"Where in the world were you two just now?" Ye Xiu looked at the bloodstains on Chang Kong's body, utterly perplexed. He had only seen a flash of golden light burst forth, and then the two of them had instantly appeared before him.

Chang Kong turned back, steadying his voice, "We merely played a game of chess."

Xian Tianhe waved his hand in resignation, saying calmly, "Though we could use the Kṣitigarbha Śarīra seal as an excuse, I must admit the power of the Fanhai Jitian Seal. Alright, you win."

"Just... won?" Ye Xiu looked at Chang Kong in confusion, pushing him slightly. "Isn't the Fanhai Jitian Seal that round golden stamp? The one with some dragon script and Sanskrit characters? What else can it do besides glow?"

"I think it can only glow now," Chang Kong tucked the prayer beads into his sleeve, offering no further explanation.

At this moment, the surrounding water began to surge madly, circling wildly around Xian Tianhe and pulling everything in. Xian Tianhe himself gradually dissolved into water vapor amidst the churning, "The line of the Death Gods created a place on the edge of the Human Realm called the Yuan Mingjiang Boundary. I've only heard whispers of it; no one has ever truly been there."

"What Yuan Mingjiang Boundary!" Ye Xiu used his scythe to anchor himself against the aggressive currents, but Xian Tianhe simply tossed out that bombshell sentence before vanishing into the waves. Ye Xiu grabbed Chang Kong, questioning him insistently, "Where is the edge of the Human Realm? How have I never heard of it?"

Chang Kong flicked his hand, enveloping the two of them in a golden light. This radiance shot straight up, carrying them soaring out of the sea surface: "The Netherworld relies on the flow of the Blood Sea to invade the Human Realm, and the Kṣitigarbha King suppressed them beneath Mount Jiuhua. That is proof enough that Mount Jiuhua is what the people of the Netherworld call the edge of the Human Realm. As for how the denizens of the Dead Country enter the Human Realm, that remains a mystery."

Ye Xiu was surrounded by so many riddles that frustration brewed within him. Just then, a shard of a five-pointed star leaped from the ocean surface into the air, its blue luminescence casting a rather pleasant light around them. "Is that a Kṣitigarbha Śarīra?"

Chang Kong counted on his fingers, bowing deeply. "The Great Vow Kṣitigarbha sealed the Five Marquises of the Netherworld with his last vestiges of Buddha power, but in doing so, he opened another possibility. These five śarīra are the product of the symbiosis between Buddhist Dharma and the Asura race. If the Rúshì Gate is not closed within a certain timeframe, these five śarīra will degenerate into Demonic Buddha Śarīra and bring ruin upon the world. We are running out of time."

"Demonic Buddha Śarīra?" Ye Xiu's eyes widened as he pressed, "Does that mean Kṣitigarbha King's Buddha power will be corrupted into the Demonic Path? To be used by those in the Netherworld?"

Chang Kong guided the golden light forward. In the distance, a volcano erupted, its thick smoke already choking the entire domain. "The Demonic Buddha Śarīra is formed from the resentment Kṣitigarbha King held before achieving his Great Vow. In the ancient era, Kṣitigarbha King’s strike against Jidu Bâozhǔ Shā Jūn Tiānxià resulted in the King of Killing's demonic essence entering his body, causing him to fall to the Demonic Path!"

"Whoa!" Ye Xiu gaped. He had never heard these stories before. "Who is Jidu Bâozhǔ Shā Jūn Tiānxià? You're saying Kṣitigarbha King once descended into the Demonic Path?"

"Shā Jūn is a legend of the Demon Realm. He once established the Jidu Dynasty using his Demonic Blade, unifying the entire Demon Realm, and then turned his gaze toward the Human Realm, the nexus point connecting all realms," Chang Kong spoke flatly, as if reciting scripture. "Kṣitigarbha King faced this tribulation during his Buddhist cultivation. He foresaw Shā Jūn’s conspiracy and, at the cost of entering demonhood himself, slew Shā Jūn, sending a shockwave throughout the Demon Realm."

"The Demon Realm also wants to come to the Human Realm!" Ye Xiu began to feel that the world was far less peaceful than people imagined, unaware of how many fiends and strange beings in realms beyond the Human Realm were eyeing this precious land.

Chang Kong waved, signaling Ye Xiu to stop interrupting. He continued, "After Kṣitigarbha King entered Nirvana, his Buddha power transformed into the śarīra to seal the Five Marquises of the Netherworld. These five śarīra contain both immense Buddha power and the integrated vital blood power of the Netherworld, further holding the essence of Shā Jūn's demonic embryo. Once the Five Marquises of the Netherworld perish, the five śarīra are destined to merge into one, activating the Five-Pointed Tomb of Buddha Array, and inevitably, Jidu Bâozhǔ Shā Jūn Tiānxià will be reborn. Only the Rúshì Gate can keep him isolated. If we do not depart before the Rúshì Gate closes, when Shā Jūn escapes, the Netherworld will once again covet the Human Realm and attempt to rule the world!"

Ye Xiu swallowed hard at this revelation. He could hardly imagine Shā Jūn’s power. At this point, he could only urge Chang Kong: "Then hurry up! Who else is ahead? The East Nether Fire Marquis, Guansi Yan, or the Four Boundaries Marquis, Wu Jun?"

Chang Kong's Buddha power surged again. The golden light transformed into a golden lotus, diving downward, already cutting through the endless fire and ash before them. "It is all the will of the Buddha. Matters of destiny and reincarnation—we can only try our best to act, but we cannot dictate the final outcome."

"What damn Buddha will! I'm just bored and want to figure out the origin of the Death Gods, and what about these other life forms," Ye Xiu gazed at the swirling smoke ahead. There was an island, and at its center stood a towering volcano, its lava and ash covering the surroundings. Dust rained from the heavens, and waves of intense heat washed in from all sides, making one restless.

"Boom..." At that moment, a massive boulder wrapped in blazing crimson fire charged toward the golden lotus. Behind it, countless smaller flying stones shot up from below, determined to knock the lotus down.

"Careful!" Chang Kong threw out another string of prayer beads, weaving a massive golden seal in front of them. This seal stood like a mighty shield before the boulder. "The Fanhai Jitian Seal probably cannot withstand so many attacks."

"Geez, aren't those things specifically for setting up formations?" Ye Xiu joked, showing no concern for the fireballs. At this moment, black flames erupted from both his hands as he drew a pattern across his chest. When fully unleashed, a long, serpentine black dragon spewed forth, incinerating all the endless fireballs behind the great stone. "You take the big one!"

A deafening roar erupted the instant the boulder collided with the golden seal. The rock struck the seal with earth-shattering force. After a cloud of dust settled, the golden seal was pushed right up to the two of them, the scorching heat giving them no time to evade.

"What happened!" Ye Xiu had placed great faith in Chang Kong's strength, but now that Chang Kong's golden seal had been jolted by the boulder, he spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed. Forget the golden seal; even the golden lotus they were riding flickered violently, on the verge of vanishing. Seeing this, Ye Xiu quickly supported Chang Kong. "Are you alright?"

Chang Kong wiped a smear of blood, sighing, "Xian Tianhe's formation layout is incredibly subtle. I expended a lot of my Buddha power within it; the Fanhai Jitian Seal couldn't perform at its maximum potential."

Ye Xiu understood what Chang Kong meant. The frequency of the golden seal's flickering was accelerating. He helped Chang Kong onto the lotus, then braced himself against the searing heat, snatching up the Death God Scythe before leaping forward, resolved to cleave the boulder apart.