100: Chapter 99 Yinshan Ghost King, Tug-of-War

The entire Yinshan shook violently, black fog soared into the sky, and terrifying coercion stacked layer upon layer, directly pressing down and filling the entire underworld Realm.

As the black fog dissipated, the Yinshan Ghost King appeared in mid-air.

His figure was incomparably robust, with a pitch-black ghost body, wrapped all over in netherworld Dao patterns, and his Aura was extremely domineering.

As the ruler of the underworld, his superior Aura firmly suppressed all directions; ten thousand ghosts prostrated themselves, Evil Qi stood still, and he carried a majesty that crushed everything.

Ye Qingxuan raised his eyes to look and found that something was amiss; the Aura of this Yinshan Ghost King was not that of an ordinary Return to Void Peak.

Dao rhythms coiled around his body, faintly fitting the Great Dao of heaven and earth, clearly having touched the threshold of merging with the Dao.

Ye Qingxuan immediately spoke in a cold voice: "Merging with the Dao? It seems that this poor Taoist killed all the ghost kings, causing the Luck authority of the underworld to return to one, and you broke through to Half-step Integration by borrowing the general trend of this Realm."

As soon as these words were spoken, in the backstage of the China livestream room, the three Sect Heads instantly stood up together.

Master Yuanxin, Master Kongming, and Celestial Master Zhang—the expressions of the three instantly sank to the extreme.

Back then, a Half-step Integration drought demon almost punched through the entire cultivation world; the major Sects suffered countless casualties, mighty figures perished in batches, and the cultivation world almost directly had its Legacy cut off.

Half-step Integration and Return to Void were completely two different dimensions; how was this supposed to be fought? The hearts of the three big shots were all tightly clenched, filled with dread and worry.

Then the three of them thought of something and instantly relaxed.

Leaving the host beside them bewildered.

But these foreign netizens didn't understand a single bit of these things.

And those leaders had looks of joy on their faces. Half-step Integration? Wouldn't that be able to kill Ye Qingxuan?

Immediately, countless leaders silently prayed in their hearts: 'Must, must! Kill him!!'

Foreign countries had no cultivation system, and these barbarians, let alone national leaders, didn't even understand cultivation Realms, let alone what Half-step Integration meant.

They simply looked at the terrifying Aura of the Yinshan Ghost King and watched Ye Qingxuan standing in place without moving, directly assuming that Ye Qingxuan was scared.

In an instant, global overseas bullet comments completely exploded, madly mocking and flooding the screen.

The remnants of Japan, Bangzi, and A-San jumped the most joyfully.

[ Hahaha, you can't keep up the act anymore, can you! ]

[ The ultimate BOSS has appeared, the China Chosen One is a dead man! ]

[ You were so arrogant slaughtering minor ghosts before, now you've completely chickened out! ]

[ China's National Destiny is completely finished! ]

Netizens from the United States, Britain, and France also followed the trend to mock, all uniformly looking down on him.

[ The Aura is completely suppressed, there is no chance of a comeback ]

[ The gap in Realms is right here, death is certain ]

[ China is completely done for this time, and the plunge in National Destiny is a foregone conclusion ]

[ Our Thor is about to complete the mission! ]

[ Her Highness Alice and the others are the same! ]

[ Haha, once China's Ye fails the mission and the ghost king descends tenfold, China will be finished!! ]

A bunch of laymen who didn't understand anything, purely relying on their naked eyes to watch the fun and mindlessly reveling, had no idea what level of battle they were mocking.

Domestic netizens watched as their anger skyrocketed, directly flooding the screen to fiercely counter.

[ A bunch of good-for-nothing trash who don't understand anything, stop talking bullshit! ]

[ Your country's Chosen One is still hiding from monsters just to survive, how do you even have the nerve to mock Daoist Ye ]

[ If you can't understand high-end duels, shut your mouths and don't come out to make a fool of yourselves! ]

[ The victory or defeat hasn't been decided yet, is it your turn, a group of ants, to point fingers? ]

Bright red bullet comments instantly filled the entire screen, directly crushing all overseas mocking bullet comments.

Foreign netizens were refuted to the point of speechlessness, no longer daring to casually bubble up.

But domestic cultivation experts who knew the ropes had extremely heavy hearts; they were well aware of just how terrifying Half-step Integration truly was.

