Xie Buchen might have gone mad.

After the day’s discussion and analysis of the battle situation, almost everyone—including Lu Song, Zhang Yuandai, Fairy Xuanyue, and others—had this thought emerge in their minds. Even if they didn’t voice it aloud, their scrutinizing and probing gazes were already completely unconcealed!

What was the current situation?

Though they had already understood the ghost soldiers’ circumstances on the Extreme Territory’s side fairly well, only one of the Yama Kings from the Eight Directions City had died and one had arrived. The rest remained securely seated in the Extreme Territory, revealing not the slightest clue.

With enemy intelligence still incomplete, how could they rashly deploy their full strength?!

It was simply absurd!

But what left them even more speechless was that this most absurd proposal actually received approval from two great pillars simultaneously!

Daoist Hengxu’s agreement with Xie Buchen was normal, needless to say.

But even Fudao Shanren, who had always seemed to somewhat disapprove of Xie Buchen, applauded and cheered after hearing this proposal. He directly raised both hands and feet to show agreement, praising Xie Buchen for the first time: “The kid really understands! Hahaha, didn’t you hear his reasoning? To resolve the crisis our Jian Chou faces! Just think—the reason those bastards from the Extreme Territory won’t come out to fight is because they’re plotting to harm her behind the scenes! How can we watch our fellow cultivator fall into danger? Moreover, he’s right—long nights breed many dreams, delays bring changes. What if they research some good method to attack us? Then what would be the point of this Yin-Yang Realm war? Come, come, come, this mountain man will take the lead—those who agree, raise your hands! Raising feet is also fine!”

No one raised their hands.

Even fewer raised their feet.

All the great abilities glared at Fudao Shanren with angry eyes.

But Fudao Shanren smiled and said: “Your disagreement is useless. Fine, the matter is decided—tomorrow, we go all out and crush this battle to victory!”

The first half of the sentence was still light and joking, but when the second half came out, where was there any trace of jest?

It was clearly the sharp edge they hadn’t seen in so long!

The killing intent they hadn’t seen in so long!

In a trance, everyone felt as if the high-spirited Fudao Shanren from eleven cycles ago had returned among them…

Daoist Hengxu lowered his eyes and didn’t object.

On the other side, Fu Chaosheng stared fixedly at Xie Buchen for a long time before withdrawing his gaze.

The matter of tomorrow’s all-out assault on Ghost Gate Pass was thus decided.

Though there had been continuous small-scale battles during this period, most of Jiushijiu Zhou’s forces were elite cultivators at Nascent Soul stage and above, with minimal losses. Combined with the preserved strength from the previous three small victories, though they had been in the Extreme Territory for over twenty days, they were all still in good condition.

The next day, when the stirring horn sounded, nearly ten thousand cultivators soared from Jiushijiu Zhou’s camp! For a moment, the sky above Ghost Gate Pass, previously shrouded in persistent dark clouds, was filled with human figures!

Nearly ten thousand elite cultivators—what a terrifying scene!

Almost the instant they emerged in full force, an overwhelmingly terrifying momentum swept across the entire firmament, spreading out magnificently like thunder!

The ghost soldier scout stationed behind Ghost Gate Pass to monitor enemy movements felt his scalp explode when he saw those countless densely packed figures suddenly rising from the sky!

Since the Yin-Yang Realm war had resumed at Ghost Gate Pass, they had never seen Jiushijiu Zhou make such a massive movement!

Something had happened, something big had happened!

He was almost staring straight-eyed, his throat tightening, nearly tumbling and crawling as he ran toward the Ghost Gate Pass garrison, shouting loudly: “Enemy attack!!! Jiushijiu Zhou—Jiushijiu Zhou is attacking!!!”

There had been too many times when Jiushijiu Zhou attacked in recent days.

Most of the time it was harassment, trying to lure them into battle. The Extreme Territory’s ghost soldiers weren’t used to suppressing their anger and not fighting at first, but after being challenged so many times, they had grown accustomed to it.

Hearing this shout, they just felt their ears had developed calluses.

After “Yashan has come,” they had also grown tired of hearing the five words “Jiushijiu Zhou has come,” so for a moment they didn’t pay attention, thinking this scout must be new—why was he making such a fuss?

But before they could scold this panicked, senseless ghost soldier, the momentum gathering in front of Ghost Gate Pass had already crashed toward them across the vast void!

“Rumble!”

Without giving anyone time to react, three thousand brilliant sword lights fell like the Milky Way descending from heaven, cascading down overwhelmingly the instant those nearly ten thousand figures pressed forward!

A magnificent bombardment with rainbow-like momentum!

With a “crack,” several of the fierce sword lights simultaneously struck the towering Ghost Gate Pass, and half the gate immediately collapsed with a crash, smashing down!

Many ghost soldiers below were struck squarely.

