She collapsed powerlessly to the ground…

Her vitality was slowly drained clean from her body.

Yet from beginning to end…

Ao Qingqing never once turned her head.

Li Che adjusted the Bull Demon Mask on his face, the expression in his eyes was hardly moved. The reasoning behind “removing the weeds by eliminating the roots” was something he naturally understood.

In fact.

Even if Ao Qingqing had fled in the first moment when he clashed with the Princess Consort, she wouldn’t have gotten far.

Because…

Emerging upright and twisting from Ao Qingqing’s shadow, the Shadow Guard Master Soul Capturing arose, clasping his fists before Li Che.

“My Lord…”

“Let’s go.”

Li Che flicked his finger.

In an instant, an invisible force of Qi exploded, and Ao Qingqing’s corpse trembled momentarily before disintegrating into nothingness.

Although Ao Qingqing was just a ten-year-old child, her veins flowed with the bloodline of the Dragon God Clan, and during the second trial, the Heart Test, she nearly persisted into the top three…

A talent like hers, once bearing enmity with him, if allowed to live and grow in the future…

Could potentially pose a threat to him or his family.

Even endanger Xi Xi’s safety.

Thus, reducing some trouble for Xi Xi was naturally for the best.

The two twisted shadows distorted briefly and vanished instantly.

At the same time.

On the official road, other battles occurring simultaneously came to an abrupt halt.

Yellow Sword Wine, who was battling against the Star Constellation Assassins, swung his sword, laughing heartily, then abruptly exploded into black mist and dissipated.

Meanwhile, You Liqing, fiercely clashing with the Corpse God Envoy of the Corpse God Cult’s Demigod Corpse, narrowed his eyes deeply, gazing intently at the formidable Demigod Corpse.

The next moment, he erupted into black mist and disappeared.

The Demigod Corpse of the Corpse God Cult…

You Liqing remembered.

This Demigod Corpse was exceedingly powerful, even stronger than a typical First Level Martial Saint. If not for Li Che gifting him the Corpse God Seal last time, You Liqing would likely find himself entirely suppressed in combat against this corpse.

Now, however…

Since this Demigod Corpse has emerged, given my Lord’s deep-seated hatred toward the Corpse God Cult…

Your days are numbered!

You Liqing disappeared.

Meanwhile, the other Great Grandmasters who had intercepted the Divine Guard Army—Long Tai, Green Bird, and Xue Dufu—also retreated one after another.

Earthly Hell’s Evil figures almost instantaneously vanished en masse.

Bang bang bang—

The Star Constellation Assassins hovered mid-air, while the Demigod Corpse from the Corpse God Cult had blood-red light swirling in its eye sockets. Both gazed into the distance, sensing the aura of annihilation.

That rage-filled, wailing Martial Saint’s Will had yet to dissipate…

Princess Consort Ao Yuxin…

Was dead.

“The Underworld… Such a ruthless Underworld…”

The Star Constellation Assassin pressed the starwood-carved mask on his face, exhaling gently before transforming into a streak of light and vanishing.

The Demigod Corpse of the Corpse God Cult dared not show itself lightly. A swirling vortex of death aura formed behind it as it plunged in and disappeared.

The Divine Guard Army’s Great Generals, Han Qizhong and Dai Qingxiao, led their troops in rapid pursuit toward the battlefield.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—

A deep pit, dozens of zhang in diameter, lay exposed before everyone.

Within the pit.

Scorching remnants of Dragon Blood persisted, corroding the ground into countless craters, but the Dragon Corpse was nowhere to be seen.

Only the lingering, resounding air carried the immensely powerful, mind-disturbing Martial Saint’s Will!

“Dead… It’s dead…”

Han Qizhong and Dai Qingxiao exchanged glances, their hairs standing on end.

That was…

The Princess Consort of King Ping Luan!

The crucial bond of alliance between King of Quelling Chaos Ji Moli and the Dragon God Lineage!

“The Underworld… They dared to kill even her?” Dai Qingxiao murmured.

“What does the Underworld not dare to kill?”

Han Qizhong glanced over, speaking solemnly.

Suddenly.

Han Qizhong and Dai Qingxiao looked afar.

Across from the pit, smoke and dust rolled over the yellow earth, revealing a hunched figure standing at the pit’s edge.

The figure clutched a pitch-black book, radiating dense black mist, and held a wolf brush in the other hand.

A smiling Cat Face mask broke through the smoke and dust, gradually appearing.

“Heh heh heh heh heh…”

“Dust returns to dust, soil returns to soil.”

“If the Underworld decrees you die by nightfall, who dares keep you alive until dawn…”

“Princess Consort Ao Yuxin, strike her name from the Book of Life and Death.”

…

Cat Face!

Underworld’s Cat Face!

Listening to the ethereal voice that echoed.

For a moment, both Dai Qingxiao and Han Qizhong, the two Top Three Flowers Grandmasters, felt chills spreading across their bodies.

Many soldiers of the Divine Guard Army had their eyes contract.

All they could feel was the Underworld’s mystique and terror!

This wasn’t the first time they’d heard Cat Face utter such words.

The first time might be dismissed as mere theatrics; the second time could still be regarded as a ruse…

But the third, the fourth…

It started to send shivers down their spines.

Whenever Cat Face appeared…

It meant the Underworld had killed again!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—

The wind swept through.

The hunched figure of Cat Face, carrying the ceaselessly echoing “heh heh heh,” slowly blurred and disappeared amidst the yellow dust.

…

…

Qianyuan Dao City.

Atop the eight-sided eaves of the Qintian Observatory Treasure Building.

Supervisor Hong Shifu stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his loose robe billowing relentlessly in the strong winds at high altitude.

Behind him, on a sandalwood chessboard, white and black chess pieces lay in chaotic disarray.

His aging face carried squinted eyes as he gazed toward the direction of the city’s southern areas.

From a vantage point far above, he seemed able to capture the scenes in the southern region entirely.

In front of the Tianpeng Mysterious Temple.

The Supervisor’s gaze fell on Li Che, who sat in the Elder’s chair, wearing a gentle smile and conversing with Gongshu Jingjun.

“The Princess Consort is dead…”

“The Netherworld Ox Demon… Wasn’t him?”

Supervisor Hong Shifu raised his hand, rolling a white chess piece between his fingers.

He calculated, but there was no answer—as though an unimaginably grand chessboard obscured his vision.