Vicious Dog Ridge was filled with mournful Yin Wind and jagged, strange rocks.
Dozens of elite Northern Border Ghost Soldiers formed a battle array, their Baleful Qi merging into a single mass, like an icy iron curtain, firmly locking Judge Lu in the center. The Ghost General leading them wore heavy Profound Black armor and wielded a giant, door-panel-wide ghost-head blade. His scarlet cloak snapped in the Yin Wind, and his aura had clearly reached the mid-stage Ghost Marshal level, far surpassing the heavily injured Judge Lu.
“Judge Lu, why resist futilely?” The Ghost General’s voice boomed like a great bell, carrying undisguised killing intent. “Your Majesty values talent. If you hand over what you took from the Workshop and swear allegiance, your life might be spared, and you might even be granted a high position in the Northern Territory!”
Judge Lu’s face was pale, his Soul Body trembling slightly due to his injuries and the oppressive aura of his opponent, but his eyes remained sharp as ever. “A high position in the Northern Territory? To collude with you fiends and monsters and subvert the Underworld Order? Judge Lu refuses!”
He knew clearly in his heart that the opponent’s talk of "valuing talent" was just a pretense; the real goal was the Data Crystal from the Workshop he carried, and silencing him! Once handed over, the result would immediately be Soul Scattered and Spirit Destroyed.
“Stubborn and Unruly!” The Ghost General’s face darkened, and he pointed his giant blade. “Since you refuse, do not blame me for being merciless! Form the ‘Profound Baleful Soul Slaughtering Array’! Dead or alive, no matter!”
“As ordered!”
The Ghost Soldiers responded in unison, and the battle array instantly activated! Dense black Baleful Qi surged like a living thing, transforming into countless ferocious ghost heads, chains, and blades, shrieking mournfully as they converged on Judge Lu from all directions! The power of the array mobilized the Yin Baleful Qi of the Earth Vein, causing the entire malevolent aura of Vicious Dog Ridge to resonate. Countless hidden Nether Hounds and vicious spirits were disturbed, letting out restless roars.
Judge Lu’s pupils contracted; he knew how formidable this array was. If he were at full strength, he might have been able to use the righteous energy of the Judge's Brush and his exquisite movement techniques to maneuver and break it, but now...
“Judge's Brush, Righteousness endures forever!”
He forced out the little Soul Power he had left. The crimson Judge's Brush erupted with a light that, though slightly dim, was still awe-inspiringly golden. The brush moved like a dragon or a snake, rapidly sweeping through the air! Golden runes of "Control," "Break," and "Suppress" instantly materialized, encircling him to form a defense that was not very thick!
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The attacks formed by the Baleful Qi crashed against the golden runes like a tide, resulting in continuous roars! The golden light flickered violently, waxing and waning, while Judge Lu was shaken backward repeatedly, Soul Blood constantly spilling from the corner of his mouth, his Soul Body growing increasingly ethereal.
He could not hold out long; he had to break through!
His gaze locked onto a Node on the side of the battle array where the terrain rose slightly, causing the flow of Baleful Qi to be momentarily sluggish. A fierce glint flashed in Judge Lu’s eyes!
“Brush fixes the universe!”
He violently spat out a mouthful of Natal Soul Blood, splashing it onto the Judge's Brush! The brush body instantly blazed with blood-red light, and an aura of desperate sacrifice erupted! He merged his body with the brush, transforming into a streak of bloody light, ignoring the several chains of Baleful Qi attacking from behind, and thrust directly toward that Node of the array!
This was a life-risking maneuver, trading a severe injury for a sliver of survival!
“Puchi!”
The blood-colored Brush Light pierced the barrier of Baleful Qi like a red-hot knife through butter, instantly tearing it apart! Several Ghost Soldiers maintaining that section were caught off guard, and the sharp energy contained within the Brush Light directly caused their souls to scatter and spirits to be destroyed!
A momentary gap appeared in the battle array!