More ghost soldiers in the garrison behind the pass were equally caught off guard. Those with weaker cultivation couldn’t even raise their defenses in time before being shattered to pieces by the terrifying sword qi!

Sudden upheaval!

Sudden attack!

Completely different from the low-profile, biding-their-time attitude Jiushijiu Zhou had previously shown everyone—this was extremely ruthless, striking to kill, with sharp edges fully exposed!

The ghost generals from the ten great Ghost Clans who were reporting on the recent search for the mysterious troublemaker in Lord Taishan’s hall had cultivation far superior to the ordinary ghost soldiers outside. Almost the instant Jiushijiu Zhou’s nearly ten thousand cultivators took to the air, they had already sensed that terrifying momentum and soaring killing intent!

Where was there time to discuss anything?

Coming out of the hall to look, they all felt their hair stand on end!

With their eyesight, they naturally judged at a glance that Jiushijiu Zhou had deployed their full strength, coming out in full force!

Their military formation was orderly and well-organized!

Though the cultivators sped across the sky, their formation remained perfectly intact!

Those arrayed in front were mainly close-combat cultivators wielding swords and blades from various sects, with shocking momentum, sharp as blade points;

The left and right wing cultivators wore black and white robes respectively, presenting yin-yang embracing formations. Though divided on two sides, there was a strange sense of fusion;

The center of the cultivator formation consisted mostly of Nascent Soul cultivators below Spirit Severing stage and the greatest in number—their arrangement clearly formed a military formation;

Bringing up the rear were Buddhist monks. Amid flashing golden sutras and resonating Sanskrit chants, they had already raised the Diamond and Demon Subduing formations—one protecting the entire formation above and below, the other striking forward with ten thousand zhang of golden light!

Completely unlike their mediocre and scattered state when fighting and probing before!

Terrifying!

Sharp!

Nearly ten thousand cultivators pressing down, the shadow cast on the barren wasteland instantly became like a great beast baring its fangs, sweeping past the ruined Ghost Gate Pass and enveloping everyone overhead!

“Defend!!!”

“Quickly defend—”

From all directions, countless urgent voices mixed with fear immediately rang out, wildly interweaving in the aftermath of that first round of sword light!

The development Lord Taishan least wanted to see had finally arrived!

Avoiding battle without fighting was never a long-term solution.

The Extreme Territory’s current opponent wasn’t some small fry, but Jiushijiu Zhou—which had experienced the ancient and primordial eras, with deep foundations and abundant talent!

His order to hold back troops was just to delay time as much as possible—first to eliminate the persistent threat behind them that made him uneasy, second to use this opportunity to train elite ghost soldiers in the formation techniques from the research records obtained from Lord Qin Guang’s hall, hoping to improve the Extreme Territory’s combat power.

But he had been seen through…

Moreover, the enemy had seized the perfect opportunity when he dared not act rashly, attacking with complete abandon and full force!

To put it nicely, this was called assessing the situation and being decisive in killing; to put it harshly, this was the most shameless and thorough embodiment of the old saying “kick you when you’re down” on the battlefield!

If you hold back troops and avoid battle, I’ll attack with everything I have!

At this point, if they didn’t respond to battle, if they didn’t deploy all their forces to counter and only defended without attacking, it would be no different from lying down and letting themselves be beaten black and blue!

In the end, Ghost Gate Pass would fall, and this battle would surely be lost!

But if they angrily responded to battle, though they could rely on their advantages in terrain and troop numbers to contend with Jiushijiu Zhou—at least not falling into a state of being beaten and slaughtered—they would likely be playing right into the enemy’s hands!

Because until now, they still hadn’t eliminated the danger lurking behind Ghost Gate Pass!

Lord Taishan didn’t know exactly who was directing the overall situation on Jiushijiu Zhou’s side, but he vaguely sensed that the opponent facing them was in league with the one hiding behind Ghost Gate Pass, forcing the Extreme Territory to struggle in this impossible dilemma!

One step forward—avoiding battle without fighting was wrong;

One step back—coming out to respond to battle was also wrong!

It was just missing by that little bit, just that little bit. The ghost soldiers sent out to search had already gleaned some clues from the previous formation work—perhaps they could have found the key in just a few more days!

But there was no more chance.

Jiushijiu Zhou had coincidentally chosen this moment to launch their fierce attack, already declaring all-out war on the Extreme Territory! They simply wouldn’t allow them not to fight!

The arrow was nocked and had to be released.

Lord Taishan finally let out a long sigh.

Without needing him to speak further, throughout the entire garrison behind Ghost Gate Pass, the massive number of uninjured ghost soldiers quickly stabilized their original formations under the command of various ghost generals, finally launching their first wolf-like, tiger-like counterattack in days amid a mixture of shock and rage!

“Rumble!”

“Kill!”

“Ghost King Clan, heed my command—concentrate forces to strike their left wing first!”

“Bang!”

