Chapter 1878: Nine-Eyed Heavenly King
Mu Rongye said, "Since we're going to the Nether Sword Tomb, we must rescue one person."
"What person?"
Mu Rongye replied, "Bao Lie Army King."
"Senior Brother Bao Lie... he's still alive?" Zhang Ruochen was both surprised and deeply stirred.
Bao Lie was the third disciple of the Ming Emperor and had once been the Army King of the Holy Bright Central Empire.
Eight hundred years ago, Bao Lie's cultivation had already reached the Saint King Realm.
Zhang Ruochen had consulted historical records from eight hundred years ago, which stated that Bao Lie and Princess Chi Yao each led millions of troops in a protracted war at Ming Guo Prefecture.
In the end, the Holy Bright army suffered a crushing defeat.
Bao Lie, known as the Army King, died in that war.
Mu Rongye said, "As far as I know, Army King Bao Lie didn't die. Instead, he was imprisoned by Chi Yao in the Nether Prison of the Nether Sword Tomb. Of course, after eight hundred years, whether Bao Lie Army King is still alive is hard to say."
"Regardless, we must go to the Nether Prison. If Senior Brother Bao Lie is still alive, we have to rescue him. If he has fallen, we must retrieve his remains and give him a proper burial," Zhang Ruochen said.
The Nether Prison had eighteen layers. Since ancient times, the most vicious humans and barbarian beasts of the Kunlun Realm had been captured and imprisoned there.
Zhang Ruochen and his group left Qianshui Royal City and headed to the Eastern Domain Sacred City, where they reunited with Xiang Chunan, Murong Yue, and others.
During their time in Luo River, many major events had occurred in the Kunlun Realm.
World rifts had appeared across all five human domains ruled by the First Central Empire.
Each world rift was a brutal battlefield, a gateway for the Hell Realm to attack the Kunlun Realm, and also a location where the Heavenly Court Realm had established defensive fortifications.
For example:
The Fallen God Tomb Forest in the Eastern Domain, and the Immortal Machine Mountain in the Northern Domain.
The world rift in the Central Domain was located in the Yin Burial Mountain Range.
Just two days ago, the armies of the Hell Realm and the Heavenly Court Realm had clashed in a fierce battle.
The Hell Realm had broken through the Heavenly Court's defensive fortifications, allowing a large number of Undying Blood Clan and Nether Clan cultivators to enter the Kunlun Realm.
Previously, only scattered Hell Realm cultivators had entered the Kunlun Realm—like the Blood Bee Shura King, Chang, and others—whose destructive power was limited, and they were quickly hunted down.
But this time, a massive influx of Hell Realm cultivators had poured in, with dire consequences.
This was bad news not only for the living beings of the Kunlun Realm but also for the cultivators of the Heavenly Court's various realms.
Fortunately, the defensive fortifications at the Yin Burial Mountain Range had been resealed by a large number of Heavenly Court experts, preventing a complete collapse. Otherwise, the entire Central Domain would have been engulfed in continuous war, turning into a living hell.
Zhang Ruochen realized the severity of the situation and said, "The Undying Blood Clan entering the Kunlun Realm will definitely try to rescue the Nether King. We must head to the Sword Tomb immediately."
Just as they were about to set off, Mu Rongye received a message light talisman, and his expression changed, the surrounding air turning cold.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Mu Rongye said, "The Mu Rong Clan has been attacked by a powerful enemy. Preliminary inference suggests the enemy is likely the Angel Clan."
"Angels? Is the Heavenly Court Realm retaliating?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Mu Rongye said, "In the battle at the Eastern Domain Sacred City, the Heavenly Realm Faction suffered countless casualties, but some escaped. They must have uncovered my identity and are now retaliating against the Mu Rong Clan."
"I'll return to the Mu Rong Clan immediately and kill the enemies from Paradise Realm," Mu Rongyue said.
But Mu Rongye shook his head and said, "Paradise Realm has many experts. With your current cultivation, you may not be able to protect the Mu Rong Clan. I have to go back personally. Yue'er, stay by the Crown Prince's side and protect him without any mistakes."
After Mu Rongye left, Zhang Ruochen and the others also departed from the Eastern Domain Sacred City, using a space wormhole to rush to the Nether Sword Tomb as quickly as possible.
Traveling with them were Xiang Chunan, Mu Rongyue, and a man named Luo Yi, who claimed to be a cultivator from the Shangyuan Sect.
Zhang Ruochen was quite wary of this man and had the True Wonder Little Daoist keep an eye on him at all times.
Upon arriving in the Central Domain, Zhang Ruochen brought out Shi Ren, who had been cultivating in the Qiankun Realm.
Shi Ren was the young patriarch of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan and a close friend of Zhang Ruochen.
In the Qiankun Realm, Shi Ren had been learning from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, practically becoming half a disciple. His spiritual power and rune path skills had both improved significantly.
Crossing the vast wilderness, Zhang Ruochen and his group entered the depths of a primeval mountain range.
Gradually, the mountains became more majestic, the heaven and earth sacred energy abundant, and swift ancient rivers flowed through the valleys, with mist rising, giving the place a mysterious and profound feeling.
