Lin Taichu settled Meng Qi in a guest room, then followed the Pavilion Master to the main hall at the back of the mountain.
Countless Jade Slips floated within the hall, each radiating an ancient aura.
He casually picked one up. The moment his divine sense entered it, he saw a terrifying scene—a half-human, half-serpent creature devouring the essence of the sun and moon, with Yin-Yang Two Qi swirling around its body.
"Is this... the first Pavilion Master of the Netherworld Pavilion?"
Lin Taichu was shocked to discover that the creature's appearance bore some resemblance to his current form.
The Jade Slip recorded that the Netherworld Bead had originally been the inner core of an emperor of the Ancient Yao Race. It was later refined by a human Cultivator and became the Netherworld Pavilion's treasured artifact.
"So that's it. The Netherworld Bead requires Yao bloodline to fully fuse with it."
Lin Taichu thought of the Phoenix True Fire within his body. It was the bloodline of an ancient divine beast; perhaps it could form a balance with the Yao inner core.
He sat cross-legged and took out the Netherworld Bead, placing it on his palm.
The instant the bead touched his skin, it transformed into a streak of blue light and drilled into his body. Lin Taichu felt an icy aura travel through his meridians. Wherever it passed, his scales gradually receded, and his snake pupils returned to their normal color.
But when the blue light reached his dantian, it erupted into a fierce clash with the Phoenix True Fire.
"Ah—" Lin Taichu cried out in pain, feeling as though his body were being torn in two.
One half was blazing fire that could burn all things to ash, while the other was frost that could freeze the soul.
He