After crossing over, he has no taboos among the zombies.

Chapter 1373

The stench of blood from the Ghost Ship Sea had not yet dissipated when, thousands of miles away, a white jade palace hung high in the sky.

The entire palace is carved from warm jade, and the golden bells hanging from the eaves ring out without being moved, their sound carrying for miles.

Even more terrifying was the strange phenomenon outside the palace: the clouds, stretching for millions of miles, were dyed gilded, and the cloud wisps transformed into countless rotating ancient seal characters for "punishment," each wrapped in tiny sparks of lightning. Looking up, it seemed as if the entire sky was whispering the proverbs of judgment.

In the center of the white jade palace, there was no throne, only a ball of light floating in the air.

The light was not intense, yet it could penetrate all vision, seemingly close at hand, yet also as far away as the heavens. A faint silver glow flowed along the edge of the light, transforming into a winding sacred river upon landing. Stars faintly floated and sank in the river's waters, and with each turn, the souls of everyone in the hall involuntarily bowed their heads.

This is a wisp of the Divine Court's chief deity.

It had no concrete form, no deliberate pressure, but the "divinity" that originated from the depths of the soul made the hundreds of powerful figures in the hall not dare to breathe even slightly.

On either side of the ball of light, six figures stood side by side.

The figure on the left is surrounded by a crimson lotus in flames. The petals fall but do not extinguish, transforming into scorching holy runes upon landing. This is the crimson lotus of divine punishment.

Beside him was a person bound by chains of black ice; wherever the chains passed, the air condensed into frost. This was Xuan Cang, the divine envoy of punishment.

All six wore robes of divine punishment trimmed with purple and gold, with different divine beast patterns embroidered on the hems of the robes—a unicorn, a phoenix, a tortoise, a dragon, a xiezhi, and a white tiger. Each illusory image of a divine beast floated on the hem of the robe, exuding the holy might of the late stage of the Other Shore Realm.

Behind the six, eighteen deputy envoys of divine punishment stood in two rows. The silver lines on their black robes were slightly faint, and their bodies were either filled with sword energy soaring into the sky or with flowing talismans, all of them exuding the aura of the mid-stage of the Other Shore Realm.

Further on, over two hundred executioners stood solemnly, their black robes tinged with a faint golden light, the lowest among them possessing cultivation at the late stage of the Divine Bridge Realm.

Li Linfeng stood at the back of the line of criminal investigators. The edges of his black brocade robe were still stained with sand from the wasteland, and the silver scale pattern on his shoulder armor had dimmed a bit—a mark of his criminal status.

He lowered his eyes, the calluses on his palms turning white from the force he exerted.

"Ten days."

The central light cluster suddenly spoke, its voice flat yet like thunder rolling across the palace, and the ancient seal script character for "punishment" in the gilded clouds instantly shone brighter.

"The Heavenly Demon destroyed the Dragon Clan's sacrificial array and destroyed the Ghost Ship's clone. You arrived the next day, only to have it escape again."

As soon as he finished speaking, the temperature inside the hall plummeted.

All six Divine Punishers lowered their heads, the flames around Crimson Lotus subsided slightly, and Xuan Cang's ice chains emitted a soft, clattering sound.

"Does the Heavenly Mirror have any new information?" the ball of light asked again, and the stars in the Holy River began to rotate a few degrees faster.

A deputy envoy of divine punishment stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Reporting to the Lord God, the mirror's range has expanded to a thousand miles, but only three strands of demonic energy have been detected. One strand dissipated in the ancient forest, one strand vanished in the Thunderstone Beach, and the last strand split in the Cloud Dragon Mountain Range, one heading west and the other heading north, both being the aura of clones."

"A clone..." The halo of the light ball flickered. "This demon is named Qin He. He rose from the Abyss Cage Domain, where he privately gathered merit and slaughtered the Earth God of the lower realm. However, his true origin is currently unclear. It cannot be ruled out that he came from some abandoned unknown space."