“Stop him!” The Ghost General was both shocked and furious, not expecting Judge Lu to be so fierce. He brought down his giant blade with the force of splitting a mountain, aiming directly for Judge Lu’s back!
Judge Lu did not look back at all, putting all his strength into charging forward! He could feel the terrifying Blade Aura behind him, capable of cleaving him in two!
Just before the Blade Aura struck his body, he violently threw the low-grade Yin Mushroom he had obtained from the Little Ghost—which was useless—backward, while simultaneously forcing his body to twist sideways at an almost contorted angle!
“Bang!”
The Yin Mushroom was pulverized under the Blade Aura, but it slightly impeded the momentum of the blade for an instant! In that instant, Judge Lu narrowly avoided a fatal blow, but his left shoulder was still grazed by the edge of the Blade Aura!
“Crack!”
The sound of shattering soul bone was clearly audible! Judge Lu’s left shoulder and nearly half of his Soul Body were almost completely cleaved open. The intense pain made his vision go black, and he nearly collapsed! However, relying on his tenacious Willpower, he used the force of the impact to increase his speed slightly, fleeing the battle array encirclement like a kite whose string had snapped, speeding toward the depths of Vicious Dog Ridge!
“Chase! He is at the end of his rope! We absolutely cannot let him escape!” the Ghost General roared, leading his Ghost Soldiers in relentless pursuit. With the array broken, they could only rely on individual strength to chase.
A fierce chase ensued in Vicious Dog Ridge. Judge Lu’s Soul Body was severely wounded, and his speed greatly reduced; he was sustained only by a thread of conviction. The pursuers behind him were getting closer, and various ranged attacks like Arrows and Yin Thunder constantly whizzed past him, exploding into swirling vortices of Yin Qi.
He fled blindly, plunging into a swamp permeated with a thick, foul stench—the core area of the Nether Hound Lair!
“Awoooo—!”
Countless pairs of scarlet eyes lit up in the swamp mist, and low roars echoed from all directions. Sensing the intrusion of the Living Souls (Judge Lu) and the powerful Baleful Qi (the pursuers), the Nether Hound spirits dwelling here were completely enraged!
In an instant, hundreds of ferocious Nether Hounds of various shapes and sizes poured out of the swamp and the dead woods like a tide, attacking Judge Lu and the Northern Border Ghost Soldiers behind him indiscriminately!
The scene instantly descended into extreme Chaos!
Nether Hounds bit the Ghost Soldiers, and Ghost Soldiers slashed the Nether Hounds. Violent Energy and piercing screams rose and fell alternately.
This sudden turn of events bought Judge Lu a precious moment to catch his breath. He endured the intense pain, using the interference from the Nether Hounds to weave through the chaotic battlefield like a swimming fish, attempting to completely shake off his pursuers.
However, the Ghost Marshal-level Ghost General was overwhelmingly powerful. As he swung his giant blade, the Nether Hounds blocking his path were shattered one after another. He kept his senses locked onto Judge Lu’s aura, pursuing him like a persistent ulcer!
“Lu Zhiyuan! You cannot escape!”
The Ghost General violently hurled the giant blade in his hand. The blade transformed into a streak of Profound Black light tearing through Space, instantly crossing a hundred zhang distance, aimed straight at Judge Lu’s back! This strike contained all the Ghost General’s killing intent and power; he was determined to keep Judge Lu here permanently!
Judge Lu felt the destructive aura behind him, and despair welled up in his heart. He was too heavily injured; he had no strength left to evade this fatal strike!
Was he truly going to perish here? Would the secret of the Workshop and the conspiracy of the Northern Territory be buried with him?
At this critical juncture, a clear shout suddenly came from an oblique angle:
“Borrow the power of Heaven and Earth, Profound Ice Barrier! Condense!”
A wall of ice several feet thick, crystal clear and emitting extreme coldness, appeared behind Judge Lu without any warning!
“BOOM!!!”
