Seeing the subtle signs, these people were obviously not as enthusiastic as when Zhang Huan had first arrived, even unwilling to provide burial pits anymore and brushing him off with casual laughs.
Zhang Huan muttered inwardly, wondering if it had anything to do with his fifty-year deadline drawing to a close.
Having spent a fair amount of time preparing for the Quasi-Emperor Tribulation, plus the fact that he had been constantly and frequently digging graves, he mentally calculated and found that only a few meager years remained.
Zhang Huan stayed in his mansion to cultivate in seclusion, going nowhere during these days, and unlocked the potential of his physique.
The Quasi-Emperor Tribulation from not long ago had been far too conspicuous. Though he had not waited for a promise from the person in charge, people had arrived one after another to pay visits.
With the intention of spreading the word that he would frequently be in his mansion in the future and had sustained injuries, Zhang Huan received a few batches of people at once across a span of time, temporarily setting aside the grave-digging business until the aftermath of the tribulation passed.
Someone who had just crossed the tribulation needed to cultivate in seclusion for a while at the very least, and Zhang Huan seized the opportunity to announce that he would soon enter seclusion and would receive no visitors before heading to the battlefield.
A Dao injury could be considered neither light nor heavy, so seclusion was entirely reasonable, and he specifically put on the act for the Underworld to see.
He heard from visiting guests that those going to the battlefield recently had become increasingly frequent; nine times out of ten they were external saints, and anyone could sense that something was wrong.
Certain people were unhappy and stirred up quite a few incidents, prompting the Underworld to plan a lockdown to strictly control communication among external saints, which would likely be announced before long.
All the saints felt themselves in precarious danger, carrying a whiff of jittery panic.
This had little to do with Zhang Huan; the Underworld's move should be an attempt to crush a certain secret alliance among external saints, such as the group previously formed by Great Saint Kun.
He was not particularly afraid of this point, as his record was spotless and nothing could be traced back to him.
What mattered more to him was dispelling the gazes of the Underworld and the crowd. Keeping a low profile for a period of time would naturally yield results, and once the time was right, he would bide his time and act.
After sending off the visitors, Zhang Huan activated the grand array of the mansion and formally announced his seclusion.
Spring passed and autumn came, tree leaves grew and withered, and several years passed with no one coming to visit again.
Zhang Huan quieted her heart to digest her gains, and had thoroughly mastered the Quasi-Emperor might. The power of her physical body could easily tear through space, reaching the ultimate sublimation, and her sheer strength felt as though it could crush a Great Saint with a single punch.
A mere shift of her mind allowed her to tread across the eight desolate realms, truly achieving the feat of traversing the void. From then on, the universe held no distance for her, and there was nowhere within the cosmos she could not go.
Now, she no longer needed to restrain her coercion, truly mastering it as naturally as moving her own arms and limbs. Even if ordinary cultivators passed by her side, they would not perceive her aura in the slightest, taking her entirely for a mortal.
Only some true powerhouses in the starry sky could faintly perceive the boundless might hidden within her body.
Zhang Huan's cultivation, derived from the Heavenly Zun heritage of the Soldier Secret, was casually named the Lesser Soldier Secret by her. Using Dao patterns, she first forged a weapon embryo; it was yet to be refined, but its form was preliminarily established.
If one asked what kind of artifact cultivators practicing the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art were most likely to forge, it had to be the Great Dao Treasure Bottle, which was the most compatible with the demonic art, complementing it perfectly and bringing out its greatest capabilities.
In the future, once the divine embryo was condensed, the Great Dao Treasure Bottle would transform into nourishment along with the old body, so Zhang Huan did not worry too much. She would deal with her own artifact later, and for now used the treasure bottle to fulfill the preliminary conditions of the Lesser Soldier Secret.
She had also been continuously practicing the Ruthless Emperor's secret techniques, and could already cast several simultaneously, showing very promising progress.
Zhang Huan opened her eyes and calculated. With two years left until the deadline, she felt the time was almost right.
Over the past few years, because Zhang Huan had intentionally spread the news of her seclusion to cut off a great deal of trouble, no one had come to the mansion to request an audience for a long time.
