Chapter 250: Trapped in Fengdu

Command center, Mount Pingdu.

"What is going on?!" Chi Ling shouted as she watched the synchronized feed on the main screen. The speakers around the room relayed her words.

The footage from the transfer station showed events that had happened several minutes ago. It opened with a ferocious ghost that was over sixty meters tall and shrouded in black mist, leaping out of a ring-shaped mountain. As it emerged, it brought with it a billowing surge of devilish qi. It began seizing and devouring the black-skinned fierce spirits.

The video then shifted to the skies above Fengdu City, where the twelve cultivators were retreating with their backs to the Eighteen Levels of Hell. They had clearly realized that they were no match for the monstrous ghost in a head-on battle. Hence, they had chosen to withdraw for the moment.

However, a human-sized black shadow blocked their path. Dense black mist also surrounded it.

An elder from the research institute raised his voice.

—That's devilish qi, not yin qi from the Small Nether Realm! That black mist is very similar to what once appeared at Ziyan Temple!"

"It has to be them..." Shen Sui'an muttered as he stood up from his seat in the corner. His eyes blazed with fury. "I knew it! The Daoist sect cultivators who had barged into the Small Nether Realm and forced their way into the Eighteen Levels of Hell a thousand years ago are still not completely dead!"

The command center quieted down for a few seconds. A wave of anxious voices then followed.

There were so many fiends, ghosts, spirits, and devils in the Small Nether Realm. If they were to get past the Nether Gate, the entire Hua Republic would be thrown into chaos.

A middle-aged military officer immediately issued a report.

—Based on the intel from the transfer station, the seal of Hell's seventh layer broke while we were trying to use the probes to scan it. The fierce spirits and vengeful ghosts were the first to rush out, and then we detected energy fluctuations that far exceeded the Golden Core Realm!

"More footage is coming from the transfer station!"

"It's connected now. Sharing the feed!"

The screen quickly played the footage. All the high-level officials attending the remote conference watched the footage.

The camera was still focused on the skies above Fengdu City. After a brief standoff between the twelve Golden Core Realm cultivators and the shadowy figure, Qing Yanzi suddenly lunged at the black figure, catching the other cultivators off guard.

Dark-golden light enveloped Qing Yanzi as the black figure's devilish qi thickened even more. Without any unnecessary movements, Qing Yanzi exchanged a direct palm strike with the shadow. Pure Yang Qi and devilish qi clashed fiercely, forcing the two to retreat a few steps.

The footage had no audio, but Qing Yanzi seemingly laughed. He then charged forward again and engaged the ancient devil in combat.

Qing Yanzi's strength wasn't overwhelming. Rather, the ancient devil, though supposedly powerful and having advanced cultivation, was surprisingly weak. At best, it was at the peak of the Golden Core Realm.

The other eleven cultivators surrounded and attacked the ancient devil as well. However, the devil seemingly let out an ear-piercing shriek. Hundreds of wandering spirits, each one as strong as typical Illusory Core Realm cultivators, swiftly swarmed toward Fengdu City.

The footage cut off once more, but the feed resumed less than thirty seconds later.

In the third segment, countless wandering spirits now surrounded the eleven cultivators. The massive, ferocious ghost continued chasing the black-skinned fierce spirits, striding toward Fengdu City.

One of the senior strategists from the Special Warfare Unit quickly assessed the situation.

—For Daoist Master Bu Yan and the others, the true threat is that massive, ferocious ghost approaching from behind. The ancient devil blocking them may have some influence over the wandering spirits, but it's limited. Given their skills, they can deal with it in time.

Another officer quickly reached a decision.

—I say we nuke it!

A senior member of the research institute immediately objected.

—The Eighteen Levels of Hell are near them. Using nuclear weapons will very likely blow open the remaining seals. Who knows how many fierce spirits and malevolent ghosts are still hidden below?

In response, the officer posed a question.

—How can there still be so many vengeful ghosts lingering after a thousand years of severed primal qi?

"The Eighteen Levels of Hell have always retained some primal qi," Shen Sui'an replied calmly. "After Earth lost all primal qi back then, the Eighteen Levels of Hell also saw a sharp decline, but their primal qi never fully disappeared. A weak presence of it remained."

"This isn't the time for academic discussion," Chi Ling said firmly. "We must provide artillery support within the Nether Gate. Target that giant ghost."

Several elder members of the Special Warfare Unit immediately voiced their thoughts.

—The drones are too slow.

—Didn't we already deploy twelve Xifeng missiles inside the Nether Gate? If I remember correctly, two of them are equipped with special warheads.

"Launch them immediately. No more hesitation! Detonate the warheads in midair and eliminate that ghost!" Chi Ling commanded.

—Order received and acknowledged. Tell the transfer station to lock onto that giant ghost and launch the missiles immediately. Make sure to inform our cultivators before the missiles hit.

Several middle-aged officers in the command center responded at once.

