125: Red-headed Black Emperor, Nine Netherworld Plague Emperor

September 9th.

A highly auspicious Double Ninth Festival.

Xuan Yin Continent, Baitu Hills.

This once-ordinary wasteland had now become the focal point of the entire Xuan Yin Continent, and even the entire Cangmang Realm.

Colossal light screens, faintly tinting the heavens with various spiritual glows, shrouded the earth. On either side of these screens lay countless encampments stretching for thousands of miles, their banners visible in the distance as they faced off.

On one side was the Cultivator camp belonging to Xuan Yin Palace, the Yingu Cult, and Du Yuan Mountain.

On the other side were the camps of the Taihe Sect, Tianshu Sect, and Fengming Sword Sect.

And this was merely the main battlefield of their confrontation.

Stretching for tens of thousands of miles from east to west, over a million Cultivators had gathered. Every day, large numbers of low-level Cultivators engaged in chaotic battles, with casualties numbering in the thousands.

However, those who advanced through military merit were also not few in number.

Risks and opportunities never exist in isolation... The Taihe Sect's main camp.

In a certain cultivation chamber for Disciples.

At this moment, a massive amount of Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence was being forcibly restrained and drawn in by the chamber's Formation, forming a visible, gargantuan vortex above the room.

Its diameter spanned dozens of yards.

The pure spiritual essence was compressed to a near-liquid state, appearing milky white. As it rotated at high speeds, it emitted a low, majestic roar that made the entire chamber hum and vibrate, causing the outer protective Formation to ripple violently.

At the center of the vortex inside the room sat a Cultivator.

It was precisely the Taihe Sect Outer Sect Disciple, Zhao Guang.

After three years of struggling on the front lines, surviving countless life-and-death crises and earning immense contribution rewards, he had finally taken this step!

Outside the chamber, over a dozen Taihe Sect Outer Sect Disciples had quietly gathered.

Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on that staggering vortex of spiritual essence.

“Senior Brother Zhao... is he about to succeed?”

A younger Disciple lowered his voice, though his tone could not hide his envy and excitement.

“It's almost certain.”

“The scale of this spiritual essence absorption, the intensity of the magic power fluctuations... Senior Brother Zhao's closed-door meditation to break through to the Dao Foundation Stage was exceptionally well-prepared.”

“Judging by this momentum, once he succeeds, his Foundation will likely be extraordinary. He might even achieve a Transcendent Dao Foundation.”

“From now on, we won't be on the same level anymore.”

“...”

Less than an hour later, the powerful pressure of the Dao Foundation Stage began to spread outward from the chamber.

The violent vortex of spiritual essence, dozens of yards wide, gradually slowed down and turned into a gentle trickle. It integrated into Zhao Guang's body thread by thread, nourishing his newly formed Dao Foundation and stabilizing his new Realm.

Calm returned to the chamber.

Sitting in the center, Zhao Guang slowly opened his eyes.

He looked down and spread his hands, feeling the liquid magic power flowing endlessly through his Meridians—over ten times more majestic and pure than during the Qi Refinement Stage. An indescribable surge of exhilaration and joy rushed to his heart, almost making him want to let out a long howl.

But he held back.

He simply took a deep breath of the still-rich air, the corners of his mouth curling upward uncontrollably.

He had finally reached the Dao Foundation Stage!

His Lifespan had increased dramatically, his magic power had undergone a qualitative change, and his status within the Sect would be completely different.

From now on, the world was wide open, and the Great Dao was within reach!

As he stood up and pushed open the chamber door, voices of congratulation reached him.

“Congratulations to Senior Brother Zhao on successfully establishing your Foundation! Your path to the Dao has taken another step forward!”

“Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhao!”

“Best wishes, Senior Brother Zhao!”

The smile on Zhao Guang's face grew even wider as he calmly returned the greeting: “It was mere luck. All of you Junior Brothers must also Cultivate diligently in the future.”

His words were humble, but he couldn't hide his air of triumph.

He looked up, and the light from outside entered his eyes.

High in the sky, the light screen of the defensive Formation flowed silently.

Further away, the sky in the direction of Xuan Yin Palace was always shrouded in a faint, ominous dark red.

But in the eyes of Zhao Guang, who had just advanced to the Dao Foundation Stage, all of this seemed to be coated in a different kind of brilliance.

