# Chapter 4011: By the Banks of the Black River
The Abyss of Darkness had three rivers and seven ridges.
The seven ridges were: Overlord Ridge, Space-Time Ridge, White Pale Ridge, Unbroken Ridge, Abyss Nose Ridge, Dragon-Slaying Ridge, and Ancestor Ridge.
The three rivers were: Flame River, Chaos River, and Black River.
Every ridge and every river held countless legends and secrets. Their names had great origins, traceable back to the Primordial Era.
Among them, the most unique and mysterious was undoubtedly the Black River.
After passing through the seven ridges and crossing the Primordial Plain, one could see the center of power for the Abyss of Darkness and the Twelve Ancient Tribes — Great Nether Mountain.
The origin of Great Nether Mountain was not glorious for the Primordial Beings. During the Nether Ancient Era, the Sixteenth Sun breached the Abyss of Darkness and piled up the corpses of Primordial Beings to form this mountain.
Including the Life Ancestor, the twelve clan emperors of the Primordial Twelve Tribes knelt here before the Sixteenth Sun, were enfeoffed as the Twelve Nether Sons, and barely survived.
From then on, the pride of the Primordial Beings was extinguished, their spines broken.
Until the Chaotic Ancient Great Demon God named the Primordial Twelve Tribes "Strange Beasts," they lost even their last shred of dignity.
The Black River flowed beneath Great Nether Mountain, its surface wide, its water like thick ink, winding like a dragon. No one knew where it came from or where it went.
Chi Kunlun wore a loose black robe, his figure tall, thin, and straight. Standing on the bank of the Black River where the cold wind howled, he gazed at the mist-covered river surface and said in a low voice: "Such a chilling aura. That mountain across the way is Great Nether Mountain, isn't it?"
Two ghost-type Primordial Beings looked at his back with fear in their eyes.
One of them asked cautiously: "May I ask, sir, what exactly is your purpose in going to Great Nether Mountain?"
Chi Kunlun said: "Who said I'm going to Great Nether Mountain? Just asking! My interest in this Black River is far greater than in Great Nether Mountain. Oh, they're here. You two can leave!"
Suddenly, a shadowy figure flew out from Great Nether Mountain.
"No one is allowed to leave."
In an instant, the shadowy figure hovered above the Black River.
It was a woman wearing a dark blue martial robe, with four moon-white stars on her forehead, her hair tied in a ponytail. Her entire body radiated spiritual rain and divine clouds, her aura overwhelmingly powerful.
"Greetings, Primordial Path Clan Emperor."
The two ghost-type Primordial Beings at the Great God realm were pressed to their knees by her divine might.
Chi Kunlun was not intimidated by her Indestructible Infinite-level aura. He said calmly: "So you're the clan emperor of the Primordial Path Clan. I've heard of you for a long time. Let them go. They only brought me here because I coerced them."
"Being able to cross seven ridges and two rivers, and traverse the Primordial Plain, you do have some skill. But you clearly don't understand the price you'll pay for breaking in here."
Yuan Sheng's body remained motionless as the pitch-black river water beneath her surged up, rushing straight toward Chi Kunlun.
"Splash!"
The river water reached the shore, condensing into countless sharp thorns and spikes.
Chi Kunlun stepped back, his body bending like a bow. Both palms struck out simultaneously, sending forth the Six Paths Reincarnation Imprint, which spun like a circular shield and collided with the river water.
"Boom!"
The Six Paths Reincarnation Imprint shattered. Chi Kunlun was sent flying backward, his bamboo hat turning to dust, countless talisman lights flashing on his black robe as the ground beneath him continuously cracked open.
He retreated hundreds of miles before stabilizing himself, a trail of blood at the corner of his mouth.
Yuan Sheng looked at Chi Kunlun's rather familiar face, her eyes filled with confusion. "It's you! Do you know that if I hadn't withdrawn my power just now, even if you didn't die, your physical body would have been obliterated?"