—Copy!

The launch command was instantly relayed to the elite forces waiting just outside the Nether Gate, which then charged into the Small Nether Realm without delay.

Less than a minute later, six missiles that had been on standby ignited in succession, soaring toward the dim sky of the Small Nether Realm. Regardless of the realm's structure, its gravitational acceleration was roughly the same as Earth's surface. The missiles' performance would not be affected. However, due to the lack of satellite positioning, the drone's targeting system became critically important.

***

Meanwhile, inside a jeep racing along Yellow Springs Road, a woman radioed in and urgently informed Wang Sheng of the danger that was now unfolding in Fengdu City.

If Xi Lian could reach the scene in time, she might be able to fight the massive malevolent ghost, but that was assuming she didn't fall to devilry.

Wang Sheng's expression turned solemn as he exchanged a glance with Xi Lian. Her enchanted power surged around her. She then kicked open the door and soared into the air.

Wang Sheng followed right behind. Before Xi Lian could accelerate with her enchanted power, he grabbed her arm.

"Big sister, fly with me. Don't burn your enchanted power recklessly. Master can hold off the smaller ancient devil. Senior Sister and the others will fight while retreating; they won't confront the giant ghost head-on."

Xi Lian nodded lightly. Wang Sheng stepped onto Flying Haze and slung the sword case onto his back.

Channeling all his energy into unleashing his Sword-Controlling Art, Wang Sheng took a deep breath. Reaching maximum speed, he shot forward with a sonic boom.

Xi Lian followed right behind. She had previously stated that the limit for using enchanted power in the Small Nether Realm was the Nascent Soul Realm, while Wang Sheng had only just entered the Golden Core Realm. Even with a Sword Core, mastery of the Dao of the Extreme Sword, and the Sword-Controlling Art, his flight speed could not rival a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

Flying alongside him posed no pressure for Xi Lian. Moreover, she no longer relied solely on her enchanted power to fly. Instead, she channeled her qi into the protective suit, conserving a significant amount of power.

She even felt as though she could speed up without compromising her flight stability. Reaching out and grabbing Wang Sheng's arm, she pulled him along as they rushed toward Fengdu City.

"

Haaa...

"

In the jeep, Monk Huai Jing slapped his bald head and smacked his lips before slamming on the gas.

Bullying me just because I'm a humble monk who can't fly, huh?

However, he knew that asking them to bring him with them would only burden Wang Sheng. He had just heard from the female cultivator at the transfer station that the fierce spirits, which the giant ferocious ghost was hunting, were all around the same realm as him...

The Small Nether Realm is truly terrifying...

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Even so, Huai Jing recited a Buddhist chant and floored the accelerator, trying to squeeze a little more speed out of the vehicle.

In Buddhist arts, there was a saying. As long as one watched their positioning during team fights and didn't throw their life away early, they could still contribute decent damage later, even if their early-game development was lacking.

***

Fengdu City.

Qing Yanzi and the ancient devil had already taken their battle to the skies, which teemed with wandering spirits that darted through the air. Qing Yanzi was enveloped in Pure Yang Qi so dense that the wandering spirits dared not approach.

However, hundreds of wandering spirits surged down on the remaining eleven cultivators. Even though they were skilled Golden Core Realm experts, they were now struggling to hold their ground.

Nine landed on Fengdu City's main street, forming a defensive ring around Mu Wanxuan and the elderly monk seated on a jade lotus. They launched fierce attacks at the wandering spirits that were swarming in from every direction.

Though they kept killing wandering spirits, Zhang Zikuang and the others found themselves pinned down and unable to advance. Mu Wanxuan had also begun unleashing all her techniques, summoning a dozen tornadoes at a time. Unfortunately, the wandering spirits were unusually solid; the tearing winds did not affect them.

Even the elderly monk had pushed his Buddhist light to its peak, but it only kept the spirits at bay. The moment they tried to retreat, the spirits would launch themselves forward in a frenzy.

The unending cries and ghostly laughter disturbed their minds. If they allowed the fierce spirits to run wild, the spirits had methods to directly attack the cultivators' souls, causing them great discomfort.

Other than dispersing them head-on, they had no effective countermeasure.

"Give it everything you've got!" Zhang Zikuang roared lowly as he threw out over a dozen talismans.

The Daoist master from Mount Mao beside him muttered incantation after incantation. Lightning flashed in all directions, killing more than ten wandering spirits, but his enchanted power was depleting quickly.

The two elders of the Hidden Earth Sect had originally relied on their ghost banners, but those were only useful for unsealing ghost soldiers. Since the ghost soldiers in Fengdu City had already been released, the banners had little use left.

Battle cries echoed outside the city walls. The fading ghostly soldiers were already clashing with the black-skinned fierce ghosts who had fled there in disarray. To make matters worse, from their vantage point inside the city, they could already see the giant ghost beyond the walls approaching from the Eighteen Levels of Hell.