Chapter 471

Before Fang Yu's group appeared a middle-aged cultivator, his appearance sinister, suffused with ghostly aura—clearly not a good person.

Inside the Huang Quan Map, Yan grew furious: "That dog Yin Yin Wuchang—he was merely an ordinary Elder when Huang Quan Emperor still lived; now his cultivation base hasn't even reached the Longevity Secret Realm, yet he dares call himself Ghost Emperor! Hmph, without Huang Quan Holy Water, he can't purify the boundless ghostly souls within him—he'll eventually be consumed by backlash and die."

When Yan saw this self-proclaimed Ghost Emperor, his expression turned sharply displeased.

In the demonic sects, only experts who have reached the Longevity Secret Realm are called Emperor—Demon Emperors.

Yet this "Ghost Emperor," Yin Yin Wuchang, has only reached the 10th Stage of Divine Abilities, the Realm of Life—and he dares call himself Emperor; clearly, Huang Quan Sect is in chaos.

Fang Yu was about to speak and challenge this demonic cultivator of the 10th Stage of Divine Abilities, when Fang Han sent him a spiritual thought.

"Senior Brother Yu, this Ghost Emperor is from Huangquanmo Sect. After I obtained the Huang Quan Map, I'll inevitably face their top experts—Senior Brother, hold the line for me; I'll face him myself."

"Alright."

Fang Yu nodded, not rushing to act.

At that moment, Fang Han stepped forward and stared at the Ghost Emperor. "Ghost Emperor, you know I've obtained the Huang Quan Map—I am the successor of Huang Quan Emperor. As an Elder of Huangquanmo Sect, how dare you speak insolently to the Emperor's heir?"

"What did you say?"

The Ghost Emperor's voice was sinister, his eyes pale as if crawling from the depths of hell. "You dare claim to be Huang Quan Emperor's heir and expect me to bow and submit? Your sins are even heavier—I'll torment you mercilessly!"

Suddenly, the Ghost Emperor reached out with a single hand—immediately, a vast expanse of pale ghostly flame engulfed Fang Han.

The ghostly flame blazed fiercely, its white fire shrouding the heavens like a mountain pressing down—not hot, but piercingly cold: it was the rarest of all flames, the Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ (Netherworld Ghost Flame).

The Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ is one of the supreme fire techniques, equal in rank to Yuhua Sect's Haozhen True Fire and Taiyi Sect's Great Sun Fire; cultivating it is exceedingly difficult—it requires slaughtering countless living beings, seizing their essence-souls, merging them with Earthly Yin Qi, until the ghost flame reaches perfection and evolves into the Yōumíng (Netherworld)—immensely powerful.

This is a supreme fire technique of the demonic path; those who master it are all titanic demons who have slaughtered innumerable lives and seized countless essence-souls.

Facing this flame, Fang Han knew its danger—he immediately summoned the Lower-Grade Dao Artifact Blood Night King, concentrating all its power into a single slash aimed at the Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ.

But the pale Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ instantly enveloped Blood Night King, burning it with a crunching sound, trapping it within, then countless Yōumíng Guǐwáng (Netherworld Ghost Kings) surged down like mountains, directly crushing Fang Han.

The Ghost Emperor truly deserved his title—this move revealed his immense divine abilities and boundless magic power: using part of the Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ to trap Fang Han's Lower-Grade Dao Artifact, while using absolute magic power to annihilate Fang Han's physical body.

If the body was destroyed, the Ghost Emperor would have ample energy to properly deal with the Lower-Grade Dao Artifact, Blood Night King.

"Xing Chan!"

Before Fang Yu could act, Star Cloud Baby moved—he spun the Sun-Moon Five-Star Bracelet violently, unleashing a vast expanse of starlight that instantly scattered the Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ.

The Sun-Moon Five-Star Bracelet is a Pure Yang Dao Artifact; though its direct destructive power is weaker than Blood Night King, its Pure Yang energy possesses unique resistance against Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ.

"Hmph! Do you think a single Pure Yang Dao Artifact can block me? What nonsense!"

Sitting on the Ghost Soul Throne, the Ghost Emperor saw Star Cloud Baby dispel his demonic aura—he spat out a torrent of more Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ. The entire sky turned pale white; terrifying white flames instantly covered a fifty-li radius.

Within this fifty-li radius, countless trees withered at once under the Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ; countless snakes, rats, insects, tigers, leopards, and wolves on and beneath the ground died instantly—their souls sucked away by the Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ, fueling its power further.

The Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ possesses this terrifying ability: once it envelops an area, all living souls are absorbed and burned, merging into the flame—a destructive, predatory cold flame.

Seeing the Ghost Emperor unleash the terrifying power of Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ, Fang Yu considered whether to intervene and break his technique with Great Five Elements Art—when suddenly, Fang Han acted again.

"Abizhi Sect, open for me! Absorb all Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ!"

As endless Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ surged, seemingly ready to burn Fang Han, Fang Yu, and Star Cloud Baby's souls to ashes, Yan suddenly moved—opening the Abizhi Sect.

As this supreme demonic gate opened, it swept once, forming a vortex that immediately devoured countless Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ; the Abizhi demonic aura grew even denser.

Suffering! Suffering!

Countless cries of agony rang out—each cry represented a unique torment, an endless, unceasing agony, coalescing into an ocean of suffering, terrifyingly boundless.

What is the Ocean of Suffering? In the Shrouding Heaven Realm, there is a concept: within the human body lies a place called the Ocean of Suffering; in the Eternal Life Realm, the Abizhi Sect, fused with infinite torment, is called the Ocean of Suffering.

The Abizhi Sect is the Ocean of Suffering.

In the blink of an eye, over half the Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ had been devoured and transported into the Abizhi Sect, becoming its driving force.

"Abizhi Sect? It's the Abizhi Sect? Impossible! Impossible! The Huang Quan Map was severely damaged—how could it have recovered to this extent? How could it have opened the Abizhi Sect?"

Seeing his Yōumíng Guǐhuǒ devoured by half, the Ghost Emperor trembled violently, rising from his Ghost Soul Throne.

His shock was immense.

He was an Elder of Huangquanmo Sect; in Huang Quan Emperor's time, he had deeply understood the power of the Abizhi Sect—if it truly reached its peak, even his 10th Stage of Divine Abilities magic power, or even Longevity Secret Realm-level magic power, could be effortlessly devoured.

Moreover, when boundless Abizhi demonic aura surged forth, it could turn the entire mortal world into an Abizhi Hell, forcing boundless living beings to endure eternal, unceasing torment.

Memories surged back—the Ghost Emperor recalled Huang Quan Emperor's terrifying methods; his face darkened. He was now attacking Huang Quan Emperor's heir.

"Hmph! Huang Quan Emperor is dead—what does his heir matter? Kill him! I'll become the Sect Master myself!"

In that instant, the Ghost Emperor flicked his hand—a black light like a serpent shot out, slashing toward them.

That streaking black light was the Ghost Emperor's flying sword—the Ghost Serpent Sword—a Top-Grade Magic Treasure, immensely powerful.

Serpents are slippery, agile creatures.

Ghosts are ethereal, invisible, intangible.

Combined, this Top-Grade Magic Treasure, the Serpent Sword, reached what level of prowess? Though its raw power may not surpass a Lower-Grade Dao Artifact, it was extraordinarily nimble, slithering and twisting—more slippery than an eel.

Instantly, this Top-Grade Magic Treasure surged forward, aiming to obliterate Fang Han's physical body.

Simultaneously, from the Ghost Emperor's body emerged countless ghost-headed banners, radiating potent ghostly aura; these black flags shot out in all directions, even seeping underground, as if to prevent Fang Yu, Fang Han, Star Cloud Baby, and others from escaping.

This was an extremely potent sealing technique, combined with magic treasures to form the Ten Thousand Ghosts Shackling Souls Array—once completed, even cultivators of the same level could not escape, unless they were Ten-Thousand-Year Titans of the Longevity Secret Realm.

"Junior Brother Fang, it seems I must lend you a hand."

Fang Yu had remained still—but when he noticed the Ghost Emperor simultaneously forming the array and launching the Ghost Serpent Sword, he decided to act.

There was no choice: the Ghost Serpent Sword was too slippery—striking at Fang Han one moment, then at him the next, unpredictable and erratic; Fang Han's Lower-Grade Dao Artifact could not block it.

Thus, Fang Yu stepped through the void—Great Void Technique manifested within this confined space, instantly appearing before the Ghost Serpent Sword.

No matter how slippery, agile, or elusive the Ghost Serpent Sword was, once it reached Fang Yu's hand, it could not escape—he reached out and seized it with his Xuan Huang Zhe Tian Hand, suffused with Xuan Huang Mother Qi Roots, gripping the Top-Grade Magic Treasure sword, then squeezing—erasing all spiritual sense embedded within it.