Chi Kunlun healed his injuries while walking step by step back to the Black River. "If I died, the Clan Emperor would have trouble explaining it to my father, wouldn't she?"
"Relying on your father? That's your confidence in coming to the Abyss of Darkness?" Yuan Sheng said coldly.
"I came to the Abyss of Darkness to help you. Don't be ungrateful." Chi Kunlun pointed at Yuan Sheng. "You're not qualified to negotiate with me. I want to see Immortal Music Master."
The two ghost-type Primordial Beings were terrified, thinking Chi Kunlun was too arrogant.
A clan emperor wasn't qualified to negotiate with him?
Who exactly was his father?
"Your father saying that would be one thing. You're still too weak!"
Just as Yuan Sheng was about to capture Chi Kunlun, she let out a soft exclamation and looked behind her.
Immortal Music Master appeared on the opposite bank of the Black River, her delicate body wrapped in divine light and ghostly mist, wearing a veil, holding a jade pipa, giving off an elegant and vast sense of holiness.
She said in a clear voice: "Did your father send you, or your master?"
Facing Immortal Music Master, a being whose spiritual power had reached the ninety-third level, Chi Kunlun was no longer so arrogant. He slightly cupped his hands. "Greetings, Immortal Music Master! My master said that the matter he discussed with you back then has been settled."
A bright light flashed in Immortal Music Master's eyes. "Where is it?"
Chi Kunlun said: "Inside my Divine Realm World."
"Whoosh!"
A storm of spiritual power surged from Immortal Music Master, forcibly breaking open Chi Kunlun's Divine Realm World.
Her graceful figure appeared inside the Divine Realm World.
Knowing her cultivation was extremely high, Chi Kunlun did not resist.
Inside the Divine Realm World lay a black dragon, as majestic as a mountain range, eighty thousand miles long.
No one knew how many years it had been dead, but its corpse remained undecayed, its scales like black jade, its claws emitting cold light, its aura extremely intimidating.
Yuan Sheng roughly knew who Chi Kunlun's master was, but she didn't know about the secret deal between him and Immortal Music Master.
"What a terrifying aura. It can affect my indestructible divine soul. What is the origin of this dragon corpse?"
As Yuan Sheng pondered, she noticed that the Black River, which had been flowing calmly, suddenly surged with violent waves, its speed at least doubling.
Immortal Music Master said: "For such an important matter, why didn't your master come personally?"
"The Corpse Nightmare under the Nether Ancestor has emerged. The structure of the upper realm has undergone earth-shattering changes. My master must find a way to conceal the heavenly secrets and contain it. Otherwise, I would have had no chance to deliver this dragon corpse to the Abyss of Darkness."
Chi Kunlun continued: "Immortal Music Master, you should know how dangerous this move is. My master and I are both risking our lives. So please, don't disappoint us! I must leave now..."
"Wait."
Immortal Music Master extended her right hand, and a golden crown radiating light power appeared in her palm. "Take a message to your father. Tell him that I have obtained the Victory Crown for him. If he wants this crown, let him bring the Desolate Moon to Great Nether Mountain to retrieve it."
Chi Kunlun hesitated for a moment, then finally bowed and agreed.
Before leaving, Chi Kunlun used the Six Paths Reincarnation Imprint to tear the two ghost-type Primordial Beings into soul mist fragments. "If they had left earlier, they might have kept their lives. Now that they know so many secrets, they have to die!"
"Immortal Music Master, handle the Primordial Path Clan Emperor as you see fit. The fewer cultivators who know this secret, the better."
After Chi Kunlun disappeared into the Primordial Plain, Yuan Sheng came to Immortal Music Master's side, gazing at the eighty-thousand-mile-long black dragon corpse. "I want to know, what exactly did you trade with that person?"
Immortal Music Master said: "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you to silence you?"
