If There Is No Light

"The Netherworld." Xu Ying's gaze was solemn as he stared into the boundless gloom. From the moment he slew the god of Jiang Family Fields, he seemed to have forged an unbreakable bond of fate with the Netherworld. Starting from when the course of the Nai River was diverted and the Netherworld invaded, the world he knew had changed. He had met Yuan Qi, encountered Lord Bell on the stony mountain, and become entangled in the grievances between Li Xiaoke and Fairy Qingbi. Fleeing the Zhou family's pursuit, he had crossed paths with Zhou Qiyun and become embroiled in ancient secrets concerning Nuo immortals being devoured. In all of this, there was more or less a connection to the Netherworld. "When Zhou Qiyun was facing his tribulation, he needed to go to the Netherworld first to deter them. The Palace of Heavenly Gods was built at the entrance to the Netherworld as well—less like governing the Netherworld, and more like monitoring it. To evade Zhou Qiyun, Yuan Weiyang and I traveled from the Netherworld to the Cangwu Abyss and climbed Mount Jiuyi." Xu Ying pondered. He suddenly recalled that when Zhou Qiyun underwent his tribulation, the Son of Heaven of the Nether Court had arrived at Mount Wuwang carrying a coffin to observe the tribulation. The immortal corpse inside the coffin was none other than the body of the Son of Heaven of the Nether Court, and the wound between its brows bore the marks of an eight-sided sword! The eight-sided sword was Li Xiaoke's weapon. Clearly, Li Xiaoke was paying close attention to the Netherworld as well! The sorrowful old man Fu Yi frequently went to the Netherworld to fetch Meng Po soup; the Netherworld must have also participated in sealing Xu Ying, perhaps even playing a vital role! 'Xu Fu directed the diversion of the Nai River and the Netherworld invasion. He must be tangled up with the Netherworld too!' Xu Ying thought. The world seals of the divine land of Shenzhou had also begun their unsealing from the Netherworld. Along both banks of the Nai River, the Netherworld continued to clash with the mortal world to this day, encroaching upon the lands of the living. Because the pace of the world unsealing was so rapid, with world seals constantly breaking and returning more mountains and rivers to Shenzhou, the Netherworld's invasion had largely escaped notice. Yet up to this day, the Netherworld's invasion had never halted! "Now, the Netherworld has actually invaded the Taichu World. What could possibly be here to draw the Netherworld's greed?" Xu Ying fell into deep thought. The Yuanshou world was undoubtedly a fertile, bountiful land, so it was only natural that it would attract an invasion from the Netherworld. But the Taichu World was an impoverished world that even heavenly gods could not be bothered to take a bite out of. Why would it invite an invasion by the Netherworld? He looked toward the primordial battlefield outside the Other Shore of the Martial Dao. Clearly, a war of astonishing ferocity had taken place here, reducing this world to ruin! The site of the Netherworld's invasion was centered right on this primordial battlefield; there was definitely something strange about this battleground. "Zhai Wuxian, did the founder of the Eight Methods of the God of War leave the Taichu World to seek a way out of this realm, or to investigate the cause of the Netherworld's invasion?" Xu Ying asked. Zhai Wuxian shook his head. "I do not know. After he departed, he never returned. Perhaps he found a path out, or perhaps he perished along the way." He paused, then said, "Now that you have learned all the martial disciplines, you may go outside to test what you have learned. Once you integrate all these martial arts, you can attempt to open the seal yourself." He hesitated a moment before adding, "Although the Heavenly Dao seal is not exceedingly formidable, unraveling it with your current cultivation will still be somewhat difficult. If you cannot open it, there is no need to feel vexed or discouraged; either Wu Tianzun or I can open it for you." Xu Ying expressed his gratitude, rose, and walked toward the outside of the Other Shore of the Martial Dao. Zhai Wuxian watched him walk away. Yuan Shidao strolled over lazily with his robe open at the chest and remarked, "Wuxian, he is only at the Qi Harvesting stage and has not yet breached the pass. Entering the primordial