No matter how strong Return to Void was, it was ultimately still within the category of Mortal Cultivators and could only drive Laws; whereas Half-step Integration had already stepped one foot into the immortal path, capable of borrowing the power of heaven and earth—it was completely a different style of fighting.

In Tianshi Mansion, Zhang Yuzhuo concluded his seclusion and looked at the livestream room with a worried face; he was also unsure whether Ye Qingxuan had any certainty.

In the Heavenly Demon Palace, Yun Huan looked at the livestream room with a gloomy face, her fingernails directly scratching open her palms, yet she felt nothing.

In Yaowang Valley, Lin Yao, who was in seclusion, almost suffered Qi Deviation.

Wudang...

Chunyang Palace...

Genies of countless major Sects were extremely worried; Ye Qingxuan was the person they admired and worshiped the most, and they were unwilling to see anything happen to him.

Maoshan ——

Senior Brothers Qingming, Qingyun, and Qingmo instantly tightened their spirits, and their Auras erupted uncontrollably.

Fortunately, Qingling calmed down, waved her hand to release the Xuanling Furnace, isolating the coercion.

"Calm down, everyone. Qingxuan will be fine."

"Third Sister, that's a Half-step Integration! Even if Qingxuan is in the Late Stage of Return to Void, the gap is just too huge!!" Qingyun was spinning around in anxiety.

Qingming calmed down. "How strong was that drought demon back then? Can Qingxuan's current strength deal with it?"

"The gap between Return to Void and Body Integration is large, but that ghost king is only at Half-step Integration and broke through with the help of authority; it's not as strong as that drought demon back then. Moreover, Qingxuan has a backup plan given by the Ancestral Master on him—below Heavenly Immortal, no one can kill him."

Qingling only gave a rough explanation, allowing the few of them to relax.

After calming down, Qingmo analyzed: "Junior Brother has the Purple Thunder Talisman and the Divine Ability of Mastering the Five Thunders; he can win!"

National Destiny Space——

Above the firmament, the hollow ghost eyes of the Yinshan Ghost King locked tightly onto Ye Qingxuan. His voice was cold and domineering, carrying the indifference of ruling a Realm.

"You certainly have decent eyesight. Thanks to you for clearing away all the separatist miscellaneous ghosts for this seat, making the authority Perfection, and successfully stepping out this step. This favor, this seat will repay with your life."

As his voice fell, the terrifying coercion of Half-step Integration completely exploded.

The entire underworld earth shook crazily, endless black fog churned ceaselessly, and all the Yin Evil Qi between heaven and earth gathered upon the Ghost King's body.

Under the blessing of authority, his originally floating and unstable Realm grew increasingly solid, and the mighty momentum of Half-step Integration completely took shape.

Ye Qingxuan's expression remained unchanged, and his heart was extremely calm; he knew the other party's background inside out.

This ghost king was originally an old ghost stuck at the Return to Void Peak for countless years. Although his Foundation was thick, he could never cross the final step.

This Breakthrough completely borrowed the external force of the underworld's complete authority, belonging to a temporary surge with a floating Foundation, far less stable than orthodox, bitterly cultivated Half-step Integration mighty figures.

It looked terrifying, but in reality, it was somewhat watered down. Even so, this was solid Half-step Integration combat power, crushing all Return to Void Cultivators.

If any Cultivator of the same Realm were to come over, their Dao Foundation would be crushed on the spot by this Dao coercion, causing them to perish instantly.

But Ye Qingxuan was not afraid at all. From his debut until now, the cross-Realm battles he had fought were countless, and he had never shied away from battle just because the opponent's Realm was high.

Facing the Netherworld Supreme before him who broke through by borrowing momentum, Ye Qingxuan no longer held back, opening all his trump cards completely.

The Manifestation of Dharma and Earth unfurled with a roar, its towering dharma image reaching the heavens and standing upon the earth, forcefully withstanding the overwhelming coercion and distantly confronting the Ghost King in mid-air.

Following that, the Nine Secrets of Daoism, open!

Nine Supreme Dao secret methods operated simultaneously, forcibly plundering the heaven and earth power of the entire underworld, madly pouring it into his own body and the dharma image. The Nine Secrets amplification and the dharma image blessing!

Multiple terrifying forces stacked layer upon layer, and Ye Qingxuan's stable Late Stage of Return to Void Realm instantly broke through the shackles, surging all the way up and steadily stepping into the Return to Void Peak!