"I believe that whatever Immortal Music Master wants to do, she will inevitably need my help. Besides, Immortal Music Master still needs the friendship between the Primordial Path Clan and the Kunlun Realm Zhang Clan as a bridge. How could she touch me?" Yuan Sheng said.
Immortal Music Master looked at the rapidly flowing black water. "The person behind the Divine Music Master is likely the Nether Ancestor or the Corpse Nightmare. They secretly control more than half of the power of the Primordial Twelve Tribes. You're right. I don't have many people I can fully trust. To accomplish this, I cannot do without the help of the Primordial Path Clan."
Yuan Sheng said: "What exactly is it?"
Immortal Music Master said: "The core secret of the Abyss of Darkness has never been Great Nether Mountain, but this Black River before us."
Yuan Sheng could certainly understand her words.
It wasn't that the Black River flowed beneath Great Nether Mountain.
Rather, the bones of Primordial Beings had piled up into Great Nether Mountain on the banks of the Black River.
The order of cause and effect was completely different.
The most miraculous and special aspect of the Black River was that it had given birth to all ghost-type Primordial Beings.
Ghost-type Primordial Beings had two origins.
First, the disabled among the twelve royal clans would be thrown into the Black River, their physical bodies washed away. Those who survived became ghost-type Primordial Beings.
Second, royal clan members who fell in ancient times were buried in the Black River. Years later, their souls would return from the river waters.
At the end of the Primordial Era, the rules of heaven and earth changed drastically. Primordial Beings could hardly reproduce and gradually moved toward extinction.
The ancestors of the Primordial Beings entered the Abyss of Darkness precisely to seek the source of life and find a way to reproduce. It was for this reason that they became trapped in the Abyss of Darkness, unable to return to the upper realm.
Many later-generation Primordial Beings believed that the source of life their ancestors sought was the Black River.
Yuan Sheng asked: "Has the secret of the Black River been solved?"
Immortal Music Master gently shook her head. "Not exactly solved, but ancient texts left behind a conjecture. A wise man of the Hongmeng Clan believed that the Black River was not a naturally occurring source of life, but rather the transformed soul of an Immortal among the Primordial Beings."
"That Immortal died in battle at the end of the Primordial Era and was buried in Buzhou Mountain of the Heavenly Court."
"The Nether Ancestor built Great Nether Mountain on the banks of the Black River precisely to comprehend the way of the Black River and the way of immortality."
Yuan Sheng found it hard to calm the shock in her heart. She looked at the black dragon corpse. "Is it this?"
"Perhaps. Many signs indicate that the Hongmeng Clan is most likely the descendant of an Immortal from the previous epoch, and the Swastika Azure Dragon is precisely a prehistoric creature. This black dragon corpse has an extraordinary connection with the Swastika Azure Dragon." Immortal Music Master said.
Yuan Sheng said: "I find this hard to believe. Which wise man left behind this conjecture?"
"The Life Ancestor." Immortal Music Master said.
Yuan Sheng fell silent. After a long while, she said: "Does Immortal Music Master believe that the Hongmeng Black Dragon is not completely dead, and that through its corpse and the Black River, it can be awakened?"
Immortal Music Master said: "I am willing to trust the Life Ancestor's judgment, and I must try. As long as the Black River still has the ability to nurture ghost-type Primordial Beings, it means its life force has not completely dissipated."
Yuan Sheng thought of the old clan emperor of the Primordial Path Clan and gently shook her head. "Even if it is as the Life Ancestor predicted and as you imagine, awakening the Hongmeng Black Dragon will inevitably require a tremendous price. Moreover, once awakened, who knows whether it will be a blessing or a curse?"
Immortal Music Master sighed softly: "Yuan Sheng, do you think we have a choice? If we do not awaken the Hongmeng Black Dragon, how can we resist the Nether Ancestor and the Corpse Nightmare? Besides, the Dark Weirdness and the God Realm also have the power to exterminate the Primordial Twelve Tribes. Many things are simply beyond our control."
