Xuanhuang Great World.
Deep underground.
Within a layer of the earth's crust was a vast and boundless void. The land was yellowish-brown, presenting a desolate and bleak appearance, with no daylight above and forever devoid of sunlight's illumination.
However, standing right on the land in the middle of this crust layer were magnificent demonic palaces. Heavenly demons fluttered everywhere, and there were even Great Asura demonic women from among the earth demons.
This was a city, a city towering deep underground.
On the high walls of the city, three large characters manifested: "City of the Wrongfully Dead"!
This was the Huangquan Demonic Sect, the number one demonic path sect of the Xuanhuang Great World, which once held a resounding reputation, but had begun to decline after the death of Emperor Huangquan.
Now, the position of the number one expert of the demonic path had fallen onto Ying Xiantian. Although the strength of the Huangquan Demonic Sect remained robust, there was no core leadership figure to suppress the crowd of heroes.
In the depths of this "City of the Wrongfully Dead" lay a dark cloud, seemingly a bottomless abyss of unknown depth. It contained layers upon layers of overlapping spaces, leading to various mysterious dimensions.
Deep within this mysterious space-time, a pure demonic qi rippled everywhere. This demonic qi was abyssal demonic qi, and within it, many formidable demonic gods and fierce beasts lingered.
This place was extremely perilous.
Yet, sitting squarely within this abyss was a black-clothed youth. His hands held a scroll of a book. This scroll was precisely the main body of the Earth Emperor's Book! It emitted an indescribable vital essence, and boundless black qi radiated from his body, making this abyss even darker. It seemed as though he was the lord of the abyss.
Just as this black-clothed youth was entirely immersed in cultivation.
From out of the endless abyss, a tall figure walked forth. This tall figure had curly beard like thatch grass, and a posture capable of supporting heaven and earth. In particular, his pair of hands looked as though the myriad manifestations of the universe were entirely within his grasp.
This was the Huangquan Demonic Sect, Senluo Palace Master, Ba Liming.
"Su Xiuyi, you still failed to capture Fang Han. I was fiercely battling Chi Rongtian near the Dragon Wood Star, just waiting for you to apprehend Fang Han. How did you mess it up? Making a move for the first time, brimming with confidence, you said you used the Earth Emperor's Technique to invert the heavenly secrets, claiming that even Linglong Immortal Venerable could not divine it. How did Fang Han still manage to run away, causing me to endure a Heavenly Fire Exploding Flame from Chi Rongtian? It forced me into closed-door cultivation for a whole month just to dissipate that fire qi. However, that boy also took a Senluo Great Handprint from me, losing at least five hundred years of lifespan. Comparatively, I gained the upper hand. Young people are still a bit rash."
Senluo Palace Master Ba Liming walked over, letting out a robust cold sneer.
"This time was a miscalculation on my part. I originally thought Fang Han would escape through that spatial route of the Five Elements Land, but I didn't expect he would actually not hesitate to consume the pure yang power Ruyizi had accumulated over a thousand years, using the Bridge of Helplessness to tear open the void. By the time I calculated where he had gone, I had to expend another thousand years of lifespan to execute the Great Shift Technique, locking onto his position. I then consumed five thousand years of lifespan to condense an avatar and shifted over there. The preparation was too hasty, and the distance was too far. I originally had the assurance to suppress him, but I missed calculating adding Fang Qingxue into the mix!"
Su Xiuyi spoke slowly and methodically, his voice like a gentle melody, exceptionally pleasant to hear, causing people to unknowingly lose their impatient temper.
"Fang Qingxue? Hmph! Although she is the reincarnation of the Lightning Mother, her proficiency is still shallow. How could she pose a threat to you? You consumed five thousand years of lifespan to condense a clone, and adding the formidable power of the Earth Emperor's Book, even I wouldn't be able to do anything against you. Moreover, you also have the Great Reincarnation Technique. Could it be you still couldn't deal with her?"
Ba Liming sneered continuously.
