The great hall of the Yan Feast was steeped in a deathly silence, broken only by the grinding crunch of Patriarch Tieshi’s teeth, which made the structure tremble faintly.

The various demons and monsters of Mount Ironwater Blackstone looked at each other, none of them grasping the nature of the enmity or affection between Patriarch Tieshi and Yin Hua.

The newly defected foremost guest of Mount Ironwater Blackstone, Dao Monarch Potian, toyed with a dark jade wine cup, sitting behind the dais with a cheerful grin, squinting as he scrutinized Patriarch Tieshi from head to toe. Having spent several hours with Patriarch Tieshi, the ancient monster now seemed at his most human.

In the span of just a single meal, Patriarch Tieshi’s expression shifted rapidly, cycling through every known emotion from joy to sorrow, rage to pleasure. Gu Chen looked on in awe; only now did he understand the remarkable range of expressions a human face could contort to convey such a depth of feeling.

“Heh, hehe, hehehehe,” Patriarch Tieshi suddenly cackled, his voice piercing and strange. He spoke in a low growl, “In one month, at the Sunken Immortal Pool in the Bottomless Cave. Dao Monarch Potian, would you care to accompany the Patriarch to witness the majesty of the number one fiend of the Frigid Hell, Patriarch Yin Hua?”

The number one fiend of the Frigid Hell? What an imposing title. Gu Chen smiled faintly and nodded, replying humbly, “I’m afraid I won’t be of much help to the Patriarch!”

With one sweep, Patriarch Tieshi pulverized the dais before him. He spoke coldly and calmly, “No matter, it will serve to boost morale. The entire host of demons from Mount Ironwater Blackstone shall accompany me to the Sunken Immortal Pool in the Bottomless Cave, and we shall see what Yin Hua has to say!”

The thousands of Demon Kings and Devil Sovereigns in the hall responded in unison with a mighty roar.

Gu Chen glanced at these Demon Kings and Devil Sovereigns. Among these thousands, there were more than thirty cultivators at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal (Daluo Jinxian) level; the rest ranged from the peak of Greater Unity Golden Immortal (Taiyi Jinxian) to high-grade Greater Unity Golden Immortals. This force was undeniably formidable.

However, the fact that Patriarch Blackrock needed to bring such a vast entourage merely to boost morale indicated that he held a degree of apprehension toward the ancient demon Yin Hua.

Mount Ironwater Blackstone immediately erupted into activity. Patriarch Blackrock’s direct subordinates began mobilizing troops, selecting nearly a million powerful demons from the teeming masses. They also conscripted the entire elite contingent from several affiliated powers. They assembled an army consisting of thirty-six Grand Unity Golden Immortals, over twenty thousand Greater Unity Golden Immortals, and more than two million Golden Immortals. With grand momentum, they departed Mount Ironwater Blackstone.

Gu Chen, Yan Hua, and Siren, leading the eight thousand minor demons of Mount Iron Spine, naturally followed along with the main army.

When Patriarch Blackrock moved, the lesser and greater powers situated between Mount Ironwater Blackstone and the Sunken Immortal Pool in the Bottomless Cave fell into immediate ruin. Wherever Patriarch Blackrock’s army passed, all forests and caves within a radius of a hundred thousand miles were stripped clean, as if scoured by locusts; even the most insignificant valuable roots were dug up.

All demons and monsters not affiliated with Mount Ironwater Blackstone had their lairs breached, and every living soul was slaughtered. If any male or female demon possessed a modicum of beauty, they were seized by Patriarch Blackrock to populate his inner palace as concubines. Even the soil on the mountainsides that held even a whisper of spiritual energy was scraped away entirely.

They traveled onward, arriving precisely at the Sunken Immortal Pool on the due date of one month. Along the way, the army from Mount Ironwater Blackstone lit countless beacon fires and ravaged innumerable demons and ghosts. The brutal law of the jungle in the Frigid Hell—survival of the fittest—was enacted in the most vivid detail.

