35: Chapter 35 Master and Disciple United

"Master, do not come to the Soul Locking Abyss."

"Come to the Beheading Platform."

"...Kill them all."

These three short sentences exploded in the minds of Qian Ji and the other three like three claps of thunder.

Gu Yelian looked bewildered. "What does Seventh Senior Sister mean by this? If the Soul Locking Abyss is a trap, isn't the Beheading Platform one too? Is she sending us to our deaths?"

"No." Qian Ji pushed up his glasses, his gaze beneath the lenses sharp as a blade. He stared fixedly at the token, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. "This isn't a plea for help. This is... a declaration of war!"

"Seventh Junior Sister is using this method to tell us that she has already seen through all of Lord of the Clouds' arrangements. She is using herself as bait, turning the Beheading Platform into a graveyard she has chosen for her enemies!"

"But this is too risky!" Blood Consort's voice was cold. "If we fail to understand her meaning, or if our strength is insufficient, she will truly be beyond redemption."

"That is why she trusts us." Mo Chi spoke slowly, the veins on his hand gripping the heavy sword bulging. Every word was as heavy as a mountain. "And she trusts Revered Master even more."

Everyone's gaze converged on Bai Yu.

Qian Ji took a deep breath, calmed down, and bowed. "Revered Master, there is trickery involved. While Seventh Junior Sister's move is indeed courageous, she is ultimately imprisoned and information is unclear. Lord of the Clouds might have anticipated this and used her message to mislead us. I believe the safest way is to follow the original plan: scout the Soul Locking Abyss first, then plan our next move."

Logically, Qian Ji' judgment was impeccable.

Bai Yu, however, laughed.

He picked up the wine cup on the table, drained it in one gulp, and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Hahaha... As expected of my Disciple."

He looked at Qian Ji, his eyes full of approval, yet his words were the exact opposite.

"Eldest, your strategy is good, but you are looking at the chessboard."

Bai Yu extended a finger and tapped his own chest.

"But I trust the player."

"That girl, Old Seven, is named Ling Xuan. Among my seven Disciples back then, she was the one with the wildest thoughts and the greatest courage. Since she dared to send such a message, it means she has already calculated her way out. In fact... she can't wait for me to go and crash the party."

Bai Yu stood up, and an invisible aura of dominance spread out, causing the air in the entire tavern to freeze.

"Lord of the Clouds thinks he has set up two arenas and wants to see how I choose."

"One open scheme, one hidden plot."

"But he miscalculated one thing."

The corners of Bai Yu's mouth curled into a grim arc.

"Only children make choices."

"I... want them all!"

He looked at Qian Ji. "Eldest, take Second, Fourth, and Little Nine to the Beheading Platform. One month is enough for you to turn that place into a true inescapable net. I want all the Immortals in the Upper Realm to see how the stage of the Lingxiao Heavenly Palace collapses."

"Then what about you, Revered Master?" Gu Yelian asked anxiously.

Bai Yu turned and looked out the window at the western sky shrouded in Evil Qi; that was the direction of the Soul Locking Abyss.

"I will go to the Soul Locking Abyss alone."

"Since Lord of the Clouds thinks that is the true killing move, I will go and uproot it for you."

"And while I'm at it, I'll send him a great gift so he won't have time to watch the show at the Beheading Platform."

A lone venture!

Charging into a certain-kill formation alone!

"Revered Master, you cannot!" Qian Ji' expression changed drastically.

"This is an order." Bai Yu's voice left no room for doubt.

He turned his head and looked at the four Disciples before him, his gaze more serious than ever before.

"I know you are worried."

"But remember, you are not fledglings under my wings. Each of you is an eagle capable of standing on your own."

"What I want is not a group of Disciples who only know how to follow behind me, but comrades-in-arms who can stand shoulder to shoulder with me, or even surpass me."

"This battle is Ling Xuan's proof of loyalty, and it is yours too."

"Go. Don't let me down, and more importantly, don't let your Seventh Junior Sister down."

As his voice faded, Bai Yu's figure turned into a streak of light, soaring into the sky and heading straight for the western horizon.

Only a single sentence remained, echoing in the ears of the four.

"One month from now, see you at the Beheading Platform."

Inside the tavern, there was dead silence.

After a long time, Qian Ji slowly straightened up. He adjusted his glasses; behind the lenses was an unprecedented determination and fervor.

"Relay Revered Master's order."

"Target: Beheading Platform."

"Prepare... to overturn the Lingxiao Heavenly Palace!"

West Heaven Gate, Soul Locking Abyss.

This place was not a prison carved by human hands, but a deep abyss and rift valley that had existed since ancient times.

Beneath the abyss, the bottom was invisible, shrouded year-round in a gray mist called "Soul Fiend Qi." This Qi did not harm the Physical Body but specifically corroded the Divine Soul. Even a powerhouse of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm would have their Divine Soul gradually worn away if they stayed here for long, eventually turning into a walking corpse.

This was a place universally recognized in the Upper Realm as a forbidden land, a land of death.

A figure fell like a meteor, ignoring the thick Evil Qi gathered at the mouth of the abyss, and plunged straight into the depths.

It was Bai Yu.

The further down he went, the thicker the Soul Fiend Qi became, changing from mist at the start to becoming thick as water, and finally even condensing into solid gray crystals hanging on the pitch-black cliff walls.

The Laws here were chaotic, space was distorted, and Divine Sense was suppressed to the extreme.

"Interesting."

Bai Yu felt the Evil Qi that was trying to seep into his Sea of Consciousness through every possible opening, but his face remained calm.

His god king dharma idol merely trembled slightly, golden light flowing, and all the Evil Qi near him vanished instantly as if it had met its nemesis.

[Ding! Detected that the host is in a high-concentration Soul Power environment.]

[Divine Soul tempering efficiency increased by 500%!]

Bai Yu curled his lip.

"Even a mosquito's leg is meat, no matter how small."

He continued to fall for an unknown amount of time before finally hitting solid ground.

At the bottom of the abyss was a vast plain that stretched beyond sight. The ground was composed of black crystals—silent and cold.

There was no Ling Xuan, no guards, and not even a hint of life.

The place was empty.

"Empty?" Bai Yu raised an eyebrow. "No."

He could feel that Lord of the Clouds' arrangement was right here. It was a deep-seated malice that was hidden and merged with the entire abyss.

"Playing tricks."

Bai Yu snorted coldly and no longer concealed his aura.

Boom!

The terrifying pressure of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, mixed with the supreme Divine Might of the god king dharma idol, erupted like a nuclear bomb!

The entire plain at the bottom of the abyss shook violently, and countless black crystals on the ground cracked inch by inch.

"Roar—!!!"

A roar that seemed to come from the primordial chaos echoed from deep underground.

In the next second, the entire earth burst open!

A colossal creature slowly rose from the crack.

It was a dragon ten thousand zhang long!

It was formed entirely from the purest Soul Fiend Qi, having no physical form. Its body was translucent gray, and atop its dragon head, nine spectral blue eyes stared fixedly at Bai Yu, filled with tyranny and hunger.

Nine Nether Soul Devouring Dragon!