The giant blade thrown by the Ghost General slammed violently into the ice wall, creating a deafening roar! The ice wall vibrated intensely and was covered in cracks, but it ultimately did not shatter immediately, successfully blocking that killing blow!
A figure descended gracefully from a nearby cliff like a nimble swallow, landing beside Judge Lu. She was a woman wearing a light blue palace dress, her face cold and beautiful, holding a longsword like clear autumn water, radiating a pure Profound Ice aura.
“Fairy Lingbo?” Judge Lu recognized the newcomer. She was the chief retainer under King Biancheng of the Ten Yama Kings, renowned throughout the Underworld for her Profound Ice magic and swordsmanship. Why was she here?
Fairy Lingbo glanced at Judge Lu’s miserable state, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly, but she asked no questions. She merely stated coldly to the pursuing Ghost General, “I will protect this person.”
The Ghost General retrieved his giant blade, his face extremely grim. “Fairy Lingbo! This man is a major criminal of our Northern Border Army! Are you perhaps intending to shield a Rebel and become an enemy of the Northern Territory?!”
“Rebel?” Fairy Lingbo snorted coldly. “What evidence do you have? I only see the Northern Border Army openly surrounding and attacking one of the Ten Halls’ Judges within my jurisdiction of Fengdu! I will report this matter to His Highness King Biancheng! Now, take your men and scram!”
Her words were forceful, and the autumn-water longsword in her hand hummed, its sharp sword intent locking onto the Ghost General, giving the clear impression that she would attack if words failed.
The Ghost General’s expression shifted as he weighed the pros and cons. Fairy Lingbo was not weaker than him, and her background was formidable. Clashing with her here would certainly not be wise. Moreover, the threat of the Nether Hounds had not been resolved.
“Fine! Very well! Fairy Lingbo, the Northern Border will remember this day!” The Ghost General ground his teeth, glaring hatefully at Judge Lu. In the end, he dared not confront Fairy Lingbo and the countless Nether Hounds simultaneously, so he ordered a retreat. “Let’s go!”
The Northern Border Ghost Soldiers arrived quickly and departed just as fast, vanishing into the mist of Vicious Dog Ridge.
The crisis was temporarily averted. Judge Lu’s mind relaxed, and he could no longer hold on. His body swayed, and he pitched forward.
Fairy Lingbo reached out to support him, channeling a pure and gentle Profound Ice power into his body, temporarily stabilizing his Soul Body, which was on the verge of collapse.
“Man... many thanks, Fairy... for your aid…” Judge Lu’s breath was faint.
“No need for formalities,” Fairy Lingbo’s voice remained cold, but there was a trace of gravity in her eyes. “I was ordered by King Biancheng to secretly investigate the Northern Territory’s unusual movements and happened to track them here. Judge Lu, what exactly have you uncovered that made the Northern Territory go to such lengths, even openly crossing borders to pursue and kill you?”
Judge Lu looked at her, rapidly assessing the situation in his mind. King Biancheng had always been neutral and acted justly; perhaps... he could be trusted?
He painfully retrieved the blood-stained, diamond-shaped Data Crystal and pressed it into Fairy Lingbo’s hand, using the last of his strength to say haltingly, “This item... concerns the collusion between the ‘Netherworld Workshop’ and the Northern Territory... the secret to subverting Reincarnation... you must... deliver it personally... to King Qinguang... or... King Biancheng…”
Before he finished speaking, he could hold on no longer and completely lost consciousness.
Fairy Lingbo held the crystal, still warm from Judge Lu’s Soul Blood, and felt the astonishing Information Stream contained within. For the first time, a look of shock appeared on her cold face.
She glanced at the unconscious Judge Lu, whose Soul Body was nearly transparent, and then looked at the crystal in her hand, which felt like a hot potato. She knew the responsibility was immense.
“Rest assured, Judge Lu,” she murmured softly to herself, carefully putting the crystal away. Then, she picked up Judge Lu onto her back, transformed into a streak of blue light, and swiftly departed from that place of trouble.