“I hope you can keep your word!” Chen Ping said coldly.
No sooner had he spoken than Chen Ping suddenly sensed a dangerous aura.
He jerked his head up, only to see the northwestern horizon swallowed by thick, inky darkness, with rolling black clouds carrying countless soul flames, resembling the pupils of some living creature, locking onto his position from dozens of miles away.
Above the ruins of the Seventh Hall, the aura of the underworld surged like ink.
Granny Ghostclaw hovered in midair, the soul beads between her ten fingers glowing with a violent red light, casting the entire sky in an eerie blood-red hue.
Her gaze, sharp as a blade, swept over the crowd below, finally fixing on Chen Ping.
“Hand over the token, and you may keep your corpse intact.”
Granny Ghostclaw’s voice scraped like rusted iron against stone, each word laced with chilling malice.
Chen Ping stood on the scorched earth, surrounded by a faint, elusive aura.
“Who are you people?” Chen Ping asked.
“We are the Two Elders of the Underworld. You killed Ghostface and took the token. Now hand it over, and we might let you die more comfortably!”
Duke Drowned Souls spoke sinisterly, baring a mouth full of yellowed teeth.
“What organisation are you, and what is the Tianlin Cave?”
Chen Ping pressed.
At the mention of “Tianlin Cave,” the Two Elders visibly flinched.
“Boy, that’s not for you to ask. Hand over the token now, or don’t blame us for being ruthless!”
Granny Ghostclaw threatened coldly.
Chen Ping gripped his Dragon-Slaying Sword, a cold smile curling his lips. “The token is on me. Come and take it if you dare.”
Before his words faded, Duke Drowned Souls’ chained sickle shot through the air.
The sickle, wrapped in underworld flames, left a charred trail in the air, rippling the space it passed through.
As the sickle’s chains tore through the air with a piercing screech, Chen Ping darted three zhang to the side like an arrow released from a bow.
The scorched ground cracked into a web of fissures under his feet, and the Dragon-Slaying Sword, imbued with fierce sword intent, met Duke Drowned Souls’ attack. The moment the blade clashed with the sickle, underworld flames leapt onto the sword like a living thing, emitting a sizzling, bone-eroding sound.
“Petty tricks!”
Chen Ping twisted his wrist, his sword intent surging explosively. A cyan glow, like an enraged dragon breaking through the sea, forced Duke Drowned Souls back several steps.
But before Chen Ping could press his advantage, Granny Ghostclaw flicked her ten fingers, launching ten blood-red soul beads, each wrapped in wails of tormented souls. They wove into a blood-red net in the air, descending upon him.
“Watch out! Those are Underworld Soul-Devouring Beads!”
Yun Wuya’s horrified roar cut through the battlefield.
Chen Ping’s pupils contracted sharply as he instantly activated his Unyielding Golden Body.
The moment the soul beads struck his golden body, the blood-red light exploded, and countless illusory ghost faces emerged from the glow, gnashing at his defences.
Ripples spread across the surface of his golden body, thinning visibly.
“Boy, taste the resentment of ten thousand lost souls!”
Duke Drowned Souls grinned wickedly, lunging forward again, his chains slithering like snakes toward Chen Ping’s ankles.
At the same time, Granny Ghostclaw’s fingertips conjured shadowy black ghost claws, tearing through space with terrifying force as they aimed for Chen Ping’s back.
Two fists could hardly fend off four hands, especially with the elders’ seamless coordination, every move targeting a vital point.
Chen Ping dodged repeatedly with agile footwork, wielding the Dragon-Slaying Sword impenetrably, yet a graze of underworld flames scorched his shoulder, blackening his robe. A chilling energy seeped into his meridians through the wound, causing a slight pause in his movements.
“Now!”
A cold glint flashed in Granny Ghostclaw’s eyes as her ten soul beads merged into one, forming a blood-red soul spear that pierced toward Chen Ping’s heart with world-shattering force.
“Break!”
Chen Ping roared, channelling all his spiritual energy into the sword. The Dragon-Slaying Sword erupted with unprecedented cyan brilliance, meeting the soul spear head-on.
“Boom!”
A violent energy explosion kicked up a storm of dust. Chen Ping flew backward like a broken kite, crashing into a ruined wall and coughing up a mouthful of blood.
