Fruitless I

Seeing that the situation was turning dire, Gongshang Baiyu forcibly spat out a mouthful of blood and carried all three of them away with a spatial transfer.

Song Danhao promptly raised his protective devil light and several formation discs.

Yet the extremely dense blizzard still battered them until their bodies dimmed. In but an instant, eighty percent of his devil essence had been consumed.

Most of the defenses they had raised were smashed apart.

The three were so frightened their souls nearly fled their bodies. Only with great difficulty did they activate half of the Demon God Statue and leave once more.

This time, they teleported.

At last, the surroundings around the three of them fell quiet.

Song Danhao looked up and could vaguely see the vast white calamity aura churning like a sea of clouds above.

Yet before the calamity aura stood three Dark Gold halos, firmly barring all passage in and out.

"There are only three final checkpoints left." Gongshang Baiyu spoke softly and with difficulty, wiping the blood from her lips. "I asked people from the Netherworld. The overall defenses are divided into five lines of defense and three major checkpoints. We should have passed the five most difficult and tightly guarded lines. This must be the three major checkpoints."

Xu Ling was already beginning to regret it.

When she saw Gongshang Baiyu coughing blood because of her recklessness, she suddenly fell silent.

She had overestimated the trump cards of their group and underestimated the terrifying defenses of Nether City in the Netherworld.

"It's fine. The three major checkpoints are generally for checking entry and exit documents and procedures. They shouldn't be too troublesome." Song Danhao sighed and comforted her. "We can just teleport through."

"Let Big Brother Song rest for a moment, then we'll leave," Gongshang Baiyu said softly.

"I'm afraid none of you will be going anywhere."

A low, magnetic male voice suddenly came from ahead of the three of them.

A handsome man draped in a red trench coat, wrapped in a thick layer of yellow light, appeared before them in the blink of an eye.

The man had a small beard on his chin, meticulously groomed hair, and both hands tucked into his coat pockets. His face carried both helplessness and lazy indifference.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Bu La Ge, seventh-ranked among the Nether Generals.

"Song Danhao, Gongshang Baiyu, Xu Ling. Will you surrender without a fight, or should I cripple you before taking you back?"

"A Nether General...!?" The moment they heard that title, Song Danhao and the other two abruptly changed expression.

There were only ten Nether Generals in total.

Rumor had it that every one of them was a terrifying existence with at least the strength of a Fate Candle Earth Immortal. Only those who could fight while resisting calamity aura with their fleshly bodies, and withstand the attacks of Earth Immortal cultivators head-on without injury, could be called Nether Generals.

Placed outside, that was practically the standard for being invincible among Earth Immortals!

They had heard tales of the Nether Generals before, but never expected to encounter one before a guarded checkpoint!

"This is troublesome..."

Gongshang Baiyu could not help beginning to prepare her spatial transfer divine ability.

"I advise you not to use spatial transfer." Bu La Ge smiled. "It is useless against me."

He had actually just emerged from a small world secret realm. Since the Great Calamity erupted, all manner of developments had changed and advanced at a breakneck pace over the past dozen-odd years.

The strength of their first batch of disciples had also developed rapidly under their master's influence.

He had originally intended to go out and see what the Great Calamity was really like.

Yet he had not expected to receive a notice just now that foreign enemies were attempting to pierce the defensive lines and checkpoints and flee the Netherworld. They had already arrived before the first checkpoint under his guard.

He immediately reached the checkpoint through a teleportation formation, and now he had seen what these so-called foreign enemies were.

"As a mighty Earth Immortal, Senior is actually willing to become a mere guard general stationed at a checkpoint?" Song Danhao could not help asking in a low voice, unwillingness filling his heart.

"You don't understand." Bu La Ge shook his head.

The reason their disciples' strength had risen so quickly was largely because of their master.

Although only some people had noticed this reason, everyone who had noticed held Lin Xin in reverence as though he were a god.

After all, even those who clearly had not worked hard at cultivation could grow stronger through ordinary cultivation so long as they went into seclusion. That feeling existed only in the Netherworld.

After understanding this, Bu La Ge decisively pulled Zhi Hong along and became utterly loyal to Lin Xin. Later, Zhi Hong's illness rapidly vanished and she made a full recovery as her strength rose, confirming his earlier suspicions.

"Enough. Stop wasting time."

Bu La Ge swept his right arm, and a burst of yellow light exploded from his hand.

In an instant, the yellow light split into thousands of rays and flew toward the three, blanketing heaven and earth.

This was an imitation of one of Lin Xin's killing moves from back then—a sword technique. Yet after Bu La Ge wielded it with the power of time, its effects became an entirely different kind.

The yellow flying needles were not fast, but their numbers were immense. Like a vast net, they nearly completely enveloped the three of them.

"Go!"

Gongshang Baiyu abruptly raised a layer of white light barrier, covering the other two as well, and vanished from where they stood in an instant.

Yet not even half a second later, the three figures unexpectedly returned to the same spot, their faces full of horror.

BOOM!!!

The yellow flying needles crashed down in dense swarms, each needle triggering a tiny explosion.

In an instant, countless yellow halos like bubbles exploded around the three in midair.

"I already told you. Why wouldn't you listen?"

Bu La Ge shook his head helplessly.

"The power of time pulled you back into the spacetime from two seconds ago, so dodging is meaningless."

The explosions quickly ended.

