"Fellow Daoist Yuan need not worry, although the Three-eyed Crow is formidable, with four against one, we will surely capture it with ease," Feng Qiben hesitated, but seeing Fang Youting so determined, he couldn't bear to miss out on the spiritual materials that could be stripped from a third-level peak demon beast, and quickly followed in pursuit.

Ya Xian also transformed into a yellow long rainbow, escaping through flight.

Yuan Ming furrowed his brows, wondering why Fang Youting was so persistent, but recalling that the third eye on the Three-eyed Crow's forehead could unravel his Illusion Technique, he couldn't help but feel a surge of curiosity.

After only a moment's hesitation, he too mounted his tunneling light and chased after Fang Youting.

The Three-eyed Crow was incredibly fast in flight, and the four cultivators couldn't catch up for a while.

A trace of urgency flashed through Fang Youting's eyes. His hands formed a spell, preparing to perform a Secret Technique to forcibly increase their tunneling speed. Just then, the Three-eyed Crow suddenly dove down into the ground.

There was a crevice several dozen feet wide on the ground, the Three-eyed Crow's body emitting a rich black light as it swiftly burrowed into it, disappearing without a trace.

Fang Youting and the other two arrived moments later and, without hesitation, followed into the crevice.

Yuan Ming's Divine Sense probed into the crack and found nothing amiss, so he followed after the three and entered the crevice as well.

The fissure in the ground twisted and turned, seemingly leading to a very deep place underground.

After chasing for a full quarter of an hour, the space ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a massive subterranean cavern.

The place was pitch-dark, and even with the Cultivators' Core Formation Stage Cultivation, they could only see a few dozen feet ahead. The cave was filled with a thick miasma of netherworldly evil and even Divine Sense couldn't probe too far ahead, making everyone feel somewhat uneasy.

Fang Youting increased the mana infused into the Purple Thunder Flying Fork, causing the fork to emit a dazzling light. The others also invigorated their Magic Treasures with light, soon illuminating a large area around them.

The air inside the cave was damp, with the ground covered in interlocking sharp rocks, and stalactites resembling wolf's teeth hanging from the ceiling; all of these stones were black, giving off a sense of eerie ghostliness.

"There's something odd about this place, and the Three-eyed Crow is nowhere to be seen. We should leave first," Yuan Ming said, scanning his surroundings before making the suggestion again.

"Indeed, something's off. Let's withdraw and talk later," Fang Youting, upon hearing this, gave the other two a look, and they began to retreat.

However, just as Fang Youting was about to turn around, a black resentful ghost shot out from the darkness behind, its blood-stained ghost claws rapidly reaching towards Fang Youting's back.

Fang Youting was on alert, sweeping the Purple Thunder steel fork behind him, tearing the black resentful ghost apart with a "sizzle," turning it into green smoke that dissipated.

Yet on the ground of the underground cavern, and on the walls and ceiling, shadows flickered continuously, and ghosts emerged out of thin air—men, women, and spirits of demon beasts forming into ghosts—stretching as far as the eye could see, adding up to nearly a thousand.

These ghosts were not weak, with the weakest being at the Late Stage Qi Refining level and nearly half reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage; several imposing figures stood behind this host of ghosts, their presence no less than that of Core Formation Stage cultivators.

The faces of Fang Youting and the others turned deathly pale; they were just pursuing a Three-eyed Crow and had not expected to face such a desperate situation.

"Fight our way out!" Yuan Ming, not panicking, said with a grave expression, and took the lead in flying upwards.

The White Bone Knife flew out from his body, its blade surging with boiling White Bone Cold Flames, slashing towards the ghosts in the sky.

The White Bone Cold Flames were a kind of Yin Fire, sharing the same origin with the ghosts and thus causing significant damage to them; seven or eight ghosts were swept by the cold flames and instantly torn apart, turning into several wisps of black smoke.

Seeing this, the other three couldn't help but admire Yuan Ming's courage, and they hurried to follow up.

At that moment, seven or eight clumps of ash-gray Yin Fire shot out of the darkness nearby, striking towards the three of them with great speed and urgency.

"It's that Three-eyed Crow!" Fang Youting exclaimed, stimulating his Purple Steel Fork, which began to show five Thunder Runes within its body.

