The Yama King’s Yama King!

The voice wasn’t loud, but the tone was quite bold!

In the past, Lord Chu Jiang would probably have already sneered disdainfully, but at this moment, all that arose in his heart was an indescribable bitterness and panic.

This definitely wasn’t Lian Zhao, much less Xiao Mou!

He might not recognize other things, but back when Ancestor Luye wielded the three seals of Heaven, Earth, and Human to dominate the Extreme Domain, he remembered it vividly. How could he fail to recognize what had produced the force that bound him just now?!

The Houtu Seal…

Not long ago, the Snow Domain secret sect that had an alliance with the Extreme Domain was ambushed. Of the three great Dharma Kings, only two remained, and they too fell in battle. The Houtu Seal controlled by Dharma King Baojin had vanished without a trace.

One could imagine that the Houtu Seal, being such a supreme treasure, would never be lost in this battle. Though it was unclear which forces had specifically ambushed the Snow Domain since the passage between the two realms had already closed, it must have fallen into the hands of Jiushijiu Zhou.

Moreover, Lord Chu Jiang could still recall that terrifying sword strike just now!

This was Yashan’s sword!

For a moment, he could only think of that Yashan female cultivator named “Jian Chou” who had participated in the tripod competition eighty years ago, and her earth-shaking palm strike against Lord Qin Guang when passing through the Release Heaven Creation Array!

Even though he couldn’t see Jian Chou’s face at this moment, he remembered her voice.

It was indeed that “Jian Chou of Yashan”!

After eighty years, she had truly returned…

“You’re all cultivators from Jiushijiu Zhou…”

His damaged half-body was completely unable to recover under the gravitational pressure controlled by the Houtu Seal. Moreover, Yi Xian Tian’s piercing sword intent continued to tear at him, causing constant pain and making his voice hoarse.

“But how is it possible, how could you possibly enter…”

The Extreme Domain and Jiushijiu Zhou belonged to two separate realms, even called “Yin-Yang realms,” showing how solid the barrier between them was. Even when Jiushijiu Zhou and the Extreme Domain went to war, they could only forcibly open the Eastern Extreme Ghost Gate that the nine-headed bird had once used to carry ghosts back. Ordinary people absolutely couldn’t break through the barrier to enter from that realm to this one.

Xie Buchen and Lu Xiangleng had merely passed through Ghost Gate Pass without anyone knowing. Whatever secrets were involved, they had only passed through one Ghost Gate Pass.

But Jian Chou and Qu Zhengfeng were different!

The two had replaced the identities of Lian Zhao and Xiao Mou. From the beginning, they hadn’t traveled with Xie Buchen and Lu Xiangleng, but had returned from conscripting ghost soldiers in the Eighteen Layers of Hell alongside Elder Kong Yin of the Wuchang clan.

The Eighteen Layers of Hell…

The Eighteenth Layer of Hell!

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, too chaotic from shock, until finally a flash of inspiration struck him when he thought of this level! However, the horror rising in his heart was even greater than when he had been ambushed and subdued by the two just now!

“The Deceiving Heaven Mirror! It’s the Deceiving Heaven Mirror!”

They had come through the Deceiving Heaven Mirror!

Precisely the Eighteenth Layer of Hell, precisely a method that the entire Extreme Domain could never have imagined!

During the previous Yin-Yang realm war, the Deceiving Heaven Mirror had mysteriously disappeared.

But whether it was Lord Qin Guang or the other Yama Kings, none had paid much attention to it. This was because since ancient times, long, long ago, the method to activate the Deceiving Heaven Mirror had been lost. Even Lord Qin Guang, who was born from the Extreme Domain itself, didn’t know how to activate it. How could others possibly know?

So even if someone stole the Deceiving Heaven Mirror, it would be of little use.

All things considered, it was merely to prevent them from rediscovering the activation method and using it to invade Jiushijiu Zhou.

As soon as Lord Chu Jiang said this, outsiders like Lu Xiangleng and Xie Buchen naturally couldn’t understand what he was talking about, but Jian Chou and Qu Zhengfeng, who had indeed come through the Deceiving Heaven Mirror, understood perfectly.

Jian Chou was somewhat surprised he could figure this out so quickly.

She glanced at Lord Chu Jiang, who was pressed down and unable to move, and said indifferently: “Lord Chu Jiang seems to know quite a lot.”

Yi Xian Tian’s aura was extremely sharp, containing earth-shaking power in her palm while seeming to merge completely with her entire being.

Lian Zhao’s disguise was removed at this moment.

