Chapter 387. Nether Stone (Spiritual Object)

Chapter 1 The biting cold wind swept across the mountain peaks, carrying with it the scent of frost and decay. Li Ming, a young man barely 20 years of age, stood at the edge of the precipice, his tattered robes whipping violently in the gale. His knuckles were white as he clutched the worn jade slip containing the incomplete cultivation manual he had risked his life to obtain. "Just 1 more step," he whispered to the howling wind, his breath forming misty clouds in the frigid air. "1 more breakthrough, and I'll reach the Foundation Establishment realm." He had been stuck at the ninth level of Qi Condensation for 3 long years. While other disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect had advanced, he remained stagnant, becoming the laughingstock of the outer sect. The upcoming inner sect examination would be his last chance - if he failed again, he would be expelled from the sect entirely. Closing his eyes, Li Ming recalled the words Elder Zhang had spoken to him earlier that day. "Some are destined for greatness, others for mediocrity. Know your place, boy." The memory fueled his determination. He would prove them wrong, all of them. Settling into a cross-legged position, Li Ming began circulating his spiritual energy according to the mysterious technique described in the jade slip. The energy flowed through his meridians, at first like a gentle stream, then gradually building into a raging torrent. Pain, excruciating and overwhelming, seized his body. It felt as if thousands of needles were piercing his flesh simultaneously. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably, and blood began to trickle from his nostrils. "Persist! I must persist!" he gritted through clenched teeth. Suddenly, the world around him seemed to still. The howling wind fell silent. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting its silvery light upon his trembling form. A brilliant golden light erupted from his body, shooting skyward like a beacon in the darkness. The spiritual energy within him condensed, forming a solid foundation in his dantian where before there had been only swirling mist. He had done it. Li Ming opened his eyes, now gleaming with newfound power. Where before his vision had been limited, he could now see the individual leaves on trees miles away. The very air seemed alive with spiritual energy, dancing and shimmering in his enhanced perception. A system notification materialized before his eyes: [Congratulations! Host has broken through to Foundation Establishment Realm!] [Reward: 10,000 spirit stones] [Reward: Heaven Swallowing Art (Cultivation Method)] [Reward: Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss (Magic Treasure)] A spatial ring appeared on his finger, containing the promised rewards. Li Ming allowed himself a small smile. His journey was only beginning, but for the first time in years, he felt hope. Little did he know that the golden light of his breakthrough had attracted unwanted attention. Deep within the forbidden forest at the mountain's base, a pair of ancient eyes opened, their gaze fixed on the peak where Li Ming stood. "The prophecy begins," a raspy voice echoed through the darkness. "The child of chaos has awakened."

Eldrin (Person Name) had anticipated this long ago. Without hesitation, he summoned the Heaven-Sundering Twin Swords and swung them forward,

He cultivated the Pure Yang Art, and as a genuine orthodox cultivator, it was utterly impossible for him to mimic the aura of a demonic practitioner.

Concealed by an array, yet it still revealed a trace of anomaly to a high-level demonic cultivator.

Therefore, Eldrin (Person Name) immediately prepared to strike. He summoned the Heaven-Sundering Twin Swords, launching relentless assaults as they sliced directly toward the Blackflame True Master.

"Hmph—"

Seeing Eldrin take action, the Blackflame True Person sensed the danger and immediately attempted to flee.

But right at that moment, Lyra (Person Name), who had long been lying in ambush in the distance, closed in. From afar, she unleashed the Mountain-Crushing Deity Subduing Curse.

Not good.

Elder Blackflame felt as if a massive mountain were pressing down on him, making every step an arduous struggle.

However, this demonic cultivator was, after all, at the Great Perfection stage of the Golden Core realm. In his moment of panic, he actually unleashed a demonic supernatural power known as the Blood Transmutation Tribulation Evasion Art.

The magical abilities of demonic cultivators are often exceptionally cruel. Once this Demonic Blood Transmutation Art is unleashed, it consumes his vital essence and blood, yet it suffices to dissolve all negative afflictions upon his body.

Having neutralized the calamity, he instantly transformed into a beam of escaping light and shot toward the distance, almost as if he were fleeing the scene.

"There is no escape."

Seeing the demonic cultivator still trying to flee, Lyra forcefully channeled her spiritual power, summoning the Divine Light of the 5 Void Tribulations from hundreds of miles away.

Although the Divine Light of the 5 Void Tribulations (Cultivation Art) consumed an immense amount of energy, when channeled with Lyra's (Person Name) current level of magic power, its force nearly rivaled a full-strength strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Even with the demon lord's extraordinary power, he found it utterly impossible to evade this earth-shattering strike that swept across hundreds of miles.

In an instant, the mountains trembled and crumbled, heaven and earth split asunder, and endless demonic volcano peaks were pierced through.

Although the Black Flame Elder was immensely powerful, the moment he was lured out, it was already destined that he would pay a grievous price.

Faced with this strike, he had no choice but to deploy every means at his disposal, yet in the end, his bones shattered inch by inch, and half his physical body was obliterated.

However, for a Golden Core demonic cultivator, such an injury was far from fatal. He decisively abandoned his physical form, performing a complete blood sacrifice of his fleshly body before unleashing the 'Blood Demon Evasion Art'.

This Blood Demon Evasion Art was a supreme divine ability. Once executed, 1 could traverse a 1000 miles in the blink of an eye. By abandoning his physical form to activate this technique, even a Nascent Soul True Monarch would be unable to catch up to him in the immediate aftermath.

