The scene before me was truly terrifying. Especially for one who had dwelled in this blessed land of cultivators, having experienced few great wars and possessed scant memories of such horrors. To suddenly bear witness to this spectacle, it was difficult to suppress the fear that gnawed at my heart.

From within the black coffin, Coroner Wang sat up. He was clad in a black official robe and his face was concealed by a Yama mask. His form was withered and thin, like a bamboo pole upon which clothes had been hung. The edges of his official robe were embroidered with dark red blood patterns, and drops of blood still dripped, one by one, enhancing the eerie terror. His body moved with the uncoordinated awkwardness of a puppet, swaying as he rose, his knees still resting within the black coffin.

Behind him, the void shimmered, revealing a myriad of ghostly figures, a thousand forms in motion. And faintly, the wails of phantoms echoed in my ears. The entirety of the twenty-seventh city was enveloped in an indescribable dimness, as if the true King Yama of the Underworld had descended upon the mortal realm, bringing forth his ghostly soldiers and generals.

Zheng Chaoyang’s expression was grave. This was the power of a Divine Arrival realm expert. This was why the Prime Minister had spared no expense to ensure his breakthrough to Divine Arrival. Heaven and man were separated by a vast chasm; they were truly worlds apart. Divine Arrival, Divine Arrival – it was as if the strong had already descended into the world like gods.

“Heh heh heh, heh heh heh.” Coroner Wang chuckled. “It has been a very long time.” He looked up at the enormous turtle beast. The eyes that were revealed held a dull, ripple-less emotion. But then, undoubtedly, anger and terror were expressed.

*Hua la la.*

The coffin seemed to overflow with fresh blood as he directly soared into the air. A river of fresh blood arced over him, crashing towards the high heavens, pouring back over the city. “How dare you harm me so!”

His momentum was fierce. But the enormous turtle beast, bearing the weight of ten thousand *jun*, merely watched him with unblinking eyes, seemingly failing to comprehend his actions. Generally speaking, the intelligence of strange beasts at the Divine Arrival level would not be inferior to that of humans. But this protective sacred beast of You Guo clearly lacked normal intelligence; its actions were more akin to instinct. It was precisely because of this that You Ting could guide and control it.

Coroner Wang swiftly ascended, his killing aura billowing, the blood river surging. And the beast watched, unmoved.

“To offend my You Guo… is to invite heavenly execution!”

Majestic as a divine general, Zheng Chaoyang descended from the sky at this moment, engaging Coroner Wang before the turtle beast could. His muscles and bones boomed like drums. The iron-colored soldier-killing force surged upon his fist peak, transforming into knives, guns, swords, and halberds, overwhelming the four seas and eight wastes.

The rolling soldier-killing force collided with the surging blood river. Red swallowed black. With a single clash, the soldier-killing force was directly overturned, and Zheng Chaoyang was sent flying back! He had been stuck at the threshold of Divine Arrival for decades, only breaking through last year with the aid of the nation’s power. Within You Guo, he was number one, but looking out upon the world, he was no longer considered extraordinary. Especially as he faced Coroner Wang, whom even Yin Guan held in great dread and wished to keep under constant surveillance. And especially now, as Coroner Wang rarely displayed his Divine Arrival power. Especially… this soldier-family Divine Arrival physical body was precisely one of Coroner Wang’s objectives for this trip. Coroner Wang absolutely wouldn’t mind gaining a deeper understanding of this flesh sack for himself.

The upper city of You Guo was inhabited by high officials and nobles, and of course, numerous servants. There was no shortage of brothels, casinos, gambling houses, and wine houses that served the nobility. The innate divine ability of the enormous turtle beast made its shell as stable as the earth. No matter how it moved, the space on its back would not tremble. After many years, the upper city had completely embedded itself upon the turtle’s shell, fixed like mountains and rivers.

At this moment, the vast majority of the upper city’s inhabitants continued their lives of drunken luxury, possessing a nearly blind faith in the power of the protective sacred beast – a belief, of course, deliberately guided by the rulers. Thus, even now, apart from the high-ranking officials of You Ting who had long known the terror of the Underworld’s No-Door, only a few idle and bored upper city dwellers would bend down to gaze more closely at the human world beneath the sacred beast’s feet.