"My power was far above that of Fang Han and Fang Qingxue. However, Fang Qingxue executed a miraculous art, surprisingly mobilizing the power of destiny to forcefully sever the connection between my main body and my avatar. Meanwhile, Fang Han used the World Tree to devour the Earth Emperor's Book. Still, Fang Qingxue was struck by my final Great Reincarnation Technique, so her death is absolutely certain," Su Xiuyi maintained his slow tone.
"What use is killing Fang Qingxue? The important one is Fang Han! And the Huangquan Diagram on his body! With the Huangquan Diagram, the Huangquan Treasury can be opened. At the same time, using the Water of Forgetfulness inside, the strength of our Huangquan Demonic Sect can be elevated by a whole level. Your Life and Death Book, the Earth Emperor's Book, could also ultimately transform into an Immortal artifact, truly confronting the Taiyi Sect and realizing our dream of establishing a Demonic Realm," Ba Liming shouted loudly, before seemingly recalling something: "What did you just say? The World Tree? How could the World Tree possibly appear on Fang Han's body? That is a sacred object that was destroyed in ancient times, the precious tree that connected our Xuanhuang Great World with the Immortal Realm. The reason our Xuanhuang Great World held a transcendent position among the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds was due to the existence of the World Tree. Back in the ancient times, talents emerged in large numbers, and many experts could even kill Immortals! It was because of the existence of the World Tree. The World Tree is the nemesis of the Earth Emperor's Book, and also the nemesis of the Primeval Divine Race. If it is on Fang Han, the consequences are unimaginable!"
"It doesn't matter. His World Tree is merely a sapling, far from reaching the level where it can contend with the Earth Emperor's Book. This time was a miscalculation on my part. Wait until I truly master the Great Reincarnation Technique and come out of cultivation; he will not have things so smooth. I must absolutely slay this boy thoroughly, lest he brew into a root of disaster."
Su Xiuyi's face chilled slightly: "Because I have a feeling that this Fang Han is an obstacle to completing our grand wish. Our wish to establish a Demonic Realm that rides neck and neck with the Immortal Realm. If such a grand vow is completed, we can attain eternal life! Inextinguishable for all eternity! Truly transcending and controlling our own destinies, as well as the destinies of all things in the heavens!"
"Let's hope there isn't a next time. This time we calculated meticulously to kill Fang Han and obtain the Huangquan Diagram. You even executed Dao techniques to invert the heavenly secrets, deceiving the Yuhua Sect, yet you still failed to kill Fang Han. If we wait for Fang Han to cultivate to the Longevity Mystic Realm and become an eternal giant, with his potential, he will soon cultivate an Undying Body. By then, even I will not be his opponent." Ba Liming said, "He converted my disciple, the Dark Spectre King, holding a grudge of killing my disciple with me, so I also want to deal with him. To which star domain has he fled now? We must find it as soon as possible and exhaust all means to kill him. He grows extremely fast. Wait even a little longer, and his strength will increase again."
Su Xiuyi shook his head: "There is no rush. He cultivates too many divine abilities; it is impossible for him to cultivate to the Longevity Mystic Realm. Furthermore, he shuttled through space and time and arrived at the Horn of Chaos, which is very close to the Wuji Great World. It is inconvenient for us to go over there."
"Wuji Great World! That is the territory of the Wuji Star Palace. Three thousand years ago, the Wuji Star Palace even wanted to invade our Xuanhuang Great World, but their Saintess was actually seduced by Ying Xiantian and Feng Baiyu." Ba Liming laughed loudly three times, then his face turned gloomy: "Near the Wuji Great World, we indeed cannot execute overly powerful forces. Otherwise, if the formidable figures of the Wuji Star Palace find out, especially since you have the Earth Emperor's Book, it will definitely be detrimental to you."
"Fang Han will eventually have to return to the Xuanhuang Great World. He fled so far and no longer has enough pure yang power to come back. To return, he will definitely have to return via the Five Elements Land. We will set up an ambush right there."
