Chapter 1482 : Confronting the Ghost Cities

After distributing these treasures, Eldrin Chen remained within the Soaring Serpent Blessed Land to restore his spiritual power [the energy cultivated and used by practitioners of the mystical arts].

Thus, a millennium [a period of one thousand years] passed in the blink of an eye. Once all the Divine Spirits [powerful spiritual beings who have ascended to a high level of cultivation] had recuperated, Eldrin Chen immediately led his forces toward the region of the Three Thousand Ghost Cities.

"This is the Three Thousand Ghost Cities," he stated.

Gazing at the starfield before him, Eldrin Chen furrowed his brow slightly, a contemplative expression settling on his face.

This Three Thousand Ghost Cities was different from the outer defensive formation. Within this grand array were three thousand ghost city formations, each bolstered by a Ghost Immortal [an immortal who has cultivated through ghostly or netherworldly methods] who had reached the Great Perfection stage.

The combat prowess of these Great Perfection Ghost Immortal was comparable to that of a Late Ascendant Immortal Realm cultivator. Overall, each one was equivalent to ten early-stage Ghost Immortal.

With the augmentation of these ghost cities, the combat strength of the three thousand Ghost Immortal had increased dramatically. Combined with the three thousand Ghost Immortal who had retreated earlier, his force of nearly three thousand Divine Spirits would be insufficient to handle them.

Considering this, Verdant Consort could not help but ask, "Husband, how shall we fight this battle?"

Eldrin Chen pondered for a moment before speaking. "Our three thousand Divine Spirits will engage the three thousand Ghost Immortal who retreated last time. You will, as before, confront the Earth Immortal Ghost Ancestor [a powerful ghostly ancestor who has attained the Earth Immortal realm], while Exquisite holds off the Nether Sea Pearl [a powerful enchanted artifact from the Nether Sea]."

"As for the master of the Three Thousand Ghost Cities, leave him to me."

"This..."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone present shifted slightly.

Exquisite Jiang could not help but voice her concern, saying, "Each of the rulers of the Three Thousand Ghost Cities possesses combat power at least equivalent to the Late Ascendant Immortal Realm."

"If all the rulers of the Three Thousand Ghost Cities join forces, their combined might would likely rival thirty thousand Ghost Immortal [a type of immortal who has transcended mortality through ghostly cultivation]. Are you confident you can handle that?"

Her words cast a shadow of gravity over the others.

Generally speaking, a Patriarch at the Early-stage Earth Immortal [the foundational stage of the Earth Immortal realm] could contend with at least one hundred Immortal.

An existence at the Ninth Level Earth Immortal [the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal realm] could face several thousand beings from the Ascendant Immortal Realm. However, this did not mean they could withstand several thousand from the Late Ascendant Immortal Realm.

Among Earth Immortal Patriarch, there was an old saying: 'An Immortal host below ten thousand is manageable; above ten thousand, it is invincible.' This meant that when the number of Immortal exceeded ten thousand, even a Ninth Level Earth Immortal would find it exceedingly difficult to prevail.

Once trapped within an encirclement of ten thousand immortals, with no means to tear through the void and escape, one would likely perish under their combined assault.

In ages past, the Master of Flowing Fire, besieged by countless Lunar Crow [demonic crows associated with lunar and yin energies], managed to slay just over thirty thousand of the creatures before being overwhelmed and slain within the void.

This demonstrates that even an existence at the Earth Immortal Great Perfection level, once surrounded and overwhelmed, can potentially be slain by a siege of Immortal [a being who has transcended mortality and attained immortality through cultivation].

Currently, the masters of these Three Thousand Ghost Cities are each formidable, their combat power comparable to thirty thousand Netherworld Ghost Immortal [an immortal who cultivates using the energies of the underworld], rivaling ten thousand Early Ascendant Immortal Realm [the initial stage of the Ascendant Immortal realm] cultivators combined.

Considering this, the onlookers felt a flicker of concern for Eldrin Chen.

Yet, Eldrin Chen had long anticipated this. He activated his Primordial One Indestructibility Body [a legendary physique said to be unbreakable and eternal]. Wisps of Chaos Mist [primordial mist embodying the essence of chaos] slowly enveloped his form, and an aura of Chaos [the primordial state before creation, representing immense power] that had endured countless tribulations and was utterly Indestructibility [the state of being impossible to destroy] began to circulate across his Immortal Body [the physical form of an immortal, refined and strengthened through cultivation].

Seeing this, the observers gave slight, approving nods.

With his Primordial Chaos Indestructibility Body, the power of an Ascendant Immortal Realm [a high realm of immortal cultivation] cultivator simply could not harm Eldrin Chen.

Even if a Ghost Cultivator [a cultivator who specializes in ghostly or underworld arts] attempted to slowly corrode his flesh with Netherworld Energy [the corrosive spiritual energy native to the underworld], they could not damage his foundational life force before the Chaos Mist was exhausted.

"Today," he declared, his voice resonating with resolve, "I shall meet the foes from all directions with this Primordial One Indestructibility Body."

"Alone, I shall battle the masters of the Three Thousand Ghost Cities, to test the true might of this Netherworld Grand Formation [a grand, powerful array formation drawing power from the underworld]."

After his low utterance faded, Eldrin Chen was the first to step forward, crossing the threshold into the heart of the Three Thousand Ghost Cities.

Unlike the outer Four Divine Spirits Grand Formation, this Three Thousand Ghost Cities could not only empower three thousand Ghost Immortal [cultivators who have transcended mortality through ghostly or netherworldly paths], but also mobilize the power of the Three Thousand Cities themselves to suppress any cultivators who dared to breach its defenses.