At this moment, his whole body was wrapped in the mighty force of a Realm, and his combat power was completely maxed out.

Clearly only at the Return to Void Peak, he relied on countless Heaven-Defying methods to forcefully elevate his own combat power to a level capable of contending with Half-step Integration.

Within the Void Realm, two extremely terrifying forces violently counter-collided.

On one side was the Netherworld Supreme whose authority had returned to one and who had temporarily attained the Half-step Integration stage.

On the other side was the Human Race Prodigy who had stacked all his trump cards and used the general trend of heaven and earth to defy the heavens and cross the Realm barrier.

Heaven and earth oscillated, and black fog churned.

The atmosphere of the entire scene was depressed to the extreme; the ultimate death battle was on the verge of breaking out.

The overwhelming thick black fog swept across the entire nether air domain, and the chilly wind carrying bone-piercing Yin Qi churned madly.

Ye Qingxuan urged the dharma image with all his might, his towering figure standing tall in the high sky, and the mighty spiritual light spread outward, forcefully pressing the surrounding scattered Yin Qi to constantly shrink inward.

This was his first time facing a powerful enemy of the Half-step Integration level head-on, and he held nothing back from the start, displaying all his means to the fullest.

He raised his hand to condense Talismans in mid-air, and with a wave of his hand, Five Thunder Talismans, Samadhi True Fire Talismans, and Evil-Suppressing Soul-Locking Talismans formed in batches.

They smashed overwhelmingly toward the Yinshan Ghost King. Talisman after Talisman crashed against the thick Yin Qi barrier; thunder light burst, Samadhi True Fire churned fiercely, and the continuous roars shook the entire nether earth to slightly sway.

Taking advantage of the Ghost King being restrained by the overwhelming Talismans, Ye Qingxuan swung the giant arm of the dharma image, and thousands of sharp Sword Qi tore through layers of black fog. Dense sword blades continuously slashed at the surface of the ghost body, scraping off wisps of dissipating black gas;

Raising his fingertips slightly to trigger the Samadhi True Fire, crimson flames wrapped around the Sword Qi, burning and wearing away the Ghost King's heavy protective Yin Qi.

Following closely with the operation of the Divine Ability, Heaven and Earth Lose Color suddenly spread out, and the entire engagement area instantly turned into a dead, ash-white color. The power of Laws descended, slightly restricting the Ghost King's movements while slightly suppressing its leaking cultivation Realm.

From the Ghost King's throat came an enraged roar: "Mere Return to Void cultivation, yet you dare to show off your Divine Ability in front of this seat!"

[part:gemini-3.6-flash]

As its voice fell, it mobilized the Origin Yin Qi of the entire Yinshan ley line, its massive ghost claw wrapped in destructive Evil Qi as it struck directly at Ye Qingxuan's Dharma manifestation.

Ye Qingxuan's expression remained unchanged as he instantly unleashed Clearing After Snow. Thousands of Sword Qi strands intertwined into thick chains, tightly binding the ghost king's limbs and torso, cutting off its continuous draw of ley line Evil Qi.

"Trying to lock me down is pure delusion!" The ghost king's true essence exploded wildly as it struggled with all its might. The chains creaked under the tension, yet it was unable to break free immediately.

Taking advantage of this window of restraint, Ye Qingxuan activated Five Thunders Orthodoxy.

"Thunder, come!" Against dark evil, thunder magic was always the best choice.

Heavy thunderclouds churned in the sky, and streaks of divine purple lightning crashed down with a roar, striking the ghost king's body one after another.

The violent divine lightning tore through its outer Yin Qi armor. The explosive power of lightning penetrated the ghost's Meridians, causing its entire body to twitch violently. The black smoke covering its surface dispersed in large swathes. Having taken a round of lightning strikes head-on, scorch marks covered its body, leaving it lightly injured.

In excruciating pain, the ghost king roared and exerted all its true essence, forcefully snapping all the Sword Qi chains.

Just as it broke free and before it could stabilize its footing, Ye Qingxuan condensed Peak slaughter Sword Intent at his fingertip and pointed: "Immortal-Slaying Finger!"

A point of razor-sharp light pierced through the storm clouds and black mist, precisely stabbing toward the ghost king's Divine Soul.

The sharp Sword Intent pierced through its flesh and bored straight into its Origin soul. The ghost king's body shuddered violently as its ghostly chest caved in, letting out a horrific screech. Though its injuries worsened, its combat power remained unaffected.

