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“They’ll be too busy taking care of themselves. Surrounding us? That seems extremely unlikely.”

Black Dragon, who was just about to retreat, came to a sudden stop, then signaled to his army.

The retreating soldiers stopped in their tracks. They couldn’t for the life of them understand: what exactly was His Excellency, Black Dragon, up to? One moment he wanted to retreat, the next he wanted them to stop?

“Gu Li, exactly how much are you still hiding from me?” asked Black Dragon. He stared at Gu Li solemnly. For him to say something like “they won’t be coming” with such certainty, it was clear he’d made careful arrangements.

He might very well have already extended his reach into all three realms.

This kind of ability made Black Dragon uneasy. Were any of the demon soldiers behind him secretly loyal to Gu Li?

“My dear Black Dragon, why are you looking at me like that for? I’ve always been cowardly. What will you do if you scare me to death?” said Gu Li with feigned indignation. “Even if I possess a huge variety of methods, we aren’t enemies. Why take offense?”

“Since we’re allies, shouldn’t we (ut everything out in the open?” Black Dragon snorted irritably, expression grim. “I’m shocked. Gu Li, I never would have guessed your subordinates had already infiltrated all three realms. Should I admire you or should I admire you?”

“What are you saying? Either way, aren’t you still admiring me?” Gu Li pressed his lips into a smile. Then, seeming to sense that Black Dragon wouldn’t just let this slide, he laughed bitterly and shrugged.

“Fine then, I’ll tell you. In truth, I started infiltrating the Three Realms well over a year ago.”

......

Boom.

Two fists collided.

Ox-head stared, his bovine eyes wide as cymbals, and blew two puffs of white air through his nostrils. Leopard Tail, one of the other Ten Ghost Marshalls, stood before him.

He was currently smiling and swinging his arms, his gaze filled with mockery. “You’ve actually got quite a bit of brute strength.”

“Leopard Tail, to think you’d dare collude with demons!”

One of Ox-head’s horns was snapped in two. His gaze was listless and dispirited; clearly, his soul had been grievously wounded.

Not far off, Horse-face lay on the ground, unconscious. When Ox-head looked at his good brother, the friend who’d accompanied him for the past tens of thousands of years, his eyes reddened.

An hour.

All of this had happened in just an hour’s worth of time. After receiving Ye Zichen’s messages, they’d asked the Fengdu Emperor of the North’s permission, then started leading the troops towards the Beast Region.

However, just one hour ago, Leopard Tail, Bird Beak, Fish Gill, and Hornet suddenly attacked. Horse-face had thrown himself directly into the line of fire to save Ox-head. As a result, he bore the full force of their joint assault.

He was injured so heavily, he’d gone into a coma. He hadn’t woken up since.

Worse yet, the ghost soldiers they led attacked as well. They, too, gave no indications of their plans before suddenly flinging themselves at Ox-head and the others. It was complete chaos!

“Scram.”

At that very moment, Black and White Impermanence attacked, forcing Fish Gill and Hornet to retreat, then hurried to Ox-head’s side.

When they saw Horse-face lying on the ground, their pupils constricted. Almost immediately, though, they got their emotions back under control and stared intently at Leopard Tail and his companions.

This was just like what happened ten thousand years ago, when the Ghost Martials responsible for humanity’s life and death collided with those responsible for controlling the fate of beasts and yao.

“This scene is truly familiar,” said Leopard Tail, baring his sharp teeth. He rubbed his jaw, face twisted into a hideous grin.

“Leopard Tail, Great Sacred Emperor Equaling Heavens was kind enough to let you stay in the Underworld as Ghost Marshalls, yet you dared collude with demons? How will you face the Emperor after this?” Xie Bi’an roared angrily. The enemy attacked so suddenly. Now, they were at an absolute disadvantage.

“We naturally respect the Emperor. He’s the one who saved us from you people and the one who redeemed us, allowing us to become Ghost Marshalls. It’s fair to say we were reborn through his kindness. We naturally haven’t forgotten this,” said Leopard Tail sincerely.

Then he arched his brows. “However, the Emperor is no longer here. Instead, the Fengdu Emperor of the North is currently in charge of the Underworld. Xie Bi’an, don’t think I don’t know how close the two of you are. I also know full well that he disdains us. We had no choice! We have to protect ourselves.”

“That all happened a long time ago. Since the Fengdu Emperor of the North has taken the Underworld’s highest seat, he’ll naturally maintain impartiality. He won’t discriminate against anyone. Furthermore, you’ve been Ghost Marshalls for ten thousand years. How could he possibly act against you?” chastised Xie Bi’an.

“Oh really?” Hesitation flashed over Leopard Tail’s face.

Xie Bi’an pressed on, “it’s not too late to stop now. When we get back, we’ll plead with the Emperor on your behalf. Given all your contributions over the past ten thousand years, I’m sure he’ll be lenient.”

“Then we.....surrender?” Leopard Tail acted as if he’d been convinced. Soon, though, his lips twisted back into a grin as he laughed uproariously.

“Hahaha, just kidding. Do you really think I’m stupid enough to just give in without a fight? The Fengdu Emperor of the North has always detested us. Now that we’ve colluded with demons, he has an excuse to act against us. ‘He’ll be lenient?’ What a load of bullshit! Let me tell you, all of you are going to die today!”

“The Emperor is all-powerful! Are you truly so foolish as to believe he doesn’t know what’s going on here? He’ll get here before too long! When that happens, you’ll have no way out!”

“Him? He’s got his own troubles to worry about. Do you really think he’ll come save you? Ludicrous.”

Meanwhile, in the Underworld.

“Hah? Four of the Five Ghost Emperors and three of the Six Ghost Gods? The Underworld hasn’t been so lively for a long time. Go on then, take a seat!”

Within the Underworld’s main palace, the Fengdu Emperor of the North sat in the highest seat and looked down over the crowd. The ten Yama Kinds stood to the sides, visibly nervous. These new arrivals clearly had ill intentions.

Ksitigarbha was there as well. His mount, Diting, stood to his side and growled nervously.

“I heard that Great Sacred Emperor Equaling Heavens ascended to godhood. Such a major event and we didn’t even know about it? We’re still the Five Ghost Emperors. Isn’t this a little off?”

The one who’d just spoken was the Emperor of the East, Cai Yulei. He had a human body, a horse’s face, ox-horns, and was responsible for the gate to the afterlife on Mount Taozhi.

“Don’t you think this is just a little too cold-hearted?”

This time it was the Emperor of the South, Du Ziren, who managed mount Luohu.

The Fengdu Emperor of the North looked at the two of them and smiled calmly. “Our eldest brother loves quiet. Furthermore, his ascent to godhood was inevitable, so there was no need to make a fuss over it. This, too, is in keeping with our brother’s character. Besides, his ascent shouldn’t have much of an effect on you, so why disturb you with it? If this is all you came here for, please feel free to disperse. He’s already ascended; there’s no need to linger here.”

“What do you mean, ‘no need?’” asked the Eastern Ghost Emperor with a laugh. “I just have one question: are you at ease on that throne?”