As the sun began to set on one particular day, Gu Chen observed a column of black qi soaring into the sky ahead. This black qi was dense and viscous, like glue, yet it carried an icy dampness that stung the very viscera. Even from a great distance, a glue-like moisture began to condense on the faces of the demons from Mount Ironwater Blackstone, making them feel sticky and deeply uncomfortable all over.

Gu Chen was protected by the energy of the Grand Yin (Taiyin Zhi Qi), rendering this aberrant aqueous energy harmless to him. However, Yan Hua and Siren looked rather unwell. The aqueous energy permeated their pores and penetrated their bodies, causing their very blood and sinews to coagulate. When they tried to circulate their magic, it felt as if they were yoked to an ox under a pressure of a million jin, making movement sluggish.

Frowning slightly, Gu Chen channeled a thread of Grand Yin energy into the two, easily neutralizing the bizarre water vapor.

The other demons were not so fortunate; they could only activate their protective artifacts to ward off the invasion of the energy. A faint layer of black water light shimmered outside the aura of their protective lights. This black water light continuously attacked the various colored lights, creating massive ripples.

Still a million li away from the Sunken Immortal Pool, all the demons of Mount Ironwater Blackstone were forced to activate protective artifacts. Their speed of movement dropped abruptly by thirty percent, and their magical energy consumption increased significantly. Before they even reached the fiend Yin Hua, the army of Mount Ironwater Blackstone had already seen its strength diminished by nearly half.

Patriarch Blackrock’s face grew darker than ink that could drip. He suddenly threw his head back and roared toward the sky:

“Patriarch Yin Hua! Is this the way you treat your guests?”

The piercing cry tore open the void, transforming into a sound-blade as thin as a hair, ten thousand li high, extending for thousands of li as it shot forward. Wherever the pale black sound wave passed, mountain ranges split and the earth parted. The demons in the nearby mountains were caught as if within countless rotating blades, their bodies rapidly torn into countless fragments.

The might of that single sound immediately inflicted casualties of at least a million minor demons around the Sunken Immortal Pool.

From within the column of black qi in the distance, a soft, languid snort echoed: “Blackstone, still that foul temper of yours? Heh, hehe!”

The aberrant aqueous energy in the surrounding air began to fluctuate wildly. The sound wave expelled by Patriarch Blackrock was suddenly enveloped by countless swirling vortices of colorless air. Vortices the size of a thumb rushed madly toward the sound wave, rapidly grinding it into dust.

Around the demonic army of Mount Ironwater Blackstone, innumerable tiny vortices also sprang up. These miniature whirlpools, sharp as blades and spinning at terrifying speeds, crisscrossed the void, kicking up clouds of blood plasma, minced flesh, and severed limbs.

In the blink of an eye, over a million Golden Immortals from the two-million-strong demonic army of Mount Ironwater Blackstone were utterly annihilated. Gu Chen’s divine sense swept over the scene, and the number of slain demons was exactly equal to the number killed by Patriarch Blackrock’s single screech: one million, seven hundred and ninety-four thousand, eight hundred and eighty-seven.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—Patriarch Yin Hua indeed refused to suffer a loss!

However, among the lesser demons killed by Patriarch Blackrock’s initial roar, many were merely at the Core Formation (Jindan) or Nascent Soul (Yuanying) stages. By comparison, it seemed Patriarch Tieshi had suffered a greater loss.

Patriarch Tieshi’s expression became even more grim. He let out a chilling laugh, suddenly raising both hands and pressing them down heavily.

The mountain ranges surrounding the Sunken Immortal Pool in the Bottomless Cave shuddered violently, and tens of thousands of great mountains instantly shattered, flattened completely into dust.

Innumerable demons and ghosts within the mountains were pulverized; even their primordial spirits were crushed by the sudden, immense pressure. In this single strike, the number of demons killed was beyond counting.

