Chapter 110: The Sinister Throne

"Hmph, just a swarm of insects. Do you really think that's enough to restrain me? Heh, you're far too naive!"

Before Shangming even finished speaking, a double-fish disc suddenly materialized above his head.

In the next instant, the sky above him became shrouded in two masses of mist, one black and one white. Within the mist, something seemed to be silently swimming, revealing no edge, yet it gave Jiuyou a strange sense of oppression.

"That's also a top-tier ancient relic."

Jiuyou's eyes were like ghostly moons, yet he showed little surprise. After all, given the depths of power his opponent had revealed thus far, possessing a top-tier ancient relic was entirely within expectation.

His divine sense instantly probed the enemy's true strength. The gravity on his face deepened, and his mind rapidly calculated his opponent's attack patterns and his own countermeasures.

But he had no intention of waiting for the other party to fully activate his ancient relic.

The moment Shangming unleashed the double-fish disc, Jiuyou simultaneously channeled the Nether Capital Ghostfire in his hand and the Golden Sun True Flame on Golden Sun Mountain, transforming them into a nether dragon and a fire phoenix that lunged at the black-and-white mist from different angles.

The nether dragon and fire phoenix attacked from front and back, seemingly about to crash into their target.

But the black-and-white mist silently parted, splitting into two masses of fog, one white and one black, each rushing to meet the nether dragon and fire phoenix respectively. With a single swirl, the two masses of fog easily dispersed Jiuyou's attack. Their momentum undiminished, they traced a long, graceful arc through the air and actually condensed into a pair of yin-yang twin fish, charging straight at Jiuyou for the kill.

Jiuyou's expression tightened. His body abruptly retreated while he hurled Golden Sun Mountain outward.

The two top-tier ancient relics collided with a thunderous boom in midair. The entire giant crater was torn apart, rocks flying everywhere, frigid killing intent surging in all directions. The deafening roar echoed through the depths of the Cold Ruins, shaking the snowy peaks within a hundred miles until they trembled.

Blood and qi churned violently within Jiuyou's body. Caught off guard, he was sent flying by the shockwave, slamming viciously into the cliff face and carving out a human-shaped pit several zhang deep.

He crawled out in disarray, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He hastily retrieved several pills and swallowed them, then channeled his mana to stabilize his injuries.

Golden Sun Mountain's spiritual light had dimmed somewhat from the collision, clearly having expended a great deal of energy.

Shangming was not having an easy time either. He was sent tumbling through the air several times, but relying on his formidable Late Nascent Soul cultivation, he managed to force himself to a halt, looking far less battered than Jiuyou.

He wiped the blood from his lips with his hand, looked toward Jiuyou's direction, and upon seeing his opponent in such a sorry state, curled his lips into a mocking smile and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"What's the matter? Don't you have plenty of treasures? Already out of steam? Aren't you so good at recovering your mana? Haha, controlling so many magic treasures at once must be draining your divine sense considerably, right? I wonder how much longer you can hold out."

Before he even finished speaking, he glided through the air and, to Jiuyou's bewildered gaze, slammed straight into the ground.

A series of rumbling sounds echoed from the earth, followed by waves of low murmurs, like countless souls wailing in death. It was even more spine-chilling than Jiuyou's Nether Capital's Frozen Domain. Streams of black ghostly qi seeped up from the ground, and at the spot where Shangming had crashed down, a colossal object gradually emerged.

It was a massive throne formed from countless skeletons, black demonic stones, and dense ghostly qi. Beneath the throne, countless skeletal ghosts clustered together, lifting and supporting the behemoth as it slowly rose from the ground and ascended into the sky.

Shangming sat regally upon the Throne of Ten Thousand Souls. All the baleful qi, frigid air, and ghostly energy within a thousand miles converged upon him, and waves of oppressive aura spread outward like a rising tide. The yin-yang twin fish hovered around the throne, swimming slowly in circles, solemn and majestic.

At this moment, it was as if every demon and every ghost bowed in submission before him.

"This is... an ancient grand divine art!"

Jiuyou's pupils constricted. Feeling that terrifying aura, he did not hesitate for a second, flying up into the air. He raised his hand and pointed, and the swarm of Soul-Eating Insects buzzed excitedly, charging straight at Shangming.

Under Jiuyou's command, the insect swarm spread out like multiple rivers, encircling the enemy from all directions.

