Beyond the imperial capital of the Yan Fei star system, twenty-two clusters of clouds, each spanning millions of square miles, hovered like startled beasts, layered one upon the other.

On every layer of clouds, countless palaces and pavilions stood tall. Outside the magnificent palaces lay vast training grounds where innumerable Heavenly Soldiers and Generals sat cross-legged, greedily absorbing the dense stellar energy of the Spiral Star Domain to rapidly recover their cultivation.

The number of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals meditating on each layer of cloud numbered in the billions. Across the thirty-three layers of clouds and their endless palaces, the total count of these celestial troops was an astronomical figure that made one’s scalp tingle.

All the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, all the Immortal Officials and Divine Lords, all the Star Lords and Spirit Officers, and all the venerated Loose Immortals of the ancient Heavenly Court’s thirty-three heavens—every being who had left a sliver of their divine consciousness imprinted on the Purple Immortal Registry Plaque—had now reunited their souls and restored their physical bodies.

For a century, Gu Xichen's magical cultivation had seen no progress. His purpose was the rebuilding of this ancient Heavenly Court and the reorganization of that massive Heavenly Army which once held dominion over the Three Realms. Day and night, he diligently cultivated to restore his soul's origin power. As soon as he accumulated even a slight trace of innate primordial spiritual energy, he would immediately recast the divine souls of a batch of immortals. The star power within the Spiral Star Domain was inexhaustible, naturally allowing them boundless freedom to cultivate.

If the immortals of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths witnessed such a spectacle, they would surely have dispatched countless emissaries to forge alliances with Gu Xichen, perhaps even employing tricks like marriage alliances. However, Gu Xichen had lain dormant for a century, his strength entirely unknown to the outside world. Within the Three Realms, no one knew of the terrifying force now amassed under Gu Xichen’s command.

Now, above the thirty-three heavens, in the Nine Nether Hall of the uppermost celestial palace, the Corpse Emperor sat enthroned in the center, his whole presence steaming with baleful energy as he stroked the Immortal Slaying Sword.

The Nine Nether Hall was a hundred miles long and wide, soaring ten miles high, large enough to accommodate a gathering of a million souls. Within the grand hall stood three thousand six hundred Dragon-Entwining Pillars, each one connecting to the stars above and drawing terrestrial energy below, etched with countless talismans and restrictive formations. Should they be activated, they would form a formation of astonishing lethality.

Gu Xichen, Miao Hua, and other members of the Nine Nether Dao of the second wave stood solemnly in the hall, observing the Haotian Mirror that hung suspended in the void, emitting waves of pure light. The Haotian Mirror was the supreme treasure of the ancient Heavenly Emperor, Haotian Shangdi, used to probe the Three Realms and inspect the Nine Nethers. With sufficient cultivation, no corner of the Three Realms, save for the residences of the Sages, could escape its scrutiny.

With Gu Xichen's current cultivation, peering into the entire Three Realms was beyond him, but monitoring the movements within several hundred thousand light-years of the Spiral Star Domain was effortlessly achievable.

A group of nearly one hundred Nine Nether Dao disciples flew cautiously through the void. Leading them were three Ghost Cultivators with Heavenly Immortal cultivation. Beneath them were over a dozen Corpse Cultivators and Demon Cultivators at the Void Realm. The remaining several dozen disciples were mostly at the Golden Core stage.

The three Ghost Cultivators, relying on their profound escape techniques, moved with great speed, constantly flickering around the front, back, left, and right of the formation, carefully greeting their junior fellow sect members. The dozen or so Void Realm cultivators flew in formation, clearing the path ahead. The entire group cautiously headed toward a planet not far from the Spiral Star Domain.

In the Nine Nether Hall, Gu Xichen nodded inwardly. Those three Ghost Cultivators at the Void Realm were careful and prudent. He could entrust them with greater responsibilities in the future. He was now accustomed to considering matters from the perspective of the Sect Master. Upon seeing the conduct of his disciples, his first thought was to conduct a comprehensive assessment, and then consider how best they could be utilized.