The two clashed with Dharma manifestations, Talisman bombardments, divine thunder strikes, Sword Qi showdowns, and Divine Ability power struggles—fighting from high up in the sky down to the subterranean rock layers, then soaring back into the clouds.

The land spanning thousands of miles across the Underworld was left in utter ruins.

Through the prolonged battle, both sides' true essence and magic power were draining. Neither could deliver a decisive blow to severely wound the other, trapping them in a deadlocked battle of attrition.

However, Ye Qingxuan possessed Huandan Fa, giving him ten times the magic power of others in the same Realm, making him entirely fearless of a battle of attrition.

The ghost king panted heavily with its massive body, its surrounding Yin Qi fluctuating erratically. It spoke with a trace of ferocity, "Your Foundation far exceeds my expectations. To think that relying solely on the Void Refinement Realm, you can fight me for so long."

Ye Qingxuan's Dharma manifestation stood firmly in the Void Realm. Although his Aura flickered slightly, he remained composed:

"You relied on the Netherworld Realm to pile up your Realm, but in a real contest of magic power stamina and Dao Foundation, you haven't held the upper hand for even a moment."

The live comment section scrolled rapidly, filled with praise from domestic viewers:

[Daoist Ye's combo is so smooth! Binding it, following up with Five Thunders Orthodoxy to blast it, then adding Immortal-Slaying Finger to break its defense—top-tier strategy!]

[Thunder magic specifically counters dark evil ghosts. The ghost king is completely hard-countered!]

[Even a Half-step Integration powerhouse was lightly injured; Daoist Ye is truly the ceiling of Void Refinement combat power!]

Overseas comments were full of mockery and doubt:

[It's just a minor injury, far from fatal. Once the ghost king recovers, he'll turn the tables.]

[His magic power will run out eventually. When he can no longer cast divine thunder Talismans, that'll be his defeat.]

[He only gained a minor advantage through a combo. The Realm gap is right there; he won't last much longer.]

In the livestream room—

Master Yuanxin: "With Huandan Fa, Qingxuan isn't afraid of an attrition battle at all. He is just testing him."

Celestial Master Zhang: "Mm, I see it too. He hasn't even used his ace Divine Ability yet."

Master Kongming: "Truly, boldness comes from skill. To dare play around like this against a Half-step Integration fighter."

Xiao Sa was stunned. They were fighting like this, and it was just a test?

On the Mortal battlefield—

Duyuan, Lin Lei, Bai Yuekui, and Yan Chixia fought their way straight to Pudu Cihang.

The entire airspace was shrouded in a hypocritical layer of golden Buddhist light, intertwined with chilling Demonic Qi deep within.

Pudu Cihang stood in the center of the halo, clad in a kasaya, feigning a compassionate and indifferent expression. He looked at the four surrounding him and spoke slowly:

"Amitabha. The sea of suffering is boundless; turn back to reach the shore. Benefactors, put down the butcher's knife and attain Buddhahood on the spot."

Duyuan stepped forward, dressed solemnly in his monastic robes. His Buddhist Heavenly Eye pierced through the monster true form beneath the disguise, and he shouted in a booming voice like a giant bell:

"Impudent monster! I knew at a glance you weren't human!"

As his words fell, a ten-thousand-zhang golden light burst from his body. His Sixteen-Foot Golden Body suddenly unfolded, orthodox Buddhist light suppressing the surrounding Demonic Qi.

"Om Mani Padme Hum!"

The Six-Word Mantra reverberated through heaven and earth. The swirling golden mantra runes formed a thick barrier, protecting his Divine Soul and resisting the invasion of demonic arts at their Origin.

The look of compassion on Pudu Cihang's face instantly faded, a sinister sneer curling at the corner of his mouth: "Since you insist on opposing me, then taste the flavor of Karmic Obstruction devouring your hearts!"

"Put down the butcher's knife and attain Buddhahood! Put down the butcher's knife and attain Buddhahood!"

In an instant, the chilling Soul-Stealing Sanskrit Chant swept fiercely across all directions. Fine, piercing chanting drilled straight into everyone's Sea of Consciousness, attempting to disrupt the energy flowing within them and break down their mental defenses.

Comments section—

[Holy shit, what the hell is that sound?]

[Damn, just hearing it makes me feel so irritated.]

[This is Soul-Stealing Sanskrit Chant. It was already weakened by the National Destiny Space, and it's still this powerful?]

