Chapter 1187: The Netherworld King, A Slave?
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
What the Netherworld King was more interested in was that this Earthling called w.a.n.g Zhong had extremely powerful endurance. Furthermore, his tolerance and recovery abilities were top-grade. This was very interesting.
He clearly understood that once he appeared in the world, the Star Alliance would definitely not sit and watch, and a powerful group of Gold Cores would probably be sent over to fight him. After all, Mu Zi was a mere Void Core, and it was difficult for him to rapidly progress qualitatively in such a short period of time. If his body endured too many attacks during the battle, or if his power surpa.s.sed the limits that his body could endure, then Mu Zi’s body could possibly be destroyed. It would be too much of a pity.
He did not kill Grai in order to preserve Grai’s body. Perhaps he could use Grai to defend his body from one or two attacks when it was necessary. But now, w.a.n.g Zhong had also appeared. This little fellow’s physical body had great endurance, and he was a Solid Core. If he was able to take over w.a.n.g Zhong’s body, he might be able to burst forth with strength that far exceeded that of Mu Zi. He would then be used to deal with the top-notch opponents in battle! Of course, he was fated with Mu Zi, and he tallied best with Mu Zi in various aspects, such as their growth rates. Regardless of whether it was w.a.n.g Zhong or Grai, he only wanted to obtain them as replacements for Mu Zi or as consumables for the upcoming battle with the Star Alliance.
As for Mu Zi, he had to use various guiding and convincing techniques. He would only be able to achieve perfect harmony and an extremely fast growth rate once Mu Zi was willing to a.s.similate with the Netherworld King and sacrifice his physical body. However, when it came to replacements like w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai that were to be used, it was not as troublesome.
He stretched out his left hand slightly, and his five fingers turned into claws. Then, he grasped the air.
Pa!
w.a.n.g Zhong, who had been repressed to the point where he could not move, felt his neck being pinched as an invisible hand picked him up, causing him to hover in midair.
The dragon imprint that had formed halfway in his mind instantly vanished once again when it was stimulated by this external force. w.a.n.g Zhong felt his vision turning dark. He was almost suffocating, and his neck was about to break!
“Since you are from the same race as Mu Zi, I will give you a chance.” The Netherworld King was simply in an extremely good mood. He brought one Earthling but received two instead. The Earthlings were truly his lucky stars. He smiled and said, “If you separate your soul from your body by yourself, it will save you a lot of pain. You might even have the chance to reincarnate in the Fifth Dimension.”
“Come and try!” w.a.n.g Zhong shouted in a low voice. He forcibly endured the intense pain all over his body and tried to form the dragon imprint again.
“You can’t be convinced until you see the reality.” The Netherworld King smiled. “Even though your will is firm, you will merely suffer pain.”
His left hand that pinched the air did not move. Meanwhile, he stretched out his right hand. A dim gray light shot out from his fingertips and shot towards the middle of w.a.n.g Zhong’s eyebrows. This was an attack that targeted one’s soul but had reached the stage where it was visible to the naked eye. The moment he let go, w.a.n.g Zhong felt a tremble from his soul.
Zeng!
Lao w.a.n.g’s soul could be considered unusually strong, much more powerful than many Gold Cores who had completed the transition of their life and soul! Even when he faced attacks from Elder Bayan and other opponents that targeted the soul, his soul had been unyielding. But now, with the lift of a finger…
The dim light shot through w.a.n.g Zhong’s forehead and pa.s.sed through the back of his head as if it was nothing. It did not cause any harm to his physical body, but w.a.n.g Zhong’s will was suddenly fixed in place. Then, an unbearable and intense pain started to spread from his forehead. Dense cracks instantly appeared all over his soul, as if it was a weak gla.s.s product!
“What a weak soul. Beings of your level will never possibly know the feeling of being strong.” The Netherworld King could clearly sense w.a.n.g Zhong’s current state and had an indistinct smile on his face. However, the next moment, his smile suddenly froze.
He felt a wave of mysterious soul power helping w.a.n.g Zhong to heal his injuries. As a result, the Earthling’s soul, which had clearly been full of cracks, instantly returned to its original state. Meanwhile, the strange and mysterious power made the Netherworld King feel a sense of familiarity and reverence.
That was…?!
His pupils contracted slightly, and he stretched out his right hand into the air once again. However, this time, he no longer stretched out fingers, but claws instead. The dim Netherworld aura took shape and formed a ma.s.sive palm in front of w.a.n.g Zhong. Then, it swept towards w.a.n.g Zhong’s body.
Boom!
The palm of dim light dragged w.a.n.g Zhong’s entire body, and a ma.s.sive power pulled on him. At least one-third of an illusory soul body was pulled out from his body.