Jian Chou’s true appearance finally showed. The thin red mark between her brows flashed once, and Yi Xian Tian disappeared accordingly.

This was the first time Jian Chou had truly used this sword in combat since obtaining Yi Xian Tian. Though it was a sneak attack and didn’t last long, its terrifying power shocked even her.

When she sheathed her sword, she swept her gaze across the hall.

The situation was completely under control.

Elder Kong Yin of the Wuchang clan was subdued by Xie Buchen, currently being stepped on expressionlessly by Xie Buchen, no longer showing his previous arrogant attitude.

Xie Buchen was, after all, in the mid-Transcendence stage.

As a prodigy of Kunwu’s generation, his talent in cultivation and combat power with superior weapons far exceeded Kong Yin by countless degrees. How could he truly be bound by Kong Yin? Even while severely injured, defeating ten of him would be no problem. Subduing Kong Yin in an instant was perfectly normal.

A gentleman doesn’t stand under a dangerous wall, but being able to bend and stretch is also manly.

He naturally couldn’t be considered any kind of good person either. Being humiliated naturally made him angry. Though his temperament seemed indifferent, he actually took extreme approaches and was quite radical.

If not for considering that killing Kong Yin would affect subsequent plans, he probably would have efficiently kicked this person’s head off long ago.

The Human Emperor Sword was in his left hand, while his right hand was raised to wipe the blood from his lips. The bloodstains on his pale blue sleeve were shocking to see. Yet his expression was terrifyingly cold, his blue-purple lips showing a rare sickly demonic beauty.

On the other side, Lu Xiangleng had also broken through the restrictions in her body the moment Kong Yin was subdued by Xie Buchen. With spiritual power flowing, her injuries quickly healed.

Only now could she breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking up again, she saw the familiar faces of Jian Chou and Qu Zhengfeng. She felt somewhat reassured, but recalling that shocking scene just now, she still felt her heart swaying, unable to calm down.

Four cultivators renowned throughout Jiushijiu Zhou now stood boldly in this imposing and sinister great hall at the Ghost Gate Pass watchtower garrison under such strange and dangerous circumstances.

Except for the medicine woman Lu Xiangleng—

Two Void Refining masters from Yashan and Mingri Xinghai, who had almost reached the peak of the Jiushijiu Zhou cultivation world; one Transcendence expert from Kunwu, the direct disciple of True Person Hengxu, a long-famous genius.

All were top prodigies among the cultivation world’s elite!

Though he was the lofty Second Palace Yama King Lord Chu Jiang, being defeated by their meticulous planning and careful coordination really wasn’t unfair.

Lord Chu Jiang’s combat power was far inferior to what it had been when the Yin-Yang realm war began eleven cycles ago. Though he didn’t know what these people planned, he could already see they were acting in coordination from inside and outside, while his fate was sealed.

It wasn’t that he was too weak, but that they were too strong.

After successive shocks from the ambush and the Deceiving Heaven Mirror, in the pain of having lost most of his strength with no power to resist, he finally got a moment’s respite to think clearly about his current situation.

Unable to fight back, self-preservation came first.

As his thoughts turned, Lord Chu Jiang decided to test them with words first.

He was, after all, the Second Palace Yama King, second only to Lord Qin Guang. Though this position had been yielded by Emperor Song back then, and now seemed somewhat unworthy of the name, as a Void Refining master of the same realm as Jian Chou and Qu Zhengfeng, he wouldn’t be like those petty rats who would be so frightened they couldn’t speak or kowtow in apology.

He still had basic composure.

At this moment, he took a breath and, enduring the powerful oppressive force controlled by the Houtu Seal, began: “Now that my schemes and methods have all fallen short and I’ve been defeated by you two, I naturally have nothing to say. But once this lord dies, Eight Directions City will immediately sense it—when a Yama King dies, the Yama Hall collapses! You two came to investigate the Ghost Gate Pass watchtower, surely to close it. Killing me now would benefit the war situation not at all, nor could it close the watchtower. I want to preserve my life and am willing to cooperate with you two.”

Cooperation?

Qu Zhengfeng stood right beside him, watching this formerly lofty Yama King prostrate at his feet. He could only think of the bloody storms from eleven cycles ago and couldn’t help but laugh coldly.

“The Yama King is quite reasonable now. Eleven cycles ago, didn’t you still join hands with Emperor Song to call wind and summon rain? Now you’re so humbly begging for your life—truly ‘a scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days apart.’ I wonder if you were also so submissive when you colluded with the Buddhist sect back then…”

The mockery was unexpectedly sharp.