And what did they see?

In the midst of various subtle propaganda, an image of an “undefeated war god” had been shaped, an invincible expert responsible for leading the Negative Stele Army. Yet, he was completely no match for this demonic figure!

Zheng Chaoyang flew back, upside down. The blood river surged upwards. Coroner Wang swiftly soared at the lower end of the blood river. Heavy ghost shadows wildly streaked across the blue sky. From a distance, between the giant turtle and the earth, it looked like a red silk ribbon was hung. In the dimming heaven and earth of this side, it showed a kind of almost cruel brightness. At the edge of the red silk, dark shadows fluttered.

And at this moment, a murmuring sound reached the enormous turtle beast’s ear. Its dull consciousness seemed to grasp a reaction. Finally, it was no longer in a daze. The turtle’s head suddenly moved, biting towards Coroner Wang! As its mouth opened, sharp, interlocking teeth were revealed, like rows of inverted sharp spears. Space itself seemed about to be bitten through, and a flow of delicious lava appeared. Yes, its eyes held hunger, thirst; even in the act of attacking, there were no other emotions present.

Coroner Wang directly crossed his hands, and streaks of blood snakes leaped from the blood river, colliding towards the enormous turtle beast’s eyes with terrifying speed. The beast’s pair of eyes were as large as houses. But the blood snakes were so dense that they completely covered such a pair of eyes!

There were few ripples in the enormous turtle beast’s eyes; it simply put on wrinkled eyelids… and then closed its eyes, continuing to tear and bite forward. Coroner Wang, at this time, merely twisted strangely, passing through the gaps between the huge sharp teeth. Countless blood snakes then collided with those eyelids, first striking like warriors beating drums, *bang bang* sounds continuous. Following this, they emitted intense, corrosive sizzling sounds. And after exhausting their strength, they turned back, dripping with foul blood.

As the foul blood scattered, people could see that the giant turtle’s eyelids were not damaged in the slightest. The upper city dwellers who witnessed all of this couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. This was a defense ability nearly at the level of the Cave Heaven realm; this was You Guo’s protective sacred beast! With the sacred beast protecting the nation, what did we have to fear?

But this enormous turtle beast clearly had its own different mood. Having been splashed with foul blood and biting at empty air, its eyes opened, already displaying a clear hint of blood-colored anger. It stared intently at the small ant before its eyes, its entire body overflowing with an indescribable terrifying aura. And then, in the next moment, Coroner Wang’s body suddenly stiffened, petrifying inch by inch! That eerie and terrifying Yama of the Underworld was, in the blink of an eye, frozen into a stone statue.

The stone statue exploded entirely. Among the scattered stones, a blood-dripping broken finger was particularly conspicuous. Aside from this, there was no other flesh.

*Hua la la.*

Coroner Wang once again crawled out of the black coffin, but his left hand was certainly missing a finger. “Hiss… very troublesome,” he said, looking at the position of the broken finger with great heartache. But his voice had not yet faded when he abruptly folded back, bringing the coffin with him as he rushed away from his original position, avoiding the sudden stomp of the enormous turtle beast.

You Guo’s thirty-nine lower cities, each containing a certain number of armies, ranging from three thousand to eight thousand. Their combat power was quite questionable, only performing well when suppressing rioting civilians. Just like today, the battle had evolved to this point, and the armies of the twenty-seventh city were still in chaos. They were preoccupied and unable to maintain order, let alone resist external enemies.

The true main forces of You Guo had been in the upper city from the beginning. At this moment, those who needed to stabilize the city defenses were doing so, the rest were resting, those who needed to train were training, everything was in order. The most elite Negative Stele Army had completed their assembly and formed their battle array, gathering their soldier-killing force. It was this force that sent Zheng Chaoyang flying back into the upper city, possessing power far surpassing before. This formidable army, forged with the nation’s power, instilled in him the confidence to challenge any opponent.

