I. In the Netherworld Realm, within a remote stretch of the starry sky, where ancient paths were rarely trod, a silken handkerchief, several li in circumference, drifted slowly through a sparse nebula, shedding a faint, diffused white light in all directions.
Within the handkerchief, in a spherical space spanning ten million li in diameter, a viscous sea of blood, teeming with countless grotesque Yakshas, thrashed violently, constantly surging toward a central, spinning, five-colored orb no more than a thousand li across.
No matter how the blood sea conjured towering waves miles high, no matter how the billions of Yakshas assailed the orb with bloody light, yin thunder, and the most foul, ultimate yin flames, the five-colored sphere remained utterly still in the void, like a sarira or a Muni pearl, its five-colored radiance condensed and unyielding. Upon contact with the five-colored flame, any part of the blood tide or Yaksha instantly disintegrated into ash.
Old Man Yuquan sat cross-legged atop the sea of blood with his five sons. His expression was grim as he stared at the five-colored orb.
Ten thousand years had passed. While for Immortals, ten thousand years could sometimes be the duration of a single closed-door cultivation session—a mere blink, like a mortal taking a nap—to have a peak Great Overarching Golden Immortal, five mid-to-high-grade Great Overarching Golden Immortals, and over a dozen subordinate Immortals of initial-grade Great Overarching Golden cultivation spend ten millennia failing to break the restriction before them was utterly unacceptable.
If the besieged were also Great Overarching Golden Immortals, it would be one thing. But the ones trapped inside were merely a group of Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Ten thousand years—failing to subdue a group of Grand Unity Golden Immortals in ten thousand years! Old Man Yuzhang felt his aged face burn with shame. If he hadn't kept such a low profile in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths all these years, such that few recognized him, he would have already slit his own throat out of mortification.
In the distance, a patch of white clouds slowly dispersed. Seventeen subordinates, accompanied by a large contingent of Immortals who were initial-grade Great Overarching Golden Immortals from under the Azure Green Field's Xuanlang Palace, descended upon clouds. These Immortals were each wreathed in palpable killing intent, their dark energy soaring skyward—they must have committed untold massacres to achieve such a phenomenon.
After paying silent respects to Old Man Yuzhang, these Immortals produced various containers—jade bottles, porcelain jars, and the like—and upended them downwards. Immediately, massive quantities of blood and countless corpses and remnants splashed down, transforming into tens of thousands of torrents that replenished the sea of blood below.
Innumerable distorted human faces writhed and struggled within the blood. These residual souls managed only a few screams before the surrounding Yakshas eagerly speared them up with their steel forks and devoured them whole. The human spirits became the finest nourishment for these Yakshas, fueling their ferocity.
In this boundless sea of blood, amidst countless Yakshas, several hundred Yaksha Ghost Kings, each a thousand zhang tall, already existed. Feeding them with human essence and blood for ten millennia without regard for cost had gradually cultivated hundreds of demon kings nearly ready to mature.
Old Man Yuzhang sighed self-mockingly. If he couldn't breach the protective sphere around Gu Xechen's party and seize the countless treasures carried by Gu Xechen, or extract detailed intelligence about the Human Origin Star from him, then gaining these hundreds of Yaksha Ghost Kings would be an unexpected blessing. Once these Yaksha Ghost Kings truly took shape, they would possess the power to overturn rivers, drain seas, shatter the earth, and split the heavens. Their physical fortitude would be so immense that almost all immortal arts and thunder arts would be useless against them, save for a few rare demon-subduing divine abilities from the Buddhist and Daoist lineages.
With the aid of these fully formed Ghost Kings, his own strength would surely increase!
It was only in the Mortal Realm that such a vast supply of human flesh and blood could be gathered to nurture these Yakshas. In short, no matter how many humans were slaughtered in the Mortal Realm, it caused no heartache. If this were in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, massacring so many Immortals to feed these Yakshas would both attract undue attention, inviting unpredictable disaster, and be painfully costly.
But killing mere humans? Those ant-like existences—killing them was inconsequential!
Aside from his own Immortals, whose immense accumulation of negative karma caused their bodies to emit ominous energy, everything else was proceeding smoothly.
