Nine Nether Chapters

The old man stared fixedly at Qi Bei, the turbidity and fatigue in his eyes gone, replaced by a crystal-clear radiance.

"Impressive youth, do you know who you just killed? That was Venerable Wutian, a Dark Saint Mage who caused the Five Great Holy Lands to suffer heavy losses two hundred years ago. Even though I injured him and his cultivation fell to that of an Earth Grade Mage, his soul remained that of a powerful Saint Mage," the old man said with a smile, admiring Qi Bei.

"Actually, if it weren't for you, old sir, I..."

The old man shook his head, interrupting Qi Bei. "Don't speak, listen to me. I don't have much time left."

"I am Nan Wuya, the Grand Elder of Dreamy Sea, one of the Five Great Holy Lands. Marquis Lanling was a registered disciple of Dreamy Sea, but I never expected him to collude with Venerable Wutian and defect to the evil Dark Faction. He set a trap to lure me in. Although I fought with my life, I could only heavily injure Venerable Wutian, while I was imprisoned. The only reason I didn't die is that Venerable Wutian wanted the Nine Nether Chapters from me," Nan Wuya said with a cold smile.

The Nine Nether Chapters?

"Back then, the Goddess of Life and the God of Light resealed the Nether Gate. Unfortunately, they were both severely injured and couldn't complete the task. There were nine weak points in the seal, which they covered with the Nine Nether Chapters. Afterward, they divided the Nine Nether Chapters into nine parts and entrusted them to the Five Great Holy Lands and the leaders of the four major races – the Human Race, Orc Race, Elf Race, and Giant Race – who had made great contributions. Ten thousand years have passed, and the Nine Nether Chapters of the Five Great Holy Lands remain intact. However, the Nine Nether Chapters of the four major races were lost over time as the original guardians died.

The remnants from the Nine Layers of the Netherworld gradually gained power. They have been searching everywhere for the Nine Nether Chapters, intending to reopen the Nether Gate and plunge the entire world into darkness," Nan Wuya said with a heavy tone.

Qi Bei listened, dumbfounded. He never knew there was such a secret history.

"The Nine Nether Chapters must not fall into the hands of the Dark Forces. Otherwise, if the Nether Gate is reopened, the world will face a catastrophe even greater than that of ten thousand years ago. After I disappear, a Dreamy Sea Token proving my identity and the Chapter of Fear from the Nine Nether Chapters will appear. If you promise to deliver the Chapter of Fear back to Dreamy Sea, I will condense all my lifelong learning into a Soul Book and pass it on to you," Nan Wuya said, staring into Qi Bei's eyes, word by word.

"I..."

As soon as Qi Bei uttered one word, Nan Wuya's expression changed, and his body became even more transparent. He sighed, "It's too late. At this point, I have no choice but to trust you."

With that, Nan Wuya's entire body suddenly transformed into a ball of white light. This white light shifted and changed, finally forming a transparent book radiating holy light, and a pentagonal light blue token. At the same time, a gray piece of paper, made of an unknown material, drifted down, covered in mysterious runes.

Qi Bei was stunned for a long time. He slowly reached out his hand. The moment he touched the transparent book floating in mid-air, it turned into a beam of white light and entered his forehead. At the same time, the gray paper floated down into his palm.

Suddenly, Qi Bei's body trembled. He felt as if his vision was filled with monsters, ghosts, and vengeful spirits, all surging towards him, gnawing at his heart and soul. Deep within his heart, memories of fear, long covered in dust, were magnified infinitely, dragging him into an abyss of endless terror.

Just then, the Dragon Seal on the palm of Qi Bei's left hand suddenly lit up with a dazzling golden light, like sunlight breaking through dark clouds, dispelling all fear.

"Fear? I, Qi Bei, have faced life and death multiple times and visited the gates of hell. What do I have to fear?" Qi Bei smiled faintly, putting away the Chapter of Fear and the token.

Qi Bei then looked at the bloody corpse of Venerable Wutian, feeling a sense of emotion. A dignified Dark Saint Mage had died right before his eyes, and in such a gruesome manner.

Qi Bei picked up Venerable Wutian's skull staff and then searched his body, stripping off all the jewelry he was wearing. It was a joke; what on the body of a Saint Mage wasn't a treasure? He would study them properly later.

Qi Bei estimated the time and rushed out. He was extremely weak now. If Marquis Lanling caught him, it wouldn't be fun.

When Qi Bei emerged from the underground hole, he found Marquis Lanling's bedroom still empty, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as Qi Bei was about to slip away, he suddenly stopped. He looked at the rows of ** puppets behind the bookshelf.

"Old rabbit, I can't let you off easy." Qi Bei grinned wickedly, and with a swing of his black longsword, he directly severed the lower halves of the puppets, which clattered to the floor.

Qi Bei left the bedroom, took out a black bottle, and opened the lid. A colorless, odorless scent spread out.

Soon, the roars of enraged Giant Sun Elephants could be heard again from Marquis Lanling's mansion.

"This is bad, the Giant Sun Elephants have broken free from their cages, ah..."

"Quick, someone! These two Giant Sun Elephants have gone mad, kill them quickly!"

Marquis Lanling's mansion descended into chaos. The guards flew through the air, while Qi Bei, taking advantage of the confusion, slipped out of the mansion.

After leaving the mansion, Qi Bei changed his attire and returned to being the Fifth Young Master Nord, strolling back to the Nord mansion and entering his own courtyard.

The night was slowly receding, and dawn was probably about an hour away.

"Young Master, you're back." Hearing the commotion, Phantom, wearing a long robe, opened the door and came out.

Qi Bei grinned, and suddenly his body went limp, and he fell towards Phantom.

"Young Master!" Phantom exclaimed softly, quickly stepping forward to support Qi Bei. She then noticed that Qi Bei's handsome face was pale, and his temples were covered in fine beads of sweat.

"Don't make a sound, help me inside. I'm just a bit exhausted," Qi Bei said tiredly. Now that he was back in his own courtyard, he didn't need to pretend anymore.

The two attacks from the First Transformation of the Divine Dragon had completely depleted his inner force. Escaping Marquis Lanling's mansion had also taken a lot of effort. All the way back, his body had already reached its limit.

Phantom helped Qi Bei into the room and towards the large bed.

"Ah..." As Phantom helped Qi Bei towards the bed, he collapsed onto it, pulling her down with him, so she landed on top of him.

Bad guy, was that intentional?

Phantom thought this as she heard Qi Bei's deep breathing. He had fallen asleep the moment he hit the bed.

Phantom smiled slightly and climbed off Qi Bei. Taking a closer look, her eyes filled with heartache. She lifted his clothes along his neck and saw large bloodstains on his inner garment. Looking at his hands and feet, she saw small wounds everywhere. She wondered what he had gone through all night.

Qi Bei, in his deep sleep, was completely relaxed in body and consciousness.

The first wisp of golden, mist-like inner force appeared in his empty Dantian, beginning to circulate on its own.

During the circulation, a large amount of Battle Qi energy was drawn into his body and entered the middle Dantian.

The five rotating Battle Qi cyclones were constantly growing. Suddenly, a new cyclone separated, forming six cyclones.

Unbeknownst to him, Qi Bei had already reached the peak of an intermediate warrior.

(My position on the new book rankings is at risk, please help protect my butt...)