Three utterly bedraggled figures appeared at the center of the blast.

Song Danhao tightly gripped a black statue in his hand. His face, body, hands, and legs were covered in injuries and bloody gashes.

"Go now!! I'll hold him off!"

He shouted at the two women.

Gongshang Baiyu's eyes brimmed with tears. In that instant just now, Song Danhao had stood in front of them, using his not-so-broad body to desperately shield them from every impact.

"I won't go! I won't go even if I die!! If we die, we die together!"

Xu Ling seemed to have been frightened senseless. She had never expected that merely a random subordinate from the Netherworld would beat the Big Brother Song she had been so proud of into such a grievously wounded state.

"We're no match for him. Go, damn it!!" Song Danhao roared.

"We have to go! With Sister Yao Yang here, Big Brother will be fine!" Xu Ling suddenly came to her senses, hurriedly seized Gongshang Baiyu's small hand, and turned to fly in another direction.

The two women had only just turned and flown a short distance when they heard another thunderous boom behind them.

BOOM!!!

The two hurriedly turned around, only to see one of Song Danhao's arms blasted high into the air. His eyes were vacant as his smoking body fell straight downward.

"Big Brother Song!!!"

The two women screamed almost at the same time.

Gongshang Baiyu turned to rush back, but Xu Ling grabbed her.

"We can't go back!" Xu Ling shrieked. "Lin Sheri, if anything happens to Big Brother Song, then even if I, Xu Ling, have to throw my life away, I will make sure you die without a burial ground!!!" Her face was filled with hatred, tears streaming down like beads from a snapped thread.

"Go!!"

SPLURT!!

Suddenly, a streak of yellow light pierced straight through her from behind.

Bu La Ge appeared directly behind the two fleeing women in midair. In his hand was an earthen-yellow short sword, a sharp short blade condensed from yellow time power.

"Anyone can make grand claims. Sadly, you lack the ability to fulfill them..."

Bu La Ge's expression darkened.

With a splurt, he drew the short blade from his hand.

Blood splashed as a huge gash opened across Xu Ling's chest and abdomen.

She stared blankly at the red Blood Cave torn open in her chest.

For a moment, she seemed wholly unable to believe it.

Gongshang Baiyu also seemed frozen for a moment. Her face was blank as she watched from the side.

SPLURT!

In an instant, countless yellow flying needles exploded from Xu Ling's wound, all bursting out from within her body and blasting the wound even wider.

Bu La Ge's face was ice-cold as he fiercely swept a kick into her waist.

BANG!

Xu Ling plummeted downward with a roar, trailing a string of white airwaves. Red droplets of blood scattered in every direction along the way.

"No!!!"

"Lingling!!!"

Song Danhao and Gongshang Baiyu shouted almost at the same time and rushed toward the falling Xu Ling.

Song Danhao's eyes instantly turned red. Black aura churned over his entire body, as though he might go berserk at any moment.

A massive circular black halo rose behind his head.

White light surged around Gongshang Baiyu, and space itself began to boil like boiling water under the force of her violently agitated emotions.

Her powerful innate talent in spatial abilities had already been formidable. After becoming a Gold Guard, it had undergone a qualitative transformation. Now, driven by her turbulent emotions, it directly climbed to another level.

"Save her!!"

Song Danhao roared, accelerating toward Xu Ling as she fell.

But Bu La Ge instantly stepped into his path, his trench coat fluttering.

With no time to think, Song Danhao swung a fist wreathed in surging devil aura and smashed it down.

BANG!!!

Devil aura and yellow light splashed outward. In midair, a black-and-yellow ring of light burst open like a solar halo.

Bu La Ge's entire body trembled slightly, and he was actually forced one step back by the blow.

A trace of surprise appeared on his face.

"You can actually... make me take a step back..."

"AAAAAH!!!"

Song Danhao had clearly gone mad. He raised his right fist again, and heavy black devil aura flecked with gold ignited directly in his eyes.

BOOM!!

Another punch smashed viciously into Bu La Ge's palm.

The punch was once more steadily caught, but Bu La Ge actually retreated another step.

"Interesting." A trace of eagerness appeared on his face.

"Every so often, my fleshly body undergoes a qualitative transformation and rises to an entirely new level. Master named it the True Spirit Nine Transformations. It can raise the four basic attributes of the body, and it is the supreme body-cultivation system he personally created for us disciples.

"And I have now cultivated to the fourth transformation!"

He looked at Song Danhao with appreciation.

"I never expected you could force me back one step. Even among Earth Immortals, those capable of that are few and far between."

"Kill!!!" Song Danhao seemed to be gradually losing his reason. He threw punch after punch at his opponent, only for the now-serious Bu La Ge to catch every one with ease.

On the other side, Gongshang Baiyu had already found Xu Ling, who had lost all signs of life.

But the yellow light needles continuously exploding from Xu Ling's body also injured her in turn.

Holding back tears, she hugged Xu Ling and shouted at Song Danhao.

"Big Brother Song, hurry and go!"

"Jun Tian Devil!"

Song Danhao suddenly let out a wild roar, and a black Demon God Statue with a thousand arms abruptly rose behind him.

The thousand arms stretched out in an instant. In the blink of an eye, they formed fists, palms, hand blades, finger techniques, seals, claw techniques, gentle caresses, and all manner of other moves.

Every technique was different.