Shaking his head helplessly, Old Man Yuzhang pointed a finger. A crimson banner above the blood sea vibrated once. The innumerable Yakshas, evil spirits, and fierce beings roared with renewed vigor, raising their steel forks and charging toward the five-colored orb like a tide, showering it with endless yin thunder and bloody light.
The five-colored light flashed brilliantly, yet the orb remained utterly unmoved, regardless of the incessant assault by the Yakshas and evil spirits.
Old Man Yuquan frowned, glanced at his five seated sons, and then focused all his attention back on commanding the great banner.
Leaving the Yuquan family still relentlessly attempting to shatter the five-colored orb to seize Gu Xechen's myriad treasures and extract intelligence on the Human Origin Star, within the five-colored sphere, an entirely different scene was unfolding. In the thousand-li spherical space, black Solar Qi and white Lunar Qi intertwined, forming a colossal Taiji vortex. At the very center of this vortex hovered the Ten Thousand Zhang Treasure Light, constantly erupting from layers of palaces that originated from the dwelling of the Greatly Clumsy Hermit’s Heavenly Craft Hall.
Yang Jian and the Monkey King led large hosts of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals engaged in mutual combat across the void. Both figures radiated dazzling golden light, their Three-Pointed Double-Edged Halberd and long staff striking opponents, creating massive bursts of firelight and piercing metallic roars. Deep purple radiance shone in their eyes—they clearly possessed Great Overarching Golden Immortal cultivation, and their body-tempering techniques had reached an unimaginable realm.
The hundreds of thousands of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals behind them had also improved significantly compared to ages past; the weakest now possessed Golden Immortal strength. As for the generals of various divisions, such as Mo Liqing, their power had surged to the level of initial-grade Great Overarching Golden Immortals. In a mere ten thousand years, their Daoist attainments and divine abilities had leaped forward considerably, even surpassing their cultivation in previous lives.
Penghua, Siren, Prajna, Mohe, and the other old brothers of Gu Xechen were gathered at a corner of the plaza before the main hall, cheerfully tossing Weizi stones, with large piles of Lunar Stones and Solar Crystals heaped before them as chips. These heavenly and earthly rare treasures, which could drive external Immortals mad, were tossed around carelessly, as if they were worthless coins.
Purple mist billowed and red clouds swirled within the Heavenly Craft Hall. Countless elite Heavenly Soldiers stood guard around the perimeter, while large squads of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals clad in armor of supreme immortal artifact grade patrolled with measured tread. This atmosphere surpassed that of the Thirty-Three Heavens in antiquity; save for a lack of accompanying rare medicinal herbs and divine beasts, this armor was essentially a microcosm of the Heavenly Birth Six.
At the very least, all the Immortals entering and exiting this place belonged to the original, unadulterated ranks of the Ancient Heavenly Court.
In the central hall of the Heavenly Craft Hall, boundless True Solar Fire blazed fiercely. Gu Xechen Daoist, bare-chested, gestured enthusiastically, commanding masses of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals to rush about, making thirty-six massive artifact furnaces spin wildly.
Suddenly, the sound of dragon roars and tiger howls echoed, and a great saber shaped like a fierce tiger soared out of one furnace. This highly spirited saber trembled slightly, unleashing ten thousand zhang of saber energy that swept outwards. Hundreds of Golden Immortal-level Heavenly Soldiers nearby groaned, swept aside by the energy into tumbling masses, while several closer soldiers had their limbs severed by the blade's power.
Gu Xechen Daoist snorted coldly, stomped forward, and seized the saber's hilt, spitting a mouthful of saliva onto the blade: "Vicious thing! Having finally gained a true physical body, you dare to cause trouble? Beware that if I truly lose my temper, I will grind you into dust and scatter your ashes, obliterating your soul!"
The purple-gold saber let out a faint wail and instantly became quiet. The spirit of a monstrous beast with three heads and four wings, shaped like a centipede, cautiously emerged from the blade's edge and bowed and scraped obsequiously toward Gu Xechen Daoist.
Gu Xechen Daoist snorted coldly and tossed the great saber to a three-zhang-tall Golden Armored Immortal General waiting beside him: "Divine Lord, see if it suits you."
