At this moment, the crane swooped low, descending with the power of a phoenix spreading its wings and a Mount Tai pressing down—directly pressing upon Gao Liang. Gao Liang, swiftly driven by the force of the crane's wings, was propelled toward the hot spring deep in the ravine. Gao Liang had faced countless opponents; the divine phoenix himself had been felled by the divine bow and arrows of Houyi. Yet now, the crane surpassed even the phoenix—was that possible? Gao Liang was astonished. Old Zi wouldn't be defeated! Old Zi would prevail! With a thunderous roar, Gao Liang unleashed all his spiritual energy. He had Houyi's divine bow and arrows at his command. As he prepared to descend toward the hot spring's surface, he fortunately caught hold of a evergreen vine that had fallen from the mountain beside the ravine. Gao Liang swiftly climbed upward. Though the crane surged forward, attempting to collide him into the ravine, Gao Liang remained agile and resourceful, skillfully evading the crane's attacks through swift footwork and dragon-like maneuvers, and soon reached the summit of the opposite mountain. He immediately took shelter among "A loud sound, accompanied by a powerful gust of wind, surged toward the crane. 'Gaaah! Gaaah!' Though fiercely strong, the crane was overwhelmed by the wind, which blew its eyes wide open and prevented it from spreading its wings. Its massive body immediately plunged downward. 'Gaaah!' the crane cried out, for its entire body had been submerged in scalding hot water. High Guang watched as the crane struggled briefly in the hot water before going still, eventually sinking completely. A patch of blood floated on the surface of the hot water—crane's blood. Good thing! Ying'er was in serious danger! After knocking down the crane, High Guang suddenly felt that Ying'er was the most at risk. What kind of peach garden was this? Damn it! The old lady had been deceived. The maid had lied all along, leading the old lady all the way to the back garden of Xingle Palace—there was no peach garden here at all. Where was Ying'er? Where was she? Ying'er! Your husband is looking for you! Come out, Ying'er! Where are you, exactly?" High Liang was anxious, shouting up the mountain for a long time, but besides the echoes, there was no other response. Just as he grew tired and sat down, he suddenly noticed something in the grassy path—oh! It was the diamond necklace of angel's heart that he had given to Ying'er. This meant Ying'er must be nearby. He called out a few times, but still received no reply. As he grew increasingly disheartened, tired, and weary, he accidentally heard a sound in his ears—though he couldn't quite make out what it was, he sensed it came from beneath the ground. So he pressed his ears to the earth and listened intently. Indeed! It was coming from below. Good heavens! There were people down there! High Liang dug down as deep as he could, inserting a tube into the ground, while listening to the other end with his own ears. Now, the sounds from beneath grew clearer and clearer—like cries for help. "Set me down! Let me go!" "Listen closely—it's Ying'er's voice. At that moment, another voice, like a demon, was boasting proudly, 'Hmph! You're quite attractive! Our King of Ghosts has been fond of you for a long time. If you'd willingly become his favorite consort, you wouldn't have to endure such humiliation!' 'Let me go right now! Otherwise, my husband will come! He'll certainly not spare you!' Ying'er said. The demon's voice grew fierce and laughed scornfully, 'This is the Realm of Ghosts. Even if your husband is as skilled as he is, he won't make it past the Menghe River—because that great crane alone can claim his life!' Ying'er was silenced. At that moment, Gao Liang heard a strange, cackling sound: 'You'd better just appoint someone!' Gao Liang was annoyed. He never thought it—Ying'er had actually been abducted by the great and small ghosts dispatched by the King of Ghosts. It seemed he'd have to go to the Underworld, give these big and small ghosts a good scolding, and also pay a visit to the King of Ghosts' palace to give him a stern Just as he was thinking this, a series of piercing cries came through—Ying'er's desperate screams. Gao Liang knew then that time was of the essence; saving lives was urgent. Gao Liang had never visited the Underworld before and didn't know the way. He tried to crawl down from the ground, but no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't get through. Good heavens—how would the old man get across? Ah! Right! Just like Sun Wukong, he should call upon the local land spirits! After digging three feet deep, Gao Liang used Hou Yi's divine bow and arrows to dig further. With a slight exertion of force, the ground began to tremble, as if an earthquake had struck. As he dug, numerous insects and animals emerged from beneath. A short, elderly man with white hair and a walking stick appeared, bowing deeply before the handsome Gao Liang, repeatedly pleading, "Divine King! Divine King! Please forgive me! This land is under my jurisdiction. Should there be any shortcomings, I beg your indulgence!" Gao Liang was not in the mood, and directly addressed the land spirit: "Land spirit! I ask you "Indeed!" The land official paused, finally fixing high-lit with a look of suspicion. "May I ask, Your Majesty, the Divine Warrior—what exactly are you—?" "Enough chatter! Hurry up! Hurry up and take me there—otherwise, I'll have your official hat turned into a mere hatpin!" With this threat, the land official grew so frightened that he immediately complied. He promptly said to high-lit, "Your Majesty, please follow me—there's a path right here!" Soon, under the land official's guidance, high-lit arrived at a deeply concealed well. High-lit leaned his head into the well and discovered it was quite deep. He asked the land official to descend first. The land official, however, trembled all over, repeatedly exclaiming, "Your Majesty, how could I dare! I've always kept the boundary between the water and the spirits—never let the spirit world and the ghost realm interfere with each other!" "Old man, just stay calm! Do you know which ghost king has dared to seize even the beautiful ladies of the immortal realm—what a bold venture! And yet, on your very own territory, you've allowed such behavior to go unchecked ... "Highlight blamed the land official, and the land official dared not argue with him anymore. He kept saying, "Yes, yes! I'll go down with the King!" Soon after, Highlight and the land official descended. At this moment, the scene shifted to the Underworld. Ying'er was tightly bound with ropes by the deer-headed and pig-headed ghosts, who revealed their fierce teeth, looking extremely intimidating. Her face pale, Ying'er dared not meet their gaze. The ghosts' faces were grotesque, and she felt deeply afraid—though even if she didn't feel afraid, she found them profoundly unpleasant. The beauty of a celestial maiden contrasted with the grotesque appearance of the large and small ghosts, making the beauty even more radiant and the ugliness even more pronounced. In the Hall of Yanshou, the King of the Ghost Realm—also known as the Ghost King—watched as the large and small ghosts escorted a celestial beauty of heavenly grace. He immediately brightened up, his eyes shining with delight. "Wow! I didn't even have to go out of my way—I've just stumbled upon such a stunning beauty!" The ghost king stared at Ying'er's chest with lustful eyes. Immediately, Ying'er raised her hands to shield herself. The ghost king's eyes shone brightly, for he noticed that Ying'er's skin was pale yet rosy, smooth and delicate, beautifully graceful and sensuous. He immediately spilled a large amount of saliva.