The old man stared fixedly at Qi Bei. The murkiness and weariness in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a crystalline gleam.
"Young man, you truly are formidable. Do you know whom you just killed? That was Venerable Wutian, the 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 was still the powerful soul of a Saint Mage." A faint smile touched the old man's lips as he gazed at Qi Bei appreciatively.
"Actually, if it weren't for you, Elder, I..."
The old man shook his head, cutting Qi Bei off. "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 could be considered a nominal disciple of Dreamy Sea, but who would have thought he would collude with Venerable Wutian, defect to the evil dark faction, and set a trap to lure me in? Though I fought with my life, I could only heavily injure Venerable Wutian, while I myself was imprisoned. The reason I didn't die was that Venerable Wutian wanted the Nine Nether Chapters on my person." A cold smile appeared on Nan Wuya's face.
The Nine Nether Chapters?
"Back then, the Goddess of Life and the God of Light resealed the Nether Gate. Unfortunately, both of them suffered severe injuries and failed to complete the task. There were nine flaws in the seal, so they used the Nine Nether Chapters to cover them. Afterward, they divided the Nine Nether Chapters into nine portions and entrusted them to the Five Great Holy Lands and the leaders who had rendered great service among the four great races: humans, the Orc Race, the Elf Race, and the Giant Race. A hundred thousand years have passed. The Nine Nether Chapters held by the Five Great Holy Lands remain intact, but those among the four great races have been scattered across the world as time passed and the original custodians died.
"Back then, the remnants of the nine levels of the Netherworld gradually grew powerful. They searched everywhere for the Nine Nether Chapters, hoping to reopen the Nether Gate and shroud the entire world in darkness." Nan Wuya spoke in a heavy tone.
Qi Bei listened with his mouth agape. So there were actually such hidden secrets behind all this.
"The Nine Nether Chapters must never fall into the hands of the dark forces. Otherwise, if the Nether Gate is reopened, the world will face a calamity even greater than the one a hundred 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 agree to return the Chapter of Fear to Dreamy Sea, I will condense my lifelong knowledge into a Soul Book and pass it on to you." Nan Wuya stared into Qi Bei's eyes and spoke each word distinctly.
"I..."
Qi Bei had only uttered one word when Nan Wuya's expression changed. His body grew increasingly transparent. He sighed and said, "There's no time. Now that things have come to this, I can only choose to trust you."
With that, Nan Wuya's entire body suddenly transformed into a ball of white light. After changing forms several times, the light finally became a transparent book radiating holy light and a pale-blue pentagonal token. At the same time, a gray sheet of unknown material drifted down, covered in mysterious runes.
Qi Bei was stunned for a long while before slowly reaching out. The moment his large hand touched the transparent book floating in midair, the book turned into a streak of white light and entered between his brows. At that moment, the gray sheet drifted into his palm on its own.
Suddenly, Qi Bei's body trembled. He found himself surrounded by monsters, ghosts, and vengeful spirits, surging toward him like a landslide and an avalanche, gnawing at his heart and soul. Some fear-filled memories buried beneath layers of dust were magnified without limit, dragging him into an endless abyss of terror.
Just then, the Dragon Seal in Qi Bei's left palm suddenly shone with blinding golden light. Like sunlight suddenly appearing beneath a sky veiled in gloom, it scattered all the emotions of fear.
"Fear? I, Qi Bei, have gone through life-and-death trials and visited the gates of hell several times. What do I still have to fear?" Qi Bei smiled faintly and put away the Chapter of Fear and the token.
At that moment, Qi Bei looked toward Venerable Wutian's mangled corpse and could not help sighing inwardly. A dignified Dark Saint Mage had actually died right before him, and in such a gruesome state at that.
Qi Bei picked up Venerable Wutian's skeletal staff, then searched his corpse and stripped off every piece of jewelry he was wearing in one go. What a joke—how could anything on a Saint Mage not be a treasure? He would study them carefully later.
Qi Bei estimated the time and rushed outside. He was terribly weak now. If Marquis Lanling caught him red-handed, things would get ugly.
When Qi Bei crawled out of the underground tunnel, he found Marquis Lanling's bedroom still empty and could not help breathing a sigh of relief.
Just as Qi Bei was about to slip away, he suddenly stopped and looked toward the row of ** puppets in the long cabinet behind the bookshelf.
"Old rabbit, I can't let you get off that easily." Qi Bei gave an evil grin. The black longsword in his hand swept out, directly severing the lower bodies of those puppets. They clattered to the floor.
Qi Bei left the bedroom, took out a black bottle, and opened its cap. An invisible, colorless scent drifted out.
Before long, furious roars from the Giant Sun Elephants once again rang out across Marquis Lanling's residence.
"This is bad! The Giant Sun Elephants have broken free of their cages! Ah..."
"Quick, someone come! These two Giant Sun Elephants have gone berserk! Kill them!"
Marquis Lanling's residence descended into chaos. The powerful guards flew through the air while Qi Bei took advantage of the disorder to dash out of the estate.
After leaving the estate, Qi Bei changed out of his outfit and once again became the Fifth Young Master of Nord. He leisurely returned to the Nord Residence and entered his own courtyard.
Night was slowly receding. It would probably be light in another hour.
"Young Master, you're back." Hearing the commotion, Phantom came out and opened the door, draped in a long robe.
Qi Bei tugged at the corner of his mouth in a smile. Suddenly, his body went limp and he fell toward Phantom.
"Young Master!" Phantom cried out softly and hurried forward to support Qi Bei. Only then did she notice that his handsome face had gone deathly pale, while his temples were covered in fine beads of sweat.
"Don't make a fuss. Help me inside. I'm just a little drained." Qi Bei sounded exhausted. Now that he had returned to his courtyard, he no longer needed to force himself to stay upright.
The two attacks of the First Transformation of the Divine Dragon had already emptied the inner strength in his body. Escaping Marquis Lanling's residence afterward had also taken considerable effort. In truth, by the time he walked all the way back, his body had long since reached its limit.
Phantom supported Qi Bei into the room and walked toward the large bed.
"Ah..." As she helped Qi Bei toward the bed, he fell straight onto it, taking her down with him. She landed on top of him.
Bad man, did you do that on purpose?
Just as Phantom was thinking this, she heard Qi Bei's deep breathing beside her. The moment he touched the bed, he had already fallen asleep.
Phantom smiled faintly and climbed off Qi Bei. Looking closely, she could not help being filled with heartache. Following a thin trail of blood along his neck, she lifted his clothes and saw a large patch of blood staining his undergarments. His hands and feet were covered in tiny wounds as well. She had no idea what he had gone through that night.
As Qi Bei slept, both his body and consciousness relaxed to the utmost.
The first thread of golden, mist-like inner strength appeared in his empty Dantian and began circulating on its own.
During the circulation, large amounts of Battle Qi energy were drawn into his body and entered his middle Dantian.
The five rotating Battle Qi vortices continued to grow stronger. Suddenly, a new vortex split off, forming six vortices.
Without realizing it, Qi Bei had already reached the peak of an intermediate warrior.
(New Book Rankings: I'm about to lose my fifteenth-place spot. Please protect my chrysanthemum...)
Before you continue