“So, once the Apocalypse Passage is opened, the Xuanji Hook Worm can truly manifest its power in this realm, giving you the chance to obtain the Earth Essence and forge your divine weapon, is that correct?” The Myriad Demon Empress chuckled, having long seen through Yan Luo’s machinations. “It is merely that I, the Myriad Demon Empress, made a promise to the Pluto King and must comply. I only need to scout for an individual capable of inheriting the Pluto King’s lifeblood essence during certain specific eras.”

“Pluto King’s lifeblood again.” Ye Xiu pondered deeply without speaking. Based on his own experiences, the Empress had chosen Han Xin during the late Qin Dynasty, yet Han Xin became inexplicably entangled in the conflicts between Empress Bu Xianwu and Mount Bu Xian. How could the Pluto King of the Dead Kingdom, who retreated into the Gate of the Dead Kingdom after his defeat in ancient times, have his lifeblood essence fall into the hands of the Myriad Demon Empress? What was the relationship between this Empress and the Pluto King of the Dead Kingdom?

“Never mind. The Apocalypse Passage is open now. I will take Ying Zheng to the Spirit Spring of the Dead Kingdom. If you wish, I don’t mind you following, hehe!” With those words, the Myriad Demon Empress flicked her long sleeve and vanished from the grand hall. Only then did the ministers outside begin to cry out, “The Great King is gone! The Great King is gone!”

Yan Luo turned to look at Ye Xiu and gestured with the long saber in his hand. “If we can help shape your divine weapon along the way, why wouldn't we go!”

At that very moment, Ye Xiu felt the strange energy emanating from the hall. He felt a thin layer of gas approaching him, and after a moment of tingling numbness like an electric shock, his body began to disappear, starting from his feet up to his head.

“Hoo… hoo…” Ye Xiu had experienced this world before. The area in the Underworld where the Sea of Blood did not flow was the domain of the Dead Kingdom. Here, the sky was only deep black, and the ground was only shattered stone. A colossal, looming black mountain peak stood before them—this was the Spirit Spring Mountain, the sacred mountain of the Dead Kingdom.

The Myriad Demon Empress floated midway up the mountain. Beside her, Ying Zheng was already drifting about like a zombie. She turned her head to look at Yan Luo and Ye Xiu, teasing, “The origin point of the Xuanji Hook Worm is also this Spirit Spring Mountain. I only hope the true power of that Xuanji Hook Worm won't frighten the two of you.”

“What is she trying to do!” This was Ye Xiu’s second time entering the Dead Kingdom, but his first time in this Spirit Spring Mountain. Watching the Empress and Ying Zheng dart into the mountainside, he felt somewhat bewildered. “Why is this mountain entirely covered in these heavy shells resembling armor? Some coiled snail shells are attached to it; at a glance, one might mistake it for a giant beetle.”

“Get excited. We are about to witness the true Xuanji Hook Worm. Once we kill it, we will be one step closer to the divine weapon.” Yan Luo hoisted his long saber and leaped up, setting foot on the mountain. Clearly, this was no ordinary mountain. As his foot landed on one of the snail-shell-like objects, it instantly emitted a blinding red light, and several massive pincers shot out, trying to clamp down on him tightly.

“Swish!” Yan Luo, with his higher Death God cultivation, sidestepped with a small jump and slashed out with his saber. He found that the hard shell-like pincers were completely indestructible. “Isn’t this just the Sand Demon Worm from the desert, only wearing an extra set of hard armor?”

“Rumble, rumble…” At this moment, the entire mountain body began to shake in response to Yan Luo’s actions. A long, snake-like creature burst forth from a fissure in the mountain. It was cylindrical, its body as large as a small mountain peak, and this peak was also covered in unyielding armor. At the summit of the peak, a giant mouth opened, revealing a three-lobed maw lined with rows of tenacious teeth.

Ye Xiu’s eyes widened as he watched the behemoth descend from above and settle onto the ground. He swallowed hard and roared, “Is this the Xuanji Hook Worm you spoke of? It’s all these hard-shelled creatures? I remember the Sand Demon Worm being soft-bodied; why has it changed like this in this place?”

“Crap, it seems those things have changed. This must be their true form!” Cold sweat beaded on Yan Luo’s forehead. At this instant, he saw two enormous Double-Eyed Death Bats circling in the mountainside. These bats only exposed their upper and lower eyes; the rest of their bodies were encased in iron armor, appearing inviolable.

“Damn it, where is this place!” Suddenly, a familiar voice drifted over from the edge of the mountain. Old Liu slid down, riding his Demon-Slaying Sword. He had arrived here following the Double-Eyed Death Bats and realized this place was utterly perilous. “Ye Xiu, Ye Xiu! Why are you here too…”

Seeing Old Liu looking hale and hearty, the stone in Ye Xiu’s heart finally settled. He grabbed the fellow and carefully checked him over. “How did you get here? This is the Dead Kingdom!”

“The Dead Kingdom? You call this pitch-black, deep mountain the Dead Kingdom.” Old Liu felt the bodies of the Double-Eyed Death Bats shifting slightly. He turned around and was equally astonished by the massive creature on the mountain. “Holy crap, don’t tell me that right after escaping danger, we have to face these monsters head-on? Hey, who is that guy!”