battlefield with his current cultivation is a bit premature. What's more, relying solely on his own strength, he will never be able to break the Heavenly Dao seal!" Zhai Wuxian said, "Master Yuan, how long did it take you to learn all the martial arts of the Other Shore?" Yuan Shidao looked at Xu Ying's retreating figure. "My talent was extraordinarily high—far better than Wu Tianzun's. It took me two hundred years to learn all the martial methods of the Other Shore. Back then, besides Wu Tianzun, several other old monsters were still alive. They patted my head and praised my cleverness, saying my future achievements would surely rival theirs." Zhai Wuxian replied, "It took me two months to learn all the martial arts, and another year to integrate them fully." Yuan Shidao gave a low grunt and mumbled, "I was the one who brought you in, so naturally I know how long you took. No need to remind me. I am proud of you." Zhai Wuxian continued, "Back when I mastered all the martial arts, Wu Tianzun and another old monster said I was the fastest person in the history of the Other Shore. My aptitude and talent were once in ten thousand generations, a born Martial Immortal. Even if I were to tread empty space, ascend to become an immortal, and become a Martial Dao Great Emperor in the future, they would not be surprised." Yuan Shidao rubbed the scruff on his cheeks. "I know you're incredible. But if you were a bit more modest, you'd be even more incredible." Zhai Wuxian sighed. "Xu Ying took two months to finish learning all the martial arts. That was ten months faster than me." Yuan Shidao's expression grew solemn as he looked at Xu Ying's back. "He learned them, but he might not have integrated them fully. For him to master all those martial arts, it will take at least half a year or a year." Zhai Wuxian said, "On his first day entering the Other Shore, he comprehended the Eight Methods of the God of War. I believe integrating them will simply come naturally to him." Yuan Shidao pondered and said, "Your talent and comprehension are once in ten thousand generations. If he is like you, wouldn't that make two 'once in ten thousand generations' geniuses?" He shook his head. "These once-in-ten-thousand-generations prodigies are getting a bit too common." Zhai Wuxian said, "He comes from another world. Perhaps he is once in ten thousand generations in that world. Master Yuan, he will definitely be able to open the Heavenly Dao seal!" Yuan Shidao shook his head. "Relying on the cultivation of the 999th Innate level?" The moment Xu Ying stepped out of the Other Shore of the Martial Dao and entered the primordial battlefield, he felt an icy, piercing nether gale whistle through the crevices and surge toward him, chilling him to the bone. He mobilized his Martial Dao vital energy and blood, instantly forcing the nether wind back. Looking back, he saw that the Other Shore of the Martial Dao was like an isolated island amidst this ancient battlefield. The essence and spirits of martial experts resisted the onslaught of nether energy and baleful miasma, resembling blazing torches that brought peace to the heart. Looking forward, Xu Ying saw within the nether wind and baleful aura smaller points of vital spirit flickering unsteadily, indistinct in the darkness. 'Those must be experts of the Other Shore. They contend against the Netherworld and combat the baleful aura, attempting to purify this ancient battlefield.' Reassured, Xu Ying walked forward. Suddenly, a gust of nether wind blew past. In a pile of white bones ahead, fire flared in the eye sockets of a skull. Immediately, the bones shifted and gathered together, gradually assembling into a massive body. Xu Ying stopped in his tracks and looked up, only to see a towering skeleton rise amid the nether wind and baleful miasma, its aura erupting as if a primordial god or devil had awakened! This was a skeleton that had died on this primordial battlefield, over a hundred feet tall. Its bones were riddled with pits and pores eroded by the nether wind and baleful aura, leaking wind from all sides, yet many parts of the skeleton showed no damage whatsoever. For upon the surface of those bones, strange patterns often surfaced. In life, this skeleton had branded its Dao into its very bones; even though its soul had scattered and its flesh had dissolved, its bones still contained terrifying power! Influenced