When Yuanyao and Yanli saw the beautiful woman here, their faces naturally turned pale in an instant.
“So it’s two half-ghost bodies. No wonder they could break through the restriction!”
The purple-armored warrior, whose origins were unknown, glanced at the two women and immediately discerned Yuanyao and Yanli’s true nature, losing interest afterward.
Instead, his gaze shifted to Han Li.
Almost instantly, Han Li felt a chilling spiritual sense sweep over him, as if trying to see through him completely.
Frowning, Han Li slightly activated the Great Development Art within his body, blocking most of the opponent’s probing spiritual sense while simultaneously scanning the other party in return.
As a result, while the purple-armored warrior let out another soft exclamation, Han Li’s expression also flickered.
This warrior’s body was unnaturally cold—clearly not made of flesh and blood—yet it also didn’t contain any ghostly energy.
Extending his spiritual sense to the other two warriors and the blood-armored soldiers, he found that, apart from the monstrous beasts pulling the chariots, none of them showed any signs of life.
“Puppets!”
The realization flashed through Han Li’s mind, and his astonishment was evident.
Judging by their appearance, these puppets seemed to have taken control of the ghostly creatures in the Netherworld River region. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have spoken as they did earlier.
Aside from the blood-armored soldiers behind the three warriors, the auras of the three puppet warriors were distinct, likely due to being possessed by beings of great power.
Mu Qing and the beautiful woman hadn’t immediately attacked these puppets, suggesting that their strength was not inferior to the two women and their ghostly soldiers.
Otherwise, the current standoff wouldn’t exist—they would have already been obliterated by the two women’s formidable powers.
With Six Legs and the Earthblood Old Freak absent and the earlier ghostly roars from the mist, it seemed the two were still trapped inside, unable to break free.
Han Li’s thoughts raced as he considered this.
“You two, come here!” Mu Qing suddenly beckoned to Han Li.
Even if Han Li was unwilling, he had no choice but to fly over with gritted teeth.
“Greetings, Seniors!” Han Li clasped his fists respectfully upon arriving before Mu Qing and the beautiful woman.
“Fellow Daoist Han, where is Jin Ling? Why isn’t it with you?” To Han Li’s surprise, Mu Qing didn’t question their escape from the ghostly mist but instead inquired about the golden ape.
“This junior doesn’t know. Earlier, Brother Jin and I were separated in the mist when the ghostly creatures attacked.” Han Li answered truthfully, as there was no need to hide it.
“Separated?” Mu Qing frowned.
“Senior Mu, who are those people? Did they set up the ghostly mist?” Han Li glanced at the puppets opposite and asked slowly.
“Lady Lan and I only just broke free from the mist. We intended to dismantle the entire restriction, but these things interfered before we could investigate further. However, we didn’t encounter them during our last visit here. They must have entered the Netherworld River from the outside, just like us.” Mu Qing also seemed puzzled.
“Outsiders?” Han Li’s expression shifted.
“Fellow Daoist Han, you must have realized that the opposing force is an army of puppets. But don’t underestimate them—the three leading puppets are extraordinary. Even if we personally intervene, we can’t be certain of destroying them.” Mu Qing’s voice grew solemn as she looked toward the enemy.
Meanwhile, the white-haired beautiful woman didn’t question Yuanyao and the other woman who had returned to her side. Instead, she coldly addressed the three warrior puppets in the distance:
“Old woman doesn’t care what your true forms are. I’ll ask one last time—will you lift the restriction below or not?”
“Lift the restriction? Don’t delude yourselves! You outsiders dare to trespass into our Ephemera Clan’s sacred land and covet our holy relics. The last intruders were also you, weren’t they? You nearly succeeded then. This time, you won’t leave alive.” The purple-armored warrior’s voice was icy.
“Ephemera Clan!” The white-haired woman’s face paled, and Mu Qing’s heart skipped a beat.
Han Li, however, frowned, finding no recollection of this race in his knowledge.
“You know of our clan? Good. If you surrender willingly, we might spare your lives. Otherwise, even if you escape today, our clan will hunt you down in the Spirit Realm and erase you.” The purple-armored warrior sounded surprised but quickly turned ruthless.
