s.h.i.+ Ming, Chu Han, Chiyou, Lan Chong, and others didn’t bother to conceal their movements. Powerful auras rus.h.i.+ng towards the Third Devil Forest scared all other experts to retreat in fear from afar.
“Great Emperor Lan Chong, you did not sense wrongly, right? You said that Huang Xiaolong would definitely pa.s.s through the Third Devil Forest, and we’ve waited in vain for five days. Until now, we haven’t even seen the edge of Huang Xiaolong’s shadow.” Chiyou questioned Great Emperor Lan Chong.
Hearing the questioning tone of Chiyou’s words, a glimmer of anger flashed across Lan Chong’s eyes, but he restrained his temper and responded, “Don’t worry, there is absolutely no mistake. Who could have known that that cunning Huang Xiaolong would not choose to pa.s.s through the Third Devil Forest.”
The possibility of Huang Xiaolong detouring from the Third Devil Forest had not occurred to Lan Chong before.
He, too, was greatly vexed by this matter.
“Then again, what is Huang Xiaolong doing here?” The Ma.s.sacring G.o.ds Gate’s Old Ancestor Chu Han voiced his doubt as he looked around.
There was nothing all-around within a hundred million li radius.
But Huang Xiaolong couldn’t come to this kind of place without reason.
“... Could it be that the two devil steles are somewhere close by?” Violent Lightning Archdevil mentioned nonchalantly.
Everyone’s eyes lit up at his words.
It was no secret that Huang Xiaolong had reached the top of Devil Tower’s ninth floor, so maybe Huang Xiaolong had some kind of induction towards the six devil steles. Who knew, maybe the two devil steles were really not far up ahead.
The Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe’s Old Ancestor s.h.i.+ Ming did not say anything, but he obviously accelerated.
His action naturally did not escape Chiyou, Lan Chong, and the others’ eyes. Thus they too accelerated.
In less than an hour, the group reached the cliff where Huang Xiaolong and the others were earlier.
Above the sharp cliff, everyone was speechless at the narrow opening at its bottom.
“Huang Xiaolong is at the bottom?” The Ma.s.sacring G.o.ds Gate’s Old Ancestor Chu Han asked Lan Chong beside him.
Lan Chong nodded, “I just spurred the Blue Soul’s Curse’s energy, and I could feel that Huang Xiaolong is present down there.”
The others exchanged a silent glance, looking at the endless frigid qi spewing out from the narrow opening.
“Restrictive formations are laden everywhere down there, so everyone be careful.” The Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe’s Old Ancestor s.h.i.+ Ming suddenly spoke.
Chu Han, Chiyou, Lan Chong, and the rest nodded their heads. They could see that the path down was not easy.
“Let me go first.” The Ma.s.sacring G.o.ds Gate’s Old Ancestor Chu Han stated, and without waiting for a reply, he flew towards the narrow opening. But halfway down, Chu Han’s body accidentally triggered one of the restrictive formations, causing a rain of black ice-arrows flying up from below. It happened too fast. The Black Killer Sect’s Chief Cui Huajie merely caught sight of some blurry black shadows flying up.
Seeing more than a dozen black ice-arrows shooting towards him, Chu Han bellowed curtly and slapped his palms downwards. The Sovereign Realm’s G.o.dforce that contained chaos law power slammed down, instantly shattered the black ice-arrows.
Chu Han continued to descend.
Almost at every ten zhang distance down, there would be a restrictive formation. On top of that, the power of these restrictive formations increased significantly the further down he got.
Chu Han continued to break past these hurdles.
Those waiting above watched Chu Han disappear into the darkness below.
Due to the many restrictive formations playing their roles, no one could see Chu Han’s situation below, even with their eyesight, so they could do nothing but wait.
Despite Chu Han’s strength, it took him half an hour to reach one thousand zhang down the cliff. At this time, there were endless torrents of black ice-arrows attacking him from below, with the momentum of a tsunami swallowing up the land. A thin film of sweat appeared on his forehead from the pressure.
Another half an hour pa.s.sed when those waiting above saw the Ma.s.sacring G.o.ds Gate’s Old Ancestor Chu Han rus.h.i.+ng out in a sorry state from the narrow opening.
Everyone waiting above was flabbergasted by this sight.
Not even a Sovereign Realm expert like Chu Han was able to go down?
“I’ll try to descend.” Chiyou was burning with motivation for a challenge. He whizzed down the cliff without another word.
