“It seems we’ve indeed found the right person. Brother Han, listen carefully!” Yan Li’s face lit up with joy upon hearing Han Li’s response, and she immediately began transmitting her message via voice transmission, her lips moving subtly.
Han Li focused intently, his expression shifting thoughtfully as he absorbed her words.
Meanwhile, Yuan Yao stood quietly nearby, her gaze flickering unpredictably as it swept over Han Li’s face.
“This method is indeed feasible. However, I suspect only the two of you working together could accomplish such a thing in the Netherworld River,” Han Li remarked after hearing the transmission, exhaling deeply.
“Brother Han is correct. The yin energy in the Netherworld River can only resonate with the refined yin energy within my junior sister and me. Of course, the Ghost Granny could also achieve this, but she would never undo the mark she placed herself,” Yan Li replied with a charming smile.
“Very well. But how exactly do you wish for me to assist you?” Han Li nodded and inquired.
“Making the Ghost Granny abandon her designs on us entirely is likely impossible. But delaying her attack is still feasible. If we can stall until we enter the Netherworld River, the three of us will have a chance to escape her control,” Yuan Yao explained slowly.
Han Li’s brow twitched slightly, but he remained silent, knowing the two women would elaborate further.
Sure enough, Yan Li immediately continued:
“The Ghost Granny and her allies currently have great need of your assistance. If we merely hint that you are an old friend of ours with deep ties, and if you express some admiration for Sister Yuan in front of the Ghost Granny, she may harbor suspicions but will likely refrain from acting against us for the time being.”
“Admiration for Miss Yuan?” Han Li blinked in surprise, his gaze shifting to Yuan Yao’s delicate, flawless face.
Despite her years of cultivation, Yuan Yao’s cheeks flushed faintly at Yan Li’s words, enhancing her already striking beauty with an added radiance.
“If it’s merely a matter of words, I can certainly comply. However, if the Ghost Granny has struck some agreement with Mu Qing, the effectiveness of this plan remains uncertain,” Han Li cautioned.
“Is that so?” Yan Li’s expression darkened momentarily before she let out a bitter chuckle.
“If that’s the case, there is indeed some risk. But apart from this plan, we truly have no other options. We can only leave it to fate and see how much importance the Ghost Granny places on you, Brother Han,” Yuan Yao sighed, her face similarly troubled.
“Then let’s do this: Brother Han, when confirming our claims, exaggerate your words slightly to make the Ghost Granny believe you are deeply infatuated with Junior Sister Yuan. That should make her hesitate further, reducing the likelihood of her acting rashly. Additionally, the Ghost Granny knows some of our background. Your secret of disguising as a Feiling tribesman may not hold,” Yan Li suggested after careful consideration.
“Pretending to be a Feiling tribesman was merely a spur-of-the-moment decision. Whether the Ghost Granny knows or not makes little difference to me. What they truly care about is not my identity but my ability to wield the Evil-Dispelling Divine Lightning,” Han Li replied dismissively, shaking his head.
“Since Brother Han says so, we are completely reassured. There’s no time to waste—once the Ghost Granny emerges, we will act according to plan, and you need only respond accordingly. As long as it doesn’t involve our true scheme, you may even reveal some details from the human world to her. A mix of truth and lies will make her more likely to believe us,” Yan Li advised.
“Very well. I will do my best to cooperate,” Han Li agreed after a moment of contemplation, his expression firm.
Hearing this, Yuan Yao and Yan Li visibly relaxed, their gazes toward Han Li softening with gratitude.
After discussing a few more details, the two women finally took their leave.
Despite the Ghost Granny being in seclusion, they dared not linger and hurried back to the deeper layers of the Abyss.
Han Li watched as the two women transformed into gusts of yin wind, vanishing beyond the horizon in an instant. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, his body shimmered with spiritual light, morphing into a magnificent peacock over ten feet long, its plumage dazzlingly vibrant.
With a flap of its wings, radiant light erupted, causing the surrounding space to hum faintly.
Amid a swirl of five-colored radiance, the peacock blurred and transformed into a streak of light, streaking toward the heart of the mountain range.
