44: The Demon Saint of Huangquan, the Nine Netherworlds!

“Pfft—!”

Hot blood splattered on his face, carrying a sickening stench. Lin Chen’s body, like a broken sack hit by a giant hammer, slammed heavily against the cold rock wall. His internal organs felt displaced, and a searing pain in his back instantly drowned out all other sensations. But his intact hand, like an iron clamp, clutched the severed arm and the dark-red jade box tightly held in its hand!

“Bastard!! Get out of here!!”

Behind him, the Elder of Dou Wang’s furious roar exploded like thunder. A scorching, violent Dou Qi torrent slammed into the entrance of the crack where Lin Chen had just disappeared, sending gravel flying and shaking the earth! The terrifying energy ripples even penetrated the rock layer, making Lin Chen’s Qi and blood churn. He spat out another mouthful of bruises, and his vision blurred.

Can’t stop! To stop is to die!

The instinct for survival overrode the Soul-tearing pain. Lin Chen gritted his teeth, the Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art furiously circulating, desperately extracting the last remaining Dark Shadow Dou Qi from his Meridians, even burning his already depleted life force again! The gray patterns under his skin glowed with a scorching heat, like a branding iron searing his Soul. He transformed into a twisted, blurry shadow, relying on the Cultivation Technique’s extreme affinity for Death Qi and shadows, and frantically burrowed deeper into the ground, into the darker, more Death Qi-dense crevices!

The angry roars and attacks from the Dou Wang Elder above continued, but the sound was quickly muffled and distant by the thick rock layers and twisted mine tunnels. The underground of Demon Flame Valley was far more intricate than imagined, with abandoned mine shafts, naturally formed fissures, and even ancient tunnels of unknown age crisscrossing, forming a massive underground labyrinth. Unfathomable darkness and silence enveloped him, mixed with highly toxic fire-poisonous miasma and some deeper, older, colder Qi.

This was a death trap for ordinary Cultivators, but for Lin Chen, who Cultivated the Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art and had almost merged with the shadow Death Qi, it became the best sanctuary. He was like a fish swimming into the deep sea, diving desperately. Each movement aggravated the terrifying injuries on his back, and blood dripped behind him, but the dense Death Qi quickly concealed the traces.

He didn’t know how long he had been fleeing until he could no longer sense any pursuit from above, and until his Dou Qi and strength were almost exhausted. Lin Chen finally collapsed from exhaustion, rolling down a steep rock wall and crashing heavily onto a relatively flat rock platform covered in thick dust.

“Cough cough… Pfft…” He curled up, coughing violently, large mouthfuls of foul blood gushing from his mouth, seemingly mixed with fragments of internal organs. The Dou Wang’s enraged strike had almost shattered his spine. The violent fire-attribute Dou Qi invaded his body, frantically destroying his Meridians, and fiercely clashed with the automatically circulating Dark Shadow Dou Qi, bringing extreme pain as if ice and fire intertwined.

He trembled, using the last of his strength to pry open the tightly clenched severed fingers one by one, taking the dark-red jade box. The jade box was cold to the touch, and the runic seals on it flickered with a faint light, isolating the alarming fluctuations within. But he could still feel that the object inside the box resonated subtly with the beast skin fragments in his embrace (though useless, a trace of Qi remained) and the Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art.

There was no time to examine it closely; survival was the top priority. He struggled to search his storage ring, stuffing the life-saving Medicinal Pills given by Yao Chen into his mouth as if they were worthless, and then took out topical spiritual liquid, haphazardly smearing it on the horrific wound on his back. The Medicinal Pills transformed into pure medicinal power, barely sustaining his breath, but the fire poison that had invaded his body and the damage to his Meridians would not heal quickly.

He struggled to sit cross-legged, forming hand seals, and fully circulated the Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art. Once the Cultivation Technique began, the Death Qi, Yin Qi, and even the residual resentments of countless miners and Demonic Beasts buried here for untold years in the surrounding underground world, converged in wisps as if attracted by a black hole, seeping into his body through his skin.

This power was cold and pure, rapidly suppressing and devouring the rampant fire poison, and slowly repairing his damaged Meridians and bones. The searing pain in his back was gradually replaced by a cold numbness. But Lin Chen’s heart sank—he could clearly “see” that the light representing his life force next to his Dantian Qi vortex was dimming and shrinking at a visible speed! The gray patterns on his skin became increasingly clear, even beginning to slightly indent inward, as if his essence of flesh and blood was being absorbed by an invisible entity.

The Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art’s efficiency in devouring external power to repair itself was extremely high, but its backlash on his life force also became more violent and greedy!

“Cough… The price… is indeed immense…” Lin Chen’s lips curved into a bitter smile. But at this moment, he had no other choice; if he didn’t use the Death Qi here to heal his injuries, he would die immediately.

