"The Madness Vein Heavenly Pivot is about to awaken; can your body withstand it?" A woman's soft voice echoed by the stream, still veiled in flowing white gauze—it was the one known as the Priestess, the Empress of Ten Thousand Demons. "Your great vengeance is complete; what fate awaits you now?"

Yan Shangcheng plummeted from mid-air, crashing heavily onto the ground. He gasped for breath, a slight smile touching his lips. "Jiaye is finally dead. My Yan family's revenge is complete. Hahahaha!"

"Then, where will you go from here?" The Priestess's voice was detached yet hit the nail on the head. She waved a hand lightly, and the red light above Yan Shangcheng's head gradually dissipated. "Possessing the Madness Vein Heavenly Pivot, do you not wish to command power and influence within this Endless Realm?"

"Command power and influence?" Yan Shangcheng hesitated. Vengeance had consumed his entire life; he had never dared to dream of life after retribution. "The Madness Vein Heavenly Pivot almost controls my very thoughts. What ability do I have left to establish myself in the Endless Realm?"

"Find the Three Primal Needles; use their power to suppress the awakening of the Madness Vein Heavenly Pivot." The Priestess extended a finger, calculating subtly. "The Three Primal Needles are the combination of the Fate-Reversing Needle, the Life-Extending Needle, and the Fate-Seizing Needle. As long as you master them, you can freely control the power of the Madness Vein Heavenly Pivot. Then, the entire Endless Realm will tremble because of your strength."

"My strength?" Yan Shangcheng raised his fist high. For the first time, he truly felt the value of power. As his gaze shifted, his purple hair floated momentarily. "Who exactly are you? Why should I obey you?"

The Priestess ignored Yan Shangcheng's question, explaining instead: "The Fate-Reversing Needle is within the Fox Demon Palace. The Life-Extending Needle resides within a person. As for the final Fate-Seizing Needle, it is deeply hidden within the Celestial Mechanism of the Sun-Blind Clan. You must manage this as you see fit."

"Who is that person?" Yan Shangcheng tried to press for details, but just then, the Priestess's figure flickered and dissolved into the gentle stream, vanishing without a trace. He let out a long sigh, hope rekindling in his eyes. "Fox Demon Palace, the Fate-Reversing Needle!"

...

The sound of surging water echoed in his ears, a wave of azure mixing beside his body. Ye Xiu and Old Liu had, without realizing when, descended deep beneath the vast river, struggling for breath.

"Cough... cough..." Ye Xiu thrashed desperately. It turned out that this third level of the Demon Quenching Pavilion was like the seabed. He flailed his arms, signaling Old Liu. "Where is that pill you use for breathing? Hurry up and take it out!"

Old Liu, sensing trouble, had already popped one himself. Now, he raised his hand and tossed the pill toward Ye Xiu's mouth as if throwing a dart. "I really don't get it. A Death God with decent cultivation is this pathetic underwater."

"Hoo..." Ye Xiu bent over, letting out a long breath. Both their bodies were sinking deeper into the riverbed; the deeper the water, the more vivid the crimson color became. "Water this color... is this the Sorrowful Water River of the Endless Realm? Just how vast is this Demon Quenching Pavilion to contain such diverse things?"

"Gulp..." At that moment, a huge bubble ascended from the riverbed. They surrounded Ye Xiu and slowly popped, releasing a faint scent of blood.

Old Liu drew his Ghost Slaying God, his expression tense. "Damn it, I knew this wasn't a good place. Look down!"

Ye Xiu peered down to see a massive, octopus-like creature approaching them. The strangest part was that while the octopus had numerous tentacles, its head bore the visage of a rather comely woman. "It seems this place connects to the world the guards spoke of. These creatures must exist within the Fire Diagram Purgatory."

"Whoosh..." As they spoke, a thick tentacle shot out and tightly wrapped around Old Liu. The tensile strength was immense; before Old Liu could react, he was dragged next to the woman's head.

"Whoa, looks like beauties prefer handsome guys like me." Old Liu joked, holding the Ghost Slaying Sword upright before the octopus-monster. Black mist erupted from the Ghost Slaying Sword, swirling around the creature. "Since you’re a beast from the Fire Diagram Purgatory, let's see if my Ghost Slaying Sword can absorb your power."

"Aoooh!" The octopus let out a mournful wail, abandoning Old Liu and fleeing into the deep water. As it fled, several of its tentacles were absorbed by the Ghost Slaying Sword.

Ye Xiu observed the Ghost Slaying Sword in Old Liu's hand carefully. The black sword was currently drawing the tentacles into itself, and the Dragon Tooth blade was beginning to contract and expand erratically. "Could the Ghost Slaying Sword have absorbed the octopus's attributes?"

"Let's test it out!" Old Liu, carried away by his excitement, swung the Ghost Slaying Sword downward. The blade suddenly lengthened, transforming the treasured sword into a whip that lashed out at the fleeing octopus. "It really did absorb its attributes! The power of creatures from the Fire Diagram Purgatory is truly astonishing."

"Crack!" Suddenly, a long arm shot up from the riverbed, grasping the Ghost Slaying Sword firmly. A figure swam toward them—it was the one who had just rescued the escaping octopus.