But at that moment, the mysterious power appeared again and protected w.a.n.g Zhong’s soul, looking like multicolored daylight and adding a layer of dazzling brilliance around his soul.
The brilliance was eye-piercing and dazzling. Not only did it protect w.a.n.g Zhong’s soul, it was also extremely hot.
The Netherworld Hand was a transformation of the Netherworld King’s soul power. Unlike ordinary transformations, this one was tightly connected to his soul. At that moment, he simply felt the Netherworld Hand that he had condensed grabbing hot molten lava. The pain instantly caused him to weaken slightly. Even the will that controlled the surrounding Netherworld aura dispersed slightly.
The mysterious power was the protection that the Fate Stone provided to a shattered soul. However, w.a.n.g Zhong never expected that it would even stab the Netherworld King slightly.
“Form!” Lao w.a.n.g instantly felt that the violent Netherworld pressure in his surroundings had reduced by half. Since the pressure was still shocking, he could not relax after enduring the constant pressure. He was now able to forcibly endure one or two attacks. Since the fatal pressure had weakened, the dragon imprint that he had not been able to form in his mind could finally condense.
Who would dare to hesitate at that moment? He would probably never encounter such an opportunity again. He seized this moment when the Netherworld King’s control of the s.p.a.ce was weakened to turn his dragon imprint into dragon’s breath that integrated into his divine cells. In an instant, his divine cells multiplied…
“Roar roar!”
Lao w.a.n.g’s pupils instantly turned gold. In a flash, gold runes rapidly appeared on w.a.n.g Zhong’s energy wings and all over his skin.
Boom!
Golden light spread throughout, and his dragon’s breath true form burst forth. It was as if this light was a natural enemy of the Netherworld aura. The light that contained a wisp of Draconic Spiritual Power forced the powerful Netherworld pressure in his surroundings to retreat, preventing it from getting close to w.a.n.g Zhong.
This was a pleasant surprise. w.a.n.g Zhong could clearly feel that there was a resistance against this power, just like a pin against an awl or a mouse against a cat. This was not just because of the increase in his power due to his dragon’s breath true form!
Lao w.a.n.g instantly understood. He had made the right gamble. Just like when he had encountered the Ghost Dragon, his dragon imprint had a natural resistance against such creatures!
Just now, he had been bound and was unable to move. However, at that moment, he had regained his freedom and the feeling that everything was under his control. As a result, w.a.n.g Zhong was so comfortable and happy that he wanted to sing heartily. His energy wings that had been firmly bound spread behind his back with a whoos.h.i.+ng sound. The golden light from the wings was dazzling. Meanwhile, the sharp edge of his wings resembled a sharp blade that sliced the Netherworld aura pulling on him into half!
This was extremely powerful. When the large hand that had pinched him and prevented him from moving was tainted with the edges of his wings that contained Draconic Spiritual Power, there was no resistance at all. His wings easily sliced through the hand as if it was a thin piece of paper.
The Netherworld King’s expression suddenly froze, and the corner of his lips twitched. He had actually been injured and felt a burning pain that restrained him. The moment he came into contact with those wings, the burn had instantly consumed 0.1% of his soul!
What exactly was that golden light?
w.a.n.g Zhong’s eyes were gold and red. Meanwhile, all of Mu Zi’s hate had burst forth when w.a.n.g Zhong was being suppressed. It mixed with the Draconic Spiritual Power throughout his body. Then, he transformed into a ma.s.sive golden dragon and charged towards the Netherworld King!
Boom!
Before the Netherworld King could recover from his shock, the golden figure in front of him widened his angry eyes and turned into a dazzling dragon that charged towards the Netherworld King!
“You’re seeking death!” The Netherworld King widened his eyes and put his hands together. Boundless Netherworld aura in the world acc.u.mulated and pressed against w.a.n.g Zhong. However, when faced with their natural enemy, the dragon’s breath, even his rules did not function well. All the Netherworld aura that he had acc.u.mulated could not even get close to w.a.n.g Zhong, let alone suppress him. Under the light from the golden dragon’s breath, the Netherworld aura easily dispersed as quickly as snow melting under the blazing sun. It could not withstand the golden light at all.
The golden figure had approached the Netherworld King, but the Netherworld King did not dare to face him head-on. He stretched out his arms and turned into a shadow before disappearing. The next moment, he had appeared several dozen meters away.
He had been forced to temporarily retreat and avoid this attack from a mere Solid Core. There was both rage and astonishment in his eyes. All along, using Netherworld aura had been like an instinct, but it no longer listened to him under the effect of the golden light.