Hearing this, Jian Chou turned to glance at Qu Zhengfeng. She could guess that most of the current eight Yama Kings were appointed after the first Yin-Yang realm war, and directly or indirectly had grudges against Qu Zhengfeng, who had participated in that war.

So at this moment, she didn’t interject.

But Lord Chu Jiang couldn’t remain as calm as she was. Hearing this unfamiliar voice, he easily discerned from the speaker’s words that this person had participated in the Yin-Yang realm war and even knew about his friendship with Emperor Song!

The merciless mockery, compared to his current situation…

His former lofty position versus his current humble pleading!

Even though Lord Chu Jiang told himself to stay calm ten thousand times in his heart, he couldn’t help but be provoked to red-eyed fury. He wanted to raise his head to see clearly who this person was, but under the tremendous force, he couldn’t lift his head no matter what!

This felt like being stepped into mud by someone, unable to turn over!

Frustration and humiliation caused his rationality to fracture somewhat. He also laughed coldly: “This lord is indeed not what I once was, but you probably don’t dare kill me directly! Speaking of cooperation is merely me preserving my life while you achieve your goals. Otherwise, killing me would not only fail to get the lower string command token to close the Ghost Gate Pass watchtower, but might also alarm Eight Directions City and expose the secret of infiltrating the Extreme Domain through the Deceiving Heaven Mirror—the gains wouldn’t be worth the losses. With the great battle imminent, this lord might as well tell you that the person Eight Directions City has assigned to garrison and supervise the army here isn’t just this lord alone, but also the First Chief Judge under Lord Qin Guang—Zhang Tang! He’s coming from Wangsi City today. You don’t have much time left to consider.”

Zhang Tang’s reputation had already spread throughout the Extreme Domain.

This chief judge who had served under the First Lord Qin Guang since the tripod competition eighty years ago—in terms of ruthless cruelty, none of the other judges in the eight Yama Halls of Eight Directions City could surpass him!

Moreover, this person was also meticulous in thought, rarely giving anyone handles to grasp.

Lord Chu Jiang believed that since Jian Chou and the others had already entered the Extreme Domain, they must have some understanding of the most basic situation there, so they should naturally have heard of Zhang Tang’s great name.

Even if they hadn’t heard of him, the three words “Lord Qin Guang” should make them wary.

He himself had no friendship whatsoever with Zhang Tang, much less possessed the lower string command token. Right now, he was merely trying to use this leverage to force the other party to cooperate with him and preserve a thread of life.

After saying all this, Lord Chu Jiang actually felt quite confident.

But who would have thought that what responded to him was a strange silence.

Jian Chou truly hadn’t expected to hear the name “Zhang Tang” here, from Lord Chu Jiang’s mouth. Moreover, if she hadn’t misheard, Lord Chu Jiang was trying to frighten her with Zhang Tang?

Her expression immediately became strange.

Qu Zhengfeng had already heard this name in the Eighteenth Layer of Hell, so at this moment he turned to exchange glances with Jian Chou.

Xie Buchen, standing on the other side of the hall, frowned the instant he heard this name.

Before anyone could comment on Lord Chu Jiang’s words, the voice of the judge outside the hall, who had no idea what had happened inside, suddenly rang out: “Reporting to Your Lordship, Lord Zhang has arrived.”

What…

Zhang Tang has arrived?

Speaking of him and he appears—wasn’t this a bit too “timely”!

Lord Chu Jiang couldn’t help but feel somewhat resentful upon hearing this, because Zhang Tang had come too quickly, giving the other party little time to think, making it easy to expose many things in haste.

But there was no time to worry about much now.

He forced himself to remain calm, only saying to Jian Chou and the others: “You heard it too. This lord hasn’t deceived you—every word is true. If you’re willing to cooperate with this lord once, we’ll mind our own business, and this lord will naturally make this person leave.”

“Leave?” Jian Chou laughed, truly feeling an indescribable sensation in her heart. “Why should we make him leave?”

Lord Chu Jiang was immediately stunned, not understanding her words: “What do you mean?”

“Nothing much, just that since Lord Chu Jiang has described this Judge Zhang as extraordinary, he must be quite a formidable person. Not meeting him would be quite a pity.”

Her voice was calm, light as water.

Lord Chu Jiang felt his heart turn ice-cold upon hearing this!

Jian Chou showed no awareness that this ambush was about to be exposed before others. There was even an intriguing interest in her eyes. While thinking that Big Head Ghost and Little Head Ghost should have already delivered the message, she called toward the outside of the hall—

Her voice was exactly the same as Lord Chu Jiang’s just now!

“Please invite Lord Zhang in.”