The thick fog could not obscure the brilliant crimson light. At that moment, Zhao Rucheng was just scrambling to his feet, the swarming vengeful spirits threatening to engulf him.

But Du Yehou arrived!

He didn’t even need to move. The intense power of his vital energy alone scattered the approaching vengeful spirits.

Du Yehou acted decisively, grabbing Zhao Rucheng by the collar and hauling him toward Linghe’s side.

Having taken a vicious swipe from the vengeful spirit, his elder brothers were worried sick, yet Zhao Rucheng himself didn’t seem injured at all, grumbling with annoyance, “Hey, hey, I can walk myself!”

Du Yehou paid him no mind, striding forward until halfway there, he tossed the incessantly complaining Zhao Rucheng toward Linghe. At the same time, he turned, his fist wrapped in a thick aura of vital energy, and slammed it heavily towards the vengeful spirit.

Leaving aside Linghe’s aerial catch of Zhao Rucheng, let’s focus on Du Yehou’s fist.

Compared to the Purple Qi East Arriving Sword, his fist techniques weren’t particularly advanced, even rather neglected in the outer court of the Daoist Academy. But the way he used them was exceptionally ferocious.

This punch didn’t seek a weak point; instead, it met the vengeful spirit’s massive claw head-on, strength against strength, offense against offense. It was truly incomparably fierce!

A tangible force of vital energy encased his iron fist, colliding thunderously with the dark green claw, resulting in a brief stalemate.

Just then, Jiang Wang leapt forward again, the flash of his sword severing the vengeful spirit’s other eye.

“Retreat!”

Jiang Wang withdrew as soon as he succeeded, and Du Yehou quickly retreated as well.

Blinded, the vengeful spirit grew even more frenzied, its massive claws flailing wildly, stirring up violent gusts of wind around it.

As its attacks slowed slightly, Jiang Wang turned back once more, his long sword tracing a graceful arc in the air, drifting like a falling leaf to the vengeful spirit’s right claw, almost silently. Yet, the moment it touched the dark green claw, it unleashed an unparalleled sharp whistle!

The third stance of the Purple Qi East Arriving Sword incantation focused on sharpness!

With a single strike, the vengeful spirit’s right claw was severed.

Jiang Wang didn’t linger, already retreating as he struck.

Unable to see, the vengeful spirit could only desperately vent its rage on the air in front of it. At this moment, Du Yehou, burning with blazing vital energy, had circled behind it and leapt high into the air. Clasping his right hand with his left, he swung his hands like a hammer, slamming them heavily into the vengeful spirit’s grotesque head.

*Boom!*

The smoke of vital energy inherently suppressed ghostly entities, not to mention the ferocity of Du Yehou’s attack. His fists, wrapped in layers of vital energy, instantly exploded the vengeful spirit’s entire head!

Unable to dodge in time, Du Yehou was splattered with dark green, foul blood, but it was quickly incinerated by his vital energy.

Only after the headless corpse of the vengeful spirit collapsed did the red glow on Du Yehou’s body fade, his face instantly turning pale.

Jiang Wang leapt to Du Yehou’s side and supported him. “Brother Tiger, this…”

Vital energy was the foundation of a person. Now that Jiang Wang was condensing Dao Yuan, he had to start with the supply of vital energy. Du Yehou’s strength earlier was fueled by burning himself. He wasn’t a martial artist who specialized in martial arts; he couldn’t lock in such a vast amount of vital energy. This battle would take him at least five years to recover.

Five years at the beginning of cultivation were long indeed! Not to mention the problem of vital energy starting to decline after a certain age. One step slower, every step slower, which could mean he would be cut off from the extraordinary from now on.

But Du Yehou hadn’t hesitated or wavered earlier. There wasn’t much time to think about it in the face of life and death, and the more subconscious the choice, the more it verified his true heart.

“A small matter,” Du Yehou adjusted his breathing and recovered a little strength, then pushed Jiang Wang away. “I’m not at the point where I can’t walk yet. Let’s go; the situation in the central palace must be more dangerous.”

