When their group was still five hundred li away from the Feng family estate, Fang Guangjun came to a halt. This was already the Feng family's sphere of influence. The message Feng Tao had received from her family stated that the enemy had two late-stage Foundation Establishment Underworld Ghost Creatures. This distance was just outside the edge of their Divine Sense detection range, making it less likely for them to be detected.
This was based on common sense; no one believed they would be so unlucky as to run into two anomalies with Divine Sense far beyond the norm. That would be too unfortunate. What Fang Guangjun and the other four didn't know was that they had indeed run into such an anomaly, just not one of the Underworld Ghost Creatures, but the person right beside them. At this moment, this person had already extended his Divine Sense and was carefully observing the legendary ghost creatures. This was his first time facing a true creature of the underworld.
Fang Guangjun, completely unaware, whispered in a low voice.
"Martial Niece Feng, send a message to your family's ancestor now. Tell us our approximate location and ask about the current situation over there. How do they need us to cooperate..."
Being too far away, Fang Guangjun, an initial-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, couldn't sense the specific situation of the Underworld Ghost Creatures, and he felt helpless.
Soon, they received a reply from the Feng family. The battle over there was raging. When Feng Tao learned that the Feng family was temporarily safe, her eyes glistened with tears.
The Feng family quickly provided a plan. They wanted Fang Guangjun and his group to sneak over at high noon the next day. Noon was when the Yang energy was at its peak, and it was also when the Underworld Ghost Creatures were at their weakest for the day. At that time, their combat power would drop by twenty to thirty percent, making it the best time to strike.
Tang Tian was already eager to try out this plan. The journey had been uneventful, which had made his expectant heart feel somewhat disappointed. He saw this trip as a training experience. At this moment, Li Yan was carefully observing the battle situation over there, appearing as if he had fallen asleep in the dead of night. This left Feng Tao speechless.
At noon the next day, outside the Feng family estate, the sound of explosions instantly shook the heavens, mixed with the sky-piercing wails of ghosts. For a time, the entire world was filled with a gloomy Yin energy, and shrill shrieks constantly broke through the dark clouds. Here, Li Yan also got a close look at these Underworld Ghost Creatures.
Although he had already observed them for a long time with his Divine Sense, this close contact still made his scalp tingle. Under the dim, ghastly green sunlight, the three leading Foundation Establishment stage Underworld Ghost Creatures stood out.
One ghost creature was just a skeleton covered in a layer of skin. There was no flesh on the skeleton's skin; it was stretched tautly over the skeletal frame. The skin was as pale as if it had been soaked in water for decades, with a greenish tint to its whiteness. On its bald head were a few sparse, yellowish-brown hairs. Its clothes were already in tatters, covered in a large amount of sticky mud. In its hand was a long white banner, and with every wave, ferocious heads would fly out. These heads were either bleeding from all seven orifices and looking extremely ferocious, or their eyes were just two empty sockets, with large amounts of green gas spewing from their gaping mouths... Li Yan couldn't tell what race this ghost creature had been in life.
Of the other two powerful Underworld Ghost Creatures, one had no skin at all, its flesh and sinews fully exposed, like a flayed monster. As it walked, thick blood constantly dripped onto the ground. Wherever it passed, no grass grew, and the stench was so nauseating it made one want to vomit.
The last Foundation Establishment ghost creature moved the most erratically. It should be a soul-type ghost creature, appearing as a thin, tall, wicked woman with disheveled hair, triangular eyes, and only two small black holes for nostrils. The ten fingers on her hands were pitch-black, like ten long, sharp hooks. The Feng family disciples fighting against her were often disemboweled with a single light swipe. With a twirl and a pull of one of her fingers, amidst the opponent's shrill screams, she would wrap a section of colorful intestines around her finger, and with a swing, she would pull the person into the sky like a kite. Instantly, the cultivator's other internal organs rained down like a shower of debris, splattering all over the ground. Such a vicious method made the faces of the nearby Feng family cultivators turn deathly pale.
When noon arrived, Fang Guangjun's group and the Feng family cultivators launched a pincer attack from both inside and out. The battle instantly reached a climax. The two Foundation Establishment experts of the Feng family were originally on par with two of the Underworld Ghost Creatures. But with the addition of another Foundation Establishment ghost creature, the situation became vastly different, even if the opponent was only at the initial stage. It caused a huge disparity in their strengths. Over the past few days, the family had lost quite a few disciples, leaving the Feng family filled with grief and indignation. Now with reinforcements, they instantly unleashed all their anger.
Fang Guangjun's target was very clear. He immediately tied up the initial-stage Foundation Establishment ghost creature. He might not have the strength to kill it immediately, but holding it down was not a problem. In a gloomy world, all kinds of explosions sounded continuously, and the lights of various spirit artifacts, magical treasures, and talisman papers rose and fell.
After dragging one ghost creature away, Li Yan brought it to the edge of the battlefield and then watched the others with great interest from the shadows. In the distance, Tang Tian was also formidable, single-handedly fighting three Underworld Ghost Creatures without falling behind in the slightest. In fact, he seemed to be getting stronger as he fought. These three ghost creatures were only at the eighth or ninth layer of Qi Condensation, so Tang Tian still had plenty of strength to spare. Not far from Tang Tian, Wu Yizhen was locked in a fierce battle with a Jiangshi.
Tian Denghu's situation, however, looked rather pathetic. At the very beginning, he had charged recklessly into the horde of ghosts and was the first to engage two of them. Fortunately, the subsequent ghosts were dragged back by the arriving Feng family disciples; otherwise, he would have been instantly overwhelmed by a swarm of them. Now, under the pincer attack of two ghost creatures, he was already in a precarious situation after less than a single breath, dodging left and right. He began to quickly move towards the Feng family cultivators.
