261: Early stage of the eighth rank

Just as she was about to speak, Chen Yu wrapped her in a bathrobe.

A fluffy head buried itself directly into the crook of her neck.

"Don't move. Just be This Lord Prefect's human body pillow, okay?"

Ling Qi: "..."

[You take off your clothes just to show me this???]

He tui—I despise you.

Outside the window, the city streetlights remained lit.

In the lounge, the sounds of the two of them "threatening" and "bargaining" echoed back and forth.

No one noticed that outside the slightly ajar door...

A flash of pure white clothing passed by, carrying a hint of guilt, and quietly vanished at the end of the corridor.

[Quick, let's go, I almost watched a live version.]

...Netherworld, Zi Wei Palace, Third Level.

"Achoo!"

Shang Wan Ning rubbed her nose and wondered, "Strange, the Outer Gods haven't made a move in two or three years. Why the sudden sneeze?"

She thought about it but then couldn't be bothered; she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

Right now, her divine power was being compressed back and forth at the peak of the seventh stage, having already rotated one hundred and fifteen times.

She estimated that after another five or six rotations, she could absorb the fragments of the Law of Reincarnation and use them to break through to the early eighth stage.

One rotation, two, three... Shang Wan Ning counted the number of times her divine power circled in her energy center.

The rotations went deeper and deeper, her meridians swelling as if they would burst, every inch of her body tightened to the extreme.

She gritted her teeth, desperately forcing it down.

Fragrant sweat rolled down her forehead, soaking a large dark patch on the front of her phoenix robe.

As it reached the hundred and twentieth rotation, the floating reincarnation fragments suddenly lit up.

Grains of shimmering light flickered with a stubborn resistance, refusing to enter her energy center no matter what.

Shang Wan Ning's gaze turned sharp as she formed a hand seal, using brute force to shove the cluster of light points deep into her energy center.

Crack!

A crisp sound exploded in her ears. It was unclear if her meridians were being forcibly expanded or if the bottleneck of her realm had finally shattered.

Her energy center shook violently with a boom.

The long-accumulated divine power burst forth like a broken dam, washing through her in a violent surge.

Her Purple Mansion tightened as she forcibly suppressed her churning blood, focusing her mind and cautiously guiding the energy with her will.

She crushed the reincarnation fragments bit by bit, kneading them into the roaring torrent of divine power.

When she opened her eyes again, the aura around her had become much more condensed and heavy.

The early eighth-stage divine power flowed through her meridians with unprecedented smoothness and harmony, without the slightest bit of stagnation.

She raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her brow, the weight in her heart finally lifting.

"It's done... I need to stabilize quickly so I don't give myself away."

Her hand brushed against the wet marks on her phoenix robe, and she realized her back had long been soaked with cold sweat.

The damp ritual garment clung tightly to her skin, sending a chill down her spine.

Outside the Zi Wei Palace, the Yin wind of the Netherworld swept past the upturned eaves, stirring a string of delicate, floating copper bells.

The sound of the bells only served to emphasize the dead silence within the secret chamber.

Only the low hum of the divine power surging within her body remained... At the center of the former Yin Jiao Clan altar at Yao Zui Cliff.

You Xiang dragged an Observer along, huffing and puffing as she ran to Ling Qi: "Secretary-General, the passage to the Demon domain has been stabilized. Should we proceed with the cross-plane transit now?"

Ling Qi rubbed the frame of her gold-rimmed glasses with her index finger, her eyelids drooping heavily.

She hadn't had a full night's sleep these past few days, being pestered by that White-Haired Loli.

The dark circles under her eyes had almost reached her cheekbones.

She massaged her throbbing temples forcefully, her voice sounding hollow and raspy.

"No rush... We'll wait until Lady Meng Jiang finishes her seclusion. It's safer to enter in batches."

"Close the passage first." She paused, her gaze shifting to the spatial rift where Demon mist was churning.

She added, "The situation in the Demon domain is unclear. If something slips out and disturbs the Mercury Plane, it'll be a huge mess."

As she spoke, a familiar ache came from her lower back—

It was entirely the aftereffect of being someone's human body pillow for several nights; she felt like her bones were about to fall apart.

Hearing this, the Observer immediately raised a hand to shut down the device.

"Awoo—!!!"

A sudden burst of excited barking erupted not far away.

Ling Qi turned around at the sound.

She saw a pack of hyperactive Iron-Haired Dogs with colorful flyers for the 'Underworld Examination Sprint Class' in their mouths.

They were frolicking and sprinting wildly toward the spatial rift.

In the mouth of the leader, Big Dog, there was actually half a pair of red underpants fluttering in the wind!!!

"Holy crap!" You Xiang reacted instantly, cursing under her breath.

She lunged forward and quickly grabbed the very tip of the tail of the last dog in the pack.

Dog hair instantly covered her sleeve.

"You little ancestors, where's the keeper?"

"If these Iron-Haired Dogs aren't tied up tight, they'll tear down the entire Underworld to use as chew toys."

You Xiang shouted in exasperation.

Ling Qi didn't even have time to take out her phone to contact You Yu.

From the corner of her eye, she saw several wisps of eerily colored Demon wind quietly creeping out from deep within the rift.

Her heart sank, and her throat went dry: "Quick, close the passage immediately!"

The Observer's fingers almost struck sparks on the command panel.

You Xiang was still desperately pulling on the tail of the howling Iron-Haired Dog.

Her other hand reached out in a futile attempt to block the lead Big Dog's mouth.

But it was too late!

Just as her palm was about to touch Big Dog's nose...

The half-pair of red underpants, along with Big Dog who was carrying it and the string of frolicking dogs behind him,

With a "whoosh," they vanished into the rapidly shrinking spatial rift.

"Big Dog—" You Xiang's cry got stuck in her throat.

Almost simultaneously, several wisps of grayish-green Demon wind from deep within the rift suddenly accelerated.

They lunged fiercely toward the passage opening that hadn't fully closed yet.

Wherever the Demon wind passed, the air made a faint "sizzling" sound, carrying a hint of a cloyingly sweet, rotten stench.

"Close it, now!" Ling Qi's voice suddenly rose, sharp and cracking.

The ache in her lower back was instantly drowned out by adrenaline.

She could even feel the malice contained within the Demon wind.

It scraped coldly against her skin.

Hum—

The Observer slammed down the close button.

The device emitted a piercing buzz, and the entire temporary passage opening twisted, collapsed, and shook violently... The energy turbulence lashed the air like an out-of-control whip, letting out a tooth-grinding screech.

The few wisps of Demon wind that had lunged close...

They slammed into an invisible barrier, letting out an unwilling "hiss" before being shredded by the violent spatial forces.

Bang!

The Observer slumped onto the ground.

He gasped for air, his uniform soaked through with cold sweat.

You Xiang also let go, her strength spent.

The Iron-Haired Dog she had been holding let out an "awoo," tucked its tail, and scurried to the side, aggrievedly licking the tip of its tail where it had been pulled.

Looking at the messy scene and the empty space ahead, she felt like crying but had no tears.

"It's over... Big Dog and the others... and those half-underpants... they're all inside. Lord Prefectural City God is definitely going to skin me alive."

Ling Qi felt her temples throbbing even harder, her vision momentarily darkening.

She forced herself to stand steady, using her index finger to push her gold-rimmed glasses back up from the tip of her nose.

"...Immediately initiate the emergency plan. Notify the Di Ting Department to fully scan the edge of the Demon domain and locate the energy signals of the Iron-Haired Dog pack."

"Contact You Yu and tell him... Never mind, I'll find him myself."