But he did not launch a counterattack immediately. He only silently accumulated power, silently waiting for an opportunity. Because he was very clear that when the sacred beast became angry… it usually did not distinguish between friend and foe. Even if the Prime Minister used the nation’s power to influence it, it could only be slightly guided, not completely controlled. Rashly joining the battle now, fortune and misfortune were difficult to predict.

The confrontation between Coroner Wang and the enormous turtle beast was, initially, a dialogue between the young genius who had narrowly escaped and the Prime Minister who had controlled the nation’s affairs for many years, after three years. Although intense, it was merely the opening salvo.

In these three years and more, neither side had been willing to waste time. Just as Zheng Chaoyang had spent a huge price to reach Divine Arrival, just as You Ting’s control over the protective sacred beast had deepened, just as the most elite Negative Stele Army had expanded to five thousand – it is worth noting that when Zhuang Guo and Zhuang Yong Guo went to war initially, the most elite Jiujiang Xuanjia had only expanded to three thousand, and before that, the Jiujiang Xuanjia had long maintained an establishment of only one thousand. Under normal circumstances, with You Guo’s national power, maintaining such a five-thousand-strong army could almost be said to be exhausting military resources. Of course, national conditions differ. With the protective sacred beast present, You Guo’s national defense resources could be greatly reduced. The absolute majority of You Guo’s common people also did not need any cultivation resources, nor did they need opportunities for advancement. Looking at the world, You Guo was absolutely not a wealthy nation, but the upper city was definitely a prosperous and rich city. Thus, such consumption could also be supported.

Zhao Cang’s grand transformation of the lower cities and his expansion of military power at all costs… and Yin Guan’s response, were gradually unfolding.

At this very moment, within the forest of tall buildings in the upper city, on a certain prosperous street, a well-dressed old man, head bowed, walking slowly with a cane, suddenly stopped. He lightly tapped the ground with his cane. The ground bricks jumped up, spreading from one end of the street to the other, rising like a stone dragon, its claws extended left and right.

“Found it!” he declared, lifting his head. His face was already covered by a Yama mask named “City”! And one street, two streets, three streets… With him as the center, stone dragons formed from rising ground bricks bared their teeth and danced their claws, carrying dust and soil, pouncing towards the nearby stationed armies, instantly throwing the entire street district into chaos!

In the largest gambling house in the upper city, a young man, who had already won a pile of chips and whose eyes were narrowed in a smile, blinked. “No time to play.” Thus, he flipped open the bone tiles in his hand, laying them in a row. “Double Heaven Supreme, all kill!” Without waiting for others to react, he simply drew a circle on the gambling table with his index finger, indicating that all the chips on the table had an owner. Then, his index finger dropped, tapping the table, and he said to the dealer, “Help me exchange these, I’ll come back for them later.” Just like that, with composed calmness, he turned his face, and it was already covered by a mask named “Yama King of the Underworld’s No-Door”! His entire being instantly became extremely dangerous. With a sway of his body, he vanished without a trace.

And three street districts away, there was an ordinary wine house, hidden within the noisy residential area. A figure half-squatted on the roof of the wine house – it was unclear when he had gone up. Perhaps just at this moment. His eyes were cold to the extreme, and he wore a mask on his face named “Turning Wheel.” As he appeared, the five-fingered hand pressed to the roof spread out, and countless incantations emerged. The incantations entangled each other, twisting into chains, silently trapping the entire exterior of the wine house.

And this silence was broken by a sudden loud shout. “Received!” As the voice sounded, the tall and sturdy King Tai Shan, his hands adorned with cast iron gauntlets, crashed headfirst into the wine house. Violent shouts instantly rang out from within the wine house. “Kill the thieves!” “Protect the Prime Minister!” Streaks of powerful auras responded.

