131: Chapter 131 The Evil Cultivator Alliance is Enraged, A Deadly Situation is Imminent!

A cold, damp atmosphere, mixed with the stench of aged blood and sulfur, seeped out from every crevice of the deep underground palace.

The air here was so thick it felt like it could be wrung out like water, and the candlelight was a ghostly green, fueled by wicks soaked in corpse oil.

As the firelight flickered, the reliefs on the walls seemed to twist and come alive; they were depictions of creatures being skinned and deboned, their Divine Souls cast into boiling oil. The hideous faces appeared to emit silent wails as the light and shadows shifted.

A burly man with a body covered in crisscrossing scars stood with his muscular torso bare. Each scar was deep enough to reveal bone and writhed with his heavy, labored breathing.

He stepped forward, and a black-clad Cultivator crawling at his feet was kicked away entirely, his body slamming into a distant stone wall with a sickening, teeth-grinding crunch of bone.

The Cultivator's body slid down limply, vomiting a pool of black blood mixed with chunks of organs, and after struggling twice, he could no longer get up.

On both sides of the underground palace, ten figures with mysterious Auras stood with their hands hanging down, their forms hidden in the shadows, their breathing suppressed to the point of near non-existence.

They were the "Ten Yama Kings" of the Evil Cultivator Alliance. Any one of them, if taken out alone, would be a Soul Transformation titan capable of turning a region into a river of blood, their hands stained with enough blood to form oceans.

Yet at this moment, they were silent as cicadas in winter.

On the throne, the leader of the Evil Cultivator Alliance, "Blood-Hand Butcher" Qian Tong, had his chest heaving violently. This was not born of anger, but rather the excitement of a top-tier predator—a morbid exhilaration that occurred when one's professional field was challenged by an outsider in an absurdly exaggerated manner.

"A single word retreats a Quasi-Emperor, a single thought suppresses a horde of demons?"

His voice was low and raspy, echoing through the vast hall and scraping against everyone's eardrums.

"What you see is always only what others want you to see."

Qian Tong's knuckles tapped lightly against the armrest, which was piled high with the skulls of countless living beings. Every skull on that armrest had belonged to a Cultivator with a cultivation base no lower than the Nascent Soul stage in life. At this moment, their empty eye sockets faced the center of the hall, emitting a soft "tap, tap" sound.

"This trap was set very cleverly; it can be called a heaven-defying feat."

"That so-called Primeval Imperial Clan Quasi-Emperor is most likely an actor. An old fellow whose Lifespan is nearly exhausted, or who has been caught by some fatal weakness and forced to cooperate in the performance. To hire an existence of this caliber, the price must have been exorbitant."

"As for the heavens and earth losing their voice, and all Laws falling into silence..."

Qian Tong's mouth curled into a cruel arc, revealing teeth stained dark red by flesh and blood.

"It is just an ancient illusion array with a wide range of influence that can directly interfere with Divine Soul perception. Its power is indeed astonishing, but at its core, it remains a falsehood. When I was young, I used similar methods to deceive several Elders from Holy Lands who prided themselves on their intelligence, making them kowtow to a stubborn stone for three days and three nights, believing they had seen their ancestral spirits."

He scanned his trusted subordinates from high above. Wherever his gaze fell, those ruthless Yama Kings, who usually killed without blinking, all lowered their heads.

"He acted very well, so well that he deceived the Eastern Wasteland and even half of the Central Plains."

"But he made a fatal mistake."

Qian Tong's voice turned cold.

"He shouldn't have set his sights on my Evil Cultivator Alliance, and even more so... he shouldn't have flaunted his wealth so ostentatiously after the play was over."

Below, an Elder with a hunched figure resembling a wicked ghost spoke in a raspy voice, sounding like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together: "Alliance Leader's Dharma Eye is impeccable! Such sleight of hand is merely showing off one's axe before a Master in front of our Evil Path secret techniques that specialize in Divine Souls. This subordinate is willing to personally go to the Eastern Wasteland, take this scoundrel's head, and present it before the Alliance Leader!"

"No."

Qian Tong slowly shook his head, his scarlet tongue licking his cracked lips, bringing up a trace of bloodthirsty desire.

"Sometimes, one must use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken."

"Because what I want to kill is not a chicken, but the monkey that is jumping around the most in front of all the spectators."

"I want the whole world to open their eyes and watch how this monkey, who thinks itself incredibly clever, is skinned and deboned alive."

He slowly sat back on the throne of bones forged from pain and death. His entire Aura changed in an instant; gloom and cruelty intertwined, transforming into a substantive pressure that made even Soul Transformation titans tremble.

"Pass the order."

"Activate the 'Nine Nether Ultimate Killing Array'."

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell into dead silence. Even the most bloodthirsty "Yama King" had a drastic change in expression, and their figures in the shadows fluctuated visibly.

"Alliance Leader!" A female Cultivator with an alluring figure and charming eyes couldn't help but exclaim, "That is our final trump card, for which we exhausted half the Alliance's savings, hired three Grandmaster array Masters, and spent a hundred years to set up! This array draws upon the Evil Qi of the Nine Nether earth veins; it is said that even a powerhouse who has just entered the Saint Realm can be refined! Is it worth it just to deal with a kid of unknown origin?"

Qian Tong laughed, his laughter full of irrepressible madness and greed.

"The treasures he revealed are enough for us to set up ten more 'Nine Nether Ultimate Killing Array's! Or even more!"

"More importantly," his voice lowered, revealing a pleasure like that of dissecting prey, "I want to personally peel off his mask of a 'Senior Master' and see what kind of goods are actually hidden inside. You don't understand the joy of uncovering the truth."