The Immortal General let out a series of cackling laughs, wiped the saliva clean from Gu Xechen Daoist’s spit on his own trousers, and then joyfully brandished the saber, darting around the hall. Saber energy crisscrossed, and wherever the blade passed, the True Solar Fire retreated several zhang. The Immortal General thanked Gu Xechen Daoist happily, then gleefully raised the saber and rushed out of the Heavenly Craft Hall.
"Hahaha, True Man Sa, let us have another good sparring match!" Having obtained a suitable immortal weapon, the Immortal General immediately challenged True Man Sa.
Who was True Man Sa? He was an Immortal Official who used to be on duty in the Central Heavenly Palace of the ancient Heavenly Court, a close attendant to the Emperor Haotian, whose cultivation was naturally earth-shattering and extraordinary. Having already been waiting outside the Heavenly Craft Hall, carrying two bamboo-jointed precious whips that emitted streams of Daoist treasure light, True Man Sa laughed loudly upon hearing the challenge and enthusiastically lashed out with his long whip toward the Immortal General.
Inside the Heavenly Craft Hall, Heavenly Soldiers and Generals were sparring in pairs everywhere. Clad in supreme immortal artifacts and having trained day and night for nearly ten thousand years, their Daoist powers and divine abilities had grown ever stronger, and their martial arts ever more refined.
In the deepest hall of the Heavenly Craft Hall, Gu Xechen, clad in Daoist robes, sat cross-legged. Above his head, a vague, formless flow of black-and-white chaotic energy flickered indistinctly. Three phantoms, identical to him but with facial expressions full of exaggerated grimaces vastly different from his true form, sat grinning atop this mass of chaotic energy.
The Primordial Spiritual Essence was gone. Gu Xechen, utilizing a secret method from the Tri-Clarity Severing Corpse scripture, had spent ten thousand years of arduous effort to sever his Three Corpses. His Primordial Spirit, which had condensed into the Primordial Spiritual Essence, naturally ceased to exist. With the Three Corpse Primordial Spirits, Gu Xechen’s Daoist attainment was rapidly approaching that of the former True Lord of the Great Yin.
Of the Three Corpse Primordial Spirits, the one on the left had the Great Yin Profound Pearl suspended above its head, radiating chilling energy, clearly cultivating the Great Yin Scripture.
The spirit on the right had the Great Solar Profound Pearl suspended above its head, enveloped in rolling heat, cultivating the orthodox Great Solar Scripture.
The Great Yin Profound Pearl and the Great Solar Profound Pearl were both Primordial-grade spiritual treasures, making them the most appropriate foundations for severing his corpses. From this point forward, the Great Yin Profound Pearl and the Great Solar Profound Pearl became Gu Xechen’s true Natal Magic Treasures, inseparable from him.
And above the most crucial central corpse spirit, floated a chaotic bell, neither black nor white, vague, almost transparent—the Chaotic Bell. It was not the Haotian Pagoda, nor the Haotian Mirror, nor the Pangu Banner, nor the Four Swords of Zhu Xian, nor the Wind and Fire Cushion—it was the Chaotic Bell containing the supreme chaotic laws of the Outer Domain New Universe, derived from the New Universe Thunder of the Outer Domain.
Refining the Chaotic Bell into his most important Natal Magic Treasure was an act of necessity for Gu Xechen. The Chaotic Bell was currently extremely weak, its power incomparable to the Great Yin Profound Pearl or the Great Solar Profound Pearl. However, making it his Natal Treasure provided security and peace of mind.
“Security,” “peace of mind”—this was Gu Xechen's sole reason for choosing it as the Natal Magic Treasure for his most crucial corpse spirit.
The might of a magic treasure could be nurtured slowly, but choosing the wrong Natal Magic Treasure could spell disaster.
Gazing at the Pangu Banner and several other Innate Supreme Treasures floating quietly before him, Gu Xechen pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. If he had painstakingly obtained these supreme treasures through repeated near-death experiences, then one might say his fortune was equal to the heavens, that he was destined for them. But when supreme treasures were delivered to him in a complete package, Gu Xechen couldn't help but feel fear.
