<h4>Chapter 199: The Hidden Hand Behind the Scenes!</h4>


    <i>Crack!</i>


    Pang Jian crushed another Ghost Race warrior''s head and absorbed a new Soul me.


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    The Ghost Race leader prepared to chase after Pang Jian on its Ghost Ape only for Pang Jian to fly away on his spear.


    The enraged Ghost Race leader perched on the broad shoulders of the Rank Five Ghost Ape and screamed curses in the Ghost Racenguage, but Pang Jian had already flown far away.


    <i>Ny strands!</i> Pang Jian was ted.


    He had manifested over a dozen new strands of divine sense from Rank Five Ghost Race warriors'' Soul mes.


    Based on his observations, it seemed that only Rank Five Ghost Race warriors were capable of producing Soul me after death.


    Additionally, although all the Ghost Race warriors he killed had been Rank Five, some Soul mes manifested three strands of divine sense, while others only formed two. Pang Jian believed this was likely rted to the strength of the deceased Ghost Race warrior.


    Pang Jian also discovered that the Soul me had to be collected immediately or it would dissipate.


    Some Soul mes had disappeared before Pang Jian could collect them as they had been killed on the other side of the Star Crushing Umbre.


    Liang Ying, Xie Xiwen, and Fang Boxuan seemed unaware of the existence of the Soul mes as none of them absorbed it after killing the Ghost Race warriors.


    Cultivators from the Third World in this day and age likely had no chance to encounter the Ghost Race and did not know of the wonders of their Soul me. Meanwhile, the powerful sects in the Second World and the First World asionally ventured into the Fifth World and were likely aware of the marvels of the Ghost Race''s Soul me.


    Perhaps the great sects in the Second World and the First World specifically sent their disciples to the Fifth World to enhance their strength through the foreign races.


    <i>If the Soul me from a Rank Five Ghost Race warrior is already so wondrous, then how extraordinary would a Rank Six be? </i>Pang Jian wondered, turning his gaze toward the leader of the Ghost Race.


    The Ghost Race leader''s true target appeared to be Liang Ying. He likely intended to kill her, seize her spatial bracelet, and then make a hasty retreat with the rest of the Ghost Race.


    However, he had underestimated the strength of the Star Crushing Umbre as Liang Ying had easily deflected his attempts to use sinister soul techniques. The members of the Star River Alliance hid under the Star Crushing Umbre and were left mostly unscathed as they continued to kill the Ghost Race warriors with the help of the spirit artifact.


    After some time, Liang Ying tightened her grip on therge umbre and gazed at the remaining Ghost Apes and Ghost Race warriors.


    "You can all venture out now," she said with a cold smile.


    The giant umbre shrank as she spoke and her Spirit Condensation Realm aura abruptly surged. She then calmly walked toward the Ghost Race leader with the Star Crushing Umbre in hand.


    "You foreign races have no idea how a powerful spirit artifact and profound arrays can influence the battle." She smiled mockingly. "I''ll kill the leader. The rest of you can handle the stragglers."


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    Liang Ying pointed the Star Crushing Umbre at the Ghost Race leader. The tiny stars on the umbre''s canopy shone dazzlingly as they shot forward like brilliant shooting stars.


    At that moment, the Ghost Race leader gave the order to retreat in the Ghost Race''snguage.


    The Ghost Race warriors and Ghost Apes scattered, fleeing in any direction they could.


    "I''ll pursue the leader, you all handle the rest," Liang Yingmanded.


    Squinting, she used her divine sense to locate the Ghost Race leader. Once she found him, she pursued him with the Star Crushing Umbre.


    Pang Jian remained motionless, watching with cold eyes as the Ghost Race leader fled toward the valley between the Fourth Peak and the Fifth Peak with Liang Ying on his tail.


    "The Rank Six Ghost Race leader, the mysterious Soul me, and Elder Liang who once harbored ill intentions toward me," Pang Jian muttered under his breath.


    While the Star River Alliance members chased after the fleeing Ghost Race warriors, Pang Jian hid behind a boulder and followed Liang Ying.


    <i>Harmonize with thend to suppress my aura.</i> With a single thought, the fluctuations of Pang Jian''s blood essence, spiritual power, and consciousness vanished, allowing him to blend seamlessly into his surroundings.


    "Where''s Pang Jian?" Xie Xiwen asked, looking around.


    She tried to locate him with her divine sense but could only detect the nearby members of the Star River Alliance, as well as the fleeing Ghost Race warriors and Ghost Apes. There was no sign of Pang Jian.


    "Junior Sister, you''re paying too much attention to him," admonished a young man in the Profound Abode Realm with a refined appearance. "He''s excessively ruthless and cruel. You''d best stay away from him. He even goes so far as to crush the heads of already dead Ghost Race warriors. Such behavior is truly despicable!"


    "That''s right, he''s just like Dong Tianze from the Sinister Soul Temple. He''s aplete madman!" someone else echoed loudly.


    They had all witnessed how Pang Jian would crush the heads of the in Ghost Race warriors. Although they all agreed the Ghost Race was hideous, Pang Jian''s actions still seemed excessive.


