Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Yan Yu and the others rushed along the palace corridor, pursued by the cackling ghosts of the Ghost Court Judges.

Chen Lingyun, who had memorized the terrain and routes when they came in, provided the group with a lot of conveniences, at least they wouldn't run into a dead end to be conveniently blocked by Judges.

"Where are we heading to?" Zhao Yuanzhen asked irritably.

She didn't like the feeling of being chased, it seemed to trigger an unpleasant memory of hers.

"Chen Lingyun?" Instead of answering immediately, Yan Yu asked back.

"Just a few more turns ahead," Chen Lingyun replied with a faint smile.

The group continued to sprint along the route, turning corner after corner.

"What about that Judge?" Lin Ning suddenly looked back.

The Judge from the Ghost Court that had been doggedly pursuing them was nowhere to be seen.

"Hmm," Chen Lingyun wore a smile that suggested "that's a good question," and pointed to the left corridor, "Should be over there."

"But we came from behind," Lin Ning exclaimed in shock.

"We must have gone in a circle and shaken off that Judge from the Ghost Court," Su Yunjin replied calmly.

Shaking off the guardians of the gates in the Mysterious Realm was actually quite rare—because guardians were often responsible for watching over the vital controls of the Mysterious Realm. If they went too far away, they would immediately return, not giving you a chance to divert their attention.

"What now?" Zhao Yuanzhen asked.

"Now, of course, we wait for Zhou Hongyu and the others to come," Chen Lingyun said with a beaming smile, "and start planning our positions."

"Lin Ning, behind the first pillar on the left."

"Sister Zhao, around the corner of the corridor on the right."

"Yun Jin, at the side of the windowsill on the right."

Everyone quickly moved to their positions and hid. Only to hear Yan Yu laugh and ask:

"Where should I stand?"

"Good steel should be used on the edge of the blade that matters most," Chen Lingyun replied with a mysterious smile.

Meanwhile, Zhou Hongyu and the others were chasing from behind, growing more and more uneasy.

Logically, if Yan Yu and his team had already engaged with the gate guardians, the commotion should have been significant. However, as they had chased up to this point, they still hadn't heard any disturbance nearby.

"Could they have been lured even further away?" Pressing down his fighting spirit, Zhou Hongyu coldly asked, "Are they planning to kill the guardian in a secluded spot?"

"Unlikely," Zhang Huaide analyzed calmly, "This palace isn't that big, the echoes of the battle couldn't possibly not reach us completely. I'm more inclined to believe that they haven't yet started fighting with the guardian..."

Before he could finish, as if in response to his hypothesis, there finally came loud noises from ahead.

Immediately revitalized, everyone rushed towards the source of the sound.

The noise grew closer, seemingly, they would reach it just by turning the corner.

Qin Meng led the way, after all, the deputy captain had ordered him to suppress Lin Ning as soon as possible; Zhou Hongyu followed close behind, aiming to settle the score with Yan Yu; Tang Xiaolian and Meng Qingxi were in the middle, while Zhang Huaide took up the rear, considering that his Sword Control Technique could provide support across the field, vision was more important than distance.

As for the Pingxi Army's medical team, they lagged dozens of meters behind, following the combatants at a distance with quiet drone surveillance, recording without interfering in the battle.

Suddenly, the drone captured Chen Lingyun hiding behind a pillar.

Chen Lingyun also saw the drone and cheerfully made a shushing gesture at the camera.

Medical team: .........

So, it's an ambush!

Of course, even if they noticed, it was against the rules to warn Zhou Hongyu.

Not to mention that there was no time left.

Zhou Hongyu and Qin Meng turned the corner and came face to face with Yan Yu.

Yan Yu!

As enemies met, their eyes blazed with animosity. Zhou Hongyu did not hesitate, channeling energy through her meridians. Her True Yuan surged, directly invoking the Bright Flame and releasing it!

Now that the upper limit of Spiritual Energy hadn't increased, she couldn't unleash an endless sea of fire that swept over everything. Instead, she exhaled three flames from her mouth and nose, which immediately took the form of long spears in the air, roaring towards Yan Yu.

The first move of the Bright Flame, Flame Spear.

Though the name was plain, the killing technique was in the extremely condensed flame. Upon striking the target, it would explode in a small area, completely engulfing the target in a bloom of bright flame—in other words, even if you used the Flying Sword to block this move, the result would be the Flying Sword being fiercely scorched by the Bright Flame, severely damaging its spirit.

The cultivator who designed this move must have some grudge against swordsmanship or Sword Control Technique; the intention to specifically counter was all too clear.

At this moment, Yan Yu was cornered by the Judge from the Ghost Court behind a pillar. With a quick glance to the side, he of course knew that this move could only be dodged, not taken head-on.

He spun and stepped forward rapidly, and with several taps, he defied gravity and rushed up the pillar, avoiding the range of the Flame Spear's attack.

The ghost mansion judge remained stationary, his long tongue lashing out of his mouth like a whip towards Yan Yu's neck. Suddenly, his figure stumbled forward, as Huang Tingjian's Flying Sword had unexpectedly circled to his back and smashed forcefully against it.

The judge's long robe rippled like lake water, dissipating much of the Flying Sword's impact; the remaining force nudged him to drift forward slightly, seemingly causing little damage to his body.

Given the current pace of the Spiritual Energy Resurgence, a ghost mansion judge appearing in the Mysterious Realm would not yet have reached the Cultivation Realm necessary to master command spells.

But even limited to physical attacks and relying on their "impervious to blade and spear" trait, human cultivators would not be able to kill them quickly.

