The demise of the Scarlet Blood Demon Ancestor and the fall of the Violet-Eyed Roc King—two paramount beings across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths—left even the Celestial Immortals speechless.
The Nine Nether Dao, formally established with the imposing Gu Xiechen, the Evil Dragon Venerable, as its Sect Master, instantly became two new, terrifying banners shrouded in malevolent energy across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, vividly conspicuous with their pungent scent of blood and boundless savagery.
Innumerable forces throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths armed themselves to the teeth, preparing for the inevitable massive maneuvers from the Nine Nether Dao. Yet, astonishingly, after slaying the Scarlet Blood Demon Ancestor and the Violet-Eyed Roc King and demonstrating their overwhelming strength, the Nine Nether Dao fell silent, taking no further action.
The only anomaly was that the number of missing Immortals from the Mortal Realm had become slightly more frequent than in the preceding ten thousand years. In a mere three to five years, the count of vanished Immortals equaled that of the previous two millennia combined. Immortals often clashed and fought amongst themselves. Sometimes a perfectly good Immortal might be ambushed and perish in some remote corner. Therefore, the disappearance of Immortals was as common as eating or drinking. However, such a large-scale vanishing act was unprecedented.
The major powers of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths ** turned their attention sharply toward the Nine Nether Dao, beginning to cautiously guard against any potential invasion.
But as days turned into weeks, the Nine Nether Dao remained utterly motionless. In the Mortal Realm, apart from the slight uptick in missing mid- and low-tier Immortals, there was no other disturbance. Thus, time flowed like water, and a century flashed by in the blink of an eye.
On Renyuan Star, Earth, at the original site of Mount Everest, deep within a secret grotto three thousand miles underground.
Piercing shrieks rose and fell incessantly. Ghostly fires flickered in the deep tunnels as countless disciples of the Nine Nether Dao patrolled with heavy steps. Occasionally, a few of the rougher disciples would blast several bolts of Yin Thunder into the specially constructed portals lining the tunnels, immediately causing the screams to become even more agonizing.
Some Ghost Cultivator disciples, seeking convenience, rapidly traversed the path using their Ghost Evasion technique through designated restricted portals, stirring up sheets of Yin wind and ghostly sounds, further enhancing the deep, dark grotto’s resemblance to an actual netherworld.
Suddenly, a disheveled human head violently slammed out from a metal portal ten zhang high beside the tunnel.
“My master is a powerful Fox Demon Venerable! W-w-waaah, please let me go!”
Ten thousand arcs of lightning erupted from the portal, scorching the head until it blackened before it quickly retracted inside. Two Nine Nether Dao disciples smirked, approached the door, and sent seven or eight bolts of Yin Thunder through the small window where the head had emerged, eliciting another burst of screams.
Continuing down the tunnel for about two to three hundred li, one arrived at a massive complex of laboratories spanning nearly a hundred floors, each floor covering almost a hundred square kilometers and equipped with astonishingly advanced facilities.
Here, one could find every element featured in science fiction and horror films. This location housed all the mad scientists from the Earth Federation, all the scientific perverts from the Yafeike Empire, and all the renowned scientific giants from every discipline and field of the former Star Alliance.
Everywhere were incubation pods, everywhere were culture dishes, and everywhere were growth liquids colored in vibrant reds, greens, and yellows.
All sorts of bizarre limbs and internal organs were submerged in these culture vessels. Some limbs and organs had been separated from their original bodies long ago, yet they still retained biological activity. The limbs could still extend and retract, and the organs continued to writhe, demonstrating the specimens' astonishing vitality.
In one of the laboratories on a certain floor, a researcher whose body was composed of a plasma-state electron mist—resembling a giant octopus, indicative of an electronic life civilization—suddenly gestured wildly while shrieking, “I need fresh materials here! Damn it, fresh materials! The sturdiest kind—Consumable Material Number One!”