Gu Xichen knew the destination of these disciples: a highly desertified planet. However, the sand contained a special component accumulated over tens of thousands of years from the remains of various venomous insects—the potent poison known as ‘Corpse Worm Paste.’ The various toxic herbs favored by the Nine Nether Dao, rich in Yin Sha, malevolent energy, and various vicious Yin auras, thrived best in such soil.

Over the past century, this planet had become covered with the various toxic herbs commonly used by the Nine Nether Dao. The proliferation of these herbs had stimulated the growth of various venomous insects, making their individual specimens larger and stronger. About thirty years ago, the Nine Nether Dao disciples discovered that the common Three-Tailed Scarlet Fire Scorpions on this planet had grown as large as water buffaloes. This planet had thus become a training ground for the disciples of the Nine Nether Dao once more.

Disciples of the Nine Nether Dao, ranging from the Qi Refining stage up to the Nascent Soul stage, would come to this planet accompanied by elders and fellow sect members for trials, slaying venomous insects to extract their inner cores and vital blood to refine artifacts and cultivate their arts.

This batch of about eighty Golden Core stage Nine Nether Dao disciples was clearly also heading out for trials.

Three Heavenly Immortals and over a dozen Void Realm cultivators—this force was sufficient for self-preservation on this toxic herb planet, but to certain meddlesome individuals, they represented insignificant beings who could be casually brushed aside and annihilated.

Gu Xichen watched the group of Nine Nether Dao disciples reflected in the mirror light with a cold smile, yet his heart was filled with elation.

Over the past century, illuminated by the life essence stars of the 108 Innate Star Lords of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends, countless cultivators of excellent aptitude had emerged from the billions of Yafeike citizens within the Spiral Star Domain. Now, the number of human cultivators under the Nine Nether Dao was approaching ten million. Fortunately, they were supported by the inexhaustible stellar power of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends stars; otherwise, the cultivation of the Nine Nether Dao disciples would certainly have encountered major problems.

As for the non-human cultivators under the Nine Nether Dao—such as zombies, ghosts, and demons—their numbers had already surpassed ten million. Bathed continuously in such concentrated stellar power, countless beings, whether human or otherwise, or even mere stones and iron, had achieved sentience over time.

Sixty years ago, in the Yafeike star region where the stellar energy concentration was highest, a "Night Parade of Ten Thousand Ghosts" disturbance had even erupted. Corpses in some cemeteries on the planet’s surface all crawled out of their graves due to absorbing too much essence from the sun and moon, and every single resultant zombie was immediately absorbed into the ranks of the Nine Nether Dao disciples.

This group of eighty-plus Golden Core disciples before him represented the new entrants of the recent decades—they were the future of the Nine Nether Dao.

"A very foolish move, attacking our disciples right at our doorstep. Do they truly take us for dead men?"

Just as his thoughts reached a satisfying point, Gu Xichen suddenly laughed coldly. No matter who was attacking the Nine Nether Dao disciples from behind, they were as good as dead. He had already examined the injuries of the disciple Yan Jiang’s adopted young rat demon, and the injuries were not severe, but the residual magical energy at the wounds was that of pure Daoist immortal arts, and the spell formulas were exquisite, clearly indicating a formidable origin.

Siren lazily raised her hand: "You are not a dead man, nor are A’Rui and Ya. Nor are those two monks. Besides them, is anyone else alive in this room?"

Gu Xichen glanced around. The Corpse Emperor, Miao Hua, Yan Jiang, and a group of pure-blooded Nine Nether Dao members stood with stern faces awaiting Siren. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

Within the Haotian Mirror, that contingent of Nine Nether Dao disciples cautiously entered the toxic herb planet. They bypassed several oddly shaped venomous pythons that faintly resembled young Jiao dragons and swiftly flew into a deep valley within a large mountain range.

This valley was overgrown with strange toxic herbs resembling castor beans, but with razor-sharp leaves, pitch-black in color, and covered in poisonous, dark-blue spikes. This herb was named ‘No Salvation’—meaning that once a living being was pierced by its spines, even a Heavenly Immortal could not save them; they would dissolve into toxic fluid within moments.

