In Taboo-Free's gaze, Kou Beiyue saw an extraordinarily complex swirl of emotions: brimming with anticipation, riddled with vigilance, and flickering with bewilderment.
He then looked toward the others. This untamed, unruly bunch was staring right at him. Before his return, Yuanshi Tianzun had given him a solemn warning: keep your report as brief as possible—the simpler, the better—and above all, follow your gut.
Kou Beiyue raised his chin. "He agreed to the alliance."
Taboo-Free narrowed his eyes. "Just like that? He agreed?"
Kou Beiyue scoffed arrogantly. "Heh, I only asked him one thing: does he dare ally with us? Yuanshi Tianzun was thoroughly intimidated by me and agreed on the spot."
The crowd exchanged glances. The wariness in Taboo-Free's eyes actually receded slightly. He glanced at Hongwei, who nodded in return.
Taboo-Free had his answer.
An alliance aligned with both sides' interests and benefited everyone. A figure as sharp as Yuanshi Tianzun had likely harbored such thoughts already; Kou Beiyue knocking on his door had simply played right into his hands.
That was why he had agreed so readily.
Another Bewitching Demon asked, "You were out for so long—did you never run into the monster?"
Kou Beiyue gave him a sidelong glare. "If I ran into it, would I still be here talking to you?"
Taboo-Free deliberated before asking, "Do you know how the Mountain God faction shook off the monster? And you didn't expose our situation, did you?"
Kou Beiyue sneered. "Am I that stupid? I only told him we used a special method to mask our aura. As for what they did..."
He paused, and under everyone's curious gazes, cursed under his breath. "I asked, but Yuanshi Tianzun didn't say."
"..."
Never mind. One couldn't expect too much from a simpleton.
At any rate, now that an alliance had been forged, things would be much easier.
Once the meeting location was clarified, Hongwei spoke up: "The Mountain God faction must have used some special means to keep the monster occupied. Since Kou Beiyue wasn't attacked, there's no need for us to keep hiding beneath the cloak.
"I propose we take a brief rest, get some food and water, and recover our strength before heading to the agreed spot."
Her proposal won widespread agreement. Immediately, several Bewitching Demons went out to hunt, the Fire Masters took charge of roasting the meat, and I Alone Am Supreme, as the team's sole Water Ghost, provided clean drinking water.
Once everyone was chewing on sizzling, glistening roast meat without any sign of mist rolling in or monsters attacking, their belief in Kou Beiyue's words grew even stronger.
Gnawing on a piece of roast meat, the chubby youth said loudly, "Told you so! My boss has formidable luck, completely different from my previous bosses."
Hongwei ate delicately and cast a glance at him. "Fatty, why are you so obsessed with finding a boss? With your strength, you're more than qualified to be anyone's boss."
The chubby youth clicked his tongue. "We're all freelancers here. Everyone has their quirks. Mind your own business!"
Having eaten and drunk their fill, the members of the Mountain Ghost faction followed Kou Beiyue toward the designated location.
Considering the possibility of an ambush by the Mountain God faction, they had Kou Beiyue take the lead, with Wood Demons controlling animals to trail him, while the main group hung far behind.
Before long, they arrived at their destination.
Through the vision of their animals, the Wood Demons spotted Yuanshi Tianzun standing atop a rusted, derelict bus, surrounded by the rest of the Mountain God faction.
"Most of them are out in the open. It shouldn't be an ambush," a Wood Demon in the Mountain Ghost faction said.
Taboo-Free nodded slightly. "Let's head over!"
Soon, the two factions—a total of fifty-seven people—converged near the bus, keeping a distance of a dozen meters between them as they eyed one another warily.
Standing atop the bus and looking down at the crowd, Zhang Yuanqing called out, "Whoever's calling the shots over there, step up and talk."
Taboo-Free stepped out from the ranks, walked forward several paces, and said loudly, "What do you want to say?"
"Do you have an item for establishing a contract? I don't trust you," Zhang Yuanqing said.
Taboo-Free chuckled coldly. "Well said. I don't trust you either. Why don't you provide one?"
*So that's a no, then.* Zhang Yuanqing wasn't disappointed. Such contract items were held exclusively by the overseas "Knight" class, and Spirit Realm walkers from different regional servers rarely interacted.
He said, "I think sharing tactical information is a necessary step before we cooperate. What do you say, Taboo-Free?"
Taboo-Free thought for a few seconds before answering:
"A Level 4 Mist Lord possesses the Eye of Bewitchment, Mark, Bloodthirsty Frenzy, fearsome close-combat prowess, and the ability to appear and vanish without a trace inside the thick mist. On top of that, it can sense targets' positions through vibrations in the mist, rendering your Night Walkers' invisibility completely useless. To it, Transcendent-stage Spirit Realm walkers are weaklings to be sliced down like melons and chopped like vegetables.
