Just as he was about to toss the jade vial to the four, Zong Shou’s eyes flickered, and with a flip of his right hand, he tucked it into his sleeve. Then, the earth churned, and the gleam of two blades flashed abruptly.

The blade light was incredibly swift, arriving instantly, precisely where Zong Shou’s right hand had just been. Had he not noticed in time, those two strikes would have been enough to sever Zong Shou’s hand! The blade light found no purchase and immediately recoiled, drawing back into the earth. Zong Shou, however, was unwilling to let them escape so easily. A white, silken sword light swept down, plunging into the layers of soil below. “Stay where you are!”

The scattered sword essence dispersed the mud and sand. Within moments, dozens of piercingly sharp sword auras shot downward. These auras tightly locked onto the remaining traces of life force, cutting off any retreat. They relentlessly shredded and pulverized everything alive beneath the ground into dust. Yet, after only a brief interval, three figures emerged from the earth on the opposite side, their faces utterly ashen. This was partly due to the pressure from Zong Shou’s sword intent, but more so because they inherently lacked vital energy. “So, it is the Princess of the Netherworld who graces us with her presence!”

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow, looking at the three before him. One was Gong Xinran, his senior sister from the past, now the daughter of the Nether Emperor. The other two were Lian Er and Gu Mie, Gong Xinran’s personal attendants. However, the latter two looked at him with a peculiar gaze. It held both reverence and a sense of helplessness, mixed with emotions beyond mere fear of his swordsmanship. In short, they were clearly reluctant to be his enemy, appearing deeply apprehensive. When he struck just now, neither dared to counterattack, which was baffling. Regardless, Zong Shou couldn't be bothered to dwell on it and focused directly on Gong Xinran. “An ambush—is the Princess declaring herself an enemy to this Emperor? I request an explanation from the three of you for today’s actions!”

Since establishing his imperial title, he could no longer refer to himself as Gu (the solitary pronoun). According to Kong Rui, frequent use of Gu would degrade one's destiny matrix. But Zong Shou always felt the term Zhen (the imperial 'I') was somewhat awkward, using it rarely except in absolutely necessary, formal situations. When used outside of official state matters, it signaled that Zong Shou was already severely angered.

The three figures clearly sensed the killing intent subtly hidden in his tone. Gong Xinran’s delicate eyebrows arched, revealing a hint of indignation. But when she recalled the brief exchange just now, her eyes filled with helplessness. In these past few years, she believed her strength had advanced by leaps and bounds. Her two subordinates had also surpassed several realms with the aid of the spiritual tide. Yet, in today’s fight, Zong Shou’s swordsmanship remained despair-inducing; the three of them held not a sliver of chance to win. She could now communicate with the Netherworld, and in this place thick with Nether Miasma, she could even borrow the Nether Emperor’s power to face enemies, unafraid of ordinary Saint-level cultivators. However, this person’s identity— After careful consideration, Gong Xinran’s gaze hardened, her expression turning cold and indifferent: “A moment ago, tens of miles away, I happened to observe several individuals using the Scent-Tracking Spirit Gu to search for your whereabouts everywhere. Is this intelligence a sufficient explanation? If you wish to know more, you will need to provide me with one hundred drops of Creation Nether Spring Water.”

Zong Shou paused, realizing someone was indeed plotting against him. The Scent-Tracking Spirit Gu was an extremely peculiar type of Gu worm, known only to the demonic sects in the southwest of the Cloud Realm, who possessed the method to cultivate them. They could discern scents and spirits; by capturing the slightest trace of another person's vital energy signature, they could track like a persistent sore, almost impossible to remove. Even across tens of thousands of miles, they could still find their target. However, they were extremely rare; at most, only one or two existed globally at any one time. A slight shock registered in his heart, but Zong Shou’s face remained unmoved as he shook his head: “These matters, I can learn just as well after I capture the three of you!”

“Impossible!” Gong Xinran couldn't help but grip the twin sabers in her hands. She used the Geng Metal Qi she originally intended to refine into a scythe, which Zong Shou had cut and seized. These two bone-hilted horizontal sabers were now peerless immortal weapons sent from the Netherworld. At this moment, her entire posture resembled a cornered leopard, coiled and ready to strike. This was the helplessness of being inferior in strength: even a slight indication of intent from the person across from her forced her to give her full attention. “The Primordial Demon Seven Emotions Art can pacify resentment, but this Palace can also instantly reanimate these one million and two hundred thousand Baleful Corpses! If you don’t believe me, you can try.”

This time, it was Zong Shou who felt a surge of surprise and uncertainty. He might not have believed it coming from anyone else. But this Nine Yin Nether Woman genuinely possessed the ability to extensively resurrect the dead. Over the past few years in the north, these three had assembled a great army of the deceased, all resurrected from martial artists above the Xiantian realm, numbering over two hundred thousand—a truly formidable force. As if fearing he wouldn't believe her, a touch of sickly green phosphorescence flickered in Gong Xinran’s eyes. And above this cavern, Su Xiaoxiao let out a sharp cry. Without her reminder, Zong Shou could sense it: in the wide tomb chamber not far away, the cracks emanating from nearly ten thousand terracotta figures suddenly deepened. The Baleful Corpses within seemed ready to break free at any moment. While these one million two hundred thousand Qin Imperial Terracotta Warriors possessed no power to directly harm the five of them, if they were all revived, Zong Shou would still find the situation extremely troublesome. It seemed today, he truly could not subdue the Princess of the Netherworld.