[Whoa, even with our entire population practicing cultivation we can barely handle it, what about those lurking foreigners?]

[Haha, serves them right!]

[Though, I have to re-evaluate Great Master Duyuan. This Killing Intent, this majesty—awesome! I knew the National Destiny Space wouldn't pick people at random.]

[Haha, look at Abbot Kongming's face.]

[Holy crap, so dark?]

In the livestream room—

Celestial Master Zhang: "Haha, I knew it! A Duyuan like this truly resembles his Grandmaster!"

Master Yuanxin remarked meaningfully, "Interesting. It seems this Duyuan has been suppressed quite heavily by someone."

Master Kongming's face was as black as charcoal, and he didn't even want to speak anymore.

Xiao Sa could only smile politely: "Great Master Duyuan is truly worthy of being the champion of the Grand Ritual of Luotian, indeed impressive!"

Lingyin Temple—

In the Buddha hall, Master Yuanyi watched the footage from the National Destiny Space and nodded in satisfaction, especially at Duyuan's murderous posture.

"That's it! Now he looks like the grand-disciple of my monk-brother, that reckless monk! What was with that overly serious look earlier?"

Abroad—

When Pudu Cihang's Soul-Stealing Sanskrit Chant sounded, countless people lurking in China's livestream room instantly lost their sanity, turning into murderous maniacs and plunging everything into chaos.

Over a million violent assault incidents broke out outside of China in an instant.

Leaders of various countries hurriedly delivered speeches, urging all citizens to exit China's livestream room.

In the National Destiny Space—

Duyuan activated his golden body and fully operated his mantra Zen sounds, clashing head-on against the demonic chanting. The two sound waves collided in midair, exploding in rings of shockwaves, firmly protecting his mind from corruption.

Bai Yuekui's glabella glowed faintly as her mental telekinesis formed an airtight mental barrier around her, completely walling off the chanting trying to penetrate her mind.

No matter how the demonic sound tore at her Divine Soul barrier, it couldn't shake her in the slightest. She gripped her Tang sword firmly with one hand, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment.

Lin Lei went without saying; as a martial artist Cultivator, his will was rock-solid, guarding his spirit platform. No matter how enticing or disturbing the Sanskrit chants were in his ears, his mind remained as firm as a boulder.

The eight elemental powers around his body flowed slowly at his sides, awaiting the moment to strike.

Yan Chixia silently operated his secret art. A wisp of mind-clearing spiritual light enveloped his head, casting aside stray thoughts to settle his heart. The xuanyuan evil-slaying sword in his hand gleamed with frigid cold light as he stared intently at the weak flaw in the Buddhist light defense.

Seeing that everyone firmly endured the erosion of the Soul-Stealing Sanskrit Chant, Pudu Cihang's expression grew even uglier.

Seizing the gap in the opponent's spellcasting, Duyuan pressed down with a giant golden palm through the air,

"Arhat Heaven-Overturning Seal!"

Carrying the power to suppress all evil, it smashed fiercely against the protective Buddhist light, producing a thunderous boom that violently caved in the entire barrier of golden light.

Bai Yuekui transformed into a white blur and surged forward at extreme speed. Her Saber Intent was sharp as she slashed at the crack in the Buddhist light. Empowered by mental telekinesis and true Qi, she widened the crack on the barrier strike after strike.

Lin Lei followed close behind, pouring out all eight elemental powers.

His magic-martial Divine Ability crashed like a torrent into the exact same flaw. The violent elemental shockwave eroded the defensive Foundation of the Buddhist light layer by layer.

Yan Chixia sprinted through the air, his sword point stabbing precisely into the gap where Demonic Qi leaked out. His Demon-Slaying Sword Qi continuously pierced inward, forcing Pudu Cihang to hastily divert large amounts of demonic power to repair his defense.

In terms of raw strength, Pudu Cihang was stronger, but the four's offensive and defensive coordination was seamless—clearly divided into frontal suppression, mental defense, and heavy attacks to break defenses.

Pudu Cihang repeatedly cast Soul-Stealing Sanskrit Chants to try disrupting their rhythm while mobilizing demonic power to condense skies of Buddhist palms for counterattacks, contending against the four.

Powers collided and exploded continuously, causing the earth beneath their feet to tremble and crack. Neither side could gain ground, and a brutal battle of attrition unfolded.