Half an hour passed in a flash.
Wang Hu drew a deep breath, bit his fingertip, and traced several runes on the fragment with his essence blood before carefully undoing the outermost seal.
Buzz-!
In an instant, an icy, sinister pulse spread silently from the fragment, ignoring all physical barriers as it reached straight into the Netherworld.
"It's here! Stay alert!" Yun Qing barked, his spear already in hand.
Crack-!
In less than half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a massive spatial rift dozens of yards long abruptly tore open in the previously tranquil night sky above them. Ominous dark-purple lightning flickered along its edges, and a savage, chilling pressure poured out!
"Feng Ling'er, Wang Hu, and I will lead the attack! Zhao Polu, keep your people maintaining the Demon-Subduing Formation and support us from range!" Yun Qing delivered his orders swiftly and clearly.
"Yes, boss!" everyone answered together. The formation's barrier lit up as they braced for battle.
In the endless depths of the Netherworld Ghost Ruins.
Within the darkness, a throne piled high with countless enormous, hideous skulls slowly rose.
Seated upon it was a towering figure in tattered imperial robes and a decaying imperial crown.
The figure had no flesh or blood, only a gleaming, stark-white skeleton with a metallic sheen!
The golden soul flames burning in his eye sockets radiated a pressure more terrifying than that of the billions of ghost creatures prostrated beneath him combined!
"The scent... of Azure Nether Iron..." The Skeleton Emperor's jaws opened and closed with a grating screech.
His gaze seemed to pierce time and space, finding the cultivator who had once struggled along the Azure Cloud Road.
"Heh heh heh..." His laughter set teeth on edge. "How many years has it been? That brazen little