Zhao Yuanchen's appearance was a catalyst for developments in the situation.

It had already begun to move, imperceptibly.

"Zhao Yuanchen, that idiot!"

Bewildered, the Fire Immortal Lord swore. From a distance away, they had watched Zhao Yuanchen charge towards the Chakravarti-raja Star. They could not have stopped him if they tried.

When they spotted Zhao Yuanchen, he was already in a location that the Bewildered Fire Immortal Lord and the others did not dare to show their faces at.

And then they saw Zhao Yuanchen get captured.

The White Night Immortal Lord groused, "That punk. He wouldn't reveal the matter of the 10th Grade Mark of an Immortal King, would he!"

The Ruling Fate Immortal Lord said, "If he does, he will be a sinner in the eyes of the sky palaces!"

They were maneuvering around outside delicately, refraining from shooting the rat for fear of breaking the vases. And then Zhao Yuanchen had popped out of nowhere.

The Gu Huo Immortal Lord had fallen silent after suffering losses. His faction was the most incomplete now, and so he was in no hurry. He would wait and see.

"What are you thinking?" Mo Yuji lifted a carefully sculpted eyebrow at him.

"What I think doesn't matter. What's important is what the Jade Emperor thinks."

Mo Yuji nodded. "He could very well foresee that news would leak within hell, and that the ghostly immortals would know about it. If that's the case, what could we possibly do? We can only hide in a corner of this Hell, and wait for 20 years to pass."

"So we watch quietly." He did not know where the Mark would end up, but after this setback, he had changed.

"Also, no word of the Chifeng Immortal Lord?" Mo Yuji asked.

The Gu Huo Immortal Lord shook his head. Thinking of the Chifeng Immortal Lord got his blood boiling again. It was the Howling Celestial Dog that the True Lord Erlang had given him personally.

"Does the True Lord Erlang know of this?"

"Whoever dares to kill Little Ao will not be let off by True Lord Erlang's own Howling Celestial Dog. No matter which corner of the 8,000 Sky Palaces he runs to." The Gu Huo Immortal Lord smiled in pleasure, anticipating the revenge to come.

At this moment, the Astral Guardian Field was activated.

They all looked at each other.

"No doubt, Zhao Yuanchen has leaked the news. The Chakravarti Ghostly King wants to take the Chakravarti-raja Star for himself so he can search for the 10th Grade Mark of an Immortal King alone. This means he stands a very good chance. As for us, we can't possibly break the Astral Guardian Field. Even if we could, we could not possibly deal with so many ghostly kings," Mo Yuji noted with a frigid tone.

Although this was a difficult outcome to accept, they had seen it coming. They had considered what to do in such a situation.

"What are we to do?" The White Night Immortal Lord frowned.

Wordless silence. There was nothing they could do but watch as the Chakravarti Ghostly King went to get the 10th Grade Mark of an Immortal King.

"How much harder is this test compared to one for a 9th Grade Mark of an Immortal King?"

They felt like they were not fated to get the 10th Grade Mark of an Immortal King.

"The only way is to create more chaos," the Gu Huo Immortal Lord suddenly said.

"You mean......"

"We just have to tell other ghostly immortals about the 10th Grade Mark of an Immortal King. Let the Astral Hell become a lively place, so that it will be impossible for the Chakravarti Ghostly King to take it alone." The Gu Huo Immortal Lord's face was hard.

"That's... insane..." The other three were shocked.

"Let's wait and see. Maybe something else will happen," Mo Yuji offered.

The Gu Huo Immortal Lord said, "You mean back at the Great Void Immortal Path?"

Mo Yuji nodded.

They calmed down for the moment. This few people coming to the Astral Hell and thinking of getting the 10th Grade Mark of an Immortal King seemed foolish at best.

............

Wu Yu had already returned to the inner section of the star with the Chakravarti Ghostly King and the others.

"Hell Master, have you thought of a way to break the epochal immortal design?" someone asked.

The Chakravarti Ghostly King's eyes gleamed. "A little experiment."

He had always been a rather laid back person, and it was hard to tell when he was truly excited. He indeed was a little worked up over news of the 10th Grade Mark of an Immortal King.

And now he had calmed down again.

Wu Yu knew what his little experiment would entail.

Because the Chakravarti Ghostly King had brought Zhao Yuanchen this time. As they went deeper, they again arrived before the Prismatic Thunderball. They were again surrounded by the multicolored lightning serpents. Even waiting outside, one would feel the sting on the skin. Wu Yu was still relatively fine, and the Amethyst-Eyed Ghostly Lord used her autonomous realm power to protect herself.

As the Chakravarti Ghostly King led Zhao Yuanchen closer to the Prismatic Thunderball, Wu Yu and the Amethyst-Eyed Ghostly Lord still remained outside. The Amethyst-Eyed Ghostly Lord shot a look at Wu Yu. "Still dreaming? You think the 10th Grade Mark of an Immortal King is yours?"

