Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 377 - 371 Nether River and the Dragon II

Chapter 377: Chapter 371 Nether River and the Dragon II

Hong Gui snorted coldly and shifted his gaze from Lin Xin directly to Guan Mingyue standing behind him. He then left with his people, taking large strides.

"Elder Guan, let’s go as well," Lin Xin said, turning around, only to see Wang Peng and his party running towards him in a somewhat disheveled state from afar.

"Everyone, welcome back."

He opened his arms and greeted them with a smile.

Wang Peng and the others all looked as if they had shed a great burden, exhaling deeply in relief.

"Thank you for your help, Your Highness!"

Wang Peng was the first to bow deeply towards Lin Xin.

"I hardly did anything," Lin Xin said, shaking his head.

"Your Highness is too modest. If it hadn’t been for the Protective Spirit Talisman hidden inside the token, my wife and I would have feared..." Wang Peng said with a heavy expression.

"So it was Your Highness’s intention all along when you gave us the token."

Lin Xin sighed softly.

"Anyway, it’s good that you’ve all returned safely."

********************

The Dao Seeking Grand Tournament had finally concluded.

The conflict between the Wei Family and the Yuan Dou Demon Sect’s Yuqing Dao was actually a power struggle between Tianyun Dao and the other two hosting parties, which included concealed information regarding the smuggling case of the Evil God’s projection. Without the key figures, like Wang Peng, being able to provide solid evidence to prove that Tianyun Dao was behind it all, everything reverted to its original state.

The only change was that Tianyun Dao’s voice and control in the early stages of the tournament had noticeably diminished.

Meanwhile, the Wei Family had plummeted in the ranks of the guard team, all their significant positions replaced by another slightly weaker but still formidable family.

As for selecting the candidates for the Nether River slots, the three major sponsors still decided to let the sole survivors, Zhu Chihuai and Ouyang Fuchang, enter the Nether River together.

And Lin Xin was also joining as the representative of the Yuan Dou Demon Sect.

Although his goal was the Myriad Laws Hall, the Nether River was a place he had always been curious about and longed to see.

After all, it was said to be the largest and purest Sun Spring in existence, containing a terrifying force that was said to be immeasurable.

Once the candidates were decided, a group of people, led by the palace guardian, entered the Underground Palace, moving towards the core depths below...

***********************

Marsh Fire Underground Palace.

In the deepest part, at the very center that curled up like a coiled serpent.

A pure golden flame the size of a fist, resembling burning gold, quietly floated above a triangular stone slab.

The stone slab was a dark grey color, with many large, bone-white skeletons piled on its surface—some were fingers as thick as thighs, some were small creatures with wings the size of a palm, and others were clear skeletal frames resembling flying dragons.

There were also a few yellow horns of unknown creatures.

Above them was that fiery orb.

The group was now standing in front of the golden flame, at the base of this small mountain of bones.

The palace guardian, clad in a flowing black dress, looked at the golden flame with a calm expression.

"This is the only entrance to the Nether River—the ’Extinguishing Holy Sky.’"

"No matter how many times I enter, I still feel the greatness of the Nether River, which surely couldn’t have been birthed by our Underworld alone," Guan Mingyue remarked with emotion.

The palace guardian nodded. "Legend has it that the Nether River connects our Underworld to many other worlds, and these worlds are collectively known as the Underworld. And beyond the Underworld is a vast parallel space-time universe that stands in complete opposition to it."

"Legends are just that, legends. We have limited human power and can only explore the Outer Regions bit by bit. There’s no use thinking about anything more. It’s too far away," said Second Green Lady indifferently. Her only change after entering the disastrous battle of the Underground Palace seemed to be a tiny scar on the back of her right hand, which was almost imperceptible unless one looked closely.

The palace guardian glanced at her. "The Second Princess is truly carefree. Let’s go."

She led the way, the first to approach the golden flames.

Just as her figure came within ten meters of the fire, it abruptly blurred, faded, and vanished into the light.

On the organizer’s side, Tianyun Dao’s Hong Gui, accompanied by two old men and Zhu Chihuai, entered the radiant fire, also quickly fading and disappearing.

Yuqing Dao’s Second Green Lady was accompanied by two strong female cultivators. Although they had not reached the ultimate master who formed a Primordial Infant, this was still an occasion worthy of broadening one’s horizons, considering the Nether River is a terrifying spectacle that not even the palace guardian, despite her age, knew the origins of.

Yuan Dou Demon Sect’s representatives were Guan Mingyue and Lin Xin, with Ouyang Fuchang added to the mix.

Ouyang Fuchang had agreed to join Lin Xin’s side, becoming one of the Elders of the Yuan Dou Demon Sect. Although Lin Xin hadn’t exerted much effort in this seat selection matter, Ouyang nevertheless was a free agent and also wanted to find a place to settle down.

"Let’s go too," Guan Mingyue said to Lin Xin, who nodded and gestured to Ouyang Fuchang.

The three walked together towards the golden fire.

The moment he neared the golden light, Lin Xin’s vision brightened, and in an instant, he could see nothing else but a pure gold color.

He felt as though he was enveloped in the warm noonday sun.

It felt as though he was soaking in a hot spring of just the right temperature, exceptionally comfortable.

He had no idea how much time had passed.

Lin Xin heard the voice of the hall spirit coming from beside his ear.

"You can open your eyes now."

Only then did he slowly try to open his eyes.