Linghe was certainly full of worry, but this was not the time to say much. He carried Zhao Rucheng on his back and stepped forward to pick up his sword from the vengeful spirit’s corpse, silently standing guard next to Du Yehou.

He had burned his vital energy earlier, but only a small amount, which didn’t affect his foundation. Therefore, he still had the strength to fight.

As the strongest combatant of the four, Jiang Wang naturally had to stay mobile so he could strike at any time. So he just walked ahead with his sword, not offering a hand.

Only Zhao Rucheng was still grumbling and complaining, “The boss is still the most considerate. Tiger is clumsy; honestly, carrying me like a chicken, what kind of image is that? If Miss Miaoyu finds out, wouldn’t my heroic image be ruined?”

Miaoyu was the top courtesan of Three Fragrances Brothel and the most popular girl in Maple Forest City’s pleasure district. Zhao Rucheng had already spent thousands of taels of silver in Three Fragrances Brothel to win her favor, but he had yet to succeed.

Du Yehou didn’t say a word, not because he didn’t want to beat him up, or at least curse him, but because he really didn’t have the strength.

“Alright, alright,” Jiang Wang said impatiently, “Here, apart from the mindless wandering spirits, there are only the vengeful spirits with confused minds. Who are you trying to impress?”

“Who knows?” Zhao Rucheng perked up, leaning on Linghe’s back, gesturing wildly. “What if there’s a beautiful female ghost hiding somewhere spying on me? What was originally a good romance would be ruined, can Tiger afford that loss?”

Du Yehou almost jumped up from his deathbed in shock, rallying a trace of strength to beat this mouthy guy to death.

Before he could explode, Linghe struck upwards with the hilt of his sword.

“Hiss…” Zhao Rucheng gasped and his arrogance immediately vanished.

…

…

Beyond the heavy fog wall, in the central location of Small Forest Town, the central palace of the Nine Palaces Formation.

A huge vortex was slowly rotating. The original appearance of this place could no longer be discerned, everything dissolving into this silent vortex. Other than the vortex, there was nothing else. The center of the vortex was a pure black, as if it could attract a person’s gaze, from which no one could escape.

Next to the vortex stood four cultivators with long, steady breaths, each full of Dao Yuan. All were clad in black robes, staring straight ahead.

Not far in front of the vortex was a house that had been smashed to pieces, nothing left but a brick wall.

A woman in red leaned languidly against the wall, her expression lazy.

She was wrapped up tightly, yet she gave off an endless allure. In her hand, she held an oval mirror, which reflected not her beautiful face, but the figures fighting the vengeful spirits in the Nine Palaces Formation.

“The disciples of Maple Forest City Daoist Academy this year aren’t that great. Only those few sword techniques are passable,” the woman in red muttered, flipping her hand to put the mirror away.

“Alright, the time has come. If I had known it would be so easy, I would have taken a nap,” the woman in red yawned and walked gracefully towards the vortex. “So sleepy…”

Arriving at the mysterious vortex, her expression became slightly more serious. She turned to the side and bowed respectfully, “Respectfully invite Elder.”

The four black-robed cultivators also bowed with her.

Then, from the dense fog, walked out an old man with white hair. His face was as wrinkled as old tree bark, his eyes were very cloudy, hunched over, and even staggering.

But as he walked step by step, his back straightened inch by inch, and his aura continued to skyrocket.

He ignored the woman in red and others, staring only at the vortex, as if staring at his eternal love, his gaze incomparably pious.

By the time he reached the vortex, his aura was as deep as an abyss, making it difficult to breathe.

The woman in red lowered her head even further.

The old man with white hair folded his ring and pinky fingers, and formed a triangle with his thumb, index finger, and middle finger over his heart, chanting softly: “Bottom of the River of Forgetfulness, abyss of the Yellow Springs. Honorable God returns to the world, illuminating the world.”

Then, he took out a white bone dagger and inserted it into the crown of his head, falling straight into the vortex!