Time slowly passed in absolute darkness and the struggle of pain. When the wound on his back had initially congealed, the fire poison in his body had been completely devoured, and his Meridians were barely reconnected, Lin Chen was so weak that he could barely lift his hand. He collapsed onto the cold rock, his chest rising and falling weakly, like a worn-out bellows.

After an unknown period of rest, a faint but strange fluctuation startled him from his semi-conscious state. The fluctuation did not come from the pursuers above, but from… the dark-red jade box beside him! And from deeper underground!

The runic seals on the jade box were flickering erratically, seemingly becoming unstable because it had left a specific environment or was being drawn by something deep below. The ancient, savage, and eerie Qi within the box permeated more clearly.

Lin Chen took a deep breath, forcing himself to sit up. His gaze fell on the jade box. After a moment of hesitation, a look of resolve flashed in his eyes. He had to figure out what this was and if it was worth the price he had paid!

He carefully mobilized a trace of his not-fully-recovered Dark Shadow Dou Qi, enveloped his palm, and then slowly moved to peel off the runic seals.

Hiss!

The moment his finger touched the seal, the light on the seal suddenly flared, and a repulsive force emanated. But the next moment, the Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art within him automatically circulated. The cold, deathly, and binding properties contained in the Dark Shadow Dou Qi actually created a strange counteraction with the runes! The light of the seal rapidly dimmed.

It’s working! Lin Chen’s spirit lifted, and he carefully peeled off all the seals one by one.

When the last seal was removed—

Buzz!!!

An indescribably terrifying aura suddenly erupted from the jade box! The dark-red lid was directly blown open!

A dark-yellow stream of light, only palm-sized, incomplete, yet incredibly solid, shot out and hovered in mid-air! Inside the stream of light, countless profound ancient runes could be vaguely seen flickering in and out of existence, emitting a terrifying pressure that suppressed all things and made the Soul tremble! The entire underground cavern shook violently, and countless gravel rattled down from the surrounding rock walls!

Under this pressure, Lin Chen felt as small as an ant, and even his breathing completely stopped! The Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art circulating within him seemed to have encountered a monarch, becoming sluggish and ineffective!

And that dark-yellow stream of light seemed to react to a certain aura on Lin Chen’s body (perhaps the Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art, or perhaps the residual beast skin), suddenly changing direction and aiming at him!

Just as Lin Chen thought this terrifying object was about to attack him, another anomaly occurred!

“Buzz—!!”

Another muffled, yet even grander hum, as if from the very bowels of the earth, boomed from deep underground! Immediately following, an equally ancient, yet even more vast, terrifying aura, carrying endless Nine Nether Qi and eerie enchantment, permeated from deep beneath his feet, like a giant beast that had slept for myriad years awakening!

The moment this aura appeared, the dark-yellow stream of light that had been aimed at Lin Chen suddenly trembled, as if encountering a mortal enemy. It instantly abandoned Lin Chen, all its runes flickering madly, emitting intense hostility and vigilance, and aimed at the deep underground!

Two equally terrifying, yet seemingly opposite and subtly conflicting ancient auras, clashed thunderously in this dark underground!

Buzz! Rumble!

The silent collision triggered a tangible impact! The entire underground cavern shook violently, and more huge rocks crashed down! Lin Chen was violently thrown by this invisible shockwave, hitting the rock wall again, adding injury to injury.

But at this moment, he paid no attention to his injuries. He suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with endless shock and horror!

He saw that the ground beneath the dark-yellow stream of light had actually become illusory in silence! The hard rock seemed to have turned into transparent glass, vaguely revealing an indescribably vast, boundless dark space deep below!

In the center of that dark space, a colossal, broken, ancient yellow springs stele phantom, too massive to see its edges, slowly floated! The stele was entirely dark gold, covered with countless even more complex and ancient runes. Each flicker of these runes stirred the boundless Nine Nether Qi around it! A sacred might, transcending all beings, looking down upon heaven and earth, yet imbued with a thick, eerie, and evil charm, surged forth overwhelmingly!

Although it was only an extremely faint phantom, the form of that yellow springs stele, and its unique, terrifying aura that perfectly blended the sacred and the demonic… The Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art deep within Lin Chen’s Soul trembled frantically, conveying complex emotions of both fear and longing!

“Yellow Springs… yellow springs stele?!” Lin Chen murmured in a lost voice, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks, “The true… Yellow Springs Demon Saint’s legacy?!”

And that hovering dark-yellow incomplete jade was now letting out an unwilling hum towards the yellow springs stele phantom below, as if it had been forcibly expelled from the jade box and made manifest by the stele’s aura!

The incomplete jade was the key, the yellow springs stele was the lock! Did Hall of Souls really intend to use this key to activate or even control this terrifying object buried deep underground?!

Before Lin Chen could recover from these successive shocks, the yellow springs stele phantom buried deep underground seemed to be provoked by the incomplete jade’s defiance, and it trembled slightly!

Boom!

An irresistible, terrifying suction force suddenly emanated from the illusory space below, not targeting the physical body, but directly acting on the Soul and energy!

