“You should have said so earlier. Scared me half to death.” Bai Xiaochun flicked his sleeve in distaste. Although a special sealing mark was needed to get into those 27 special spell formations, he could simply do so with his Undying Hex....

“If I can get through the Great Wall’s spell formation, then there’s no need to even mention some little teleportation formations.” Sticking his chin up, he looked down at the dead Lu Shiyou and felt very proud of coming out on top in this battle of wits.

“You can only blame your lack of insight into my abilities!” With that, he strutted out of the cell.

Although the death of Lu Shiyou caused some complications, it wasn’t anything the guards of Cellblock B couldn’t take care of. After giving the deputy warden the information regarding the man’s loot stash, the fact that he was dead didn’t really matter.

Of course, the guards weren’t stupid. They realized that Bai Xiaochun must have uncovered some other secret, and had been forced to silence Lu Shiyou. However, when Bai Xiaochun proposed forgetting about the thirty percent cut that was owed to him, the guards felt much better.

After all, the official rules allowed for the possibility of inquisitors coming across secret information. As long as the inquisitor was well-liked by everyone else, it usually wouldn’t cause a problem.

Bai Xiaochun’s way of handling the situation not only forestalled any questions, but also left everyone involved feeling pleased. With a few parting words, Bai Xiaochun left and headed back to Cellblock D, in very high spirits. He even decided to contact Zhou Yixing. Earlier, Li Xu had put Devil Penitentiary on complete lockdown, and any attempts to communicate with the outside had been fruitless.

But now, his communication went through. Bai Xiaochun quickly relayed a portion of the information about the spell formations, and told Zhou Yixing to go confirm its validity. The next day, he got word back.

Zhou Yixing sounded completely incredulous as he said, “The spell formations were all there, milord!! Each and every location was really strange, and in fact, impossible to see into. Not even divine sense would work. In fact, I couldn’t actually see any evidence of spell formations. If you hadn’t told me of the exact locations, I would never have been able to find them.” 

When Bai Xiaochun heard that, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then excitedly clenched his hands into fists.

“So it really is true! Hahaha! With those teleportation formations, I have a much better chance of getting away!

“The three great clans and the Giant Ghost King are currently at each other’s throats... once the chaos breaks out, I definitely won’t wait around for the Bai Clan to come looking for me. I’ll get out of Devil Penitentiary and then make my way to freedom!”

With that, Bai Xiaochun began to wait patiently. Another half a month went by. Although there were many people in the city who knew that the rebellion was coming, when it actually happened, it still came as a shock!

The first astonishing development occurred, not within the three great clans, but rather... in the form of a huge, illusory axe that appeared in the sky above Giant Ghost City!

It was fully 30,000 meters tall, and radiated shocking energy. The instant it appeared, it sliced down through the air toward the huge giant ghost statue in the middle of the city.

Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth, and at the same time, a roar of rage erupted from the royal palace at the head of the statue.

“How dare you, Nine Serenities King!!” Even as the voice echoed out, the illusory image of a giant ghost appeared in the air, which snarled viciously as it unleashed a fist strike to meet the incoming axe!

As the two bore down on each other, indescribable power rippled out in all directions, casting all creation into chaos and even ripping the air apart!!

“I'm only doing this to repay a debt, Giant Ghost King! You’re on your own now.” Laughter accompanied the axe as it descended, along with intense rumbling sounds. Then, the axe and the giant ghost met....

Booming rumbles filled the air!

A massive sound that surpassed heavenly thunder rippled out with the power to destroy the heavens and crush the earth. A huge shockwave spread out, crushing everything in its path and even ripping rifts open in the sky.

Giant Ghost City was instantly thrown into chaos as countless people looked up to see what was happening. The sight that met their eyes was the shadowy incarnation of a giant ghost being completely destroyed by the huge axe!!

“Th-this... this....”

“Heavens! The Giant Ghost King... can’t even fight back!!”

“This is impossible!!”

To the utter shock of countless onlookers, the huge axe ripped through the illusory giant ghost, and then proceeded onward toward Giant Ghost City. Thankfully, that was when a shimmering shield of light sprang up, which was none other than the city’s grand spell formation.

Next, an ear-splitting boom spread out, causing cracks to appear all over the spell formation shield. The shield held, and the axe faded away, but then, more laughter rang out.