Before he could think carefully, the golden light had caught up with him. w.a.n.g Zhong’s speed was just too high. After all, he was a Solid Core. On the other hand, the Netherworld King’s physical body was no more than a Void Core’s. When it came to his control of Netherworld aura and his understanding of the rules, w.a.n.g Zhong could not be on par with him, no matter what the Earthling said. However, when it came to the strength of his and Mu Zi’s body, their pure power, or their movement speed, in the end, this physical body placed too many restrictions on him. His body movements could not catch up to his will. This was also the main reason why he would simply choose to use Netherworld aura or the rules to forcibly suppress his enemies whenever he clashed with experts.
The Netherworld King was enraged that he had been forced into this state. He stretched out and pulled the Life and Death Coffin from behind him before suddenly throwing it in front of him.
Boom!
The Hidden Dragon Sword fiercely slashed the Life and Death Coffin and let out a shocking trembling sound. Then, the two figures separated from each other. One was brutally sent flying and landed on the ground several kilometers away like a fired cannonball, forming a large and deep crater in the ground.
Meanwhile, the other figure stabilized himself after retreating backwards slightly. The figure that hovered in midair was covered in a dazzling golden light. Meanwhile, the one that had been pitifully sent flying was the arrogant and invincible Netherworld King!
Grai, who was at the side, felt that the Netherworld pressure in his surroundings had dispersed only in this moment. He had almost suffocated from the pressure and did not have the energy to watch the situation in the battlefield. At that moment, he had just recovered and immediately saw the Netherworld King being sent flying by w.a.n.g Zhong.
Grai was not surprised. Yes, he understood the power of the Netherworld King best, but even then, he did not feel that this was strange. Back then, during the CHF, he knew that Senior had never given up on him. Thus, Grai continued to wait in dark times, despite him no longer caring about life and death. After all, this was his obsession. It would be worth it even if he died at this moment.
The next moment, the crater that had been formed from the impact exploded, and violent Netherworld aura simply sent the ground around it flying.
“Scoundrel! Scoundrel!” The Netherworld King’s voice was both shocked and angry. He was no longer as leisurely and calm as before. Not all experts could remain unmoved when the sky collapsed before them. However, this was just because they had never experienced this before.
He had actually been forced to step back by a mere Solid Core. Just a few seconds ago, that mere Solid Core was his prey that could be slaughtered or exploited by him!
This change occurred too quickly. That strange yet familiar power that healed his soul and the golden light that seemed to specifically restrain him… What in the world was this Earthling?!
Kill! He had to kill him! He definitely could not allow this kind of power to exist!
The Netherworld King panicked and was furious. Before he jumped out from the crater, he had already waved his hands violently.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~
He controlled the Netherworld aura, and thousands of black spears instantly appeared in midair. Every spear was completely black and shone with a dim light, just like a solid piece of metal. This was no longer a transformation of Netherworld aura, but a creation of items instead! The spears were actually substantial even though they were purely made out of Netherworld aura, and it was simply impossible to imagine the strength of these spears. This was a G.o.d-like technique! All the spears targeted the hovering w.a.n.g Zhong!
“Die!” He no longer wanted this Earthling’s body. He felt an innate sense of fear and disgust just from seeing that dazzling golden body, let alone entering that detestable body to seize it. Furthermore, he had sensed a threat. After the close collision between them, the golden light from the Earthling’s body had p.r.i.c.ked him, and his soul was injured once again. Even though only 0.1% or even less of his soul had been injured, it was still an injury!
Bang bang bang bang bang!
Ten thousand spears instantly shot down from the sky!
But in the next second…
“Sword Three!”
The Hidden Dragon Sword had taken its place by the time the Netherworld King launched his attack. When the spears shot towards him, 10,000 swords had also appeared around w.a.n.g Zhong at the same time.
Every sword dazzled with golden light. Even though it was not as substantial and bright as the black spears that the Netherworld King produced, they contained Draconic Spiritual Power. The Draconic Spiritual Power contained in every sword glint was a perfect restraint against the power of the Netherworld King.
w.a.n.g Zhong waved his sword.
Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang!
The rain of golden swords met with the rain of black spears. Two rays of light, one gold and one black, would clash with each other, producing the dense sound of metal colliding. The black spears were obviously great in number and had much greater power. Each spear had a Spiritual Energy Value of at least several million, perhaps up to ten million! On the other hand, the golden swords only reached a Spiritual Energy Value of at most one million. However, when they came into contact with the black spears, they would dazzle with intense gold light that caused the spears to disintegrate like melting snow! The black spears had 10 times as much power as the swords, but each sword was usually able to offset two or even three spears.
They only clashed for four or five seconds. The curtain of black spears had clearly been launched first, but was suppressed and attacked by the rain of swords. Then, the sword formation continuously pressed towards where the Netherworld King was standing.
