"This withered tree is forged from Yangwing Wood. Its exterior appears charred black, as if it's been burned by fire, but in reality, it harbors Divine Flames within, burning itself. If you, fellow Daoist, possess an item of extreme Yin nature that can counteract it, you can temporarily suppress it, allowing me to escape," the Ghost Witch said.

"Oh, then how should the Soul-Locking Box be broken?" Han Li asked again.

"This object was originally intended to prevent my soul from scattering and to collect and refine my residual soul. Later, I spent a great deal of effort to modify it, turning it into a magical artifact for hiding my soul. Now, it's connected to my soul. If opened rashly, this wisp of my residual soul would likely be unable to withstand a few stirs of Yin wind and would vanish into nothingness," the Ghost Witch said with a wry smile.

"That makes it easier. Soul-Cry, retrieve the Soul-Scattering Sand first," Han Li said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Soul-Cry made a casual gesture, and the golden sand enveloping the roots of the withered tree flew back, swirling in her palm before being absorbed into her body.

"I've always said I'd compensate you, but I never got around to it. Today is the perfect opportunity," Han Li said, smiling.

The Ghost Witch was puzzled, unsure who Han Li was speaking to.

Then, a flash of silver light appeared on Han Li's shoulder, and a silver-flamed little figure jumped out. With a cheerful smile, it rubbed its hands together and leaped onto the black withered tree, clinging to it like an octopus.

"This is..."

The Ghost Witch sensed the aura of the Essence Flame Bird and immediately felt uneasy.

"Don't panic. This is Essence Flame Fire, an item of extreme Yang. The Yangwing Wood is perfect for it to replenish itself," Han Li said with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist, please ask that little child to be extremely careful, lest it injure my corpse..." After saying this, the white smoke around the Ghost Witch receded, shrinking back into the Soul-Locking Box, and it fell silent.

Han Li smiled upon seeing this and, after instructing the Essence Flame Bird, allowed it to transform into a raging silver flame, devouring the Yangwing Wood.

The devouring process wasn't too fast, taking a full half-hour. Han Li and the others took the opportunity to rest.

Finally, the Essence Flame Bird withdrew its silver flames, transforming back into its silver-flamed little figure. As if drunk, it swayed and leaped onto Han Li's shoulder. Without a word, it collapsed backward, merging into Han Li's body.

The withered tree on the white sandbar had disappeared, leaving only a black corpse and a black square box on the ground.

Han Li winked at Soul-Cry, who immediately waved her hand. The Soul-Scattering Sand reappeared, rushing to envelop the corpse and the Soul-Locking Box.

"Ghost Witch Daoist, to be safe, please forgive me for this," Han Li said with a smile.

"It is fortunate to be allied with a cautious fellow Daoist like you," the Ghost Witch's voice came from the Soul-Locking Box, its tone calm and without any resentment.

"Then I'll trouble you to lead the way," Han Li said unhurriedly, casually storing the corpse and the Soul-Locking Box.

"Easy, easy," the Ghost Witch replied.

...

Seven days later.

The sky was overcast, with dense clouds pressing down on the horizon. The air was filled with an unpleasant, decaying smell.

Han Li and his party of three were traveling through a black mountain range with rolling peaks and jagged rocks. Scattered bones could be seen everywhere along the way, and a green phosphorescence would rise with every gust of wind.

Reaching a towering cliff, the group walked along the cliff face, with a bottomless abyss on the other side. The abyss was filled with swirling mist and a pungent, fishy smell.

"Uncle, do you really believe that guy's nonsense? Soul-Cry said she didn't detect any soul power fluctuations. Why are we bothering to walk this mountain path? Why don't we just fly over that cliff?" Jin Tong complained through voice transmission.

"The Netherworld cannot be judged by ordinary reasoning. What Soul-Cry couldn't detect might still exist. Besides, the Ghost Witch has no reason to deceive us in this matter," Han Li replied through voice transmission.

"That's right. The Ghost Witch's directions have been accurate these past few days, allowing us to avoid almost all the Netherworld Ghost Cities and reducing many unnecessary troubles," Soul-Cry added.

As she spoke, she glanced at the road ahead. The winding path beneath their feet extended for over a thousand feet before being completely obscured by dense fog, making it impossible to see anything.

"Ghost Witch Daoist, you said that the Ghost Serpent dwelling on Soul-Loss Cliff clearly has the strength of a Grand Luo, enough to dominate a region. Why does it still linger here and refuse to leave?" Han Li asked.

"I don't know either. The Ghost Serpent's background is also very strange. It's said that it possessed the qualifications to transform into a dragon in life, but it was struck dead by seven consecutive Heavenly Tribulations to help its young offspring withstand the tribulation. After death, its resentment remained, and it continued to cultivate in the Netherworld. In the end, its cultivation was even stronger than it was in life. It has been lingering on this Soul-Loss Cliff, and anything that flies overhead will be relentlessly pursued. As for those who pass along the mountain path, as long as they don't provoke it, they won't be attacked," the Ghost Witch's voice came from a cloth bag hanging from Han Li's waist.

