After the ghost-hunting master descended the mountain, his fame spread throughout the capital.

After engulfing Xuanji Zhenren and Xie Dai, the light from the spatial passage flickered violently a few times.

Without the continuous support of Xie Dai's bloodline power, the cyan vortex quickly dimmed, eventually leaving only a barely perceptible ripple in the air before completely dissipating.

The last resort has been cut off.

Xie Jinchen and Jiang Dusheng stood side by side before the rapidly spreading death aura, their clothes fluttering in the wind.

The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with no fear, only a clear and resolute determination.

Jiang Dusheng turned her head to the side, her hair brushing against Xie Jinchen's cheek, and she even curled the corners of her mouth up:

"Let's see if our malevolent energy is stronger, or if his resentment is stronger."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinchen tightened his grip on her hand slightly, and a relaxed smile bloomed on his handsome face.

He spoke with a teasing tone, saying in a low voice, "If I had known this would happen, I should have ignored everything and gone through all the formalities of marriage, bringing you home in a grand and glorious manner."

"With a legitimate reason, when you reach the Yellow Springs and face the King of Hell, you won't have to worry about escaping."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dusheng's ears burned slightly, but he let out a soft snort and raised his chin slightly, "It's too late to regret it now."

Xie Jinchen chuckled softly, released her hand, and quickly used his spiritual power to cut a gash in his palm, from which bright red blood gushed out.

He raised his palm, gazing intently at Jiang Dusheng, his eyes deep yet reflecting her image. Each word he uttered was clear and solemn:

"I pledge my blood, I testify to my soul."

"I, Xie Jinchen, hereby swear that I will follow you through life and death, through the highest heavens and the deepest hells, my soul and life intertwined."

His voice was slightly hoarse, yet carried an unprecedented tenderness as he softly asked, "Jiang Dusheng..."

"Would you grant me a next life? No matter how many reincarnations we go through, whether in the mortal realm or the realm of ghosts, let me find you."

Jiang Dusheng did not hesitate at all, and did not even look at the surging death aura approaching.

She raised her hand, cut her palm in the same way, let the blood flow out, and then forcefully covered his with her bleeding hand.

Their fingers were tightly intertwined, their warm blood mingling together, indistinguishable from one another.

She tilted her head back, looking into Xie Jinchen's deep eyes, her smile so radiant it seemed to dispel all the surrounding darkness, her voice clear:

"willing!"

The oath has been made, with heaven and earth as witnesses, blood as the medium, and souls and lives intertwined.

There is no more hesitation, nor any way back.

The two exchanged a smile, everything understood without a word.

At the same time, close your eyes and stop trying to suppress the evil energy in your body.

Xie Jinchen's dark red, almost tangible, malevolent aura erupted and soared into the sky.

The Yin energy within Jiang Dusheng surged forth, mixed with a trace of awe-inspiring and inviolable Buddhist power.

The two auras, one yin and one yang, one fierce and one pure, miraculously merged together, forming a torrent of red and gold that met the overwhelming, pressing death aura of the Emperor's soul.

"boom!"

The three forces collided violently in mid-air.

The purplish-black imperial soul's death aura, carrying the emperor's majesty and the resentment of its fall, frantically eroded the crimson-gold evil energy.

Within that deathly aura, it seemed as if countless wronged souls were wailing, lamenting the fall of dynasties, and filled with endless envy and hatred for the living.

The barrier formed by Xie Jinchen and Jiang Dusheng trembled violently, its light flickering. Their faces turned pale at a visible speed, and blood spilled from the corners of their mouths.

But they gritted their teeth, poured all their will into it, and resisted desperately.

They cannot retreat; behind them are the people of Qingwu City.

In the air, Shi Qinglian's figure was almost completely swallowed up by the expanding phantom of the Emperor's Soul, leaving only a blurry and distorted face.

He looked down at the two men fighting desperately, the last glimmer of clarity in his eyes replaced by madness and relief:

"If I can drag you all down with me, and this hypocritical world, then my journey in this world will not have been in vain..."

The illusory image of the Emperor's Soul let out a roar, and the purplish-black death aura surged again, like a tsunami of ten thousand feet, pressing down fiercely.

"puff!"

Xie Jinchen and Jiang Dusheng both coughed up mouthfuls of blood. The red and gold barrier shattered under the strain, cracking and splintering.

The disparity in strength is too great.

The deathly aura and resentment accumulated by the imperial soul over a century, coupled with Shi Qinglian's sacrifice of burning everything, were far beyond what the two of them could withstand.

Even if they fight with all their might and are of one mind, defeat can happen in an instant.

Just as the barrier was about to shatter completely—

Jiang Dusheng's bloodshot pupils suddenly contracted as a nearly forgotten detail flashed through his mind like lightning.

"Xie Jinchen!" she screamed with her last breath, "Do you still remember the Netherworld Power that little girl left within us?!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinchen's eyes, which were on the verge of fading, suddenly sharpened.

The little girl who was swallowed by the snake…

"Since he is a century-old imperial soul, he cannot be easily suppressed by human power..."

A final glimmer of light shone in Jiang Dusheng's eyes—a desperate and frantic desperate act, as if someone had finally grasped at the last straw in the depths of despair.

"Then let's borrow the power of the netherworld to send his soul back to the underworld!"

She suddenly stretched out her other hand, which was not clasped with Xie Jinchen's, palm up, with drops of blood dripping from her fingertips.

Xie Jinchen instantly understood, and extended his blood-stained hand, placing it palm against hers.

The two abandoned all distracting thoughts and sank their minds into the deepest part of their consciousness, following the faint yet tenacious golden light.

Xie Jinchen and Jiang Dusheng spoke simultaneously, awakening the Netherworld Power dormant in their sea of ​​consciousness:

"The desolate underworld, the majestic Fengdu."

"Ten palaces are arranged, and the six realms of existence revolve."

"The soul of an emperor now lingers in the mortal realm."

"The resentment is overwhelming, and the air is thick with death."

"Disruption of the universe brings calamity to the people."

"We rely on the power of the Netherworld, and use the fusion of our essence and blood as a catalyst!"

Their voices suddenly rose, merging into one, like a thunderclap tearing through the yin and yang, exploding loudly in the dying valley:

"We respectfully beseech the Great Emperor of Fengdu in the Northern Underworld to manifest his divine power and enforce the law to subdue this soul!"

"Return them to the netherworld, and let justice prevail!"

The incantation faded, its echoes lingering, as if it had touched upon some unspeakable law of the universe.

Where their palms met, their intertwined blood seemed to be infused with an invisible soul fire, radiating a supreme majesty that transcended life and death.

At the same time, the long-dormant Netherworld power within them was fully activated.

It surged forth from where the blood mingled, combining with the power of the incantation to transform into a pillar of light that ignored the surrounding raging death energy of the Emperor's Soul and shot straight into the sky.

It was as if it had pierced through some invisible boundary and disappeared into an unknowable place where all things return to stillness.

In an instant, the wind stopped and the clouds stopped.

Even the roaring, boiling, purplish-black imperial soul death energy surged and froze in mid-air, maintaining its terrifying form.

The entire valley fell into a chilling silence.

Then, a voice rang out.

It seemed to come from the deepest depths of the netherworld, or from beyond the reach of eternity, suddenly echoing in this deathly silent valley:

"allow!"

With just one word, the law came into being.

The moment the words fell, the sky above the valley, the gloomy sky stained with deathly aura, seemed to be torn open like a scroll by an invisible hand, without warning, revealing a crack.

A figure stepped out from the gap.