"Go, send people to watch the Qingyun Sect day and night without stopping. I want to prepare the grandest, most magnificent... welcome ceremony for him the moment he steps out of the Sect."

...

Qingyun Sect, small courtyard behind the mountain. Su Changge lay on a rocking chair, his consciousness immersed in the System space, his eyes staring blankly at the eaves above.

That mountain of treasure, piled high with massive amounts of Spirit Stones, divine metals, celestial materials, and Peerless Grade Medicinal Pills, had brought him only a huge, boundless emptiness now, after the initial, maddening ecstasy.

These things could trade for countless life-saving trump cards, buy a single strike from a Saint, and make the top Sects of the entire Eastern Wasteland work for him. Yet, they could not trade for even the slightest improvement in his own Realm.

Qi Refining First Layer. This number was like an ice needle tempered with deadly poison, deeply embedded in the depths of his Dao Heart; he could feel its existence with every breath.

He was a Mortal, a Mortal sitting on a mountain of gold enough to buy the whole world, yet he didn't even have a dagger to defend himself. This beauty, this wealth that could rival a nation, was also a fatal trouble and a Talismanic Incantation that hastened his death.

Suddenly, a ghostly blue light screen unfolded silently before his eyes, and lines of ancient golden seal characters appeared, branding themselves directly into his Divine Soul.

【Ding! Detected that the special map "Falling Immortal Secret Realm" is about to open.】

【Location: Border of the Eastern Wasteland and the Southern Ridge, Immortal Burial Valley.】

【Opening time: Seven days later.】

【Mission issued: Please have the Host go to the core area of the "Falling Immortal Secret Realm" to sign in.】

【Mission reward: 1. A huge amount of emotion points. 2. A very low probability of triggering a hidden special effect: 'Dao Rhyme Remnants'.】

Su Changge's pupils contracted. Falling Immortal Secret Realm!

He had heard the Sect Master mention that it was a forbidden land formed after a true Immortal from the ancient era fell, created by the remnants of their Dao Fruit and lingering resentment.

Inside, time and space were chaotic, Laws were broken, and Opportunities and murderous intent coexisted. "Nine deaths for one life" was a generous description; throughout the ages, ninety-nine percent of the Cultivators who entered died.

Under normal circumstances, he would never consider it.

But those four words, "Dao Rhyme Remnants," made his silent heart jump violently.

The System did not explicitly state its effect, but this name made him produce an uncontrollable association—could this be the Opportunity that would allow him to truly sense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and make the dead Qi vortex in his Dantian truly spin?

Should he continue to guard the mountain of gold, acting as a fake who could be exposed at any moment and end up without a burial place; or go to that forbidden land of nine deaths and one life, to fight for a chance to become a true powerhouse?

Sitting idle and eating away at his fortune, emotion points would eventually run out one day. When all his trump cards were exhausted, when he could no longer act, what would he do? What cruel methods would those powerful enemies, whom he had intimidated and humiliated, use to deal with him?

"Wealth is sought in danger..."

Su Changge muttered to himself, his hollow eyes gradually replaced by a resolute sharpness.

He must go!

"However, this time, I need to change the way I live."

He never wanted to be watched like a monkey again, and never wanted to stand at the center of the storm again. The attention of the masses brought not glory, but a sword hanging over his head.

He rummaged through the deepest corner of his Storage Ring and found an old green shirt he had worn years ago when he was still an Outer Sect Disciple; it had been washed until it was somewhat faded.

He casually found a strip of cloth and tied his ink-black long hair messily behind his head.

He walked to the water vat in the courtyard and examined himself through the reflection on the water surface.

The young man in the water still had a face so handsome it didn't seem Mortal, but the simple attire and the temperament that had deliberately restrained all sharpness finally transformed him from a "Nine Heavens Fallen Immortal" into a "destitute scholar."

Should... be less conspicuous, right?

He did not alert anyone in the Sect, nor did he even say goodbye to the Sect Master. With a flicker of his figure, like a shadow without substance, he quietly left the back mountain, avoiding the sight of all the patrolling Disciples.

At the foot of the mountain, the Old Yellow Ox grazing leisurely on a grassy slope raised its head, snorted, and its cloudy eyes revealed a laziness that saw through the world.

"Old Yellow, let's go."

Su Changge flipped onto the ox's back with practiced movements.

"Go to the Southern Ridge and see the place where the Immortal fell."

The Old Yellow Ox flicked its tail and stepped forward at a leisurely pace, not stepping onto the cloud path commonly used by Immortal Cultivators, but walking onto the official road traveled by Mortal merchants.

Su Changge did not look back.

He did not know that at the very moment his figure riding the ox disappeared at the end of the mountain road.

A "woodcutter" who was burying his head in chopping wood by the side of the road stopped his movements. He raised his head, revealing a plain and unremarkable face, but a terrifying gleam flashed and vanished in his eyes.

A Jade Slip recording the image and Aura turned into dust silently in his palm, and a message imperceptible to Mortals crossed ten thousand miles of Void Realm.

Almost at the same time.

In the distant underground palace of the Evil Cultivator Alliance.

Qian Tong stood up abruptly from the throne of bones, a twisted and hideous smile blooming on his face; the smile even tugged at the old scars on his face, making him look like a wicked ghost about to pounce on its prey.

"The fish... has taken the bait."

He spread his arms, and the shadows enveloped him; he seemed to be embracing an upcoming feast of slaughter.

"Pass my order!"

All the Yama Kings in the hall knelt on one knee in unison, their Evil Qi soaring to the sky.

"Everyone enter the array!"

"Let the feast begin!"