Though Eldrin and Lyra moved with extreme speed, they still could not catch up in the face of such an astonishing escape technique.

Watching him escape with his life, Eldrin sighed and said, “What a pity that I cannot completely conceal my own aura.”

"Otherwise, once we lure him into the formation, this demon will have no chance of survival today."

"A Golden Core Perfection cultivator is not so easily slain."

Lyra shook her head, having long anticipated the outcome of this battle.

Back then, though the 3 of them managed to kill Malachai (Person Name), it was only because Yan Ziji's (Person Name) Violet Cosmos Mirror of the Void (Magic Treasure) could seal the void.

Otherwise, with Malachai's (Person Name) Golden Core Perfection cultivation, even if 4 or 5 Golden Core Perfection experts were to confront him, they might still fail to prevent his escape.

Eldrin stowed away Malachai's storage pouch with a swift motion and remarked with a light smile, "To flee for his life, this scoundrel even abandoned his storage pouch without hesitation—1 must admit he’s a decisive man."

"Before the Black Fiend Ancestor realizes what's happening, let's go destroy the Nether Crossing Array first."

The 2 returned to the mountain peak, retrieved the Fifth-Level Demonic Fire Yin Thunder Pearl, dismantled the formation and cast it into the demonic flames to be consumed. Then they soared on their swords, flying toward the location of the Netherworld Void-Crossing Array.

Meanwhile, the Blackflame True Monarch was fleeing through the void.

The golden core hovered in the void, flickering with a trace of fear as it spoke, "Having lost the Netherflame Yin-Thunder Pearl this time, the Nether Crossing Void Array will likely be shattered beyond repair."

"With the Black Fiend Elder's methods, he will surely not let me go. I'm afraid I can never return to Black Fiend Ridge."

"I have been afflicted with the Black Miasma Entangling Curse by the Elder of Black Miasma. The only way to survive is to suppress it using the Demonic Spring."

"To rebuild my physical form, the only option now is to seek refuge at a Demonic Spring. If I can break through to the Nascent Soul stage after restoring my body, there might still be a sliver of hope for survival."

With this thought, the Black Flame Elder suppressed the urge to send a message and instead flew off in another direction.

Elsewhere, Eldrin and his companion moved with astonishing speed, arriving at the Netherworld Void-Crossing Array in merely 10 days.

Gazing at the Netherworld Void-Crossing Array before them, Eldrin exchanged a glance with Lyra before remarking with a light laugh, "This formation's defensive capacity is hardly formidable. With our methods, breaching it should be well within our means."

"Let's begin."

The 2 of them wasted no time. Relying on their formidable power, they relentlessly assailed the Nether Crossing Void Formation. After half a month of concerted effort, they finally shattered the formation.

After breaking the formation, the 2 ascended the mountain peak and proceeded to destroy the array artifacts 1 by 1.

After completing all this, they found a black Netherstone atop the mountain peak.

“Nether Stone (Spiritual Object)？”

Eldrin's pupils contracted slightly. The Nether Stone itself was a fifth-grade Void Gem, but after being continuously corrupted by the Netherworld energy wielded by demonic cultivators, it had ultimately transformed into a terrifying fiendish entity.

This object is profoundly sinister, containing the netherworld power of the earth's depths. It does not require the energy of a fifth-order spirit vein—only sufficient blood crystals are needed to arrange a fifth-order teleportation formation.

"Could it be that this Black Fiend Ancestor has the support of the Netherworld Fiendlord behind him?"

Gazing at the Nether Gem, Lyra's pupils contracted slightly. The Nether Demon Elder was the master of the Nether Sea and the foremost demonic cultivator in the Eastern Wastelands.

This demonic cultivator's cultivation had reached Primordial Spirit, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm), and his power was renowned throughout the Violet Realm.

The Nethersea it dominates is 1 of the major forbidden lands in the Eastern Wastelands (Location), spoken of in the same breath as the Vast Mire of the Black Dragon Demon Ancestor and the half-section of the Eastern Wilderness Ancestral River occupied by the Crocodile Ancestor.

At the thought of Netherwrath, Lyra sighed softly and said, "I'm afraid even the Primordial Souls of the demon and monster races would be reluctant to see humanity gain another Primordial Soul."

"I fear the Nascent Soul Tribulation of the Ji Clan Patriarch may not be so easily overcome."

Eldrin gently patted Lyra and comforted, "Over the past several 1000 years, our human race has lost multiple Primordial Spirit Dao Lords in battle. We urgently need new Primordial Spirits to step up and fill the ranks."

"If the fiendish demons' primordial spirits were to take action, the several Dao Lords of Eastern Wastelands (Location) surely would not stand idly by either."

Lyra also nodded in agreement. For them, an existence like a Primordial Spirit Dao Lord was far too remote. The only thing they could do now was grow stronger—breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm as soon as possible was the true path to power.

At this thought, Lyra gazed at the Eldrin in hand and remarked, "This treasure possesses extraordinary applications, yet the netherforce it contains cannot be harnessed by the righteous path."

To restore it to a fifth-grade Void Gem (Spiritual Object), the Netherforce within must first be purified.

Eldrin merely shook his head, his expression slightly furrowed as he said, "Though my Solar True Flame can refine the Netherworld energy."

"But with my current cultivation base, purging the Nether Yin energy within would require at least 6 100 years."