Nether Ghost Tiger King

However, if Lei Dong were to sell a large quantity of Top-Grade Spiritual Ghosts, the price would plummet. Furthermore, if they were bought by his enemies, it would cause great trouble. Most troublesome of all, selling such a large volume of Top-Grade Spiritual Ghosts would attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Therefore, it always came back to the same truth: strength was the most important thing. If Lei Dong possessed a Deity Transformation Stage cultivation base at this moment, he wouldn't have to be so cautious and could use his treasures to amass even greater wealth.

After concluding his discussion with Xie Feng, Lei Dong communicated with the silver puppet. His voice held no arrogance, remaining deeply respectful:

"Senior, the matters here have been resolved. This junior has urgent business and wishes to accompany Senior Xie Feng to the Youming Ghost Realm."

Several months later, Lei Dong and Xie Feng steered the flying boat, emerging from the depths of the Minghe River valley looking rather travel-worn. Although weariness showed in Lei Dong's eyes, his face was filled with immense satisfaction. Though the journey had been winding and full of twists, they had encountered no trouble. Instead, with great luck, they had found the Wannian Mingru that the Youming Ghost Emperor had mentioned. Lei Dong had collected over ten bottles, which was more than enough to release Xiao You from her blood sacrifice.

Of course, this was not Lei Dong's greatest harvest. Though their accidental intrusion into the Mingwang Temple had involved immense danger, the rewards were exceptionally rich. Setting aside the two Nascent Spirits for now, Lei Dong had acquired five Deity Transformation puppets, which could be pieced together into two complete Deity Transformation puppets. According to Xie Feng's estimation, to complete the missing parts, they needed to find an experienced Puppet Master who could refine Deity Transformation puppets, rework them, and integrate a Nascent Spirit into them.

Although Xie Feng was intelligent, she was not particularly skilled in this area. Fortunately, she had deep connections and interactions with a sect in Daqian Province, allowing Lei Dong to go there and try his luck. The puppet techniques of the Wankui Sect were at least several levels superior to those of the Tianji Sect in Kangzhou.

According to Xie Feng, that sect possessed two Deity Transformation Stage puppets. In Daqian Province, the Wankui Sect was considered a first-rate, powerful sect, by no means inferior to the Tianyi Sect.

However, in the Minghe River region, Lei Dong still had some unfinished business. Previously, in the Outer Void, Lei Dong had tried to contact the lost Xiao You, but she seemed to have vanished without a trace. Yet, as soon as they left the Minghe River, Lei Dong tried again and faintly sensed Xiao You's direction. Because the distance was extremely vast, he could not communicate with her through his divine sense.

After emerging, Xie Feng also used a secret technique to contact her clansmen, only to discover that they were in the exact same direction as Xiao You. For the time being, they decided not to part ways and steered the flying boat straight in that direction. During the several months of travel, Lei Dong took the opportunity to learn artifact refining, alchemy, and even puppet mechanics and formations from Xie Feng.

Having reached the mid Nascent Soul Stage, Lei Dong's memory had become incredibly formidable; he could deeply engrave most things into his mind after seeing them just once. Furthermore, although his talent was ordinary, his comprehension was exceptional. His rich harvest made him marvel at the sheer breadth of Xie Feng's knowledge, as she seemed to know a bit of everything.

According to Xie Feng, the more powerful a cultivator became, the broader their knowledge in all fields would be. Otherwise, intelligent races would be no different from beasts. Only low-level cultivators would cooperate with high-level ones. Perhaps because "one law leads to a hundred laws," many people learned from one another in fields like alchemy and artifact refining. A deep understanding of the path of cultivation might even trigger insights to break through one's cultivation level.

Lei Dong agreed with these words. In truth, with his current memory and comprehension, learning those low-level techniques was as easy as turning his palm; one day of study for him was equivalent to a month for others. While his IQ might not be higher, his memory and control over his own comprehension were far beyond what low-level cultivators could compare to. Moreover, high-level cultivators possessed vast lifespans, giving them ample time to study auxiliary arts. Low-level cultivators, on the other hand, had limited time; if they spent too much time on other things, they wouldn't have enough time to cultivate.

