As several hundred heavenly lightning beads exploded at the same time, space shook, causing thick dust and gravel to obscure everything as a devastating lightning force swept out in all directions.
Several hundred li of land around the Devil King's Palace turned into a crater, the hills reduced to flying dust, only the palace was still standing. The shockwaves reached the sea where some late-Tenth Order Highgod Realm sea ghost creatures were sent tumbling into the air. Those closer to the center of the explosion died on the spot.
The sea waves rose a thousand zhang high, hitting the land.
The violent turbulent air current blasted upwards, piercing a hole through the thick black ghost qi that had gathered above the Sea of Hell, then shredded the dense clouds apart like a piece of fragile cloth.
The three people cultivating inside the Devil King's Palace, Li Lu, the Ascending Moon Old Man, and the Spiriting Demon Gates Patriarch Fan Yuxiao, were shaken to their senses by the powerful quaking.
"Ugh, what's going on?!" The Ascending Moon Old Man jumped up like a monkey with its ass on fire, exclaiming loudly.
Outside the Devil King's Palace, waves of destructive shockwaves hit the palace walls; turbulent air currents were violently swirling as if they couldn't dissipate, rampaging and destroying all in their path.
The Ghost Refining Sect Master watched from the distance as Huang Xiaolong was drowned in a series of terrifying explosions. Seeing this, triumphant joy filled his heart and he broke out in elated laughter, "Huang Xiaolong, the taste of these heavenly lightning beads I have collected for more than ten millennia is wonderful, isn't it?! I've been reluctant to use them all this time, you should die satisfied!"
"Originally, I planned to extract your soul and refine your bones, have you beg for death; allowing you to die so fast is really letting you off too lightly!" The Ghost Refining Sect Master laughed.
Consecutive explosions sounded as lightning and thunder continued to rumble. Roughly ten minutes later, the violent air currents calmed down and the explosions subsided.
At this time, the Ghost Refining Sect Master's laughing face froze, disbelief took over as he stared dazedly in front of him. Then he shook his head, furiously denying, "...No, no, impossible, you — this cannot be!!"
As the dust settled, Huang Xiaolong's figure remained straight as as rod while he stood in midair, with only a few minor differences; his robe was destroyed in the explosion, putting his perfect, chiseled body on display, which was unharmed except for a few small scratches here and there. His hair too had came undone. Huang Xiaolong barely suffered after the attack.
Before coming out, he was prepared for the Ghost Refining Sect Master's possible ambush, therefore when the Ghost Refining Sect Master took out a few hundred of heavenly lightning beads, Huang Xiaolong had formed a thick protective barrier around himself with godforce.
With his current mid-Ninth Order Highgod Realm strength, the protective barrier formed by his three supreme godheads was sufficient to block an attack from a First Order Heavenly God master. That was why these heavenly lightning beads' destructive power did not injure him at all, other than shattering the barrier he erected.
Huang Xiaolong's icy gaze fell onto the Ghost Refining Sect Master, "Don't worry, I won't let you die so easily, I'll definitely extract your soul and refine your bones!" Huang Xiaolong's momentum completely broke out at this point.
Majestic divine might surged, causing strong wind to howl in the air.
The ghost qi clouds above the Sea of Hell dissipated completely.
The sea waves around the deserted island that were roiling due to the heavenly lightning beads' explosion suddenly calmed, as if there was an invisible hand pressing them down.
"Mid-Ninth Order Highgod Realm!" Sensing Huang Xiaolong's aura, the Ghost Refining Sect Master blurted out in shock. For some reason, his face became ashen.
More than two years ago, when he pursued Huang Xiaolong all the way through the Nightmare Forest, the damn runt's cultivation was only at mid-Eighth Order Highgod Realm. Not even three years had passed since then, but his cultivation had already reached mid-Ninth Order Highgod Realm!
In the past, the Ghost Refining Sect Master could suppress Huang Xiaolong, but now, facing Huang Xiaolong's improved strength, he found that he couldn't even bring up the thought of resisting.
"Mad Devil God's Body!" Grasping his nerves for a second, the Ghost Refining Sect Master bellowed. His body expanded by several times and his momentum rose, striking his fist at Huang Xiaolong.
"All-Destroying Ghost King Palm!"
Thunderous air blasts rang out as ghost qi flooded out in savage waves, forming numerous ghost king shadows that carried a world-shattering momentum.