"The sky above Soul-Loss Cliff is covered with dark clouds all day long. Once someone enters it, stirring up the clouds, the scene is quite similar to the situation when heavenly lightning descends as punishment. Perhaps the Ghost Serpent attacks for that reason," Han Li said after a moment's thought.

Just as he finished speaking, a streak of light suddenly appeared in the clouds above, as if someone were passing through.

As the sea of clouds churned, although there was no sound of thunder, the situation was indeed somewhat similar to the appearance of heavenly lightning.

"Not good, don't get close to the edge of the cliff, stick to the mountain and move quickly..." the Ghost Witch's voice sounded again.

Hearing this, Han Li and the others' expressions changed slightly, and they quickly accelerated their pace, sticking to the mountain side and rushing forward.

"Boom boom boom..."

At this moment, a series of thunderous, muffled sounds came from the abyss below the cliff, and Han Li and the others felt the entire mountain shaking violently beneath their feet.

Then, the thick fog that had been lingering in the abyss beside the cliff suddenly churned madly. A huge figure shot up from it, heading straight for the dark clouds in the sky.

Han Li saw a black "high wall" rising from the abyss, crashing into the sea of clouds, and disrupting the aura of this world. On the high wall, he could vaguely see patches of diamond-shaped scales, each ten feet in size, frantically rubbing against the cliff face, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

By the time it had completely entered the sea of clouds, Han Li could see its full appearance. It was actually a black-scaled giant serpent, hundreds of thousands of feet long, with a single horn on its head and eyes like lighthouses, projecting two beams of green light.

"This guy's cultivation has grown again, it's already comparable to the late stage of the Grand Luo Realm," the Ghost Witch exclaimed.

"What, a ghost that can cultivate to such an extent?" Jin Tong said in disbelief.

"The Wildlands Domain still has heaven-defying True Spirits. How could there not be some incredible existences in the Netherworld? This guy has existed for longer than I have, I'm afraid. Let's go, let's get out of here before it attacks us," the Ghost Witch urged anxiously.

Han Li and the others had not stopped, and now they fled even faster.

Finally, after crossing the cliff and reaching the other side of the mountain, Han Li couldn't help but look back. He saw a black head, as large as a mountain peak, towering in the clouds, with a pair of green eyes staring at them.

However, for some reason, the Ghost Serpent did not attack them in the end, allowing them to leave Soul-Loss Cliff.

"Ghost Witch Daoist, tell me honestly, what is your relationship with this Ghost Serpent? Why didn't it attack us?" Han Li asked, still feeling uneasy.

"This... I really don't know. Although it's in my Yama Domain territory, I've always kept my distance from it and never had any contact," the Ghost Witch replied.

"Forget it, let's take a detour if there are any more existences like this in the future," Han Li said.

"Sigh, I said to take a detour before, but wasn't that to avoid the cities?" the Ghost Witch sighed.

...

Another month passed in a flash.

In the western borderlands of the Yama Domain, there were no more mountains. Instead, there was a ghostly swamp covering tens of millions of miles. As far as the eye could see, it was all shallow shoals and marshes, filled with miasma and exuding a rotting aura.

On the eastern edge of the swamp, there was a jagged and winding coastline, with a sudden peninsula extending thousands of feet into the swamp, covering an area of only ten thousand feet.

At this moment, at the end of the peninsula, a tall young man was looking up at the sky.

The man was Han Li.

Above the swamp, at a height of only a thousand feet, there was a thick layer of colorful clouds, which was quite beautiful to look at.

"Uncle, what are you looking at? Are you still thinking about that Bride Ghost?" At this time, Jin Tong, who was standing not far behind him, winked and teased him.

"Jin Tong..." Han Li frowned and scolded.

"What's wrong, Uncle? It's not that I'm saying you're not handsome, but that Bride Ghost, although she's a ghost, her appearance is no less beautiful than any fairy maiden. It's rare for someone to think you look like a decent scholar and fall in love with you at first sight. And you, you're so ungrateful, you even cut her down with a sword. You're too heartless. Soul-Cry, you think so too, right?" Jin Tong said, completely unafraid, with his hands behind his back, acting like an old man.

Soul-Cry stood aside, not saying a word, but covering her mouth and giggling.

In fact, although the Bride Ghost was a ghost, she was extremely difficult to deal with. Her illusion techniques were superb. Even with Han Li's Spirit Eyes Divine Ability, plus Soul-Cry's soul perception, they were still trapped for three whole days.

In the end, Han Li relied on the Ghost Witch's guidance to find the bridal sedan used by the female ghost to set up the formation before forcing her to reveal her true form and killing her with a sword. Throughout the whole process, probably only Jin Tong found it interesting.

Events like this had happened more than once in the past month, causing Han Li to be quite emotional. There were simply too many strange things in the Netherworld.