The Nether Treasure That Fled in Fright

"Fellow Daoist, do you have some connection to our Underworld?"

Inside the Corpse Emperor Hall, the Corpse Emperor spoke from his upright seat on the Underworld's imperial throne. Though he posed a question, the fluctuations of his divine sense were as decisive as a blade cutting through iron. He was certain that Yuangeng shared some origin with their Underworld lineage.

"Why do you ask?"

Yuangeng could not help raising an eyebrow. In his era, not only had the Underworld's founder, the Netherworld Venerable, yet to be born-even his previous incarnation, Cao Yusheng, would not be born for ages. It was hard to imagine any connection.

At that thought, he swept his divine sense over the Underworld with interest. If he had to find a connection, the atmosphere of the Great Dao cultivated here did indeed suit him. This place was like a nexus of the yin aspects of all Daos, conducive to Yuangeng's cultivation.

"Do you still remember the Taboo Method you used when you slew the Undying Daoist?"

The Corpse Emperor's divine sense rippled. His gaze met Yuangeng's through the immortal source as he brought up what had happened years ago in the Reincarnation Sea on the Big Dipper.

"Afterward, another ancient venerable of the Underworld and I both went to investigate that region. That taboo killing move of yours... had the flavor of the Underworld."

Even Yuangeng frowned for a moment at those words. He recalled the scene of the Undying Daoist's death. He had obliterated that faith body with a single Burial King Method, a move called Burying Myriad Eons of Reincarnation. It came from a titan of the burial Dao in the Burial Domain of Immortal Ancient, and predated the Underworld of the Shrouding the Heavens universe by untold eras.

No!

Yuangeng suddenly remembered that the Underworld's founder, the Netherworld Venerable-or rather, Cao Yusheng-had deep ties to the Burial Method.

He remembered that, in the original story, this being from the Chaotic Ancient Era who was close to the Desolate Heaven Emperor had cultivated the Burial Domain Method extensively. Later, he had died amid the repeated upheavals and bloody battles at the end of the Chaotic Ancient Era. The Desolate Heaven Emperor had finally buried him in the Burial Domain to nourish his body in the hope of his eventual return.

If the Tribulation Transcendence Heavenly Venerable of the Mythological Era had retained scriptures and memories from his past, the Underworld he founded would naturally have been influenced by them. It was hardly strange that its methods bore similarities to Yuangeng's burial Dao methods.

"I understand now. The Netherworld Venerable and I visited the same place. Some of our methods share the same source in their essence. That is what you sensed."

Having worked it out, he explained what he knew to the Corpse Emperor. It was not that Yuangeng's methods carried the flavor of the Underworld. Rather, both he and its founder had visited the Burial Domain and cultivated the Burial Method. Some common ground was only natural.

"The same place?"

At this, the Corpse Emperor found it even harder to conceal his curiosity about the Netherworld Venerable and Yuangeng. These two truly had extraordinary backgrounds. One was a cultivator of the Mythological Era, while the other was a being from before antiquity, yet both had visited the same secret place. It was mysterious indeed.

Yuangeng said nothing to that. He narrowed his eyes at the Corpse Emperor. This burly, curly-bearded man was entirely sealed within immortal source, like an insect in amber. There was nothing unnatural about either his flesh or the fluctuations of his divine sense.

"I have heard that those who form a Reincarnation Seal within their immortal platform can occasionally recall fragments of their past lives. You followed the Nether Emperor for so long-have you remembered nothing at all?"

"Alas!"

At Yuangeng's words, the Corpse Emperor let out a helpless sigh. Something of the past seemed to flicker in his eyes as he said calmly,

"We both possess Reincarnation Seals, yet I fall far short of the Netherworld Venerable. Even after living for millions of years, I have gleaned only scraps of memory from my seal. I do not even know who I was."

Because of the Corpse Emperor, the Underworld's Corpse Emperor Hall lineage had a very distinct character. Among its members were cultivators who had revived after forming Reincarnation Seals. Such beings were exceedingly rare, but after a million years of painstaking searches and nurturing untold numbers of corpses, the Underworld had gathered three to five such Quasi-Emperor beings under its command.

They were both the Corpse Emperor's subordinates and experimental subjects for his research into Reincarnation Seals. Unfortunately, from the beginning of the primeval age to the present, he had still failed to reach the Netherworld Venerable's heights.