On the ground and in the air, strange, complex, and profound formation inscriptions appeared, turning the sky into an eerie color. Any living being who came here had to be extremely cautious.
Luo Yi followed behind the group, observing the formation inscriptions, and asked, "These inscriptions are ancient and profound—they must have been passed down from the Middle Ages, right?"
"That's right," Shi Ren said.
The True Wonder Little Daoist grinned and said, "But they're badly damaged, so their power is limited. If they could be repaired, they might rival the ancient inscriptions of the Eastern Domain Sacred City."
"Only a formation geomancer can repair the formation inscriptions here," Shi Ren said regretfully.
Zhang Ruochen had been to the Nether Sword Tomb before, but this time, it felt different.
To his left front, there was a broken stone forest. Opening his heaven eye, he could see crimson inscriptions intertwined within it.
Zhang Ruochen pointed a finger toward the stone forest.
A sword wave shot out.
"Boom."
The stone forest, like a disturbed beehive, surged with a massive amount of crimson energy, emitting a heart-shaking power that could kill a Saint King.
After several breaths, the stone forest calmed down again.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The residual inscriptions of the Sword Tomb are much more powerful than before."
Shi Ren said, "Before, the Kunlun Realm hadn't awakened, and the inscriptions of the Nether Sword Tomb were powered by underground spirit veins. Now, saint veins have formed underground. The saint energy from these veins drives the inscriptions, so naturally, their power is far greater than before."
"It's almost impossible for beings below the Great Saint Realm to break into the Nether Sword Tomb."
Zhang Ruochen wasn't as optimistic as Shi Ren and said, "The Undying Blood Clan might not be able to break through the ancient formation remnants, but they are skilled in transformation arts. Sneaking into the Sword Tomb wouldn't be difficult."
Shi Ren nodded and said, "I just hope my father has already sealed the Nether Sword Tomb."
Outside the Nether Sword Tomb, above a patch of white clouds, a massive bone mountain was hidden. Blood-red air currents shuttled through the mountain.
On the bone mountain stood a bone platform.
Three Divine Sons and seven Divine Daughters of the Undying Blood Clan stood on the platform, watching Zhang Ruochen and his group disappear into the mountains.
"They managed to pass through that area safely?" the Martial Realm Divine Son said in surprise.
A long-faced Divine Daughter smiled and said, "Obviously, they know the way into the Nether Sword Tomb. We should have captured them directly instead of waiting here."
The three Divine Sons of the Undying Blood Clan were all extraordinary, with silver flesh wings on their backs.
One of them had nine eyes—five on his face, two on his chest, and the remaining two on the palms of his hands. Few knew his real name, and the Undying Blood Clan cultivators respectfully called him "Nine-Eyed Heavenly King."
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King was a top-tier expert even among the many Divine Sons and Divine Daughters of the Undying Blood Clan.
He said, "Don't act rashly. Among those cultivators, there's a formidable spiritual power expert. If not for the concealment formation inscriptions carved by a formation geomancer on the divine bones inside this mountain, she might have already detected us."
The seven Divine Sons and Daughters present were all Dao Domain realm experts, but when Nine-Eyed Heavenly King spoke, they all fell silent and listened respectfully, not daring to show any disrespect.
"Having such a spiritual power expert enter the Nether Sword Tomb is not good for us. Will Bai Huan Divine Son's disguise be seen through by her?"
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King shook his head and said, "The Undying Blood Clan's disguises can fool even Great Saints. Moreover, Bai Huan Divine Son excels in illusion, seduction, and disguise. No matter how high her spiritual power, she won't see through any flaws."
"Bai Huan Divine Son has been inside the Nether Sword Tomb for a day and a night. Why hasn't he come out yet? Could something have happened?" a Divine Daughter asked worriedly.
Standing beside Nine-Eyed Heavenly King, a seven-meter-tall Divine Son laughed and said, "Who in the entire Nether Sword Tomb can do anything to him? I think he wants to take all the credit by annihilating the entire Zhenyu Ancient Clan and rescuing the Nether King himself."
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King said, "The Nether Sword Tomb has always been one of the most mysterious places in the Kunlun Realm. Even our clan's gods dared not recklessly enter it a hundred thousand years ago. The Nether Prison is even more dangerous, holding nothing but the most vicious criminals. Even the Nether King is only imprisoned on the seventeenth floor. It's possible that the eighteenth floor holds gods. If Bai Huan Divine Son is too greedy for glory, he might not end well."
"So what do we do now? Just wait?" a Divine Son asked.
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King's eyes were deep and profound as he said, "Wait. Keep waiting. But we're not just waiting for Bai Huan Divine Son—we're also waiting for Nether Immortal."
"Nether Immortal?"
"That freak from the Nether Clan is actually coming here?"
...
The Undying Blood Clan cultivators present were all surprised and somewhat alarmed.
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King remained calm and composed, saying, "The Shen family, one of the three great clans of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan, possesses the Kunlun Realm's most premier formation treasure, the 'Star Chart.' The formation inscriptions outside the Nether Sword Tomb were laid down by the Shen family's ancestors. This shows how profound the Star Chart is."
"Nether Immortal's target is the Star Chart. We each take what we need."