Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Without delay, the group split up and sprang into action.

Lin Ning took the lead, charging into the palace. Should there be any ghostly creatures hidden within, she would be the first to dispatch her Flying Sword to subdue the enemy.

Yan Yu, on the other hand, dashed towards the center of the square... Before he could get close, the Bull-headed Ghost suddenly sprung to life, swinging its massive mace.

A sweeping strike.

A simple horizontal sweep, yet it seemed to unleash a storm on the flat ground.

Yan Yu retreated swiftly, dodging the attack. It was clear that he was not hit by the mace, but the tiny shattered stones that flew past grazed his cheek, leaving several gashes.

Chen Lingyun followed Lin Ning towards the palace, and catching a glimpse of the formidable presence in the Bull-headed Ghost's every move out of the corner of her eye, she immediately came to a conclusion:

It couldn't be overpowered.

The Earth-Element Sturdiness Curse was known to be impenetrable to blade and spear, yet it wasn't truly invincible. When faced with overwhelming forces, it could still be shattered, like the Bull-headed Ghost's massive mace, which even caused the paving stones of the square to crack and crumble upon mere contact, let alone the flesh of a cultivator.

The foe swung its mace again, performing a violent series of horizontal sweeps. Once, twice, thrice, each strike devastating vast swathes of the terrain.

If a person were to take such a blow head-on, they would likely be reduced to a pile of mush instantly.

But every time, Yan Yu managed to dodge at the last moment, even narrowly evading the flying shards of stone. At first glance, the scene was fraught with danger, yet his consistent evasion made it hard not to suspect that he was actually handling it with ease.

The group had already retreated into the palace, and Yan Yu did not linger outside, but turned and left immediately.

The Bull-headed Ghost pursued relentlessly. The main entrance to the palace was large, but it just happened to allow its massive frame to barely squeeze through.

No sooner had it entered the hall than five streaks of sword light struck simultaneously.

Green, blue, black, purple, four colors of sword light targeted the limbs of the Bull-headed Ghost. It attempted to swing its giant mace to break the sword light, but as it lifted the mace, it was caught squarely by a nearby pillar, letting out a dull, rough noise.

Seizing the moment, the four sword lights pierced the limbs of the Bull-headed Ghost, and finally, the Huangting Heavy Sword, in a mysterious yellow color, took advantage of its defenseless state to smash down upon its skull.

The Bull-headed Ghost was torn apart.

The massive mace fell to the ground, and Chen Lingyun quickly waved the Soul Summoning Banner in an attempt to capture the deceased Bull-headed Ghost within it, but even the Heart Capturing Technique could barely budge it due to its immense weight, and she had no choice but to release the five ghosts again.

Upon their release, the five ghosts cheered and rushed to the remains of the Bull-headed Ghost, feasting on it voraciously—without chewing or swallowing, continuously inhaling into their mouths just like in "Tom and Jerry" in a bragging manner.

"Easy peasy!" Zhao Yuanzhen said with pride, "Was it even necessary to lure it inside for the fight?"

"Then next time, you'll be the one to lure it," Yan Yu retorted immediately, and the girls all laughed.

The Bull-headed Ghost was not easy to deal with. Its swing packed the weight of a thousand pounds, and it was likely that even an Immortal Sword would be damaged and deformed if it were hit while in flight, not to mention the flesh of a cultivator.

But its downfall lay in its lack of intelligence, as it was lured into the palace. The confined space hindered the use of its mace, and in an instant it became fish on the chopping board, there for the taking—it goes to show that the difficulty of conquering a Mysterious Realm is not set in stone, and what really matters is whether you have the wit to do so.

In the team, although Zhao Yuanzhen was mighty, she never presented herself as sharp or clever. Instead, she was more like a silly older sister who loved to eat and frolic... Otherwise, why would the girls address each other as "Ling Yun," "Yun Jin," or "Ningning," but when it came to her, simply call her "Sister Zhao"?

"Fine, I'll do it," Zhao Yuanzhen grumbled, turning to leave, "This time, I'll lead the way. You all just watch from behind!"

Yan Yu gave the others a meaningful look and hurriedly followed along.

Without showing any expression, Chen Lingyun observed her surroundings and silently memorized the layout and features of the paths they traversed.

The palace had a distinctive architectural feature: many areas were deliberately built to be quite spacious, whether it was the main hall or the corridors.

But it didn't seem to be for the purpose of flaunting grandeur and splendor as in ancient times. It appeared more to accommodate a large number of... no, not people, but ghosts.

In other words, were all the ghostly creatures now roaming within and even outside of the Mysterious Realm originally imprisoned within this palace?

From the outside, the palace complex stretched endlessly into the depths of the mountain, perhaps like the multiple layers of the Wuyi Mountain Secret Realm.

The first layer contained the likes of starving ghosts and labor ghosts—mere small fry. If one continued deeper into the palace, to the next level, they would likely encounter even more formidable ghosts. Moreover, with the ongoing resurgence of Spiritual Energy, there was also the danger of them breaking out of their confinement...

As Chen Lingyun pondered, she suddenly saw Yan Yu ahead holding back Zhao Yuanzhen, signaling everyone to stop moving forward.

In front of them was an extremely spacious chamber, so large that there were at least thirty or forty columns inside.

In the distance, there was a large figure moving, or more accurately, floating, between the columns.

It was about two meters tall, hunched over with a spine curved like a bow, concealed under wide robes and long sleeves. Its hair was gray and disheveled, with a gaunt, bony hand reaching out of the sleeve, holding a white bone tally, floating between the columns.