And all of this was thanks to the opportune timing. The Underworld Ghost Creatures that could still come out at this hour were already considered quite powerful. They needed to divert twenty percent or even more of their Yin energy to resist the midday Yang energy. Their strength was invisibly greatly diminished. Otherwise, Tang Tian's situation might not be like this.
Two days ago, the Feng family had the idea of using the peak midday sun to annihilate these ghost creatures, but with the extra initial-stage Foundation Establishment ghost creature roaming freely without restriction, even though the two Feng family ancestors could occasionally break away from the attacks of the other two ghost creatures with the help of the timely advantage, the result of that battle was still a considerable loss for the Feng family. If it were midnight now, even with Fang Guangjun's group helping, their chances of victory wouldn't exceed sixty percent.
Not long after the great battle began, Feng Tao took the opportunity to quickly approach one of her family's ancestors. When she tossed the treasure from her body to the ancestor, the battle quickly came to an end. The three powerful Underworld Ghost Creatures were already fighting with great difficulty while resisting the Yang energy. With one less unrestrained Foundation Establishment ghost creature, and under the midday sun, this group of ghosts was already at a disadvantage.
When the Feng family ancestor suddenly brandished a pitch-black long nail, the battle situation instantly took a sharp downturn. It was unknown what that pitch-black long nail was made of. It was silent and as fast as lightning. The two Underworld Ghost Creatures were tightly entangled by the two Feng family ancestors. This pitch-black long nail was like a maggot on the bone, no matter how the opponent dodged. Often, under a blow from the Feng family ancestors, their movements would momentarily freeze, making it impossible for them to escape.
In less than ten breaths, the two Foundation Establishment ghost creatures were pierced through by this pitch-black long nail one after another. Amidst their shrill screams, the bodies of the two ghost creatures rapidly dissolved into pools of filthy water. They were then directly collected into two porcelain bottles by the two Feng elders and quickly sealed with talisman paper.
The moment the pitch-black long nail appeared, the other Foundation Establishment ghost creature fighting Fang Guangjun in the distance felt a chill in its heart. She could already sense the aura of death. A trace of human-like terror appeared on the wicked woman's face.
Her opponent, Fang Guangjun, also felt a chill. He had seen Feng Tao throw something to the Feng family ancestor earlier. He knew that Feng Tao had a magical artifact, but he never expected it to be so powerful. A strange light flashed in Fang Guangjun's eyes.
The commotion on the Feng family ancestor's side also alerted the others in the distance. Many people looked over. Seeing the final result, the Feng family cultivators couldn't help but be overjoyed.
In fact, the moment Feng Tao took out the pitch-black long nail, Li Yan had immediately sensed a sealed, ferocious aura. But this aura required at least a Pseudo-Core cultivation to be able to sense. When the Feng family ancestor cast the spell to bring out the pitch-black long nail, Li Yan couldn't help but sneer inwardly. This Feng Tao was not as innocent as she appeared. This was no magical artifact specialized in dealing with Underworld Ghost Creatures as she had claimed; it was clearly a very powerful magical treasure. A magical treasure was a whole grade higher than a magical artifact. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators would covet this item.
"The importance of this Feng Tao to the Feng family is self-evident. They actually placed a magical treasure on her for self-defense."
However, Feng Tao hadn't completely lied. Li Yan's Divine Sense quickly attached to the pitch-black long nail. He sensed an indescribable evil power on the nail, and his soul felt a chill.
"This is indeed something that counters Underworld Ghost Creatures, and it's a magical treasure specifically for nailing souls!"
In about ten breaths, two powerful ghost creatures had perished. The initial-stage Foundation Establishment ghost creature fighting Fang Guangjun in the distance suddenly trembled violently. This ghost creature was the fastest, the ethereal, soul-like wicked woman.
At this moment, Fang Guangjun's movements also seemed to pause for a moment due to the appearance of the pitch-black long nail. The wicked woman ghost creature's reaction was incredibly swift. In an instant, she transformed into a faint shadow and rapidly flew towards the rear of the Feng family estate. By the time Fang Guangjun reacted, the wicked woman's soul body had already disappeared over the horizon.
The Feng family ancestor had been extremely furious these past few days. His full late-stage Foundation Establishment strength erupted, and in an instant, he also disappeared over the horizon in pursuit...
Half an incense stick's worth of time later, the Feng family's protective grand formation, which had been active for several days, finally dissipated its light, revealing a large castle within. All the Underworld Ghost Creatures outside the castle, except for the wicked woman ghost who was heavily injured by the Feng family ancestor but still managed to escape, had seventy percent of them slain, and the rest were captured one by one by the Feng family cultivators.
Seeing the joyful expressions of the Feng family cultivators as they looked at the captured ghost creatures, even outsiders like Li Yan knew that these living ghost creatures would be of great help to the Feng family disciples' cultivation. However, after this battle, plus the casualties from the previous few days, the Feng family had already lost nine disciples, and the rest were basically all injured.
Soon, the Feng family ancestor handed over the remaining matters to Feng Tao's third grand-uncle to handle and then led Fang Guangjun's group towards the castle. At this time, Feng Tao and Wu Yizhen were standing at the castle gate, which was wide open. Feng Tao was talking to a young cultivator of about twenty with a joyful expression. That young cultivator's cultivation was also quite strong, having reached the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation, ready for Foundation Establishment.
As the Feng family ancestor's group approached, the distance between them was less than a thousand zhang. Even if Li Yan didn't want to listen, with his cultivation, although the voices over there were low, he could hear them clearly.