“So, you really are in your decay period, Giant Ghost King! Well, whether or not you survive this calamity has nothing to with me. Farewell!” The mad laughter then slowly faded away into nothing.

Everyone who had witnessed this scene was completely shaken, and suddenly realized that... the rebellion was taking place on this very day!

It was at that point that six beams of light suddenly shot into the air above the city. Within those beams of light were the six of the ten heavenly marquises that ruled Giant Ghost City. Those marquises each controlled one of the ten armies stationed in the city. As for the remaining four heavenly marquises, they did nothing.

“Today is the day you meet your end, Giant Ghost King!!”

“Die, Giant Ghost King!!”

Of the six heavenly marquises, none were devas, but some of them were half a step into the Deva Realm. Their combined attack on the royal palace instantly caused Giant Ghost City to tremble, and yet, that was when a roar of rage erupted from one of the statue’s hands. Duke Deathcrier appeared, his expression grim as he released a shout as cold as midwinter snow, filled with the power of his deva cultivation base. 

“What gall!” 

However, even as Duke Deathcrier flew out to intercept the six heavenly marquises, a sigh could be heard from the giant ghost statue’s other hand.

“Brother Deathcrier,” said a sad voice, “I know we’ve been friends for years, but... now we’re enemies!” A blurry figure suddenly appeared on the statue's other hand.

It was none other than... one of Giant Ghost City’s five dukes... Duke Netherworld!

“You’re also betraying his highness the king, Netherworld?!?!” Killing intent instantly appeared in Duke Deathcrier’s eyes as he shifted targets.

It was in this moment that the three great clans burst into action.

Three shocking beams of light rose up into the air, which then shot toward the giant ghost statue. Within those beams of light were the three deva patriarchs of the three clans.

The reason why the three patriarchs hadn’t made a move until now was because they were waiting for the exploratory attack made by the Nine Serenities King. Now that they were convinced that the Giant Ghost King was weak, they were eager to attack.

The three of them shot through the air at shocking speed, joining the six heavenly marquises to attack the royal palace!

All of this was merely a prelude to the chaos to come. Of the ten marquises, six had turned traitor. Of the five dukes, four were rebelling. It was a situation the likes of which did not occur often in the Wildlands.

In fact, it was an extremely rare development. That was especially true considering... they were fighting against a king! They were... trying to kill a demigod!!

“Your secret is out, Giant Ghost King! The technique you cultivate has a fatal flaw, and although we couldn’t calculate the specific date of your decay period, it’s now obvious that you’re in the middle of it! It’s time for you to die!!”

“I've been waiting for this day for a long time, Giant Ghost King! Today, you will be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt!!” 

The three deva patriarchs shot like sharp blades through the air, leaving streaks of light behind them as they slammed into the giant ghost statue.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The giant ghost statue simply couldn’t withstand the force of the blow. Cracks spread out across its surface, and the royal palace began to collapse. As the rubble and dust spread out, a tall, muscular man appeared, wearing a violet robe embroidered with a serpentine dragon, and a kingly crown.

He appeared to be middle-aged, and was somehow threatening without being angry. He also radiated an aura that was completely shocking. He was none other than... the Giant Ghost King!

“So, you’ve finally made your move....” he said as he floated up into the air, looking around at the three deva patriarchs and the six heavenly marquises. He didn’t seem nervous at all, and in fact, was even smiling. Furthermore, that smile seemed to contain... a profound level of self-confidence!

“I wasn’t sure exactly who among you would be joining this rebellion, so I was waiting for you to make the first move before wiping you out. Now, the moment has arrived… and unfortunately for you people, I'm not done playing my little game.” From the Giant Ghost King’s statement, it was obvious how confident he was, and it caused the three deva patriarchs’ faces to flicker.

However, there was no going back now. Gritting their teeth, they began to perform incantation gestures.

“Wood Dimension: Killing Seal!!” they roared in unison. Instantly, a huge vortex sprang into being, filled with countless souls!

All of them were wood-type souls, and as they descended, they began to explode, creating something like a huge sealing mark that covered all of Giant Ghost City and filled it with the power of the element of wood!

As soon as the energy rolling off of the Giant Ghost King encountered that wood-type power, it melted as quickly as a snowflake fallen into boiling water!