He turned swiftly, his fierce and terrifying face filled with an expression of infuriated annoyance, about to swing his tablet to strike Huang Tingjian's Flying Sword when Zhou Hongyu's Flame Spear was already hurtling towards him—the strike from the Flying Sword had just pushed the judge into the Flame Spear's attack range.

As the Flame Spear pierced the judge's robe, it was like a lit lighter falling into natural gas, triggering a massive explosion in an instant.

Bright flames, evil dispelling, ghostly harm amplified!

The high-pitched, agonized scream of the ghost mansion judge immediately reverberated throughout the entire palace. The remaining three members of the Pingxi Army team turned the corner just in time to witness the Flame Spear striking the judge.

Even the calm and composed Zhang Huaide couldn't help but be deeply shaken at that moment.

This is bad, we've been outmaneuvered!

Sure enough, the wounded but not yet dead ghost mansion judge instantly abandoned his chase of Yan Yu and, with a spiteful look, rushed towards Zhou Hongyu.

"Don't panic, Xiao Zhou, let's see you handle this!" Yan Yu called out from atop a pillar.

In response, another Flame Spear was launched.

Yan Yu quickly took cover behind the pillar, dodging the Flame Spear and the subsequent explosion. Qin Meng had already emerged mid-way, blocking the judge's path, his stance set for a punch, the Dragon Elephant Nirvana Divine Skill already circulating.

Charge!

His punch, carrying a forceful might, thundered against the judge's robe, causing even more ripples, though the damage was still not very evident.

The ghost mansion judge roared once again, lifting his bony tablet high and forcefully smashing it down toward Qin Meng. But then, several more Flame Spears brutally interrupted his strike.

This time, Zhou Hongyu's shots weren't by mistake but rather indicated a clear stance:

If I've accidentally drawn your ire, then I'll just have to kill you too!

Zhang Huaide watched anxiously from behind. Yan Yu's Team had not even fully revealed themselves yet, and you started fighting with the gatekeeper!

He was eager to call a halt, yet he remembered Zhou Hongyu wasn't Yan Yu. Before engaging in combat, he could contain himself, but once the fight started... sorry, but now all I want is to kill you, or be killed by you.

He wouldn't listen to reason.

As his thoughts raced, Deputy Captain Zhang quickly made a decision:

"Close in on Captain Zhou! Focus fire to kill the gatekeeper!"

If we can't get the captain to disengage from the gatekeeper and join us, then we have to reverse our approach and group up with the captain. That way, even if the enemy launches an ambush, at least our team can coordinate and respond together.

But Chen Lingyun wouldn't give him that chance. No sooner had Zhang Huaide given the order than the girls who had been lying in ambush immediately surged out, with Lin Ning leading with the swiftest speed, as the Green Bamboo Sword transformed into a streak of sword light directly aimed at Tang Xiaolian's chest.

Tang Xiaolian hurriedly used her Sword Control Technique to block. In the rush, metal clashed against metal, and her Peach Blossom Tender Sword spun out of her hand.

Then came another black sword light, Zhao Yuanzhen's Yin Wind Sword, seizing the moment Tang Xiaolian's Flying Sword was deflected and spun away, her defenses wide open, and shot a lightning-fast thrust toward her chest.

If this were a one-on-one fight, Tang Xiaolian by now would have been a corpse. Naturally, Meng Qingxi couldn't abandon her teammate and had to turn and unsheath her sword to save her, swiftly deflecting the Yin Wind Sword. Aware of the ambush, Tang Xiaolian flung her right hand forward as if scattering flowers from the heaven.

Peach Blossom Poison!

The ethereal pink miasma spread through the air, in fact composed of countless pink insects floating in the air. Should anyone recklessly enter the miasma, even if they covered their nose and mouth to hold their breath, the insects would burrow into their pores, causing unbearable pain, leaving them with no choice but to writhe on the ground.

Now that the miasma was unleashed, it immediately created a barrier between the two sides, not only preventing the enemy from crossing but also blocking their line of sight.

Before Tang Xiaolian could breathe a sigh of relief, another streak of purple sword light tore through the miasma, precisely aimed at Meng Qingxi's face.

Meng Qingxi had just made a move to block the sword for Tang Xiaolian, and there was no time to call her Flying Sword back. She was nearly scared out of her wits.

With a resounding "clang," it was Zhang Huaide who blocked the attack for her, shouting commands:

"Keep retreating! They can't see us!"

Peach Blossom Poison could completely obscure vision; surely, the enemy couldn't see them. They had only targeted Meng Qingxi because they remembered where he was just moments before.

As long as we keep moving, we'll be fine!

Tang Xiaolian and Meng Qingxi hurriedly retreated, and indeed, two more sword lights pierced the miasma, striking the spot where they had been standing, hitting nothing but air.

Zhang Huaide had just let out a sigh of relief when he suddenly found himself engulfed by a pillar of water that sprang up behind him, plunging headfirst into the Peach Blossom Poison ahead.

It was Su Yunjin, who had stayed her hand, executing a perfectly timed Jiaochong at Chen Lingyun's accurately predicted position.

Water from the Heavenly River materialized out of thin air, the unprepared deputy captain was swept up in the floodwaters, first crashing into the Peach Blossom Poison to be filled with insect toxins, then carried away from the miasma and delivered into Chen Lingyun's trap.

Lin Ning's green sword light was already striking swiftly from the left; Zhao Yuanzhen was coordinating the pincer attack, sealing off Zhang Huaide's escape on the right.

The flood from Jiaochong mercilessly carried Zhang Huaide, pushing him towards the surging sword lights ahead!