    "His methods are indeed cruel," Xie Xiwen whispered with pursed lips.


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    Pang Jian came to a stop when he saw that Liang Ying had caught up with the Ghost Race leader atop his Ghost Ape.


    Not wanting to get involved before the oue was decided, Pang Jian halted his advance and observed them for a while before shifting his attention to the summit of the First Peak.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    The pitch-ck scales of the Demon Scale Race leader fell off piece by piece. He let out monstrous howls when Yang Rui''s Nine Suns Cauldron struck him. As he burned away his blood, the Demon Scale Race leader prepared to unleash his final burst of strength.


    The six pairs of wings on Yu Gu of the Celestial Race''s back were stripped of their feathers, making him look like a plucked divine bird.


    The leader of the Wood Race had also overdrawn her life force. The skin on her body and cheeks was severely cracked, splitting into fissures wide enough to trap mosquitoes and flies.


    The corpses of the one-eyed giants had seemingly fused with the scattered boulders at the foot of the First Peak to be one with the rugged terrain.


    Several Rank Six foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts around the First Peak were in simrly dire conditions. Most appeared to be on theirst breath.


    They all felt despair.


    "The Spirit ughtering Astral Array," Yu Gu muttered bitterly as he gazed at the terrifying array enveloping the First Peak. A feeling of hopelessness welled up within him.


    <i>It''s time,</i> Pang Jian finally told the ck turtle.


    The ck turtle had been eagerly waiting for this moment and let out a strange cheer only Pang Jian could hear.


    The Primordial Wilderness shook violently!


    <i>Boom! Boom!</i>


    The Second Peak and the Third Peak copsed, sending giant boulders tumbling down them.


    <i>Crack! Crack!</i>


    Deep fissures appeared on the First Peak and severed many spiritual power channels throughout the mountain.


    The sharp light beams intertwined at the summit were extinguished one after the other.


    "Old Man Cao, what''s happening? Old Man Cao?!" The previouslyposed Lady Hua screamed hysterically.


    Using a secret technique tomunicate with her subordinates handling the spirit jades, she asked desperately, <i>What''s going on underground?</i>


    Jiu Yuan''s face paled. "Old Monster Cao! How could the Spirit ughtering Astral Array malfunction now of all times?"


    "Cao Mang, maintain your control of the Spirit ughtering Astral Array!" Wei Wenhan of the Radiant Sun Sect shouted in rm.


    The summit of the First Peak had fallen into chaos.


    Young disciples from noble families with low cultivation realms rushed out from where they had been hiding in the trading hall to see the Spirit ughtering Astral Array disappearing.


    "It''s the spirit vein! The spirit vein deep beneath the Primordial Wilderness is no longer channeling the spiritual power from the spirit jades!" Cao Mang panicked


    He had lost connection with the spirit vein!


    He knew what this meant.


    "The invading foreign race warriors are on theirst legs. We can still annihte them, even without the Spirit ughtering Astral Array!" Cao Mang desperately encouraged. "Prepare for battle, we''ll fight to the death!"


    The Rank Six powerhouses of the Celestial Race, the Demon Scale Race, the Ghost Race, and the Wood Race were on the brink of death when they saw the Spirit ughtering Astral Array disappear.


    "The array is broken!"


    "Hope! Our hope has appeared!"


    "Even if we die, we must obtain those spirit materials to pave a smooth path for future ascenders!"


    The surviving powerhouses of the foreign races reignited their remaining strength andnded on the summit of the First Peak.


    They did not hesitate to drink all the bottles of blood and medicinal liquid originally meant to prolong their lives. Intense vitality and murky energy flowed through their dried-up meridians, restoring some of theirbat strength.


    “Kill!”


    The Rank Six foreign race powerhouses and the human cultivators in the Spirit Condensation Realm on the summit of the First Peak shed in a fierce battle.


    Pang Jian withdrew his focus from the First Peak and redirected his attention to the fight between Liang Ying and the leader of the Ghost Race.


    "The Star Crushing Umbre is too powerful. It must be suppressed or there won''t be any suspense at all," Pang Jian muttered with knitted brows, watching as brilliant shooting stars flew out from the umbre to kill the Rank Five Ghost Ape.


    Pang Jian focused his mind and Liang Ying lost connection to the intricate arrays on the umbre.


    The flow of her spiritual power within the umbre''s channels came to an abrupt halt, causing Liang Ying to groan as if struck on the head. A trickle of crimson blood flowed down the corner of her mouth.


    <i>I can''t believe the Star Crushing Umbre, forged by the Li Family of the Divine Treasure Sect, is actually this unstable!</i> Liang Ying cursed inwardly.


    Gripping the Star Crushing Umbre tight, she tried to channel her spiritual power and ster energy once more, hoping to reactivate its intricate arrays and restore its extraordinary abilities.


    However, the umbre still did not shine with its usual brilliance even after several attempts. Liang Ying''s mood plummeted and she swore to go to the Divine Treasure Sect''s branch in the Second World to demand an exnation from them after this battle!