Soon after, Han Li reappeared in his cave abode, entering a secluded chamber and sealing the door behind him.
Two months later, a dark gust of yin wind swept in from the horizon, descending directly onto Han Li’s cave without hesitation before vanishing as if absorbed into the mountain itself.
The restrictions Han Li had set up seemed to have no effect on it whatsoever.
After a full hour, the cave door opened once more, and the black yin wind surged out, disappearing into the distant sky.
Only then did the cave door slowly close again.
Time flew by. After the mountains were blanketed in white snow twice, two years passed in the blink of an eye.
…
The Abyss was divided into seven layers, with the seventh being where the dark energy was most concentrated.
Some of the mindless Abyss creatures here were so powerful that even the four Demon Kings hesitated to provoke them.
Thus, even the white-haired beauty, who adored yin energy, chose to build her palace in the sixth layer rather than the seventh.
Yet on this day, an exceptionally desolate gray desert in the seventh layer was teeming with countless demonic figures—tens of thousands in number.
Most were low-level Abyss creatures, while others appeared far more peculiar.
Some were shrouded in vast black yin winds, within which ghostly shadows flickered and eerie wails echoed, causing other creatures to keep their distance.
Above this mass of yin wind hovered the white-haired beauty, flanked by eight towering figures clad in fearsome armor. Some wielded weapons, while others were empty-handed, their faces obscured in shadow.
Further away floated two beautiful women—Yuan Yao and Yan Li.
Not far from the yin winds stood rows of motionless puppets of varying heights.
Most were earthen or stone puppets, roughly ten feet tall, their bodies shimmering with gray-white or brownish light, though their craftsmanship was crude. A smaller number were black-green wooden puppets or metallic ones radiating dark energy.
These latter puppets were far more refined in both materials and inscribed formations.
Yet the most striking among them was a thirty-foot-tall, six-eyed purple-red puppet at the center—a scaled-down version of the colossal Bloodflame Puppet crafted by the Bloodflame Old Freak beneath his palace.
Though still towering, it was no longer as overwhelmingly massive as before.
On its shoulders stood two blood-robed figures, their hands clasped behind their backs.
At the forefront of the puppet and demon army stood several figures at an elevated position.
One, draped entirely in a black cloak, was the most enigmatic of the four Demon Kings—Six-Arms. Above his head floated a massive eyeball, radiating eerie gray light.
Not far from him hovered a gigantic golden flower, upon which stood Mu Qing, gazing skyward. Beside her stood a golden-furred ape, twin swords strapped to its back, its eyes gleaming coldly.
Below them stood over a hundred high-level demons in semi-human forms, their expressions solemn.
Next to the golden ape stood a green-robed youth, arms crossed, his face impassive—Han Li, who had been cultivating alone for years before being forcibly summoned by the Demon Kings.
His eyes occasionally swept over the surrounding puppets and demons, revealing no outward reaction, though inwardly he was astounded.
With so many low-level creatures gathered, this was likely the majority of the forces the four Demon Kings controlled in the Abyss.
Beyond these, the ghostly soldiers within the black winds and the tens of thousands of puppets clearly represented even greater power.
These forces must have been accumulated over centuries of collaboration among the Demon Kings.
Their willingness to invest such effort suggested they were absolutely determined to seize the Netherworld River. But what exactly lay within that made them stake everything on this venture?
Han Li’s thoughts churned uneasily.
At that moment, Six-Arms stirred and issued a cold command:
“Lady Mu, the time is near. Proceed with the blood sacrifice.”
Mu Qing nodded and raised a hand.
From among the high-level demons below, several figures flew up, each carrying a blood-red leather pouch. Without a word, they reached a high point and simultaneously shook their pouches open.
With a series of wet thuds, crimson liquid gushed forth, forming bloody rivers that converged midair into a massive sphere of blood, nearly a hundred feet in diameter.
The stench of blood instantly filled the sky.
Mu Qing stepped lightly on her golden flower, vanishing in a flash of black light before reappearing before the blood sphere.
With a solemn expression, she raised a small black vial, which floated above the sphere.
A spell incantation later, the vial spun, its lid flying off as several fist-sized black-red droplets fell into the blood, disappearing without a trace.
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