"If we want to defeat it without wearing it down through human sacrifice, our best bet is dispersing the thick mist. From what I know, a Rain Master's ability to summon wind and rain is the ultimate counter to a Mist Lord."
Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand dismissively. "Rain Masters are Dominators. If we had that kind of power, we wouldn't need to fear a mere Saint."
Both sides fell silent.
To deal with the monster, clearing the thick mist was imperative; otherwise, they would have to pay an enormous toll in human lives.
Furthermore, against a Level 4 Bewitching Demon, even top-tier figures like Zhang Yuanqing, A-Yi, Zhao Chenghuang, and I Alone Am Supreme merely had a few extra life-saving tricks; the risk of capsizing in the gutter remained immense.
Yet dispersing the thick mist was beyond the capabilities of Spirit Realm walkers at their level.
Just as everyone was racking their brains, the Japanese high school girl Asano Ryo raised a tentative hand and said meekly, "Perhaps... a Rain Master isn't strictly necessary. We can create wind ourselves."
People from both factions turned to look at the pure and delicate high school girl.
Surprised, Zhang Yuanqing asked, "You have an item for that?"
Conjuring gale-force winds was a Dominator-stage skill. A corresponding item would likely rank above the Saint stage.
Asano Ryo shook her head. "No."
Everyone looked at her with an expression that screamed: *Then what the hell are you babbling about?*
Asano Ryo hurriedly added, "B-But creating strong wind isn't hard! I can cast Frost Descent to produce cold air currents, and the Fire Masters can create hot air. When cold and hot air collide, high pressure flows toward low pressure—and the resulting airflow is wind!"
*Wait, scientific wind generation?*
The eyes of the surrounding Spirit Realm walkers lit up.
"That actually makes sense?"
"True, I remember something like that! I learned it back in school, though I forgot the details. Must be pretty advanced knowledge."
"The girl may be young, but she sure is knowledgeable. This plan could work!"
The Spirit Realm walkers of both factions buzzed with excitement, whispering and discussing among themselves, all agreeing that this was a brilliant idea.
Hearing their excessive praise, Asano Ryo waved her hands modestly. "It's not advanced knowledge at all... it's just fourth-grade elementary science."
A sudden hush fell over the area.
Everyone fell dead silent, the smiles on their faces gradually fading away.
Asano Ryo instantly grew tense and uneasy, having no idea what she had said wrong.
*Ahem!* Zhang Yuanqing gave a dry cough and said, "Then it's settled. In half an hour, I'll lure the monster over. Everyone, make your preparations and set up your traps."
The awkward tension dissipated, and everyone tacitly began their preparations, acting as if the previous exchange had never occurred.
Guan Ya summoned her rifle and dashed toward a nearby tall building to pick a sniper perch.
The Witch Doctors began setting traps and brewing poisons.
The Fire Masters sprinted all over the city in search of flammable and explosive materials.
The rest temporarily set aside their factional animosity, hashing out tactics with one another.
Zhang Yuanqing did not join the discussion. His thoughts were elsewhere: that monster was an intelligent desiccated corpse born from the fusion of resentment and a cadaver. In essence, it fell under the category of yin entities and demonic fiends.
Could the Demon-Subduing Pestle's demon-banishing effect inflict severe damage on it?
*It's worth a shot. If it works, maybe we can kill it without paying too high a price,* Zhang Yuanqing thought.
Half an hour passed quickly. A Wood Demon on lookout shouted:
"It's here! It's coming..."
Everyone looked in that direction. From the west drifted a dense blanket of thick mist. In front of the mist fled a young woman draped in a magnificent robe, her face exquisite and her figure voluptuous and striking.
Only because a formidable enemy was right upon them and everyone was on edge did the evil faction members refrain; otherwise, with a woman of such looks and curves, they wouldn't have hesitated to blow teasing whistles.
Zhang Yuanqing looked toward A-Yi and the others, saying in a low voice, "We have to hold it down first to buy our companions time to whip up the gale."
He was reminding the evil faction members that this step was critical, warning them not to play petty tricks or try to fish in troubled waters.
With that, he summoned and donned the Houtu Boots, then produced a gleaming yellow brass pestle and drove it viciously into his thigh.
Once the burst of golden light erupted and purified him, he charged toward the thick mist with heavy, powerful strides—*thud, thud, thud*. As he brushed past Blood Rose, he snatched the Yinyang Robe from her and swung it onto his own shoulders. The Red Dancing Shoes automatically slipped off the yin corpse's feet and dashed alongside their master in the charge.
Zhang Yuanqing plunged into the thick mist. Following his command, Blood Rose veered off and sprinted toward a nearby building to seek out Guan Ya.
Not to protect the veteran driver, but to seek her protection.
Blood Rose was utterly drained of stamina and had lost her combat effectiveness, whereas Guan Ya was protected by an item set and armed with a rifle of absurd firepower, making her combat prowess top-tier within the team.