The Ghost Cultivator disciples of the Nine Nether Dao particularly favored refining the poisonous sap of the 'No Salvation' into their inner cores. When fighting enemies, they would spew the sap, which instantly transformed into a vast cloud of poison, spreading everywhere. The terrifying medicinal properties of 'No Salvation' meant that any immortal below the second rank of Heavenly Immortal would be in dire peril. Even a Golden Core Ghost Cultivator, upon refining the sap of 'No Salvation,' could pose a threat to a Heavenly Immortal. This demonstrated the extreme toxicity of the herb and the disciples' affection for it.

The valley, ten miles wide and over a thousand miles long, was densely planted with 'No Salvation.' Furthermore, clinging densely to these toxic herbs were countless venomous insects, thumb-thick and a foot long, ghastly green all over. These were the only insects in the world capable of parasitizing the leaves of the 'No Salvation' grass, commonly known as 'Cannot Live On.' These insects resembled ordinary caterpillars but could leap with agility, specializing in drilling into the seven orifices of living beings. Once inside, they would chew on internal organs and release potent venom. Even a top-tier Heavenly Immortal infested by these insects was destined to perish.

Unless one’s body was formless and immune to toxins, like the Ghost Cultivator disciples, even the Corpse Cultivators of the Nine Nether Dao dared not approach this valley lightly.

While the poisonous sap of 'No Salvation' was highly useful to the Ghost Cultivator disciples, the mature form of the 'Cannot Live On' insects was universally welcomed by the Nine Nether Dao disciples. These insects, besides their leaping ability and terrifying toxicity, possessed incredibly tough carapaces; ordinary flying swords could not sever them.

By using the Sorcery and Gu techniques from the Great Desolation Scripture taught by Gu Xichen, refining eighty-one 'Cannot Live On' insects into nine Gu larvae, and then nurturing them with one's life essence blood for forty-nine days, one could instantly obtain a powerful artifact. If one was willing to pay a high price to trade with fellow sect members and acquire more 'Cannot Live On' insects to refine into nine Gu larvae, the resulting artifact would be even more potent.

These Nine Nether Dao disciples had come to this valley specifically to harvest the sap of 'No Salvation' and capture the 'Cannot Live On' insects.

With a whistle, the three Heavenly Immortal Ghost Cultivators ascended high into the sky, taking positions in a Three Talents arrangement, firmly guarding the disciples below. The other dozen or so Void Realm Nine Nether Dao disciples spread out in all directions, vigilantly guarding against the approach of other giant venomous insects or strange entities.

The several dozen Golden Core disciples formed small tactical groups of three, carefully dispersing throughout the valley. Each group consisted of one disciple holding a banner specialized in bewitching souls, one holding a bone longsword imbued with malicious poison, and the third holding a small, heaven-and-earth net woven from human hair. This trio formation was a specialized combat unit designed by Gu Xichen, commissioned from professionals like Poison Wolf and the Bearded Leader.

The disciples cautiously approached a 'Cannot Live On' insect. First, the disciple holding the banner waved it, sending out a black mist that stunned the insect's soul. The disciple holding the heaven-and-earth net scattered a black cloud, enveloping the insect and successfully securing it in the insect pouch at their waist.

Occasionally, a particularly spirited and powerful venomous insect would ignore the soul-confusing banner and leap toward the disciples. In such cases, the disciple with the bone longsword would strike out, sending several pale white sword lights that forced the insect back. The heaven-and-earth net would then sweep down again, capturing the insect alive.

These disciples coordinated with practiced orderliness, capturing several thousand 'Cannot Live On' insects in the blink of an eye.

The Nine Nether Dao had explicit regulations for harvesting these toxic herbs and insects. Only herbs of a certain age could be collected, and for insects, only mature specimens over a foot long were permitted. Anyone violating these rules would receive a severe beating upon returning to the sect. Thus, these Golden Core disciples carried a ruler while capturing the insects, measuring them first. Only upon confirming the length exceeded one foot would they be placed in the insect pouch. After diligently working for over an hour, a cold laugh suddenly echoed from a peak on one side of the valley.