Therefore, for low-level cultivators, studying too many auxiliary arts was a waste of life. Mastering one trade to earn resources was fine, but learning too many would only lead to a dead end. For high-level cultivators, studying and understanding these auxiliary arts helped verify their own cultivation and techniques. In just a few months of learning, Lei Dong's knowledge of auxiliary arts advanced rapidly, granting him many insights and a deeper, more comprehensive understanding.

As Lei Dong gradually drew closer to Xiao You's direction, the connection grew stronger, yet no matter how he called out through the blood sacrifice, there was no response.

Xiao You was in the gravest danger.

At a distance unknown from the Minghe River, in a secluded corner of the Jiuyou Abyss, the environment was unlike most of the abyssal void. In this region, countless Floating Mountains drifted like stars in the sky. Occasionally, two Floating Mountains would collide, triggering violent spatial tremors and sending dust flying everywhere.

On an ordinary Floating Mountain several hundred yards in diameter, thick black smoke billowed. Twelve tottering banners could be seen slowly rotating. The layers of black smoke made it difficult to see clearly, only offering faint glimpses of the shifting, illusory figures of a horde of demonic beasts.

Outside the formation stood a strange, dark-clouded tiger. Its body was semi-translucent, resembling a ghostly creature. Anyone with a bit of knowledge would have cried out in shock upon seeing it, for this was one of the rare, specialized Nether-attribute beasts of the Jiuyou—the Youming Ghost Tiger.

Despite its strange appearance, the Youming Ghost Tiger possessed a dense bloodline of the Divine Beast Bai Hu and was a distant relative of the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger. In terms of bloodline alone, it was far superior to Lei Dong's pet, the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger. Due to bloodline limitations, most ordinary beasts could only reach the Golden Core Stage at best, with only a very small number of exceptionally lucky ones advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage.

However, once a Youming Ghost Tiger matured, it could easily advance to the Nascent Soul Stage, with the Deity Transformation Stage being its only true bottleneck. This particular Youming Ghost Tiger was exceptionally majestic. It lay there with a heroic posture and an extraordinary aura, exuding a visible kingly air. It was a highly rare Deity Transformation Stage Youming Ghost Tiger King.

The Youming Ghost Tiger was already extremely rare, and a Deity Transformation Stage Youming Ghost Tiger King was even scarcer. Even in the perilous Jiuyou Abyss, it was an absolute overlord. Yet, for some reason, it lingered here, refusing to leave. Its eyes burned with a fierce, hostile glare directed at the Youming Black Fiend Formation.

Inside the Youming Black Fiend Formation were Xiao You, whom he hadn't seen in ten years, and her companions. The lovely young girl still looked adorable in her green dress. However, her expression was currently weary, showing that she had not been living well during this period. Surrounding her were five extraordinary peak Ghost Kings. Additionally, there were four Ming Feng whose auras had also reached the peak Ghost King level. It was clear that although she had suffered during this time, she had also encountered some fortuitous opportunities.

Aside from them, a massive, mountain-like thunder dragon lay within the Youming Black Fiend Formation. This was none other than Lei Dong's brother, Lei Long. At this moment, he was heavily injured, leaning weakly against a boulder with extremely faint breath.

For some reason, while Lei Dong could sense Xiao You's direction, she could not sense her master. She longed to see Lei Dong arrive, murmuring weakly:

"Everyone, I am sorry. I have done my best. The Youming Black Fiend Formation was already damaged from our battle with the Insect Emperor. I can only maintain my true essence for another three days at most."

"Princess, while we still have some strength left, I will hold back the Youming Ghost Tiger King for you. You must escape!" a loyal Ghost King guard said. "Do not hesitate any longer. You are the hope of our Ghost Race. We will gladly lay down our lives for you without a single regret."