by the Netherworld, this skeleton had originally been an inanimate object, but now, catching the scent of living flesh, it came alive. It wore tattered robes, and behind it trailed a battered, broken Realm of Xiyi. It was ruinous all over—even its cranium was missing a large chunk, and its skeleton lacked various bones. "Kill!" Its remnant consciousness crashed forth, battering Xu Ying's martial spirit into disarray! At the same time, the patterns between its brows flared brilliantly, erupting into flames—Samadhi true fire, detonating like an explosion and howling toward him! Xu Ying dodged the flames, only to see the skeleton's fist hammering down head-on. The mountain-sized fist smashed directly into him, sending him tumbling and rolling backward! The skeleton opened its jaws, and clusters of Samadhi true fire blasted toward him once more! Without a second thought, Xu Ying activated the Extreme Intent Freedom Technique. In the next instant, he was tens of li away, evading the Samadhi true fire. The nether wind receded, the baleful aura vanished, and waves of warmth washed over him. Xu Ying glanced around and was taken aback—he had actually returned to the Other Shore of the Martial Dao! He felt a pang of shame that he had fled back to the Other Shore! 'Everyone harbors fear in their heart, and I am no exception. But overcoming fear is what makes a true warrior!' Taking a deep breath, he crouched low and exploded upward, leaping into midair and streaking like a rainbow across the sky to reappear tens of li away before the white skeleton! "Yiya!" Xu Ying's fist intent erupted, and he drove a punch straight at the space between the skeleton's brows! The skeleton grinned in a silent laugh and suddenly roared, its remnant battle intent sweeping forward like a deluge to batter Xu Ying's martial spirit! Xu Ying guarded the Taiyi, circulating the Taiyi Guiding Technique. His spirit was unified into absolute focus, allowing no matter how powerful the remnant thoughts and battle intent were to shake his mind in the slightest! The patterns between the skeleton's brows flared bright once more, and Samadhi true fire erupted, swelling explosively. At the same time, it extended an arm to wrench a broken weapon from the ground. Possessed of monstrous ferocity, the broken weapon slashed down at Xu Ying! Whoosh— Xu Ying's fist intent concentrated entirely. Ignoring everything around him, he poured everything he had into this strike. The Samadhi true fire parted and churned aside beneath his fist! In the next instant, with a deafening bang, his fist struck true between the skeleton's brows, shattering the imprint there and blasting apart bones that countless ages had failed to wear away! Propelled by the force of the blow, Xu Ying's body broke through the front of the skeleton's cranium, traversed the hollow skull, shattered the back of the head, and burst out! In the skeleton's eye sockets, the two ghost fires went out, and its skull exploded with a crash. As the bones collapsed to the ground, a gust of nether wind suddenly swept up the skeleton's remnant thoughts, coalescing into a black mist that shot toward Xu Ying with a sharp whistle, intending to seize his body. Xu Ying waited until the remnant thoughts drew near, then abruptly unleashed his martial spirit merged with vital blood, blazing like the midday sun. Radiance erupted from all around him like a sun rising in the dim night, searing the remnant thoughts with a loud sizzle until they were reduced to ash and ceased to exist! Xu Ying lifted his hand, only to see the finger bones of his right hand dripping with blood. Fierce though that punch had been, it had injured his own bones as well. He mobilized his Martial Dao vital energy and blood to nourish his skin and bones and continued forward, murmuring, "Zhai Wuxian can use the Martial Dao to manifest five of the Six Secret Depositories of the Human Body. Even if injured, he can recover in an instant. Alas, I have yet to fully master the deeper mysteries of the Martial Dao." Walking across the desolate battlefield, Xu Ying saw enormous white bones, swept up by some unseen force, gathering together and thrusting out of the earth one after another, growing into the shape of trees. On those bone trees, human arm bones served as branches, hands served as leaves, and skulls served as fruit, swaying in the nether wind and waving their