"You demon whelps of the Nine Nether Dao, you’ve finally crawled out! You’ve been hiding like turtles in the Spiral Star Domain these past few days. Your Young Lord has been waiting impatiently!"

Accompanying the laughter, a flash of lightning erupted from the mountain peak. Clouds parted on the left and right, revealing a towering purple-hued Qingyun (Auspicious Cloud).

Upon the Qingyun stood a magnificent Imperial Seat, made of yellow jade, rising majestically. The throne was over ten zhang square and about three zhang high, divided into three tiers. Each tier was carved with dragons and phoenixes, exquisitely opulent. The eyes of these dragons and phoenixes were inlaid with small pearls—treasures like fire-repelling pearls, water-repelling pearls, dust-cleansing pearls, and spirit-calming beads.

Seated arrogantly on this throne was a young man dressed in a brocade robe embroidered with nine circling pythons. He was paper-white, with a long donkey-like face. Beside him sat a stunning beauty, light as a swallow, with faint eyebrows like smoke, cheeks curved in a subtle smile, and eyes as clear and captivating as cut gems. Her large, distinct black and white eyes were fixed intently on the nearly one hundred Nine Nether Dao disciples below.

A Jiao dragon, over ten zhang long, coiled lazily beneath the throne. Its deep purple scales were dotted with lumpy golden nodules. Occasionally, the dragon would open its eyes and look towards the Nine Nether Dao disciples, its deep blue gaze shooting out vast rays of light that instantly pinned the three Ghost Immortals in place, rendering them completely immobile.

Flanking the young couple stood nearly a hundred elegantly dressed immortals as attendants. In several other directions in the void, dozens of immortals each were arrayed in a loose encirclement, trapping the group of Nine Nether Dao disciples at the core.

The three Ghost Immortals of the Nine Nether Dao sensed the shift in power and immediately let out a sharp, mournful ghostly shriek.

The nearly one hundred Nine Nether Dao disciples scrambled back from all directions, gathering near the three Ghost Immortals.

However, the cultivation of these three Nine Nether Dao Ghost Immortals was only at the fourth rank of Heavenly Immortal. The Jiao dragon serving as a pet beneath the opponent’s throne possessed the strength of a Golden Immortal. The spiritual pressure alone emanating from this single Jiao dragon immobilized the Nine Nether Dao disciples, leaving them no means to deal with the other immortals.

The remarkably beautiful young woman gazed coldly at the Nine Nether Dao disciples, a smile of satisfaction and comfort spreading across her face.

She lightly tugged the sleeve of the donkey-faced youth and spoke sweetly, "Young Venerable, these fiends and monsters, Qingzhi wishes to slay them with her own hands."

The donkey-faced Young Lord affectionately stroked the small hand of the maiden Qingzhi, drooling slightly as he replied, "As you wish, as you wish. As long as you agree to marry this Young Lord upon your return, you can torment them however you like!"

A purple light flashed in the Young Lord's eyes. He unleashed a vast wave of oppressive might. Among the Nine Nether Dao disciples, over thirty were Demon Cultivators, all at the Golden Core stage. Under the illumination of the purple light from the Young Lord's eyes, their limbs went slack, and they immediately reverted to their true forms.

These minor demons were merely ordinary beasts that had gained sentience due to the dense stellar energy of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends, allowing them to assume human form. Now, revealed, they were just clumps of fur and scales: rabbits the size of donkeys, donkeys the size of elephants, soft-shelled turtles the size of water vats, and tortoises the size of houses.

Qingzhi burst into giggles, pointing at the transformed demons of the Nine Nether Dao: "It’s these beasts! Such mere animals!"

Tears streamed down her delicate, fair cheek. Qingzhi screamed, "It was these beasts that annihilated the entire lineage of my Kunlun and Zhongnan!"