Having been quiet for so long, Zhang Huan did not believe the Underworld still had eyes staring at her, and even if they did, she could muddle through.
The promise made years ago came in handy.
Zhang Huan stood up and left openly, taking a leisurely detour as if appreciating the unusual scenery of the desolate land.
First, she made a trip to the main hall to ask the person in charge why the healing items had yet to be seen.
Since the time to go to the battlefield was already near, and the items promised by the other party had yet to appear, Zhang Huan reproached him with due cause.
The other party shirked and spoke of difficulties, simply unable to produce the items. Zhang Huan feigned helplessness and left disgruntled.
Upon leaving the main hall, a sneer appeared on Zhang Huan's face. Confusing no tailing presence along the way, she headed straight for the Sea of White Bones.
She needed to settle this swiftly and silently finish off this spiritual old corpse on her way back to the main hall.
This place had long been laid with a Source Art array, and once activated, it would not leak a single sound for a time.
Zhang Huan directly activated the formation to isolate her inner world. Treading on the jagged white bones, she bombed out several fists directly above the burial cave, her blood Qi fierce and peerless, clearing a bottomless path straight through.
The other shore was where the old corpse resided. Corpse Qi was like poison—damp and mossy green—floating layer upon layer within the mausoleum. Coupled with the increasingly intense peerless aura, even a Great Saint would tremble with unease upon seeing it.
Zhang Huan waved her hand to fan away the corpse Qi, shattering it with sheer force. Enduring the pressure, she walked all the way to the front of the spiritual old corpse, standing before its coffin.
"Now, retreat. Nothing will happen."
"Step forward another inch, and you die!"
A faint divine sense emanated from the coffin; it was issuing a threat, its voice eerie and chilling like a ghost.
It did not want to manifest in the world, even though matters had reached this stage.
"Boom!"
Zhang Huan replied with a punch, striking heavily against the coffin. Even though it was crafted from divine wood and as hard as refined iron, it was still shattered to pieces.
A disheveled old corpse leaped out, its features indistinguishable save for two glaring red eyeballs peering through the gaps in its hair and radiating a horrifying light. Its whole body was withered and dry like firewood, looking just like a skeleton draped in a layer of skin, as if possessed by an eerie entity.
"Brat, I'll tear you to pieces!"
Corpse Qi surged a thousand and a hundredfold, and the old corpse let out a shrill, piercing howl, its eyes filled with utter venom.
It was enraged to the extreme, having been forced to interrupt at the most critical moment. Its potential was completely scattered, leaving no possibility of surpassing its previous incarnation.
The primary culprit was right before it, and the old corpse flared up on the spot, intent on tearing Zhang Huan to shreds.
As expected, its strength has plummeted.
Feeling the aura emanating from the old corpse's body, Zhang Huan's confidence surged.
It had not inherited everything from its original body, and now with its cultivation level damaged, it barely managed to avoid dropping out of the Quasi-Emperor realm.
If that was the case, even if its former self was some peerless quasi-emperor, Zhang Huan was not afraid and had the confidence to annihilate it!
Catching the old corpse's move, Zhang Huan retreated and hurled out the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar, enlarging it and inverting its mouth to descend, sealing the surrounding space tightly.
She added another layer of insurance: without invoking Extreme Dao Power, she relied purely on the demonic jar's hardness to restrict the old corpse's range of movement.
First she left it with nowhere to run, and then she produced the Soul Stabilizing Bead. A withered-yellow light illuminated the entire space, and the old corpse clutched its face, wailing as if terrified. It completely lost the death-defying, towering momentum of the previous moment, rolling around in a sorry state.
Under the illumination of this bead, the underworld corpse's strength was reduced to less than a tenth. Even if the old corpse still retained Quasi-Emperor Dao principles, they were difficult to deploy, and with Zhang Huan's Quasi-Emperor-grade physical body, subduing it was more than enough.
Closing in, Zhang Huan violently hammered the old corpse's head, drawing crimson blood while space itself vibrated under the might of her fists. The old corpse struggled and resisted, but all of it was suppressed, unable to stir up any waves.
