The ferry boat sailed all the way back, going upstream.

Bafang City was at the very center of the entire Extreme Domain. Even though the Shijiu Zhou had broken through two lines of defense, the perimeter still had two more fortified lines, not to mention that the closest one was Fengdu City, serving as the stronghold of the ten great ghost clans—truly impregnable.

So the panic from the outer regions was nowhere to be found here.

When Fu Chaosheng arrived with the hundred soul puppets, he saw seven massive deep black palaces majestically suspended above the towering and spacious city at seven positions around Bafang City, while the original Chujiang King Palace had already fallen and disappeared due to the Chujiang King’s death.

Compared to the past, Bafang City now looked somewhat strange.

Perhaps it was because when he had “secluded himself” before, the Bafang City he had seen still had eight Yama Palaces?

The Qin Guang King Palace was the highest. Though clearly of the same design, it appeared the most imposing.

Fu Chaosheng verified his identity outside the city, entered the city, then leaped up and landed directly outside the Qin Guang King Palace, bowing respectfully inward.

“Judge Li Han, bringing soul puppets by order to pay respects.”

“Come in.”

Lord Qin Guang’s voice came from inside.

The light inside the hall was as dim as always.

Lord Qin Guang sat high upon his throne, behind him on the painted wall were dark patterns of various heavenly demons. A black imperial robe draped over him, and the dangling pearls from the twelve-stringed crown on his head swayed lightly, obscuring his gaze so that one could only see the slight curve of his lips.

From his expression, one couldn’t tell at all that the Extreme Domain had already been breached at the second line of defense.

He was too calm.

When Fu Chaosheng walked in from outside and looked up, he discovered that there wasn’t just Lord Qin Guang in this great hall—four other Yama Kings were also present.

Two were seated on the left and right below him respectively.

In order: Song Emperor King, Yama King, Metropolitan King, and Wheel-Turning King.

Song Emperor King appeared to be a doddering old man, but shrewd light flickered in his narrowed eyes, revealing his difficult nature; Yama King was dignified and upright, with a rather benevolent expression on his face—he was the “peacemaker” of the Bafang Yama Palace who specialized in smoothing things over; Metropolitan King Jiang Chang wore imperial robes covered with gold-woven gauze, his gentle brows and eyes holding a unique shallow, mist-like melancholy, and he was currently turning to examine him; Wheel-Turning King was a handsome yet sinister young man with considerable presence, his gaze solemn and sharp—he was Lord Qin Guang’s truly trusted confidant.

Everything about these Yama Kings flashed through his mind instantly.

But he quickly realized something unusual: all the Yama Kings were present, and it seemed they were discussing important matters today, yet two were distinctly missing—

In this great hall, there were no Taishan King and Wuguan King!

“Li Han pays respects to all Yama Kings, pays respects to Your Highness Lord Qin Guang.” Fu Chaosheng was already suspicious but didn’t show it, only bowing as usual. “Having emerged from decades of seclusion, I was unable to serve Your Highness—Li Han feels deeply ashamed. Thanks to Your Highness’s regard in entrusting me with the charity house soul puppet task, I fortunately didn’t fail the mission. The hundred soul puppets have been brought back as scheduled.”

The other four Yama Kings said nothing.

Only Lord Qin Guang raised his eyes, examining the “Li Han” before him through the pearl strings hanging from his crown. The smile at his lips didn’t change in the slightest, as if he trusted this “capable general” as always, without half a doubt, extremely satisfied.

“Your emergence at this moment can truly save the Extreme Domain from danger. You must have already heard that Zhang Tang, who once could stand as your equal, has disappeared. Even if he hasn’t joined the Shijiu Zhou, he’s probably not far from it. Among my subordinates, you’re now the only truly useful talent left. Looking at this soul puppet matter, there wasn’t a single error—handled extremely well. Let me ask you, do you understand these soul puppets somewhat?”

