"Friend Han, as we greet them, release the divine protective lightning." The six-limbed figure, robes flowing gracefully, hovered at the center of the great array, issuing an unequivocal command. Han nodded, then pressed two palms together, instantly causing golden arcs to swirl around him. A network of electric lines surged upward and, after a thunderous roar, coalesced into a radiant golden aura. Golden runes danced about, then converged in a flash to form a golden orb, which gently floated in the palm of his hand. At this point, Han ceased his spellwork and simply watched with a calm, steady gaze. Meanwhile, the six-limbed and wood-green figures began to break the seals. They chanted softly, and at the same time, the magical instruments controlled by dozens of high-level beasts beneath them emitted countless beams of light, instantly forming a vast array that transformed into a colossal black hole, drawing immense streams of celestial and terrestrial qi from the surrounding air toward the two figures. In moments, the two were enveloped in two brilliant, colorful halos of spiritual light, their bodies shimmering with radiance, as if they had become divine beings themselves. On the other side, the elderly woman with white hair stood at the forefront of the eight dark figures. She clasped her hands together, then separated them, and now held a small black bell in her hands. The bell was ancient, its edges even partially missing. Two figures in crimson robes moved— one ascended to the shoulders of the purple-blooded automaton, while the other stepped swiftly to the head of the newly formed giant metallic automaton. The purple-blooded automaton roared softly, then, with a quick motion of its palms, produced a long, crimson-bladed axe measuring over ten zhang in length. The axe shimmered with blood-like light, raised by the automaton’s hands, and pointed directly at the water ahead. Under the urging of the crimson-robed figure, the metallic automaton also lifted its massive blade, which now glowed with a dark, unusual radiance. With a thunderous roar, the six-legged automaton finally raised its hand and struck. A column of black light erupted from its palm. This time, the column was several times thicker than the one seen during the spatial passage, and as it surged forward, it caused the surrounding space to warp and ripple, as though the very fabric of reality had been The beam of light vanished into the water. The River of the Underworld, which had seemed motionless, remained indifferent at first; yet as the black beam poured into it continuously, it began to change. First, ripples spread out, then the river's waters started spinning wildly around the beam, accelerating rapidly and producing a deep, resonant roar. Mu Qing also intervened—his golden flowers spun swiftly, drawing in most of the surrounding light mist, then swelled in volume until they stood upright, transforming into a vast, radiant disc that surged forward. This disc, with a diameter of several dozen feet, emitted a thunderous roar even before touching the water, and with a flash of golden light, plunged directly into the surface. At that moment, the water, which had been spinning, finally split apart with a heavy, resonant sound. A white opening gradually emerged and extended from the center of the beam, yet the surrounding water curtains trembled violently, making the opening highly unstable and prone to collapsing at any moment. Two thunderous roars echoed, followed by the rush of a massive purple-red axe shadow and a streak of black blade light. With so many attacks combined, another tremendous crash soon followed, and the Yin River was split in two, forming a grand underwater gorge—rising nearly thirty paces high and stretching about fifteen paces wide—gradually taking shape. Yet at this very moment, an odd, rattling sound emerged from the nearby water veil, and then, one after another, shimmering strands of translucent black silk rose from the depths of the river and curled toward the vast gorge. Mu Qing, who was skillfully maneuvering the golden giant vessel beside him, was likewise doing the same. Clearly, both of these divine abilities were extremely draining of spiritual energy, even with the aid of the magical array, and could not be sustained for long. Han Li took a deep breath, gently flicked his palm that was supporting the golden orb, with his fingers pointing upward. "Pffft!" The golden orb instantly transformed into a beam of golden light, shooting upward toward the sky. With swift movements of his other hand, a large golden seal symbol swiftly emerged and shot forth. "Following a thunderclap, fierce winds suddenly surged around the area, dark clouds gathered rapidly, and a golden sun emerged from within the clouds. A powerful, almost world-destroying aura surged upward from the clouds. The surface of the golden sun flashed with lightning, and continuous, deep-throated thunder rolled across the sky. Han Li's expression grew serious, and he murmured an obscure incantation, then pointed a finger toward the water surface ahead. The golden seal flashed! A golden beam of light, thick as a water tank, surged forth from the blazing sun and struck the waters of the River of the Dead after several flickers. A strange, resonant boom echoed across the surface, and at the very moment the beam touched the water, it instantly transformed into cascading golden lightning arcs that spread