Chapter 1599 : Clash of Realms and Beasts

"The Netherworld True Howler [a ferocious beast species native to the Netherworld] clan."

Gazing at the distant pack of Netherworld Nether Antiquity Beasts [ancient, savage beasts from the Netherworld], Eldrin Chen could not help but wear a grave expression.

The vast horde before them was a tribe of Netherworld [a dark, spiritual realm] ferocious beasts, numbering in the hundreds.

Eldrin Chen surveyed the scene and realized these Netherworld beasts fed on boundless Netherworld Energy [the corrupt spiritual essence of the Netherworld] and malevolent miasma, making them exceptionally powerful.

"Three are at the Primordial Unity Realm [a high cultivation realm where one's spirit and body achieve profound unity], the rest are at the Earth Immortal Realm [the foundational realm of true immortality]."

Exquisite Jiang spoke calmly, recognizing the origin of these ancient beasts.

Seeing this, Eldrin Chen spoke, "I will seal the void with the Polarity Void Mirror [a magical treasure capable of locking space]. Kael, Exquisite, Nyssa—you three hold back the horde. The rest of us will act swiftly to slay the three Primordial Unity Realm Netherworld True Howler."

"Understood."

With their strategy set, they moved in an instant.

As Eldrin Chen sealed the heavens and earth with the Polarity Void Mirror, Energy Abyss Chen, Ethan Chen, Violet Consort Yan, Lila, and Verdant Consort immediately charged towards the three Netherworld True Howler.

In a mere Ksana-time [an infinitesimal unit of time from Buddhist cosmology, less than a second], the more than four hundred Netherworld True Roar Beasts sensed something amiss. With a surge of boundless, ferocious killing intent, they charged forth as one.

The strength of these Netherworld True Roar Beasts was at least comparable to a Half-Step Earth Immortal [a cultivator on the verge of attaining the Earth Immortal realm], with many among them rivaling those at the Earth Immortal Great Perfection [the pinnacle stage of the Earth Immortal realm]. With a full four hundred of these beasts now joining the fray, they possessed the power to decisively shift the balance of the entire battlefield.

Fortunately, the group had prepared for this. Exquisite Jiang immediately channeled her spiritual energy into the World-Opening Supreme Treasure [a supreme-grade artifact of legendary power capable of shaping worlds], the Cultivable Earth Kun Origin Disk. The disk activated, manifesting a vast formation that ensnared over one hundred of the charging Netherworld True Roar Beasts.

As one who had established a Twelve-Layered Heaven [a foundation of supreme perfection with twelve heavenly layers], her power upon breaking through to Half-Step Celestial Immortal [the threshold before the Celestial Immortal realm] had long since surpassed ordinary limits, rivaling that of a cultivator with a Dual Primordial Unity Foundation [a foundation forged from the fusion of two Primordial Unity realms].

Even while suppressing over a hundred of the beasts, she still had power to spare. She summoned the Great Five Elements Pure Lunar Divine Thunder [a divine thunder technique that harmonizes the five elements with pure lunar energy]. A cataclysmic blast descended, utterly incinerating more than twenty of the trapped beasts into ashes of tribulation.

Kael Chen and Nyssa Qu also displayed their profound mastery. Kael Chen unleashed the Three Demons Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation [a lethal sword formation designed to slay even immortals], instantly enveloping another hundred of the Netherworld Nether Antiquity Beasts. Within moments, a significant portion of them were shredded into nothingness.

As for Nyssa Qu, her Seven Extremities Spirit-Slaying Sword transformed into a dazzling, seven-colored Sword Formation. Its blades flowed like an unending rainbow river, sweeping through the horde and reducing countless Netherworld Nether Antiquity Beasts to motes of dissipating dust.

Witnessing this, Eldrin Chen knew the three of them could hold the line against this tide of Netherworld Nether Antiquity Beasts. Without hesitation, he turned and shot toward the heart of the conflict.

Among the three Primordial Unity [a supreme cultivation realm representing the unity of primordial forces] Ancient Beasts, two possessed combat power comparable to a Single Primordial Unity Foundation. The leader, however, was a terror that rivaled even a Dual Primordial Unity Foundation.

