As the gazes of the three focused, the Skeletal General, who had been sitting motionless as if dead for countless years, suddenly moved.

He slowly raised his head, and indeed, there was no flesh on his face, only stark white bones. His eye sockets were dark and profound, like two black holes capable of devouring all light.

What caught Lu Ye's attention was that in the left eye socket of this Skeletal General, there was a dirk inserted all the way to the hilt!

Lu Ye finally understood why the specter preferred to ask for help to kill this big guy; this broke bastard obviously had his eyes on that dirk!

If it were just an ordinary treasure, it would be another matter, but this dirk at first glance was clearly suitable for a Ghost Cultivator, and its quality was undoubtedly high!

When the time comes to take this dirk, whether to use it personally or sell it, both are good choices. Lu Ye figured the specter would most likely sell it, because she seemed to have no habit of using spirit treasures. In the Melee Battle Meet, when she killed, it was always with one move, the Black Tiger Grabbing Heart. Who knows how she trained those claws, ordinary Constellations couldn't withstand her sneak attacks at all.

Lu Ye felt slightly puzzled; since the Skeletal General still had the ability to move, why hadn't he removed the dirk from his eye socket but kept it there?

There must be some unknown secret in this.

As the Skeletal General raised his head, a ball of spectral fire suddenly ignited in his right eye socket. Unlike the spectral fire in the eyes of the skeletons outside, the fire in the Skeletal General's eye socket shone with a golden brilliance, like a small sun burning within.

Creak, creak...

He slowly stood up from his throne, his mouth opened and closed, and a deep, resonant voice echoed in the hall: "I have slept for ten thousand years, yet there are still people disturbing the rest of the dead. You will pay the price for this!"

The hall was spacious, the voice echoing. The Skeletal General stepped down from the high platform of his throne step by step. His steps were extraordinarily heavy; with each step he took, the hall trembled. Accompanied by his deep voice, even Lu Ye and his companions found their ears buzzing and their blood Qi churning.

All three wore solemn expressions.

Lu Ye also finally understood why the specter had previously said that this thing somewhat restrained her. It wasn't just somewhat; it was practically a perfect counter.

The specter favored the Black Tiger Grabbing Heart, but this Skeletal General had no heart for her to grab, and her Ghost Cultivator techniques probably wouldn't work wonders against such an existence either.

Despite sensing the enemy's strength, possibly the strongest they had encountered besides Qin Yuandai, there was no possibility of retreat at this point.

Lu Ye slowly drew the Crimson Dragon Saber and said in a low voice: "Go!"

With those words, he led the three-person formation in a forward assault. As they moved, several saber lights had already slashed out, with some targeting different parts of the Skeletal General's body, and only one aiming at his right eye socket.

They certainly didn't expect these saber strikes to succeed, but probing attacks at the start of engagement were necessary.

Facing the oncoming saber lights, the Skeletal General showed no intention of dodging. He simply raised his hand to block before his right eye, effortlessly deflecting the incoming saber lights.

As for the other saber strikes, they all landed on the armor covering the Skeletal General, producing a harsh sound and sparks upon impact but causing no damage whatsoever.

This thing... is so tough!

Though the saber lights were casually struck by Lu Ye, with his current strength, such saber lights would be difficult for even a typical Constellation Late Stage to handle directly, yet the Skeletal General seemed indifferent.

The armor he wore, which appeared old and tattered, provided far more protection than expected.

Fortunately, his action in protecting his right eye indicated to Lu Ye that the spectral fire in the eye socket was still his weakness. As with previously defeating those skeletons, as long as this spectral fire could be extinguished, he should be able to defeat the Skeletal General!

A hundred paces passed in the blink of an eye. Lu Ye didn't attempt to stab directly at the Skeletal General's right eye, as a simple attack like that wouldn't work. It would require creating a flaw in combat to succeed.

A gleam of brilliance flashed across the Crimson Dragon Saber, empowered by the Hefty Weight Spirit Runes, fiercely chopping down!

He didn't activate the Divine Sharp Edge because Lu Ye felt it would be ineffective. Although the Hefty Weight Spirit Runes wasn't fully developed, the assistance it provided was still not to be underestimated. Furthermore, Lu Ye had formed the Three Talents Array with Piao Ke and the specter, which was different from forming an array with Little Dumb and Little Crooked. Both Piao Ke and the specter were much stronger individually than Little Dumb and Little Crooked, and even though they were fewer in number, the support they provided Lu Ye was greater. This strike was arguably the strongest Lu Ye had ever unleashed!

As Lu Ye's slash descended, the Skeletal General also responded, holding a giant sword in his hand—heavy and wide, clearly meant for charging into massive battles.

Ordinarily, such a giant sword wouldn't maneuver easily. The Skeletal General indeed seemed somewhat cumbersome, leading Lu Ye to believe that this strike would be wholly indefensible.

But at the instant the long knife chopped down, Lu Ye was astounded to find that the giant sword in the Skeletal General's hand actually blocked the edge of the Crimson Dragon Saber!