Three purple Thunder bolts, each as thick as a wrist, shot out from the tip of the fork and collided with the ash-gray Yin Fire.

Feng Qiben and Ya Xian also hurriedly took action, revealing a Green Jade Ruler and three Earth Yellow Small Flags, from which a dozen crescent-shaped green Light Blades and a yellow storm howled out, also striking the ash-gray Yin Fire.

The ash-gray flames exploded with a bang, triggering a violent storm that sent Fang Youting and the others flying in different directions across the cavern.

The nearby ghosts surged up like a tide, engulfing the figures of the three.

Yuan Ming saw this and was startled, quickly turning back to try and rescue them.

"Whoosh," a black Ghost Claw as large as a grinding disc reached out from the nearby stone wall, its fingertips firing substantial black light, aiming for Yuan Ming's chest.

The White Bone Knife shot back, its blade surging with white flames, fiercely striking towards the black Ghost Claw.

Facing the White Bone Knife, the black Ghost Claw showed no intention of dodging; it grabbed the knife as fast as lightning, and despite the boiling White Bone Cold Flames, the Ghost Claw remained unharmed.

Yuan Ming uttered a soft 'huh' and then shot back exceptionally fast.

Another black Ghost Claw emerged from another side of the stone wall, grabbing at where Yuan Ming had just been standing, naturally missing its target.

Immediately afterward, the body of the black Ghost Claw also became visible, shocking to see it was a Core Formation Stage ghost creature, human in body with the head of a bull, resembling the bull-headed ghosts of the Netherworld.

No sooner had the Bull-headed Ghost appeared than it immediately leaped forward, transforming into a black shadow that charged towards Yuan Ming's chest, also spewing out a wisp of green Ghost Fire aiming to envelop Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming spat out a Black Sword Qi, piercing the green Ghost Fire.

The Yin Soul Power inside the Ghost Fire suddenly dissipated by a great extent, extinguishing and scattering, with the remaining flames not posing any threat; Yuan Ming waved them away with a Flame Burst Fireball.

The Black Sword Qi continued to shoot forward, in a flash wrapping around the black shadow transformed by the Bull-headed Ghost, and it slashed down in mid-air.

With a slight "zing" sound, the shadow was split in two, and the Bull-headed Ghost's thick arms were severed, its body retreating in shock.

That plain-looking Black Sword Qi actually contained a terrifying power capable of devouring its very Soul Power, and the Bull-headed Ghost's only thought was to escape.

Naturally, Yuan Ming was not going to let it get away, casting an Illusion Technique.

The expression on the bull-headed ghost's face immediately became confused, and its retreating form came to a halt.

Black Sword Qi shot out like a bolt of lightning, piercing into the chest of the bull-headed ghost.

The bull-headed ghost's consciousness instantly returned, and it let out a terrified scream. The Yin Soul Power within its body surged wildly, attempting to expel the Black Sword Qi from inside.

However, the Black Sword Qi was wedged in there like a wedge, and the Yin Soul Power that the bull-headed ghost mustered was devoured as soon as it touched it, let alone expelling the Black Sword Qi.

"Swoosh" "Swoosh" "Swoosh"

Yuan Ming's fingers flicked repeatedly, sending four or five strands of Sword Qi shooting from within the Black Sword Qi, piercing into various parts of the bull-headed ghost's body. The ghost's Yin Soul Power drained even faster, and its originally towering body deflated rapidly, shrinking like a leaking balloon.

As Yuan Ming's hand gestures changed, the strands of Sword Qi began to rotate and cut, slicing the bull-headed ghost's body into several sections. The bull-headed ghost howled tragically as it was completely devoured by the Black Sword Qi.

The Black Sword Qi also revealed its true form—a long black sword, the very Soul Destroying Sword, which emitted tremors of excitement.

Although Fang Youting and the other two were surrounded by a large number of ghosts, the three of them were after all Core Formation Stage cultivators. Each of them cast spells to protect themselves and were temporarily unharmed.

Seeing Yuan Ming kill the bull-headed ghost so easily brought great joy to the three, who hastily moved closer to his side.

Wooo wooo wooo...

Sudden ghostly cries emerged from the depths of the cavern, like the piercing scream of a grieving woman or the cry of a baby, sharp and prolonged, easily piercing through one's Divine Soul and reaching deep within.