Individually, any one of the five—Energy Abyss Chen, Ethan Chen, Violet Consort Yan, Lila, and Verdant Consort—possessed the strength to suppress either of the two beasts with Single Primordial Unity Foundation power. It was the alpha beast, the one with strength akin to a Dual Primordial Unity Foundation, that was beyond any one of them to handle alone.

Yet, as beings who had opened the Ninefold Heaven [the ninth and highest layer of the heavens in cultivation cosmology], they possessed the strength to at least put up a fight, even if they could not overcome their foe.

At this moment, Verdant Consort [a powerful female cultivator], who had opened the Ten-Layered Heaven [the tenth and ultimate layer of the heavens, a legendary realm], intercepted the leader of the Netherworld True Howler [a ferocious demonic beast from the underworld]. The other four cultivators were jointly besieging two ancient beasts that had cultivated the Single Primordial Unity Foundation [a foundational cultivation art focusing on unifying one's primordial essence].

It was abundantly clear that the two ancient beasts were far from being a match for them. Within less than ten exchanges, the beasts had already sustained significant injuries.

Eldrin Chen did not compete with them for these opponents. Instead, he plunged directly into the heart of the battlefield, charging toward the leader of the Netherworld True Howler.

"ROAR—!"

Seeing Eldrin Chen approach, the Netherworld True Howler's eyes blazed with madness. It surged forward with overwhelming Celestial Slaughter [a type of baleful, slaughterous aura or intent] aimed directly at Eldrin Chen.

Eldrin Chen remained utterly unmoved. With a simple, commanding gesture, he pressed a palm downward, instantly sending the Netherworld True Howler hurtling backward through the air.

Following this first strike, Eldrin Chen strode forward, the Primordial Unity Adamantine War Halberd [a divine weapon forged from primordial adamantine ore] firmly in his grasp. He activated the Primordial One Energy Grasping Hand [a divine ability to seize and control with primordial energy], snatching the Netherworld True Howler back toward him. With another devastating blow from the halberd, he sent the beast reeling once more, blood spraying from its wounds.

This time, the Netherworld True Howler's leg bones shattered completely, a clear sign it had suffered grievous harm.

"AOOO—!"

The Netherworld True Howler [a ferocious beast from the depths of the underworld] was crimson, its eyes filled with boundless killing intent, and the Fiendish Energy [a malevolent and chaotic form of spiritual power] around its body raged uncontrollably.

At this moment, it was enraged. With near-berserk fury, it steadied itself and charged towards Eldrin Chen.

"Boom—"

A deafening explosion erupted. Eldrin Chen, gripping the Primordial Unity Heavenly Halberd [a divine weapon forged from the essence of primordial unity], advanced once more, striking the beast and sending it flying through the air, blood spraying from its wounds.

"A Netherworld Nether Antiquity Beasts [ancient beasts born from the primal darkness of the netherworld] comparable to a cultivator with a Dual Primordial Unity Foundation [a supreme foundation formed by merging two sources of primordial unity energy]... seems not so formidable after all?"

Eldrin Chen spoke calmly. This Netherworld True Howler possessed Extraordinary strength, enough to tear apart a Half-Step Celestial Immortal [a cultivator on the verge of ascending to the Celestial Immortal realm] with its bare claws. Yet, its physical power ultimately could not match the Supreme Unity Primordial One Indestructibility Physique [a legendary physique said to be unbreakable, forged from the supreme essence of primordial unity].

More importantly, Eldrin Chen wielded a Primordial Unity [the foundational state of primordial unity energy] war halberd. The combination of man and weapon was potent enough to slay even a top-tier Half-Step Celestial Immortal. How could a Netherworld Nether Antiquity Beasts, lacking protective treasures and with techniques inferior to its human counterparts of the same realm, possibly withstand it?

Thus, Eldrin Chen pressed his attack relentlessly. Each strike carried the force of a collapsing sky, driving the Netherworld True Howler back step by step.

After little more than sixty exchanges, he used the Primordial Unity Adamantine War Halberd [a halberd forged from the legendary unyielding metal, Adamantine, infused with Primordial Unity essence] to pin the Netherworld True Howler through the void, ending its life.