"Keep trying to comprehend it. If you truly recall anything important in the future, feel free to seek me out. We can have a proper talk." Yuangeng was disappointed. He had thought the Corpse Emperor might offer him glimpses of the Chaotic Ancient Era, but this fellow ultimately fell a little short.

He spoke no further with the Corpse Emperor. An inexplicable change passed through the fluctuations of his magical power. The vast, majestic aura of the lunar essence Great Dao shifted, becoming deep and unfathomable. A Dao resonance of death, so dense it could not be dispersed, spread outward, as though a universe filled with eternal death had manifested. Its Dao resonance instantly enveloped the vast starry expanse occupied by the Underworld.

"What are you doing?"

Even sealed within immortal source, the Corpse Emperor felt a power so immense that it was almost impossible to resist. This was the burial Dao Yuangeng had spoken of, and it was remarkably similar to the Netherworld Venerable in his memories.

"Such an opportunity is rare. I shall meet the other friends of the Underworld." Yuangeng's voice thundered.

Boom!

The next instant, every being throughout the Underworld trembled involuntarily. Whether beneath the stars or inside ancient coffins, hundreds of millions of Yin Soldiers, Nether Generals, and others could no longer remain standing. They fell to their knees against their will, bowing toward the Corpse Emperor Hall.

At the same time, the few living cultivators within the Underworld shook with fear. Even Quasi-Emperor Xiezhi, the seventh-heaven Quasi-Emperor from earlier, sensed a majesty that towered above the myriad Daos of all heavens. It seemed to share the same source as their lineage, bearing an aura they could hardly defy.

"The Nether Emperor?!"

"Is it the Netherworld Venerable? Has he returned?"

"Impossible! This is the man who killed the Undying Daoist!"

Such might startled even the supreme beings slumbering in the deepest reaches of the Underworld. Cries rang out from several of its oldest halls, filled with shock, joy, and fear that rose from the depths of their souls.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Soon, several beams of heavenly light flew from the most imposing halls. There was the Black Iron Spear stained with dark-red battle blood, the Black Iron Battle Armor, deeper and colder than the netherworld itself, and an imperishable Heavenly Halberd cast from bronze. All arrived inside the Corpse Emperor Hall.

Without question, these were all weapons of the Extreme Dao level. Now awakened and guided by the cultivators behind them, they came to investigate this sudden upheaval.

"Hmm, only four left?"

Facing four beings of the Extreme Dao realm alone, Yuangeng showed no fear whatsoever. His gaze swept over the three newly arrived Imperial Dao Weapons, but he saw no Immortal Sword of Longevity. He shook his head.

Boom!

Meanwhile, a still heavier rumble suddenly sounded from a hall farther away. A beam of deep, shadowy heavenly light burst from it, illuminating the universe.

It seemed to merge with the entire ancient star domain occupied by the Underworld. Galaxies shook, and layer upon layer of ancient Imperial Dao Formation Patterns roared. It was as though the entire Underworld had struck with all its strength. The power it unleashed surpassed even an all-out blow from an unblemished emperor, terrifying enough to make anyone tremble.

The Heavenly Nether Treasure!

It had actually taken the initiative to attack!

Yuangeng gazed at that peculiar

nether treasure, somewhat surprised. He had not expected this weapon to be so bold. It clearly knew he could destroy the Undying Daoist in a single move, yet it still dared to clash with him head-on.

Boom!

He exerted power through his hand. The illusory universe filled with endless nether death energy smashed into the blow that combined all the Underworld's Imperial Dao might. In an instant, the cosmos shook, and whole swaths of halls were ground into nothingness beneath the impact.

"Interesting."

Yuangeng raised an eyebrow. These Formation Patterns truly lived up to the Underworld's reputation. Their core had been laid down by the Netherworld Venerable himself, and they had perfectly withstood his full-powered blow while he was using the Human Body Secret Realm method. Only a cluster of palaces on the outer edge had been shattered; the imperial formation itself remained entirely undamaged.

But just as he prepared to strike again, the Heavenly Nether Treasure suspended in the universe moved as well. A deity shrouded in milky-white radiance appeared behind it. In an instant, that deity tore open the void and vanished with the nether treasure.

The Heavenly Nether Treasure had fled!