The moment he charged into the thick mist, Zhang Yuanqing saw a tall figure barreling toward him. A body desiccated like cured meat, straw-like hair, sunken cheeks, and blood-red eyes blazing with incandescent rage and berserk fury immediately filled his vision.
The Ghost Bride appeared silently behind the monster, pressing against its back to execute a possession.
*Thump-thump!* Kicking off the ground, Zhang Yuanqing lunged at the dried corpse with the brass pestle in hand.
Possessed by the Ghost Bride, the monster's body stiffened and seized up. Its bulging red eyes gleamed with crimson light, warped and bizarre runes igniting within them.
*Bewitchment!*
Zhang Yuanqing was entirely unaffected and lunged resolutely at the dried corpse; having purified himself beforehand, he couldn't be deluded by the Eye of Bewitchment.
However, the Level 4 Saint's bewitchment skill affected the Ghost Bride, freezing her in a daze and preventing her from continuing to contest control over the body.
*Boom!*
The monster took a stride forward, sidestepping the brass pestle's straight thrust while swinging its arm in a hook punch packed with thunderous might.
*Crash!*
Zhang Yuanqing's body shattered, white froth erupting outward.
A single punch! A Level 4 Saint could obliterate a Transcendent walker's physical form with just one blow.
The surging froth and water naturally coalesced, reforming Zhang Yuanqing's human shape. Without a second thought, he raised a foot and kicked the dried corpse square in the chest.
The Houtu Boots' "Fatal Kick"—an attack on the Saint stage level!
*Bang!*
Yellow light rippled out. Unable to withstand the blow, the monster staggered backward, while Zhang Yuanqing used the recoil to leap back and put distance between them.
Just as he retreated, another figure darted into the thick mist, heading straight for the monster with clear intent. Leaning back, it unleashed a devastating cannon punch that drove the monster back once more.
It was Zhao Chenghuang's Level 4 yin corpse.
Right on its heels, the two Bewitching Demons, Taboo-Free and All Under Heaven Is White, followed the Level 4 yin corpse's path and rushed before the monster. Warped, bizarre patterns surfaced across their pupils.
The staggering monster fell into a momentary daze.
*Buzz, buzz...*
The sound of beating wings rang out overhead, causing the thick mist to tremble violently as though struck by strong winds.
Flapping his translucent wings, A-Yi swooped down from above, his palm morphing into an incomparably sharp bone greatsword that cleaved downward from the heights, propelled by sheer momentum.
While the top experts entangled the monster, Asano Ryo and the Fire Masters had already dashed into the thick mist.
Jiang Jingwei cradled a washbasin-sized fireball in her palm and twisted her arms violently. The fireball flew out, spun rapidly upon hitting the ground, and transformed into a fiery vortex.
The other Fire Masters followed suit, whipping up fire tornadoes that swallowed oxygen, burning hotter and swelling taller by the second.
In an instant, the sweltering summer heat turned scorchingly intense. The air warped and shimmered as billowing updrafts of scorching thermal air soared into the sky.
From a distance, every breath drawn was filled with blistering air. Blazing winds whipped their faces, squeezing bean-sized beads of sweat from their pores.
Seeing this, Asano Ryo drew the Ice Soul blade, patterned with ice-crystal veins, and held it high above her head.
"Frost Descent!"
As the incantation fell, the crystal-veined blade crackled as a layer of frost coated it, radiating visible plumes of freezing chill.
Her skin took on a dreamy ice-blue hue, and the long hair trailing down her back lifted without any wind, fanning out strand by strand with starlight-like frost crystals swirling between them.
Once the frosty chill reached its peak, Asano Ryo flipped her wrist and planted the Ice Soul Blade into the ground before her.
In an instant, frost descended. Torrents of frigid air, like winds from a frozen polar wasteland, surged in all directions. Everywhere they passed, ice shells coated the earth, and wild grass frosted over in white.
When this all-freezing chill collided with the surrounding superheated thermal currents, it immediately spawned a vast, spiraling whirlwind that ascended skyward.
*Wuuu...* Howling gales descended, whipping up grit and dust while dragging the thick mist into the sky.
Simultaneously, a torrential cyclonic shower rained down with a patter.
Seen from afar, the rising updraft spanned a diameter of a hundred meters. Like a sandstorm, the thick mist spiraled upward, climbing slowly into the sky—a truly magnificent sight.
In a mere dozen seconds, the vast majority of the thick mist was swept up, torn apart, and driven into the upper atmosphere. Only stubborn wisps lingered near the ground, no longer enough to obstruct anyone's line of sight.
*Clang!*
The bone greatsword hacked heavily onto the monster's skull, throwing off sparks.
A-Yi's strike had failed to breach its defense, but the confidence of the Spirit Realm walkers present soared.
Chapter 270