After tossing down the scroll, the Undying Netherworld Emperor vanished without a trace.
The Lord of Nanyun held the scroll, his heart unsettled. “In the past, the Undying Netherworld Emperor at least maintained some semblance of courtesy when asking me to do things. But this time, if I fail, he threatens to annihilate the entire Nanyun Kingdom. How ruthless and domineering! Something is wrong.”
A short while later.
In Feixue City, a clone of the Lord of Nanyun arrived to meet Dongbo Xueying.
“Master,” Dongbo Xueying, seated beneath a pavilion, rose to greet his teacher upon seeing him.
“Xueying, I just met with the Undying Netherworld Emperor, and something feels off,” the Lord of Nanyun recounted the events.
After listening, Dongbo Xueying sighed. “It’s all because of me.”
“Because of you?” The Lord of Nanyun was stunned.
“He likely senses a tremendous threat,” Dongbo Xueying said. “To be precise, it’s due to the reputation I’ve built in the Duan Ya Mountain Range.”
“You’ve made a name for yourself in the Duan Ya Mountain Range? What kind of reputation?” The Lord of Nanyun was even more puzzled. Cultivators from the Heart Realm Continent had always tread carefully in the Dyan Ya Mountain Range, wary of both the Deathblight Clan and the native inhabitants. Even invincible beings hesitated to bring their supreme treasures there unless absolutely necessary.
“It’s like this.”
Dongbo Xueying saw no reason to hide anything from his master and explained in detail.
The Lord of Nanyun grew increasingly astonished.
By the heavens!
Resisting the Divine Generals, even daring to oppose the Northriver Emperor—who, far from being angered, personally invited him with utmost respect! One emperor after another sought his favor. Even the most powerful of the Thirteen Imperial Princes, the Yama Emperor, was forced to back down when Dongbo Xueying allied with the Windwitch Emperor.
“You… you…” No matter how broad his horizons, the Lord of Nanyun could only stare at his disciple in utter shock.
Terrifying!
Absolutely terrifying!
Never in the history of the Heart Realm Continent had a cultivator achieved such glory in the Dyan Ya Mountain Range! Even the Eight Great Emperors and the Thirteen Imperial Princes vied for his friendship.
“Have you reached the ultimate level in the Path of Illusory Void? How is your soul technique so formidable?” the Lord of Nanyun couldn’t help but ask.
“Not yet. I’ve only reached the bottleneck,” Dongbo Xueying replied. “I had some fortuitous encounters in the Dyan Ya Mountain Range, which allowed me to comprehend a soul-slaying technique. It’s this technique that grants me such power.”
“If even many Imperial-level beings in the Dyan Ya Mountain Range succumb to it, then ultimate-stage cultivators from our world would likely suffer greatly in your presence. Ordinary second-tier Cosmic Gods and Sovereigns… would probably fall into slumber instantly, myself included.” The Lord of Nanyun shook his head in amazement. “Though we have many clones, a single thought from you could annihilate them all.”
At this moment, even the Lord of Nanyun felt a sliver of fear toward his disciple. Soul techniques were terrifying—once one clone fell, all others, sharing the same memories, would be dragged into the illusion as well.
Even his distant clones in other source worlds—he decided then and there to temporarily sever their memory links. Given the vast distance between source worlds, memory synchronization was already strenuous. By cutting off active connections, they would naturally isolate. “I’ll synchronize memories every few years to prevent divergent personalities from forming.”
Soul techniques were too horrifying. Even as a master, the Lord of Nanyun, like any cultivator, instinctively took measures to protect himself.
“Against second-tier Cosmic Gods, I should be able to subdue them with a thought,” Dongbo Xueying nodded. Currently, the only ones in the Heart Realm Continent beyond his reach were ultimate-stage cultivators.
“The Undying Netherworld Emperor must have learned of this. He fears me,” Dongbo Xueying said calmly.
“Fears you?” The Lord of Nanyun was puzzled.
“Yes. He wishes to enter the Dyan Ya Mountain Range, but if I discover him there, a single call from me could summon a group of experts to surround and kill him effortlessly,” Dongbo Xueying explained. “Moreover, given how easily I can now obtain treasures and opportunities—even the Starlight Sovereigns and emperors willingly offer them—he likely believes I have the potential to reach the ultimate level in either the Path of Void or the Path of Illusory Void.”
The Lord of Nanyun agreed.
Indeed.
He, too, believed his disciple could achieve the ultimate level in either path. Of course, cultivators in the Heart Realm Continent had no idea just how arduous the soul path truly was.
“If I reach the ultimate level in the Path of Illusory Void, my soul techniques will grow even more formidable. I might even be able to annihilate him with them alone,” Dongbo Xueying mused. “Even if I can’t kill him outright, his strength would likely be reduced to a fraction, making him far easier to eliminate.”