The original Prime Minister of You Guo, Zhao Cang, was not in the Prime Minister’s mansion, nor in the court hall, but was hidden within such an outwardly ordinary wine house, secretly controlling the overall situation and remotely directing the protective sacred beast – but he had still been discovered. The violent conflict, all the shouts, all were trapped under the rune chains of the Turning Wheel King, dully sealed within the wine house. As the battle continued, those people of You Guo would soon discover that it was becoming increasingly difficult to mobilize their Yuan force, and their Qi and blood would also become weaker and weaker – this building was forbidden to exit, not to enter.

Through the human-shaped gap created by King Tai Shan’s crash, two figures wearing the masks of King Chu Jiang and King Song Di walked in, one in front of the other. Their posture was calm, as if they were going in for a drink.

Not long after, with a booming sound, the entire wine house collapsed! It was unclear whose terrifying power had been vented. The rune chains twisting outside the wine house were also forcefully broken in several places. At this moment, one could see the interior of the wine house: a large area of remnant array patterns underground, broken magical tools, dozens of corpses lying horizontally and vertically, and… the ice that froze it all.

At this moment, the entire body of King Chu Jiang emitted an eerie cold intent, like a frost god. Even King Song Di and King Tai Shan had to maintain a considerable distance from him. And Zhao Cang, clutching the Prime Minister’s great seal, was surrounded by surging national power. Although the national landscape painting had been damaged, he still hastily rushed out of the wine house, soaring directly into the sky.

On that side, Zheng Chaoyang had already noticed the movement. He was not interfered with by the City King, but for the first time, he mobilized his soldier-killing force and directly pounced towards Zhao Cang. Throughout the upper city, cultivators continuously rose into the air. “Save the Prime Minister!” “Kill the external thieves!” “Assist the Great General!” The shouts were varied and continuous. After all, this was the most powerful place in this nation. Countless Dao techniques flew horizontally; for a time, light and flames covered the sky.

At this very moment, King Qin Guang and King Ka Cheng had yet to appear. Coroner Wang was being fiercely suppressed by the enormous turtle beast, constantly relying on his remaining limbs for self-preservation. The rolling soldier-killing force of Zheng Chaoyang truly possessed an unmatched posture. His body was like a proud sun crossing the sky, and his gaze could meet Zhao Cang’s. And then, from the You Guo imperial palace, a figure bathed in blood suddenly flew out. His face wore a mask named “Equality.” In his hand, he carried a person, who was none other than the You Guo national lord, clad in dragon robes.

He, with a cultivation level equivalent to the Outer Building realm, directly faced Zheng Chaoyang. In front of Zheng Chaoyang’s face, he grabbed the You Guo national lord’s hair and pulled! He pulled down the head! Visible to the naked eye, the national power surrounding Zhao Cang’s body suddenly declined. And the Equality King, in this instant of dragon-slaying and emperor-killing, actually stole the nation’s power, his entire being suddenly transforming into a fierce sun! Zheng Chaoyang’s blood Qi and soldier-killing force were proud like the sun, and the Equality King at this moment was a true sun, surrounded by flowing golden flames! They collided just like that!

Also at the same time. Zhao Cang, escaping with the mountain and river painting, collided head-on with a spinning, enormous die! “Guess whether it’s odd or even!” The Yan Luo King, his eyes narrowed in a smile, as if stepping upon the precise trajectory of fate, had emerged from the gambling house and met him just right. “Begone!” Zhao Cang flipped the Prime Minister’s seal, and a national power dragon flew out, blocking the way.

The You Guo national lord died at this very moment, causing the gathered national power to decline. The wildly spinning die also stopped precisely, showing a five. “You didn’t speak, I’ll count it as you guessing even.” The Yan Luo King said, “You lose!”

Without warning, that strip of national power dragon suddenly collapsed. And the Yan Luo King’s smiling eyes were already close to Zhao Cang’s turbid eyes. His hand, like a knife, so easily penetrated Zhao Cang’s heart. No smoke or fiery aura was seen, like a wonderful coincidence. “There is no road for those in the human world, and no door to hell.” The Yan Luo King, ranked fifth in the Underworld’s No-Door, used his other hand to cover Zhao Cang’s eyes, as he said, “Money and goods are clear, no cheating the child.”