Heavy footsteps sounded, and four Golden Armor Zombies, each possessing the cultivation level of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, entered the laboratory carrying a crucifixion rack.
A short Immortal, bearing all the characteristics of a Body Refinement cultivator, was bound to the rack by crimson chains. Chains as thick as a thumb pierced his clavicles and the joints of his limbs, and no matter how he struggled, he could not break free from the restraints.
The four Golden Armor Zombies carried the struggling, writhing Immortal to an operating table, forcefully snapped his limbs, suppressed his soul with talismans, and then slammed him onto the table.
More than a dozen thin, black chains snaked out from beneath the operating table, carrying a chilling cold as they plunged into several vital points on the Immortal’s body. The bone-chilling Netherworld Qi of the Nine Nethers permeated his body, freezing him solid, rendering him utterly incapable of even the slightest struggle.
The electronic life researcher shouted excitedly, “Comrades, let’s begin! Ha! Today’s topic is the equation for the energy level and defensive limits within Material Number One. We must find the optimal optimization formula; oh, our work is so meaningful!”
Dozens of frenzied researchers swarmed forward. The short Immortal let out a howl of sheer terror, and in the blink of an eye, he was shattered into countless small pieces.
In a laboratory deep underground, a woman of overwhelming allure and a stunning figure was holding forth to Gu Xiechen and the other leaders of the Nine Nether Dao.
This woman was the Innate Being, composed of the soul fragments of Youlisse and Alice. Her name now was "Lilith," the legendary Demon Queen. Given her current actions, this name was exceptionally fitting.
“What is the Heavenly Dao? What is the Great Dao?”
“From the perspective of you cultivators, this is an exceptionally complex question.”
“But for standardized researchers like us, the so-called Heavenly Dao and Great Dao are nothing more than the supreme laws governing the composition of energy and matter within this universe and its dozen or so affiliated pocket dimensions.”
“Immortals—research materials we have dissected countless times over the past century—are naturally the resources you currently possess. Hmm, why is this peculiar life form so powerful? Simply because their physical composition conforms to the ultimate laws of matter in this universe, and they have mastered the supreme laws governing energy within this cosmos!”
“Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is just like the electrical current, fire, or nuclear radiation we are familiar with—a form of energy. However, it is an energy that is both more fundamental and yet more advanced. Immortals modify their bodies through this energy, making their physical forms align with the Heavenly Dao, thereby gaining miraculous power!”
Thousands of light screens descended from the ceiling, countless patterns twisting upon them.
Lilith excitedly pointed to the images on the screens and laughed, “Through our relentless efforts—and yes, with a little contribution from you, since you provided these unfortunate experimental subjects—we have achieved remarkable results.”
“Over the past hundred years, we have theoretically completed the analysis of the flesh of Heavenly Immortals and Golden Immortals.”
“Daoist Immortals, Buddhist Immortals, Demon Race Immortals, Demonic Path Immortals, and Ghost Path Immortals—we have completed the analytical work on the composition of the flesh and energy structure of all five major categories of Immortals.”
Gu Xiechen and the others watched the multitude of images and texts on the screens, their faces twitching uncontrollably. Yes, with extremely detailed analysis, the flesh structure and energy composition of the Dao, Buddha, Demon, Devil, and Ghost Immortals were completely deciphered. Following this, they even derived the equations and detailed engineering blueprints for mimicking similar flesh using ordinary materials and refining similar energy using Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
The woman was devilish. Gu Xiechen gazed approvingly at Lilith.
He had not gone to the Great Snow Mountain of Huiyan to find Fuya or Ming; instead, he lingered in the Mortal Realm for another hundred years, waiting for Lilith’s research findings.
Lilith smugly surveyed the shocked Gu Xiechen and the others. She haughtily raised her head and declared with immense pride, “Give us sufficient time and enough experimental material, and we will decipher the mysteries of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal and the Great Overarching Golden Immortal.”
