Chapter Twenty-Two: A Heart Full of Malice

  It's another weekend,

  The Netherworld is said to be a realm, but in fact it is almost in the same space-time as the Tianyuan Continent. Deep beneath the ground, there are multiple layers of the underworld, stacked on top of each other. The deeper you go, the more terrifying the demonic creatures of the Netherworld become. Even some existences that rival the Transcendent Realm's Ancient Ancestors exist here, and who knows, maybe even some fearsome demons from the Immortal Realm.

  So Wang Qian and these inner door disciples, their own strength is only in the Xiantian realm, they can only wander around in the first layer of Mingtu. If they enter the second layer, many magic heads at the foundation-building level will appear, just like the magic ape earlier, suddenly a large group of them will emerge. If these people go down there, it's looking for death, and they might be eaten to the point where not even their bones are left behind.

  The first layer of the underworld was vast, but there were also many demons inside. Along the way, Wang Qian and his companions had a battle almost every half an hour.

  The demons here are also strange and varied, dazzling people's eyes.

  Not long after killing the magic ape, they encountered another wave of demons, a type of demon called the "Yin and Yang Blood Bat". This yin-yang creature was entirely blood-red in color, resembling a bat. Each pair of wings had a span of several meters, with sharp claws and a ferocious mouth. What's more frightening was that this creature fed on corpses, and both its claws and mouth contained deadly poison. This poison was so potent that even if ordinary people came into contact with it, they would bleed to death instantly. Even for cultivators like Zhou Qing who were in the Innate Realm, a single misstep could lead to being poisoned, and potentially fatal consequences.

  Of course, Wang Qian was not within this range. His physical body was too strong, and with just a slight effort, his skin became as hard as steel. Standing there, he wouldn't be affected by these creatures' attacks. However, these creatures were too disgusting, and he naturally wouldn't use himself as an experiment subject.

  Everyone was displaying their magical powers, killing and deciding, one by one the blood bats in their hands died.

  Demon monkeys, blood bats, double-headed demon snakes, three-eyed hell wolves, all sorts of bizarre and strange underworld creatures emerge one after another.

  As the battles continued, they had already traveled thousands of miles in the underworld. If it were on the Tianyuan continent, this distance would be nothing, and with the use of divine movement symbols, they could traverse it in the blink of an eye. Even if they each used their own powers to advance, they could still complete the journey quickly. However, in the underworld, the situation was completely different. Almost every few miles, there were several battles over a distance of tens of miles, and the danger was immense. If one wasn't careful, they would be devoured by demons.

  However, such frequent battles are not entirely without benefits. The seven of them fought their way through, and their understanding of their respective spells became even more profound. Their control over their true essence was extremely skilled, and even their cultivation began to advance.

  Wang Qian increasingly felt the power of the second turn of the Nine Turns Body Refining Technique. He continuously performed the Suffering Sea Seal, and as he practiced, he became more skilled, slowly developing a series of combat techniques, including fist methods, palm methods, leg methods, and various combat skills. After reversing his innate physical body, his flesh again made progress, and the divine power from the Suffering Sea continuously seeped into his muscles and bones, tempering and strengthening them, making his strength increasingly fierce.

  "Haha, this time I've tempered myself to the depths of the earth, it was truly worth it. I can feel my True Essence becoming even more refined, and I have gained a deeper understanding of the Innate Realm. This time when I return, with just one period of closed-door meditation, I guarantee that I will be able to break through to the Innate Great Circle's realm!"

  They are now fighting a group of giant scorpions from the underworld, which are countless times more ferocious than ordinary scorpions. Each one is as big as a zhang, with a pitch-black body that has an extremely hard shell and complex, dense magical patterns etched onto it. The sharp stingers keep thrusting out, like skilled assassins showcasing their swordsmanship - simple, direct, yet sinister and venomous.

  Wang Dao Chang laughed and his Taixu sword technique became even more ruthless, switching between illusion and reality to form a cyan shadow. A giant scorpion was beheaded at the waist in an instant, spewing out black venom. His blue robe fluttered with a whooshing sound, but not a single hair was harmed.

  Such a neat and efficient technique, if he had just entered the underground at that time, he would have absolutely not been able to do it, but now it is effortless, without any difficulty, it can be seen that his progress during this period of time.

  As he said, in this case, as long as he goes to the mountain gate, replenishes his consumption, and then closes his mind to break through to the Xiantian Dajuan realm, it will be a matter of course, without any difficulty.

  Others may not have made such great progress as him, but they all gained a lot and believed that after another round of practice, breaking through the current realm would not be difficult.

  "What Brother Wang said is right. If one only cultivates in the mountains, that's just like shutting oneself indoors to make a cart - where can you get such rapid progress through trials and hardships?"

  "Yes, strive for everyone to make a breakthrough this time when we go back."

  Others were also excited, as a cultivator, there was nothing more exciting than breaking through one's own cultivation. Each breakthrough not only represented an increase in combat power but also increased one's lifespan.

  The purpose of cultivating immortality is for eternal life and invincibility, this is an eternal pursuit. Other things like combat methods and divine skills are just some techniques to protect the way.

  Boom!

  Just as they were about to finish off the giant scorpions and continue on their way, a loud rumbling noise came from another direction, not very far away.

  "What's going on? Did some Underworld creature from the second layer come out during the foundation period?"

  "I don't know, but I really want to hear someone's voice faintly coming over!"

  Wang Gan's heart and spirit stirred, his two ears trembled slightly, and many voices were transmitted from afar. His physical body returned to its pre-heavenly state, with all five senses and six consciousness extremely sharp, so naturally his hearing was much more acute than others.