Unable to even execute secret techniques and divine abilities proficiently, the old corpse was beaten passively, its spirit instantly plummeting into despair as its eyes held dread and panic.
It wanted to escape, but found no way out. Grabbed and suppressed by Zhang Huan, it was seized by secret techniques straight into the space within its spirit, its divine soul cowering and trembling.
So easy, truly beyond expectations.
Zhang Huan exhaled a breath and muttered to herself.
She had originally thought she would have to go through a fierce battle, but she had not expected the soul nurtured within this old corpse's body to be so weak. Despite possessing Quasi-Emperor strength, it did not know how to use it, and could only be beaten passively when encountering a cultivator of the same level.
After subduing it, Zhang Huan probed the soul and only then discovered that the spirit nurtured within this quasi-emperor corpse had never fought a battle before. It had always stayed within the body, failing to even inherit the original master's memories completely.
Well, after all, it was bred from a corpse, and furthermore had not successfully taken over the body yet; it was inherently incomplete.
Such a situation led to the result that although it had undeservedly obtained a portion of its predecessor's fortune, it lacked the corresponding experience, and could only rely on instinct to fight, rendering it so pathetic.
Yet no matter how pathetic, it was still not something an ordinary Great Saint could meddle with. Even instinctive use of Quasi-Emperor might carried enough power to easily strike down a Great Saint.
According to the demon box's speculation, this quasi-emperor predecessor was at least at the sixth heavenly layer of the Quasi-Emperor realm.
Having beaten it for so long yet only injuring some skin and flesh, protected as it was by laws, Zhang Huan took quite a while to drag the divine soul out from within the body.
If such a powerhouse's origin were completely swallowed by Zhang Huan, it would definitely help her ascend to a formidable level, and even refining it into corpse pills would yield several pieces.
Now that the quasi-emperor body was in hand, Zhang Huan looked at its soul and struck restrictions into it with a flick of her finger.
She was going to directly refine this soul to extract its maximum value.
There was still some time before leaving the Underworld, and since it was inconvenient for her true body to move around, she could just use this old corpse to continue digging up some graves for future use, ideally hollowing out the Underworld completely.
Giving them a taste of their own medicine, the Underworld's actions left Zhang Huan with no intention of showing any softness toward this underworld corpse.
A wisp of divine soul took charge of the old corpse. The clone stood up and looked at itself, while Zhang Huan inspected the old corpse's body through both perspectives and set down several more restrictions.
Cutting away the redundant memories within the clone, Zhang Huan parted ways with it—one returned to the mansion while the other went into concealment.
Before leaving, she withdrew the Source Art array, thoroughly erasing any traces of her ever having been here.
During the remaining time, the clone wandered everywhere in the desolate land, rapidly shuttling between different tombs by virtue of its quasi-emperor cultivation, reaping a bountiful harvest and condensing over a dozen corpse pills.
At the same time, Zhang Huan continuously comprehended the Dao principles exclusive to true quasi-emperors.
Unwittingly, the clone wandered to a cliff below which military banners fluttered and killing intent surged; this place was an encampment of ghost soldiers and underworld generals.
Zhang Huan suddenly felt a stir, recalling that when she had previously inquired about the old ghost of the Ruthless Bloodline she had slain, this was the exact location the female saint had told her about.
This person harbored an irreconcilable enmity with Zhang Huan and had once attempted to push her into a desperate situation.
She had originally planned to settle accounts with it when leaving after some time, but now that the clone had arrived in person, Zhang Huan gradually birthed killing intent.
Descending from the air, Zhang Huan questioned the highest-cultivation underworld general of the place. Cold sweat broke out on the general's forehead; recognizing that this was a powerhouse, he dared not offend and immediately ordered his subordinates to check.
Before long, news came that the old ghost was currently in the camp. The underworld general gave the order to capture it, and the next moment, an explosion sounded from a dwelling within the camp. Amidst the flames, a figure shot out and flew toward the distance.
Holding a crystalline disc in its hand, enhanced by a secret treasure, it flew extremely fast.