"Princess Youming, thank you for saving us multiple times. If not for saving us, you wouldn't have been cornered by the Ghost Tiger King," several Nascent Soul Stage Ming Feng transformed into human forms and said. "Go quickly! We and the Ghost guards will help you hold back the Ghost Tiger King. We only hope that if you can become the Sovereign of the Ghost Race, you will assist our Ming Feng Clan."

"Let us not speak of that now," Xiao You shook her head resolutely. "As the Princess of the Ghost Race, I cannot abandon my guards and allies to flee alone. If I did, how could I face my imperial father? What right would I have to inherit the legacy of the Ghost Race? Since fate has decreed it, rather than waiting for our true essence to run out and being humiliated and killed by the Ghost Tiger King, we might as well use our remaining strength to fight it to the death. Even if we only inflict a minor wound, we must let it know that we are not to be trifled with!"

*Roar! Roar!*

Lei Long seemed to agree deeply with her words. Struggling to raise his head, he let out a dragon roar. His eyes flashed with immense pride. Back in the day, he had roamed the lands with a powerful life force. Even if he had to die, he would die in battle, never in humiliation.

"Kill!!!"

Xiao You deactivated the tottering Youming Black Fiend Formation and charged forward. Her body transformed into a faint mist as she rushed toward the Ghost Tiger King. The others followed closely behind, prepared to risk their lives against the beast.

To their surprise, the proud Ghost Tiger King merely sneered. Without even moving its body, it swiped its paw downward. With its immense strength, the single swipe transformed into countless overlapping claw shadows, carrying an extraordinary momentum.

"I declare, space is frozen!"

Xiao You's eyes were cold and resolute. As she uttered these words, the law of space resonated like thunder, causing the ears of those present to ring.

The Ghost Tiger King's swipe was affected by the spatial freeze, suddenly becoming slow and powerless as if mired in thick mud. The Ghost Kings and Ming Feng launched a fierce assault, unleashing various spells and treasures upon the Ghost Tiger King without mercy.

*ROAR!*

Caught off guard, the Ghost Tiger King was struck by over ten spells and treasures. Even though it was a Deity Transformation Stage beast with immense defense, it could not bear the brunt of the assault. Various wounds appeared on its sleek, semi-translucent fur. In pain and fury, it opened its maw and roared. The violent soundwaves rippled outward, instantly shattering the frozen space into pieces.

Countless spatial fragments of various sizes shot toward the crowd. One Ghost King failed to dodge in time and was sliced in half by a large fragment. Fortunately, the Ghost Race possessed the trait of having form but no physical body. Under such an injury, the Ghost King's severed halves transformed into a cloud of black smoke, merging back together to restore its complete body, as if it possessed an immortal physique. However, after surviving this ordeal, it appeared to have suffered a massive blow to its vitality, and its cultivation base regressed. Yet, compared to another Ming Feng, it was highly fortunate.

That late Nascent Soul Stage Ming Feng was sliced into countless pieces by the spatial fragments. Even its Nascent Soul had no time to escape, resulting in its soul being utterly extinguished.

As for Xiao You, who had forced herself to cast the Mingshen True Word Art, she suffered a double backlash from the shattered space and the laws when the Ghost Tiger King broke the spatial freeze. Letting out a groan, her delicate body was sent flying backward. Only after flying nearly a mile did she manage to halt herself. Her face was as pale as snow, and she could barely maintain her form, appearing faint and translucent.

In just their first clash, Xiao You's side suffered devastating casualties, with two injured and one dead, in exchange for only a minor wound on the Ghost Tiger King.

But whether it was a spiritual beast or a fierce beast, they became most terrifying and brutal after being injured. The Youming Ghost Tiger King had run rampant in this abyss for who knows how long and had not been injured in ages. Furious, it roared once more. The roar expanded into a shockwave that rippled outward. Its massive, agile body leaped into the void, descending upon Xiao You's head like a collapsing mountain.