After a slight pause, as if recalling the fundamental change in the strength of the Grand Unity and Great Overarching Golden Immortals, Lilith frowned, “Of course, this might require a long time. After all, the power of the Laws they command is too high-level, and we have not yet touched upon such power.”
Scanning these light screens with his divine sense, Gu Xiechen instantly grasped the entire achievement of Lilith and the collective of scientific madmen over the past century.
It was an astonishing accomplishment. They had indeed utilized scientific methods to articulate the reasons and possibilities behind the existence of life forms like Immortals, and they had thoroughly explained the fundamental reasons why Immortals were so powerful and miraculous. Before Lilith’s scientific analysis methods, the mysterious veil covering the Immortals had been brutally torn to shreds, completely exposed.
Just as humanity, armed with nuclear warheads capable of instantly destroying a mountain, stands in contrast to primitive beasts, Immortals were merely life forms that had found a certain advanced method of evolution and progressed further down that evolutionary path than humanity.
Regardless of whether Immortals were originally human, other life forms, or even ghosts—pure spiritual energy waves—once Immortals mastered the method of absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to evolve themselves, they could gradually bring themselves closer to the ultimate rules of this universe. The closer they drew to the Heavenly Dao, the greater the power they commanded.
When a being like Ancestor Hongjun not only approached the Heavenly Dao but truly understood and merged with it, he became the ultimate existence in this universe, controlling everything within it.
With Lilith’s current capabilities, she had completely dissected the mysteries of the Heavenly Immortal and Golden Immortal—a truly monumental achievement.
However, someone took issue with Lilith’s accomplishments, picking fault with her findings.
The Monkey, leaning on his staff and squatting in the corner, rolled his eyes and shook his head constantly. He spoke to Lilith in a strange, mocking tone, “I, Old Sun, do not believe in these so-called scientific methods. For the past hundred years, you’ve been chopping up unfortunate souls and piecing them back together, only to chop them up again. It’s vexing for Old Sun to watch. Can you truly grasp the ultimate truth of Heaven and Earth like this?”
Provocatively raising his right hand, the Monkey chuckled, “Then, can you comprehend the origins of Old Sun, like me?”
Gu Xiechen glanced sideways at the Monkey and stepped back a few paces, positioning Lilith so she faced the Monkey directly.
Staring at the Monkey through narrowed eyes for a moment, Lilith suddenly let out a sharp, unpleasant laugh, like an old hen that had just laid a clutch of eggs. After cackling for a while, Lilith fiercely thrust out her chest and laughed triumphantly at the Monkey, “Are you one of those ape-men? How could the great Lilith possibly let go of such a marvelous experimental subject as you?”
Dexterously operating a console before her, she retracted all the screens in the hall, and a colossal screen slowly descended from the ceiling. Upon it appeared a full-body schematic of the Monkey, with massive amounts of data flooding down around his form like a tide.
“Based on our comparison, the body structure of this silicon-based humanoid ape perfectly matches that of this animal found on Planet Yinjishi. From a biological genetics perspective, this ape-man, called Sun Wukong, is the blood kin of this animal!”
The screen flashed, and a bizarre creature resembling a slow-moving alligator, its body glowing with black crystal light, appeared beside the Monkey’s schematic. Lilith sneered, “Identical biological genes, identical primitive physical structure. Even if this ape-man practiced an extremely profound cultivation method that caused his physical structure to undergo earth-shattering changes, his genes have not changed.”
The Monkey stared blankly at the crocodile-shaped creature, nearly exploding in rage, wanting to smash Lilith with his staff.
He, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who roamed the Three Realms, was apparently related to this alligator? Wasn't this an insult? He could accept being related to a dragon! But an alligator? What was that? What did that even mean?
Yang Jian and the Kongsang brothers were already sporting strange smiles, likely composing insults in their minds.