  "Huh? Big Brother Shifu, it seems like there's a battle sound coming from thirty miles away!"

  As soon as Wang Qian's voice fell, a dazzling blue cloud appeared in the distance, and everyone could see at a glance that this was a signal sent out by the disciples of Qingyunmen when they encountered danger. They also had one on their bodies, but it had never been used before.

  "It's our fellow disciple who is in danger, let's go!"

  Zhou Qing's face changed color, his eyes burning as he gazed into the distance. After a moment of contemplation, he immediately issued an order.

  Everyone followed his lead and responded accordingly.

  They hastily cleaned up the battlefield, picked up the most important materials from Youming Juzhu's body, and the seven of them rushed towards the direction where the signal came from.

  Fortunately, within this thirty-mile range, they did not encounter any other underworld creatures. It seemed that all of them had gone to that battlefield.

  After a moment, they approached the battlefield. Wang Qian raised his eyes and saw that more than ten Qingyunmen disciples had formed a mysterious formation, fighting to the death with a group of creatures. These creatures were entirely crimson, their fine scales flashing with a faint red glow, clearly having extremely powerful defenses.

  There were over two hundred of these creatures, each with incredible strength and speed. They were humanoid in shape, with two thin, pointed horns protruding from the top of their heads, emitting a cold, icy glow that seemed to be designed for killing rather than decoration.

  "This is terrible, it's a Blood Yaksha! In the Netherworld, they are considered noble creatures, compared to those we've encountered before, it's like the difference between beggars and emperors!"

  Zhou Qing's eyes widened as he took in the creatures' feet, his face turning pale.

  Several others also looked grave.

  "Look, the one surrounded is Wang Hai. I heard he has also reached the state of Innate Great Perfection and is evenly matched with Zhou Shixiong. They once competed for the position of First Disciple of the Inner Sect!"

  Huang Zheng was usually very lively, but he was also a knowledgeable person who was extremely clear about the information of many inner disciples. At once, he recognized the most eye-catching one among them.

  Wang Hai was also dressed in a green robe, typical of an inner sect disciple's attire. Although he was now surrounded, he remained valiant and fearless, holding a blood-stained knife that sliced through the air with crimson blade edges. His entire being was enveloped by a bloody aura, appearing beautiful yet deadly. In contrast, the Blood Night Yaksha facing him was drenched in blood, its black bones exposed in some areas, as if it could be slaughtered at any moment.

  No need for Huang Zheng's introduction, as an old opponent, Zhou Qing naturally recognized Wang Hai at a glance. However, the current situation was too dangerous, and they only had seven people. Even if they joined the battlefield, it would be a very dangerous thing to do. These Blood Night Demons, each one had the strength of a Heaven Chosen or a post-Heavenly Tribulation cultivator, and there were even several Night Demon leaders among them, obviously with the strength of a Heaven Chosen cultivator who had reached the peak. This made him hesitate a bit.

  Wang Gan didn't think too much, his eyes were now focused on those yaksha, and soon discovered that these blood yaksha were not simple at all. Every move was extremely exquisite, it didn't seem like a messy magic head, but rather the display of a exquisite martial art.

  "Brother Zhou, although our cultivation has improved over this period of time and our combat strength is no longer comparable, there are too many Blood Night Demons, it's not easy to deal with!"

  Zhao Changqing, Wang Qian had some understanding of this person over this period of time. Although he didn't speak much, his eyes were very deep and piercing, giving people a feeling that he was very wise and not a rash person. In fact, it was indeed the case, as he pointed out the current situation's danger with just one sentence.

  Really?

  Wang Qian's eyes suddenly became sharp and he stared straight at the battlefield, where a pair of eyes were also staring at their location.

  "Haha, so it's Zhou Qing? What are you waiting for? Haven't you seen that a fellow disciple is in trouble and not lending a hand to rescue him? In our school, seeing someone die without rescuing them is against the rules. Aren't you afraid of the law enforcement within the school?"

  It turned out to be Wang Hai, who was surrounded by a group of night demons but still had the upper hand. In an instant, he discovered Zhou Qing and others outside the battlefield, opened his mouth, and a loud voice mixed with thick true yuan spread across several dozen miles of Netherworld.

  This time, it's not just the disciples of Qingyunmen who are trapped, but also those Blood Night Demons have been startled, and a pair of sharp eyes pierced over.

  "Brother Zhao, save me!"

  "Brother Wang, save me and I'll definitely repay you heavily in the future!"

  "Huang Shidi, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and save me!"

  A loud shout echoed through this land, and everyone's face was gloomy beyond compare.

  "Hum, this Wang Hai is simply sinister, this time around, we can't help but get dragged in!"

  Wang Dao's face turned pitch black, clearly he was really angry now.

  But at this time, no matter how angry they were, it was useless, because a group of Blood Demons had already rushed towards them with big strides.

  Wang Gan was also furious in his heart. Although he didn't take these blood yaksha seriously, the people in his small team weren't all as abnormal as him. If they were to exhaust their true yuan and get surrounded by a large number of yaksha again, it would be too dangerous. Even if his Nine Turns Body Refining Technique was powerful, after all, he had only reached the second turn and didn't have any extremely powerful divine abilities. It was possible that someone might get hurt, unless he unsealed his body and transformed into an undead corpse. With a cultivation base comparable to the Foundation Establishment stage, it would be easy for him to instantly kill these yaksha and turn them into minced meat. However, this was clearly impossible.

  "This Wang Hai, his heart is treacherous and evil, he's not a good son! Hmph, let's see what tricks you have up your sleeve, if you go too far, I'll kill you!"

  Wang Gan's heart had already harbored murderous intentions, and his eyes slowly narrowed.