The Nether Spring's Shadow Returns to the Primordial World; the Calamity Wave Settles, but Undercurrents Rise

Beside the Netherworld's frigid pool, Yin Wind howled, churning the dense, lingering baleful aura.

Tongtian felt the transformative power surging through him. The vast magic power of a Late Quasi-Saint was like a slumbering primordial beast, able to unleash Towering Waves with the slightest stir of his thoughts. This new magic power, which combined the qualities of chaos and the netherworld, was not only mightier than before but also gave him a strange sense of control, as if it were subtly attuned to the Nine Netherworlds around him.

"Master, your cultivation..." Saint Mother Wudang sensed the unfathomable aura surrounding Tongtian, one that also blended subtly with the Underworld's environment. She was both startled and delighted.

"I've made a little progress." Tongtian nodded faintly and glanced at the warped, shadowy space around them. "Empress Pingxin's message said the Western Teachings and Chan Teachings are conducting a massive manhunt?"

"Exactly!" Wudang's expression turned grave, and she hurriedly explained, "According to the message Empress Pingxin sent, the news of Dukong Hall's collapse and Ksitigarbha's grievous injuries and unconsciousness has already spread. Saint Zhunti was enraged and personally issued an order, commanding all Western Teachings forces in the Underworld to search for you with all their strength and promising a generous reward. Guangchengzi and the others from the Chan Teachings have also seized the opportunity to make trouble. Under the pretext of 'maintaining order in the Underworld,' they've sent a large number of disciples into the Netherworld, where they're setting up checkpoints and searching everywhere. Several main routes out of the Underworld are now under tight surveillance, including Ghost Gate Pass, the end of Yellow Springs Road, and even some hidden rifts between the yin and yang realms."

A cold glint flashed in Tongtian's eyes. The Western Teachings and Chan Teachings had reacted quickly, but that was within his expectations.

"Did Empress Pingxin have any other instructions?" he asked gravely.

"Empress Pingxin said that she can temporarily suppress the dissenting voices within the Wu Clan and restrict some of the Western Teachings' and Chan Teachings' actions under the pretext of reorganizing the Underworld. But she can't openly stop them from 'hunting down wanted criminals.' She told us to be careful and gave us another route out." Saint Mother Wudang took out a black jade talisman condensed from the Power of Reincarnation and handed it to Tongtian. "This is a temporary pass talisman for the Spring of Rebirth. The spring lies beneath an extremely remote stretch of the River of Forgetfulness. It's incredibly well hidden and connects to an uninhabited ruin of an Ancient Battlefield in the Primordial World. But...the space around the spring is highly unstable, and it's filled with powerful vengeful spirits and Spatial Rifts. It's exceptionally dangerous; even ordinary Grand Unity Golden Immortals wouldn't dare venture there lightly."

Tongtian took the jade talisman. A warm yet mysterious fluctuation of the Power of Reincarnation flowed from it into his fingertips. He gave it a brief examination and knew it could indeed guide them and briefly stabilize the passage.

"Seeking safety in the midst of danger. Excellent." Tongtian put the talisman away. "The more dangerous the place, the less likely those baldies and hypocrites will be to venture there. We'll take that route."

Without further hesitation, the dark-gray Chaos Netherworld Magic Power around him began to flow, completely concealing his and Saint Mother Wudang's auras. They seemed to become part of the Netherworld itself, beyond the reach of ordinary Spiritual Sense.

Their figures flickered, like wisps of smoke melting into the shadows. Following the secret route Empress Pingxin had provided, they evaded several patrols of Buddha Soldiers and Chan disciples, silently making their way toward the most desolate stretch of the lower River of Forgetfulness.

The Underworld was indeed tense along the way. Patrols of Buddhist Guardian Vajras in golden armor and Chan cultivators in Taoist robes emblazoned with the Eight Trigrams crisscrossed the area, their expressions grim. Their powerful Spiritual Senses swept over every place they passed like combs. At key points along the routes, glaring Buddhist arrays and Taoist restrictions had been laid down, their radiance blazing as they stood on high alert.

Yet Tongtian's cultivation and his affinity with the power of the Netherworld far exceeded their expectations. He could often sense the patrols' routes in advance, hide perfectly in the Underworld's abundant deathly and baleful auras, or slip through the tiniest gaps in the restrictions at the last possible moment. Again and again, he narrowly evaded every search.

Saint Mother Wudang followed close behind, her reverence for her master growing ever deeper. She felt as if her master had become one with the Netherworld Underworld, walking between shadows and death as effortlessly as if on level ground.

Several hours later, they reached an exceptionally remote stretch of the River of Forgetfulness. The water here was no longer a muddy yellow but a strange, inky black. The river's surface was perfectly still, yet it radiated a chilling, deathly silence that made one's heart tremble. Jagged boulders and withered netherwood trees lined both banks. There wasn't a ghost in sight, and even the wind seemed to have been swallowed.

Following the jade talisman's directions, Tongtian fixed his gaze on what appeared to be an ordinary cliff along the bank. He activated the talisman, and a faint black light fell upon the rock face. The stone rippled like water, revealing a deep, downward-sloping opening just wide enough for one person. Bone-chilling Yin Wind poured out of it, carrying the faint wails of countless Vengeful Souls and the piercing sound of space being torn apart.

"Stay close to me," Tongtian said in a low voice before stepping into the opening. Saint Mother Wudang followed without hesitation.

The moment they entered, it was as if they had stepped into another world. The passage twisted downward. Its walls were no longer made of stone, but of warped spatial barriers and congealed resentment, a bizarre and perilous sight. From time to time, incorporeal Vengeful Souls shrieked and lunged at them, capable of corroding the Nascent Soul. Hidden Spatial Rifts also appeared without warning, radiating a destructive force.

