Escaping the control of the Underworld so easily exceeded Zhang Huan's expectations. He had assumed the Underworld would place some kind of restriction on them, but there was no such action right up until the teleportation.
Is it overconfidence or do they have something to rely on?
Zhang Huan did not know the specific reason, but since he had the opportunity to take a free ride at the Underworld's expense, he would not hesitate.
Passing through the sea of stars, he traversed through uninhabited void. Until nearing the midpoint of the journey, Zhang Huan's gaze turned firm and a sharp aura climbed.
"Boom!"
An Extreme Dao aura oppressed the universe, affecting countless star domains. Even the teleportation was displaced, bending space as if a mountain pressed down upon the group.
"What... is going on? Why are there Extreme Dao fluctuations?"
"Does anyone have a way to stop the teleportation? The Extreme Dao fluctuations are right at the destination of the crossing."
The crowd panicked, all struck with terror. Amidst the suddenly appearing Extreme Dao fluctuations, the aura on Zhang Huan's body was naturally ignored.
Before he even used the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar, Extreme Dao laws appeared, with the coercion originating from the battlefield where they were about to be teleported.
The battlefield might have undergone an abnormal change. Some Extreme Dao forces have participated in it.
The cause of it all was a fairy treasure Demon God Flower. With such a massive commotion, it was likely reaching the moment of maturity, and these people could no longer wait to enter the fray.
Zhang Huan quickly analyzed a rough outline.
Just in the gap when everyone was panicking and trying to halt the teleportation, a middle-aged Sage-realm old man unusually remained calm in the face of danger, muttering to himself.
"I guessed these forces wouldn't be able to sit still, but I didn't expect to still be a step late."
He sighed regretfully, looked toward the other end emitting bursts of Extreme Dao fluctuations, and pulled out a battle halberd.
Red patterns covered it densely, fierce and malevolent aura lingered, and supreme laws emerged. This unexpectedly turned out to be an Extreme Dao Artifact as well.
The Imperial Weapon possessed a spirit, flying directly toward the other side to reinforce the battlefield, leaving the old man behind.
The teleportation failed under this aura, and the crowd dropped into the boundless void.
Looking at the gathered crowd, the old man shook his head, a sorrowful expression on his face.
"I originally intended to let you die in that place, but it can't be helped now. Let's grant you release early."
Disregarding the crowd's astonishment, a flash of murderous intent appeared in the old man's eyes, and his realm surged violently. He leaped past Saint King and Great Sage, only stabilizing when he reached the Quasi-Emperor aura.
Previously, he had actually concealed his cultivation with a secret technique all along, and not a single person on the scene had noticed.
He executed a divine art, and several black hands appeared on his body, rapidly grabbing toward the crowd. The grabbed individuals shuddered, their eyes turning blank, and a soul was snatched from their crown and sucked into the old man's mouth.
He intended to execute these external saints right now, planning a quick resolution to support the battlefield on the other side.
The black hands descended, quickly killing numerous saints. The remaining ones could not muster any will to resist, being wantonly slaughtered by a Quasi-Emperor. After merely a moment's effort, only Zhang Huan remained.
"Surrender your soul and keep your body, becoming a slave of my Underworld is your honor."
The old man laughed hideously, his tone gloomy, and turned to look at Zhang Huan.
"You're quite lucky. Not breaking through to the Quasi-Emperor realm actually let you live a bit longer. It's a pity your fate is ill-timed, catching up with a trip like this. Should I call it fortunate or unfortunate?"
Several black hands struck simultaneously, carrying Quasi-Emperor might. The old man concluded that Zhang Huan was completely incapable of resisting, and casually bantered.
Earlier, he had also witnessed Zhang Huan's Quasi-Emperor Tribulation, which had started strong and ended weak. It had ended hastily before even half of it was crossed, falling far short of a true Quasi-Emperor, barely stepping out half a step.
Such a realm made no difference to him compared to the others killed just moments ago. The Quasi-Emperor Dao runes descended, scattering souls and destroying bodies.
The old man confidently intended to harvest the body.
Yet a scene that caught him completely unawares appeared. A layer of light screen emerged, impervious to laws. The black hands actually failed to break through the defense, exploding to pieces right before his eyes.