“Yan Luo. That man is the Yan Luo we’ve been looking for.”

“Yan Luo? The Yan Luo who took Mei Yi?” Old Liu looked closely; this man bore some resemblance to the Yan Luo he encountered in the Fourth Heavenly Tower. “How did you team up with Yan Luo? Are we supposed to fight these monsters?”

Seeing Old Liu, Ye Xiu suddenly remembered Yan Luo kidnapping Mei Yi in the living world, but it seemed impossible. “Let’s not worry about that for now. The Myriad Demon Empress took Ying Zheng to transform him into a Death God. Although we don't know if we should stop him, Yan Luo said that to get the divine weapon, we need to acquire the energy of the Xuanji Hook Worm.”

“You guys have the hope of a divine weapon, while I’m stuck dealing with whatever this is,” Old Liu grumbled slightly, but just then, the Double-Eyed Death Bat seemed to recognize him and swooped directly toward him. “Geez, does this thing have to hold such a grudge? It’s just because I killed one of their family of three, right?”

Seeing this, Ye Xiu blasted out with Black Flame, but unfortunately, the armor on the Death Bat was impervious to fire. It charged down fiercely, aiming straight for Old Liu. “Careful, damn it!”

Old Liu had a history of fighting the Double-Eyed Death Bat. Now, his dark glasses were on. He gripped the Demon-Slaying Sword, ready for his dragon transformation stance. A white light burst from the sword, and an ice dragon soared into the air, colliding exactly with the charging body of the Death Bat and freezing it solid. “Don’t think I’ll be careless again.”

“Now’s our chance!” Yan Luo’s martial power was superior. Seeing Old Liu display such ability, he immediately drew his long saber and sent a streak of blade light slashing across. The blade light scattered ten thousand rays of light upon contact with the Death Bat, shredding it into dust. “Death God, it seems we need your friend to freeze these things before we can deal with them!”

“Aaaaooow…” Another Death Bat in the high heavens saw its companion killed and let out a frantic wail. This cry enraged the three-mouthed cylindrical giant python coiled around the mountain. It mindlessly swung its eyeless head, smashing down toward the crowd.

“Jump!” Ye Xiu shouted, and he and Old Liu flipped into the ground to evade the blow. However, the python’s head was too large; the impact on the ground triggered a massive rolling wave of stones that forced the two into a corner.

“Crack, crack, crack…” The previously solid ground instantly collapsed. From the black hole, two massive claws shot up, plunging down towards them.

Yan Luo jumped down from the mountainside, taking in the whole scene. He gripped his twin sabers with all his might and brought them down towards the two giant claws. “Damn it, do these worms even coordinate?”

“Go! Go!” Ye Xiu propped himself up with his iron staff and propelled himself out of the body using a Black Flame burst. Old Liu instantly threw out his Thin Face Blade silk thread, wrapping it around Ye Xiu’s heel. “These things can’t be harmed by ordinary spiritual power.”

“Clang!” Yan Luo’s strike landed right at the base of the giant claws. This blow was earth-shattering but only managed to slightly alter the downward trajectory of the claws. Upon landing, he too rolled and tumbled to escape the collapsed ground. “Hey, where’s your ice? Hurry up and finish it!”

“It’s not your place to lecture me!” Old Liu had never imagined having the opportunity to cooperate with someone like this. At this moment, Ye Xiu pulled him upwards, and they ascended to the mountainside. With his Demon-Slaying Sword in hand, his sword formation was complete, and instantly, the ice dragon coiled in the air, summoning a sudden, freezing snow that instantly covered the giant claws.

“What’s wrong? Is that all?” Yan Luo was clearly somewhat disappointed in Old Liu. Without another word, he brought his saber down, intending to sever the Sand Demon Worm’s claws. But just then, the entire world was suddenly illuminated by a bright light. He felt a wave of dizziness, and when he looked down again, the Sand Demon Worm had already burrowed underground. “Damn it.”

“It’s the Double-Eyed Death Bat!” Ye Xiu landed halfway up the mountain. He looked down and saw the Double-Eyed Death Bat perched directly on the head of the giant python. Since the python had no eyes, the bat served as an excellent spotter for it. “These three truly know how to cooperate. It looks like we have to take out that Death Bat first.”

“It seems we need a plan too,” Yan Luo also jumped to Ye Xiu’s side, glancing sideways at the two. “I’ll draw away that eyeless giant python. I’ll leave the Sand Demon Worm to Ye Xiu to handle. Taoist priest, you must freeze that Death Bat immediately. Ye Xiu and I will strike when the time is right.”

“Hmph, I can take him down alone!” Old Liu was still smarting from the painful lesson of being attacked by the Death Bat. As soon as he spoke, he stepped onto the Demon-Slaying Sword, his Thin Face Blade in hand, intent on engaging the Death Bat in close combat.

“Yaha!” Yan Luo was faster. He brought down both his sabers, striking squarely onto the head of the giant python. This action startled the Death Bat so much that it flew into the air. However, the python’s body was incredibly tough; this sudden overhead strike did not harm it but instead ignited its fighting instinct. It thrashed its head and tail, destroying nearly half of Spirit Spring Mountain. “Taoist, hurry up, watch out for its white eye!”