The great confidence brought by his Breakthrough had significantly thinned the haze of unease that had built up over the last three years of war.

“I really hope this war continues forever!”

Zhao Guang thought to himself secretly.

With the support of their allies, the Taihe Sect's decline had been temporarily halted.

Zhao Guang was naturally no longer the same Outer Sect Disciple who, a year ago, had felt despair and collapsed after witnessing the fall of True Person Qinglian!

Feeling the surge of majestic magic power within him, his heart was filled with confidence and expectation for the Sect's future. His personal Breakthrough and the Sect's glory perfectly fused at this moment.

Overthrow Xuan Yin Palace and dominate the Xuan Yin Continent!

No, by then, the Xuan Yin Continent would be renamed the Taihe Continent.

Then he would break through to become an Immortal Master, and then a True Monarch... Step by step, Zhao Guang's fantasies drifted further and further... Meanwhile.

Hundreds of miles away from the Taihe Sect camp, high in the heavens, the sky took on a gloomy, filthy dark purple.

Dense, substantial Yin Evil Death Qi formed thick layers of clouds that rolled slowly. Occasionally, distorted faces or ghostly claws would reach out from the clouds, letting out silent wails.

Below the cloud layer, cold astral winds whistled incessantly.

Two gargantuan entities were circling a target that blazed with spiritual light, launching incredibly violent attacks.

They were two Corpse Emperors.

The one on the left was a full thousand yards tall!

Its head was like a small mountain, with the skull exposed and appearing a dull blood-red. In its eye sockets were two spheres of fiercely burning deep purple soul fire.

Its entire body was encased in massive black armor, with thick Xuan Yin Evil Qi seeping through the gaps in the plates. Its right hand held an eight-hundred-yard-long Rank 4 Magic Treasure greatsword.

Its name was: “Red Skull Black Emperor”.

An Early Stage Rank 4 Corpse Emperor, it was cultivated by True Monarch Ming Gu of Xuan Yin Palace.

The one on the right was a full thirteen hundred yards tall, but its form was completely different.

Its body was covered in layers of highly decomposed, dark-gold flesh, appearing like a tattered, giant imperial robe barely hanging on its frame.

The flesh was ulcerated in many places, dripping with thick, multi-colored corpse fluid.

As these corpse droplets fell, they even corroded holes into the Yin Evil clouds below. When they hit the ground, they created deep pits hundreds of yards wide, accompanied by a terrifying “sizzling” sound.

Its head resembled a zombie magnified thousands of times. Its lips had rotted away, revealing interlocking black and yellow fangs. Its eyes were a turbid, deathly white without pupils, yet they seemed capable of absorbing the Divine Souls of living beings.

As it moved, its rotted flesh quivered, emitting a terrifying Corpse Miasma that could instantly kill a Profound Fetus Immortal Master, swirling through ten thousand yards of the Void Realm.

Its name was: “Nine Nether Plague Emperor”.

Its Realm was as high as Middle Stage Rank 4, cultivated by True Monarch Youquan of Xuan Yin Palace.

The one being besieged by these two world-ending monstrosities was precisely the Tianshu Sect's Medium Grade Rank 4 Puppet—the zhen yue spirit god!

“ROAARRRR——”

The Red Skull Black Emperor roared wantonly, its giant black sword Magic Treasure raised high before hacking down with mountain-crushing force onto the zhen yue spirit god's protective Formation.

“BOOM!!!”

A dull, extreme explosion erupted, and a visible shockwave swept across three hundred miles.

The Formation barrier dented violently, giving rise to waves like a stormy sea. Countless tiny specks of spiritual light perished at the point of contact, yet they also stubbornly rebounded, knocking the black sword Magic Treasure back.

Meanwhile, the Nine Nether Plague Emperor opened its mouth and spat out a hundred-yard-thick torrent of multi-colored Corpse Miasma, slamming it into the light screen.

There was no loud bang.

The multi-colored colors rapidly spread and permeated the surface of the screen. The brilliant spiritual light dimmed at a visible rate, and the flowing Formation runes became sluggish.

This was a genuine Middle Stage Rank 4 Corpse Emperor.

Its strength was no weaker than an ordinary Middle Stage Dharma Image True Monarch. Even though there were two Tianshu Sect True Monarchs stationed inside the zhen yue spirit god, they did not dare to easily head out to face the enemy.

After all, the True Monarchs of Xuan Yin Palace were not far away.