"This, how is this possible!"
The old man exclaimed, but immediately he sensed an aura identical to his own—likewise the might of a Quasi-Emperor—making his eyes widen.
"Quasi-Emperor Body!"
The old man's face darkened, instantly connecting to numerous guesses in his mind.
"So that's how it is. To think you deliberately didn't break into the Quasi-Emperor realm... Did you know something and have been dormant all along?"
Being able to grasp their intentions with such accuracy meant he definitely knew quite a bit. Regardless of his motives for infiltrating the Underworld, this person absolutely could not be left alive.
If he were allowed to escape today, losing face would be the least of it; it might leak certain secrets that the Underworld had always strictly guarded.
The old man grew serious, his expression heavy and carrying fierce malevolence. Above his head, a Quasi-Emperor Artifact manifested, flying into the void and suppressing the space above the two of them.
"Having only a Quasi-Emperor Body still doesn't count as a true Quasi-Emperor."
While speaking, he continuously unleashed killing blows. Merely the aftermath tore apart vast areas of space, creating cracks. These were true Quasi-Emperor Dao runes, which even the void could not withstand.
Knowing the gap between himself and a Quasi-Emperor, Zhang Huan took advantage of the time the opponent spoke to lay down several Source Arts, pinning down the Underworld old man. He also released the Demon Box to collide with the Quasi-Emperor Artifact, and the two fought fiercely with neither side gaining the upper hand.
"Myriad Transformations Saint Art!"
Zhang Huan pointed out a beam of divine light, turning the extraordinary into decay, scattering all the killing blows. The remaining Quasi-Emperor might was blasted open with a single punch, shaking distant star domains.
"You—"
Not expecting Zhang Huan to break his killing blow so easily, the old man was momentarily speechless.
"It's not over yet!"
Seizing the timing, Zhang Huan revealed the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar hidden in his sleeve. Power that had long been accumulated poured out, continuously unleashing several Extreme Dao light waves.
To prevent the old man from not being thoroughly dead, Zhang Huan delivered a few extra strikes. After confirming that his life aura had dissipated, he stepped forward to collect the shattered corpse.
Once the Extreme Dao came out, even a Quasi-Emperor could not contend, falling like stray dogs and chickens.
If the man were still holding that battle halberd, Zhang Huan would not have entertained the thought of fighting him, but having lost the Extreme Dao Artifact and being hell-bent on taking Zhang Huan's life, he deserved to suffer this calamity.
Zhang Huan swallowed immense amounts of essence energy, absorbing the energy within the boundless void to replenish his lost Saint Power.
On the other side, seeing Zhang Huan swiftly slaughter the Underworld Quasi-Emperor, the Demon Box spewed filth, continuously jeering.
"Your daddy is gone! Let's see what you have to fight with, I'll beat you into artifact slag!"
Looking at the Quasi-Emperor Artifact that was still tangling with the Demon Box and had yet to determine a victor, Zhang Huan projected the jar's opening onto it, imprisoning it. The Demon Box seized the opportunity to knock off several fragments.
Streaks of dark light shot out from the jar, entangling its body and dragging it inward, unable to break free despite its struggle.
"Hoo—"
Calming his mind, Zhang Huan breathed a sigh of relief and recalled the Demon Box.
The fifty-year trip to the Underworld came to an end here. Although he experienced quite a bit, the ending was finally complete, and Zhang Huan's harvest was bountiful.
Along the way, he learned many of the Underworld's secrets, and at least he was not refined into a war slave, successfully breaking away. As for those other external saints, Zhang Huan could only wish them good luck.
From then on, he only needed to exclusively consider the matter of forming the divine embryo, and Zhang Huan instantly felt relaxed.
Suddenly, a divine sense transmitted from over a thousand miles away, echoing in Zhang Huan's ears.
"The Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar? Are you the Heir of the Ruthless?"
At this level, a thousand miles and being right before one's eyes made no difference. Realizing someone had been hiding nearby all along, Zhang Huan was horrified, raising his hand to strike out a wave of Extreme Dao power, determined to suppress and kill him regardless of who the other party was.
The light wave crushed everything, piercing through multiple giant stars, its aura extending to several domains away. The person hiding in the void also revealed their trace.
