Chapter 935: Blood God Sect, Immortal Nether Sea
The Blood God Sect was a dark region, entrenched in the northern part of the Zhouwan Sacred Land, backed by the Juegu Snow Mountains. The weather was bitterly cold, and all year round, it was shrouded in a vast expanse of white ice and snow.
The Immortal Nether Sea was actually a thousand-li square frozen lake, located at the foot of the Juegu Snow Mountains. It was the cultivation ground of Sea Nether Dharma King, one of the four great Dharma Kings of the Blood God Sect.
No matter how severe the cold, the Immortal Nether Sea never froze. The lake water appeared a deep blue, and when viewed from the sky, it looked like a sapphire placed on a sheet of white paper.
At night, five-colored spiritual energy rose from the lake, transforming the area for a thousand li into what seemed like a blessed land of immortals.
At this moment, on Kongcheng Island at the center of the Immortal Nether Sea, a man dressed in black robes carried a coffin with one hand, crossed the suspended bridge, and walked straight into the Dharma King’s Great Hall.
“Greetings, Elder Lanye.”
Two young women standing on either side of the great hall’s entrance immediately knelt on one knee, bowing to the black-robed man with expressions of great respect.
Both women possessed fairly beautiful faces, and their cultivation had reached the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm. They were close attendants of Sea Nether Dharma King, holding considerable status in the Immortal Nether Sea, yet they still had to bow to the black-robed man.
This showed that the black-robed man’s identity was undoubtedly quite extraordinary.
Inside the Dharma King’s Great Hall, aside from the black-robed man, there was no one else. Only thirty-six Sacred Blood Oil Lamps were still lit, emitting bright light that gradually revealed his features.
This man was named Lanye, the thirteenth disciple of Sea Nether Dharma King, and also an elder of the Blood God Sect.
Lanye appeared to be nearly thirty years old, with a high, straight nose and sharp eyes, giving a sense of both competence and a hint of gloominess.
With a gentle push of his palm, the heavy metal coffin floated lightly like a thin sheet of paper to the center of the Dharma King’s Great Hall, landing without a sound.
“Master, this is Sun Chengyi’s corpse. I retrieved him from the Ten Thousand Burial Valley. His body was cut into eight pieces, but I have now fully reassembled it,” Lanye said in a very indifferent tone.
In the Dharma King’s Great Hall, the flames of the thirty-six Sacred Blood Oil Lamps tilted slightly, their light flickering rapidly.
A somewhat aged yet majestic voice sounded out of thin air: “Sun Chengyi was the most outstanding disciple of Old Six. Less than a hundred years old, yet he had already reached the third-rank Half-Saint. He was the best candidate. I never thought that even he couldn’t establish a foothold in the Netherword Heavenly Palace and ultimately met a violent end.”
This was followed by a long sigh.
Lanye looked at the empty black throne at the top of the hall, as if speaking to the air, “Even Sun Chengyi died so tragically. Sending other juniors over would probably be a death sentence as well.”
The Dharma King’s Great Hall fell into silence.
After a long moment, the majestic voice sounded again, “The Endless Abyss hides a shocking secret, yet the Sect Leader has stationed the Netherword Heavenly Palace to guard the outer reaches of the abyss. No one, not even sect members, can approach it.”
“Three hundred years ago, the cultivation of us four Dharma Kings was only slightly weaker than the Sect Leader’s. But in the last three hundred years, the Sect Leader’s cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds, leaving us far behind. He has become the undisputed number one of the Blood God Sect, and no one can check him anymore.”
Lanye lifted his head, a strange glint in his eyes, “Master suspects that the Sect Leader’s current achievements are related to the secret of the Endless Abyss?”
“Exactly. Because the Netherword Heavenly Palace began stationing troops at the outer reaches of the Endless Abyss three hundred years ago, completely sealing it off. No one but the Sect Leader can approach it. Tell me, how could this be a coincidence?”
Then, the majestic voice turned sharp, carrying a powerful obsession, “No matter the sacrifice, I must uncover the secret of the Endless Abyss. Once I grasp that secret, I will have a chance to become the foremost of the four Dharma Kings.”
Lanye said, “But including Sun Chengyi, our Immortal Nether Sea has already lost twelve Half-Saint-level talents. Among the third-generation disciples, it’s hard to find a suitable candidate. If we choose another Half-Saint to enter the Netherword Heavenly Palace, they might not be trustworthy. If they expose Master’s intentions and the Sect Leader finds out, it would be a big problem.”
What Lanye said was exactly what Sea Nether Dharma King was most worried and troubled about.
Sea Nether Dharma King had taken a total of fourteen disciples, and the third, fourth, and fifth generations of grand-disciples were countless. Among them, some remarkable talents had emerged, breaking through to the Half-Saint realm at a young age and becoming regional overlords.
For example, Sun Chengyi, lying in the coffin, was the disciple of Sea Nether Dharma King’s sixth disciple, Li Shigong, and a standout among the third-generation grand-disciples.
Sixty years ago, Sea Nether Dharma King had begun sending grand-disciples from the third generation into the Netherword Heavenly Palace one after another to help him investigate the secret of the Endless Abyss.
However, the grand-disciples who entered the Netherword Heavenly Palace either went missing or died, with not a single one surviving.
