The Netherworld.
Xia City.
The City Lord's Mansion, rear courtyard.
A vast lake lay smooth as a mirror, its waters stretching red as blood for miles, the air thick with a sweet, fishy scent.
There was no island in the lake, yet a massive black tree, as tall as a mountain, stood in its center.
The tree had no leaves at all. Its bare trunk and countless branches, which split into a dense web of twigs, stretched toward the void. Like a graceful canopy, they covered the entire lake.
Here and there, fruits of different sizes hung among the branches.
Every fruit was crystal clear, as though carved from crystal. Their features were distinct, their eyes closed, and they looked like the heads of countless sleeping beauties, each with a different figure and charm.
Amid the blood qi surging skyward, the fruits glowed crimson, like the blushing cheeks of young women—or as if they held a sweet dream within.
Their jewel-like radiance adorned the branches. From afar, they looked hauntingly beautiful.
At that moment, faint ripples suddenly stirred the blood lake beneath the tree.
Nine blood-red figures struggled beneath its surface. Their long hair and fluttering hems bloomed like Manjusaka flowers. Like drowning creatures, they did everything they could to break through the surface and escape the blood's imprisoning grip.
The blood lake remained silent. Its viscous waters weighed as much as ten thousand jun. No matter how the nine figures struggled, they could only swim beneath the surface, unable to break through it even slightly.
Two Netherworld Female Immortals stood by the shore, their hands tucked into their sleeves.
They wore black Soft Armor. Beneath their battle skirts, black smoke billowed. Their ink-dark eyes gazed at the nine figures beneath the surface as they sighed softly. "These nine members