Lilith seemed completely oblivious to the killing intent radiating from the Monkey. She held her head high and sneered, “Of course, we referenced the self-described method of this ape-man’s birth and can confirm that he has no direct kinship with this silicon-based alligator. However, their most fundamental life composition is identical.”
Looking coldly at the stunned Monkey, Lilith scoffed, “You were born from a stone, thus your life-form characteristics mark you as a standard silicon-based life form. According to our statistics, unlike the genetic diversity of carbon-based life forms, silicon-based organisms only possess a rudimentary thirty-three types of genes.”
Taking a deep breath, Lilith stated calmly, “Thirty-three genetic patterns, yet manifesting thousands of different external forms—the creative power of the cosmos is truly wondrous.”
Gu Xiechen nodded as if suddenly enlightened. If all silicon-based life forms only possessed thirty-three gene patterns, it explained why the Monkey’s genes perfectly matched that of the alligator. The Monkey, however, drooped his head, rolling his eyes in defeat. He had learned some modern scientific terminology over the years; to think he shared the exact same inherited genes as these silicon-based alligators made him feel deeply resentful and awkward.
Lilith’s tone suddenly rose as she declared triumphantly, “But precisely because we needed to study the life pattern of this silicon-based ape-man, we conducted extensive experiments on silicon-based life forms, and we discovered an astonishing fact.”
“All thirty-three genes of silicon-based life forms perfectly correspond to the energy grade levels of the thirty-three tiers of Immortals.”
“Thirty-three genes, thirty-three orders of magnitude of energy containment capacity…” She pointed her finger fiercely at the head of the silicon-based alligator on the screen, and Lilith sneered, “According to our inference, if this ape-man were to transmit his cultivation methods to these silicon-based alligators, their ultimate achievement should be comparable to his.”
After a slight pause, Lilith shook her head, “Regrettably, silicon-based life forms rarely develop innate spiritual intelligence; that is, the proportion of them that achieve sapience is extremely low. The higher the gene tier, the lower the proportion that develops intelligence.”
The Star Alliance already included numerous nations and races composed of silicon-based life forms, but according to Lilith’s analysis, the energy level of their genes meant they could, at most, achieve the strength of a peak Heavenly Immortal. This was determined by their innate genetics.
A silicon-based life form like the Monkey, possessing the highest gene tier yet being born with intelligence, was exceedingly rare—truly worthy of the title ‘Heavenly Body of Heaven and Earth.’
Lilith began to analyze the profound intricacies of the Monkey’s cultivation method, from the way his immortal power condensed within his body to the very structure of his physique. She dissected nearly every secret of the Monkey’s body. The Monkey’s face grew uglier the more he listened. Anyone being pointed at, analyzed, and constantly referred to as an ‘ape-man’ would surely not feel pleased.
Switching gears, Lilith suddenly turned away from the Monkey, who had retreated until his head was tucked between his legs, and looked with shining eyes toward the Kongsang brothers. “You three are different from that ape-man. The composition of your three-wood bodies possesses standard plant characteristics. You even have cell walls outside your body cells, indicating you evolved from some form of plant life.”
The complexions of the three Kongsang brothers paled. They nervously looked toward Gu Xiechen. If they hadn't known Lilith was a figure valued by Gu Xiechen, the three brothers would have been intent on murder. Even in the Ancient Heavenly Court, only the Haotian Supreme God knew the foundation of the three brothers, yet Lilith immediately stated their origins upon speaking—how could this not shock them?
Gu Xiechen took a deep breath. He nodded secretly. Based on Lilith’s analysis of Heavenly Immortals and Golden Immortals, and her research into the Monkey, carbon-based life forms, and the Kongsang brothers, it was clear that the effort he invested over the past century had not been in vain.
Patting Kongsang Ri’s shoulder to soothe the brothers, Gu Xiechen asked in a low, powerful voice, “Then, what is the ultimate achievement?”