The area surrounding the Sunken Immortal Pool in the Bottomless Cave was originally a scenic wonderland of rolling peaks and valleys, a true sanctuary for cultivation. But with one strike from Patriarch Blackrock, paradise turned into hell, and countless accomplished demons were reduced to dust. Boundless baleful and resentful energies surged from beneath the earth, and the leveled ground was gradually saturated with blood plasma, staining the entire vicinity of the Sunken Immortal Pool red—the liquefied remains of the slain demons seeping to the surface.

“Blackstone! You are courting death!”

That soft, languid voice sounded again. Gu Chen sensed an overwhelmingly powerful force erupting from the black column of qi, shooting rapidly toward Mount Ironwater Blackstone. Gu Chen hurriedly released his divine sense to follow the force. In the blink of an eye, his consciousness arrived above Mount Ironwater Blackstone.

The formless, traceless power gently pressed down upon Mount Ironwater Blackstone. The mountain range, spanning two hundred million li, shook violently, plunging nearly ten thousand li into the earth. Yet, Mount Ironwater Blackstone was constructed of some unknown material; despite being struck by this immense force, the mountain body showed not the slightest crack. Although it was pressed nearly ten thousand li underground, the numerous demons hidden within the caverns merely experienced a slight tremor and suffered no fatalities.

“Blackstone!”

The soft voice suddenly turned unbearably sharp and shrill.

“Are you truly a spirit born from Mount Ironwater Blackstone?”

Patriarch Blackrock cackled mockingly a few times, but offered no reply to the voice’s question. He continued smugly, stroking his beard with a strange laugh: “Patriarch Yin Hua, Blackstone has traveled a long way. Do you intend only to exchange words across the distance? Not even a cup of tea for your guest?”

Before the two great fiends even met face-to-face, Patriarch Blackrock had already initiated the provocation and exchanged two opening salvos. In the first exchange, Patriarch Blackrock suffered a slight disadvantage: while he killed a million of the enemy’s host, the casualties on his side were all elite Golden Immortals, meaning his losses were significant.

The second exchange saw Patriarch Yin Hua suffer a massive, silent humiliation. The demons in the mountains surrounding the Sunken Immortal Pool numbered in the billions; aside from those at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal level, the rest were obliterated by Patriarch Blackrock’s single strike. Patriarch Yin Hua responded in kind against Mount Ironwater Blackstone, and although the entire mountain was blasted ten thousand li deep into the earth, not a single lesser demon was killed.

Patriarch Blackrock gained such a huge advantage that a flush of reddish light showed even on his dark face.

Patriarch Yin Hua, having suffered such a tremendous setback, sounded so enraged that his voice warped.

A piercing shriek echoed through the void. The ground around the Sunken Immortal Pool in the Bottomless Cave rapidly swelled upward, and immense fluctuations of magical power swept the surroundings. In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the hills and mountains that Patriarch Blackrock had leveled were restored to their original state.

Patriarch Yin Hua was indeed worthy of the title ‘Number One Fiend of the Frigid Hell.’ Except for the demons within the mountains who could not be regenerated, the landscape itself was exactly as it had been before its destruction; not a single stone was out of place.

The soft, languid voice sounded once more: “Enough, Blackstone. You win a minor advantage today. However, those unfortunate souls were not my direct subordinates. Kill as many as you wish. The serious business comes first; I won’t quibble with you over trifles!”

Patriarch Blackrock merely sneered, holding his head high with satisfaction. He commanded his subordinate demons to station the million-strong army where they stood, and he, bringing the thirty-six Grand Unity Golden Immortals and the group of Greater Unity Golden Immortals including Gu Chen, rode the demonic wind and clouds straight toward the black column of qi ahead.

Already, members of Patriarch Yin Hua’s entourage were coming forward to guide them. These immortals were exceedingly cautious, daring not to look up at Patriarch Blackrock. It was clear that the unrestrained slaughter waged by the two great fiends had terrified everyone present.

Though the Frigid Hell harbored countless ruthless demons, few were as utterly ferocious as these two, casually massacring countless beings without provocation. It was not a matter of tens or hundreds of thousands; Patriarch Blackrock’s single strike had killed at least billions of demons!

As they approached the black column of qi, Gu Chen saw that it erupted from a cavern several hundred li in diameter.