As Eldrin Chen stepped within, boundless formation patterns from the Three Thousand Immortal Domains descended, and the combined might of three thousand ghost cities instantly bore down upon Eldrin Chen's shoulders.

"This pressure is no greater than that of the tenth Threefold Heaven [a specific, immensely challenging stage of heavenly tribulation]," he remarked calmly.

"Your Formation [a structured arrangement of power, often for defense or attack] is still far inferior to those found within a true Immortal Domain."

Sensing this boundless, crushing force, Eldrin Chen uttered a low murmur. Then, with a sweeping motion, he unleashed a palm strike that sent a Ghost Ancestor [a venerable and powerful ghost cultivator] at the Earth Immortal Great Perfection [the pinnacle stage of the Earth Immortal realm] hurtling backwards.

At the same moment, Exquisite Jiang and the other Divine Spirits [beings of immense innate power, often embodiments of natural forces] charged into the fray, immediately diverting and sharing a significant portion of the overwhelming pressure.

In an instant, countless Ghost Immortal and Ghost Ancestor soared into the air, and a world-shaking battle erupted once more.

"Come and fight!"

At the heart of the battle formation, Eldrin Chen fully manifested his Primordial One Indestructibility Body [a legendary physique of near-unbreakable resilience], challenging the masters of the Three Thousand Ghost Cities alone. Wherever he passed, he swept aside all opposition.

The Ghost Ancestor clearly understood that Eldrin Chen, their strongest foe, was the primary target that must be surrounded and slain. They immediately commanded the masters of the Three Thousand Ghost Cities to converge and besiege him.

"Slay them all!"

The great battle erupted in an instant. Eldrin Chen unleashed his full power. With a sweep of his sleeve, endless Chaos Energy Flow [the primordial, formless energy that predates creation] surged forth, drowning everything in its path.

In that single, devastating move, more than ten of the Ghost City Lords were slain. Yet, the remaining lords fought on with a terrifying fearlessness.

The Netherworld Small Universe [a self-contained pocket dimension within the underworld] had crumbled, and its Heavenly Path [a supreme cultivation method] was shattered. The vast majority of Ghost Immortal [immortals who have transformed into spectral beings] and Ghost Ancestor [ancient, powerful ghost immortals] had long since perished. Those who survived to this day had mostly been driven mad by the world-ending aura.

They were called lords of spectral souls, but in truth, ever since the Heavenly Path shattered, they had descended into ruin, their consciousnesses long extinguished.

Now, they had been refined into puppets by the surviving Ghost Ancestor. In this desperate struggle, they fought with utter disregard for their own existence, trading blow for blow with Eldrin Chen in a brutal exchange of life for life.

It had to be acknowledged, these three thousand Ghost City Lords were indeed Extraordinary. Even an existence at the Earth Immortal Great Perfection [the pinnacle stage of the Earth Immortal realm] would likely be worn down, their spiritual power exhausted and their form torn apart piece by piece in a battle of attrition against them.

Relying on his Primordial One Indestructibility Body [a legendary physique said to be unbreakable], Eldrin Chen channeled the Chaos Mist [a primordial mist containing the essence of chaos] to continuously engage the enemy. The Five Divine Spirits [five powerful spiritual entities residing within a cultivator] within him bloomed with World-Illuminating Immortal Light [a radiant light capable of illuminating worlds], each unleashing heaven-overturning power. Their combined force manifested as World-Opening Power [the primordial force used to cleave open worlds at the dawn of creation], aiding him in sweeping through the Six Harmonies [a powerful defensive formation].

Time lost all meaning in the carnage. Eldrin Chen fought on, bathed in blood and spectral essence. Only when the Chaos Mist within him was nearly depleted did he realize he had fought his way through the ranks of the Three Thousand Ghost Cities [a collective term for the three thousand spectral domains in the underworld] lords.

He turned to look back. Three thousand Ghost Immortal lay fallen across the starry void. The vast legions of the Three Thousand Ghost Cities had been pierced through by his strength alone.

"His strength is spent."

"Let us join forces. We must slay him together."

In that very instant, one of the Netherworld Nether Lord [a powerful ruler of the underworld] spoke abruptly.

In the blink of an eye, all five of the Earth Immortal Great Perfection [cultivators at the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal stage] Netherworld Ghost Ancestor each unleashed a precious talisman. Astonishingly, each was an Eighth Rank High-Grade [a top-tier artifact of the eighth rank] Primordial Era Nether Dragon Talisman [a talisman that summons the phantom of an ancient underworld dragon].

"Where did they obtain so much Primordial Era Nether Dragon [an ancient, powerful dragon from the dawn of time] essence-blood?"

Witnessing this, Eldrin Chen's expression shifted slightly in surprise.

The Primordial Era Nether Dragon phantoms conjured by these talismans were all beings of Late Stage Earth Immortal [the advanced phase of the Earth Immortal realm] power. Had they been unleashed during the first battle, conquering Soaring Serpent Ancient Star would have been far more difficult.

That they had withheld them then, only to deploy them now, took Eldrin Chen completely by surprise.

"A hidden card, deliberately saved to kill me."

"Or were these talismans forged only recently?"

In the flash of a lightning strike, a thought crystallized within Eldrin Chen's mind.

Yet his movements betrayed no hesitation. The instant he beheld the five Primordial Era Nether Dragons [ancient, spectral dragons of immense power], he unleashed the Gale Wind God-Slaying Gourd.

In that same breath, a dazzling arc of blade-light flashed, annihilating one of the Primordial Era Nether Dragons.