Whoosh!

The dark-yellow incomplete jade bore the brunt, letting out a wail, transforming into a stream of light, and was directly sucked into the illusory space below, disappearing into the endless darkness!

Immediately after, that suction force enveloped Lin Chen! He felt that the Dark Shadow Dou Qi within him, and even the trace of the Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art’s Origin power he had just Cultivated, were about to burst out of his body and be forcibly sucked away! Even his Soul felt as if it was about to leave his body and fly away!

“Not good!” Lin Chen’s Soul was terrified, and he desperately suppressed his restless Dou Qi and Soul. But that suction force was too terrifying. His body was uncontrollably pulled towards the ground that had become illusory, and it seemed he was about to follow in the footsteps of the incomplete jade, to be sucked into that unknown Nine Nether realm!

Just at this critical moment, perhaps stimulated by the life-or-death crisis, or perhaps because the clash of the two Saint artifacts’ auras triggered some anomaly, the runes of the Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art deep within his Soul flickered madly, and some previously incomprehensible Profound Truths suddenly dawned on him!

“Body transforms into myriad shadows, Soul disperses into the Void Realm!”

He instinctively let out a low roar. All the Dark Shadow Dou Qi in his body surged out recklessly, but instead of resisting the suction, it followed the deepest Profound Truths of the Soul Binding Art, completely dispersing his sense of existence, his aura, and even a part of his consciousness, integrating them into the omnipresent shadows, Death Qi, and even the textures of the rock walls around him!

At this moment, he seemed to have truly become a part of the shadows of this underground world, no longer a complete, concentrated energy source and Soul body.

The terrifying suction force targeting concentrated energy and Souls suddenly vanished!

Thud!

Lin Chen fell back to the ground. The illusory ground instantly reverted to cold rock. The yellow springs stele phantom below and the vast Nine Nether space seemed to have never appeared, disappearing without a trace. Only the terrifying pressure remaining in the cavern and the mess on the ground proved that the thrilling scene just now was not an illusion.

Hoo… Hoo…

Lin Chen lay on the cold rock, gasping for breath, his entire body drenched in cold sweat, every cell trembling. The lingering fear was like ice water poured over his head.

He was almost, just almost, swallowed by the phantom of the Yellow Springs yellow springs stele!

The “yellow springs stele jade” that he had painstakingly acquired, almost at the cost of his life, was just gone? Taken away by the yellow springs stele itself?!

After a brief sense of loss and absurdity, Lin Chen suddenly shivered, instantly realizing something.

Hall of Souls’s plan! They went to great lengths, even possibly intending to sacrifice the Black-Corner Region with blood, just to use this “key” to activate or even control the Yellow Springs yellow springs stele! But now… the key was directly “eaten” by the lock?!

Then their plan…

Just as Lin Chen’s thoughts raced, trying to make sense of this incredible turn of events—

“Boom!!!”

A colossal roar, far more terrifying than any previous sound, suddenly erupted from deep underground! Immediately after, the entire earth began to tremble and tear apart madly! As if a disturbed primordial giant beast was turning over underground!

“Roar—!!!”

A blurry, yet full of endless rage, pain, and savagery, roar penetrated countless rock layers, faintly reaching Lin Chen’s ears! This roar was not directed at him, but it made his Soul tremble and his Dou Qi solidify!

At the same time, in the distance above, faint sounds of chaotic, terrified screams and even more violent energy explosions came from the direction of Demon Flame Valley!

Earth Demon Old Ghost’s furious roar faintly penetrated the rock layer: “…What’s going on?! Why did the Earth Core Fire Python suddenly riot and retaliate?! Suppress it! Quickly suppress it for this Old Ghost!!”

“No! The altar… the altar is cracking!!”

“Run! The ground fire has erupted!!”

…

It’s chaos! Everything is in chaos!

Lin Chen lay on the ground, feeling the earth shaking and the distant sounds of chaos and terror from above. An unbelievable thought flashed through his mind.

The yellow springs stele jade was swallowed by the real Yellow Springs yellow springs stele… Could it be… by some twist of fate, not only did it not aid Hall of Souls’s plan, but instead… it prematurely triggered some terrifying change, even destroying their arrangements?! Waking up some terrifying thing (the Earth Core Fire Python?) that was sleeping deep underground?!

Misfortune can turn into a blessing!

He endured the severe pain and weakness, struggled to his feet, a look of madness and determination flashing in his eyes. No matter what happened, now was definitely the most chaotic time for Demon Flame Valley and Hall of Souls! It was also his only chance to escape in the chaos, or even… fish in troubled waters!

He must leave the underground immediately!

He identified a direction, following the increasingly violent earthquakes and energy fluctuations in the opposite direction. He circulated the Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art to its extreme, transforming into an almost invisible, dim shadow, and laboriously sneaked towards the surface.

Behind him, the earth cracked and mountains crumbled, fire poison erupted, as if the end of the world had arrived.