outward in concentric waves. A delicate glow emerged subtly above the beautiful woman's head. The small black clock in her hands, radiating a strong black luminescence, instantly rose into the air, expanding into a towering structure several zhang in height. A flash of unusual light passed through her eyes as she extended one finger and lightly tapped the air. A clear "ding" resonated from the great clock. A wave of black light surged forth from the massive clock, spreading out in all directions and rushing forward to break through the path of the Yin River gorges. An eerie scene unfolded. Upon touching the entire gorges passage, the black wave instantly transformed into a translucent, misty veil of light, lifting the surrounding water curtains and forming a genuine black channel within the Yin River. As the powers of the six-footed figures advanced, this veil seemed endless, stretching continuously deeper into the newly opened passage. Han Li, though astonished by what he saw, could only continuously summon the golden suns hovering above, projecting one after another golden light beams to assist Lu Zhu and the others in advancing steadily. At the same time, as the black gorges deepened, Lu Zhu and Mu Qing, along with the others, began activating the magical arrays beneath them, extending their attacks continuously and focusing all their power on a single point. Seeing this, Han Li glanced upward once more, added a few more golden suns, and then sighed, standing still with a helpless expression. He simply did not possess such a powerful consciousness to precisely direct the divine lightning to strike targets so far away. Fortunately, the power of the lightning summoning technique was substantial—whenever the golden light beams struck nearby, the lightning arcs would spread out and completely destroy the black filaments far beyond. Nevertheless, as the gorges grew deeper, Han Li had to remain alert, using his spell techniques to guide the golden light beams deeper into the passageway. Fortunately, no precise aiming was required—only a general control of distance was needed. Thus, his face remained relaxed and composed. A minute later, suddenly, a deep, resonant roar erupted from the far end of the gully! Upon hearing the sound, Mu Qing immediately beamed with joy and exclaimed, "At last, the passage is fully open!" Then, with a single hand gesture, the young woman summoned the golden wheel from deep within the gully, which returned in a moment and transformed once more into a magnificent golden flower, now standing at her feet. The white-haired matron and others also looked delighted, and similarly withdrew their divine abilities. "Excellent! This passage will remain stable for several hours—enough for us to cross the River of the Dead. Still, we must remain vigilant against attacks from the spirits in the river. Let them enter first. How many of them manage to reach the other side will depend entirely on their luck. Encourage them to press forward and make a full escape," said the six-limbed woman, her green glow flickering several times before she turned her gaze toward the lower-tier spirits. Mu Qing and the others exchanged glances, and their expressions of joy gradually softened. Han Li, who had just dispelled the Ritual of Thunder, could not help but be startled! At that moment, all the puppets and ghost soldiers had gathered at the entrance of the passage and had unusually formed two rows along the left and right edges. Under the commands of the higher-ranked beasts, the lower-tier creatures were gradually gathered into the central area. With a total number reaching tens of thousands, they nearly completely blocked the entire passage. Upon a single command from several royal beasts, the ghost soldiers and puppets began to move forward first, flying into the passage. The black winds that had previously enveloped the Yin-Jia Xuan Gui now dispersed, revealing their true forms. Each of them wore a shining half-body black armor, holding various long weapons such as halberds and spears in one hand. The skin exposed from the armor was dull and gray, resembling dry corpses, while their entire heads were enveloped in a glowing green ghost flame. As the green flame flickered, the heads revealed themselves as grim, skeletal faces. These Xuan Gui remained expressionless, silent, each radiating a faint coldness. Han Li stood behind Mu Qing, gazing at these spectral beings, his eyes subtly narrowing. The land of Yin He was already known for its abundance of ghosts, yet Lu Zhu and the others had still crafted so many ghost soldiers—there must surely be some hidden reason behind this. After a while, even the lower-tier spirit creatures sandwiched between the puppets and the ghost soldiers were ordered to fly into the passageway one by one. Lu Zhu and the others, along with the higher-ranked spirit beings, remained outside, watching coldly, showing no intention of entering at all. As soon as the lower-tier creatures began to enter the black gorges passageway, a flash of silver light erupted across the surrounding black screens, and a series of sharp crackling sounds filled the air. From all directions, countless silver filaments surged forth, sweeping across the landscape in a dazzling display. Their targets were precisely the lower-tier spirit creatures in the center. The puppets and Xuan Gui positioned on either side, however, seemed completely uninterested.