259: Chapter 259 Nine Nether Dragon Tomb, Fifth Rank

Nine Nether Dragon Tomb.

In the legends of the Yunmeng Great Marsh, this name represented a desperate land from which there was no return.

It was said that the sins of the ancient Dragon Clan were buried there, suppressing countless unwilling vengeful souls.

It was said that the place connected to the Nine Nether; if a living person stepped inside, they would be corroded by Yin Qi and turned into a walking corpse.

It was said that there—

Was a door.

A door leading to the true Gui Xu.

Gao De stood before the entrance of the Dragon Tomb.

It was a massive stone gate, pitch black all over, a hundred zhang high and fifty zhang wide, covered in twisted dragon patterns and Shamanic Scripts. Those characters had long been eroded by time, yet they still emitted a heart-palpitating aura.

"This is the place," he said softly.

Ao Xue stood by his side, her blood-red eyes filled with gravity.

She sensed it.

Behind that stone gate, something was calling to her.

It wasn't kindness.

It was... of the same origin.

"Great King," she said solemnly, "there is the aura of the Dragon Clan inside. Very ancient, very powerful... and very evil."

Gao De nodded.

"The Sinister Dragon stayed here before it was suppressed," he said. "Its resentment has soaked this land."

He paused.

"But there is something else."

"Something else?" Ao Xue was startled.

Gao De did not explain.

He simply raised his hand and pressed it against the stone gate.

Chaos Lightning poured in.

Boom—

The stone gate slowly opened.

Behind the gate was endless darkness.

That darkness was deeper, colder, and more deathly silent than the Gui Xu Eye.

Gao De took a deep breath.

"Let's go."

---

Inside the Dragon Tomb.

No direction, no light, no sound.

Only endless, deathly silence.

Gao De and Ao Xue walked side by side, every step landing on nothingness, yet it felt as if they were being watched by countless pairs of eyes.

Those eyes were invisible, yet they were everywhere.

Those gazes did not harm, but they made one's spine chill.

"Great King..." Ao Xue's voice was a bit tight, "How many lost souls are here...?"

Gao De was silent for a moment.

"Many," he said. "More than any battlefield you've ever seen."

"The ancient Dragon Clan suppressed sinful and wicked dragons here. Every suppressed dragon died with countless resentments."

"Their resentment has accumulated for who knows how many tens of thousands of years."

"Now—"

He stopped in his tracks.

Ahead, in the darkness, a point of light suddenly lit up.

The light was very faint, yet it was exceptionally clear in the endless darkness.

It wasn't ghostly green, nor ghostly blue.

It was—golden.

A faint, warm golden light, like the morning sun.

Gao De's pupils constricted slightly.

"That is..."

He quickened his pace.

Ao Xue followed closely behind.

The golden light grew brighter and brighter.

Finally—

The field of vision suddenly opened up.

It was a massive underground space.

The dome was so high the top couldn't be seen, and the walls were so wide the edges were invisible.

In the center of the space, an object quietly floated.

It was a stele.

A massive, pitch-black stone stele.

The stele was a hundred zhang high, thirty zhang wide, and ten zhang thick.

The stele was covered in densely packed characters—not dragon script, not Shamanic Script, but a font Gao De was intimately familiar with.

Immortal Qin Small Seal Script.

"This is..." Gao De was stunned.

He approached the stone stele.

The characters on the stele were faintly discernible:

"In the year 37,216 of the Immortal Qin Calendar, the First Emperor decreed: Construct the Imperial Roads to connect the world."

"With Geng-Metal as the bone, Spirit Stones as the pulse, and Dragon Souls as the guide—connect the eight desolations, traveling in an instant."

"This is: The Immortal Qin Imperial Road."

"Now, an Imperial Road Core, designated 'Bingyin', is established in Yunmeng to connect the world."

"Prime Minister of Great Qin, Li Si, erects this stele by decree."

Gao De finished reading and remained silent for a long time.

The Immortal Qin Imperial Road.

That was a legendary existence—it was said that in the Immortal Qin era, the First Emperor used supreme magical power to build a transport passage spanning the entire Central Continent. With this road, armies could travel ten thousand miles in an instant, and supplies could arrive by evening after departing in the morning.

It was a true miracle.

It was an ancient miracle that even the current Heavenly Dao Alliance could not replicate.

And now, an Imperial Road Core floated right before him.