Decisively, he retracted the Spirit Refining Sword, took thirty drops of Creation Nether Spring Water, put them in another vial, and tossed it over casually. “Thirty drops. I can give no more!”

He had acquired a considerable amount of Nether Spring Water this time. Apart from irrigating the Dark Epiphyllum, he and Chu Xue had no other use for it. Yuan Wushang was the same. Shen Yuexuan might use it when refining artifacts, and Su Xiaoxiao could use the Creation Nether Spring Water to refine her soul power and strengthen her Primordial Demon Seven Emotions Art, but she didn't need much. This item was truly of immense use to the three before him. Giving up just these thirty drops was not something Zong Shou particularly minded. “If you intend to push your luck further, then this Emperor will not hesitate to fight. Even if it costs a price, I will capture the three of you!”

Gong Xinran took the Creation Nether Spring Water and hesitated slightly. Seeing Zong Shou’s gaze growing sharper, clearly indicating he would concede no further ground, she let out a soft snort and uttered a single word: ‘Good.’ Then, she tentatively asked: “However, this Creation Nether Spring Water has little use for you. I possess many rare spiritual treasures here; perhaps we could trade?”

Zong Shou smiled. Now it depended on what price Gong Xinran was willing to pay. The Creation Nether Spring Water had not appeared for two thousand years; its rarity could be called unparalleled in the world, something yearned for by countless cultivators practicing corpse refinement or death-devil arts. For the three before him, its value was incalculable, an item that could be found only by chance. Even for someone like him, who was not adept at business, he knew he could drive a hard bargain this time and extort a considerable amount from them. Not just him; above the cavern, Yuan Wushang, Shen Yuexuan, and the others exchanged glances, smiles gleaming in their eyes.

Three hours later, Zong Shou, having left the tomb chamber far behind, wore an extremely grave expression. The transaction with Gong Xinran had concluded over two hours ago. Most of that Creation Nether Spring Water had already been exchanged. Earlier, the three had looted a secret chamber, and thirty thousand sets of armor and ten sets of general-grade furnishings had all fallen into his hands. Shen Yuexuan had also traded for quite a few artifact refining materials from Gong Xinran, along with ancient refining manuals. Many legacies from the Cloud Wilderness era, absent in the Cloud Realm, were still preserved in the Netherworld. Two-tenths, 240 drops of Creation Nether Spring Water, had indeed been exchanged for many good things, leaving Shen Yuexuan completely satisfied. Su Xiaoxiao and Yuan Wushang had also traded for plenty. Although the Netherworld was rumored to be a desolate place, some of its local products were unique compared to the Cloud Realm. For instance, the Essence of Desiring Miasma, generated where countless dead gather, was a great tonic for Su Xiaoxiao’s Primordial Demon Seven Emotions Art. This trip to the Qin Emperor’s Tomb alone had made the journey worthwhile.

However, Zong Shou couldn't be happy. On the contrary, the sense of crisis that had previously vanished now felt even more intense. “Two Saint-level experts and seven God-level figures from the Night Demon Clan, plus an unknown number of Shadow Demon powerhouses—they really think highly of me.”

Zong Shou narrowed his eyes, deeply puzzled. “Have the Demonic Sects and the Night Demon/Shadow Demon clans allied? But why? To the extent of tearing up previous agreements just to conspire against me in alliance with those two factions?” What was even more confusing was that this assassination plot against him made absolutely no mention of the Daoist or Confucian sects; it was planned entirely independently. And that Supreme Primordial Demon seemed utterly unafraid of the backlash from the Dao of the Common People if Zong Shou were killed, should Xiuguan decide to fight at any cost. Even the Primordial Demon Sovereign might not be able to protect him then. The Daoist and Confucian sects would certainly be happy to stand by and watch. Furthermore, there was the Lu family; until he explicitly refused their patronage, at least the two Saint Venerables of the Lu family would never give up easily. The Supreme Primordial Demon must have been perfectly clear about these intricacies. Unless he reached the Half-Step True Realm, Li Biexue lacked the capital to confront all of this. What was Li Biexue’s true intention? Was this his personal deployment, or the unauthorized act of the Demonic Sect members? It was rumored that Han Qing was also involved. Perhaps he was driven by the hatred of having his wife stolen and was willing to risk everything to ally with the foreign races? This was a transgression against all common decency. Even the Demonic Sect could not bear the consequences. The entire world would rise up against them. The Six Sects could engage in infighting, but when facing foreign races, all sects and factions were required to stand united against the enemy. They could secretly undermine each other or pretend unity while harboring ill will, but colluding with foreign races was strictly forbidden. It was unfortunate that Gong Xinran hadn't seen much; her knowledge was extremely limited. She only knew that among this group, there were at least four true Saint-level Venerables.

“Your Majesty, if what the Netherworld Princess said is true, then our prior plan will have to be slightly adjusted—” Shen Yuexuan looked ahead with worry etched on his face. They were only ten miles away from the Qin Emperor’s main tomb chamber. The original plan was to seize the treasures stored in that chamber and then immediately use force to shatter the spiritual array and prohibitions here to charge in. But if they exerted all their strength now, what would happen if those four Saint-level Venerables happened to catch up then?