Fu Chaosheng’s purpose in coming this trip was to further investigate the Extreme Domain’s true strength and see what cards they actually held. Besides that elusive deity Shao Ji, the movements of the Bafang Yama Palace were naturally of utmost importance.

So although this question was somewhat unexpected, he showed no sign of it.

He only said: “I know a little.”

“Knowing a little is already sufficient.” Lord Qin Guang smiled, seeming extremely satisfied and pleased. “The Shijiu Zhou have restarted the realm war with great momentum this time, already attacking Chongyang City on our Extreme Domain’s third line of defense. Previously, I discussed with the Yama Kings and sent Taishan King and Wuguan King to oversee the defensive matters. You’ve come at just the right time. These hundred soul puppets will remain stationed in Bafang City. I’m ordering you to return to the Underworld Charity House and lead the remaining nine hundred soul puppets to support Chongyang City.”

Taishan King and Wuguan King had already gone to Chongyang City?

And he was to lead the remaining nine hundred soul puppets to provide support?

Lord Qin Guang’s words sounded perfectly normal, yet in that instant, Fu Chaosheng felt an instinctive doubt arise in his heart: Was this necessary?

If the Ghost Gate Pass battle had been merely a mutual test of strength with neither side using full power, making the Extreme Domain’s defeat understandable, then after the recent Mao City battle, Bafang City should know that the determination and strength of the Shijiu Zhou cultivators to conquer the Extreme Domain absolutely couldn’t be underestimated, and couldn’t be easily blocked by setting up layer upon layer of defense lines outside.

For the Extreme Domain to want to fight a war of attrition was nothing but a fool’s dream.

Dispersing the Extreme Domain ghost cultivators’ strength, scattering them into several defense lines, seemed to continuously consume the Shijiu Zhou’s power, but in reality, dispersed strength was far inferior to concentrated strength that could create qualitative change. Going out in separate batches to resist was equivalent to sending a few ants to bite an elephant—painless and ineffective. Not only could they not bite it to death, but they would be defeated by the opponent’s superior strength, wiped out in one sweep!

In the end, it would be the Extreme Domain’s disadvantage.

Such defense line warfare seemed prudent but was actually very unfavorable to the Extreme Domain, not to mention the decision to send these two Yama Kings who had been defeated in the Ghost Gate Pass battle to guard the third defense line.

But this doubt only flashed by.

After all, he was Fu Chaosheng, and reminding the Bafang Yama Palace to make correct decisions and deployments was Li Han’s business.

So after the thought passed, Fu Chaosheng didn’t voice any objection. His glass-like deep ink-blue eyes turned once, then he bowed: “Li Han receives the order!”

As he spoke, his eyes had already taken on a faint glow.

His immense and powerful demon consciousness quietly spread out in all directions from this palace suspended in mid-air as the center, also extending toward the depths underground.

He had simultaneously activated his Universal Eyes and demon consciousness perception.

None of the seated Yama Kings noticed.

Even Lord Qin Guang sitting upright on his throne detected no abnormality, and even pointed to the first empty chair on the lower left, smiling: “I’ve always valued you highly. I originally wanted to elevate that Zhang Tang, but who would have thought he’d be so ungrateful. Chujiang King was useless, actually falling to mere Shijiu Zhou cultivators—truly shameful to our Bafang Yama Palace’s reputation. You’re originally the most talented person of the Ghost King clan’s generation. I hope I haven’t misjudged you. You should know what I mean, right?”

This was clearly offering him a Yama King position!

After hearing this, the other Yama Kings all showed some surprise in their eyes.

Song Emperor King sat in the first chair on the lower right, but relying on his old fox intuition, he sensed something subtly unusual, yet he didn’t speak up or warn “Li Han.”

Fu Chaosheng showed no special reaction whatsoever.

Of course, it wasn’t that he couldn’t understand Lord Qin Guang’s hint, but firstly, he truly looked down on these trivial matters between cultivators and ghost cultivators, and secondly, the Li Han he was impersonating was originally a cold-natured person with a kind of detached arrogance—even hearing such things, he wouldn’t be particularly excited.

