Xie Feng's usually calm and detached voice suddenly took on a sharp, excited edge. Simultaneously, Xie Feng and his entourage appeared on the opposite side of the narrow, natural stone chamber. The two exploring parties finally met in this confined space. It was no wonder neither side had discovered the other until this moment.

This was because the bottom of the Styx Valley, within these stalactite caves, was truly like a spider's silken lair—a cramped, intricate network of tunnels, extraordinarily complex. The gaps between these cave passages were filled with sediment deposited over untold eons from the ceaseless torrent of the Styx River. Where these deposits had been eroded away in weaker sections, the remaining structure was invariably as hard as iron, a substance that even a Nascent Soul expert would struggle to blast through due to its thickness and density.

Coincidentally, this layer of rock-like material had effectively shielded the powerful individuals on both sides from divine sense scanning. This was precisely why Lei Dong and his group had nearly been ambushed earlier by a peak Nascent Soul-level Netherworld Black Snake. It wasn't until they were almost nose-to-nose that the two groups became aware of the other's presence.

In the first instant, both parties were captivated by the Chaos Golden Lotus—a plant of utterly bizarre shape, radiating a treasury of light. But in the very next second, they simultaneously discovered an unexpected swarm of uninvited guests besides their own company.

Their strongest member, Lei Long, reacted the fastest. He immediately stepped forward, flashing in front of Lei Dong, his expression intensely serious. "Big Brother, be careful. There are two Soul Transformation stage experts on their side."

Lei Dong had noticed the opposing group at the same time. When he cast his divine sense over them, he tallied the numbers. However, two figures appeared hazy to him, their auras faint and nearly undetectable. Only upon hearing Lei Long's warning did Lei Dong suddenly realize that those two were indeed Soul Transformation experts with whom he was familiar.

One was draped in a black robe, perpetually surrounded by an ineffable black mist, making it impossible to discern their gender. The other was a graceful woman clad in armor of an intricate, painstakingly crafted design—pitch black and exceptionally magnificent. Strangely, even though she had recognized the Chaos Golden Lotus, she hadn't opened her eyes even at this juncture.

It was these two individuals who subtly projected an almost suffocating aura of pressure upon Lei Dong, inducing a powerful, involuntary illusion of looking up at a towering mountain, almost compelling a desire to yield. This was the signature trait Lei Dong had encountered frequently in many Soul Transformation experts.

This was no exaggeration. Putting aside the Three Realms, with whom contact had been lost, in the Six Domains and Nine Continents, virtually any Soul Transformation expert was a supreme leader backing a massive faction.

Like the Yaksha King or the Netherworld Ghost Emperor, they were sovereign figures within their respective races. These individuals were not born as emperors; they had to cultivate their way to this height step by tedious step. Their attainment of such cultivation and status was paved by roads soaked in gore and blood, lined with countless skeletons.

Naturally, individuals achieving such a status possessed immeasurable self-confidence. This confidence invariably infused their actions, demeanor, and very temperament. Those accustomed to holding supreme positions and issuing commands would unintentionally exude an air of sheer authority—the legendary aura of the superior. A mind not sufficiently strong would often, in the first instance, place itself at a disadvantage.

Of course, Lei Long was absolutely excluded from this category of personages. This fellow had survived alone in the Demon Emperor Sect's spatial sacred artifact since the early Golden Core stage. Only through an abundance of spiritual energy, endless heavenly treasures, and vast quantities of Soul Fruits had he cultivated to the Soul Transformation stage amidst profound solitude. During this time, there was no endless struggle, no killing, and certainly no taste of the intoxication of power.

It could be said that Lei Long, at the Soul Transformation stage, was akin to a blank slate, a peerless master. While perhaps not entirely unique, he was certainly an anomaly among those at this level. Otherwise, a figure of this rank would never possibly treat a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator as their "Big Brother."

Excluding Lei Long, Xuan Yuanzi—known as the True Man, whom Lei Dong had eliminated—also lacked the demeanor of a true sovereign. However, there was a reason for that: he had always lived under the shadow of an incomparably powerful ancestor, True Man Tai Yi. Legend held that the elder was nearly as ancient as the Netherworld Ghost Emperor, with comparable cultivation—a true ancient monster.

With such a mountain looming over him, Xuan Yuanzi, having never tasted the flavor of ultimate authority, naturally lacked the composed, unhurried, and tranquil temperament of a king.

But these two before him made Lei Dong’s brow furrow involuntarily. These two Soul Transformation experts each commanded a contingent of distinct retinues. One group, mirroring their leader, was entirely cloaked in black robes, emanating wisps of a faintly putrid stench. Judging by the auras they displayed, they were certainly no ordinary individuals.