The opening, resembling a well shaft perpendicular to the ground, was utterly devoid of vegetation. The surrounding sand and stone shimmered with a gem-like luster. A thread-like black qi shot straight up from the mouth of the cave. After rising a few li, it suddenly expanded into a column of qi a hundred li thick, piercing the Ninth Heaven. The column spun violently upward, carrying with it a massive roar and whistling sound.

Inside the column, the wind force was sufficient to instantly shred an ordinary Greater Unity Golden Immortal. Yet, outside the column, there was dead silence, not a breath of wind. The restrictive formations within and without this cavern displayed an astonishing subtlety, clearly not crafted by ordinary immortals.

Led by the guiding immortals, Gu Chen and his party cautiously drifted into the cavern on demonic clouds, descending vertically downward.

This shaft was perfectly straight, with a diameter of about a hundred li. The cavern was pitch black, devoid of any light, and permeated by a dense aqueous vapor. The divine senses of ordinary Grand Unity Golden Immortals were severely obstructed here, capable of extending only about a hundred li at most.

However, Gu Chen’s divine sense was unimpeded by the water vapor; on the contrary, he used the dense vapor as cover, silently sweeping his consciousness across the entire cavern. Everything inside the cavern was laid bare before him, and he couldn't help but marvel internally: this cavern went incredibly deep!

A cavern with a diameter of a hundred li stretched over a billion li deep. This Sunken Immortal Pool in the Bottomless Cave truly lived up to its name.

Around this cavern, which pierced deep into the earth’s viscera, countless large and small holes had been excavated, housing fierce creatures such as blood-sucking demon bats and three-legged toad-demons. These beasts were obviously controlled by drugs that suppressed their consciousness. Despite possessing no small cultivation bases, they had never managed to transform into human shapes, existing only as part of the protective formations guarding the cavern.

Approaching the bottom of the cave, the dwelling places of the deeply cultivated demons were in the surrounding walls. From top to bottom, the closer they were to the bottom, the stronger the demons residing there. The number of demons embedded in the cavern walls numbered in the tens of millions. It was clear that these were Patriarch Yin Hua’s direct descendants; the demons killed outside were merely vassal-like servants, whose loss caused him no pain.

A thousand li from the bottom of the cavern, the space suddenly expanded outward from a hundred li diameter to one hundred million li in circumference. The bottom of the Sunken Immortal Pool in the Bottomless Cave was an ocean, a boundless, black sea.

This entire ocean, spanning at least one hundred million li in diameter, was a colossal vortex. An infinite volume of seawater was rapidly spinning around the center of the vortex—the spot where the thread of black qi erupted. A vortex of such immense ocean did not emit any sound.

Surrounding the center of the vortex, eighty-one square stone pillars stood separated by a thousand li, rising about ten zhang above the bottomless, dark water. Magnificent palaces and pavilions were constructed upon these pillars, each pillar top having a side length of about one li. Rainbow bridges spanned the sea surface, forming an astonishingly beautiful yet terrifying palace complex.

Standing on the verandas of these palaces, the rapidly surging sea rushed almost within reach. A tremendous suction force emanated from beneath the water, firmly gripping the entire palace complex. Any immortal or mortal who strayed outside the protection of the palaces, avoiding the wards that covered them, would be instantly sucked into the rapidly spinning depths of this great sea.

While no one knew the exact nature of the anomaly in the seawater, merely witnessing the sea, spanning hundreds of millions of li and spinning violently, deterred anyone from testing it foolishly.

The guiding demon cautiously led Gu Chen’s party to the grand archway at the main entrance of the palace.

Gu Chen saw that the archway, one hundred zhang high, was constructed entirely of solidified black frost. Upon it hung a plaque eighteen zhang long, inscribed with the four characters ‘Black Water Divine Palace’ in script that looked as if it had been scratched by a dog’s paw. Though the writing was ugly, it exuded a savage, overbearing demonic aura that assaulted the face.

