The mist dispersed, and the strong, ugly Asuras pounced toward them.
Jin Jing raised her willow-leaf brows, flicked her fingertips, and the Qilin Twin Swords transformed into ten thousand streaks of sword light, annihilating these Asuras in an instant, easier than swatting flies.
Ni Qi, following behind, was stunned speechless. Earlier, to protect Jin Jing, he had nearly been torn to shreds by these Asuras, barely managing to set up a barrier to temporarily preserve his life. Yet now, Jin Jing casually exterminated them.
The mist thickened and dispersed again. The Asuras reappeared, their momentum overwhelming as they pressed down upon them.
Jin Jing snorted coldly, sword light erupting once more, slaughtering all the enemies again.
Ni Qi was already dumbfounded. Perhaps sensing Jin Jing's strength, these Asuras grew increasingly powerful. In the end, Ni Qi could no longer even observe them clearly, feeling only that each one was many realms higher than his own.
Only then did he believe that the master of this Immortal Palace was truly an Immortal. Presumably, they were too weak, and the palace hadn't even exerted its full power.
As the Asuras' strength increased, Jin Jing's expression grew more solemn, and the time spent exterminating them lengthened.
Ni Qi very consciously employed his life-preserving methods, hiding behind. Battles at this level were no longer something he could even glimpse; the slightest carelessness would mean utter destruction.
Another batch of Asuras was completely annihilated. Jin Jing sheathed the Qilin Twin Swords and sneered, "What Six Paths Palace, what Immortal's Magical Treasure? Nothing more than this."
No one responded. The Asura flesh and blood around them suddenly began to writhe, crawling toward the center until they merged into a single pile, slowly transforming into a gigantic male Asura. His body was towering, like a small mountain; his feet were broad, capable of crushing a hundred people with a single step. More importantly, his aura was astonishing. Standing there, he was like a colossal mountain pressing down, making it hard to breathe.
The ugly face of the Asura lowered, its enormous eyes fixed on Jin Jing. It suddenly spoke, "You think too simply."
"Oh?" Jin Jing smiled lazily. "You've finally deigned to show yourself."
The Asura said, "I will not give you a chance to leave."
Jin Jing suddenly let out a derisive laugh, her tone mocking. "Over a hundred thousand years. I truly don't understand what heavenly rule I violated for you to imprison me here."
The Asura's tone remained flat. "You were imprisoned not for violating a heavenly rule, but because you are too dangerous."
"...Too dangerous," Jin Jing laughed. "According to you, I don't even have the right to resist my own fate?"
The Asura's expression was impassive. "If it is fortune, how can resistance be permitted?"
"Ha, haha..." Jin Jing laughed uproariously, laughing until tears streamed from her eyes. "If that's the case, why create life at all? Wouldn't creating a bunch of puppets be more obedient?"
"Actually, you don't have to be like this." The Asura's voice held not a trace of emotion. "Humans cultivate to become Immortals, demons cultivate to become spirits. You could have ascended to the Spirit Realm, escaped fate. It was you who insisted on staying."
Jin Jing had already stopped laughing, looking at him coldly. "If so, why can my descendants not ascend? Why can humans today only cultivate to the God Transformation stage? Did you leave them any path?"
The Asura said, "What use is telling me? I am a treasure spirit. These rules have nothing to do with me."
"Fine, fine, fine." Spiritual light flickered at Jin Jing's fingertips. The Qilin Twin Swords erupted with ten-thousand-zhang radiance. "You've accompanied me for over a hundred thousand years. You've worked hard. Rather than continuing like this for hundreds of thousands, millions of years, let's end it here."
The Asura did not answer again. Its entire body ignited with towering battle intent.
"What is this?" Xuanyue's face was pale as he stared at the scene before him.
Xuanri, for once, did not contradict him, his own complexion none too good.
The place they were in was a desolate mountain. The sky was gloomy, the trees all withered, Yin energy dense. The cawing of crows sounded from time to time, not a trace of vitality to be found. Among the silent, low-hanging dead trees, shadows, black or white, drifted in and out, floating eerily to and fro.
Mo Tiange's face was even paler. Xuanyue and Xuanri only found the scene terrifying, but she knew this simply shouldn't be appearing. Not long ago, this door was still the Heaven Path Gate.
She looked up at Qin Xi, transmitting her voice softly. "Senior Brother, why is it like this?"
Qin Xi was silent for a long moment before saying, "Perhaps... the Six Paths can transform into one another?" The Six Paths of Reincarnation didn't mean this exactly, but this Immortal Palace was merely a Magical Treasure. Using it to represent the Six Paths of Reincarnation wasn't impossible.
The demons didn't know what they were discussing. Jing Hu turned and asked, "Fellow Daoists, is this the Hungry Ghost Path you experienced?"
Mo Tiange hesitated, then shook her head. "What we saw was not like this."
"Then what was it like?"
She said, "It was a space with many evil ghosts pouncing on us, not like now with a real scene." Their experience in the previous Hungry Ghost Path was a typical attack formation. This one now had the characteristics of an illusion formation, far more sophisticated.
"They're coming." Qin Xi said softly as a Yin wind swept over, causing everyone to shiver.
As cultivators, they were long impervious to heat and cold. For this aura to make them shiver, the strange, Yin coldness it contained was enough to harm mortal life.
"Be careful!" Die Yi called out. Her yellow robes spread, revealing her true form—a giant yellow butterfly.