The Netherworld King’s expression kept changing, while w.a.n.g Zhong was full of power. Their level of power and comprehension of the rules were on different levels, but this feeling was completely suppressed. After all, w.a.n.g Zhong’s Draconic Spiritual Power had an absolute resistance against the Netherworld King at the soul level. This effect was 100 times more obvious than when he had faced the Ghost Dragon!
BOOM!!
The rain of swords condensed into one at the final moment and rose into the air, forming a ma.s.sive sword that fiercely slashed the air. Then, the countless black spears in the air exploded into pieces. However, the might of the ma.s.sive sword did not cease and crashed into the ground.
Rumble! Bang bang!
The ground trembled violently as a result. A ma.s.sive ca.n.a.l that was several kilometers long and 70 to 80 meters wide appeared at where the Netherworld King had been standing. However, the Netherworld King was nowhere to be seen.
The moment the attack landed, the s.p.a.ce behind w.a.n.g Zhong had ripped apart silently in an instant. A pitch-black claw poked out. This claw came too quickly and was completely silent. It did not melt nor be dispersed by the divine and invincible golden Draconic Spiritual Power. Instead, it produced some white smoke when it was corroded by the golden Draconic Spiritual Power.
That was the Netherworld King himself. Even though this movement speed was no match for that of w.a.n.g Zhong’s, his control of the rules allowed him to teleport. He could feel the piercing pain of the Draconic Spiritual Power at his arm. However, at that moment, he no longer cared. This Earthling had actually restrained him, so he would shatter this Earthling’s heart in turn! This person had to die!
However, before the Netherworld King could succeed, it was as if eyes had grown at the back of w.a.n.g Zhong’s head. He did not seem to have sensed the Netherworld King’s attack at all, but he suddenly moved to the side without any warning and moved several centimeters away.
The black claw grasped nothing. Then, an arm that contained powerful scorching energy fiercely struck back like an iron vice.
The Netherworld King’s expression suddenly changed. In his hurry, he wanted to teleport, but the counterattack was too fast and too sudden. Before he could activate the spatial rules, his black claw was fiercely grasped by the arm.
“Roar!!” The Netherworld King simply felt an intense pain that drilled into his heart. In an instant, it felt as if his left hand was being roasted over a flame. The power that grabbed him was ma.s.sive and unparalleled, and he simply could not struggle free.
His right hand suddenly swept towards w.a.n.g Zhong in an attempt to get out of this situation. However, before he could finish his attack, a black shadow grew bigger before his eyes.
Boom!
The back of w.a.n.g Zhong’s head fiercely smashed into his head. The Draconic Spiritual Power posed a natural resistance and harm against his Netherworld body. Furthermore, this attack was full of power. As a result, the Netherworld King was dizzy, and his vision turned dark for a period of time.
The arm that grabbed his left hand twisted backwards. Then, w.a.n.g Zhong had conveniently turned around. His right arm grabbed the Netherworld King’s neck while he put his legs around his neck. He twisted around the Netherworld King like a loach. In an instant, it seemed as if the Netherworld King had been tied up!
It was a pity that a peak expert like the Netherworld King was using brute force against Lao w.a.n.g. w.a.n.g Zhong was the forefather of brute-force battles. When faced with w.a.n.g Zhong, the Netherworld King’s methods to suppress others were completely conquered, and his soul attacks could not harm w.a.n.g Zhong either. Furthermore, the support of the Fate Stone could protect w.a.n.g Zhong’s soul for eternity. If his soul was not separated from the stone like it was in the past, w.a.n.g Zhong would have died from the invasion by the Netherworld King.
Now, Draconic Spiritual Power revolved around w.a.n.g Zhong’s entire body. Contact with every part of his skin made the Netherworld King feel as if he had been burned by raging flames and was extremely painful. This pain extended from his head to his toes!
Lao w.a.n.g did not dare to let go either. To be honest, besides the resistance that his Draconic Spiritual Power posed against the Netherworld King, Lao w.a.n.g could not think of any other way to control the Netherworld King. In particular, this was still Mu Zi’s body. Lao w.a.n.g did not believe that Mu Zi would disappear just like that, definitely not!
When he thought about this, an even more terrifying fighting spirit was ignited. That was right. Alive, Mu Zi might still be alive!
Lao w.a.n.g continuously activated the Draconic Spiritual Power in his body, and dragon imprints continued to form in his mind. These dragon imprints turned into Draconic Spiritual Power that integrated with his divine cells before being released once again…
At that moment, w.a.n.g Zhong’s entire body was dazzling with a golden light, making him seem like a small sun. Meanwhile, the Netherworld King was firmly held in place by w.a.n.g Zhong, and white smoke was emitted from his entire body, while wisps of black Netherworld aura that were no longer controlled by him broke away from his body. Waves of dead souls that he had devoured rose into the skies and produced mournful shrieks.
