang looked toward Chen Tingyan over there, who didn’t seem to have any intention of returning yet.

So he turned his eyes and looked at Jian Chou, speaking calmly: “Someone from the Reception Department is investigating you.”