"So that's why I need to become stronger, hah! I must obtain that Jue Mai Tian Shu. Where is it?" Jun Bugu could barely wait, gripping the mysterious Jue Dao as he stood at the great hall's entrance. "Let's go, right now!"

Old Liu was at a loss with this fellow, merely asking in a low voice, "You mean we have to enter the Fire Diagram Purgatory once again?"

"The Extermination Demon Pavilion holds the entrance to the Desolate Abyss. I believe Jiayun Xin's entry has already caused shifts throughout the entire Fire Diagram Purgatory, so we had better go take a look," Ye Xiu followed behind Jun Bugu and also walked out.

Old Liu lingered behind, feeling quite disgruntled. "Tsk, just when I thought we were embarking on another treasure hunt, we end up preparing the way for someone else."

The grounds of the Extermination Demon Pavilion remained unchanged. The three descended level by level, passing beneath the Demon Pool, but this time, they were not greeted by the Desolate Abyss. Instead, an endless sea of fire stretched before them, bordered by endless, bizarre life forms.

"Whoa!" Jun Bugu forgot that he was inherently immune to flames and plastered himself against the mountain wall. "What realm is this? It's nothing but fire!"

Old Liu, maneuvering his sword up and down, was being severely scorched by the fiery aura. "Damn it, aren't you two Death Gods? I should be the only one here afraid of this kind of flame."

Ye Xiu coldly observed everything beneath the rock face. The mountain walls were riddled with countless caves, inside which hung viscous, foul-looking substances. Yet, beneath the cliffs on both sides was only a sea of flame. It seemed that to locate the Jue Mai Tian Shu, they would have to venture deep into the inferno. "Old Liu, you stay up top. I think those things in the caves are the mysterious species of the Fire Diagram Purgatory. Jun Bugu and I will go down and investigate."

"Mm, I suppose that's all we can do," Old Liu responded, his sword circling in the air. Just then, a group of Pterodactyl-like creatures drifted down from the deep crimson sky, intending to attack the trio. "You two go down first. I'll handle these things."

"Jump!" Ye Xiu had absolute faith in Old Liu’s power. At that moment, he kicked Jun Bugu squarely in the backside, and the two plummeted toward the sea of fire like cannonballs. "Hurry up and use your Sacrificial Body ability, or those things nearby will take your life too."

Indeed, as they descended, iron-like claws shot out from the caves, seemingly trying to impede their progress. They reached out to grab the pair but were instantly met with fire, causing them to hastily recoil.

"I didn't expect Ye Xiu to find a Death God companion?" Old Liu cruised leisurely in mid-air. The Pterodactyls tried to snatch him with their long beaks, but the surrounding Ice Curses blocked them, causing them great pain. "If Jun Bugu really obtains the Jue Mai Tian Shu, it will be perfect for countering Yan Shangcheng. However, the Sun Blind clan failed at Mount Sumeru. Was it solely due to the help of the dark Death Gods? The strength of the Death Kingdom's Zeus King shouldn't be weak either."

Ye Xiu brought Jun Bugu down into the sea of fire, but the moment they plunged in, the entire world seemed to invert. He blinked, realizing he wasn't floating aimlessly in the depths but standing firmly on solid ground. All around them, battle raged, corpses littered the ground—a sight reminiscent of what he had witnessed in the place of boiling beast flames. "How can this be?"

"Wow!" Jun Bugu exclaimed several times, staring fixedly at the ground as he rubbed his hands together. "Is that sea of fire merely a reflection of this world? Where exactly have we arrived?"

"The Asura Realm during wartime..." Ye Xiu moved slowly. Classical architecture surrounded them; corpses and tattered banners swayed in the flickering firelight. Could this be a recurrence of the conflict during the Netherworld King's invasion?

Jun Bugu followed behind Ye Xiu. This situation was astonishing to him, as his memories contained no prior experience of warfare. "Can we find the Jue Mai Tian Shu you mentioned in a place like this?"

"Whoosh..." A sudden wave of flames washed over them, and from the fire sprang a swarm of human-shaped masses. The bodies were covered in flying insects, like bees, and a writhing centipede was tangled across the face of the form—the sheer density was repulsive.

"Go!" Ye Xiu raised his Sky Gaze Sword, intending to pierce the insect mass, but the creatures were not a single entity. The sword merely scattered them without causing any real harm. "This one is tough to deal with; they don't seem to fear the flames at all!"

Jun Bugu quickly dodged, watching the small insects dissipate only to quickly regroup. He marveled, "If you can't fight them, run faster!"

Ye Xiu unleashed another sword technique imbued with flame, but the swarm's fierce assault managed to bite his arm several times. "Damn it! We don't even know how vast this place is; where are we supposed to run to?"

"This way!" Jun Bugu’s skill at fleeing seemed nearly on par with Old Liu’s. He darted forward in a flash and slipped into a sealed corridor. "We just lock it outside, right?"

"Good!" Ye Xiu moved instantly, following Jun Bugu into the passageway. He kicked the heavy door shut with one powerful thrust, successfully blocking the insect swarm's assault. "Hoo... I didn't expect that thing couldn't even manage a tiny door."

"Maybe we should go back out..." Jun Bugu retreated slightly while leaning against Ye Xiu. "Look ahead!"

"What now!" Ye Xiu turned impatiently and saw that the corridor opened into a long passageway ending at another door. However, crossing this threshold required walking over a mass of viscous ooze. The ooze seemed to sense their presence, constantly writhing. "It's over. It seems those insects deliberately herded us here."

"Thump, thump!" From the door behind them, the insect swarm was clearly still pounding relentlessly. That thing was essentially unkillable, so this time, it was clear the pair needed to deal with the bizarre ooze in front of them.

Jun Bugu, timid and lacking self-confidence, sighed, "If that other personality were here in a situation like this, maybe we would have passed through smoothly by now."

Ye Xiu sighed deeply. "I truly don't know if you still count as a cultivator after leaving that tyrannical fellow. You still have the Jue Dao, why don't you try challenging it?"

"No way, you go first!" Jun Bugu pushed Ye Xiu away and scurried to the rear himself.

Ye Xiu carefully scrutinized his surroundings. Certain appendages seemed about to emerge from the mass of black ooze, floating unsettlingly and invoking an indescribable sense of dread. "The creatures in the Fire Diagram Purgatory should just be manifestations of soul energy. I should ask Susu if there is another way."