A ma.s.sive shadow spread from his body in layers.
“Let me go! Let me go!” It roared angrily in fright but could not struggle free. On the contrary, the power of its Netherworld aura continuously turned into white smoke and disappeared under the effect of the dragon’s breath.
It had declined from its peak of power. In the short span of a few minutes, it rapidly weakened.
“Pain, how painful… w.a.n.g Zhong, it’s me! How painful, let me go!”
It was Mu Zi’s voice. It was a weak and helpless request that was filled with fear.
“You still dare to act as Mu Zi!” Not only did w.a.n.g Zhong not hesitate, he started burning with anger as he continuously emitted the Draconic Spiritual Power in his dragon’s breath true form.
He understood Mu Zi too well. If it had been Mu Zi, he would not say such words no matter what. Even his tone was completely off.
The Netherworld King saw that he could not trick w.a.n.g Zhong and was even angrier. “Petty and shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You tricked me! Who in the world are you?!”
“I am your father!”
“Vile! Vile! How vile!” The Netherworld King’s voice had become sharp and stern.
Lao w.a.n.g could sense the body he was grasping trembling violently. The mournful shrieks that came from the soul caused one’s scalp to turn numb. It was as if thousands of demons had appeared and were travelling throughout the night.
The surrounding Netherworld aura rose in revolt and turned extremely violent, to the point where the entire h.e.l.l Island started to tremble slightly.
Rumble bang bang bang bang~~~
The ground was shaking violently, while the Netherworld River in the distance was boiling, as if it was displaying the Netherworld River’s final struggle and resistance.
However, gradually, the Netherworld King’s power weakened over time, and the dense Netherworld aura in the surroundings gradually dispersed. The trembling ground started to stop, and even the boiling Netherworld River in the distance slowly subsided.
After a very, very long time… the Netherworld King’s aura finally vanished…
Had he succeeded?!
w.a.n.g Zhong had actually conquered the Netherworld King?!
Grai could not help but tear up. What a pity, what a pity! It was such a pity that Senior was too late. Otherwise, Mu Zi would not have had to… The two of them had survived in this lonely and dark world together. They were each other’s support.
Buzz~~
When the Netherworld King weakened, his ferocious expression of despair suddenly froze, as if there was some internal struggle.
Closely after, a strange and hoa.r.s.e voice suddenly sounded. “w.a.n.g—w.a.n.g Zhong?”
w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai were slightly dumbfounded. Despite the Netherworld King having imitated Mu Zi’s voice before, at that moment, regardless of whether it was through their rational mind or their senses, both of them knew that it was Mu Zi!
“Don’t stop!” Mu Zi’s expression was extremely twisted. It was obvious that he was enduring extreme pain. “Second Brother, don’t stop. He’s still here. He’s only acting!”
“No! No, no, no!” His twisted expression instantly turned to one of extreme panic. “You can’t tell him to continue! Our souls are intertwined and extremely difficult to separate. This way, you will die too!”
“Don’t listen to him!” Mu Zi’s voice appeared once again. “Kill him!”
“No, no, no! If I die, he will die too!”
Expressions of ferocious distortion and painful despair continuously switched back and forth on Mu Zi’s face.
w.a.n.g Zhong hesitated. At this moment, he truly could not determine who was real and who was fake.
“w.a.n.g Zhong, do you still remember the Mayfly cultivation at the pyramid?” Mu Zi’s consciousness seemed to have the upper hand. The longer he appeared for, the clearer his words were. “I have my own path. Trust me, death is not the end!”
Lao w.a.n.g felt a chill in his heart, and his gaze became extremely sharp. The last dragon imprint formed in his mind. After releasing Draconic Spiritual Power for a long period of time, constantly forming dragon imprints, and experiencing his divine cells continuously multiply by themselves, there had been a ma.s.sive burden on and exhaustion of both w.a.n.g Zhong’s soul and body. After all, he was a mere Solid Core. In reality, he was a spent force. If he continued on, unless he let the Netherworld King go, they might be stuck in a stalemate of exhaustion, and he would not have the power to deliver the final blow!
Boom!
Dazzling golden light was suddenly emitted from w.a.n.g Zhong’s body, and violent dragon’s breath swirled in the surroundings, forming a backward-surging air current that covered a radius of several dozen meters. Then, golden light burst forth, and the extremely thin Netherworld aura in the surroundings instantly dispersed! It was as if the surrounding s.p.a.ce had been cleansed, and a s.p.a.ce that was as bright as day appeared on the pitch-black h.e.l.l Island.
“Noooo~~~~~~~~~~!”
