Junior Sister must ascend this time!

Yun Qing gave the Ghost King no time to catch his breath.

With a light tap of her toes, she transformed into a bolt of purple lightning, hurtling straight towards the Ghost King.

Pei Shubai, Shen Qingchen, and Lu Xingzhou simultaneously surrounded them from three directions, their sword lights blocking their retreat. Si Mingche retreated to the rear, his hands flying out talismans one by one, which he then stuck to the stone pillars inside the hall, forming a trapping formation.

Just as Ah Le was about to step forward to help, Si Mingche flipped his fan, and short blades flew out from the fan, forming a circle that firmly trapped her.

Finally, Si Mingche stuck a ghost-binding talisman on her forehead, saying, "Stay quiet, I'll deal with you later."

The Ghost King was surrounded by five people. Yun Qing cleaved through the wall of fire with a single sword strike, the tip of the sword pointing directly at the Ghost King's face.

The Ghost King dodged to the side, then lashed out with his bone whip at Yun Qing's shoulder. Yun Qing let out a muffled groan, her soul weakening slightly.

But she didn't stop. She gathered the power of lightning into the Lifeless Sword and stabbed at the Ghost King again, this time slashing his face.

The wound wasn't deep, but the lightning energy from the sword seeped into it.

Even a tiny bit of lightning caused the Ghost King immense pain; her soul was scorched by the lightning, emitting a faint hissing sound.

"My face... my face!"

The Ghost King raised her hand to cover her face; it was what she was most proud of and what she cherished most.

Her eyes were filled with hatred as she looked at Yun Qing. "You ruined my face, so I'll ruin all of you!"

As soon as she finished speaking, her aura surged. "So what if you have the power of lightning? You're just a soul now, without any spiritual power. I'd like to see how long your lightning spiritual root can last!"

The Ghost King was right. Yun Qing's lightning spiritual root was still intact, and she could indeed mobilize lightning power in her soul form. However, her soul form lacked a dantian and spiritual energy reserves, so each use of lightning consumed a portion of her soul power.

Those few sword strikes had already weakened her soul. If this dragged on any longer, she would dissipate on her own without the Ghost King even needing to lift a finger.

"How many more times can you use it?" The Ghost King stared at Yun Qing, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Three times? Twice?"

"Once your lightning spiritual root is exhausted, let's see what you'll use to fight me."

Yun Qing remained calm and composed. "How could I dare challenge Lord Ghost King without thorough preparation?"

"Who says my lightning power can only rely on my lightning spiritual root?"

After saying that, she summoned her other contracted sword, "Never mind."

The Ghost King remained silent. Was the "meticulous preparation" she spoke of just a sword? Or perhaps an even more ordinary-looking sword than the one from before?

Pei Shubai was also confused. "Junior Sister, what's this?"

Yun Qing explained, "Ever since I mutated into a lightning spirit root, my second senior sister has been helping me modify 'Never mind' to make it more suitable for my spirit root attribute."

"She inlaid a lot of lightning-accumulating beads on 'Never mind,' and I've been soaking it in the Heavenly Thunder Pool for a while now."

She touched the blade of the sword "Never mind" and continued, "So 'Never mind' is now essentially a small, mobile minefield."

The Ghost King's expression froze. Heavenly Thunder Pool? That's cheating!

Yun Qing raised an eyebrow at her, "Ghost King, guess how many more times I can use this?"

The Ghost King gritted her teeth and erected a wall of fire. She didn't want to waste any more time with these lunatics.

"All ghost generals, heed my command..."

But before she could even speak, Pei Shubai's sword was already pressed against Ah Le's neck. "Does the Ghost King intend to have his ghost generals collect your sister's corpse?"

Si Mingche added fuel to the fire, saying, "What would happen if those ghost generals saw your face now, Lord Ghost King? You are the face of Youyan City, the most handsome of all the ghost kings. If they saw this burn mark on your face, how could you command them in the future?"

The Ghost King stopped moving. She stared at the sword on Ah Le's neck, then glanced at the figure of the Ghost General outside the hall...

Well then, these five people are determined to go to the next level today, so there's no need for any more casualties.

As a powerful ghost king, she doesn't need to use other people's lives as a shield. If she loses today, it's because she's not strong enough.

"All of you, step back."

The ghost generals outside the palace gate exchanged glances, asked no further questions, and retreated in unison.

After the ghost generals left, Zi Lei and the bone whip became entangled again.

This time, the Ghost King held back. Dark red flames coiled around the bone whip, lashing at Yun Qing again and again. With each lash, a deep crack appeared in the ground.

Despite Yun Qing's possession of lightning power, the gap in their cultivation levels made the fight increasingly difficult for her.

Seeing this, Pei Shubai poured all his power into Yun Qing's body, saying, "Junior Sister, your senior brother will help you."

Shen Qingchen, Lu Xingzhou, and Si Mingche made the same move almost simultaneously. The four streams of soul power merged into the Cloud-Piercing Sword, and the Lifeless Sword and "Never Mind" simultaneously burst out with a dazzling purple light.

Yun Qing felt her soul power surge, and the lightning that was about to give way lit up again, even brighter than before.

"Lord Ghost King," she looked up at him, "we, the five of us, will offer this sword to you together."

The five of them swung their swords together, and purple lightning, wrapped in four streams of soul power, surged from the tip of the sword, condensing into a huge lightning dragon in mid-air.

The thunder dragon roared and charged straight at the Ghost King.

The Ghost King used his bone whip to defend, but the bone whip couldn't withstand the combined force of the sword strike and shattered in front of her.

She was thrown back by the force of the shockwave, her back slamming heavily onto the throne, which cracked open with a deep fissure.

After countless attempts, Ah Le finally broke free from the Ghost Binding Talisman. She stood in front of the Ghost King, saying, "You have already injured my sister, so spare her life... We will let you enter the next level..."

As he had done countless times before, the Ghost King stood up and shielded Ah Le behind him. "Ah Le, I'd rather die than be exiled to the first eight levels by the Ghost Emperor."

"I don't want to watch my soul power be gradually devoured and eventually replaced by someone else. Promise me you'll take good care of yourself..."

After saying that, she used her last bit of strength to crash into Yun Qing's sword. The power of lightning enveloped her entire body, and her soul, starting from her fingertips, transformed inch by inch into dark red soul energy, dissipating into the soul fire within the hall.

As her soul completely dissipated, Yun heard her voice, "Please let Ah Le go, okay? She doesn't understand anything..."

Yun Qing stood frozen in place, sword in hand, her feelings a mix of emotions. But she had no regrets. If the Ghost King didn't die, they would be the ones to die.

Ah Le's eyes were bloodshot. "You killed my sister! I hate you all!"

She charged at Yun Qing, shouting, "I'm going to kill you!"

Yun Qing took a few steps back. "...Don't try to scam me!"

Ah Le missed his target and was frozen in place by Si Mingche's Ghost Binding Talisman.

Si Mingche clicked his tongue lightly, "The Ghost King really protected her too well; her cultivation level is so low..."

He looked at Yun Qing, "Junior Sister, what should we do now? Keep it?"

Yun Qing nodded, "Let's keep it for now, she still has a use."