Fang Youting and the others felt their minds swaying, unable to help themselves from dancing around, with their Mana becoming chaotic.

"Soul Capturing Ghost Sound!"

Yuan Ming naturally heard the ghostly cries as well, but his Divine Soul Power was strong and he had forged a Soul Pill, making his Soul Power condensed and stable, preventing the ghostly cries from affecting him.

He pointed at the Soul Destroying Sword in the void, and "swoosh," the sword shot out at high speed, heading straight for Fang Youting, who was closest, and then it made a cut mid-flight.

A fierce strand of Black Sword Qi shot out, slicing toward the ghosts next to Fang Youting.

Overflowing with sharpness and brimming with Yin Qi, the Sword Qi was like a reversed flow of the Milky Way, unstoppable!

After its advancement, the Soul Destroying Sword's power surged, and the Soul Destroying Sword Qi it released was far stronger than before, incomparable to its past strength.

The ghosts near Fang Youting seemed to feel the intense oppression brought by the Soul Destroying Sword and scrambled to flee.

However, the Soul Destroying Sword was faster and reached them in a flash, slashing across their forms.

With a "rip" that sounded like fabric tearing, two or three dozen ghosts were cut in half by the Sword Qi, clearing a large empty area.

Fang Youting, now back to his senses, was overjoyed. His Purple Steel Fork shot out more than a dozen purple thunderbolts, blocking another group of ghosts. He then soared into the sky and flew close to Yuan Ming.

At that moment, two miserable screams rang out from the side—it was Feng Qiben and Ya Xian!

Yuan Ming quickly turned his head to look, and his expression immediately darkened.

Feng Qiben's chest had been pierced through by a blood-red ghost claw, and his body was rapidly shriveling to a visible extent.

Ya Xian was enveloped in a layer of eerie white mist, and his body quickly froze up, turning into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye.

Their magic treasures lost all spirit light and clanged to the ground.

The blood-red ghost claw withdrew, and a female ghost in a red dress appeared out of thin air. Her features were delicate, and her pale face was stained with two lines of blood tears, making her appearance quite chilling.

A white ghostly figure emerged from the ice sculpture that Ya Xian had become. It was a man in white clothes with an austere appearance, his face pale as ice and faintly transparent.

Both ghosts were enveloped in thick Yin Qi, also reaching the Core Formation Stage level.

Yuan Ming's brows furrowed; it seemed that there were quite a number of Core Formation Stage ghosts here.

Ghosts were vicious by nature, and if left uncontrolled, they would have attacked each other long ago. Since that was not the case here, it was very likely that someone was manipulating them from behind.

But then he thought that to control so many ghosts, this person's strength could not be weak, and he needed to be cautious in dealing with them.

"Brother Sikong! Mrs. Qi! Why are you here? How did you become like this?" Fang Youting exclaimed in surprise.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, do you know these two ghosts?" Yuan Ming transmitted his voice to ask.

"They were two Core Formation Stage City Lords of Earth River City. I stayed in Earth River City for two years, and I was quite familiar with this couple!" Fang Youting replied with a transmission, eyes filled with shock.

"Earth River City? I've heard people say that city mysteriously perished several years ago," Yuan Ming recalled a rumor he had heard when he was taking on tasks for the Hundred Pills Square.

"That's right, all the people in Earth River City mysteriously disappeared for some unknown reason, not a single body was left behind, and the entire city turned into a ghost town. The Five Thunder Sect sent people to investigate, but they found nothing," Fang Youting had regained his composure and spoke somberly through his transmission.

Yuan Ming's expression became grave. The Core Formation Stage city lords who had disappeared years ago had now turned into ghosts, indicating that the culprit who destroyed Earth River City was here.

The red-dressed female ghost and the white-clad male ghost did not attack Yuan Ming and the other, they grabbed the corpses of Feng Qiben and Ya Xian and flew off into the darkness, vanishing in an instant.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming activated his vast Divine Sense and scattered it around, then suddenly flicked his finger.

The Soul Destroying Sword made a virtual slash in the air, and a slender Sword Qi shot out, heading toward a specific spot in the cavern.

A surprised yelp came from the darkness, followed by a "bang" of a dull explosion, and everything returned to calm.

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