"What is this thing now?" Ye Xiu stared at the newcomer. The fellow looked like a drowned ghost, his long hair enveloping his head, his body and limbs dragging along the riverbed. Seeing the hair covering the person, Ye Xiu sucked in a breath of cold air. "The creatures in the Fire Diagram Purgatory are far richer than those in this world."

"Bad news, he seems to be absorbing the power from the Ghost Slaying Sword." Old Liu’s eyes widened. The energy absorbed from the octopus instantly turned to smoke and returned to the newcomer’s body. He exerted all his strength to wrench the Ghost Slaying Sword free from the person’s grip. "Damn thing, this guy..."

"Hahaha, hahahaha!" The newcomer shook his hair and let out a shrill laugh. He had no mouth; only his long hair drifted in the water. "It's been so long since living people entered. Are you here to offer me a fine meal?"

Ye Xiu drew the Sky Scourge and sent a wave of divine sense toward the entity. The sword strike was incredibly fast, severing the newcomer's arm. He turned to look, but the severed arm wiggled like a worm, slowly reattaching itself to the figure's body. "Truly a monster!"

The newcomer rotated his body, churning the riverbed with his long arms and legs. The water suddenly surged, sweeping both of them into the vortex. "How dare you trespass at the entrance to the Bleak Abyss? You must be tired of living."

"Bleak Abyss?" Ye Xiu finally managed to escape the range of the whirlpool, gritting his teeth coldly. "You say this is the Bleak Abyss? Isn't that the entrance to the Fire Diagram Purgatory?"

"What entrance!" Old Liu was tumbling, having adapted to the water currents. "Isn't this the third level of the Demon Quenching Pavilion? How did we suddenly end up in the Bleak Abyss? Didn't that blue guard say that one needed to harbor absolute despair to enter the Bleak Abyss?"

"Despair, hahahaha!" The monstrous figure floated sideways, and suddenly, swords, axes, and halberds erupted from his flesh. The bloodstained appearance seemed to attest that he had killed thousands of intruders. "In the face of me, Shui Luosha (Water Rakshasa), do you not feel despair?"

"Shui Luosha. This guy can so easily absorb the power from my Ghost Slaying Sword." Old Liu shifted his stance, trying to strike Shui Luosha again, but every time his Ghost Slaying Sword pierced the entity’s body, he felt a drain on his Daoist magic. The Ghost Slaying Sword acted like a straw, transferring the power from his own body to someone else. "Aren't the creatures of the Fire Diagram Purgatory supposed to carry unstable energy?"

"SuSu!" Ye Xiu understood the relationship between unstable energy and soul energy. He summoned SuSu, hoping she could absorb Shui Luosha's power. "Can you absorb this type of energy?"

SuSu floated over, but just as she prepared to use her power to absorb the soul energy, a white light shot out from Shui Luosha's body, scattering her away. "Master, the power inside this guy—it's fundamentally the same as mine, the power within the Soul Stone Jade Ring."

"What!" Ye Xiu exclaimed in surprise. At that moment, Shui Luosha's arms lunged forward, forcing him to dive to the riverbed to evade. "What does that mean? Are you saying you can't control his power at all?"

"I think... I think his body is constructed the same way as mine—it's all just energy," SuSu said, fear in her voice, as she had never encountered this kind of power. She nestled behind Ye Xiu. "This guy is just like the Soul Stone Jade Ring; I can't control him at all."

"The same as the Jade Ring?" Facing the attack of the long arms and legs, Ye Xiu flipped his body to dodge them alternately. He roared in astonishment, "Are you saying this thing is the Soul Stone Jade Ring? What exactly are these exclusive Soul Stones for every Death God?"

"What are you hesitating for? Cut off his limbs!" Old Liu's Ghost Slaying Sword was completely useless; he could only attack with his Thin Surface Blade, but the blade was too short, putting him at a disadvantage against the long arms. He unleashed his full Ice Curse, stabbing Shui Luosha with ice cones and forcing the entity back repeatedly. "This can't go on. You find a way to dismember him, and I'll freeze the wounds so he can't regenerate!"

Ye Xiu agreed with Old Liu's tactic but was puzzled. If SuSu was right, was the Fire Diagram Purgatory somehow connected to Death Gods? "SuSu, go back first!"

"Go!" Old Liu used the Black Talisman of the Strange Meridian Dao to accelerate himself, his Ice Curse ready. "Now!"

Ye Xiu charged Shui Luosha with both swords in hand. Shui Luosha was already prepared; just as Ye Xiu attacked, four brand-new arms burst from his body. These eight arms intertwined, trying to block his path.

"Sky Scourge Shadow Fall!" Ye Xiu’s eyes flashed green, and countless afterimages erupted. In that instant, Shui Luosha was surrounded by the dual blades. "Die!"

"Waa-ya-ya-ya!" Shui Luosha's whole body suddenly bloated, and the endless blades rushed toward Ye Xiu. The blades collided with the afterimages, instantly blocking Ye Xiu’s sword techniques. "Show me whatever else you have!"

"Shadow Spirit Sense!" Ye Xiu roared. The figures that had vanished reappeared, but this time, every single figure carried sharp dual swords. The dual swords swept down, slicing into Shui Luosha's body and dyeing the entire riverbed an even deeper red.