Lilith’s expression turned utterly serious. Over the past century, Gu Xiechen’s aura had grown heavier. The moment he spoke, Lilith felt a great mountain descend upon her. She dared not speak as flippantly as she had teased the Monkey and the Kongsang brothers; she instinctively stood at attention and replied respectfully, “The ultimate achievement is beneath us.”
The floor of the hall suddenly became transparent, and dazzling light flooded up from a colossal space beneath them.
Millions upon millions of incubation pods were neatly arranged in this vast space. Each pod contained a tall, robust, handsome body, utterly flawless in every aspect.
“The first batch: clones of one million Heavenly Immortals and one hundred thousand Golden Immortals—this is our achievement over the past century.”
Lilith’s eyes turned blood-red. A terrifying fervor shot out from them.
“Venerable Sir, give us sufficient time. We can clone not only Heavenly Immortals and Golden Immortals but even higher-level Immortals!”
“The million Heavenly Immortals and one hundred thousand Golden Immortals we have cloned have bodies modeled after the tissue structure of that ape-man, possessing over three hundred times the strength and durability of Immortals of the same rank, making them virtually immune to attacks from peers.”
“Their method of storing mana references the energy compression style of Mr. Yang Jian’s Nine Revolutions Profound Art, possessing extremely strong burst power while also maintaining superb sustained combat capability.”
One million peak Heavenly Immortals and one hundred thousand sixth-grade Golden Immortals—this was the fruit of the scientific madmen’s hundred years of research under Lilith.
A chill surged from the hearts of the orthodox Immortals—Yang Jian, the Kongsang brothers, and the Monkey. What would this universe become when Immortals turned into mass-produced industrial products?
Yang Jian, who once dominated the Three Realms, felt his body shudder with cold, his muscles painfully contracting.
Mass-producing Immortals—this was not a power that humanity was meant to wield. Yet, this power had materialized solidly before them. To what heights would the Nine Nether Dao, or rather, Gu Xiechen who commanded this power, ascend?
Gu Xiechen lowered his head, scrutinizing the cloned Immortals, and finally revealed a satisfied smile.
“Well done, Lilith. Tell those scientific madmen under your command that my promise stands. Their kin, their nations, will be brought under the protection of our Nine Nether Dao. Issue the Nine Nether Edicts, send notice to those Immortals occupying their territories, and tell them to get out!”
With a grand sweep of his sleeve, Gu Xiechen ordered sternly. Dozens of Nine Nether Dao disciples immediately acknowledged the command in unison and hurried out.
Urgent footsteps sounded, and a Golden Armor Corpse, its body covered in fine golden hairs, strode in, shouting in a low voice, “Sect Master Venerable, some Immortals are attacking our disciples outside the Spiral Star Domain!”
Gu Xiechen’s eyes turned cold. He gave a few curt instructions to Lilith and hastily left with his entourage.
Moments later, dozens of heaven-shattering streaks of light shot out from Renyuan Star, instantly plunging into a massive interstellar teleportation array on the surface of the Moon.
With a flash of strange light, Gu Xiechen and the others materialized in the highest peak of the Yafeike Empire in the next instant.
The towering youth, manifested from Mo Tang Longgen, was already waiting there. Seeing Gu Xiechen approach, Mo Tang Longgen rushed forward a few steps, spitting out his words in a muffled growl, “The foremost disciple of Yan Jiang, that silver rat spirit has been injured. Luckily for the rat spirit, while it’s useless at many things, it’s masterful at escaping; it managed to flee back with a few of its rodent relatives, but even so, it was still struck and wounded by lightning fire.”
He let out a few cold laughs, Mo Tang Longgen’s face contorted in ferocity as he stated, “In just these few days, this is the seventeenth time our people have been ambushed.”
Gu Xiechen frowned slightly. In the few days since he had left for that sphere, had the Nine Nether Path disciples truly been targeted seventeen times already?
Shaking his head, Gu Xiechen spoke in a chilling tone, “Very well. Let me see who dares to be so audacious!”