Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!-Chapter 1742: She’s Too Strong!

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Maria merely smiled at the threat. She surged forward, Partner at her side—fresh from draining the divine blood of Diomedes’ strongest warriors, their lifeless corpses left behind.

"{Dharma Treasure: Buddha’s Palm of Harmony}!"

RUMBLE!

Massive shockwaves of golden radiance erupted from the statue’s mechanical palms, slamming into Maria and Partner. The light burned their souls and bodies alike.

"Yes! Feel it! The might of the Heavenly Palace’s Dharma Treasure!"

"You are nothing before us!"

"Die! Die, you wicked, sinful monster!"

"Dieeeee!"

The Immortals and Nascent Soul experts poured every ounce of Spiritual Energy and Heavenly Ki into the Core. The palm attack grew relentlessly stronger, shaking the entire world with its shockwaves.

TRUUUM!

Finally, the blinding light engulfed them both. Maria and Partner exploded into bloody pulp and radiant fragments. The surrounding cultivators stared in stunned triumph.

They had won!

The war was over. Maria was dead.

Now the Murim Alliance could sweep through and claim victory.

"We did it! She’s dead!"

"That was easier than expected!"

"That madwoman only won before by exploiting the prince’s overconfidence and sneaking behind him!"

"Now we must report his death and—"

BOOOM!

Phantasmal flames suddenly engulfed every Cultivator inside the giant Buddha Statue. Their souls writhed in agony as Dream Ki seeped through a massive hole torn in the Dharma Treasure’s rear.

From that breach, Maria and Partner stepped inside—completely unscathed. Dozens of Dream Soul Spheres orbited them, rapidly transforming into spectral Dream Ghosts: ghostly duplicates of themselves.

The Heavenly Palace cultivators finally understood the cruel truth.

"It was... an illusion?!"

"No...!"

"Don’t let her destroy the Dharma Treasure!"

"Uphold the strength and pride of the Heavenly Palace!!!"

The Cultivators screamed and charged. They raised their hands, unleashing a barrage of Immortal Martial Arts and Techniques.

Beams of brilliant light, blades of golden flame, and summoned golden puppets rushed toward Maria and Partner.

Yet both women remained utterly calm as they advanced. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Destroy it? That hole was an accident, but I promise it won’t happen again," Maria said with a gentle smile. "If anything, I’m keeping this lovely toy for myself."

"Come on, blood bags—line up!" Partner laughed wickedly. "Heheh! The stronger you are, the thirstier you make me!"

{Spectral Ghostly Fist Art: Eighth Form – Ghostly Lightning Dragonfly Step}!

RUMBLE!

In an instant, they vanished. The buzzing of two dragonflies echoed through the Golden Buddha Statue’s interior.

FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!

They flickered in and out of sight, constantly swapping positions. The Cultivators could not predict their movements.

The Dream Ghosts mirrored them perfectly, unleashing consecutive techniques.

{Spectral Ghostly Fist Art: First Form – Phantasmal Fist}!

{Spectral Ghostly Fist Art: Second Form – Sword Soul Heart}!

{Spectral Ghostly Fist Art: Third Form – Soul-Chasing Ghostly Viper}!

Hundreds of phantasmal fists enveloped the Cultivators in ghostly flames, searing their souls.

Sword Soul Hearts severed limbs, slicing legs to prevent escape and carving souls into fragments.

The remaining Immortals faced dozens of sharp viper fangs sinking into their bodies, paralyzing them completely.

"T-This is impossible!"

"What kind of Martial Arts...!"

"Aaaaggh!"

The three surviving Immortals screamed, combining their power for a desperate explosion of light from their Immortal Souls, hoping to obliterate Maria and Partner.

However.

TRUUUM!

...

Nothing happened. The light condensed, compacted under Maria’s Void Aura, utterly suppressed.

"Did you really think that would work?"

SLAAASH!

Without mercy, her Sword Soul Heart swung downward like a guillotine. In a split second, it beheaded the three Immortals. Blood fountained upward.

Partner drank eagerly. Maria smiled and gently petted her head—she had been spoiling her beloved quite a lot lately.

Partner always looked so lovely when savoring her blood.

Once satisfied, Partner felt immense power coursing through her veins. Her stats skyrocketed, and Ki flooded her body.

"I think I can ascend to Immortal now!" she said happily.

"Good. We’ll handle that later," Maria nodded before snapping her fingers. "Arise."

FLUOSH!

The ghostly souls of the fallen Cultivators returned to their deceased bodies; rebuilt through the powerful Necromancy Maria had mastered since her reincarnation as a ghost.

In seconds, they stood—dazed but fully restored.

The Heavenly Prince entered the Dharma Treasure, staring in horror at his entire team now turned into zombies.

"T-This cannot be..." he muttered, shaken beyond belief. "Everyone... lost?!"

"Yep," Maria replied with a gentle yet chilling smile. Her Aura felt like an endless abyss to his soul, filled with hundreds of crimson eyes staring back. "Now you can take care of this wonderful new toy I acquired. Let’s use it to crush that War Hero—or whatever he calls himself."

Maria and Partner stepped out of the Buddha, glancing toward Lucifer and Diomedes battling across mountains and skies.

The war raged on the other side, but Maria’s army clearly dominated. The enemy was relentlessly pushed back.

For them, hope had vanished completely.

It was utterly unbelievable to the Sunshine Empress.

"We had so many sects... The Heavenly Palace even sent a Dharma Treasure... And still...! We couldn’t... we couldn’t stop them..."

Despair filled her eyes. Her Meridians and Dantian were gravely wounded, nearly crippled from the backlash. She could barely speak, lying weakly on the grass.

Alma and Emeraldine watched over her, her daughters, and the elders. The Empress was stunned they hadn’t been executed.

"D-Diomedes...!" the Sunlight Blade Damsel cried, gazing at her husband fighting Lucifer.

And he was losing.

"Nngh...! How tough are you?!"

Diomedes had finally met his equal—if not his superior. Lucifer matched his resilience, regenerated rapidly, and possessed partial invulnerability to most curses and status effects.

"Tough enough, apparently!"

The Dragon King’s blazing claws raked across Diomedes’ body, drawing blood. He followed with brutal kicks to the face before seizing the War Hero’s neck with his long tail, slamming him into several mountains in rapid succession.

"HAAAAAH!"

Diomedes roared, gripping his Golden Sword tightly. He swung with all his might, aiming to sever the tail.

SLAAASH!

CRASH!

The sword cracked against the white scales but failed to cut through cleanly. Scales fractured yet held.

The impact—infused with massive Crimson Sword Ki—unleashed a devastating shockwave, forcing Lucifer back.

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