"It's Simon Sun—he's here!" a ghost general screamed hoarsely, and the entire army instantly erupted in chaos.
Monkey leapt down from the roof of the Hall of Life and Death, landing steadily on the ground.
The Ten Judges of the Underworld stared in panic, retreating in alarm, while the ghost soldiers surged forward, instantly pushing them to the rear.
"Form ranks! He's alone—there's nothing to fear!"
Dense as ants, the ghost army quickly assembled a shield formation under the ghost generals' command. From the holes in those shields, countless spears protruded in perfect unison. The shields, each cast with a ferocious ghost face, looked like spiked boards slowly pressing toward him.
Monkey flexed his muscles slightly, gripping the Golden Staff with one hand. With a single sweep, the staff instantly stretched to over ten zhang long, sending the entire front row of ghost soldiers, shields and all, flying into the sky. They crashed down in the distance, provoking a chorus of shrill screams.
Amid the screams, the second row of ghost soldiers panicked and retreated.
"Hold steady! Don't engage him in close combat!" the ghost generals shouted desperately.
Monkey tilted his head and watched them quietly.
The front ranks quickly opened a passage, and a large group of ghost soldiers wielding hooked iron chains rushed forward, shouting as they hurled them at Monkey.
Monkey clenched his fist slightly, and a whirlwind quietly formed around him. The flying iron hooks bounced away before they could even touch him.
The ghost generals seemed taken aback.
"He's alive—we need to use methods for the living! Use ghost-fire!"
A group of ghost soldiers carrying blue torches quickly rushed out from the ranks. They lit their arrows with ghost-fire, then volleyed them at Monkey in perfect unison.
The rain of arrows lit the sky blue.
Standing before the doors of the Hall of Life and Death, Monkey slowly looked up at the arrow rain. The next moment, he gripped the Golden Staff and charged forward. Amid screams, countless ghost soldiers were tossed into the sky like grains of millet.
The ghost army instantly collapsed.
The Netherworld's army was adept at dealing with ghosts—far slicker than Heaven's troops—and could barely handle small numbers of demons. But when it came to someone like Monkey, an ultimate Traveler's Path cultivator...
The battle had only just begun, and they were already in disarray.
With the situation utterly one-sided, even the ghost generals—the backbone of the force—joined the fleeing ranks.