"Nether King!"

To Niu Tou and Ma Mian's surprise, beneath that mask was a face that looked identical to Ye Yuqiao's.

"Nether King, how could you be here?" Niu Tou asked incredulously, "Shouldn't you be with that kid, Chen Hao, in the mortal world right now?"

The woman shook her head weakly and said, "Indeed, I am the Nether King, but I am not the one who has been secretly contacting you earlier."

"Ah!" The faces of Niu Tou and Ma Mian were a mix of confusion and shock. After staring at the woman blankly for a while, Niu Tou realized that the woman's Yang Energy was extremely weak, whereas the Ye Yuqiao they had seen over the past eighteen years possessed a Yang Soul, her body brimming with powerful Yang Energy.

They somewhat understood what the woman had just said, but not entirely.

"Then what is your relationship with her?" Niu Tou asked, "Between the two of you, who is the real Nether King?"

"Both are!" the woman replied coldly, "Let's not talk about this now. We'll discuss it after we escape to Huiyin Mountain."

Although they had countless questions, Niu Tou and Ma Mian still agreed to the woman's suggestion and continued their flight.

Not long after, they caught up with the Zhao Family and the Wu Family, who had left the Netherworld City earlier.

"Brother Zhao Chong!" Lin Huashan arrived in front of Zhao Chong on a sculpture, and immediately her attention was drawn to the woman he was supporting, "Who is this young lady?"

At that moment, the woman from the Purgatory Fire Pool, who looked exactly like Ye Yuqiao, had put her mask back on. Zhao Chong glanced at the woman subconsciously and then explained, "A friend, she's hurt."

"What kind of friend?" Lin Huashan asked. Even though she couldn't see the woman's face, she felt a sense of familiarity.

Zhao Chong's expression darkened, and with a somewhat stern face, he said, "We should hurry on our way."

Seeing Zhao Chong's displeasure, Lin Huashan knew she had asked something she shouldn't have, so she bowed her head slightly and fell silent.

Because Sunset Pass, guarded by tens of thousands of Crow Tribe warriors, was not far ahead to the north, the group had to detour to the northeast first. After bypassing Sunset Pass, they would turn back towards the direction leading to Huiyin Mountain.

..

..

At this moment.

Inside Netherworld City, the Purgatory Fire had finally been suppressed by the Ghost King back into the Eighteen Levels of Hell, and the huge and terrifying wave of fire had been frozen and shattered by the joint efforts of the four Dharma Kings, sparing the citizens of Netherworld City any injury.

Inside the city, however, panic and wailing still pervaded.

The citizens took to the streets, crowded around the huge crack that cut across the city from east to west, as well as the Nether King Palace, which had been destroyed and now revealed a pit leading directly to the Eighteen Levels of Hell. They were engaged in a buzz of discussion and unceasing lamentation.

Atop the city wall of the Netherworld's gate, the Ghost King used his Spiritual Power to disperse the thick clouds that had been hanging over the River of Sorrows and looked at the damaged Netherworld City in silence, with a great fury bubbling inside him, his face a portrait of gloomy and fearful rage.

Behind the Ghost King, the four Dharma Kings looked at each other with dismay, remaining silent and not daring to approach or disturb him further. They could all feel the cold aura emanating from him.

That was the aura of killing intent!

Today's events were nothing short of a disgrace. Under his watch, Niu Tou and Ma Mian had been rescued; the Zhao and Zhou families had betrayed him and left Netherworld City; the power scepter soaked in beast blood had been taken by Zhao Chong; the Nether King Palace was destroyed! Rebuilding an identical Nether King Palace was not something that could be accomplished in a year or two.

What drove him mad and was hardest to accept was that he did not know the identity of the woman who had destroyed the Nether King Palace.

After a long time, the Ghost King finally came out of his thoughts, turned his head to look at the Dark Law King behind him, and asked, "Dark Law King, where should Zhao Chong and Niu Tou and Ma Mian be now?"

"We should be approaching Sunset Pass soon."

"Sunset Pass is guarded by tens of thousands of Crow Tribe warriors; they should opt for a detour," the Ghost King murmured while contemplating, "To the west of Sunset Pass lies Wushuang City, which falls under my domain; naturally, they won't head in that direction. The only possibility is that they have fled northeast. Could it be that they intend to join forces with the alliance of the Wu Family and King Zheng in the Dayang Mountains?"

"Dark Law King," the Ghost King then turned to address the Dark Law King, "you must immediately make your way north, meet with King Wanfa, and instruct him to gather all nearby kings and their troops to head to the Dayang Mountains and prevent the Zhao and Wu families from ascending the mountain terrain. King Wumeng, you set off a bit later to rush to Sunset Pass, and by tomorrow morning lead your Crow Tribe warriors to join forces with the Dark Law King and King Wanfa."

"Ghost King, I request to accompany King Wumeng to Sunset Pass," King Shuanglin suddenly stood up and said.

The Ghost King gave King Shuanglin a cold glance and, after thinking for a moment, slightly nodded in agreement: "Granted! King Qingyu, you will lead ten thousand city guards to Sunset Pass for defense."

"Yes!" All four Dharma Kings vocally concurred with high fighting spirits. For them, engaging in cutthroat political struggles with the clan leaders within Netherworld City was not their forte; battling on the bloody fields was what they truly relished.

"Another matter," the Ghost King continued, "if you can successfully kill Zhao Chong, continue your assault on the Dayang Mountains and eradicate the alliance troops of the Wu Family and King Zheng."

"Yes!" The four Dharma Kings' voices grew even more excited.

...

...

Night had fallen deep.

After traveling for a full day and night, and seeing no one pursuing them from the Ghost King, the people of the Zhao and Zhou families chose to rest overnight in the mountain forest.

At this moment, they had already bypassed Sunset Pass, arriving at the great river wetlands located to the southwest of the Dayang Mountains.

The tranquil night.

A few hundred people lit bonfires by the river, sat down on the ground, and ate headless ghost fish scooped from the river and wetland fruits caught from the nearby woods.

Why say "caught" for fruits? Because fruits in this wetland could move. As soon as they sensed someone approaching, they would immediately scurry away, not easily caught.

Owing to the proximity of the great river wetlands to the Valley of a Thousand Ghosts, from time to time, eerie ghostly wails would suddenly echo through the air, frightening Lin Huashan—who had never left Netherworld City—into repeated shrieks.

"Huashan girl, have you really never left Netherworld City since you were little?" Clan Leader Zhou Ke of the Zhou Family asked with a chuckle.

Lin Huashan's face darkened, and after a moment of stunned silence, she slightly nodded.

"No wonder!" Zhou Ke sighed softly, "This is the real Netherworld; you should have ventured out of the city more often."

At that moment, Zhao Chong picked up a wetland fruit and walked into the adjacent woods.

In the woods, the woman from the Purgatory Fire Pool was staring blankly.

"Feeling any better?" Zhao Chong asked as he handed the wetland fruit to the woman, "Have something to eat."

The woman took the fruit from Zhao Chong's hand. Suddenly, the fruit started to cry out loudly, pleading with the woman in a childish voice not to eat it.

After hesitating for a long time over the fruit, the woman ultimately threw it away, releasing it back into the wild.

"I'm fine," the woman said weakly, "in another day we should reach Mount Huiyin, and then you can take Chen Hao and her into the Netherworld."

After speaking, a radiant glow suffused the woman's pale face; she had been waiting for a long time, and the day she anticipated was finally approaching.

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