The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

None of the extraterritorial emissaries had expected something like this. They had all thought that they were home free as soon as they overcame the threefold soul-setting technique. There were even some who had begun to plan for their next move in order to seize Gu Qing’s soul for their own underworld.

But now was hardly the time for such thoughts. Zhou Xianlong’s single palm strike engulfed the entire area that they had been caged into. There was no avoiding it. As the terrifying pressure bore down, the ground began to rumble, and dust and dirt began to scatter into the air. The skin of the underworldly emissaries began to ripple like the surface of the lake, and their veins began to bulge and throb.

“Everyone… what are you still waiting for?!!” A wolf-headed emissary cried out as he found himself crushed against the ground, and cracks began to spread along the ground in the pattern of a spiderweb. The emissary screamed at the top of his voice, “We have to stand together! Block this attack, and we might be able to come out of this alive! Otherwise, we’re all going to die here!!”

As he spoke, the bones on his back began to bulge and crack. Then, with a sickening crunch, a scale made entirely out of his bones protruded out of his muscles and rose out of his back. One side of the scale held feathers, while the other side held a precious gemstone.

Buzz… As soon as the scale began to drift out of his body, the emissary’s back swiftly healed...