Huang Xiaolong issued an obvious disdainful snort. Circulating his Buddhism energy and godforce, his fist collided head-on with the Ghost Refining Sect Master's All-Destroying Ghost King Palm.
Rumble—!
The palm attack shattered under Huang Xiaolong's fist. The ghost king shadows scattered like a puff of smoke, whereas the Ghost Refining Sect Master himself was sent flying backward, heavily smashing into the island below. A curtain of dust rose, sending gravel in all directions.
He then quickly shot out from the pit, standing in the air again and facing Huang Xiaolong. Hot blood gurgled up his throat and spurted out before he could suppress it, dyeing the ground under him a glaring red.
The Ghost Refining Sect Master crudely wiped off the blood that was still warm, wondering if that really happened. He had truly been injured? How long had it been since he was last wounded?
He couldn't accept this truth!
In the next moment, his body grew even bigger as he let out another bellow towards the sky, his eyes glowing red.
"I'm the true number one expert in this world!" Seemingly having fallen into madness, the Ghost Refining Sect Master rained messy attacks on Huang Xiaolong, shouting repeatedly, "Huang Xiaolong, go to hell! Die, die for me!"
"Ghost Entrapment-Saint King's Fist!"
Dense ghost qi moved to form a huge prison-like cage, and at its center was the vague shadow of the Saint King.
In the past, during his time in the Martial Spirit World, the Ghost Refining Sect Master had fought an intense battle with the leader of the six ancient kings, the Saint King. After years of deduction and comprehension, he had created this technique, the Ghost Entrapping-Saint King's Fist!
The ghost and saint merged into one, catapulting its power.
Watching this, Huang Xiaolong dared not underestimate the Ghost Refining Sect Master's next attack; making preparations of his own.
One thousand arms fanned out from his back, simultaneously striking out one thousand Earthen Buddha Palms.
Images of Buddhas lit up the sky, turning it into a holy kingdom of Buddha.
The Kingdom of Buddha collided with the ghost prison, chipping off each other. Finally, in the end, the ghost prison exploded, causing the Saint King shadow to disappear and the Ghost Refining Sect Master to be thrown back again.
This time, however, he was unable to get up for a very long time.
However, the Ghost Refining Sect Master who was just laying miserably on the ground suddenly vanished.
Huang Xiaolong who had his divine sense locked onto him sneered as he too vanished from where he stood. Arriving at a certain location above the Sea of Hell, he struck a punch at the void in front of him, sending the escaping Ghost Refining Sect Master back towards the island.
After the first punch, Huang Xiaolong arrived above him in a split second, punching out again.
Sensing paramount danger, the Ghost Refining Sect Master roared, releasing a black light that swirled around his body, and released countless Yin Ghosts from his body, akin to a swarm of wasps.
These Yin Ghosts possessed the strength of early Tenth Order Highgod Realm and above.
This was the infamous great ghost army of the Ghost King that he controlled using the Ghost King Art.
Contrary to the his estimation, Huang Xiaolong rushed forward instead of dodging or retreating.
The Infinite Buddha Supreme Godhead in Huang Xiaolong's soul sea was rotating at its fastest speed, releasing a bright, sacred Buddha luminance that enshrouded Huang Xiaolong like a cocoon, expanding outwards. At the same time, Huang Xiaolong's body began to rotate as well before his Buddhism energy and godforce formed a myriad of dragons exuding holy Buddha luminance.
More and more Yin Ghosts were pulled into the Buddha dragon tornado, being purified and having their energy devoured by Huang Xiaolong's Archdevil Supreme Godhead.
However, the army of Yin Ghosts controlled by the Ghost Refining Sect Master was just too great, like neverending tides. Even for Huang Xiaolong, it was hard to refine and absorb all of them.
On the other hand, the more Yin Ghosts Huang Xiaolong devoured, the whiter the Ghost Refining Sect Master's complexion became.
The situation lasted for half an hour before the Ghost Refining Sect Master gave up and turned into a black streak of light, attempting to flee for the second time. But the result was the same as the first time, he was sent flying back to the island.
"Huang Xiaolong, spare me! You cultivated the Blood Pact Mandate; no matter what, I'm considered your half-Master!" Seeing there was no hope of escaping, dismay finally crept into the Ghost Refining Sect Master's eyes, which made him soften and plead, "Killing me is equivalent to betraying killing your Master, betraying your heritage! Aren't you afraid of becoming the cultivation world's laughingstock?"