arms. The skull fruits hanging beneath the trees chattered and laughed with glee, rattling noisily. More and more bone trees rose around him, coalescing into a forest. In the darkness, a demonic entity clung to the dried bones, singing within the white bone forest to urge people toward death, its voice eerie and seductive: "In death there is no lord above, no tyranny; In death there are no subjects below, no toil and drudgery; In death there are no four seasons, no searing heat or freezing cold; In death there are no worries or sorrows, no pain and agony!" Like a graceful woman, its figure flitted through the bone forest, poking its head out from behind a bone tree and singing plaintively, "How joyous, how joyous! My life has a limit, but my death is boundless! Life holds a thousand kinds of suffering, while death holds ten thousand kinds of bliss! Life is worse than death, life is worse than death! Die quickly, die quickly! Die quickly, die quickly!" Accompanied by its singing, Xu Ying felt as though he were plunging into a post-mortem paradise of ultimate bliss, weary of life and finding release in death. "With my Martial Dao, tyranny can be overthrown and toil dispelled. What care I for heat, cold, or pain? You mere monsters and demons dare dream of shaking my Dao heart?" Xu Ying condensed his qi into a sword, and sword qi erupted within the white bone forest. Streaks of sword light flashed like lightning, crisscrossing in every direction. Moments later, the bone forest collapsed, and the demonic entity was shattered into fine powder by the sword intent of the Heavenly Sword. Xu Ying journeyed onward, encountering all manner of bizarre demonic creatures. These monsters had formed from experts who died on the primordial battlefield; their remnant souls or obsessions, upon encountering the Netherworld's power, had been corrupted and demonized, either rising from death or giving birth to demonic spirits. After a long time, Xu Ying approached the location of the first torch-like martial essence and spirit in the darkness. From a distance, he saw a tall figure standing on the wasteland. For tens of li around, the area was completely clear, with no nether wind or demonic energy able to encroach upon it. That figure's vital blood surged into the heavens, forming towering clouds of vigor that roiled and surged with resonant power, holding the murky fiends at bay. Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief and walked toward the figure. His body bore quite a few wounds, and he needed to rest and recuperate. "I am Xu Ying. I have only recently arrived at the Other Shore of the Martial Dao to pursue and verify the Martial Dao," Xu Ying said as he approached. "My cultivation is modest, and I would like to seek shelter in Old Sir's vital blood to rest my feet..." At that point, he froze. Standing there was a white-haired elder, tall and stalwart, his vital blood boundless and unflagging. His martial spirit surged like a torrential river; even before getting close, Xu Ying could feel that spirit of striving onward with Heaven and earth, of indomitable courage and relentless drive. However, this white-haired elder was already dead. His body stood erect here, deterring all around him and serving as a beacon outside the Other Shore of the Martial Dao, guiding those who came after. Xu Ying fell silent. He looked in the direction the elder was gazing; out there, streaks of spirit and essence burned like flames. Those were likely other martial experts of the Other Shore who, in their final moments, had marched into the Netherworld to radiate their remaining warmth through their mortal remains. 'If there is no light, then become the light,' Xu Ying murmured in his heart. 'Even after death, illuminate the world! Is this the courage of the Martial Dao, the spirit of the Martial Dao?' He sat down beside the elder and quietly absorbed and comprehended this spirit of martial valor. After a long time, Xu Ying's vital blood surged. Essence, qi, and spirit unified into one, transforming into a torrential force that crashed toward the Weilu mystic pass covered in Heavenly Dao seals! Upon that black iron mystic pass, the countless Heavenly Dao runes inscribed across it lit up one by one! At the same time, within the primordial battlefield, a stone statue suddenly turned its head and looked in Xu Ying's direction! "Xu Ying, I've waited for you!"