It seemed very bright outside, and it took him several attempts to gradually make out the true scenery around him.

Gold!!

Endless expanses of gold!

A massive, surging golden river was flowing rapidly before everyone, stirring up waves.

The golden water, like molten gold, splashed about tumultuously, casting some splatter onto the people standing on the shore.

Hiss....

Except for the hall spirit, a faint protective aura automatically appeared in front of everyone else, blocking the splashing water.

But what was bizarre was that wherever the golden river water touched, the protective auras corroded away rapidly, forming large holes as if encountering a natural enemy.

Forcing every cultivator, including Elder Guan and the old man Hong Gui, to retreat beyond the reach of the splashing river water.

Lin Xin looked around and realized they were standing on a towering columnar pillar.

The black pillar was hundreds of meters tall.

Directly below, it plunged straight into the river water, surrounded entirely by the glaring gold.

Above them was the dark, roiling terror of black clouds, which seemed to be brewing some great danger.

Just by glancing up, Lin Xin immediately looked down, feeling the threat like needle pricks just by seeing it.

Clearly, there was some irresistible crisis hidden within those black clouds.

"If you wish to form the Yuan Tai, you must throw your Yuan Jing into this Nether River, to tumble and be tempered, to withstand the scouring," the hall spirit said indifferently. At this moment, only she and the second green lady stood at the forefront of everyone else, ignoring the golden river water that splashed over.

"May I ask how to throw it in?" Zhu Chihuai asked loudly.

"Unfurl your Yuan Jing and contend with this golden river water," the hall spirit said without turning her head. "If your Yuan Jing does not form and you release your divine sense, do not blame me if it is completely devoured."

Hearing this, Ouyang Fuchang both promptly sat down cross-legged on the ground, closing their eyes to adjust their condition.

Lin Xin stood alone on the side, staring at the seemingly boundless massive Nether River. If an ordinary person were to see the golden river water, they would probably go blind immediately upon just one look.

"The Nether River... so unfathomably rigid and positive. I should have realized... as the source of the Sun Spring, the Nether River should inherently be the origin of all things positive."

"What’s more curious is that we demon cultivators, who practice converting star force into demonic qi, are also not repelled by this Nether River," said Elder Guan, walking up beside him, equally amazed.

"Even though demonic qi is a substance of extreme yin...."

Gazing at the dazzling golden Nether River, Lin Xin suddenly had an idea—what if he used the secret technique here to search for the Demon Talisman Seed? Could he immediately find a large number of Evil God projections and thus enter to find the Evil God’s Yuan Tai?

He was very tempted to try, but that secret searching technique relied entirely on the spirit of divine sense to execute. With the Nether River devouring the spirit of divine sense, and the extent of that devouring power unknown, it would be risky to attempt it without caution.

"What’s on your mind, Your Highness?" came Elder Guan’s voice at that moment.

"No... nothing," Lin Xin shook his head.

Yet his mind was pondering, since the water of the Nether River was golden, then what exactly was the black liquid contained inside the bead he had obtained before?

"Your Highness, would you like to try and condense your Yuan Jing to see?" Elder Guan asked.

"I can’t... The Yuan Dou Demonic Technique is only at the Fifth Layer, far from condensing the Yuan Jing. At the least, the Taoist Intent required hasn’t been fully found," Lin Xin shook his head.

"No, what I mean is, although you’re not able to condense the Yuan Tai now, with your potential, you can definitely try to condense a Void Shadow," Guan Mingyue said with a smile. "This Nether River can pre-emptively condense the future Yuan Jing image of practitioners. It’s like a phantom."

"I can confirm this as well," the second green lady chimed in. "Someone has truly condensed a Yuan Tai here before; it was exactly the same as the Yuan Tai phantom they saw when they came here previously."

"So you’re saying, one could see the future Yuan Tai of oneself?" Lin Xin was now slightly tempted.

"Condensing the Yuan Jing is commonly said to perfect and extend one’s will and Taoist Intent," the second green lady explained with a smile. "But in fact, it pertains to the understanding and perception of the laws and regulations of the world. Demon and demon cultivators correspond to the shape and understanding of the form and existence of the primordial divine beasts and Demon Gods of their cultivation techniques. Both are similar. The Nether River can predict and also complete a major direction, which will also be enlightening for you."

"Our Yuan Dou Demon Sect, with the Supreme Cultivation Technique, the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique, its core advantage lies in, after comprehending various Taoist Intents, the ultimate condensation returns to the origin, forming a Demon Body shape that is entirely your own," explained Guan Mingyue.

"The Demon Body is the pursuit of returning to the original state of the Demon God. The Primitive Demon Body of the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique, on the other hand, can absorb the advantages and strengths of many other Demon Bodies, thus continuously perfecting and evolving to form a unique personal Demon Body, a Demon God form. The compatibility of this type of Demon Body technique is the key factor that reflects whether the Demonic Arts are superior or not."

"Compatibility..." Lin Xin suddenly thought of something. "Then, what about the dragons of legends?"

The second green lady sighed softly.

"The dragon originates from the squiggles of the early vernal thunder and lightning. Legend has it that it is the primordial dragon, representing the power of rebirth of all things. The ultimate beginning of yang... naturally, it is also a Demon God that incorporates and contains various elements."

"The primordial yang..." Lin Xin repeated unconsciously, his heart somewhat clearer as to why the dragon represented regeneration and recovery, with a recovery power so formidable that even now, among all other creatures he had encountered, none came close.