That look, that presence, it was far more fashionable than the muscle-bound Bull-headed Ghost outside swinging a mace.

"Seems like a Judge from the Ghostly Courts," Zhao Yuanzhen said uncertainly, her voice tinged with rare wariness.

The ghosts who practice the "Ghost Mansion Judge" Taoism method have a feature called "Impervious to Swords and Spears," which simply means they are immune to physical attacks. With so many spells at her disposal, she now can't use them in front of her teammates. What should she do?

"Didn't you just say 'that's it'?" Yan Yu immediately mocked her.

"I'm not scared!" Zhao Yuanzhen retorted, "Just a mere judge, watch me solo him and finish it in seconds!"

"Okay, stop talking nonsense," Yan Yu interrupted, "This judge must be the gatekeeper of this mysterious realm. Let's discuss our tactics next."

"Are we discussing how to fight, or are we discussing whether to fight at all?" Chen Lingyun said with a smile.

"Hmm..." Yan Yu suddenly looked to the right, "It seems we're out of time."

No sooner had he spoken than Zhou Hongyu and his team appeared from the entrance on the right side of the palace.

After they entered, the first thing they saw was the Ghost Mansion Judge floating in the distance. They then noticed Yan Yu and the others at the entrance to the left.

The palace where the Ghost Mansion Judge wandered was so large that although the two teams were at adjacent entrances, they were still about twenty meters apart from each other and roughly thirty meters from the Ghost Mansion Judge.

The judge had not yet noticed the teams, so whoever startled or even attracted the attention of this gatekeeper would put their team at a relative disadvantage.

Zhou Hongyu's cold gaze fell on Yan Yu, and many old grudges surfaced in her mind, making her feel as if her blood were rushing to her head. But in the end, she refrained from striking first.

It was obvious that if she used the Fire Blazing Dao Method, Yan Yu and his team would immediately retreat and temporarily avoid the battlefield. Meanwhile, the startled Ghost Mansion Judge would give chase...When Zhou Hongyu's team was nearly worn out from fighting the gatekeeper, Yan Yu would bring his team back to reap the benefits and easily claim victory.

It was precisely because Zhou Hongyu was so eager to defeat Yan Yu and redeem herself that she couldn't allow herself to make such a foolish mistake.

"What should we do?" she asked Deputy Captain Zhang in a low voice.

Deputy Captain Zhang, undisturbed, suddenly shot the Flying Sword toward Yan Yu's direction.

The Flying Sword turned into a bright streak of sword light, whistling through the air as it shot towards Yan Yu, creating a noise that stood out in the dark and silent palace, instantly drawing the Ghost Mansion Judge's gaze.

Of course, it also turned the judge's attention towards Yan Yu and his team.

Without showing any panic, Yan Yu controlled his sword to intercept the attack from the Flying Sword, emitting a clear sound of clashing metal.

The Ghost Mansion Judge let out a low chuckle and suddenly flew towards Yan Yu's side, moving much faster than his previous aimless drifting.

"Retreat!" Yan Yu commanded.

The group immediately began to retreat rapidly along their original path, with the Ghost Mansion Judge relentlessly pursuing them out of the palace.

"Beautiful!" Tang Xiaolian couldn't help but exclaim in delight.

If Zhou Hongyu had attacked with the Fire Blazing Dao Method, a long line of fire would have led the Ghost Mansion Judge directly to her. The genius of Zhang Huaide's move was that he used the Flying Sword. The sword light didn't reveal the position of the person controlling the sword; it only directed the gaze to the target being attacked.

When Yan Yu quickly used his Immortal Sword to block, it made a loud sound, convincing the Ghost Mansion Judge to unhesitantly give chase.

"Quickly find the control hub of the mysterious realm," Zhang Huaide commanded calmly, showing no pride in his trick.

Everyone responded in unison, scattering throughout the palace to cast a net in search of any suspicious objects.

"Found anything?" A few minutes later, Zhang Huaide asked again.

"No," Qin Meng answered, "This hall is completely empty. Not only is there no object, but there isn't even a tea table or cabinet."

Zhang Huaide paused for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed:

"No good! The control hub... might be carried by the gatekeeper himself!"

"You mean?" Zhou Hongyu also instantly realized, "Yan Yu wasn't outsmarted by you but knew this all along and deliberately lured the gatekeeper away?"

"They were the first to get here!" Zhang Huaide quickly headed in the direction where Yan Yu and his team had retreated, "That's very likely!"

If it were just to lure away the gatekeeper, the Pingxi Army's team could give Yan Yu a thumbs up, and it wouldn't be out of the question to even award them a "Best Brotherhood Team" plaque after the match.

But if they lured away both the gatekeeper and the control hub at once, they would be nothing short of crafty, calculating, and downright ruthless!

Yan Yu, how heartless of you!

"It was my mistake this time," Deputy Captain Zhang admitted while chasing after Yan Yu and his team, still reflecting, "I shouldn't have acted so hastily. I should have watched and waited."

"It's not the deputy captain's fault," Qin Meng added with a deep voice, "If I hadn't been careless and got injured fighting the gatekeeper's Bull-headed Ghost, wasting time tending to my wound, the Zhendong Army wouldn't have had the chance to get here first."

"Enough!" Zhou Hongyu cut off the self-criticism and said sternly, "We'll review the game after it's over! That gatekeeper won't be dealt with in a minute or two. We just need to catch up quickly. Let's take out Yan Yu and the gatekeeper both!"

"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison, and their previously dampened spirits rose again.