This place was where Thunder Dragon had slain the Netherworld Black Serpent, remarkably close to the stone house. Thunder Moving had memorized this location and factored it into his escape route after acquiring the herb. Powerhouses at the Spirit Transformation stage possessed some understanding of spatial laws, often mastering rudimentary spatial teleportation. However, everyone knew that teleporting in such a complex environment was inherently dangerous. One slight error could result in materializing inside a rear rock wall, leading to serious trouble.

Unless one did what Thunder Moving did: pre-memorizing a wide-open space and teleporting directly there. But even then, it remained relatively risky. No one could guarantee their spatial teleportation skills were precise enough for that level of accuracy. Thunder Moving had been gambling just now; after all, the valley where the Black Serpent was slain was vast, giving him a high probability of success.

Even so, upon succeeding, Thunder Moving let out a heavy sigh of relief, believing he might finally escape the Bug Emperor’s pursuit this time.

But this was no place to linger. He once again employed the Ghost Shadow Evasion Technique, slipping into the spider web cave, cautiously venturing deeper and deeper.

While Thunder Moving was temporarily safe, Thunder Dragon, tasked with stalling Evil Phoenix, was in grave peril.

When initially assigning Thunder Dragon this task, Thunder Moving hadn't foreseen Thunder Dragon being so thoroughly overpowered by Evil Phoenix. After all, Thunder Dragon was a nascent Spirit Transformation stage Flying Dragon, possessing a divine sense comparable to a mid-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator. Logically, even if he couldn't defeat Evil Phoenix, the chances of losing should have been slim. In reality, fortunes shift unexpectedly. The Nether Phoenix Clan had survived to this day, remaining steadfast within the Nether Domain; they surely possessed unique methods. The power of the innate spiritual treasure, Phoenix Dance of the Nine Heavens, was unexpectedly formidable. And Thunder Dragon was a pauper, reliant solely on his innate strength—how could he withstand the might of such a spiritual treasure?

Furthermore, upon seeing the situation take such an unforeseen turn, and witnessing both Thunder Moving and the Bug Emperor descend into the cavern at the bottom of the Styx Valley, Evil Phoenix immediately grew anxious. Her concern wasn't for the lives of Thunder Moving or the Bug Emperor, but for her Chaos Golden Lotus. Evil Phoenix was determined to seize and monopolize the Chaos Golden Lotus. She considered her own aptitude outstanding, having reached the nascent Spirit Transformation stage at a mere seven hundred years old. She had been supremely confident that she had a high chance of breaking through Spirit Transformation and advancing to the Void Refinement stage, forcefully ascending to the Demon Realm. However, now over thirteen hundred years old, her cultivation remained stuck at the nascent Spirit Transformation stage. For eight hundred years, while not completely stagnant, her progress had been agonizingly slow. The Void Refinement and Harmony stage seemed distant, unreachable.

But with the accumulation of so much Chaos Spiritual Qi, coupled with the appearance of the Chaos Golden Lotus, she saw hope for advancing to the mid-stage Spirit Transformation. Although the Chaos Golden Lotus appeared to be an incomplete product, she believed that the gathered Chaos Spiritual Qi would be sufficient to nurture it to maturity. Then, mobilizing the entire clan to gather refinement ingredients, she could forge that golden lotus into a spiritual elixir. Her breakthrough to mid-stage Spirit Transformation would then be almost certain. Since taking charge of the Nether Phoenix Clan and being titled Phoenix Emperor, she had been utterly suppressed by the mid-stage Spirit Transformation existence, the Netherworld Ghost Emperor. She dreamed of breaking through to the mid-stage Spirit Transformation to viciously teach the Netherworld Ghost Emperor a lesson. Simultaneously, this would allow the entire Nether Phoenix Clan to expand rapidly within the Nether Domain.

Considering all this, abandoning the Chaos Golden Lotus was an absurd fantasy. Moreover, when the group temporarily left the Chaos Golden Lotus, Evil Phoenix had secretly used a secret clan art to affix a marker onto it. No matter where the Chaos Golden Lotus traveled, she would know of its existence.

Seeing the Bug Emperor and Thunder Moving enter the cavern depths, Evil Phoenix naturally couldn't remain calm. Yet, Thunder Dragon fought with such desperate tenacity, even riddled with injuries, that he continued to delay her. Several times she tried to pursue, but Thunder Dragon's life-risking maneuvers continuously thwarted her. Moments later, Evil Phoenix suddenly sensed a fluctuation in her marker from afar—evidently, the Chaos Golden Lotus had been moved.

This immediately threw her into a frenzy. A treasure almost in her grasp had fallen into someone else's hands; anyone would lose their composure. But Thunder Dragon persisted in his entanglement, provoking Evil Phoenix’s true wrath. Her face turning pale, she roared furiously, "Thunder Dragon, you court death!" Instantly, the eyes that hadn't opened for an unknown period snapped open. Dark, profound brilliance flickered within them as Evil Phoenix’s power inexplicably surged by several tens of percent, her aura almost matching that of a mid-stage Spirit Transformation existence. Harboring immense resentment, she unleashed two strikes, and Thunder Dragon couldn't withstand them, his massive body sent flying backward.