Two rows of welcoming demon immortals stood beneath the archway. As Gu Chen’s party approached, these immortals, clad in ornate black brocade robes, simultaneously raised various musical instruments and began to play a lively, joyous welcoming tune.

The welcoming music was immediately cut short by Patriarch Yin Hua’s icy voice: “Enough! You ignorant, foolish hounds! Why welcome such unwelcome guests? Blackstone, enter! We shall have a proper talk!”

Patriarch Blackrock let out a harsh laugh. He sneered arrogantly, “A proper talk, perhaps! Heh, do you truly think you are the number one figure in the Frigid Hell?”

With a flick of his wide sleeve, Patriarch Blackrock transformed into a plume of black smoke and shot rapidly toward the archway. Gu Chen quickly signaled to Yan Hua and Siren to stay close to him, then followed Patriarch Blackrock’s smoke trail into the Black Water Divine Palace.

The Black Water Divine Palace was intricately structured and vast, its layers of palaces built upon the sea surface, appearing as if suspended in mid-air. Innumerable demonic immortals and fiendish immortals moved in and out of the countless halls and pavilions, surrounded by myriad restrictive formations and spells.

From the archway to the central Black Water Hall, Patriarch Yin Hua had people lay down a crimson carpet a hundred zhang wide and stretching a thousand li. Gu Chen’s party flew rapidly along this carpet for a thousand li until they reached the core of the Black Water Divine Palace: the Black Water Hall.

The spacious Black Water Hall was already crowded with guests. Dozens of famous demonic overlords from the Frigid Hell, along with their retinues, were seated inside, watching the charging Patriarch Blackrock with cold eyes.

In the center of the brightly lit Black Water Hall, on a couch formed from black water crystal, sat Patriarch Yin Hua, looking benevolent and kind, like a wealthy country gentleman. Flanking him were forty-eight cloud-beds, thirty-two of which were already occupied by invited fiends of the demonic path.

Patriarch Blackrock let out a few strange laughs and floated lightly toward the first cloud-bed to the left of Patriarch Yin Hua. He sneered, glaring at a demon immortal seated there, who possessed a cultivation base at the high-grade Grand Unity Golden Immortal level, and mocked him: “Scram off yourself, or shall the Patriarch slay you?”

The true form of this demon immortal was unclear, but his long, narrow face bore four piercing, ghastly green eyes that shone with intense light.

Hearing Patriarch Blackrock’s words, the demon immortal let out a sinister snicker: “Patriarch Blackrock, what are you that you dare—” He was cut off by a wet splotch. Patriarch Blackrock’s dark right arm had already shot out from behind the demon immortal’s back, his palm clutching a still-throbbing, hot heart.

Patriarch Blackrock grinned menacingly and coldly addressed Patriarch Yin Hua: “These little mongrels don’t know the Patriarch’s might, and you don’t either? Heh heh, are you intentionally forcing me to start killing by not reserving a seat of honor for me?”

Patriarch Yin Hua merely let out a few soft chuckles, a flicker of black light flashing in his eyes, yet he remained utterly silent regarding Patriarch Blackrock’s savage act.

The demon immortal whose heart had been ripped out let out an enraged howl, his body instantly transforming into a whirlwind and rushing out of the Black Water Hall.

Outside the hall, the demon immortal’s shrill voice was heard: “Patriarch Blackrock, you resort to violence at every turn—do you really think you are something? Come, come, come! This Lord will engage you in a fight to the death! How many did you bring? My subordinates will fight a blood oath battle with yours!”

Patriarch Blackrock roared with laughter. He glanced at Gu Chen and the accompanying demon immortals, smiling with satisfaction: “A blood oath battle? Very well!”

Inside the hall, the numerous subordinate demons brought by that demon immortal rushed out of the Black Water Hall.

Patriarch Yin Hua let out a few soft, weak laughs, gesturing for the gathered guests to follow him out of the Black Water Hall.

Gu Chen smiled faintly and followed the flow outside the Black Water Hall.

Comrades, toss in your monthly tickets! (To be continued. To know what happens next, please log on to F)