So he replied blandly: “Li Han shall exert all efforts and not disappoint expectations!”

“Good!”

Lord Qin Guang clapped his hands, seeming extremely satisfied with this response.

“Then we’ll await your good news. Go then.”

“Yes, Li Han takes his leave.”

Fu Chaosheng bowed again and withdrew from the hall.

But when he flew down from the heights and landed back on the ground in Bafang City, his brow immediately furrowed, forcibly suppressing that strange discomfort and unease that suddenly arose from his heart, not looking back at the Qin Guang King Palace.

No, something was truly wrong…

The Universal Eyes were supposed to see everything.

Yet at this moment, he couldn’t quite see clearly into the depths beneath Bafang City.

Very deep underground was the Reincarnation Pool that supported the existence of the entire Extreme Domain, like a vast lake underground, with an empty surface.

Except for mist, there was nothing.

He couldn’t tell where this mist originated, much less what was hidden within it!

It was completely a dangerous perception from intuition!

Fu Chaosheng immediately had the thought to investigate further, lifting his feet to first head outside the city, planning to avoid Bafang City’s obvious surveillance before quietly infiltrating.

However, just as he took one step toward the city gate, another anomaly clearly transmitted through his demon consciousness!

—The Underworld Charity House!

The Universal Eyes could observe in all directions up and down, yet he couldn’t sense the Underworld Charity House, as if this place didn’t exist at all, much less Jian Chou who should currently be entering the charity house to investigate!

No trace at all!

A feeling of trembling suddenly struck. In a flash of lightning, Fu Chaosheng vaguely understood something. How could he still care about any deity Shao Ji or Reincarnation Pool? He immediately cast aside everything and headed outside Bafang City!

Almost the instant his figure disappeared outside the city, another figure drifted down, landing exactly where he had stood before, not a hair’s breadth off!

It was none other than Lord Qin Guang from the hall!

In his broad robes and wide sleeves, his bearing was extraordinarily dignified and imposing. He only glanced once toward the city gate direction, then smiled, but his eyes truly couldn’t be felt to have any human warmth.

Once bitten by a snake, one fears well-ropes for ten years. How many things had the Extreme Domain ruined because of Yashan’s Jian Chou and that Zhang Tang? How could the Bafang Yama Palace not be somewhat vigilant?

Not to mention that transcendent existences in this realm were more than just mayflies!

The smile at his lips gradually turned cold. Lord Qin Guang turned around, his figure vanishing, reappearing underground in Bafang City.

Above the Reincarnation Pool, mist stretched endlessly.

The pale purple pool water presented a deep, dark purple in these depths, as if fluff was soaked within it. A boardwalk extended from the poolside toward the mist in the center, where a whirlpool had actually appeared on the water surface. The Ghost Axe that Jian Chou had lost sensing connection with was suspended in this whirlpool.

But compared to initially, it had completely changed appearance.

The originally pitch-black axe body was covered with blood-red patterns, but now those countless evil spirits had all turned into bone-white as stark as skeletons.

A stream of black qi descended from heaven, a stream of white qi rose from earth.

These two streams, transformed from yin and yang, drawing this realm’s heaven and earth yin and yang qi, actually swirled and gathered in the concave groove of the Ghost Axe’s spine, continuously fusing and compressing, gradually becoming a state where you are in me and I am in you, difficult to separate.

At first glance, it looked extremely similar to the Two Instruments Pool at the boundary between the Yin and Yang Sects in the Northern Domain!

A pitch-black, lightless giant eye hid within that hazy, heavy mist, not blinking once. Below it in the Reincarnation Pool waters, dark shadows swam like soaring dragons, but compared to legendary dragons, these shadows appeared more solid and fierce, emanating an evil qi that seemed to want to devour everything, yet also very ancient.

Standing at the boardwalk’s end, one’s mind and spirit would be completely awed by this aura!

