93: Chapter 93 Nine Netherworld Spirit Evolution - The Appearance of the Five Races

"Cough, cough... Second Brother," Laozi coughed twice, "Five Innate Spirit Treasures are no small matter. Have you truly thought this through?"

Indeed, five pieces were certainly no triviality. Although the Twelve Ancestral Witches had gifted them many natural treasures over the years, including no few Innate Spirit Treasures, when split among the three of them, each had only five or six. Yuanshi's move was almost equivalent to betting his entire net worth!

However, a flicker of smugness passed through Yuanshi's eyes. What he held in his possession was far more than that—one must not forget that back then, he had joined forces with Zhu Rong and others to surround and kill Dijun. After Dijun and Tai Yi fell, the Dharma treasures they left behind all came into his possession.

"I only ask you one thing: do you dare to bet?" Yuanshi asked back proudly.

"I'll bet! Why wouldn't I dare!" Tongtian's temperament was fierce and straightforward; his fighting spirit was instantly ignited, and he immediately agreed.

Laozi gritted his teeth and growled in a low voice, "It's a bet!"

Because the three were communicating via divine sense transmissions, others had no way of knowing, so the Five Ancestors of the Human Race naturally heard nothing.

Samsara World, the Great Yin Realm.

The Great Yin Realm was situated at the core of the Samsara World, also known as the Nine Nether Continent, which Jiang Chen had created in the image of the Honghuang World.

This continent was vast and boundless, equivalent to the sum of dozens of Empyrean-level worlds. Above, stars were arrayed and the sun and moon rotated; below, it was surrounded by the four seas, with islands scattered like stars on a chessboard.

The mountains and rivers were beautiful, the vegetation lush, with the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers. At first glance, it looked like a replica of the Honghuang World, except the light was slightly dim and the territory was a bit smaller; otherwise, the layout was almost identical.

Since the initial establishment of Samsara and the formation of the Nine Nether, seven Kalpas had passed.

Through the evolution of seven Kalpas, myriad spirits gradually emerged upon the continent.

When Jiang Chen built this place, he had cast in endless remains of primordial beings, using their remnant souls and bloodlines to catalyze the evolution of heaven and earth. Therefore, most of the spirits born in the Nine Nether inherited primordial bloodlines and possessed extraordinary potential.

Due to the profound influence of the Earthly Dao's source, the primordial bloodlines within these Nine Nether spirits underwent a quiet mutation.

For instance, the Demonic Dragon Clan, one of the five great clans of the Nine Nether Continent today, were originally descendants of the primordial Dragon Clan. However, under the reshaping of the Earthly Dao's source, their bloodline transformed, allowing them to wield the power of death from birth.

In addition to the Demonic Dragon Clan, there were the Nether Phoenix Clan, the Black Kirin Clan, the Ghost Tiger Clan, and the Demonic Elephant Clan, which together formed the five great races of the Nine Nether.

As the supreme ruler of the Nine Nether Continent, the Great Emperor of Fengdu, in order to more effectively govern the myriad spirits on this land, bestowed the title of "Five Nether Emperors" upon the leaders of the five great races.

And he officially designated all spirits of the Nine Nether Continent collectively as—the "Nine Nether Underworld Clan"!

From that moment on, the "Nine Nether Underworld Clan" officially appeared in the world!

Fengdu City was located at the heart of the Nine Nether Continent. It was the imperial capital where the Great Emperor of Fengdu resided, and also the sacred city that could not be desecrated in the hearts of all Nine Nether Underworld Clan members.

Above Fengdu City, a magnificent and solemn palace sat perched atop the nine heavens, named the Fengdu Hall. The entire palace complex was shrouded in a cold, demonic light that made one's heart tremble, not daring to look directly at it.

At this moment, within the Fengdu Hall, the Great Emperor of Fengdu sat in the void, his gaze looking down at the Five Nether Emperors standing in rows below.

These Five Nether Emperors were each the heads of the five great Nine Nether races, and their cultivation had all reached the Third Heaven of the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm. If placed in the Honghuang World, every one of them would be a renowned and powerful existence.

Yet now, every one of them was tense and uneasy. Especially when the Great Emperor of Fengdu's gaze swept over them, their faces turned pale, and they lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

After a moment, the Great Emperor of Fengdu finally spoke: "The Emperor predicted long ago: the day Hongjun merges with the Dao is the time for our Nine Nether Underworld Clan to step into the Honghuang World. Have you all prepared sufficiently?"