"Yan Wushen said one thing right: only by stirring up the waters can the small fish and shrimp find a way to survive and have a chance to grow."
"Only by making the Immortals wary of each other and fight among themselves can we have value and survive in the cracks."
Yuan Sheng never expected that someone like Immortal Music Master would say such discouraging words. For a moment, she didn't know how to refute. "Immortal Music Master naturally sees things more clearly than I do. I hope you are right. What should the Primordial Path Clan do?"
"First, collect the blood of the twelve royal clan members! Tell the outside world that the Mountain Lord needs it for cultivation." Immortal Music Master said.
...
Demon God Realm.
The Starry Sea Angler sat at a stone table under the Parasol Tree Divine Tree, raised a teacup, and took a sip. He smiled and said: "You seem surprised that your master came here?"
Yan Wushen stood ten steps away, bowing respectfully. "Master appears and disappears like a divine dragon without showing its tail. Anyone would be startled by your sudden appearance."
A hundred years ago, Yan Wushen had already met the Starry Sea Angler and learned that his mysterious master was him.
And he had already guessed roughly who he was.
The Starry Sea Angler said: "That old fellow from the God Realm fought with me in the spiritual power domain for a hundred years to prevent me from saving the Great Demon God. I barely managed to break free, so naturally I need to make some arrangements."
"Is the God Realm so difficult to deal with that even Master cannot subdue it?" Yan Wushen said.
The Starry Sea Angler said: "After the battle back then, Bai Yuan was defeated. Since then, the God Realm has been our only opponent. Even if Bai Yuan now reassembles his broken body, returning to his peak is still far off."
Yan Wushen said: "Why not ask the Nether Ancestor to intervene?"
The Starry Sea Angler smiled and stared at Yan Wushen, but to Yan Wushen, this gaze was like a knife, as if trying to see through his heart.
"The words 'Nether Ancestor' are not for you to utter."
"Your disciple will remember."
The Starry Sea Angler said: "The Great Demon God is in the Nether Prison, having lived his ninth life in a stone body. Although he has been dismembered, his path has not been broken. Do you have the confidence to rescue him?"
"Most of his ancestral divine soul and ancestral divine source have fallen into Hao Tian's hands. To seize them from the Heavenly Court, Master would have to act personally." Yan Wushen said.
If the Starry Sea Angler had the opportunity to act, why would he be here?
Yan Wushen felt the Starry Sea Angler's gaze turn cold and immediately added: "However, with the help of the Nether Sea, the Mother of Weak Water has already reached the half-ancestor level. The two of them joining forces can indeed contend with Hao Tian."
"The biggest problem now is that the Chongming Ancestor is too cunning. Without substantial benefits, he simply refuses to act."
"If he could lead us to the Heavenly Court, under a surprise attack, we could surely severely wound Hao Tian, and perhaps even raze the Heavenly Court to the ground, clearing this obstacle."
The Starry Sea Angler showed a thoughtful expression.
"Swish! Swish! Swish..."
Beams of divine light flashed.
The Chongming Ancestor, A Fuya, the Peacock Heavenly Queen, along with the Mother of Weak Water and the Nether Sea who had taken human form, arrived one after another, all bowing in salute: "Greetings, Ancestor!"
"Wen Tianjun of the Kunlun Realm came to visit, hence the delay. Please forgive us, Ancestor." The Chongming Ancestor said respectfully.
The Starry Sea Angler looked at Yan Wushen. "You just said the Chongming Ancestor dares not rebel against the Heavenly Court?"
The Chongming Ancestor's face changed repeatedly.
The Starry Sea Angler stood up, his ancestral aura instantly permeating the Demon God Realm. "Let's help him. Today, we kill Wen Tianjun to embolden the Chongming Ancestor."
...
The setting of the Black River was written long ago. It wasn't added temporarily.
(Chapter End)