If the Chakravarti Ghostly King got it, it would indeed belong to one of them.

Wu Yu sneered back at her. "If I kill you now, it would indeed be mine. With you dead, Father would only have this son left. Even if he was angry, he would still give it to me. A father's love is like a mountain. Isn't that right?"

The Amethyst-Eyed Ghostly Lord turned green and huffed, ignoring Wu Yu. She had long since lost respect for her brother. If there was to be a contest, she was not at all worried. She was very clear about who her father preferred, who was the more talented, and who had the brighter future.

After a pause, she suddenly said, "Trash like you, even if you get the 10th Grade Mark of an Immortal King, you definitely won't become an eternal devil emperor. It would be wasted on you."

But this time, Wu Yu ignored her. He was watching the Chakravarti Ghostly King bring Zhao Yuanchen in for the little experiment.

He moved Zhao Yuanchen close to the Prismatic Thunderball. If the Jade Emperor had indeed designed this to be a contest for immortal lords, then perhaps the presence of an immortal lord would trigger some change for them to enter?

This was a plausible line of reasoning.

They watched as the Chakravarti Ghostly King propped the unconscious Zhao Yuanchen against himself as he moved towards the lightning, inching towards the epochal immortal design.

One zhang, 10 zhang......

Previously, the Chakravarti Ghostly King had moved very far on his own. But he had not been able to pass through the Prismatic Thunderball. He had gotten cold feet when he neared.

Everyone watched tensely as the two continued to advance.

"Am I seeing this wrong? Seems like the lightning is opening up a path! Does it seem like the attacks have lessened?" an elderly ghostly king exclaimed.

"You're right! I feel it too!" many other ghostly kings shouted.

Wu Yu saw it as well!

As Zhao Yuanchen got close, only a fifth of the lightning serpents that had attacked them came to meet them.

If not for the Chakravarti Ghostly King by his side, it would probably be even less.

Of course, even a fifth of the serpents was a lot. At this time, the Chakravarti Ghostly King might be able to withstand it, but he could not shield anyone else. Besides, Zhao Yuanchen could not stand too strong an attack.

In such an environment, it would be difficult to enter the epochal immortal design and protect oneself, let alone bring in another.

"Is there really a difference?" Wu Yu still thought that the Jade Emperor had designed a cruel test which did not differentiate between immortal lord and ghostly immortal. Now it seemed that it favored immortals! This meant that Wu Yu himself might be able to enter!

He would probably face very few lightning serpents. The Chakravarti Ghostly King had already advanced the furthest that he had gone yet. A fifth of the lightning serpents did not trouble him.

But protecting Zhao Yuanchen was the difficult part. If he was not protected properly, Zhao Yuanchen might be consumed by the lightning.

He definitely could not let Zhao Yuanchen die here.

The next step was even more perilous. From where Wu Yu and the others stood, the Chakravarti Ghostly King looked like he had been completely consumed by the Prismatic Thunderball.

"Daddy, can I go this time?"

The Amethyst-Eyed Ghostly Lord was very excited, her hands balled into fists. The sweltering subterranean heat caused her to sweat profusely, and her sweaty and flushed curves were even more compelling than before.

Wu Yu's Eyes of Fire and Gold looked within, and he saw that they were just a bit short, and he was struggling to protect Zhao Yuanchen.

Just as he thought this, the Chakravarti Ghostly King charged out from within with Zhao Yuanchen in tow. Although he had failed, the Chakravarti Ghostly King was very excited.

"Close?" they asked.

The Chakravarti Ghostly King replied, "Hard to say. It's vast in there. To think that immortals actually get the advantage, to be able to weaken it like this. It must be the Jade Emperor himself who designed this. After all, it would be completely impossible for immortal lords to get a treasure from within an epochal immortal design."

This was remarkable progress.

"Besides, this person is still unconscious."

"But is there no way to go in?" the Amethyst-Eyed Ghostly Lord was anxious.

The Chakravarti Ghostly King looked at Zhao Yuanchen, and said indifferently, "He needs to be brought in and protected. It's indeed tricky. I managed to get deeper, but it's hard to deal with."

"What then?"

"Don't worry. I have another solution," the Chakravarti Ghostly King said confidently. Clearly, this was a better idea than the last.

The ghostly kings were curious. What else did he have?

Suddenly, an elderly ghostly king asked anxiously, "Hell Master, is it the Soul Jockey Technique? He's the son of Zhao Gongming......"

These words caused a stir of alarm.

The Chakravarti Ghostly King said calmly, "To do great things, one must take great risks. Time is dwindling, and our chances with it. No matter whose son he is, I can only use the Soul Jockey Technique. Even if there are some lingering bad effects, if I can get the 10th Grade Mark of an Immortal King, I can bear all future consequences. Besides, this is Hell. What can an immortal emperor do?"

Wu Yu thought for a long time and finally recalled what the Soul Jockey Technique was.