With the Netherworld True Howler slain, Eldrin Chen withdrew the Primordial Unity Adamantine War Halberd, a faint smile finally gracing his eyes.

He had gained a fairly clear understanding of his current strength. He estimated that even without resorting to his ultimate trump card like the Innate Treasure, he should be able to defeat a Half-Step Celestial Immortal who cultivated the Dual Primordial Unity Foundation within a hundred exchanges.

Even if his opponent possessed a trump card on the level of a Primordial Unity Immortal Weapon, three hundred exchanges should still suffice.

With this thought, Eldrin Chen surveyed the battlefield. He saw that the other two Netherworld True Howler had already been surrounded and slain by his four companions, and the hundreds of Netherworld True Howlers had been routed and slaughtered.

Seeing this, Eldrin Chen extracted the Netherworld Turbid Energy [a dense, chaotic energy from the depths of the Netherworld] from the slain Netherworld True Howler within his grasp. He found two strands in total, both of them the purest grade of Netherworld Turbid Energy.

Energy Abyss Chen and the others also extracted the turbid energy from the other two Netherworld Nether Antiquity Beasts. They found two strands as well, though unfortunately, one of them was not sufficiently pure.

"Three strands of the Purest Netherworld Turbid Energy in total. Combined with the one we obtained earlier, that makes four strands of Netherworld Turbid Energy," Lila said, her voice brimming with delight as she looked at the three newly acquired strands.

Seeing this, Nyssa Qu inquired, "We possess three strands of Heaven Trigram Pure Energy [a refined, orderly energy aligned with the celestial trigrams]. These four strands of Netherworld Turbid Energy are more than sufficient for an exchange. Should we return now?"

Ever ambitious and possessing a daring spirit, Ethan Chen immediately spoke up. "The Purest Netherworld Turbid Energy is such a precious resource. If we could obtain a few more strands, we might be able to trade for several more strands of Heaven Trigram Pure Energy."

"And the Pill of Polarity Enlightenment [a legendary pill that aids in comprehending the fundamental principles of existence] can assist us in comprehending Path Principle [the underlying laws of a cultivation path] and Divine Ability [supernatural techniques born from profound cultivation]. How could we ever have too many of those?"

Upon hearing this, Eldrin Chen fell into a moment of contemplation.

The current Chen Immortal Clan was no ordinary Half-Step Celestial Immortal force. With nine powerful Half-Step Celestial Immortal cultivators in the clan, this level of strength was sufficient to suppress even those with a Triple Primordial Unity Foundation [a foundation built upon the perfect fusion of three primordial energies]. They should possess the capability to acquire more Netherworld Turbid Energy [a dense, chaotic energy native to the deepest parts of the underworld].

Thinking this, Eldrin Chen spoke, "Let us observe a while longer. If the situation turns dire, we can always escape using the Polarity Void Mirror [a magical treasure capable of creating portals through void space]."

With Eldrin Chen's decisive word, the group continued their journey deeper into the Depths of the Netherworld.

They fought their way through the void's depths, and before long, encountered another tribe of Netherworld Nether Antiquity Beasts [ancient, ferocious beasts that dwell in the timeless darkness of the netherworld].

This tribe harbored only two Primordial Unity Realm [a cultivation realm representing the initial unity of primordial energies] ancient beasts. They were swiftly slain by the group, yielding two more strands of Netherworld Turbid Energy. Unfortunately, only one of them was of usable purity.

Their power was indeed formidable. As they pressed onward, they successively vanquished five more tribes of Netherworld Nether Antiquity Beasts.

These five tribes contained a total of twelve Primordial Unity Realm Netherworld Nether Antiquity Beasts, among which was only a single beast with a Dual Primordial Unity Foundation [a foundation built upon the fusion of two primordial energies].

They obtained a total of thirteen strands of Netherworld Turbid Energy from these encounters, but only eight met the standard of Purest Netherworld Turbid Energy [netherworld turbid energy refined to its most potent and usable state].

Combined with the previous five strands, they had now gathered a total of thirteen strands of Netherworld Turbid Energy.