As one of the twelve Archdevil Ancestors of the Devil World, Chiyou had advanced to the Sovereign Realm not long ago; however, no one doubted his strength. He broke past layers of restrictive formations and reached the one thousand zhang mark in a mere twenty minutes.
Even though Chiyou was slightly stronger than Chu Han, he only lasted a little over one hour. In the end, he too came out from the narrow opening in a sorry state as Chu Han did.
All attention was on Chiyou, and everyone’s eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
Chiyou couldn’t stand the gazes on him and protested, “Just a little bit more.”
Just a little bit more!
But it also proved one thing—even Chiyou was unable to reach the bottom.
Black Killer Sect’s Chief Cui Huajie and others sucked in a breath of cold air.
The Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe’s Old Ancestor s.h.i.+ Ming suddenly disappeared in a flicker. By the time others noticed, s.h.i.+ Ming was already descending the cliff, and he disappeared into the darkness a second later.
When s.h.i.+ Ming was descending the cliff to enter the Dragon Bear Valley, Huang Xiaolong’s group was inside the main hall of the Heavenly Dragon Bear Race’s valley, meeting with the current Patriarch, Cang Yuanzong.
Patriarch Cang Yuanzong had a kind appearance, and he was ordinary-looking, just like an ordinary elder. If Huang Xiaolong’s group had met him in the outside world, none of them would have thought this person was actually the Heavenly Dragon Bear Race’s patriarch.
Although the current Heavenly Dragon Bear Race’s Patriarch Cang Yuanzong was ordinary looking, Huang Xiaolong was confident that Cang Yuanzong was a Sovereign Realm expert who was comparable to Chiyou.
Cang Yuanzong was holding the token Lu Xiaoqing had presented earlier, as if he was lost in nostalgic memory and a trace of pity lingered on his face.
“You said Lu Hong died at the hands of the Devil-eyed Blue Lion Empire’s Ancestor Lan Pohan’s hand?” Cang Yuanzong asked Lu Xiaoqing.
“Yes, Senior. I saw my great-grandfather killed by Lan Pohan.” Lu Xiaoqing answered swiftly but respectful.
Cang Yuanzong nodded, then his sight s.h.i.+fted to Huang Xiaolong. His gaze seemed to see through Huang Xiaolong’s every secret, making Huang Xiaolong feel he was completely transparent.
Cang Yuanzong stood up and cupped his hands at Huang Xiaolong, smiling faintly as he said, “You must be the new Lord of h.e.l.l, the Nether King that deterred many forces.”
Others were astonished.
Cang Yuanzong actually ‘saw’ through Huang Xiaolong’s ident.i.ty?
Huang Xiaolong cupped his fists in return, replying, “It is me. How did Patriarch Yuanzong know?”
Cang Yuanzong chuckled mildly, “The previous Lord of h.e.l.l had visited me in the past. So, I am quite familiar with Netherking’s Jade’s energy.”
Only then did Huang Xiaolong and the others realize what gave Huang Xiaolong away. Listening to Cang Yuanzong’s words, it seemed like the previous Lord of h.e.l.l was quite close to the Heavenly Dragon Bear Race!? In that case, it would be smoother to borrow the Heavenly Origin Stone...
Hence, Huang Xiaolong explained the purpose of his visit.
Cang Yuanzong hesitated when he heard Huang Xiaolong’s request. “The Heavenly Origin Stone is my Heavenly Dragon Bear Race’s heritage treasure, by right. It cannot be lent to outsiders; however, the previous Lord of h.e.l.l is a good friend of my Master… So, it’s not impossible if you want to borrow it, but I have a request.”
“Patriarch Yuanzong, please speak.” Huang Xiaolong inwardly heaved a sigh in relief, hearing Cang Yuanzong was willing to lend the Heavenly Origin Stone to him.
“My Master is entangled by the sinister black-copper ghostly creatures.” Cang Yuanzong explained.
“What, black-copper ghostly creatures!” Gao Changran and the others almost exclaimed in unison, their faces paled slightly.
Although Huang Xiaolong had no idea what the black-copper ghostly creatures were, judging from Gao Changran and the others’ expression, it was something stinky bad.
Cang Yuanzong nodded, “The black-copper ghostly creatures can reside within any living creatures in this world, even a person’s consciousness. They can devour G.o.dforce and soul as food, and not even my Master was able to expel them from his body.”
“In the end, my Master had no choice but to seal himself, entering a long slumber. In the last ten billion years, our people had tried every method we could think of but failed to expel the black-copper ghostly creatures from his body.”