The Netherworld King roared in shock and anger. Closely after, golden light exploded, and the surrounding pressure disappeared. All the dark Netherworld aura was immediately blown away at this instant without anything left behind. Meanwhile, w.a.n.g Zhong, as well as Mu Zi who he was firmly holding onto, fell heavily from the sky and tumbled a distance away. Then, they did not move.
In the distance, Grai did not have the strength to stand up. He used his hands and crawled along the surface of the ground little by little towards w.a.n.g Zhong and Mu Zi. Perhaps death was the final result, but at the very least, they would die together. This was not bad either. Tears fell from Grai’s cheeks, little by little. They were still together.
“Grai, don’t cry. You won’t be handsome anymore that way,” said w.a.n.g Zhong as he clenched his teeth. d.a.m.n, it was as if his entire body was paralyzed. However, from the look of things, Mu Zi was still alive.
Grai, who was half-crawling on the ground, was stunned. Then, he rubbed his eyes. “Senior… I really want to slap you!”
w.a.n.g Zhong laughed out loud and wound up triggering his injury, causing him to clench his teeth. Then, there was a voice from under him. “Second Brother, you are too heavy. Is the food in the Star Alliance any good?”
The whites of Mu Zi’s eyes were no longer black when the Netherworld King was no longer by his side. At that moment, they were clear and bright, except that this was accompanied by an intense sense of fatigue. He flashed a smile at w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai, revealing his mouth of white teeth. “It looks like we’ll continue to bring disaster to the Star Alliance!”
w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai had both heard this voice. Regardless of whether it was the expression or the tone, this was Mu Zi’s voice.
“Mu Zi, ha ha. I just know that your life is hardy. The King of h.e.l.l could not take it away!”
“It’s so good to be able to see you guys.” Mu Zi also flashed the brightest smile.
A few minutes ago, they still did not know whether they would live or die. However, at that moment, they were able to reunite. The three of them were slightly moved for a period of time and could not speak. They simply held one another’s hands tightly. Closely after, all of them laughed out loud.
Lao w.a.n.g’s weakness was that he had run out of energy. After adjusting his breathing for a moment, the activation of his divine cells and his Solid Core allowed him to recover his spirit very quickly. However, Mu Zi, who was beside him, seemed to be in a worse condition. Not only did Lao w.a.n.g’s Draconic Spiritual Power injure the Netherworld King, it had also caused harm to Mu Zi’s body. After all, they both cultivated Netherworld aura, and there were many burn marks on his body.
Luckily, Lao w.a.n.g had prepared many healing pills in his fragment world. After eating two pills, Mu Zi’s injuries had stabilized, and complete recovery was only a matter of time. Grai’s injuries were the last. It was mostly his soul and vitality that were exhausted. Even after eating the pills, he might need some time to recuperate and recover. Luckily, the Netherworld King had not delivered a fatal attack.
After recovering for some time, Mu Zi’s stomach started to grumble.
When the Netherworld River occupied his body, he could not eat. After all, the Netherworld aura in this murky Netherworld River was his best energy supplement. However, at this moment, the Netherworld River was being suppressed, and Mu Zi’s soul occupied his body. Not only was he unable to purely depend on Netherworld aura as food, he was also not used to the feeling of being hungry either. Luckily, Lao w.a.n.g had prepared many dried foods, and there was the corpse of a Zhuyan beside them. They simply found a few dry branches and started a fire, forming a firepit that roasted the Zhuyan over. Then, they divided the dried food that w.a.n.g Zhong had brought among themselves. A bright fire was lit up on h.e.l.l Island, which was originally reeking with blood and filled with a desolate aura, and the smell of meat wafted through the air. The world was truly unpredictable.
Under the light of the fire, the three of them stuffed themselves full. Even though w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai had previously met, time was tight, and they had many important matters to discuss. Thus, they had never shared their experiences after coming to the Land.
At that moment, they had escaped a calamity and were now relaxed. The three of them each talked about their experiences after leaving the Earth, including all matters big and small. The exciting stories caused them to gasp in succession.
“Life in the Heavenly Gates is just like that. Come to think of it, it is rather uninteresting. However, there are many experts hiding in the Heavenly Gates. This time, when the Netherworld King eliminated the Ninth Shade Faction, the Heavenly Gates was prepared to send a group of Celestial Honors Masters to deal with these incidents. They are probably on the way to h.e.l.l Island now. Even though we have dealt with the Netherworld King, I’m just afraid that…”
“No.” Mu Zi suddenly interrupted him and shook his head. “The Netherworld King isn’t dead.”
Grai was slightly shocked. He had just seen Mu Zi return to normal, and half of the Netherworld aura on h.e.l.l Island had dispersed as a result. He thought that the Netherworld King had vanished under the suppression of w.a.n.g Zhong’s Draconic Spiritual Power and did not know that this was not the case.
