Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 447 - 431: Return to the Underworld (3/3)

Chapter 447: Chapter 431: Return to the Underworld (3/3)

Ying Cheng’en might or might not be the weakest Heavenly Venerate in history, but he was definitely the most unfortunate one!

Three defeats in one day could be considered ancestral tomb smoke rising, incredibly unfortunate and tragic!

Being defeated by Zhou Heng and the Moon Shadow Saintess was somewhat acceptable; Zhou Heng was a Heavenly Venerate of brutal strength whose physique could compare with a Divinity Transformation Realm magic artifact, so his defeat was not unjust. And since the Moon Shadow Saintess had a higher level of spiritual power, losing to her was normal.

But how could he lose to that woman in pink, the Peerless Heavenly Maiden?

It’s one thing for her to be stunningly beautiful, but can beauty be considered actual battle power?

A single strike shattered his arm; what kind of strength was that? Perhaps even the masters of the Four Great Death Places wouldn’t be able to do more than that at their peak?

Yet Ying Cheng’en could assure with a thump on his chest that the Peerless Heavenly Maiden was only at the cultivation level of Divine Infant Realm!

What’s wrong with the world?

First, there was a Heavenly Venerate of brutal strength, whose body could match a Divinity Transformation Realm magic artifact, and now a woman only in the Divine Infant Realm, yet seemingly stronger than a Quasi-Immortal? How is one supposed to live?

In the declining age of martial path, several Heavenly Venerates had emerged, shouldn’t it be the rhythm of Divinity Transformation Realm sweeping the world?

Ying Cheng’en found himself in a flung state, his mind in complete chaos, baffled!

Boom!

He crashed into a mountain outside the city, where he finally ran out of momentum, quickly circulating his spiritual power to heal his right arm. But tragically, he found he could stop the bleeding but couldn’t regenerate the limb!

— As long as martial artists possess Bloodline Power, even those in the Spirit Gathering Realm could regenerate limbs because Bloodline Power originates from at least a Half-Step Immortal Ancestor, which is a martial understanding.

Once reaching the Half-Step Immortal status, it doesn’t matter if one originally lacked Bloodline Power, as they would have inherited it naturally by then.

Being at the Divinity Transformation Realm, Ying Cheng’en had long surpassed his ancient ancestors in Bloodline Power, making limb regeneration an extremely easy task, merely consuming some of his own essence blood.

But it seemed as if some force was suppressing him; whenever he thought of regenerating his limb, the wound that had already healed would burst open again, bringing excruciating pain!

Ultimately, who was that woman in pink, and how could she be so terrifying!

Carrying intense shock, unwillingness, frustration, and sorrow, Ying Cheng’en embarked on his journey back, unable to express his depression to anyone else.

...

Zhou Heng was just a step late. When he returned to the Zhao Family, he saw the Moon Shadow Saintess in a dazed and bewildered state, her eyes blank and shocked.

"Who, who exactly is that person?" awakened by Zhou Heng’s powerful aura, the Moon Shadow Saintess came back to her senses and asked Zhou Heng.

She had witnessed Ying Cheng’en being propelled away, the indescribable horror of the force making it hard for her to think properly for a long time. Although she could defeat Ying Cheng’en steadily, she definitely couldn’t do it effortlessly, yet a woman still in the Divine Infant Realm had done just that.

It was as absurd as a dream.

Zhou Heng followed her gaze and saw Huo Tian, and he couldn’t help but laugh, knowing that Ying Cheng’en had certainly provoked the wrong person! Even the Poisonous Vast Heavenly Venerate had suffered a great loss before, let alone a hastily advanced man like Ying Cheng’en?

"My wife!" he said nonchalantly, "How about that, isn’t she beautiful?"

How could anyone brag about their wife like this!

The Moon Shadow Saintess was astounded by Zhou Heng’s shameless audacity, but upon seeing Huo Tian’s stunning beauty and supreme demeanor, even someone as proud as her couldn’t help admitting her inferiority!

If there had been just a slight difference, she might have had the courage to compare, but now the gap wasn’t minimal; it was a great trench!

There was simply no comparison!

How could there be such a perfect woman in the world?

"Right, now that you’ve recovered your power, you can leave, goodbye — don’t forget that you owe me; I wouldn’t mind you sending ten or twenty thousand kilograms of Upper Grade Spirit Stones every year as thanks!" Zhou Heng said with a smile and made a gesture to send her off.

The Moon Shadow Saintess clenched her teeth silently. The main culprit for her plight was still Zhou Heng!

This guy had already squeezed an unparalleled Spirit Grass from her, and now he wanted a personal favor—a favor from a Divinity Transformation Realm Heavenly Venerate, and he still wanted tens of thousands of Upper Grade Spirit Stones every year?

Spirit Stones were a consumable resource, only diminishing over time; how many Upper Grade Spirit Stones could still exist after all these years? Ten or twenty thousand kilograms. How could he even propose such a thing!

"Hey, fairy!" a strange call came, and the Black Donkey also ran over, salivating as it stared at the Moon Shadow Saintess.

"Scoundrel donkey!" the Moon Shadow Saintess’s pent-up rage immediately vented on the Black Donkey. She slapped it, then swiftly turned and left.

After staying here for a month, it was high time she returned to the East Spirit Immortal Pond.

