Chapter 167: Materialization of Divine Sense (Second Update, Seeking Subscriptions)

The Netherworld Book was unimaginably colossal, resembling an entire realm in its own right. Chen Fengyun, Ma Dangdang, and the Ghost King of Yama were positioned directly above it. The Netherworld Book appeared to be open, but it was now slowly closing from both sides toward the center.

Chen Fengyun had no idea what would happen to the two of them if the book closed completely and trapped them inside, but he was certain it would not be anything good. Thus, he frantically absorbed the energy radiating from the Ghost King.

"Hum..."

Suddenly, Chen Fengyun felt a jolt in his mind. The moment his absorbed attribute points reached 200, the aura emanating from the Ghost King abruptly plummeted, dropping from the peak Foundation Establishment stage down to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

"Quick, its aura has weakened! Let the divine dragon devour more of it!"

Chen Fengyun immediately shouted to Ma Dangdang. Ma Dangdang nodded, gritting her teeth as she directed the divine dragon to ravenously devour the Ghost King's spiritual body. Meanwhile, Chen Fengyun's flying sword and Dark Yin Mirror never ceased their relentless onslaught, and the two of them continuously cast purification mantras and incantation attacks.

However, as the Netherworld Book steadily closed—though the speed was not exceptionally fast—the two of them suddenly felt the surrounding pressure intensifying rapidly. Chen Fengyun swept his divine sense outward, resisting the crushing pressure of the book with all his might, knowing that Ma Dangdang alone could never withstand it.

The Netherworld Book was undoubtedly a supreme spirit treasure far surpassing ordinary magical artifacts. As it continued to close, the pressure grew exponentially, instilling in Chen Fengyun's mind a sense of towering majesty, akin to standing before an insurmountable mountain.

*This won't do. My mental power is inferior to the pressure of the Netherworld Book. If this continues, we will lose all ability to resist before it even fully closes. It seems I must elevate my mental power first,* Chen Fengyun thought to himself.

Fortunately, the attribute points he had absorbed, combined with what he had previously remaining, now exceeded 300 points. A plus sign had appeared next to his mental power statistic, indicating that it was ready for enhancement.

"Enhance mental power."

Making a swift and decisive choice, Chen Fengyun issued the command to the system. A sudden, resonant hum shook his body as a massive surge of mental energy poured down directly into his consciousness, not only expanding his Niwan Palace to three times its original size, but truly transforming his mental power into a vast ocean. Within the center of this ocean, nine springs of mental power emerged, ceaselessly generating fresh spiritual energy.

In an instant, Chen Fengyun's divine sense broke through to the early Mysterious stage, equivalent to the level of a Core Formation powerhouse. Not only had his capacity multiplied manifold, but a miniature, naked version of Chen Fengyun—his divine sense avatar—had materialized right in the center of his Niwan Palace.

With this surge in power, the attraction force of the Immortals Cultivation System seemed similarly amplified, drastically increasing the speed at which he absorbed the Ghost King's energy. The attribute points on Chen Fengyun's system interface ticked upward continuously.

Simultaneously, both Ma Dangdang and the Ghost King sensed the sudden, dramatic shift in Chen Fengyun's aura. Ma Dangdang felt as though she were facing a towering mountain and an endless ocean, while the Ghost King instantly realized that Chen Fengyun's divine sense had achieved a qualitative breakthrough, filling its heart with a chilling sense of despair.

Sure enough, once Chen Fengyun's divine sense was elevated, the Netherworld Book could no longer exert any pressure upon him. Moreover, under the block of Chen Fengyun's divine sense, the closing speed of the book slowed down significantly.

"Ah! Netherworld Book, grant me your origin power!"

Foreseeing a disastrous outcome, the Ghost King panicked. If it could not pull the two of them into the Netherworld Book soon, it would be unable to suppress them, let alone stop them from draining the energy from its body. Disregarding the precious nature of the spirit treasure, it commanded the book to infuse its origin power directly into its own being to boost its cultivation and strength to fight back against the two intruders.

