Under Wang Laogui's repeated threats, a string of strange and obscure shamanic words suddenly burst from my mouth. The sound of the witch incantation spread throughout the cave in an instant.

The nine ghost cauldrons vibrated in unison with the shamanic words, the sound of the golden cauldrons echoing across the wilderness.

All the water ghosts leapt out of the water, standing in the air and roaring in unison.

Waves of ghostly wails quickly converged into one voice—ancient shamanic script.

The dragon heads behind the ghost cauldrons also began to slowly turn their direction amid the ghostly wails, and the Dragon Palace gate officially opened.

Before I could see the situation inside the Dragon Palace, a roar like a dragon's cry howled out from the Dragon Palace gate.

In the next instant, violent winds rose around the Dragon Palace gate, and a hurricane-like airflow rushed into the Dragon Palace amid the howling wind.

I dug my feet firmly into the ground, but my body still moved involuntarily towards the gate.

Countless ghosts passed by me, but exploded into phosphorescent fire in front of the Dragon Palace gate.

At first, the ghastly green sparks only lingered for a moment before disappearing in the wind.

In the blink of an eye, several green flames formed by countless phosphorescent fires surged towards the Dragon Palace gate like streams flowing into the sea.

After a while, the Dragon Palace gate was completely blocked by green flames. Looking up, there was only a gate of hell raging with green fire in front of me.

While I was still struggling to control my body, Wang Laogui flew over from beside me. I merely raised my arm, and he grabbed my wrist: "You bastard, without you, how could I fail? You won't die a good death!"

"Get lost!" With a flip of my hand, firelight burst forth from my palm, and a thunderous sound exploded from between my fingers. Wang Laogui was blasted to pieces on the spot, and his remaining soul was swept into the Dragon Palace gate.

Although my "Palm-Heart-Thunder" (掌-心-雷) blasted away the ghost, I was also dragged out several meters by the airflow, almost falling into the gate.

Before I could steady myself, I heard Zhao Zhuang and the others shouting desperately, "Mr. Li, hold on! We'll come and save you right away."

When I glanced sideways, I saw Li Yulan's soul flying towards me. I reached out and grabbed the ghost, but Li Yulan suddenly revealed a sneer: "You've been fooled."

"You've been fooled too!" My feet suddenly left the ground, and propelled by the gale from the Dragon Gate, I soared up and rushed straight towards the Dragon Palace gate.

"Mr. Li!" Old Liu's cry was already tinged with weeping.

While I was in mid-air, I transmitted my voice with internal energy: "Take your wives and children and get out of here! Don't cause me any trouble."

As soon as I finished speaking, I protected Li Yulan's soul with both hands, and like a swallow returning to its nest, I plunged directly into the Dragon Gate.

Before my feet could even find purchase, a deafening sound of a thousand-pound stone gate falling echoed behind me, and the howling wind that had been deafening suddenly stopped.

The lampstands around the Dragon Palace lit up on their own without anyone touching them.

As the lights blazed, I could see the full appearance of the Dragon Palace.

The so-called Dragon Palace was just a vast, empty hall. I was standing directly in front of the throne in the center of the hall, with stone pillars hanging with iron shackles on either side of me.

I looked at Li Yulan, whom I was holding captive, with a wry smile: "This is the Dragon Palace you're looking for!"

Li Yulan's face also turned ashen: "This can't be the Dragon Palace... there must be mechanisms here. Let me go, I need to find the mechanisms. There must be treasures here, it must be an unoccupied Feng Shui treasure land."

The reason why I followed Li Yulan in was because I couldn't figure out if the one talking to me was really Li Yulan's Earth Soul (地魂).

After a person's three souls leave the body, the Celestial Soul (天魂) must return to the Celestial Path. No one dares to compete with the Heavenly Dao for the Celestial Soul, so the Celestial Soul will not be trapped. No matter where it is, it will return to its place.

The Earth Soul and the Human Soul, however, are easily imprisoned somewhere.

Li Yulan's Earth Soul had not returned to the Netherworld. After her death, her body had always been outside the Dragon Palace, without a grave or a stele, and no one had set up a spirit tablet to pay respects, so the Human Soul would naturally not linger between the graves.

I had never been able to figure out whether Li Yulan's Earth Soul had actually met me!

I gripped Li Yulan's wrist tightly: "Don't even think about leaving. This place has nothing to do with you now. It can only belong to me!"

"You scoundrel, you robber!" Li Yulan screamed: "I've guarded this place for so many years, and I've worked so hard to open the Dragon Palace. What right do you have to steal it?"

I sneered: "Because you're in my hands! If I were in your hands, you could steal my things too!"

"You..." Before Li Yulan could finish speaking, my right palm had already risen into the air, firelight flickering in my palm, and amid the rumble of thunder, it slowly pressed down towards the top of Li Yulan's head.

"Palm-Heart-Thunder" doesn't sound like any kind of magic, but it is a real Taoist secret technique. When practiced to the extreme, it can even subdue demons and vanquish evil spirits.

As Li Yulan watched the Palm-Heart-Thunder pressing down, she quickly shouted, "Are you trying to capture my Earth Soul and return it to the Netherworld? If your Palm-Heart-Thunder hits me, you'll be finished!"

I couldn't help but frown slightly: Li Yulan didn't say that she would be finished, but that I would be!

Could there be other secrets in the mission from the Netherworld?