"Ah—" the Black Donkey screamed miserably. It didn’t have the Divinity Transformation Realm physique like Zhou Heng, and was immediately suppressed so much that it fell flat, sinking into the soil. When it emerged, a perfect donkey-shaped pit was left on the ground.

"This little wench, I have claimed her!" Black Donkey declared, spitting out dirt.

"If you don’t cultivate properly, you’ll only be thrown further behind!" Zhou Heng chided.

Black Donkey’s head drooped in dejection; it had advanced rapidly before because it was at the Nascent Soul Realm, but it had been forcefully demoted. From now on, it had to accumulate and comprehend step by step on its own.

How difficult it was to advance as a Half-Step Immortal!

"How could I possibly be inferior to you, boy? I will become an Immortal before you do!" Black Donkey boasted shamelessly.

Zhou Heng just curled his lip, too lazy to debunk such meaningless nonsense.

After spending a day at the Zhao Family, Zhou Heng visited Heavenly Treasure Pavilion again, but still received no news of Old Swindler or the Star Gate. He decided not to wait any longer and set off alone to Cold Blue Country, the underground world suppressing Kong Aokun.

Under nature’s fury, these mountain ranges had shattered; the once existing Cold Pool and valleys had completely disappeared, and the original passages had long since vanished. However, for the current Zhou Heng, all these were trivial matters. After estimating his position, he punched directly through the ground and rapidly descended deeper.

He didn’t have to worry about the excavated dirt. By violently compressing it, he squeezed chunks of soil and stone, big as a house, into the size of a fist, then hurled them out of the hole like shooting arrows.

In just half an hour, the ground suddenly gave way, and Zhou Heng fell into that underground world.

From afar, that layer of light curtain was already in sight.

Zhou Heng did not summon the Black Sword but chose to walk with his physical body to test if his current strength could withstand the invasion of the evil aura.

The change was evident; just half a minute later, a strong impulse of ferocity surged in his heart, craving slaughter and blood—as his eyes unknowingly turned blood-red.

Startled, he looked at his hands only to see red fur sprouting from his skin, emanating an unbearably evil aura!

Zhou Heng quickly circulated his Spiritual Power to resist, but it was in vain. The growth of the red fur accelerated, and his desire for violence grew increasingly stronger, craving endless slaughter!

He couldn’t resist it!

Zhou Heng hurriedly summoned the Black Sword. A chilling murderous intent flowed through, and the evil aura melted away like boiling water on snow. He couldn’t help but be shocked; his body, genuinely at Heavenly Venerate level, had no qualifications to counter this evil aura!

Moreover, the Sky Curtain itself posed a strong barrier and protection. If it was so terrifying even through a barrier, wouldn’t even Immortals be affected if inside?

What kind of existence was Kong Aokun back in Immortal Realm then?

If he was a Great Demon, then why didn’t they just kill him outright?

For experts, defeating an opponent of the same realm is relatively simple, followed by obliterating them; the hardest is capturing alive. In this process, many considerations could arise, possibly leading to defeat at the hands of a weaker opponent!

With these questions, Zhou Heng arrived at the Sky Curtain and tested again. Even with his Brutal Strength, he couldn’t break the barrier and had to use the Black Sword to carve an opening to enter.

This place was untouched by the natural disaster, still teeming with Blood Vines growing robustly.

Zhou Heng began to believe that even if the entire Xuanqian Star were to be destroyed, this place wouldn’t be affected at all, but would drift in the dark, cold, vast universe under the protection of the external Sky Curtain.

He strode forward and soon reached the lake where a fountain shot up towards the Sky Curtain.

The timing was off; Kong Aokun had not yet appeared. Zhou Heng casually scooped, and a large expanse of lake water was manipulated by an invisible force, floating in the sky.

This lake water was extremely cold; last time, Zhou Heng dared not touch it. It was unknown what would happen this time.

He stretched out his hand towards the lake water, initially without any change. But just as his fingers were about an inch away, a surge of cold air attacked suddenly, and ice immediately formed on his fingertip.

It still held up!

Zhou Heng nodded secretly and stretched his fingers further into the lake water.

An intense chill instantly assaulted him, cold to the bone. Crunch, crunch, crunch—a layer of ice promptly formed on his wrist, quickly extending from his wrist to his forearm, shoulder, and nearly half of his body.

Like an ice sculpture!

Zhou Heng vibrated his body, clang, clang, clang—the ice sculpture shattered instantly, and he radiated a vibrant vitality, resisting the invasive cold.

Being a physical Heavenly Venerate, his vigor should be the strongest in the entire Xuanqian Star. Such coldness would be a significant issue for any Heavenly Venerate at the level of Spiritual Power, but for Zhou Heng, it was quite manageable, although not trivial.

Zhou Heng had only intended to test how cold the water was. Knowing now, he was ready to withdraw his hand, but he suddenly discovered that although the water was cold, it was imbued with intense Spiritual Energy!

Though it had not yet reached the level of a Spirit Core, it was far superior to Upper Grade Spirit Stones!

He was taken aback, but soon understood.

Kong Aokun was an Immortal, whose realm far surpassed any existence in the Mortal Realm. Under his nurturing, this lake had turned into a Treasure Pond!

Still, he was somewhat conflicted about descending into it, as it was essentially Kong Aokun’s bathwater!

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are invited to support it by voting at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)