Hearing the threat, the white-haired woman and Mu Qing exchanged glances, their expressions grave.
They then began whispering to each other through sound transmission.
The purple-armored warrior sneered but didn’t interrupt.
As the transmission continued, the white-haired woman’s expression shifted uncertainly, while Mu Qing frowned deeply, her eyes flickering as if unable to decide.
“You claim this is the Ephemera Clan’s sacred land? Who would believe that? Since when has the Ephemera Clan practiced ghostly arts?” the white-haired woman retorted.
“That’s none of your concern! Do you truly think the Netherworld River surrounding this space appeared out of thin air?” The purple-armored warrior replied dismissively.
The beautiful woman and Mu Qing’s expressions shifted again, their belief in the opponent’s words growing.
“Hmph! Who knows if you’re truly the Ephemera Clan or impostors? Even if you are, only a Sky Ephemera-tier being would make us wary. These mere puppets you’ve possessed dare to demand our surrender?” After a moment of silence, the white-haired woman’s face darkened with fury.
Mu Qing didn’t stop her, but a layer of green energy surfaced on her face.
The purple-armored warrior’s eyes flashed red behind his visor. Without further words, he slapped the rhino-like beast beneath him.
The beast raised its head and inhaled sharply.
With a whoosh, the surrounding air seemed to vanish into its maw before it roared and spat out a blinding green sphere, hurtling toward the beautiful woman and her allies.
A deafening explosion erupted from the green sphere!
The beautiful woman’s face darkened as she formed hand seals. A massive, disheveled ghostly figure emerged behind her, swelling several times in size before spitting out a black sphere.
When the two spheres collided, an earth-shaking explosion erupted!
Amidst the clash of green and black light, a mushroom-shaped cloud surged into the sky between the two groups.
The beautiful woman let out a piercing shriek, and behind her, thousands of ghostly soldiers, led by eight ghost kings, transformed into dark winds and charged toward the enemy.
The purple-armored warrior snorted, his shoulders shifting as the twin golden hammers on his back vanished, reappearing in his hands.
“Though merely a puppet, I can still wield half my strength,” he murmured before hurling the hammers skyward.
The hammers spun midair, multiplying into hundreds of golden illusions that silently rained down upon the dark winds.
Eight howls rose from the winds as eight ghost kings emerged, either hurling their weapons as black streaks, striking the air, or spewing dark mists.
A black barrier formed, ensnaring the golden hammer illusions like fish in a net.
“Pathetic tricks!” The purple-armored warrior sneered, then triggered an incantation. The trapped hammer illusions exploded simultaneously, shredding the black barrier.
The golden light surged downward, threatening to engulf the eight ghost kings—until Mu Qing intervened.
She raised a hand and clenched it in the air.
Beneath the golden light, a rich fragrance filled the air as countless giant flower illusions materialized, halting the golden sphere’s descent.
Seizing the moment, the ghostly soldiers surged into the enemy ranks.
The purple-armored warrior waved a hand, and a row of blood-armored archers stepped forward, loosing a hail of crimson arrows into the dark winds.
Explosions of blood-red light flashed within the winds, sending ghostly figures tumbling from the sky.
Yet, the ghostly soldiers, led by the eight kings, crashed into the blood-armored army, igniting a cacophony of battle cries and wails.
Neither the ghost kings nor the ordinary ghostly soldiers dared approach the three warrior puppets, who in turn ignored them, focusing solely on the white-haired woman and Mu Qing.
Han Li, Yuanyao, and Yanli were disregarded entirely.
The two women, however, watched the three puppets warily.
Apart from the purple-armored one, the other two were peculiar.
One stood fifteen feet tall, with three eyes and a massive axe, clad in spiked black-and-green armor that gleamed ominously.
The other was only six feet tall, wearing crimson armor, with two heads and four arms, each wielding a different weapon—a sword, spear, blade, and halberd.
Their mounts were identical—blood-red, bull-like beasts of unknown origin.
These two had remained silent until now, deferring to the purple-armored puppet.
But suddenly, the three-eyed puppet spoke:
“No need to fight them head-on. Just stall them. I’ve already summoned reinforcements. Once they finish off the other intruders, they’ll join us.”
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