If the down-on-his-luck True Lord of the Great Yin could leave behind a trace of residual soul to calculate against people within the Great Yin Profound Pearl, how much easier would it be for figures far superior to him to plot against someone?
If one cannot provoke them, then one should not provoke them!
He had already exchanged the Xu Earth Yellow Banner back from the Orthodox Daoist, retrieved the Azure Lotus Colored Banner from Gu Xechen Daoist, and taken back the Profound Origin Water Controlling Artifact from Penghua—all proactive measures taken to prevent future trouble.
It was better to take precautions early than to be sold out while still counting the money for the seller.
The only lingering worry was that the God-Beating Whip remained in the hands of the Orthodox Daoist, and there was no excuse to retrieve the Scripture Hearing Furnace and the Pure and Tranquil Duster from Little Daoist Zhang. He hoped everything remained under control. Damn that Old Man Yuzhang—he would definitely smash his dog head!
Ten thousand years! Trapped here for ten thousand years!
If not for the Great Yin and Great Solar Profound Pearls constantly converting Lunar and Solar Qi, which in turn evolved into the Five Elements Spiritual Qi to sustain Penghua and the others, these ten thousand years would have been truly unbearable. Without the supply of spiritual energy, how much power could Gu Xechen have provided to the Five-Directional Five-Colored Banners? They would have long since been broken through by Old Man Yuzhang due to the exhaustion of immortal power, and he would have been captured alive.
Old Man Yuzhang’s scheme was quite clever, but unfortunately, Gu Xechen now possessed the Great Yin Profound Pearl and the Great Solar Profound Pearl, two Primordial-grade spiritual treasures, constantly supplying spiritual induction, and the Chaotic Bell shattered the Yin and Yang Qi to evolve into the Five Elements Spiritual Qi, causing his scheme to fall flat.
"Ten thousand years," Gu Xechen sneered, narrowing his eyes.
Over these ten thousand years, while focusing wholeheartedly on refining Daoist techniques and divine abilities to advance his Daoist attainment, Gu Xechen also dispatched his Three Corpse Primordial Spirits to preach the Great Dao to everyone around him. The Dao of the Great Yin from the True Lord of the Great Yin, the Great Dao of the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning from the Pangu Banner, the Dao of the Grand Supreme Elder Lord from the Wind and Fire Cushion, the Dao of the Heavenly Master of Heaven Interception from the Four Swords of Zhu Xian, and the Dao of the Emperor Haotian from the Haotian Pagoda.
Essentially, Gu Xechen imparted, without reservation, the Great Dao essences of all the supreme beings in this universe.
If not for the profound essence of the Great Dao teachings from so many Saints and supreme beings, how could the cultivation of the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals outside have improved so quickly? In the past, what qualification did these Heavenly Soldiers and Generals have to hear these beings preach? Their innate aptitude was not poor; those with truly poor aptitude would not have attained immortality in the first place!
With Gu Xechen's generous dissemination of the profound essence of the Great Dao, these Heavenly Soldiers and Generals had come to regard him as a figure akin to their Master over the past ten thousand years. Even if their natal souls were not born because of Gu Xechen, they were utterly devoted to him. In the Three Realms, only Gu Xechen was so generous, so wasteful, and treated the profound essence of the Great Dao as something insignificant, disseminating it so widely to help so many rapidly advance their Daoist realm.
How many disciples did the Four Purities Saints have in total? Even the Heavenly Master of Heaven Interception, who boasted of the arrival of ten thousand immortals, had only forty to fifty thousand followers.
Regrettably, even though Gu Xechen's attainment could mimic the True Lord of the Great Yin, accumulating immortal power was not so easy.
After ten thousand years of painstaking tempering and honing, including absorbing a portion of the immortal power essence refined from Venerable Yuanluo by the Corpse Emperor, Gu Xechen’s immortal power had barely reached the threshold of a Great Overarching Golden Immortal.
After all, it was immortal power essence derived from Venerable Yuanluo, which did not match Gu Xechen's own attributes. Reaching this level already was not easy.