…

The battle situation instantly exploded like lightning under the sky, immediately igniting the vast and barren Extreme Territory wasteland and illuminating the gloomy and oppressive Extreme Territory firmament!

Water and fire both rising, righteousness and evil contending!

Jiushijiu Zhou’s elite cultivators advanced methodically, charging into battle; the Extreme Territory’s fifty to sixty thousand ghost soldiers surged like raging tides, engulfing everything!

Every attack wasn’t a single strike.

It was thousands upon thousands!

No one fought alone, no one could take on ten thousand! When cultivators with extremely powerful individual strength gathered together, their combined power was more than ten or a hundred times greater!

Heaven shook, earth trembled!

This was the shocking strength of both sides!

This was the fangs they finally revealed!

Blood spilled across the formations, screams spread through the ranks!

Setting aside Jiushijiu Zhou for the moment, the Extreme Territory’s fifty to sixty thousand ghost soldiers had already felt that terrifying pressure just moments after the clash began!

Even though Jiushijiu Zhou had only nearly ten thousand cultivators, under their full counterattack, they showed no signs of decline!

Battle cries shook the heavens!

Across the entire wasteland, the seasonal grass trembled miserably, then was trampled and broken by countless footsteps…

Today’s Ghost Gate Pass was no different from yesterday’s Ghost Gate Pass!

After eleven cycles, the struggle between yin and yang had finally completely torn away the last layer of gentle disguise, simultaneously revealing hideous faces to both sides!

Lord Taishan stood high and gazed far, his eyes flickering as he sent a single command into the formation. Immediately, elite ghost soldiers assembled into a large circle within the chaotic army formation!

“Form up, face the enemy!”

Hoarse shouts pierced the clouds, carrying a blood-bathed madness!

The wind was fierce!

The battle was intense!

The spirit was blazing!

However, just at this passionate moment when they fought with such fervor they forgot themselves, completely abandoning all thoughts of life and death, a voice long unheard but deeply etched in everyone’s memory had already rung out like a nightmare in the wilderness behind the great army, behind Ghost Gate Pass!

“Yashan comes!”

“Yashan comes!!!”

“Yashan—comes!”

Gone was the exaggerated, bone-chilling heart-rending cry from the previous three times, gone was that soul-shaking tragic desolation. In its place was something that made scalps explode and goosebumps rise all over—a magnificent and vast resonance!

As if thousands upon thousands of people were shouting in unison!

As if from within towering mountains, between rushing rivers!

As if it were chanting, as if it were sighing!

Heavy, dense fog once again spread across this corner of wilderness behind Ghost Gate Pass with extremely eerie speed!

The Extreme Territory ghost soldiers were nearly driven mad with rage!

They had been prepared for that hidden enemy to pull this move again. Immediately, half a formation’s worth of troops split from the rear guard ghost soldiers, reacting extremely quickly to combine into a fierce strike!

“Boom!”

Five thousand streams of black qi gathered into one, transforming from soaring serpent to flood dragon, charging unstoppably toward that fog that blotted out the sky!

Clear laughter came from within the fog!

Then, sword song like mountain calls, sword sound like ocean roars!

Just a thin line of red light, carrying a fearsome aura of slaughter, burst forth from the heavy fog!

Without explanation, one sword fell!

The sword fell!

The dragon’s head also fell!

The sword qi remained coldly undispersed, penetrating the formation and instantly shattering nearly a hundred ghost soldiers, taking away their lives as fragile as paper!

Lord Taishan hung in mid-air. When he sensed the power of this sword that pierced through fog, infinite solemnity arose in his heart!

It had come!

After laying false formations three whole times, it had finally come!

During these past days he had made quite thorough preparations for today’s situation. Even if another thousand elite cultivators came for sneak attacks, he might not necessarily fear them!

At this moment he raised his head and focused his gaze toward that fog—

However, from this fog didn’t emerge what he most worried about and feared—thousands of troops and ten thousand horses…

Appearing from this fog was only one person!

One female cultivator!

One female cultivator holding a black sword with a strange blood line extending along the sword’s spine!

At the same time, also a female cultivator that…

Lord Taishan actually “recognized”!

No thousands of troops and ten thousand horses, only a single spear and single horse!

Jian Chou stood with sword in hand before that heavy fog, her moon-white robes fluttering. Just this moment of proud demeanor—not necessarily arrogant but showing proud bones—had already awakened the nightmare that had slept in the memories of many Extreme Territory ghost cultivators for eighty years!

All the ghost soldiers behind stared at her!

She only smiled magnanimously, shouldering the murderously cold Yixiantian and said casually: “It’s been quite a while since we last met!”

“Boom” in their hearts, in their minds!

Any ghost cultivator who had witnessed that Eighteen Layers of Hell cauldron competition eighty years ago—who could not remember this posture, who could not remember this unforgettably haunting face!

Someone immediately cursed “Damn!” out loud!

All the ghost soldiers in the rear formation exploded, voices rising in an instant uproar!