Tongtian's expression remained unchanged. A phantom of the Chaos Bead appeared above his head, casting down streams of dark-gray energy to protect them both. The Vengeful Souls crashed into the currents and dissolved with a shriek, like snow beneath the spring sun. When Spatial Rifts appeared, he either sensed them in advance and deftly avoided them or simply punched them. His Chaos Netherworld Magic Power was so domineering that he could forcibly shatter even the smallest rifts!

He strode onward, seemingly unstoppable. This perilous place, where even Grand Unity Golden Immortals hesitated to tread, had instead become a proving ground for his new power.

Following behind him, Saint Mother Wudang watched with her heart pounding, yet her blood burned with excitement. Her master's strength had already reached such a level!

After journeying for an unknown length of time through the deep, winding passage, they finally saw a faint glimmer of light ahead, accompanied by even more violent and chaotic Spatial Fluctuations.

At the passage's end lay a vast underground cavern. In its center was a constantly spinning whirlpool of spring water that radiated a jet-black glow: the Spring of Rebirth! The space around the spring was riddled with cracks like a shattered mirror. Countless powerful Vengeful Souls swirled and roared around it like a black tide, trying to keep anyone from approaching.

A battle had already broken out near the spring!

Several monks dressed in the Western Teachings' robes had formed a crude Buddhist array and were struggling to hold off the Vengeful Souls, barely managing to defend themselves. They had clearly discovered this hidden passage and come to set an ambush or investigate, but had underestimated its dangers and become trapped by the spirits.

A cold look entered Tongtian's eyes. What a small world!

He did not reveal himself at once. Instead, he hid nearby and watched with cold indifference. The strongest of the monks was only at the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. Under the relentless assault of the Vengeful Souls and the sudden appearance of Spatial Rifts, the Buddhist array's light was rapidly dimming. It was on the verge of collapse.

"Senior Brother! We can't hold on! Send for help!" a young monk cried in terror.

"Shut up! The aura here is in chaos. The distress signal won't get through! Just hold on until the elders of our sect notice something's wrong—" Blood spilled from the middle-aged monk leading them as he shouted. Before he could finish, a massive Spatial Rift appeared without warning behind the Buddhist array. It swallowed two monks in an instant, without even giving them time to scream!

The Buddhist array collapsed at once! The remaining monks turned deathly pale, despair filling their eyes.

Just as the countless Vengeful Souls swarmed toward them, ready to tear them apart and devour them, Tongtian moved! He wasn't there to save them. His target was the Spring of Rebirth!

He shot forward like lightning, ignoring the Vengeful Souls lunging at him. Dark-gray magic power erupted around him, forming a raging vortex. Wherever he passed, the Vengeful Souls shrieked as they were swept up, shredded, and devoured, becoming nourishment for his magic power!

Like a gray sword, he charged toward the spring, unstoppable!

The Western Teachings monks had already closed their eyes, waiting to die. But when a terrifying figure flashed past and cleared away a great swath of Vengeful Souls, they froze in shock. When they recognized the figure, their souls nearly fled in terror!

"Demon Tongtian!"

Tongtian couldn't be bothered with these insignificant pests. He reached the edge of the spring, sensed the chaotic yet stable power of the spatial passage within, and shouted to Wudang, "Let's go!"

He grabbed Saint Mother Wudang. His magic power surged around them, transforming them into a stream of dark-gray light that plunged straight into the spinning, pitch-black spring!

"Stop him!" the monk leading them roared instinctively, but none of the others dared move.

The spring shuddered violently, then quickly returned to normal. The Vengeful Souls, having lost their target, turned all their fury and greed toward the remaining Western Teachings monks...

After a dizzying journey through space, Tongtian and Saint Mother Wudang stumbled out onto an ancient altar in a barren mountain valley.

The sky was Misty Grey, and the land was dark red. A faint smell of blood and rusted metal hung in the air. Broken weapons and enormous dried bones, their owners belonging to unknown creatures, lay scattered all around.

This was the ruin of the Ancient Battlefield Empress Pingxin had mentioned, on the western edge of the Primordial World, far from any human settlement.

"At last, we're out." Saint Mother Wudang let out a long breath, still shaken.

Tongtian stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance. His eyes seemed to pierce through endless space, looking upon Kunlun Mountain, Mount Sumeru, and the Heavenly Court.

The journey through the Underworld had been fraught with danger, but it had brought great rewards. He had not only rescued and restored Sanxiao and formed a favorable connection with Empress Pingxin, but also foiled the schemes of the Western Teachings and Chan Teachings. His cultivation had advanced to the Late Quasi-Saint realm, his Dao Foundation had grown more complete, and he had acquired a mysterious Otherworld Fragment.

More importantly, he had glimpsed the Western Teachings' mad plan concerning the calamity from another world, as well as the secret of the Chaos Demon God that might be sealed deep within the cycle of reincarnation.

The turmoil he had stirred had made the situation in the Primordial World even more unpredictable.

"Master, where do we go now?" Wudang asked.

Tongtian turned his gaze back, his eyes deep and cold. "First, we'll find a secluded place to fully stabilize my cultivation and refine that Otherworld Fragment. After that..." A cold smile curled his lips.

"It's time to let the disciples listed on the Investiture of the Gods know their master has returned." "And it's time to collect some of the debts they owe me." He stood upon the desolate Ancient Battlefield, like a peerless ferocious sword about to leave its sheath, his baleful aura soaring into the sky.

With his return, the Primordial World was destined for another storm.