If he had been too greedy for immortal power advancement and absorbed too much of Venerable Yuanluo's essence, the excessive impurities entering his body would have been a curse. This was true not only for Gu Xechen but also for Yang Jian and the Monkey King. After using external forces to reach the Great Overarching Golden Immortal realm, everyone abandoned this crooked path of advancement and focused solely on improving their immortal power cultivation through diligent personal refinement.
In ten thousand years, utilizing the vast essence, spirit, and vital energy of Venerable Yuanluo, Gu Xechen had gained over two thousand initial-grade Great Overarching Golden Immortals, hundreds of thousands of Grand Unity Golden Immortals, and all other Heavenly Soldiers and Generals had reached the level of high-stage Golden Immortals.
The remaining essence, spirit, and vital energy of Venerable Yuanluo and his two disciples were all devoured by the Chaotic Bell, allowing it to recover some of its might. However, by Gu Xechen's estimation, restoring the Chaotic Bell to its peak power would likely require devouring the immortal energy of tens of thousands of peak Great Overarching Golden Immortals.
Where could one find tens of thousands of peak Great Overarching Golden Immortals? That was simply a joke; it could only be refined slowly through attrition.
A stream of black energy rushed out from the Great Yin Profound Pearl. The Corpse Emperor, whose form was now compressed to resemble a normal person and clad in black armor, slowly emerged from the black mist.
"Xechen, bored for ten thousand years, eh?"
The Corpse Emperor stood at the doorway with his hands behind his back, frowning as he gazed out at the flowing black and white energy and the five-colored auspicious light. He felt like vomiting after watching this scene for ten thousand years.
"Indeed. With our current strength, we should be sufficient to deal with Old Man Yuquan's entire family."
Gu Xechen smiled coldly and said softly, "The Ten Heavenly Lords have also reached the Great Overarching Golden Immortal realm. I really want to know the power of their Ten Absolute Formations now."
The Corpse Emperor’s mouth curved into an exceedingly cruel smile: "Leave that Old Man Yuzhang to his teacher. I will make him regret ever being born."
After a brief pause, the Corpse Emperor spoke indifferently: "That bloody banner he used to trap us? It belongs to me. I took an immediate liking to those Yakshas and evil spirits upon seeing them. Ah, this is a magic treasure naturally suited for me—do not damage it in the slightest!"
Gu Xechen’s face fell, and he sighed helplessly, saying hesitantly, "Your student will do his utmost, but if it is truly damaged..."
The Corpse Emperor understood that this request was somewhat unreasonable. He twisted his mouth and suddenly snarled: "If the great banner is damaged, then use the flesh, blood, spirit, and soul of Old Man Yuzhang’s entire family to repair it. That should be sufficient!"
Gu Xechen nodded, smiling: "Then, Master, just wait and see."
The Three Corpse Primordial Spirits retreated into his body. A gleam of chaotic spiritual light flashed in Gu Xechen’s eyes as his figure drifted out, devoid of any earthly trace.
Master and disciple walked shoulder-to-shoulder out of the hall. As they moved, they resembled two ordinary mortals, every gesture perfectly harmonious with the surrounding environment, as if they were completely a part of the dwelling.
Clearing his throat lightly, Gu Xechen’s voice resonated throughout the entire dwelling.
"Brothers, it's time to stretch our limbs. Who among the group outside will take the vanguard?"
Everyone inside the Heavenly Craft Hall froze for a moment, then let out a cheer, charging toward the outside of the five-colored light cluster simultaneously.
With a dull thud, the five-colored light cluster dispersed. Five great banners, bearing boundless auspicious light, forced back the sea of blood.
Over a million Heavenly Soldiers and Generals arrayed themselves in the formation of the Heavenly Net and Earthly Web, surging out from the auspicious light like a dark cloud.
Old Man Yuquan was utterly dumbfounded. Staring at the over a million Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, he suddenly shrieked with all his might: "Even if you can breed, how could you give birth to this many children in ten thousand years?"
Gu Xechen, leading the vanguard of the great formation, was stunned. He sighed, about to speak, when the Monkey King, unable to contain his impulse, brought his staff down upon Old Man Yuzhang.
One strike, and half the sea of blood was instantly dried up. The spherical space transformed from Old Man Yuzhang’s handkerchief suddenly collapsed by nearly half.