Humph, did you really think you could escape just like that? You underestimate me far too much!
Zhang Huan shouted in a deep voice, stepping out to shatter space and arriving directly beside the old ghost. She grabbed its neck and struck toward its bitter sea, entirely crippling its cultivation.
It really is you! You've actually advanced to a quasi-emperor?!
The old ghost cried out in unwillingness, shock filling its eyes as it could not believe that Zhang Huan had not only broken through, but had also run to the Underworld to seek revenge.
Dead people don't need to know that much. Go keep your son company and be reunited.
Not giving it any extra opportunities, Zhang Huan pierced its body with her fingertips and devoured the origin it had collected.
The Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art... No wonder you were in the Underworld...
The old ghost spoke with its final breath, as if figuring something out, before its true soul scattered into nothingness, disappearing without a trace.
Just as Zhang Huan had deduced, the old ghost's ability to advance to a saint king within the Underworld was inseparable from its practice of the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art—similarly acting as a guest in grave masters' homes to harvest origins.
After its death, it dropped a few sacred artifacts, which Zhang Huan swept her gaze across. The old ghost's ability to run so fast earlier was inextricably linked to one of them.
She put them away first, intending to see later if there was anything useful to her.
With old grudges avenged, Zhang Huan held no further attachments to the Underworld. Alternating between acting as a guest and comprehending quasi-emperor laws, the fifty-year deadline quickly arrived.
On this day, the imperial edict on the table emitted golden light, floating in the air, containing an unquestionable will and blessed by endless laws.
It was informing Zhang Huan that she needed to head to the main hall as soon as possible without delay; violators would be severely punished.
Zhang Huan glanced at it, swept her right hand upward, grabbed it in her palm, and flicked it away with a ping, launching it toward the horizon.
Taking advantage of this moment, the clone returned and quickly entered the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar, concealing its figure.
The mansion remained as it was. With nothing to carry, Zhang Huan walked straight out the door, her escape light turning into a shooting star as she rushed toward the main hall.
Upon reaching the main hall, seven or eight people were already waiting here—all external saints of varying strengths, with some still merely at the saint realm.
"Have you arrived? Since everyone is here, follow me."
A person in charge looked toward Zhang Huan, nodded in satisfaction, and greeted the group to travel together.
He explained that the Underworld was extremely far from that starry region, a distance saints might never be able to fly across in their entire lifetime, hence they needed to go to a domain gate to directly cross the void and be transported there.
The Underworld had long since deployed another corresponding domain gate there to serve as a stronghold, and once they were transported over, someone would immediately guide them, so there was no need to worry about anything else.
Zhang Huan nodded. For a Great Saint like her, crossing the endless void required serious treatment, let alone for saints; having a domain gate was exceptionally good, ensuring safety in transit.
This way, it would be much more convenient for her to get off halfway, and the rest of the people being transported with her were all inferior to her in strength, so they could not hinder Zhang Huan.
As a result, this trip would conclude smoothly.
Following the person in charge past storied pavilions and carved beams, they walked all the way up toward the upper levels of the main hall, reaching the top floor which Zhang Huan had never set foot on before.
A portal towering above the clouds came into view. It pierced straight into the river of stars, likely spanning a thousand miles in length. Though only a thin layer, it contained profound principles and was forged from countless rare treasures, boasting powerful functions.
"Alright, let's go."
The person in charge led them to stand upon the Five-Colored Altar, activating the domain gate with extraordinary means. Space flickered, and countless sights flashed within the gate, ultimately intersecting with another domain gate to reveal a grim, murderous encampment and a crowd that had long been waiting.
The altar bloomed with light as if sensing that distant call. A passage rose into the sky, and then, carrying Zhang Huan and the others, it vanished, flying out of the heavenly domain to traverse the void.
Wait a little longer... Once we reach the halfway point and are far from both places, I'll make a move.
Zhang Huan suppressed her active thoughts, telling herself to strike at the most suitable moment while gripping the demonic jar within her sleeve and accumulating power.
It seems an extra sentence was accidentally added to the end of the previous chapter; I wrote it in a daze.
Before you continue