"Oh my, such cautious thinking, very characteristic of this lineage."
A middle-aged-looking man had a face carved by a knife, with a stern expression. He was likewise a Quasi-Emperor, even more powerful than the Underworld Quasi-Emperor from just a moment ago, and he wielded an Imperial Weapon on his body!
Otherwise, he could not have emerged unscathed from the Extreme Dao light wave. Rhythms of the Extreme Dao fluctuating on his body proved that he had also utilized an Imperial Weapon.
"Have Imperial Weapons become so common now? Two of them appeared on a single battlefield simultaneously. Following the aura of the Demonic Art, I didn't expect to see another one."
The middle-aged man rubbed his chin, asking with a puzzled expression on his face.
"What Demonic Art? I have no idea, stop trying to establish a connection."
Zhang Huan wore a expressionless face, offering no explanations to him whatsoever. He urged the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar and galloped in the opposite direction.
The moment this man spoke the words "Demonic Art," Zhang Huan sensed something was wrong, let alone the fact that this person had been watching for who knows how long, hiding in the dark with who knows what intentions.
Having no intention of negotiating with him, Zhang Huan departed on the spot.
A divine sense transmitted into his ears once again.
"Having practiced the Young Master's Demonic Art while carrying the Ruthless Emperor's inheritance, this is truly bizarre."
Finished speaking, he pinched a hand seal, triggering some kind of restriction.
The Spirit Siphon Unification trait within Zhang Huan's body, which had long since fallen dormant and unused, gradually revived. His cultivation boiled along with it, his aura fluctuating and turning unsteadily hollow.
Zhang Huan's expression changed. He was indeed a person from the Demonic Art master's side. At this moment, he felt his cultivation come alive, uncontrollably resisting him and impossible to suppress.
Within his perception, the source entirely originated from this man's restriction.
This person was related to the true master of the Demonic Art.
Zhang Huan concluded, his heart sinking to the bottom.
The cultivation he could mobilize was gradually diminishing. At this rate, within a quarter of an hour he would even find it difficult to use Saint Power.
The Demonic Art master truly had left behind a backdoor. Hearing this person refer to the other party as the Young Master, they belonged to a force possessing an Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon.
Zhang Huan stopped, facing off against the leisurely pursuing man behind him.
Directly sealing his cultivation, sealing more as time passed—if one were to engage in a life-or-death battle using an Imperial Weapon while remaining unaware, and the opponent pulled a stunt like this, it would truly be a catch-guarding killing blow.
"In my impression, Extreme Dao forces don't seem to have such a Demonic Art. Does that mean you come from a forbidden zone?"
Zhang Huan took the initiative to ask.
The combination of a Quasi-Emperor and an Imperial Weapon was nearly insolvable. Coupled with the opponent's unique trait of perceiving Demonic Art practitioners, escape was impossible; he could only face this combination head-on.
The middle-aged man stood before him, a trace of a smile revealing itself on his stern face.
"What good would telling you do? Just obediently go back and act as provisions for the Young Master, and stop playing those little tricks."
Seeming to have dealt with this many times, the man simply disdained explaining anything further, advising Zhang Huan not to waste useless effort.
"Provisions like you for the Demonic Art cannot escape the fate of being swallowed. The moment you practiced the Demonic Art, it was already destined. No matter how you struggle, it's useless."
His tone was gentle yet firm, believing so from the bottom of his heart.
Both sides having Imperial Weapons meant neither could do anything to the other, but now one side's strength had developed a problem, and dragging it out would inevitably lead to his victory.
This restriction was foolproof for anyone who had practiced the Demonic Art. Even holding an Imperial Weapon, they could not fend off a problem originating from within themselves.
"How truly high and mighty. If there's a chance, I really want to let you see firsthand what the so-called Young Master looks like when I behead them."
Zhang Huan's gaze was like ten-thousand-year-old ice, sneering at the Young Master the man spoke of.
In his heart, he had long since prepared himself to face the Demonic Art master, and sooner or later he would contend for the Dao with the other party.
In the end, who would seize the prize remained unknown, yet this person jumped to conclusions early, not even afraid of the massive shark hooked by the entire boat flipping it over.