They did not attack directly. Instead, they whirled rapidly around Shangming, forming a massive insect-swarm tornado that endlessly devoured the surrounding ghostly qi.

A cold snort came from the throne. Shangming pressed his fingers together like a sword and casually pointed at the ring of insects. The yin-yang twin fish circling the throne moved in tandem, following the direction of his finger and slamming viciously into the insect barrier.

A chaotic blend of purple, white, and black qi exploded in the air.

Whether due to the throne's enhancement or not, the power of the yin-yang twin fish seemed to exceed the scope of top-tier ancient relics, reaching the threshold of a quasi-Connate Spirit Treasure.

Jiuyou naturally was not about to stand by and watch. He raised his hand and hurled Golden Sun Mountain once more. The colossal mountain plummeted down from above the insect cyclone, crushing directly toward the throne. Wherever it passed, the insect swarm scattered to make way.

The leaping white-gold flames and the mountain's vast shadow grew ever larger in Shangming's pupils.

Shangming remained completely unflustered. He waved his hand, and the Golden Spiritual Sand, a bizarre beast hide, and countless ghostly claws condensed from the earth's surging demonic qi all rose to meet the attack simultaneously.

Seeing this, Jiuyou quickly raised his hand and recalled the released Soul-Eating Insect swarm. The collision was too fast, and he only managed to recover the majority of the spirit insects before a small portion was caught in the shockwave, scattered in all directions, slamming into cliff faces and twitching twice before going still.

Shangming raised one hand with ease, effortlessly blocking the crushing weight of Golden Sun Mountain.

But just as he was about to muster his strength and fling the mountain aside, a far more guttural roar erupted from the depths of the distant wasteland.

Jiuyou's expression darkened. The aura mixed within that roar was exactly the same as what he had felt when he faced the Heaven Flood Dragon King back then.

"A Tier 10 Demon King!"

Shangming's expression also turned grim. He had only recently broken free, was still basking in his excitement, and had been locked in a fierce battle with Jiuyou. For a moment, he had completely forgotten about that beast.

"That blasted beast picks the worst possible time to wake up! And it's all that brat Jiuyou's fault. If not for him, I would have been long gone by now. Damn it!"

He raised his hand to blast away the Golden Sun Mountain above his head, but a flash of purple light appeared before his eyes.

A cluster of Soul-Eating Insects suddenly condensed into a spear several zhang long, stabbing straight at his face.

Shangming's heart jolted with alarm. He hurriedly summoned his protective yin-yang twin fish to meet the attack. The twin fish worked in perfect harmony, shattering the purple qi spear with contemptuous ease, dispersing it into a shower of purple light.

A flicker of disdain passed through his eyes. He channeled force through his other hand, and the three combined powers sent Golden Sun Mountain flying away.

But just as his expression relaxed for a split second, thousands of eerie purple lights suddenly flickered to life within the scattered remnants of the shattered purple qi spear. Those purple lights moved with incredible speed, merging in the blink of an eye into a short sword as thick as an arm, stabbing straight toward his face.

"Mutated Soul-Eating Insects! This aura... it's Soul-Nourishing Wood!"

Shangming cried out in shock. He activated a secret blood-soul technique and fled a hundred li away in an instant. He stared back at the purple short sword with eyes full of astonishment, a strange glimmer hidden within them.

The purple short sword shifted its aim, once again pointing at Shangming, coiled and ready to strike.

Shangming's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly. The massive throne behind him gradually dissipated. He hastily waved his hand at Jiuyou and let out a few cold chuckles.

"Hehe, young man... ah, no, Daoist Jiuyou, hold on! Continuing this fight benefits neither of us. I acknowledge your strength. How about we make a deal?"

As his words fell, he stared intently at Jiuyou's reaction.

After a long pause, Jiuyou gave no reply. He merely watched the man with utmost wariness, his fingertips glowing brighter with mana, as if ready to strike again at any moment.

Shangming let out an awkward laugh, then his face abruptly turned serious, and he shifted the topic.

"No need to be so tense. I was merely testing you with a few probing moves. After all, I only ever conduct business with the strong. The weak have no right to negotiate with me, just like those three earlier... heh. Jiuyou, aren't you at all curious why this Nether Luo came looking for the Nether Soul Spirit Mushroom?"