The Five Nether Emperors immediately dropped to one knee, a look of fatal determination igniting in their eyes.

"We are willing to go through fire and water for the Emperor, even if it means ten thousand deaths!"

The Great Emperor of Fengdu slowly rose. A cold light surged in his deep eyes, and a pressure far exceeding the level of a Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal erupted from his body. Although it had not reached the Empyrean realm, it still shook heaven and earth.

"The Heavenly Dao wishes to begin the Era of Saints. How can we allow it to succeed!"

"You must remember firmly that the sole mission of our Nine Nether Underworld Clan is to create chaos, hindering the evolution of the Primordial Myriad Clans at all costs and delaying the arrival of the Era of Saints to gain growth opportunities for the Pangu Clan. Only when they rise will the true Great War of Heaven and Earth finally descend!"

"We shall obey the decree!" the Five Nether Emperors answered in unison, their voices low like thunder.

The Great Emperor of Fengdu nodded slightly, his expression satisfied.

Admittedly, the overall strength of the Nine Nether Underworld Clan was far inferior to the Primordial Myriad Clans, but their role was not a frontal confrontation. Instead, they were the shadow blade of the Pangu Clan, specializing in disruption and delay.

Besides, what if the entire clan was wiped out? Do not forget that within the Samsara Realm, that forbidden clan—the Undead Clan—still lay in wait.

The most terrifying aspect of the Undead Clan was that they could convert any living being into their own kind, and with every person they absorbed, their own strength would grow a step further.

Only because the Heavenly Dao and Jiang Chen had once made an agreement: the Undead Clan must not participate in the Great Honghuang War. Otherwise, the Heavenly Dao would surely tear up the covenant completely. After all, the Undead Clan was too terrifying; once they intervened, they would inevitably trigger the catastrophe of the Dark Era once again.

In fact, Jiang Chen also had no intention of letting the Undead Clan appear too early.

If the sheep are not fattened, killing them is tasteless. Is it not more bountiful to wait until the Heavenly Dao has nurtured and strengthened the Primordial Myriad Clans before harvesting them? Although this move carried enormous risk, he still held a trump card in his hand—the Pangu Clan.

Once the Pangu Clan grew up, their strength would certainly not be inferior to the Undead Clan. This was the fundamental reason why Jiang Chen put all his effort into cultivating them.

When the final decisive battle of heaven and earth arrived, the Pangu Clan would be the main force, the Undead Clan would be the vanguard, and with the Nine Nether Underworld Clan disrupting the situation, the combined force of the three would be enough to sweep across the entire Honghuang World...

The reason war had not yet broken out was only because both the Heavenly Dao and Jiang Chen were not fully prepared; neither could ensure the complete annihilation of the other.

The Heavenly Dao needed to use evolution to accumulate power, and Jiang Chen also needed time to raise his realm.

Furthermore, to prevent all plans from failing, Jiang Chen had already sent the Four Great Corpse Kings deep into the Eternal Chaos to search for those remnant worlds formed by the Chaos Fiendgods.

Should the plot for Honghuang fail, he would personally lead his army to conquer the various Demon God Worlds, devouring them one by one to accumulate strength before returning to counterattack Honghuang.

Of course, this was only the final escape route Jiang Chen had reserved for himself—it would only be activated if he met defeat in the ultimate showdown with the Heavenly Dao.

As for the human race, they were merely a pawn in Jiang Chen's layout. Once he fully grasped the authority of the Human Dao, Jiang Chen would immediately take action, transforming the entire human race into the Undead Clan to take control of the Human Dao's authority through them.

Mercy?

No, Jiang Chen never knew what that was. To achieve his goals, he could use any means necessary, even if it meant slaughtering the entire human race, he would not hesitate.

They were created by his own hands; what would it matter if they were destroyed? Where would any reluctance come from?

In the final analysis, whether it was the Undead Race, the Pangu Clan, or the human race, in Jiang Chen's eyes they were all just controllable pawns, existing only to help him swallow Honghuang faster and step into that supreme Eternal Realm.

In the Honghuang World, time has no meaning; in the blink of an eye, ten million years have already passed.