She fiercely drew a gleaming, cold, blue-edged Pine Pattern Sword, pointing it at the immobilized minor demons, and harshly commanded, "Today, I will have your blood debt paid in blood!"

The donkey-faced Young Lord smiled. He slowly stood up, taking Qingzhi's hand, and approached the demons with a gentle smile: "Come, Qingzhi, do as your heart desires. Heh heh, it’s forgivable that the previous little rat demon escaped quickly, but these beasts this time—you may do as you please!"

Qingzhi gave the donkey-faced Young Lord a coquettish look, simultaneously tearful and smiling, and lightly punched his shoulder. "If Young Lord had respected his status, how could those few little rat demons have escaped?"

The donkey-faced Young Lord pulled Qingzhi’s hand with a slobbering grin, saying, "How is it about respecting status? It’s just that this Young Lord has detested rats since childhood and disliked getting close to them. It’s my subordinates’ incompetence that they couldn't catch a few little mice—that's not my fault!"

His Adam's apple bobbed violently up and down. The donkey-faced Young Lord laughed, "But running away from a few mice is nothing. As long as you marry me when you return, this Young Lord will certainly take action to wipe out the Nine Nether Dao."

He puffed out his chest proudly. "My Ancestor is refining treasures, and several uncles and elders are guarding the process. Currently, I am in charge at the Purple Extreme Palace of Wuji Cliff! Don’t believe the rumors that the Nine Nether Dao killed the old Scarlet Blood Ancestor and the Purple Gaze Roc King—once my Purple Extreme Palace makes a move, what is a mere Nine Nether Dao?"

Smiling, he looped his arm through Qingzhi’s, boasting, "If it weren't for that thick turtle-shell formation outside the gate of the Nine Nether Dao, and despite sending thousands of sect members, we couldn't get in—why would we need this stratagem of luring the snake out of its hole?"

Qingzhi flashed the Young Lord a radiant smile, truly like an orchid blooming in a secluded valley, mesmerizing the donkey-faced Young Lord until his eyes glazed over. Holding hands, the two swung the Blue Edge Sword together, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes, and slowly brought the sword down upon a plump, adorable rabbit spirit covered in long, silvery-white fur.

In the Nine Nether Hall, Gu Xichen, the Corpse Emperor, Peng Hua, and the others sighed in unison: "A beauty is a source of calamity. Does this donkey-faced child not know this?"

A spiritual art was cast upon the Haotian Mirror. The one hundred and eight great stars in the Spiral Star Domain suddenly flared, and endless stellar power, accompanied by a tremendous surging sound, swept in, instantly pouring into the Haotian Mirror.

The Haotian Mirror spat out a stream of pale green divine light that instantly pierced the void and arrived in the mountain valley.

Gu Xichen and the others filed into the Haotian Mirror, appearing directly before the group of Nine Nether Dao disciples.

With a grasp of his right hand, Gu Xichen caught the longsword being swung down by the donkey-faced Young Lord and Qingzhi. Gu Xichen then unleashed a kick, sending Qingzhi flying several miles backward.

Qingzhi had over a dozen active defensive immortal artifacts that burst forth with clouds of immortal light to protect her body. However, Gu Xichen's kick shattered the surrounding void. It was true that Qingzhi possessed over a dozen defensive immortal artifacts, but they were all trash of the low-grade immortal artifact level. Gu Xichen’s single kick shattered the artifacts along with her, leaving a clear, large footprint on her lower abdomen. Clutching her stomach, she collapsed softly onto the ground, completely immobilized.

The donkey-faced Young Lord was startled. He saw a flash of green light before his eyes, and the beauty beside him suddenly vanished.

Before he could clearly discern what had happened, Peng Hua flashed over from the flank and, with practiced ease, delivered a savage kick to the groin.

The donkey-faced Young Lord emitted a piercing, high-pitched scream, flying upward while clutching his lower body.

Hundreds of Purple Extreme Palace immortals, near and far, were greatly alarmed. They roared, "Bold fiend!" and nearly a thousand immortal artifacts simultaneously smashed down toward Peng Hua’s head.

