391: Nine Nether Gate

"Senior Brother! Are you okay?" Lin Qingxue rushed to his side immediately, her pretty face filled with worry. The terrifying Sword Intent from just a moment ago had left her with lingering fear.

"It is fine. Senior Li was merely testing me; he did not use his full strength." Yao Delong waved his hand, giving her a reassuring look.

Just then, two figures with joyful expressions walked quickly from the direction of the Moyang Sect seats.

"Senior Brother Yao!" A crisp voice like an oriole rang out; it was Li Linger.

She was still wearing a snow-white dress, pretty and lively. At this moment, her small face carried an excited flush, and her large eyes looked at Yao Delong brightly, not hiding her admiration at all: "Congratulations on your promotion to True Disciple, Senior Brother Yao! You were so amazing just now! Even Senior Li praised you!"

Beside her, Han Ruyi appeared much more gentle.

Today, she had changed into a water-blue fairy dress, which made her skin appear even whiter than snow, her temperament quiet and elegant, like a young lady from a noble family.

She bowed gracefully, her voice soft: "Benefactor Yao, congratulations. Just now... it was truly amazing."

Her gaze towards Yao Delong also carried deep shock and a trace of undetectable, unusual emotion. The gazes of the two women fell upon Yao Delong, and both could not help but be slightly dazed.

Today, Yao Delong was wearing the "profound star manifestation dao robe" bestowed upon him by his Revered Master.

The deep mysterious black base material was like the vast night sky, upon which the Yin and Yang dao patterns embroidered with star-patterned silver silk thread slowly flowed, evolving into the celestial stars, mountains, and rivers, emitting an arcane and profound dao rhyme.

The moon-essence crystals adorning the collar and cuffs refracted a cold and noble brilliance in the sunlight. His posture was as upright as a pine tree, his jet-black long hair tied up casually with only a jade hairpin, with a few strands of hair falling onto his shoulders, adding a touch of uninhibited charm.

His face was handsome and heroic, his sword-like eyebrows slanted into his temples, and his star-like eyes were as deep as an abyss. Between his glances, his divine light was brilliant, as if it contained an endless starry sky.

That magnificent dao robe fused perfectly with his own temperament, which had been tempered by hardship, was steady and restrained, yet hid a sharp edge, forming a unique charm that was captivating.

On the high platform, Moyang Sect Sect Head Qing Ya Zi watched his Disciple Li Linger, who was usually mischievous but now had eyes full of admiration. He then looked at the gentle Han Ruyi, who also regarded Yao Delong with special attention.

Understanding, he could not help but stroke his beard and smile, a trace of playfulness flashing in his eyes. It seemed that his Disciple and that girl from the Han family both had quite a favorable impression of this newly promoted True Disciple of the Yin Yang Sect.

"Junior Sister Linger, Junior Sister Han, thank you." Yao Delong smiled gently at the two women, composed and at ease.

"Great Master Yao! Congratulations, congratulations!" A hearty voice came over. Xiao Huohuo was seen walking over with a woman dressed in an elegant green shirt with a gentle temperament like water; it was his cousin, Yun Ruoning.

Looking at the young man before her, draped in the profound star manifestation dao robe, with an imposing manner, and completely different from the Qi Condensation Cultivator who was on the verge of death in White Cloud City in her memory, an indescribable emotion surged in Yun Ruoning's heart.

She bowed gracefully to Yao Delong, her posture elegant: "Great Master Yao, our parting in White Cloud City feels like a lifetime ago. Your demeanor, Great Master, is even better than before; Ruoning admires you."

"Miss Yun is too kind, I was just lucky to have made some progress." Yao Delong laughed, his attitude easygoing.

Yun Ruoning's heart, however, was surging with waves. When they first met, she was already at the Middle Golden Core Stage, while the other party was merely at the Qi Condensation Perfection stage, an old man on the verge of death.

Now, seeing him again, although she had also progressed rapidly, reaching the Mid Nascent Soul Stage, standing in front of Yao Delong, she felt that his aura was like the boundless deep sea—vast and profound, far beyond what she could reach.