The other group consisted of beautiful, slender women, each adorned in exquisite black armor. In direct contrast to the repulsive black-robed figures, they were outwardly charming and pleasing to the eye. Yet, just the same, the potent auras radiating from each of them proclaimed their formidable strength.

It could be said that no one present was of minor capability; the weakest possessed at least an early Nascent Soul cultivation, with mid and high-tier Nascent Soul practitioners being common. Sent to Kang Zhou, any one of them could have dominated the region and held sway over a territory. However, it wasn't entirely illogical to suddenly encounter such a concentration of powerhouses here.

The Nine Netherworld Abyss of the Nether Domain was inherently a perilous place, and the Styx Abyss within it was fraught with danger, essentially a forbidden zone for Golden Core cultivators. Those capable of reaching the bottom of the Styx Abyss were naturally limited to Nascent Soul-level experts. Golden Core cultivators, unless personally guarded by a Soul Transformation master, simply could not venture here.

As Lei Dong's group, startled and highly alert, adopted defensive postures to face the others tensely, the opposing entourage was clearly just as shocked. They had not expected to encounter such a powerful group in this remote area, where a cultivator might not be seen for a thousand years. Their astonishment was entirely justified.

The strongest presence invariably draws immediate scrutiny. Lei Long naturally became the primary focus of the opposing party's attention and vigilance. The aura emanating from Lei Long was abnormally powerful, in no way inferior to any Soul Transformation expert. Especially his divine sense: through countless ages of consuming Soul Fruits, his primordial spirit had been tempered to near solidity, and the intensity it projected was no less than that of a mid-stage Soul Transformation entity like the Netherworld Ghost Emperor. Vaguely, they imparted a sense of suffocating pressure even upon the Insect Emperor and Xie Feng.

"They are members of the Ghost Clan," the Insect Emperor immediately transmitted to Xie Feng. "Looking at these Ghost Clan members, none have a weak aura; they are at least Mid-stage Ghost Kings. Judging by their standardized Soul Armor, they look exactly like the direct personal guards of that old monster, the Ghost Emperor."

"Not just similar, they are the old ghost's personal bodyguards. I've dealt with them before," Xie Feng’s reply, unusually, carried a hint of tension. "The old ghost's Phoenix Lineage guards rarely leave him. Could the old ghost actually be at the bottom of the Styx Valley?"

At this statement, the Insect Emperor, cloaked in black, could not help but shudder slightly, transmitting back: "If the old ghost is here, things become immensely troublesome. With the old ghost's power, his Nether God True Word Art is perfected to the pinnacle. Even if the two of us join forces, our chance of victory wouldn't exceed thirty percent. Furthermore, that kid with the aura of a pseudo-divine beast flying dragon is also a Soul Transformation existence. Heavens! His primordial spirit is so solid, the pressure it emits is overwhelming—even the old ghost might only achieve this level?" Under the aura Lei Long radiated without restraint, the Insect Emperor's outwardly calm demeanor belied the slight tension gripping his entire insect body.

"Impossible. My informants clearly told me that recently, besides visiting a small place called Kang Zhou in the Great Barren Continent, the old ghost has been in secluded cultivation at the Netherworld Palace, reportedly injured due to some matter. Relations between the old dragon and the Ghost Clan are currently volatile; the old ghost wouldn't waste time coming to the bottom of the Styx Valley for no reason." Xie Feng began analyzing with a slightly self-comforting tone, and the more she analyzed, the clearer her reasoning became. Her transmission speed picked up slightly due to her tension: "That's right, the old ghost definitely isn't here. With one Soul Transformation expert already present, they have sufficient defense in the Styx Valley. The old ghost wouldn't waste such valuable resources to personally investigate this desolate place when he already has a Soul Transformation guard."

"Even if he isn't here, these people are probably going to be difficult to deal with," the Insect Emperor admitted, letting out a slight breath of relief, his voice grave. "Xie Feng, what do you suggest we do?"

"I must obtain this Chaos Golden Lotus." Xie Feng, calculating with near-perfect accuracy, tightened her slightly closed eyes, transmitting with an aura that seemed capable of sweeping across galaxies: "Even if the old ghost were here, I would never simply hand over a heaven-and-earth treasure as rare as the Chaos Golden Lotus."

While that group analyzed Lei Dong's side, Lei Dong's people were just as busily exchanging whispered intelligence. The guard captain urgently transmitted to Lei Dong: "Young Master Lei, you must instruct Senior Lei Long to be cautious. That closed-eyed woman has such distinct features—she is unmistakably Xie Feng, the Empress of the Phoenix Lineage, one of the four great races of the Nether Domain. And that powerful black-robed figure, no need to guess, must be the Insect Emperor of the Corpse-Worm race."

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