Making one unable to stop trembling, blood surging, yet not from resonance, but from fear! A fear buried deep in the blood, arising from opposition, born from slaughter!

Lord Qin Guang was already the embodiment of the Extreme Domain’s rules, yet even he could have such clear perception. If an ordinary person stood here, what would happen and what would they feel could be easily imagined.

He stopped at the boardwalk’s end, looking toward the Ghost Axe’s spine.

“The Two Instruments Pearl is about to form…”

Who could have thought?

Even the most learned and knowledgeable person in the Upper Void Immortal Realm probably wouldn’t know that fragments of Pangu’s Heaven-Opening Axe were actually in this realm, picked up by cultivators from the Northern Domain’s Yin and Yang Sects who were skilled in artifact refining, forged by extraordinary methods, forcibly embedding Two Instruments Pearls to maximize its power to communicate between yin and yang realms.

But how could this little bit be enough?

What he wanted wasn’t just something as simple as communicating between yin and yang!

Since it was the remnant axe left from Pangu’s opening of heaven, it retained a trace of Pangu’s residual will. With this trace of will, he could completely fulfill his most initial and ultimate mission since being born in this realm—

Not to govern reincarnation…

But to destroy reincarnation!

Wielding this Ghost Axe, reversing the laws of reincarnation, overturning the “Reincarnation Code” established by Pangu, scattering the six realms of beings, letting everything in the world return to its original state!

Originally, those who refined the Ghost Axe could only embed the Two Instruments Pearl, the supreme treasure of the Yin and Yang Sects, but his ability far exceeded those who initially crafted the Ghost Axe. Why would he need the Two Instruments Pearl? He only needed to extract Two Instruments qi from this heaven and earth to re-refine the Ghost Axe!

From first obtaining the Ghost Axe until now, it had been nine cycles of nine years, eighty-one years!

It should be ready, it should be ready!

Gradually, passionate madness spread through his eyes. Lord Qin Guang stared intently at the gradually forming yin-yang Two Instruments pattern on the axe spine, only asking: “Your nemesis has been lured away. How much longer until this axe is complete?”

That giant eye in the mist didn’t move at all, only the phantom in the Reincarnation Pool quietly glided, vaguely revealing two rows of black limbs like swords and halberds.

A hoarse, unpleasant voice emerged from the mist.

“One hour is sufficient!”

If Fu Chaosheng were here witnessing this personally, he would probably immediately recognize that this existence in the Reincarnation Pool mist that couldn’t be detected by him was precisely the ancient deity Shao Ji that he and Jian Chou wanted to find!

But he had missed it after all.

At this moment, how could Fu Chaosheng care about anything else?

Since he hadn’t been able to discover Jian Chou’s traces through his Universal Eyes and demon consciousness, he already felt something was wrong. He only flew at full speed, his speed leaving Bafang City more than ten times faster than when he came!

Leaping and dodging, teleporting and stopping instantly!

Without using half a quarter-hour, his figure had appeared once again above the banks of the lower Underworld River!

Standing in mid-air and looking down, where was the dilapidated and sinister appearance of the charity house that had been so peaceful when he left?

The surrounding miasma seemed to be dyed red with fresh blood!

The white bone walls forming the charity house were trembling, emitting an eerie glow, but shining on that blood-red miasma, they reflected countless white bones into blood-colored!

Inside and outside the charity house, a thousand blood coffins were all opened!

But their arrangement was different from before.

Jian Chou, disguised as Lian Zhao and wearing black robes, stood among them, actually surrounded by these thousand blood coffins. Whether they had already fought several battles was unknown, but she was now sitting cross-legged with closed eyes at the charity house’s main entrance, as if she might be swallowed by the charity house at any moment!

Seeing this situation, the originally faint demonic malevolent qi in Fu Chaosheng’s eyes almost instantly surfaced. Without thinking, he was about to dive down, wanting to directly use brute force to pull Jian Chou out of this Underworld Blood Coffin Great Array.

But just as he moved, Jian Chou below suddenly opened her eyes.

