Chapter 2414: True Immortals Descend Yin Court's Five Kings

Two months passed in the blink of an eye.

One day, as Han Li was quietly cultivating spiritual energy in his secret chamber, Zhu Guo'er's respectful voice suddenly came from outside: "Senior Han, Lord Biying has sent someone to invite you. They say the time for the Battle of the Strong has arrived."

"Understood, I'll go now. I don't know if this trip will be dangerous, so you and Huashi should remain here," Han Li replied calmly, opening his eyes.

Then, a burst of radiant light enveloped his body, transforming him into a dazzling arc that spiraled upwards. With a flash, he pierced through the door and vanished into the void.

Half an hour later, in the largest, hall-like building at the center of the fortress, Han Li finally met Biying, Wen Xinfeng, and another tall, slender man clad in silver armor with a cold expression.

"This is Brother Lei Yuan, our alliance's person in charge on the Thunderclap Continent. His status and position are identical to mine in the Blood Sky Realm. As for Daoist Xuesha, he encountered some minor trouble on the way, but he should arrive by tomorrow at the latest. However, we're going ahead now. Do any of you have objections?" Biying said immediately upon seeing Han Li, after introducing the fourth teammate participating in the Battle of the Strong who stood beside him.

"Since you are in charge of this Battle of the Strong, I, Lei, will not interfere," the silver-armored man said expressionlessly.

Naturally, Han Li and Wen Xinfeng had no objections either.

After a brief discussion, the group immediately exited the hall.

Outside the massive building, rows of fully armed armored soldiers stood densely packed.

Above the fortress, more than a dozen enormous, flat, island-like flight artifacts hung like a dark cloud in the sky.

At Biying's command, these armored soldiers immediately ascended into the air and entered these "islands."

"Are these the only ones accompanying us to the Battle of the Strong?" the silver-armored man asked, frowning upon seeing this sight.

"Of course not. These are just the visible personnel. I've already transferred manpower from other strongholds and made separate arrangements at the designated location half a month ago. If those ghostly creatures don't abide by the agreement or have other intentions, they certainly won't return," Biying replied without hesitation.

Hearing this, the silver-armored man nodded and said nothing more.

After all the armored soldiers had entered the massive flight artifacts in the sky, the group, along with their escape light, also entered the largest "island."

The next moment, these staged flight artifacts moved, roaring as they flew off into the distance.

Half a day later, the fleet of over a dozen "islands" arrived above a seemingly eerie mountain range.

This mountain range appeared to have an invisible boundary down its middle: one side was lush green, filled with the songs of birds and the scent of flowers, while the other was shrouded in rolling black mist, with chilling winds and faint sounds of wailing ghosts.

After a tremor, the "great island" stopped about two miles from the boundary line. Then, a flash of escape light appeared, and squads of armored soldiers descended from it. Some formed hand seals, others simply raised a hand, and various formation tools flew out, immediately beginning to set up an enormous grand formation below.

Some other individuals threw glowing orbs of various colors high into the sky.

A thunderous roar echoed!

Sections of tall city walls and buildings of various shapes descended, and in the blink of an eye, a small fortress materialized out of thin air.

At the same time, armed golems were taken out of storage bracelets by some armored soldiers, appearing on the city walls and being activated to begin patrolling back and forth.

Meanwhile, Han Li, Biying, and the others flew out of the great island and gathered together, looking towards the dividing line on the opposite side.

"Fellow Daoists, please look. Those five peaks, resembling fingers, are where we've agreed to duel. Once the battle begins, the five of us will proceed directly to these five peaks. When all participants from both sides have arrived, their respective formation masters will activate two pre-arranged protective restrictions, encasing all combatants within. These protective restrictions will only dissipate and vanish on their own when one side explicitly utters the words 'I surrender,' or when a clear victor or loser is determined," Biying gravely explained the general situation of the Battle of the Strong to Han Li and the others.

"The other side won't tamper with the restrictions, will they?" Wen Xinfeng suddenly asked, her gaze shifting.

"Don't worry," Biying said with a smile, explaining, "These two restrictions are identical and not complex. After both sides set them up, their respective grandmasters of formations will inspect them to ensure everything is correct before allowing their people to enter."

"If one of the peaks' battles concludes early, is the victor allowed to participate in the contests on other peaks?" Han Li asked, his eyes flashing.

"Although there was no prior agreement on this, since this Battle of the Strong is to contend for control of this realm, it naturally aims to assess the overall strength of both sides," Biying replied meaningfully, stroking his short beard.

"I understand."

Although the reply was somewhat vague, Han Li still showed a knowing smile.