“I can sense that he is still lingering in the depths of my soul,” said Mu Zi calmly. “I am very happy to be able to wake up and see you again. Promise me that if you discover any signs that the Netherworld King is reviving in my body, you will kill me as quickly as possible. If not, if you allow him to control my body once again, I don’t know how much trouble it will cause to the Earth and you.”
“I actually know some things about the Netherworld King.” Meanwhile, w.a.n.g Zhong smiled. Before coming to the underground world to execute this a.s.signment, he had read through many records related to the Netherworld King in the Heavenly Gates library, including many cla.s.sified doc.u.ments. If he was not a.s.signed to a mission related to the Netherworld King, he might not be able to view these doc.u.ments, even with his ident.i.ty as a member of the Celestial Honors Cla.s.s. He simply did not quite understand the relations.h.i.+p between Mu Zi and the Netherworld King, as well as their current situation. Thus, he was unable to make an accurate judgment of the various possibilities presented in the records. However, after a long chat with Mu Zi, Lao w.a.n.g understood everything clearly.
“The so-called Netherworld King is the will of the Netherworld River. As long as the Netherworld River doesn’t dry up, he will never vanish. Even if there was a way to completely extinguish him, the Netherworld River would revive him very quickly. Thus, it is impossible to kill him.”
“Then what should we do?” Grai felt a headache, while Mu Zi beside him was silent. The both of them understood very well how terrifying the Netherworld King was. He was now in a heavily injured state, allowing Mu Zi to chase him into the depths of his heart. However, he was simply resting and building up strength. Once he recovered, seizing and occupying Mu Zi’s body would only be a matter of time. This was also the reason why Mu Zi asked w.a.n.g Zhong to kill him as he was aware of this.
w.a.n.g Zhong was silent for a while. Then, he looked toward the center of h.e.l.l Island, where the Netherworld King wanted to go. “Actually, I don’t know what I should say either. I just know that when we were fighting, I felt that the Netherworld King was not foreign to me. The two of you understand me best, and there must be some origin to this. I think there should be some secrets there.”
w.a.n.g Zhong pointed to the center of h.e.l.l Island where the Netherworld King wanted to go. Furthermore, it was the place where the ent.i.ty would go once he dominated a body and his consciousness gradually recovered. w.a.n.g Zhong also sensed a mysterious attraction to that place. Every time this situation occurred, something would definitely happen. It was like this in the Illusion Sea World and at the Netherworld River. These seemed to be involved with him. If Simba was awake, he should be able to give him some clues, but no matter what, he could not awaken Simba. Even the Fate Stone was slightly “strange”. However, these premonitions, no matter big or small, would not result in something bad.
“Let’s take a look once we recover. There will definitely be a way,” said w.a.n.g Zhong.
Mu Zi and Grai looked at each other. “We’ll listen to you. If we survived even this, we think that our lives must be very st.u.r.dy.”
The three of them laughed out loud. This was not the first time they had survived a calamity, but they were as happy every time.
After recovering for two days, there was no doubt that the pills from h.e.l.l Island were the best. Mu Zi and Grai’s bodies did not reject the pills and absorbed them very well. They recovered their stamina and finally arrived at the shrine in the middle of h.e.l.l Island. Needless to say, the Netherworld King’s turmoil had caused them a lot of trouble, but the Draconic Spiritual Power caused him to retreat once again.
They saw a building that was not very tall. Instead, it was a dilapidated house… It could barely be called a house. It seemed as if someone had once lived in the house, but the flow of time had left too many marks on it. The only peculiar thing about this place was that there was an extremely clear runic array on the ground that sparkled with a golden light.
w.a.n.g Zhong sensed a similar aura from the runic array. It was Draconic Spiritual Power. For some reason, an overbearing and invincible figure appeared in w.a.n.g Zhong’s mind. At that moment, the broken walls started to s.h.i.+ne and produce a series of runes.
The contents were very clear. As long as one ate the language candy, one would be able to understand them. This was a “soul contract”, an advanced version of the soul contract that was different from Nini’s. This was not an ordinary contract.
Any souls could be turned into slaves!
The soul slavery technique was trivial and ordinary in the underground world, let alone in the Land. Any expert who had done some research on souls could become very skilled at this, and enslaving some loyal soldiers was a common occurrence.
However, soul slavery was just a technique, and every technique had a power limit. The more powerful the soul, the harder it was to enslave. In many soul slavery practicals, it was very difficult to enslave experts who were of the Solid Core Realm and higher. Gold Cores whose souls were enslaved did not exist, at least in the underground world and the Land, unless they had broken through after being enslaved as Solid Cores. After all, the souls of Gold Core experts had undergone many transformations, and their wills were rather tough. They would not be disrupted by external forces. Furthermore, with the arrogance of these experts, they would not possibly lower their head when facing enemies and willingly become slaves…
Meanwhile, the Netherworld King was residing in Mu Zi’s body and was much more powerful than ordinary Gold Core experts. How could a soul as powerful as his be easily enslaved? Even in the Land, no one had ever thought about dealing with the successive generations of the Netherworld King.