Gu Xichen sighed deeply, "A beauty is a source of calamity, ah." The Haotian Mirror flashed and materialized above his head.

Pale green light shot out from the mirror's surface. As the nearly thousand immortal artifacts were swept by the light, every restrictive formation within them shattered with loud cracks. The slivers of divine consciousness attached to the artifacts by the hundreds of immortals were swept away by the Haotian Mirror. Gu Xichen swept his cascading sleeve, and a massive vortex materialized from thin air. The nearly thousand high-quality immortal artifacts, like birds returning to their forest, poured into Gu Xichen’s large sleeve.

Hundreds of Purple Extreme Palace immortals, including four mid-grade Grand Unity Golden Immortals, simultaneously spat blood while crying out in shock. They were utterly dumbfounded.

They suddenly realized that this was the legendary Nine Nether Dao Master who had slain the Scarlet Blood Demon Ancestor and the Purple Gaze Roc King!

Was their Young Lord’s brain burned out, or what, to provoke such an enemy?

Gu Xichen lightly brushed the surface of the Haotian Mirror and greeted these immortals with an incomparably relaxed bow.

"Venerable Heavenly Lord of the Pure Essence and Spiritual Treasure, our Saintly Ancestor, we ask, fellow Daoists, have you washed your necks clean?"

Gu Xichen smiled faintly, while Peng Hua and Siren, standing on his left and right, smiled with utter malice. Their demeanor truly resembled a spoiled young master and his two bruisers inquiring of a delicate young maiden whether her father or mother had died, and if she was prepared to sell herself to pay for the funeral rites.

The donkey-faced Young Lord, grimacing, plummeted from the sky while clutching his lower body, screaming hoarsely:

"Kill them for me!"

The donkey-faced Young Lord still hadn't grasped the full situation. He hadn't seen Gu Xichen effortlessly confiscate the treasured artifacts of several hundred of his subordinates in one move. He still believed his current strength was enough to deal with Gu Xichen, so he remained arrogant and overbearing.

A black light flashed from the flank, and a massive dragon head suddenly emerged next to the donkey-faced Young Lord.

Ah, that Young Master Donkey-Face! Just as the great Dragon Head was about to completely engulf him, he snapped awake. With a blink of instant movement, he shifted himself over ten li to the side.

But behind that Dragon Head trailed a neck of indeterminate length. This head, shattering the void itself, reappeared instantly right beside Young Master Donkey-Face.

Its enormous jaws snapped shut with a sickening CRACK. Young Master Donkey-Face let out a piteous shriek as his eyes rolled back white.

Both of his powerful thighs had been cleanly bitten off by the Dragon Head. Purple-gold blood sprayed across the firmament like mist.

The Demon-Treading Dragon Gen transformed back into human shape and darted behind Gu Xie Chen. He held a pale, tender, delicate thigh in each hand, taking a bite from the left, then the right, sighing with constant praise, "Truly a noble son of a prestigious house. This flesh is as tender as three-tenths cooked beef. Tsk, tsk, and it even carries a milky fragrance!"

In just a few quick bites, Demon-Treading Dragon Gen had completely devoured both of Young Master Donkey-Face’s legs, even crunching the leg bones into dust, chewing them down like one would an iced treat.

Young Master Donkey-Face stared at Demon-Treading Dragon Gen as if he had seen a ghost, watching the creature consume his own thighs right in front of him!

His two legs, devoured by a Dragon Head demon!

His two legs, belonging to the Young Master of the Purple Extreme Palace on the Boundless Cliff, devoured by a demon!

And it happened right before his eyes, chewed clean with a series of loud crunch-crunch sounds!

Suddenly, Young Master Donkey-Face threw his head back and wailed toward the heavens: "Invoke the Nine Heavens Starlight World-Ending Blast! Destroy them for me!"

A massive wave of magical energy suddenly radiated out from within Young Master Donkey-Face and the surrounding Immortal cultivators of the Purple Extreme Palace.

In the void, a terrifying force was rapidly coalescing.

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