Designated "Bingyin".

It had fallen here for who knows how many tens of thousands of years.

Suppressing the evils of the Nine Nether Dragon Tomb.

"Great King..." Ao Xue's voice trembled, "This... this is..."

Gao De took a deep breath.

"It's an Opportunity," he said. "And also a way out."

He raised his hand.

Chaos Lightning poured into the stone stele.

Boom—!!!

The stone stele suddenly lit up!

The golden light spread out like a tide, illuminating the entire underground space!

Wherever the light passed, the resentments, Yin souls, and evils hidden in the darkness retreated one after another!

It was as if they also feared this light.

Feared this pressure from the ancient Immortal Qin.

The light grew brighter and brighter.

Finally—

A crack opened in the center of the stone stele.

From the crack, an object slowly flew out.

It was a crystal the size of a fist.

It was golden all over, with countless fine runes flowing on its surface—they were Immortal Qin Small Seal Script, densely packed and layered.

Inside the crystal, hair-thin lines could be faintly seen, crisscrossing to form an incredibly complex Formation.

Imperial Road Core.

Designated "Bingyin".

Gao De reached out and grabbed the crystal.

The moment he touched the crystal—

Boom—!!!

Countless pieces of information flooded into his mind like a tide!

They were memory fragments of the Immortal Qin era—

He "saw" it.

He saw the First Emperor standing atop Xianyang Palace, looking down upon the world.

He saw countless craftsmen, Cultivators, and demon kings working day and night to build the Imperial Roads.

He saw the First Emperor personally step into the first completed Imperial Road, reaching the shores of the Eastern Sea from Xianyang in an instant.

He saw the Imperial Road network gradually take shape, with the eight desolations and six harmonies all within control.

He saw—

The day the Immortal Qin Dynasty collapsed.

The heavens fell and the earth rent, the Imperial Roads shattered.

Countless cores fell, scattered across the Central Continent; some sank into abysses, some fell into desperate lands, and some... disappeared into the Void Realm's turbulence.

And this one, designated "Bingyin", had fallen here.

Suppressing the Nine Nether.

Suppressing it for tens of thousands of years.

The images stopped abruptly.

Gao De opened his eyes.

He looked down at the golden crystal in his hand.

The crystal was pulsing gently.

As if saying—

"Activate me."

"Go to the Central Continent."

"Go where you want to go."

Gao De was silent.

After a long time, he put away the crystal.

"Ao Xue," he said.

"I am here."

"Next, I will comprehend the Dao here."

Ao Xue was startled: "Here?"

"Here," Gao De said. "The Nine Nether Dragon Tomb suppresses countless resentments. This is a land of death, but also a land of life."

"Between life and death, it is easiest to comprehend the Dao."

He paused.

"Moreover, with this Imperial Road Core fragment here, those evils won't dare approach."

"Protect me here."

Ao Xue nodded.

"How long will it take?"

Gao De thought for a moment.

"I don't know."

"Maybe a few days, maybe a few months, maybe a few years."

"But no matter what—"

He looked into the depths of the Dragon Tomb.

There, in the endless darkness, a very faint light could be seen.

It was the light of Reincarnation.

It was the light of Karma.

It was—the seventh strand of Great Dao power he had been searching for.

"Wait for me to come out," he said.

Then, he sat down cross-legged.

Closed his eyes.

Entered meditation.

---

Time lost its meaning in the Nine Nether Dragon Tomb.

No sunrise or sunset, no alternation of day and night.

Only endless darkness and the faint light emitted by that golden crystal.

Ao Xue guarded Gao De's side, motionless.

She didn't know how much time had passed.

Maybe a month, maybe three months, maybe a year.

She only knew that Gao De's aura was constantly changing.

Initially, it was Chaos.

Purple-gold, pitch-black, and gray—the three colors intertwined, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, as if they could collapse at any moment.

Then, it was Fusion.

The three colors gradually merged into one, turning into an indescribable color. That color seemed not to exist in the world, yet it was everywhere.

Then, it was stability.

That indescribable color gradually settled, turning into a faint mist that surrounded Gao De.

The mist was very thin.

So thin it was almost invisible.

But Ao Xue could feel it—

Within that mist was a power that made her heart palpitate.

It wasn't pressure.

It wasn't killing intent.

It was—

The Dao.

Another unknown amount of time passed.