"Hmph, forcing me to open my eyes. Go die!" Evil Phoenix vented all her accumulated fury onto Thunder Dragon. After knocking him away, she brought her fingers together, gathering countless strands of dark aura at their tips. Black electrical light flickered erratically, emitting a strange sizzling energy. After gathering energy for several breaths, she aimed her sinister finger remotely at Thunder Dragon. Immediately, a dark beam of electric light, as thick as a human arm, tore through space and savagely struck Thunder Dragon's enormous head.

"Aooo—" Thunder Dragon let out a soul-shattering howl that made space tremble. A basin-sized hole was blasted into his skull, blood spurting outward. His immense body lost the strength to fly and slowly crashed downward.

The waters of the Styx River, previously repelled by his energy, instantly engulfed his mountain-like body like a bursting dam, sweeping him erratically away with the surging current. Countless vengeful spirits and creatures dwelling in the Styx, smelling the dragon blood, swarmed toward him madly.

"Hmph, you brought this upon yourself," Evil Phoenix snarled through gritted teeth, her figure flashing rapidly as she darted into the depths of the valley cavern. Her cultivation involved the "Closed-Eye Zen Secret Art," not something passed down by her clan, but derived from a Buddhist relic site. Other Buddhist techniques were useless to her, who cultivated the Netherworld system, but one technique called Closed-Eye Zen piqued her interest. With her exceptional comprehension, she spent decades modifying it to suit her cultivation needs, practicing it for over two hundred years.

The reason she practiced Closed-Eye Zen was for its unique properties: normally, she used it to temper her state of mind while constantly accumulating power. The longer she practiced Closed-Eye Zen, the denser the accumulated strength became. However, once the eyes were opened during Closed-Eye Zen cultivation, all previous gains were forfeited. The benefit was a massive, short-term surge in power. Many ancient Buddhist cultivators practiced similar secret arts—first, to temper their minds, and second, to possess a desperate trump card in moments of crisis. Most importantly, the third reason: once sufficient energy was accumulated, it could be used to attempt a breakthrough to the next level.

The characteristic Evil Phoenix valued most was the third point. She intended to use Closed-Eye Zen to accumulate enough power to briefly experience the might of the mid-stage Spirit Transformation, seizing the opportunity to break through. Even if the breakthrough failed, her cultivation would improve substantially, giving her a tangible sense of mid-stage Spirit Transformation power, paving the way for future cultivation. Moreover, the power of the Netherworld Ghost Emperor had always been a thorn in Evil Phoenix's side, placing immense pressure on her. Cultivating Closed-Eye Zen was akin to giving her a shield against the Netherworld Ghost Emperor, offering crucial support at a critical moment.

In this regard, Closed-Eye Zen was indeed remarkably effective. Yet, practicing Closed-Eye Zen was typically an extremely tedious and arduous affair. Imagine having functional eyes capable of seeing the world, but being forbidden from opening them for cultivation, sometimes for centuries or millennia. Most people couldn't endure it. For the vast majority, even with the efficacy of Closed-Eye Zen, they would refuse to practice it. Yet, Evil Phoenix miraculously persisted for over two centuries.

Unfortunately, her attainment was slightly insufficient. The power surge only brought her infinitely close to the mid-stage Spirit Transformation, not fully achieving it. This was why she attacked with such lingering hatred, using her amplified strength to kill Thunder Dragon and quell her resentment. Similarly, she wanted to catch that medicine thief before her amplified strength subsided. Whether it was Thunder Moving or the Bug Emperor, she would make them taste the fires of Evil Phoenix's fury. Causing her to waste two centuries of Closed-Eye Zen cultivation was something Evil Phoenix absolutely could not accept if she failed to recover the spiritual medicine.

Meanwhile, Thunder Moving, having accounted for everything, hadn't anticipated Evil Phoenix placing a special marker on the Chaos Golden Lotus. He continued his unhurried exploration inward. After more than half an hour, Thunder Moving estimated he had completely shaken off the Bug Emperor and could finally relax his taut nerves slightly. As he continued inward, he opened the jade box to take a moment to examine the obtained Chaos Golden Lotus.

The lotus exuded a faint, refreshing aroma; a mere sniff invigorated Thunder Moving’s spirit, clearing his mind considerably. Observing it more closely, he noticed the golden hue on the Chaos Golden Lotus was too pale, prompting him to curiously ask the artifact spirit, "Senior Artifact Spirit, why is this Chaos Golden Lotus like this?"

"Foolish. It is because this Chaos Golden Lotus has not fully matured. Once mature, the Chaos Golden Lotus will be as beautiful as jade and gold, truly magnificent," the artifact spirit sighed with emotion. "You are quite lucky, boy, to have obtained such a treasure. Know that even in my master's era, the Chaos Golden Lotus was an exceptionally rare item; its appearance often incited storms of blood and slaughter."

"Unripe?" Thunder Moving frowned. "I heard that Chaos Spiritual Medicines grow extremely slowly and require vast amounts of Chaos Spiritual Qi. How long does this thing take to mature, and how is it consumed?"

... (To be continued)