Chapter 167: The Scheme of the Nether Heavens

"A blessing? Uncle Jiu, I think you've been trapped in the Fengdu Ghost Realm for too long and your mind is failing. This thing is nothing more than a hot potato; whoever gets their hands on it becomes the common target of everyone. Right now, forget about obtaining this Ghost clan divine artifact—whether we can even make it out alive is questionable."

Hearing the voice in his mind, Lu Xin's face darkened instantly, and he rebuked angrily. However, the owner of that voice didn't care about their current predicament in the slightest, merely chuckling to himself.

"Hehehehe, rest assured, fortune favors the righteous. Sometimes, falling into peril is not necessarily a bad thing. In my view, this is the heavens testing you. Otherwise... that primordial Azure Dragon True Qi would never have slipped into your body."

"Azure Dragon True Qi? You mean that golden dragon? Uncle Jiu, do you know what that thing is?"

Lu Xin's brow furrowed deeply; the current of energy within his body was still rampaging wildly. Although its force was continuously weakening, it still posed a massive obstruction to every single movement of his physical body, making his speed three tenths slower than usual.

"What is it? Hahahaha... The Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon, purple Qi coming from the east—in time, you will understand."

The Earth-Bound Spirit's voice appeared only for a moment before quickly subsiding once more. Lu Xin was already accustomed to the old man's erratic and elusive ways, so he didn't dwell on it, worrying only whether the people behind him would be able to catch up. And while he was running for his life, down in the underground palace beneath the Scarlet Flame Heavenly Tower, before the massive flaming skeleton, there stood a figure draped in a black long robe. Around them, raging flames burned in every corner, illuminating the entire underground palace as bright as day. This scene was precisely how Lu Xin had left it.

The robed figure stood not far from the flaming skeleton, entirely enveloped in the dark garment. Their posture looked soft and devoid of strength, but the aura emanating from them was like an abyssal sea, unfathomable. Even though the skeleton of the Scarlet Flame Heavenly King was dozens of times larger than them, it could not gain the slightest upper hand.

"The task you asked me to do has been completed. However, since he is the person of destiny, why are you plotting against him? The human race ruling the earthly realm has already become an irreversible trend. Perhaps his arrival can change all this."

"Precisely because his destiny is extraordinary, I must block his path ahead. The Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword is the contingency left behind by Guo Pu, and I must obtain it. Otherwise, it will be difficult to cope with the impending upheavals of wind and cloud."

"Hahahaha, you really are stubborn. Naihe Tian, although you were the earliest among us to manifest, you discarded your true Ghost clan body, letting only a wisp of your primordial fetus-light escape, leaving you without even the chance of reincarnation and rebirth. To do this is tantamount to forsaking ten thousand years of arduous cultivation—was it worth it?"

The Scarlet Flame Heavenly King lowered his head, twin flames dancing in his eyes as he stared fixedly at the figure in black. From his words, it was clear that the figure hidden beneath the black robe was seemingly Naihe Tian, one of the four great Ghost Kings of the ancient Ghost clan.

Facing the inquiry of the Scarlet Flame Heavenly King, the robed figure remained silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh in an extremely hoarse voice.

"That battle in ancient times shattered the Nine Provinces, broke the Four Pillars, and annihilated all clans; there is nothing left that cannot be abandoned. To you and me, flesh and blood are merely empty shells. If cultivation is lost, it can be refined anew. As long as this single wisp of fetus-light is undying, there will eventually be a chance. Scarlet Flame, you care too much about the past. But this is no longer the ancient era; why cling stubbornly to what should be let go?"

"Hmph, I am not like you, relying on the Longevity Compass to extend my life. If I abandon this skeleton and my true body ceases to exist, my kalpas of hardship can never be reversed! Enough, why waste words with you? You have your choices, and I have my waiting. As long as you and I remain true to our original intent, what is there to fear in failing our great undertaking?"

"Alright, do not underestimate the human race. Have you forgotten how Chiyou died back then? The path we must walk is still long. At the very least... in the current situation, both you and I have only one chance. To miss it is to face eternal damnation!"

Having said this, Naihe Tian slowly turned around. But before taking two steps, he stopped. Raising his gaze to look at the ceiling of the underground palace, he said in a deep voice: "Although this world today is not as perilous as the ancient times, the Human Emperor acting on behalf of Heaven to govern the earthly realm is already a settled conclusion. We both possess boundless lifespans, yet the time left to us is growing scarce. The human monk Xuanzang has traveled west to Tianzhu; if he gains the assistance of those two figures, I fear we shall repeat the exact same tragedy of over sixteen hundred years ago. Within the companion of that boy, there hides the bloodline of a Great Witch, capable of bearing your true Ghost clan body. Scarlet Flame, time is running out; wait no longer."

Naihe Tian's voice came to an abrupt halt. Immediately afterward, the surrounding flames extinguished in a single instant. His figure gradually melted into the darkness, dissolving like air, vanishing without a trace. The vast palace returned once more to darkness, as if reverting to the world before the creation of the heavens and earth. The massive skeleton of the Scarlet Flame Heavenly King rattled the chains upon its body and let out a harsh, eerie laugh.

"A descendant of Cao Mengde... indeed possessing a fine vessel, hahahahahahaha..."

Above the underground palace, some dozen miles to the northeast of the Scarlet Flame Heavenly Tower, Lu Xin was still running wildly. The Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron hovered around him, clinging like a stubborn plaster, impossible to shake off. Meanwhile, the large group of Onmyoji pursuing him had closed the distance. At this moment, Lu Xin naturally had no idea that his current predicament was entirely the result of a joint conspiracy between the Scarlet Flame Heavenly King and Naihe Tian. He only wished to flee as quickly as possible, to escape this place of trouble.