The Yin energy condensed, forming a horrifying, terrifying evil ghost dripping with blood that lunged at them.
The first to bear the brunt was Xuanyue. He waved his sleeve, a blue light flying from within, transforming into a sheet of blue radiance.
However, when the blue radiance collided with the evil ghost, it only halted the ghost for an instant before shattering into countless fragments. With this shattering, Xuanyue was struck as if by a heavy blow, sent flying backward.
Die Yi flapped her wings once, a gentle force catching Xuanyue, halting his flight.
Jing Hu attacked simultaneously. His sharp teeth detached, transforming into a shower of pointed spikes, all assaulting the evil ghost.
With Jing Hu's full-force strike, the evil ghost was finally halted, yet it still did not disperse. His expression changed several times, his heart filled with astonishment. He had held nothing back, yet still could not destroy this ghost. Such strength was far greater than what they had encountered earlier in the Hell Path. The minor ghosts that appeared in the Hell Path initially weren't strong; they only grew stronger later.
Seeing this, Die Yi flapped her wings. Butterfly shadows fluttered gracefully like a dance, sprinkling layers of yellow powder. With her dance steps, the surrounding space seemed to twist. This twisting force rapidly extended to the evil ghost. With a *crack*, the ghost seemed frozen, stiffly splitting into several pieces before gradually dissipating into the air.
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi were amazed. Die Yi's move was truly formidable. However, watching her perform this technique, it seemed quite complex, difficult to apply in actual combat. If her dance steps were interrupted, it couldn't be executed.
"Woo... woo..." In the wind, faint, sobbing sounds arose, the atmosphere growing even more eerie. If mortals were here, they would surely think of all sorts of strange ghost stories.
Amidst the sobs, rustling sounds mixed in. Countless ghosts and monsters converged from all around the desolate mountain, step by step advancing toward them. Gradually, the tattered bodies of the ghosts appeared in their vision. Suddenly, a fierce wind howled around them, Yin energy overflowing.
The sword light transformed from the Qilin Twin Swords struck the Asura's body. The Asura roared, raised its giant palm to the sky, and a thick club appeared in its hand, smashing down viciously toward Jin Jing.
Jin Jing closed her eyes, formed a hand seal with her fingers, and began reciting an ancient, obscure incantation. As she chanted, a clear, translucent light slowly emerged from her body, growing brighter and brighter. It actually blocked the club bearing the force of a thousand jun. No matter how the Asura exerted its strength, the club remained fixed firmly in mid-air.
The light grew brighter and brighter. A figure slowly emerged from Jin Jing's body—elegant in white robes, face bearing arrogance. Who else could it be but Amber?
Jin Jing was solid, Amber was ethereal, yet their movements and expressions were identical. Suddenly, both opened their eyes simultaneously. A vast, majestic aura surged forth wildly. Amber's body transformed from ethereal to solid, while Jin Jing's body went limp, about to collapse.
Amber flicked his sleeve. An invisible current of air lifted Jin Jing. Within this current, Jin Jing's appearance rapidly changed. The gold faded, her chest swelled. In its place was a young woman in her twenties, with black hair, red lips, and an elegant demeanor.
"Your Highness!" Hiding within the defensive barrier Amber had created, Ni Qi hurriedly caught Jin Jing—or perhaps, she was no longer Jin Jing.
"Cough, cough..." The young woman slowly awoke. Seeing Amber in mid-air, her eyes widened in surprise. "This..."
Amber smiled faintly. "Though you are scheming, you ultimately harbor no evil intent. Considering you are also my descendant, this Divine Monarch shall grant your wish."
With that, he tapped his glabella. A drop of essence blood flew out, slowly drifting toward Jin Jing.
Jin Jing was astonished. "Divine Monarch, this..."
Amber paid no heed. The essence blood instantly merged into her glabella. A vast, sacred aura immediately filled her body.
"Ah—!" Jin Jing let out a scream, feeling as if her body was being torn to shreds by this aura.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!" Ni Qi was at a loss. Though he was a tenth-rank great demon, his intelligence wasn't particularly high, and the events before him exceeded his understanding. He simply didn't know what to do.
Amber couldn't be bothered to explain, ignoring them as he looked up at the Asura occupying half the sky. The corner of his mouth lifted, revealing a faint arrogance. "Even if you are an Immortal's Magical Treasure, you are still just a dead object."
"Even if it's a dead object, for over a hundred thousand years, you haven't been able to escape." The Asura's voice remained emotionless. The pillar-like club in its hand rose again. With a great shout, it smashed down toward him once more.
This time, the force not only broke a thousand jun, it could shatter a thousand mountains...
Within the vast ocean of sword light from the Three Yang True Fire Sword, one ferocious ghostly creature after another was burned to nothingness.
The sword light retracted. Everyone was suspicious and alarmed.
Each of them was somewhat disheveled. The ghosts just now had been powerful, swarming up in a frenzy. They had struggled hard, almost believing they would perish here. Unexpectedly, they had suddenly weakened, allowing them to slaughter them easily.
"What's going on?" Xuanyue looked at Jing Hu. "Elder Jing, is the real danger yet to come?"
"It doesn't seem so," Qin Xi said. "There's no powerful aura around us. That can't be faked."
"Correct." Jing Tao nodded slowly. "Actually, just a little longer and we wouldn't have been able to hold on."
Die Yi said, "Why worry about so much? Let's break the formation while we can!"