“Can we do it?” Grai’s voice was full of uncertainty and doubt. Even Mu Zi, who was beside him, furrowed his eyebrows.
“Let’s try it out. I think that this place should not be the former residence of the Netherworld King. It should be a place that the almighty expert who dealt with the will of the Netherworld River left behind. Let’s seize the chance while the Netherworld King is at his weakest. Most of my power has recovered, and it should be possible to suppress him!”
It was obvious that the three of them were extremely brave and dared to take risks. With their current situation, this risk was worth it!
Everything had been prepared. However, the moment before they started, the three of them could not help but feel nervous. After all, the impression that the Netherworld King had given them was too deep.
“Come.” This time, Mu Zi had a stable state of mind. “This is when he is weakest. No need to hesitate!”
He nodded his head at Grai and Mu Zi. “Get into position!”
Mu Zi stood at the left in the ma.s.sive formation, while Grai was in the middle. Meanwhile, w.a.n.g Zhong recalled the entire contract procedure.
“Let’s start.”
Grai was the main host. Thirty Gold Star Stones were absorbed by the formation and turned into golden lights that rapidly spread out and came to life along the lines of the formation. All the runes in the formation spread out and dazzled as they started to emit a gold color.
At the same time, Mu Zi focused his mind and forcibly separated half his soul from his body. Then a gray soul body pa.s.sed through the formation and arrived at the empty s.p.a.ce on the right part of the formation beside Mu Zi. Then, it stood opposite his physical body.
One could see that forcibly separating half his soul put Mu Zi’s soul in a lot of pain. He was unusually weak, and the soul body seemed indistinct. It was obvious that he could not maintain this state for long. Meanwhile, in the middle, his physical body had a solemn and silent expression. Closely after, his entire body trembled violently. Suddenly, his gaze turned ferocious and terrifying as darkness filled his eyes. “Scoundrel! Scoundrel! I am the Netherworld King, and I rule the Netherworld River. How could I be defeated by a mere Solid Core? I don’t— Oh? What is this?!”
As a result of his overly severe injuries, his consciousness had stopped operating for a period of time. At that moment, his memories were still from before he had been defeated. He was not willing to be defeated by a mere Solid Core and roared furiously. However, he was midway through shouting when he immediately realized his current situation.
He was in a ma.s.sive rune. Meanwhile, beneath his feet was a circle that was drawn with an unusually rich Draconic Spiritual Power, firmly locking him in.
Under normal circ.u.mstances, w.a.n.g Zhong’s leftover Draconic Spiritual Power could not trap him. But at that moment, he was just too weak. Thus, this circle of Draconic Spiritual Power placed him in despair, and he did not dare to touch it. He was afraid that if he touched it, his remaining will would be extinguished once again.
After all, it was the Netherworld King. He was able to integrate the situation in front of him and understood his situation after just a second. He rapidly calmed down and looked around coldly.
The golden runes around him dazzled, and the entire formation had a tense soul aura.
They wanted to enslave his soul? After a brief moment of shock, the Netherworld King could not help but want to laugh. These humans were truly naive and cute. Besides himself, no one else in this world was able to enslave him… Oh?
When this thought flashed past, even the Netherworld King could not help but be dumbfounded.
His thoughts could not appear for no reason. In reality, every generation of Netherworld Kings would have their own memories contained in the Netherworld River. As their strength grew or when they received stimulation from their environment, these memories would gradually come back. He was bestowed with the wisdom from countless Netherworld Kings before him, which was a form of inheritance.
He had unconsciously said that no one other than him in this world could enslave him, but this awareness could not have come from nowhere. Had someone enslaved him countless eras ago?
He was only dumbfounded for a moment, while the soul contract that Grai hosted had reached the intermediate stage. w.a.n.g Zhong, who protected the formation, appeared in Mu Zi’s and the Netherworld King’s vision at the same time.
Mu Zi was better off as he already knew everything about this and did not think that this was strange. However, the Netherworld King was stunned.
Even though w.a.n.g Zhong was not standing in the formation, he saw w.a.n.g Zhong in the formation through a soul projection method. He was transmitting information about the other party’s origins!
He was an elegant and charming figure whose white clothes fluttered. He stood like a lofty mountain. Even though his figure was not large, when the pair of golden eyes glanced at one, it felt as if the light of the vast sun was piercing one’s eyes!
What was that?!