Opening the map, the exit of the Fengdu Ghost Realm was located upon a snowy mountain, roughly twenty miles from his current position. Gazing toward the horizon at the edge of the barren desert, it truly seemed to be an ice-bound world. In Lu Xin's sight, the sky in the distance was stark white, like a thick layer of ice frozen across the firmament.

"Daoist Brother, if I help you escape this calamity, will you truly hand over the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron to me?"

"Heh, given my current situation, would I fear one or two more enemies, or fear having no one to assist me? This object is not what I require, why would I deceive you?"

"Very well, I shall trust Daoist Brother this once."

Cao Fu was overjoyed and abruptly came to a halt. With a wave of his right hand through the void, a multitude of talisman papers appeared before him. Cao Fu arranged and combined the talismans at an extremely fast pace, deploying them across the ground. Upon finishing this, he drew a small bottle from his bosom. Twisting open the cap, a dark green gas immediately surged outward, scattering upon the wind to form a massive cloud of fog within three breaths.

"The Soiled Earth Five Poisons Formation—this is an array that even Zhuge Liang dreaded. Let me see how you deal with this."

With a ferocious chuckle, Cao Fu resumed his pursuit of Lu Xin's retreating figure. Roughly three minutes later, the members of the Five Elephants Sect rushed up to the toxic fog. They found their path blocked by a dense bank of mist, within which five colors shifted in an inexpressibly hazy display. The fog covered a vast expanse, stretching endlessly to the left and right. To detour around it would add an untold amount of time.

Shortly after, dozens of individuals from various factions—including the Hundred Flowers Valley, Shadow Dragon Guard, Upper Profound Heavenly Sect, and Netherworld Dao Sect—arrived in succession. Among them, both the Hundred Flowers Valley and the Shadow Dragon Guard were missing one member each, presumably lost in the preceding melee. Aside from these sects familiar to Lu Xin, five other major factions were present.

The Nine Poisons Gate of Bazhou, the Departing Fire Cult of Wanzhou, the Ghost Mother Sect of Rongzhou, and the Rebirth Gate of Tubo. The remainder consisted of groups formed by rogue cultivators, equally formidable in strength. It was worth noting that the faction from the Nine Poisons Gate was led by Ji Yu, whom Lu Xin had previously crossed swords with in Chang'an City. This man claimed to be a descendant of the royal family of the Ba State, possessing profound and incredibly troublesome Daoist arts.

So many factions blocked simultaneously before the fog naturally bought Lu Xin a brief moment to catch his breath. However, by the same token, given the multitude of experts and their vast experience, it took only a moment for them to recognize the origin of the fog.

"If this old man's eyes do not deceive me, this should be the lethal formation of the Sima clan from the Three Kingdoms era—the Soiled Earth Five Poisons Formation. If anyone tries to force their way straight through, I fear no one will escape unscathed."

"The Soiled Earth Five Poisons Formation? Ji Yuanhong, your people from the Ghost Mother Sect certainly don't look anxious at all. What, do you have a method to break the array?"

The Qilin Envoy of the Five Elephants Sect asked in return upon seeing the old man speak first. The old man smiled, shook his head, and cast his gaze toward Ji Yu not far away.

"My Ghost Mother Sect cannot break this array, but the Nine Poisons Gate can. Judging from the spiritual aura, the person who set this array does not possess a high level of cultivation. Otherwise, we would all have been poisoned beyond a hundred paces away. Young Master Ji Yu, am I correct?"

"Hmph, you certainly are shrewd. However, even if my Nine Poisons Gate truly can break the array, why should we help everyone present? A mere quarter-hour ago, we were still trying to kill each other."

Ji Yu stepped forward two paces, sneering repeatedly. Although his words were harsh, he was not idle. Summoning a yellow talisman from afar, he ignited it and tossed it into the dense fog. He closed his eyes to sense the feedback, reopening them after a few seconds. His actions instantly drew the gaze of everyone present.

"Does Young Master Ji Yu have any brilliant strategy? If there is anything needed, my Hundred Flowers Valley will naturally contribute."

"Hehehe, little beauty, do not be impatient. Breaking this array is actually not difficult, but relying solely on my own magical power is utterly insufficient to shake the array's core. If you all wish to pass, you must employ the technique of transferring spiritual energy and gift me three-tenths of your power."

"What? Three-tenths of your power? Ji Yu, I think you've grown tired of living. The mere Nine Poisons Gate is something our Departing Fire Cult could wipe out with a flip of our hands!"

Ji Yu's words had barely fallen before a chorus of curses erupted. Even those who remained silent wore unsightly expressions, clearly extremely reluctant. Ji Yu seemed to have anticipated this, grinning broadly.

"If you are all unwilling, I, Ji, will naturally not force the matter. However, once the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron leaves Fengdu, it will be like a stone sinking into the sea, gone without a trace. You have only ten breaths to consider; if you want me to break the array, channel your magical power into this talisman."

Ji Yu held one hand behind his back while tossing out a golden talisman with the other. It hovered above the dense fog, flashing with wave after wave of brilliance. Upon seeing this object, almost every member of the various sects gasped in shock. Immediately following that, the people of the Hundred Flowers Valley began transferring their magical power, followed by the Five Elephants Sect, the Upper Profound Heavenly Sect... A few minutes later, the golden talisman expanded continuously, growing as large as a millstone and spinning above the fog. Ji Yu's expression turned ecstatic as he leaped up to land upon the golden talisman.