I can push my cultivation progress to the end

The sky was so gloomy it resembled a boundless slab of lead-iron, threatening to crash down at any moment. Malevolent winds howled past, the withered branches of trees twisting in agony, creaking and groaning as if emitting desperate cries.

Yet, this wind couldn't stir the thick mist within this Yellow Springs Ghost Domain.

It was as if the mist had been tightly bound by countless ghost ropes emerging from the netherworld, preventing it from moving even a fraction.

Beneath the layers of thick fog, the Yellow Springs territory, carved into chunks by the relentless flow of turbid yellow rivers, displayed a deathly, murky-green hue.

Upon this murky-green land, amidst the vast ruins formed by collapsed buildings, hundreds upon hundreds of spiderwebs, as large as rows of skyscrapers, were scattered haphazardly.

Hanging and clinging to these white spiderwebs were hundreds upon hundreds of gray worms.

What was truly horrifying was that these worms had human faces on their heads, of all ages and genders.

Even more terrifying, these human faces were constantly crying like infants, or giggling with laughter,

or shaking their heads and playing incessantly.

Simultaneously, tens of thousands of grotesque ghosts gathered into formations, marching in lines beneath the massive spiderwebs, some weeping and groaning with bowed heads, others raising their heads and cackling with sinister glee.

Thus, human-faced worms hung in the air, while twisted and evil ghosts walked on the ground, constantly crying, shouting, roaring, and laughing, utterly transforming this Yellow Springs Ghost Domain into a scene of unparalleled horror, akin to the end of all living nightmares.

Gao Guang, a tall, thin sergeant sitting opposite the chubby sergeant, sighed in a muffled voice, also leaning against a broken wall, "Xu Shuo, brother, this is fate, destined. Yama has decided that we two brothers will die here."

Their despondency stemmed from their previous attempts to escape the Yellow Springs Domain.

However, this ghostly and malevolent land was teeming with far too many ghosts, and occasionally, a Fierce Spirit-level ghost would suddenly emerge from some corner.

This was far too dangerous.

They had only mastered the martial arts of the Strength Circulation level, and their spell techniques were barely at the First Realm.

They could easily eliminate Wraith-level ghosts or weaker small ghosts and monsters with their skills.

But if they encountered a Fierce Spirit-level ghost, they could only close their eyes and wait for death or commit suicide beforehand.

To make matters worse, they had already used up most of the aura-concealing talismans they carried.

Therefore, once all the talismans were exhausted, they could only sit and wait for the surrounding ghosts to smell their presence and devour them alive.

Just as Xu Shuo and Gao Guang were sinking into despair, a silver-black palanquin slowly appeared from the boundless mist outside their small ruins—carried leisurely by four burly men in face-covering cloaks.

At the same time, the dark jade pendants hanging around the edges of the palanquin jingled with ethereal sounds as the palanquin gently swayed.

Ding ~ Ding ~ Ding ~ Ding ~

Xu Shuo and Gao Guang stealthily watched as groups of howling, low-roaring, and incessantly moving thousands of evil ghosts on the distant murky-green land instantly dispersed into nothingness under the crisp, ethereal chimes, as if they had never existed.

Simultaneously, the tens of thousands of human faces hanging on the giant spiderwebs also underwent drastic changes in their forms as the palanquin passed by, reverting to their original human appearances, and under the cover of clusters of hazy light that appeared out of thin air, they pierced through the thick fog and soared into the sky like shooting stars.

All these scenes seemed to strongly imply to Xu Shuo and Gao Guang that the one sitting inside the silver-black palanquin was the Yama, the Son of Heaven of the Underworld.

It was this Son of Heaven who took action to collect the thousands of evil souls and fierce spirits in the Yellow Springs Ghost Domain! It was also this Son of Heaven who took action to rescue the Peach Blossom City residents who had been twisted into human faces by the Yellow Springs Domain!

"Yama—is that Yama?!"

Xu Shuo slowly stood up, looking at the silver-black palanquin that had unknowingly approached the ruins, and said dazedly, "Have we… have we already died? Otherwise, how could we see Yama?"

"Perhaps… perhaps we two brothers are about to die."

Gao Guang also muttered in a daze, "Look, the King of Hell has come to pick us up in a sedan. The four black-clad men carrying the sedan for Lord Yama, you can't even see their faces, maybe… maybe they are Ox-Head, Horse-Face, Black and White Impermanence."

Upon hearing this, Xu Shuo immediately trembled with fear and excitement, saying in a trembling voice:

"To have the King of Hell come to pick us up personally, this… this… don't just stand there foolishly, we have to go and greet him quickly."

As he spoke, he took hesitant steps towards the palanquin.

Seeing his old friend walking away, Gao Guang, instinctively afraid of being left alone, couldn't help but follow suit.

After walking all the way to the palanquin, the two of them knelt down with a plop, calling out to Lord Yama while preparing to kowtow.

But at this moment, a sharp and displeased voice came from within the palanquin:

"Gao Guang, Xu Shuo, what are you two doing? Why are you kneeling for no reason? Stand up!"

As Li Hai's voice sounded, the two unfortunate brothers trembled uncontrollably and stood up, then simultaneously widened their eyes and exclaimed in shock:

"Vice Commander?!"

Clearly, they had heard Li Hai's voice before and remembered it well, so they recognized it immediately.

"Hmm?" A questioning voice came from the palanquin, "It seems you have seen me and heard me speak before?"

"Yes, Vice Commander."

Xu Shuo bowed and cupped his hands respectfully, "This humble officer once watched the image of your inauguration ceremony held in Zhongjing a month ago through the shadow talisman issued by the higher-ups at the station, so I recognize your voice and appearance."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Guang immediately added: "The higher-ups required all sergeants of all levels in all provinces, cities, and regions of the Great Jing to watch your inauguration ceremony, and to write an essay of no less than 2,500 words on their心得感悟 (insights and reflections) based on your speech and address at the ceremony.

Because our literary talent is really average, in order to write that essay well, we watched your speech more than a dozen times, almost memorizing it, so we have a very deep impression of your voice."