That day, Gao De suddenly opened his eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes—

The entire Nine Nether Dragon Tomb shook violently!

The endless darkness receded like a tide!

Those resentments, Yin souls, and evils hidden in the shadows all let out shrill roars, as if they had seen something incredibly terrifying!

Ao Xue's pupils constricted!

She saw—

A point of light lit up at Gao De's Dantian.

That light was initially only the size of a grain of rice.

Then, it began to spin.

While spinning, it was absorbing something—

Absorbing the Chaos Lightning around Gao De.

Absorbing the lingering gray mist.

Absorbing the resentments accumulated for ten thousand years in the Nine Nether Dragon Tomb.

Absorbing the Immortal Qin pressure emitted by that golden crystal.

Absorbing—

Everything.

Finally, that rice-sized point of light turned into a fist-sized—

Dao Seed.

Transparent all over, yet containing ten thousand colors.

It quietly floated within Gao De's Dantian.

Pulsing like a heart.

With every pulse, a strand of Great Dao power would surge out and flow through his entire body.

Gao De stood up.

He looked down at his hand.

That hand was still a flood dragon's claw.

But the power contained within that claw—

Was no longer at the fourth rank.

Not even half-step fifth rank.

It was—

Fifth rank.

He looked up.

Toward the depths of the Dragon Tomb.

There, the endless darkness still existed.

But now, that darkness was no longer a threat in his eyes.

It was—scenery.

"So that's how it is," he said softly.

Ao Xue asked with a trembling voice: "Great King... you..."

Gao De turned to look at her.

In those eyes, there was no more purple-gold, no more pitch-black, no more gray.

Only a kind of—transparency.

A transparency that seemed to see through everything.

"Fifth rank," he said.

Ao Xue was stunned.

Then, she smiled.

That smile was more sincere than any before.

"Congratulations, Great King."

Gao De nodded.

He raised his hand and took out that golden crystal.

Now, the crystal and the Dao Seed in his Dantian resonated.

That resonance told him—

"Activate the Imperial Road."

"Go where you want to go."

He was silent for a moment.

Then, he looked at Ao Xue.

"Next, I'm going to a certain place."

Ao Xue was startled: "Where?"

"Central Continent," Gao De said. "The Endless Sea."

"There, another fallen Imperial Road fragment exists."

"There are ruins left by the Immortal Qin."

"There is—a greater Opportunity."

He paused.

"Do you... want to come with me?"

Ao Xue looked at him.

For a long time.

"Wherever you go, I go," she said.

Gao De smiled.

He raised his hand and pressed the golden crystal into the Void Realm.

Boom—!!!

The crystal suddenly erupted with blinding golden light!

That golden light intertwined, wound, and condensed in the Void Realm—

Finally, it transformed into a massive gateway.

The door was three zhang high and two zhang wide.

The door was covered in Immortal Qin Small Seal Script:

"Imperial Road Bingyin—Yunmeng Marsh Nine Nether Station—Central Continent Endless Sea Gengchen Station."

"Ten thousand miles in an instant."

"Arrive in a heartbeat."

Gao De took a deep breath.

"Let's go."

He and Ao Xue stepped into that door side by side.

---

The light faded.

Before them was a strange world.

The sky was gray, and the sea was black.

Fierce winds howled, and massive waves surged.

In the distance, a massive island could be faintly seen floating in mid-air.

On the island, there were broken walls and debris everywhere.

There were architectural remains in the Immortal Qin style.

There were massive stone statues, broken into several sections.

There were countless stone steles, tilted and covered in moss.

Here—

Was another location where a fragment of the Immortal Qin Imperial Road had fallen.

It was the ruins of a Secret Realm that had sunk into the Endless Sea.

Gao De stood in the Void Realm, looking at all this.

Behind him, that golden gateway slowly dissipated.

Ao Xue stood by his side, her blood-red eyes full of shock.

"Great King, this is..."

Gao De did not answer.

He simply raised his hand and pressed it against his Dantian.

There, the Dao Seed pulsed gently.

It was telling him—

Here, there was something he was looking for.

There was the Great Dao power he needed.

The seventh strand.

Or—

More.

"Let's go," he said.

"Let's see what the Immortal Qin ruins have left behind."

The two of them turned into streaks of light and flew toward that floating island.

Behind them, the Endless Sea's waves surged furiously.

Ahead, unknown opportunities and dangers—

Quietly waited.