"This contest has no restrictions; any divine ability or magic treasure can be fully deployed, as long as you can defeat or kill the opponent. Of course, at our level of cultivation, defeating an opponent might not be difficult, but truly killing them would be extremely challenging. Moreover, our opponents are by no means ordinary individuals; some of the secret techniques and cultivation methods they practice are quite different from what we usually encounter, so all of you Daoists must be extra careful," Biying further cautioned.

"Rest assured, Brother Biying. I have indeed encountered powerful ghostly creatures before and have specifically prepared several magic treasures to counter them. Even if our opponents differ somewhat from common ghostly creatures, I believe these will still be effective," Wen Xinfeng said with a charming smile after stroking the small spirit beast in her arms with a jade-like finger.

"Fairy Wen's divine abilities naturally have some power to restrain ghostly creatures. With these additional special treasures, I'm confident your chances of victory will be excellent!" Biying exclaimed, delighted by her words.

"That's hard to say. I've heard that those known as the Ten Underworld Kings are the most powerful ghostly creatures in their realm. If we truly engage, I don't believe they will be easy to deal with," Wen Xinfeng said, shaking her head.

"Haha, Fairy, you are too modest. Even if our opponents are extraordinary, which of us five is an ordinary individual? I am confident the outcome of this battle will satisfy me. Now, please go to the temporary quarters below to rest. Once Daoist Xuesha arrives, we can send people to the five peaks to set up the formations. I believe the ghostly creatures from the Netherworld should have already arrived there," Biying said, casting a glance towards the rolling black mist on the other side of the boundary.

At the same time, hundreds of miles deep within the rolling black mist, nearly a hundred thousand-foot-tall, whitish "peaks" floated silently in the high sky.

Dark shadows heavily surrounded these peaks, and countless ghostly figures and specters could be vaguely seen circling and swirling.

If cultivators with spiritual vision were present, they could see these white "peaks" clearly through the chilling winds.

The surfaces of these peaks were rough and uneven, with faint phosphorescent lights flickering, clearly formed from countless piled-up white bones and skeletons.

At some exits of the peaks, green-faced, fanged ghostly creatures moved in and out, each possessing considerable aura and an imposing, malevolent appearance.

One of these peaks differed from the others made of bones; its vicinity was patrolled by thousands of malevolent ghosts, clad in neat bone armor and wielding various weapons.

In a grim, blood-red hall at the center of the bone mountain, several indistinct dark figures sat on dark, eerie chairs, conversing.

"To send all five of us on a trip for such a small world, isn't that overestimating them? Just give me a million Yin-Scale soldiers, and I alone could wipe out all their strongholds. Why bother holding a Battle of the Strong? It's completely unnecessary," a tall dark figure said coldly.

"Hmph, don't underestimate them too much. If these beings were truly easy to deal with, the Ghost Kings initially responsible for this matter wouldn't have returned injured after several battles with their strong ones, leaving our forces suppressed here, unable to advance even half a step. I imagine in this battle, they will also send their strongest. We must not be careless. Otherwise, if we truly fail here, King Qianlun and the others will surely mock us five, and it will be difficult to explain to Boss Mingxiong," another slender dark figure said lightly.

"Their strongest? That's exactly what I want. My Five-Yin Heart-Locking Hammer still lacks the true spirit of a powerful being to serve as its artifact spirit. If I can kill one of them, I believe this artifact will truly reach completion," the first tall dark figure replied casually, still seemingly unconcerned.

"It's a pity Boss Mingxiong is currently at a critical juncture, contending with the Night Ghost clan for another Yin realm, and cannot spare a clone. Otherwise, with his heaven-defying divine abilities, no less than a True Immortal's, if he were to participate in this Battle of the Strong, the other side wouldn't stand a chance," the third dark figure said with a sigh.

"The strength of the Night Ghost clan is also considerable. Their clan leader's divine abilities are said to be unfathomable, and only Boss Mingxiong can contend with him. Furthermore, compared to this small world, which will take many years to transform, that naturally formed Yin realm is certainly more important," the slender dark figure said unhurriedly.

"Since we are all here, we will certainly all participate in the battle a few days from now. There's no need to discuss that further. With our strength, our chances of ultimate victory should be over seventy or eighty percent. The crucial point is whether the other side will honor the agreement after we win and genuinely withdraw from the controlled territory. King Qiqiao, have you prepared those contingencies?" a gloomy voice, like that of a venomous snake, suddenly emerged from a dark figure who had remained silent.

Upon hearing this, the previously speaking dark figures instinctively straightened their bodies and immediately fell silent.