With his current soul techniques already so potent, reaching the ultimate level would undoubtedly make him unstoppable.
A single thought to kill—Dongbo Xueying faintly sensed that such power might soon be within his grasp.
“If I reach the ultimate level in the Path of Void, wielding a Primordial Weapon and gathering allies, I could also have a chance to slay him,” Dongbo Xueying added.
The Lord of Nanyun was inwardly awestruck.
This disciple of his… was truly extraordinary! In the blink of an eye, he had become a threat to the Undying Netherworld Emperor’s very life!
“So he’s struggling,” Dongbo Xueying shook his head. “I don’t want to push him to extremes. If he refrains from large-scale slaughter, I’d even be willing to swear an oath not to act against him. But alas, his goal is to become a Primordial lifeform. His demands are too insane—I can’t possibly fulfill them. Thus, he must have begun some scheme. He won’t just wait for death.”
“Indeed, he won’t,” the Lord of Nanyun agreed.
—
A massive city.
Under the cover of night, the Undying Netherworld Emperor descended upon it, his cold gaze sweeping over the inhabitants below.
The city teemed with cultivators—men and women, young and old, solitary practitioners, and those serving as attendants or laborers to earn cosmic crystals.
“Devour.”
With a single breath, the Undying Netherworld Emperor unleashed an endless darkness that enveloped the entire city. Countless souls were forcibly ripped from their bodies, drawn into a swirling abyss of darkness above. Some citizens had clones elsewhere and immediately spread the news.
Such a grand spectacle—the Undying Netherworld Emperor saw no need to conceal it.
Not only did the citizens relay the news, but the disturbance also alerted several ultimate-stage powerhouses.
“Hmm? What is the Netherworld Emperor doing?” Patriarch Fan sensed the anomaly from afar, his brow furrowing. “Even if he needs souls, he could manipulate weaker beings to gather them. Why act personally?”
What he didn’t know was that the Undying Netherworld Emperor was pressed for time. Manipulating lesser fiends to collect souls would take too long. The fastest way to obtain the first batch was to act himself.
“Devour.”
Finally, every last soul was sucked into his body, stored within his inner world.
He lingered for a moment, waiting—until a white-robed youth materialized beside him.
“Netherworld Emperor,” Dongbo Xueying’s voice was icy as he surveyed the lifeless city below, its inhabitants reduced to soulless husks. “What do you intend to do?”
A single city’s sacrifice wouldn’t be enough.
“What do I intend?”
“You leave me no path, so I carve my own,” the Undying Netherworld Emperor sneered. “The illustrious Flying Snow Emperor—soon to be the strongest in the Heart Realm Continent, perhaps. Pity. You cannot stop me.”
With that, he vanished.
He had stayed only to ensure Dongbo Xueying would witness this.
“Damn it.”
Dongbo Xueying’s expression darkened. While he could slay ordinary fiends, he was powerless against the Undying Netherworld Emperor himself.
—
As time passed, news of Dongbo Xueying’s exploits in the Dyan Ya Mountain Range spread among the highest echelons of the Heart Realm Continent.
Emperor Xia, the Annihilation Divine Emperor, the Moksha Heaven Monarch, Patriarch Fan, the Eternal Night Primogenitor, the Absolute Night Primogenitor—all were left speechless.
“His Path of Illusory Void has at least reached the bottleneck, if not the ultimate level!” Patriarch Fan exclaimed.
They soon learned that even the emperors treated Dongbo Xueying as an honored guest, while the Thirteen Imperial Princes feared him. Countless World Sovereigns had voluntarily offered treasures—peak-level secret treasures, and rumors even spoke of supreme treasures!
The entire upper echelon of the Heart Realm Continent was in an uproar. Ultimate-stage cultivators without supreme treasures burned with envy, yet there was nothing they could do.
While the invincible and ultimate-stage beings came to pay their respects, Dongbo Xueying remained focused on tracking the Undying Netherworld Emperor’s movements.
“Undying Netherworld Emperor…”
Dongbo Xueying’s mood was grim.
In just three years, after the Netherworld Emperor’s initial mass soul harvest, reports of further soul collections surfaced frequently. With his current influence, Dongbo Xueying leveraged intelligence networks across the Six Great Nations—all evidence pointed squarely to the Undying Netherworld Emperor.
“The Netherworld Emperor cannot be left alive,” Dongbo Xueying clenched his teeth. “We must find a way to eliminate him.”
If this continued, the death toll would be unimaginable.
Could they truly rely on ‘Yuan’ to intervene? Given Yuan’s temperament, he likely wouldn’t act unless the chaos threatened the very order of the Heart Realm Continent.
—
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