"No matter how much energy you possess, we will absorb and devour every last drop of it," Chen Fengyun said coldly while continuing to absorb its energy at maximum capacity.

Indeed, although strands of deathly gray aura continuously poured from the Netherworld Book into the Ghost King's body, it could not replenish energy as fast as the two humans were draining and devouring it. Before long, the Ghost King's aura dropped once more, its cultivation falling to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

"Dangdang, have the divine dragon devour its legs. Find a way to force it out of the Netherworld Book so we can sever their connection."

Sensing that the Ghost King's connection to the Netherworld Book stemmed from its lower limbs, Chen Fengyun had a flash of inspiration. He directed his flying sword to slash fiercely at the Ghost King's legs and signaled for Ma Dangdang to coordinate with him.

"Boom..."

"Roar..."

The frigid Dark Yin Qi gushing from the Dark Yin Mirror continuously froze the Ghost King's legs, while the flying sword relentlessly cleaved into them, and the divine dragon joined in, tearing and biting at the limbs.

"Awoo..."

As expected, panic set in for the Ghost King. Its connection to the Netherworld Book was repeatedly disrupted, and deprived of the supplement of deathly qi from the book, its aura plummeted even faster.

When Chen Fengyun's accumulated attribute points neared another 300 points, the Ghost King's aura crashed directly down to the early Foundation Establishment stage, and its previously injured leg was snapped clean off.

"Awoo..."

The Ghost King began to struggle violently, its body sinking downward as if attempting to submerge itself completely into the depths of the Netherworld Book. By this point, the book was already half-closed, revealing endless darkness below with only a narrow, forty-five-degree gap remaining at the top.

"Command the divine dragon to exert all its strength and pull the Ghost King out! We must drag it completely out of the Netherworld Book's realm, otherwise, we cannot utterly destroy it," Chen Fengyun instructed Ma Dangdang while summoning the Earth Dragon to assist.

Though the Earth Dragon had previously broken through to the early Foundation Establishment stage, its strength alone was insufficient to deal with a Ghost King, which was why Chen Fengyun had refrained from summoning it until now. But with the Ghost King's power drastically reduced, it no longer posed an overwhelming threat to the Earth Dragon, making this the right moment for it to enter the fray.

"Roar..."

To their surprise, the moment the Earth Dragon appeared, Ma Dangdang's divine dragon was able to attach and merge directly into its body. The combination of the two entities instantly elevated their combined strength to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, effectively adding another formidable powerhouse to their side.

"Awoo..."

Seized by utter panic, the Ghost King roared madly and thrashed about, yet it was steadily dragged inch by inch out of the Netherworld Book by the combined efforts of the Earth Dragon and Chen Fengyun, pulling it bit by bit away from the artifact's grasp.

"Screeech..."

Suddenly, a piercing, ear-splitting shriek echoed from inside the Netherworld Book, as if some entity hidden within was wailing in agony. The sound caused Ma Dangdang's body to shudder violently as her soul suffered a wave of shock.

Chen Fengyun, however, remained completely unaffected, as the entity's divine sense was still inferior to his own. With a flash in his eyes, he caught sight of a blurred gray shadow darting past and immediately let out a cold snort. His divine sense avatar lunged forward in an instant, seizing the shadow firmly.

It turned out to be the artifact spirit formed from the Ghost King's spiritual imprint left within the Netherworld Book. Seeing that its master was on the verge of destruction, the spirit had been forced to emerge and intervene, though its actual strength was quite limited.

In a pure contest of mental power, the artifact spirit of the Netherworld Book was no match for Chen Fengyun's divine sense avatar. It was quickly suppressed, the Ghost King's spiritual imprint was utterly erased, and Chen Fengyun's own imprint was left in its place.

"Awoo..."

With its spiritual imprint wiped out and its connection to the Netherworld Book abruptly severed, a wave of absolute despair washed over the Ghost King. It let out one final, resentful roar before its aura crashed below the Foundation Establishment threshold, and its frantic struggling finally came to a complete halt.

"Let the divine dragon finish it off."