"When that time comes, the Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy,
Shall pervade all ten directions, with his divine power, saving all sentient beings,
Guiding them from the path of delusion.
Sentient beings, unaware, are like the blind who see the sun and moon.
I, originally from the Great Void, draw them from the boundless beyond.
Auspicious clouds open the gates of life,
Propitious mists seal the doors of death.
From the primordial Xuan Yuan Shi,
Springs the resonance of auspicious signs..."
As the scripture was recited, the phantoms that had been holding their palms together began to assume the lotus posture,
Their hands forming the lotus mudra.
And as Yang Hong's voice continued, they gradually joined in the chant.
Yang Hong deliberately looked at the eighth-rank Ghost Lord, the malevolent spirit.
"Damn it—when did this guy break through?"
Upon finding the Ghost Emperor, Yang Hong's face turned ashen.
The Ghost Emperor was seated directly above Yang Hong's head, its aura as profound and vast as the abyss, terrifyingly absolute.
Furthermore, the Ghost Emperor's aura was still fluctuating, as if on the verge of another breakthrough.
...
In the westernmost reaches of the Sealed Demon Realm, within a tomb emanating a dazzling white light,
A phantom demon form flickered in and out of existence.
"Excellent, a soul has ascended to the ninth-rank Ghost Emperor! I can leave this place without breaking the seal."
With those words, the phantom demon form vanished.
The white light outside the tomb began to recede, revealing a white jade stone inscribed with complex runes.
...
"Hiss—what in the world is this! This Ghost Emperor is actually breaking through."
Seeing the Ghost Emperor's aura surge, Yang Hong's face turned from ashen to pale.
"Do I have to use the 'Scripture of Salvation' again?"
"The Supreme Tai Star, ever-changing and unceasing..."
Yang Hong switched back to the 'Scripture of Salvation,' infusing it with more power.
"Roar—Roar—"
Amidst the chanting of the 'Scripture of Salvation,' the Ghost Emperor began to howl,
Which brought a flicker of hope to Yang Hong, who muttered, "This might work."
As the 'Scripture of Salvation' continued, the golden light slowly contracted, but the speed was incredibly slow.
After ten recitations, the golden light, which had a diameter of four li, had only shrunk to two li.
However, the ten recitations had a significant effect: all souls below the seventh rank, under the transcendence of these ten recitations of the 'Scripture of Salvation,' turned into dust.
Furthermore, as these souls were transcended, a considerable amount of soul energy flowed back to Yang Hong,
Not only restoring his depleted spiritual sense but also slowly expanding his sea of consciousness within his spiritual aperture.
This filled Yang Hong with pleasant surprise.
"So, it's a combination of the 'Scripture of Great Mercy' and the 'Scripture of Salvation.'
Now, let's see if you can survive!"
Looking at the still roaring and continuously strengthening Ghost Emperor, Yang Hong switched back to the 'Scripture of Great Mercy,'
Again reciting it ten times.
The golden light expanded, causing the souls and malevolent spirits within the four-li radius to quiet down and assume the lotus posture.
Then, when switching back to the 'Scripture of Salvation,' the souls and malevolent spirits within the golden light would be transcended.
Using this method, they continuously alternated eight times. All souls except the Ghost Emperor were transcended.
Yang Hong, far from being fatigued, felt invigorated. His sea of consciousness received an immense influx of soul energy, directly breaking through to nine li and reaching just over ten li.
His divine sense projection within the Sealed Demon Realm also extended to five li.
Yang Hong's strength had increased considerably.
"Kid, you're human? How did you get in?"
Just as the last eighth-rank Ghost Lord, the malevolent spirit, was being transcended, the Ghost Emperor above Yang Hong's head spoke in a strange voice.
Yang Hong was startled at first, surprised that his hidden identity had been seen through.
However, he felt no fear. The Ghost Emperor had tried to approach him several times before, but his golden light of merit had blocked it.
It seemed this Ghost Emperor was extremely wary of Yang Hong's golden light of merit, yet it also coveted Yang Hong's body.
He noticed that the Ghost Emperor would occasionally drool while looking at him.