This gap, instead of making her feel lost, only made her feel a deeper reverence for Yao Delong.

For a moment, around Yao Delong, Lin Qingxue was as cold as a snow lotus, Li Linger was pretty and lively, Han Ruyi was gentle and quiet, and Yun Ruoning had a gentle temperament. With four women of vastly different styles, all of peerless beauty, surrounding him, combined with his own outstanding demeanor, he instantly became the most eye-catching focus of the entire square!

Countless gazes of envy, jealousy, or exclamation were focused here.

However, just as the guests and hosts were enjoying themselves and the atmosphere was warm—Woo—!

A low, cold, sobbing sound, as if coming from the Nine Nether Hell, tore through the festive atmosphere above the square without warning!

Immediately following this, a gloomy, eerie aura, carrying dense death and resentment, surged over like a tide, instantly covering the entire Tianshu Peak!

The sky seemed to darken a little, the temperature plummeted, and the Disciples with lower cultivation could not help but shiver, feeling as if their Souls were about to be frozen!

Everyone looked over in horror!

They saw a huge, pitch-black, menacingly shaped bone boat, as if sailing out from the abyss of Hell, appearing silently above the square!

This bone boat was refined from the skeletons of unknown giant beasts, emitting a pale luster. The hull was wrapped in pitch-black chains, and at the end of the chains hung countless twisted, wailing phantom Souls!

The sail was a huge flag, seemingly sewn from human skin, with a hideous ghost head pattern drawn in blood!

The entire Flying Boat was permeated with a nauseating smell of blood and dense nether Death Qi!

"Vice Sect Master of the Nine Nether Sect, Ye Wushang has arrived!" The welcoming Disciple's announcement carried a trace of hard-to-conceal trembling and solemnity.

The bone boat hovered to a stop, and the cabin door opened like the gaping, fanged maw of a giant beast.

The first to walk out was a middle-aged man wearing a pitch-black robe with a sinister face.

His face was as pale as a dead person's, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, his pupils were an eerie dark green, his lips were as thin as blades, and the corners of his mouth held a faint, chilling sneer that made one's heart run cold.

The aura around his body was cold and obscure, as if he were walking on the boundary between life and death; it was none other than the Vice Sect Master of the Nine Nether Sect—Ye Wushang!

Behind him followed several Elders with equally gloomy auras, some withered like corpses, others eerie like ghosts.

Behind them was a group of young Disciples dressed in black, their eyes cold and indifferent, radiating a cold Evil Qi. Their gazes swept across the square, carrying undisguised contempt and provocation.

Ye Wushang's gaze was like a venomous snake, instantly locking onto Yao Delong, who was on the high platform, surrounded by beauties and the center of attention.

The sneer at the corner of his mouth widened, and his voice, like the cry of a night owl, was sharp and piercing, resounding throughout the venue: "Hehehe... What a grand display by the Yin Yang Sect! A mere Nascent Soul junior, worthy of being called a True Disciple? Worthy of having the heroes of the Eastern Region come to congratulate him? It seems the Yin Yang Sect truly has no one left!"

Ye Wushang's sharp, piercing, and contemptuous words stabbed at the entire Yin Yang Sect like poisonous needles!

The festive atmosphere in the square instantly froze, and countless Yin Yang Sect Disciples' faces flushed with anger, their eyes almost spitting fire!

"Presumptuous!" A roar exploded like a thunderclap!

Peak Master of Heavenly Sword Peak Li Cen rose abruptly!

Boom—!

A blazing, tyrannical Sword Intent that seemed capable of burning away all evil in the world, like a radiant sun, erupted from Li Cen's body!

In an instant, the gloomy Death Qi covering the entire venue was like snow meeting a scorching sun, emitting a "hissing" sound of melting, and was instantly dispersed by more than half!

The temperature of the entire square suddenly rose, and the oppressive atmosphere was cleared away!