Chapter 488 - 495: Confronting the Mahayana Cultivator

"What are you so flustered about?"

Song Wanning asked, her gaze shifting to the tall tower behind her.

The closer she got, the more potent the energy that targeted one’s Divine Soul became.

’I wonder what’s inside.’

"My Lady, you may not be aware, but this is the Eighteen Layers of Hell—a place specifically for imprisoning wicked souls."

"There’s a Soul Cleansing Array in there that tortures Divine Souls. Even we Ghost Messengers don’t dare linger inside for long. The two of us were just unlucky and drew the short straw this time. Otherwise, no one would want the job of collecting this wicked soul."

The Ghost Messenger looked helpless. There was nothing to be done about bad luck.

"My Lady, you’d best keep your distance to avoid being affected."

They offered this reminder out of kindness. Since Ghost Cultivators had their own territories and rarely came to Rebirth Valley, many of them were unaware of such things.

"I see. In that case, can I go in and take a look?"

Song Wanning sensed an opportunity. Since the two of them didn’t suspect her, she could test the waters.

"Well... you can, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to withstand it, My Lady."

"If you really want to go inside for a look, you can buy an umbrella from the Rebirth Pavilion on the left."

"It only costs two hundred Yin Coins."

The Ghost Messenger pointed to the left. Far in the distance, a pavilion stood, seemingly shrouded in dark clouds and wreathed in Yin Qi.

’Yin Coins?’

Song Wanning had never even seen one, let alone had any to spend.

So, she just smiled and said nothing more.

The two Ghost Messengers also left in a hurry.

She gazed at the Eighteen Layers of Hell and, after a moment’s thought, decided to leave. She would come back to investigate later, once she had some Yin Coins.

Thus, Song Wanning and her ghost servant changed direction, hurrying toward the location of the Rebirth Flower.

The Rebirth Flower grew in a much more remote location. She didn’t encounter any ghosts along the way, which made her frown in confusion.

’The Ghost Messengers said this path was extremely dangerous, but it seems perfectly calm. There’s definitely something fishy going on.’

Song Wanning grew warier. But as she walked on, she unexpectedly found herself engulfed in a patch of yin fog.

Before she could even make sense of the situation, the yin fog suddenly morphed into countless Ghost Beasts, all pouncing toward her.

Song Wanning’s gaze hardened. An instant later, she raised her hand, and a crackle of the Power of thunder and lightning shot out from her fingertips.

The once-menacing Ghost Beasts, upon seeing the lightning, reacted like mice seeing a cat. After a violent shudder, they scrambled over one another in a desperate retreat.

In their haste, the Yin Beasts even crashed into one another, creating a chaotic scene of tumbling bodies.

In the span of two breaths, every last one had vanished.

Song Wanning raised an eyebrow. ’The Power of thunder and lightning is the bane of all things ghostly. Seeing it today, I can confirm its reputation is well-deserved.’

’This gives me a much greater guarantee of safety in the Netherworld.’

She burst out of the yin fog and pressed on. She encountered many more Yin Beasts along the path, all intent on devouring her.

But the moment she revealed her Power of thunder and lightning, without her even needing to attack, the Yin Beasts would flee in a terrified panic, never to be seen again.

And so, the dangerous journey became much simpler. In just a couple of hours, she arrived at the location of the Rebirth Flower.

However, the moment she arrived, her expression turned grave. She had spotted a familiar figure, and that figure had already seen her.

There was no longer anywhere to hide.

The man was none other than the Mahayana cultivator who had opened the passage.

In his hand, he held a freshly picked Rebirth Flower, and his long robes were tattered and torn—likely the work of the Yin Beasts...

Song Wanning froze, her entire body tensing. She could feel the hostility in the Mahayana cultivator’s eyes.

The Mahayana cultivator leisurely stored the Rebirth Flower away, his eyes locked on Song Wanning the entire time.

His seemingly gaunt frame concealed a terrifying power, far beyond anything Song Wanning could resist.

At that moment, Song Wanning’s mind raced, desperately trying to come up with a strategy.

But they were both clever. Seeing the Yin Qi around Song Wanning, the Mahayana cultivator worried she would expose his presence and attract other Ghost Cultivators. How could he possibly let her live?

But even if Song Wanning revealed her identity as a Spirit Cultivator, it would be useless; he would kill her to silence her regardless. After all, who knew how long the Mahayana cultivator had schemed to open this passage.

Running seemed to be her only option.

With a flicker of intent, Song Wanning made her move at the exact same moment as the Mahayana cultivator.

A great palm shimmering with an earthen-yellow light slammed down from the sky. For a moment, the surrounding space seemed to freeze.

The pressure of the Mahayana Realm washed over her. Any other Out-of-Body Stage cultivator would have been instantly forced to their knees, utterly unable to get back up.

Forget fighting back; they could only wait for the great palm to fall and smash them to pieces.

Fortunately, Song Wanning’s Divine Soul was powerful. Though she felt the suffocating pressure, she still had enough strength to fight back.

The Immortal Furnace suddenly appeared before her. As the great palm descended, the furnace shot into the air with a hum, colliding directly with it.

"BOOM—"

The great palm shattered, and the resulting shockwave instantly vaporized the surrounding stones and plants into dust.

The swirling dust completely obscured his vision. With a flicker of her will, a Space Talisman appeared, instantly teleporting her and the Immortal Furnace away.

Although this Space Talisman wasn’t linked to a receiving point to form a full Transmission Array, teleporting dozens of miles was more than enough.

’I’m betting the Mahayana cultivator won’t dare to recklessly pursue me. This is the Netherworld’s territory, after all. If he carelessly exposes his identity, he’ll find it very difficult to leave.’

Song Wanning was gone.

The Mahayana cultivator let out a soft sound of surprise. He stared at the spot where she had vanished, silent for a moment. After a long pause, he put the Rebirth Flower into his Storage Ring, his face dark.

"Consider yourself lucky. If I ever run into you again, I’ll grind your bones to dust!"

’A mere Out-of-Body Stage cultivator actually possessed an Immortal Artifact!!!’

’And from the looks of it, it was a high-grade Immortal Artifact at that.’

’He was tempted. He was only one step away from ascension. If he had an Immortal Artifact on him, his ability to protect himself after ascending would be that much stronger.’

’And yet, he’d let her escape!!!!’

The Mahayana cultivator was utterly infuriated, his expression growing darker and more menacing by the second.

After a moment, he tidied up the scene and headed off in a different direction.

...

"Whew! Sister, is that the power of a Mahayana cultivator? The moment he attacked, I felt like I was suffocating!!!"

The Golden Small Sword was still shaken. In all the time it had followed Song Wanning, this was the first time it had felt such terrifying power.

Song Wanning’s expression was grave. She kept looking over her shoulder as she walked, just in case the Mahayana cultivator decided to throw caution to the wind and give chase.

"He is on the verge of ascension, one of the cultivators with the highest Cultivation in the Spirit Realm. Of course his power is immense."

"If I hadn’t activated the Immortal Furnace in advance, I wouldn’t have escaped. I’d be severely injured, if not dead!!"

’I just wonder... if Daoqing knew I was using the Immortal Furnace as a defensive Magical Treasure, would he be at a loss for words?’