The pupils of everyone in the hall contracted sharply, and even Li Linfeng looked up abruptly.

They only knew that he was a cross-dimensional demon, but they did not know his true origin.

"A cultivator from the lower realm, who withstood the Heavenly Punishment a hundred years ago," the ball of light's voice remained calm, yet carried a chilling aura, "and committed a heinous crime—killing the Earth God's avatar. After the lower realm passage was sealed, his whereabouts were lost. His sudden appearance now must be with some extraordinary treasure."

"If this demon is left unchecked, it may shake the very foundation of this realm!" The Crimson Flame Divine Punishment Envoy suddenly spoke, his lotus-like flames surging around him. "Your subordinate is willing to lead his troops to encircle and annihilate it, even if it means digging three feet into the ground, we will capture it!"

“What Chi Lian said is absolutely right.” Xuan Cang replied, the ice chains carving cracks in the ground. “One hundred thousand subordinates have been deployed in the east. The Searching Heaven Mirror can be activated in real time. As long as we lock onto their tracks, we will surely be able to catch them like turtles in a jar.”

The crowd echoed his sentiments, and the murderous aura within the hall almost materialized. Only Li Linfeng remained silent. He recalled Qin He's seven-day and seven-night pursuit, and the clone's luring of the enemy at the mouth of the Three Rivers. The demon's cunning and forbearance were far beyond that of ordinary evil spirits.

"Li Linfeng".

Suddenly, the ball of light called out a name, and the stars in the Holy River all turned towards Li Linfeng. All eyes instantly focused on him, the flames of the Crimson Lotus and the icy chill of the Profound Azure Sea carrying a scrutinizing tone.

Li Linfeng's heart sank, and he stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your subordinate is here."

“You fought Qin He the longest,” the aura of the light ball lowered even further, “both the western and northern routes are clones. Tell me, where is his real body?”

The pressure was immense, and cold sweat instantly broke out on Li Linfeng's back.

When he looked up, he saw the stars swirling within the ball of light. They were devoid of emotion, yet seemed to see right through his thoughts. He took a deep breath, and Qin He's escape route flashed through his mind—the concealment of the ancient forest, the trap of Leishitan, and the decisive moment at the mouth of the Three Rivers.

“In my opinion,” Li Linfeng’s voice was slightly hoarse but unusually firm, “Qin He is well-versed in the art of avoiding the strong and attacking the weak. The western route has the passes of our Divine Court Prefecture, and the northern route is the old territory of Sin City. Both are key areas for our defense. If he really goes to these two places, it will be tantamount to walking into a trap.”

He paused, his fingers clenching tighter: "During the pursuit, I discovered that this demon prefers desolate places and is adept at using the terrain to conceal itself. The southern marshes and deserts are connected, and there are also ruins in the Nanling Mountains for cover, making it a historically weakly controlled area. I dare to deduce that its true form must have fled south!"

After a moment of silence in the hall, Chi Lian raised an eyebrow and looked at him, and Xuan Cang's ice chains stopped spinning.

The stars within the ball of light swirled for a while, then suddenly lit up: "Accurate."

The ripples of the sacred river spread out, and the ancient seal script character for "punishment" in the gilded clouds fell one after another, turning into beams of golden light that shot towards the people in the hall.

"Chi Lian will lead two Divine Punishment Envoys and 50,000 followers southward, with Li Linfeng as the vanguard, in charge of the Search for the Heavenly Treasure Mirror branch." The voice of the ball of light rang out again, carrying an unquestionable majesty, "If Qin He escapes again within ten days, you will all be sent to the Demon Suppression Tower to receive your punishment!"

"As ordered!"

Hundreds responded in unison, the sound waves causing the white jade palace to tremble slightly. Li Linfeng caught the golden token that fell from mid-air, and the moment his fingertips touched the token, he seemed to feel Qin He's provocative laugh as he left.

This time, he had no way out.