The giant sword in the Skeletal General's hand exhibited an extraordinary finesse, an amazing sense of effortless grace.

In the split second of spirit force collision, Lu Ye's eyes suddenly narrowed because he sensed his own spirit force being instantly overwhelmed and shattered in the confrontation, followed by an immense force transmitted back through the Crimson Dragon Saber.

Lu Ye drifted backward, intending to dissipate the force coming at him from the front.

Simultaneously, however, the Skeletal General swung the giant sword at him with thunderbolt speed.

For the first time in his life, Lu Ye felt a chilling sensation of impending doom. Hastily, he constructed a Sacred Guard in front of him, but it was quickly shattered as soon as it appeared. Layer upon layer of Sacred Guard was destroyed, and although the power of the giant sword was somewhat diminished, it still slashed towards his chest.

Fortunately, in this moment of crisis, a Dao Fish line suddenly coiled around the Skeletal General's sword-wielding hand. It was Piao Ke who acted in the nick of time. The fish line snapped taut and pulled to the side, stalling for a brief instant, before snapping. However, this also dissipated part of the Skeletal General's force.

The specter had been clutching a purple talisman all along. Seeing the situation, she wasted no time in activating the talisman's power. Instantly, a protective light screen enveloped the trio. This was evidently a defensive purple talisman, perhaps a spoil she had acquired from the Melee Battle Meet.

With a thunderous bang, the giant sword struck the talisman's light screen. As the purple talisman shattered, the three figures were sent flying like kites, high into the air. Lu Ye felt his blood Qi surging tumultuously in his chest and nearly spat it out.

Luckily, the Skeletal General seemed somewhat confused and chaotic in thought, and did not seize the opportunity to pursue, instead lowering his head to look at his great sword, momentarily lost in thought.

Landing awkwardly, Lu Ye shot a vicious glare at the specter. "He's Moon Jade!"

With the current purity and intensity of his spirit force, it should have been impossible for anyone at the Constellation Realm level to so easily shatter his spirit force in such a collision.

Only a Moon Jade could do that!

He never expected a monster like Moon Jade to appear in this Constellation Palace scenario. It was precisely this oversight that cost them dearly.

Of course, the main issue was the aura of the Skeletal General, which clearly seemed only at the Constellation Late Stage, leading to a misjudgment.

If Piao Ke hadn't reacted swiftly, being struck by such a giant sword would have at least resulted in severe injury, if not death.

"I didn't know! Last time, I was forced to retreat before fighting him. I really didn't know he was Moon Jade!" The specter looked utterly innocent, her expression seemingly genuine.

It made sense, too. If she had truly known the Skeletal General was a Moon Jade, she wouldn't have returned here, let alone been able to evade him in time.

"Retreat!" Lu Ye decided instantly. If the enemy were at the Constellation Realm level, no matter how strong, the three of them working together would have a substantial chance of killing him. But if it was Moon Jade, they couldn't take the risk.

Lu Ye had agreed to accompany the specter on this journey mainly for the Spectral Runes. Now that he had seen the Spectral Runes and couldn't kill the Skeletal General due to the specter's faulty intelligence, it couldn't be blamed on anyone else.

The specter nodded vigorously like a pecking chick, indicating no objections.

The three of them quickly shouted their surrender.

A moment passed, Lu Ye's expression was grave, Piao Ke's brows knitted, and the specter looked utterly bewildered.

Because the three who should have left were still there, and there was no response after shouting their surrender.

This was obviously unusual.

It seemed that after the thick, heavy doors had closed, this place was completely isolated from the Constellation Palace, even the rules of the palace no longer applied.

"How did you leave last time?" Lu Ye looked at the specter.

The specter replied, "Last time, the grand hall's doors weren't closed, so I ran out!"

This time... it was clearly different from when the specter was acting alone.

The Skeletal General no longer contemplated his great sword, but rather dragged it along as he walked slowly. Despite his leisurely pace, the oppressive aura he exuded was overwhelming for the three of them.

"Looks like it's either him or us!" Piao Ke said while stuffing an elixir pill into his mouth and chewing it.

Lu Ye also knew there was no room for maneuver now, and it was indeed a fight to the death. Blaming the specter? Sure, but it wouldn't help the current situation.

Right now, the task was to resolve this issue with the Skeletal General!

He still had a red talisman in hand. Using the red talisman should solve the problem, but it was his only life-saving asset at the moment, one he was reluctant to use unless absolutely necessary.

"There's good news." Lu Ye fixed his gaze on the Skeletal General and spoke.

"What good news?" the specter perked up hopefully.

"He falls short of a true Moon Jade. His power indeed is at the Moon Jade Realm, distinctly different from the Constellation, but the strength he can exert is limited. I suspect it might have something to do with the dirk in his left eye socket!"

This deduction wasn't due to any meticulous observation from Lu Ye, but rather a direct feeling from his earlier confrontation with the Skeletal General.

In such an unexpected situation, if the opponent could bring forth the power of a true Moon Jade, even with the successive aid of Piao Ke and the specter, they might still have perished.