"But the Taiyi Sect has also secretly laid an ambush in the Five Elements Land. Moreover, hidden deep within the Five Elements Land is the Chiyuan Demonic Venerable. We are not a match for this ancient old demon."
"The Chiyuan Demonic Venerable has already left the Five Elements Land and headed toward the distant Buddha Realm to seek revenge against the Buddha Lord who suppressed him, and to kill Buddhist disciples to vent his anger. It will be a very, very long time before he returns," Su Xiuyi smiled faintly. His exposed teeth were white as jade. He was surprisingly also a beautiful youth not inferior to Feng Baiyu, but his black clothing exuded an incomparably secretive aura, like the reincarnation of a paramount evil god of ancient times.
"As for the Taiyi Sect, they are currently preparing to do a major task. They are preparing to obtain the Heavenly Martial Treasury. They don't have the time to contend with us."
Ba Liming was taken aback: "What major task are they going to do?"
Su Xiuyi smiled even more easily and shrugged his shoulders: "The specifics I still do not know, but I do know it is directed against the Yuhua Sect. I have an extremely high-ranking mole within the Taiyi Sect who has already cultivated to become an eternal giant. I believe it won't be long before I know exactly what this major task is."
"You have a mole within the Taiyi Sect? And it's actually a giant of the Longevity Mystic Realm? Is it a true legacy disciple? A Vice Sect Master? A man or a woman?" Ba Liming's whole body trembled.
"Naturally a true legacy disciple, a Vice Sect Master." Su Xiuyi closed his eyes: "It's a woman."
"A woman? There are only a few women among the Vice Sect Masters of the Taiyi Sect, including Yan Shuiyi who recently advanced to become an eternal giant, oh, it should be Yan Shuitian. But it couldn't possibly be this woman, right." Ba Liming said.
"It is not this woman. At the time I planted this chess piece, she didn't have the qualifications yet. Though now she does. I heard she is currently in closed-door cultivation within the Eternal Divine Furnace. When she comes out, I will seek her out and also bring her under my command," Su Xiuyi shook his head.
"I heard she has already arranged a marriage pact with Hua Tiandu, but she doesn't actually have any feelings for Hua Tiandu. Instead, news transmitted from the Six Paths Alliance says she has an ambiguous relationship with a prince from the Wula Star." Ba Liming laughed eerily.
"These are all minor characters. They will be turned into dust with a flick of my fingers." Su Xiuyi smiled again: "I am playing a game of chess, a very large game of chess…"
"Su Xiuyi, I hope that after you come out of closed-door cultivation, you will go challenge Ying Xiantian and defeat him. Become the number one person of the demonic path. Then our Huangquan Demonic Sect will return to the number one position." Ba Liming said: "This is the intention of our remaining nine great Palace Masters. Only if you defeat Ying Xiantian and become the number one person of the demonic path will we nine great Palace Masters truly enthrone you in the position of Sect Master of the Huangquan Demonic Sect, and we will also give you the nine keys to the Huangquan Treasury. You must know there are a total of ten keys to open the Huangquan Treasury; the most important one is the Huangquan Diagram, but the other nine keys also play a crucially vital role."
"I naturally know." Su Xiuyi's face became solemn: "If I cannot even defeat Ying Xiantian, how can I lead the Huangquan Demonic Sect, let alone talk about the grand goal of establishing the Demonic Realm. Ba Liming, issue letters on my behalf right now, addressed to the Demonic Path's Savage Great Emperor, Ghost God Great Emperor, Blood Shadow Great Emperor, Heaven Severing Great Emperor, and Red Dust Great Emperor. State that one year, six months, and three days from now, I challenge the Xiantian Great Emperor to a duel of life and death at the demonic path's sacred mountain, Mount Cang! Invite them to come bear witness. At the same time, you and the other eight Palace Masters issue a letter of challenge to Ying Xiantian in my name!"
"One year, six months, and three days from now is the day of the Immortal Dao Assembly of the Daoist sects," Su Xiuyi said: "I want the gathering of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao to lose its luster because of my duel with Ying Xiantian."