Her clear, calm gaze directly crossed the void, penetrating that blood-red miasma, falling on him as she said lightly: “Don’t come over.”

Fu Chaosheng’s figure immediately stopped, halting outside the miasma, unable to help showing surprise on his face.

He cast an uncomprehending look at her.

But Jian Chou obviously had no intention of explaining now. She only stood up from within the thousand blood coffin array, looking toward a certain direction at the miasma boundary in front of her, and smiled coldly: “The plan to lure the tiger from the mountain has succeeded. You should all show yourselves now, shouldn’t you?”

The existence hidden within the miasma immediately raised an eyebrow.

He walked out from the miasma—it was actually the terrifying old man without pupils who had previously guarded the charity house, but his cultivation was no longer what it had been before. He was completely able to match Jian Chou, even surpassing her!

The moment he revealed himself, that withered skin rapidly filled out, wrinkles smoothing, skin becoming smooth and full.

But his stature quickly shortened.

When he revealed his true face, even Fu Chaosheng was shocked!

Where was this the old man guarding the charity house?

This was clearly the fourth Yama King of the Bafang Yama Palace—

Wuguan King!

On the youth’s shoulders, gone was the docile little cat that used to perch there, so even though his expressionless face still showed some youthful inexperience, it still gave people a sense of oppressive intimidation.

This intimidation didn’t come from age, only from cultivation and status!

Standing in the miasma, behind him followed the hundred elite ghost cultivators who should have left with the ghost clan elders earlier!

Truly “the mantis stalks the cicada, with the oriole behind”!

She was scheming against others, and others were scheming against her!

When Jian Chou saw the other party reveal their true face, she thought to herself: Indeed it’s him, indeed it’s a trap!

Fu Chaosheng was naturally a heaven and earth supreme evil great demon, but that deity Shao Ji obviously also had considerable background. There were originally few completely impossible things in this world. He could sense the other party’s traces, and due to bloodline reasons could prevent others from detecting his traces, but the other party might not lack extraordinary methods to respond.

Moreover…

Moreover, the current Fu Chaosheng was not the Fu Chaosheng of the past—with half a heart more, there was half more variables!

Jian Chou held her sword, her guard extreme.

Fu Chaosheng didn’t know why she told him not to enter, but hearing those four words “lure the tiger from the mountain” in her words, he already felt something was wrong. In an instant, he thought of the mist he couldn’t see through in the depths underground at Bafang City, and the malevolent qi in his eyes deepened several degrees.

Perhaps only Wuguan King remained calm and composed.

The hundred elite ghost cultivators behind him obviously still hadn’t figured out what the current situation was, only knowing that “Lian Zhao” had somehow gone and returned, been trapped in this blood coffin array for a fierce battle, then “Li Han” had gone and returned, now outside the miasma, seemingly in confrontation with everyone.

They were completely confused.

But as the executor of Lord Qin Guang’s plan, Wuguan King understood everything before him clearly. He only raised his eyes to look at her, and the moment he spoke plainly, he revealed her identity: “Fairy Jian Chou is indeed as always, so fond of disguising as ghost cultivators. Why not stay in the Extreme Domain from now on and never return?”

Fairy… Fairy Jian Chou?

Just these words alone left the hundred-plus elite ghost cultivators behind Wuguan King dumbstruck!

All gazes immediately focused on Jian Chou!

Since she knew her identity was exposed, she was rather carefree about no longer concealing it. The smoke on her face dispersed, the seductive and wanton “Lian Zhao” disappeared, and a plain, cold, and beautiful face appeared before the ghost cultivators’ eyes. She smiled: “After exterminating the Extreme Domain, naturally I can stay as long as I want—no need for Your Highness Wuguan King to worry.”

Having said this, Heaven’s Line was already raised.

At this moment, she spoke again, but to Fu Chaosheng outside the miasma, only saying: “I can handle this place alone. Please, friend Chaosheng, go first and swiftly attack Bafang City!”