Among the third-generation grand-disciples, those who had reached the Half-Saint realm were almost all dead, leaving no suitable candidate.
Sea Nether Dharma King had already lived for six hundred years, and his lifespan was running out. Only by breaking through to a higher realm could he extend his life. Thus, he was very eager to uncover the secret of the Endless Abyss.
Should he take the risk and personally investigate the Endless Abyss?
“Whoosh!”
Just then, a blood-red mist surged in from outside the door, appearing beside Lanye and condensing into a figure entirely shrouded in a blood-red robe.
The blood-robed figure was tall and thin, with a face hidden beneath the robe, making it impossible to discern age, appearance, or gender, giving off an air of mystery.
“Master, Senior Brother Gu Yan’s son wishes to see you,” the blood-robed figure’s voice sounded ethereal, neither male nor female, neither old nor young, giving an elusive impression.
Then, the blood-robed figure unfurled a scroll of sacred edict, and from their sleeve, a mass of sacred qi surged out, wrapping around the edict and sending it flying to land on a bronze table.
“Hiss!”
Strands of blood-red threads materialized out of thin air, converging at the top of the Dharma King’s Great Hall to form an old man in a sea-blue robe.
It was a sacred soul avatar of Sea Nether Dharma King.
“Gu Yan’s son?”
Sea Nether Dharma King glanced at the sacred edict on the table, a thoughtful expression on his face. He finally remembered that his ninth disciple, Gu Yan, had indeed requested a sacred edict for his son when he came to the Immortal Nether Sea.
At the time, considering that Gu Yan managed the Blood Dragon Hall and had offered many spirit crystals and spiritual medicines as tribute, Sea Nether Dharma King had agreed.
He still had some impression of Gu Yan’s son.
That kid had decent talent. Back then, Sea Nether Dharma King had even kept him in the Immortal Nether Sea for a while, intending to train him carefully, thinking he might achieve something in the future.
Who would have thought that the kid was so bold with lust? In just three days at the Immortal Nether Sea, he had bedded one of Sea Nether Dharma King’s close attendants.
Although Sea Nether Dharma King was quite angry, considering that Gu Yan’s Blood Dragon Hall could gather wealth for him, he didn’t deal with the Blood Dragon Prince. He simply found an excuse to expel him from the Immortal Nether Sea and send him back to Yuan Mansion.
That close attendant, of course, had already been executed by Sea Nether Dharma King.
“What does that kid want at the Immortal Nether Sea?”
Sea Nether Dharma King looked displeased, but thinking that his ninth disciple Gu Yan still had considerable value, he still summoned the Blood Dragon Prince.
Zhang Ruochen, transformed into the Blood Dragon Prince, entered the Dharma King’s Great Hall and immediately knelt before Sea Nether Dharma King’s sacred soul avatar, speaking with a sobbing tone, “Grandmaster, you must seek justice for your grand-disciple! The disciples of the Blood Dragon Hall cannot die in vain, and my father cannot die in vain. Only you, elder, can avenge them… cough, cough…”
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen spat out a mouthful of pitch-black blood, coughing incessantly, putting on a very pitiful appearance.
Zhang Ruochen wasn’t faking his injuries; he was genuinely wounded.
Even at this moment, Zhang Ruochen was secretly observing the three people in the Dharma King’s Great Hall.
Seated above was Sea Nether Dharma King, with sea-blue wavy hair, deep-set eyes, and a face full of wrinkles. Even as just a phantom, he exuded an overwhelming aura, like an unclimbable sacred mountain or an unfathomable ocean, exerting immense pressure on Zhang Ruochen.
On the left and right sides of the hall stood a black-robed man and a blood-robed man, respectively.
The black-robed man seemed to have cultivated some kind of dark attribute technique. Just standing there, the cold air he emitted froze the surrounding space, and any airflow entering within a zhang of him would immediately dissipate.
This person was definitely a formidable character.
The other blood-robed man seemed to have no physical body, just a mass of mist, giving an even more inscrutable feeling.
Clearly, none of the people in the Dharma King’s Great Hall were simple.
Zhang Ruochen bore immense pressure, carefully maintaining his disguise. If he revealed even the slightest flaw, he might die in the Dharma King’s Great Hall tonight.
Sea Nether Dharma King’s eyes narrowed, fixing on the kneeling Blood Dragon Prince, and he said coldly, “What did you say? Your father is dead? Who dares to kill my disciple?”
“It’s the Dead Zen Sect, the evil monks of the Dead Zen Sect!” Zhang Ruochen roared.
Sea Nether Dharma King’s brow twitched slightly, and he murmured to himself, “The Dead Zen Sect, huh.”
If it were any other force that dared to kill Sea Nether Dharma King’s disciple, he would have annihilated their entire clan just to save face.
But the Dead Zen Sect was no ordinary group. Although it had only been established for a few hundred years, its power was vast, with followers spread across the world. Compared to the Blood God Sect, which had a history of hundreds of thousands of years, it was probably not much weaker.
Especially the Dead Zen Ancestor, a figure of unparalleled brilliance who had survived a strike from the Empress. Such a person was rare in the entire Kunlun Realm.
Offending the Dead Zen Sect for the sake of a disciple didn’t seem like a worthwhile deal.