"Kid, surrender to me, and I can give you glory and wealth, endless riches, countless women, and even let you ascend to become an immortal."
Seeing Yang Hong remain silent, the Ghost Emperor continued to try and lure him.
But...
"When that time comes, the Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy..."
Yang Hong's response to the Ghost Emperor was the 'Scripture of Great Mercy.'
Yang Hong was not foolish; he would not believe the words of a demon.
"Kid, shut up, shut up quickly! Roar—Roar—"
The Ghost Emperor began to roar, using its bellows to counter Yang Hong's chanting.
"Kid—I am a true demon from the Demon Realm—Keshuo Demon Lord. If you surrender to me, I will immediately open a dimensional channel and send you to ascend to the Demon Realm."
"Kid..."
"..."
Yang Hong's heart sank. If it was truly a demon?
Was he not doomed?
He must not be swayed by the demon's temptations. Absolutely not.
The Ghost Emperor's voice was strange, possessing a peculiar seductive power. Yang Hong had almost agreed several times.
Fortunately, he was now protected by the golden light of merit and quickly regained his senses.
While Yang Hong and the Ghost Emperor were locked in a struggle, neither of them noticed that the Netherworld Epiphyllum had matured and had quietly begun to bloom.
The jade-white petals started to unfurl.
No fragrance emanated, nor was there any sound; it simply bloomed quietly.
"Human kid, I remember you. You wait for me."
As Yang Hong recited the 'Scripture of Salvation' again, the Ghost Emperor uttered a final threat and attempted to escape.
By this point, the Ghost Emperor's speech had become much more fluent.
[Not good, this bastard is going to run.]
Hearing the classic villain's declaration, Yang Hong immediately knew the Ghost Emperor intended to escape.
He immediately threw out the formation flags of the "Nine Dragon Water Control Array."
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
Eight formation flags were dispersed in the eight directions of the Bagua. Yang Hong placed the final formation flag directly in front of him, and then channeled all his magic power into the flag.
A colossal phantom of the ocean immediately sealed off an area of ten li.
During this time, Yang Hong's chanting never ceased.
"Haha—A mere seventh-rank formation can trap this Demon Lord?
Watch me break it!"
A pitch-black dragon-shaped spell was instantly generated, shooting towards one of the eight formation flags.
"Crack—"
Yang Hong promptly adjusted the position of the formation flag with his divine sense. The black dragon collided with the blue formation light barrier and was quickly dispersed by the phantom of the sea.
"Little thing, you're quite interesting.
But, this is where it ends!
Demon Soul—Devourer!"
With a furious roar from Keshuo Demon Lord, the nearby black demonic energy, gray ghostly energy, and dark purple deathly energy surged towards him.
This demonic energy was treated as spiritual energy by the "Nine Dragon Water Control Array" and ignored.
It was directly swallowed by Keshuo Demon Lord.
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
A vortex of demonic energy formed in an instant, beginning to absorb demonic energy, ghostly energy, and other inauspicious energies from further away.
[This is bad!]
Yang Hong lamented in his heart, but he could only abandon the "Nine Dragon Water Control Array" and pour all his magic power and divine sense into the 'Scripture of Salvation.'
"Hahaha—the speed at which you purify demonic energy is no match for my absorption rate. What can you do to me?"
Keshuo Demon Lord continued to absorb demonic energy while laughing maniacally.
However, he had forgotten one thing:
Earlier, when Yang Hong recited the "Scripture of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Vows," he had attracted spiritual energy and demonic energy from a radius of ten thousand li.
The 'Scripture of Great Mercy' also had the effect of aiding souls in their cultivation and advancement, which also required the consumption of massive amounts of demonic energy.
"How is this possible? There's so little demonic energy within a thousand-li radius?
Damn it, there's not much demonic energy left within 6,000 li either?"
Hearing Keshuo Demon Lord's hysterical roar, Yang Hong smiled. He took out a sixth-rank spiritual plant from his Scale Space.
He planted it in the ground,
Infused it!
Returned it!
Yang Hong was confident he could win this protracted battle!