Right now, although his own cultivation had issues, it did not mean he could only obediently wait to be slaughtered.
He still had a Quasi-Emperor avatar, not yet released as a trump card.
Although he had already refined most of its origin into a Corpse Pill, its aura differed very little from the nameless Quasi-Emperor before him.
If they wanted him as provisions, then there was only battle.
The opponent specialized in capturing those who practiced the Demonic Art, knew the restriction incantations of the Demonic Art, and carried an Imperial Weapon. Clearly, he deeply enjoyed the trust of the so-called Young Master the man spoke of.
Today, he would first sever an arm of that Young Master, and wait for another day to behead the person himself.
Zhang Huan poured the remaining Saint Power headfirst into the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar. Lacking cultivation was no matter; his Quasi-Emperor body was the finest means of slaughter.
"Oh, you still plan to make a desperate struggle? What kind of waves can your Quasi-Emperor body flip up? It's nothing more than futility."
The middle-aged man shook his head, deeming Zhang Huan's action as the final desperate counterattack of someone at the end of their rope. Having seen too much of it, he simply did not care.
Responding to him was the head-on collision between Extreme Dao forces. Zhang Huan exhausted his strength, fighting a decisive battle against the opponent within the uninhabited void.
Two laws submerged the vast starry sky, thick and supreme Extreme Dao auras spreading and overflowing. Even another distant battlefield, no matter how far away, clearly perceived this fluctuation.
An Extreme Dao War was rare since ancient times, and waging battles in two places simultaneously was even rarer. All the powerhouses in the universe felt uneasy, silently waiting for the outcome.
"Boom!"
Dark light swallowed the sea of stars, laws churning. On the other side, however, there was only the Extreme Dao aura; that Quasi-Emperor intentionally concealed his weapon's true form to prevent being recognized, harboring apprehensions!
"Demon Box, help me refine the divine essence and supply the Imperial Weapon."
Releasing the Demon Box, Zhang Huan instantly scattered countless ancient Medicine Kings, divine sources, and other Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
"Fight him to the death!"
The Demon Box tried its absolute best, unceasingly grinding the Medicine Kings into pulverized sludge, turning them into pure energy and continuously pouring it into the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar.
Although this approach was a waste of natural treasures that would make old monsters stomp their feet in anger, Zhang Huan possessed a deep foundation and no longer cared about these losses—even if they were exhausted in today's slaughter, it was worth it.
Seeing Zhang Huan be so extravagant, sparing no effort to use various exotic treasures to fill the vacancy, the Quasi-Emperor on the other side felt slightly startled as well.
Fighting like this, he truly wouldn't be able to take Zhang Huan down for a moment. He didn't have that many items to feed the bottomless pit of the Imperial Weapon; relying purely on his own cultivation to urge the Imperial Weapon consumed quite a bit.
"Truly unexpected. It seems I won't be able to take you down without revealing some real skill."
The nameless Quasi-Emperor gave a light shout. The Imperial Weapon revealed its true form, and another law revived, instantly reversing the situation and faintly taking the upper hand.
He was a Quasi-Emperor after all. Unless two Imperial Weapons were urged to their absolute limits, the energy a Quasi-Emperor could instigate in an instant far exceeded what a Quasi-Emperor Artifact could extract from exotic treasures.
He charged at Zhang Huan with all his might. The Demon Box was frightened by this might into desperately supplying energy. Even with the protection of the Imperial Weapon, Zhang Huan felt he could not breathe; the opponent clearly intended to take him down in one go.
Flying closer and closer, space was compressed, forming a vacuum unable to bear this force. Zhang Huan desperately manipulated the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar to resist.
With only dozens of steps left, Zhang Huan's gaze condensed. The Quasi-Emperor avatar shot out like a bolt of lightning, executing the Soldier Character Art the moment it broke free of the Imperial Weapon's protective shield, severing the opponent's connection to the Imperial Weapon and causing it to lose control.
Seizing the one-in-a-ten-thousandth fleeting opportunity, the main body suppressed the Imperial Weapon with the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar, while the avatar self-destructed right before the nameless Quasi-Emperor.
I actually made the exact same mistake in the previous chapter, I must repent.
Before you continue