In the ancient Nether Sea, divine power surged between the two colossal bull horns!
It was the incense smoke qi of peoples who lived before the myriad worlds of the heavens, accumulated over untold tens of thousands of years, far more vast and profound even than the divine power of the Northern Emperor and his peers.
Su Jingyan's expression changed abruptly. Divine power of this scale was already comparable to the Queen Mother of the West of Mount Kunlun.
"One would be manageable, but ten of them springing out all at once is terrifying!"
"Against any single one of them, I am nowhere near a match!"
Deciding without hesitation, he immediately led the immortals soaring into the sky, flying toward the Immortal Realm.
They were the orthodox forces of the Immortal Court. Having descended to the mortal realm under orders from the Heavenly Venerable, their cultivation realms were intact, so returning to the upper realm was no trouble; they needed only to ascend through the opening in the sky into the Immortal Realm.
Yet the Six Palaces of Mount Luofeng had suffered grievous losses. How could the six prefects let this opportunity slip?
Great Emperor Beiyin led the other prefects to fight with their lives on the line, holding back the immortals of the Wanshen Thunder Department. In particular, Immortal King Su Jingyan was pinned down by Great Emperor Beiyin and Prefect Shengran, preventing him from ascending to the Immortal Realm.
Furious and alarmed, Su Jingyan drove the Jinhe Sword, striking at them with deadly blows again and again.
Between the two colossal bull horns, Xu Ying held the clear-oil lamp, bowed slightly, and said, "I ask the ten Fellow Daoists to assist me in exterminating these scoundrels from the Immortal Realm."
King Zhuanlun of Suying Palace suddenly shifted into motion, reaching out a hand, and with a single palm smoothed away the sky.
Su Jingyan looked up, a chill gripping his heart. The opening in the sky was gone; immortal light no longer poured down, no immortal qi flowed through, and the celestial palace of the Wanshen Thunder Department was completely cut off from him.
*I'm afraid I'm done for this time!*
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a God Emperor descended from the sky, landing right before him.
Xu Ying looked toward the battlefield and saw King Zhuanlun unleash a massive millstone, crushing forward. Thousands of immortals were pulverized and ground to death.
When Su Jingyan attacked, he too was no match for King Zhuanlun. Yet with his profound cultivation, he could hold out for a time, though his defeat and demise were now inevitable.
Xu Ying let out a breath of relief. Just now, drawing upon the memories of his first life, he had reorganized the scattered imprints in this heaven and earth Dao arena.
He had previously experienced merging with the Dao in the Dao Revelation Ground, comprehending the Dao in Lihen Heaven, entering the Dao in the Kunlun Realm, and comprehending the Dao on Xuandu Jade Capital Mountain; his level of attainment was extraordinary.
Reorganizing the Great Dao imprints here had also been familiar territory, growing smoother and easier with every passing moment.
Yet as he sorted through them, he discovered that the Great Dao imprinted into the world of the ancient Nether Sea did not belong to merely one Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit.
The Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirits here numbered as many as ten!
In one sustained effort, Xu Ying had reassembled the imprints of the world's Great Dao, restoring the order of heaven and earth here, and bringing these ten Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirits back to life along with it.
Beside him stood the other nine God Emperors. King Pingdeng of Qifei Palace said with a smile, "Little Daoist Friend, now that King Zhuanlun has intervened, there is no way they will survive. In comprehending the Twelve-Storyed Mansions, is Little Daoist Friend seeking to grasp a Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit?"
Xu Ying shook his head. With a slight shift of his intent, he reopened the Bubbling Spring secret depository. Light blazed across the sky, thunder rumbling in rolls, as the power of another space-time suddenly swirled. Another Immortal Realm cave-heaven cleaved through the sky, connecting with Xu Ying's Bubbling Spring secret depository.
Looking at this Immortal Realm cave-heaven, the nine God Emperors each showed looks of surprise.
Xu Ying bowed slightly and said, "I came here precisely to comprehend the Great Dao of the ancient era's Nether Sea, and discern the method to open an Immortal Realm cave-heaven."
King Songdi of Zhoujue Palace praised, "Truly magnificent! By opening this cave-heaven, you reach directly to the other shore. You can grasp the mysteries of souls and spirits, and cultivating your Primordial Spirit will yield twice the results with half the effort!"
The other God Emperors nodded one after another, full of admiration.
Seeing immortal light from the Immortal Realm over here, Su Jingyan thought someone in the Immortal Realm had opened another passageway for him. He flew over immediately, rushing toward Xu Ying's Immortal Realm cave-heaven.
Yet Xu Ying's Bubbling Spring cave-heaven had only just been opened to the first heaven; even if Su Jingyan managed to squeeze inside, he would never reach the Immortal Realm.
No sooner had Su Jingyan charged out of Xu Ying's Bubbling Spring cave-heaven than he saw King Zhuanlun bearing down upon him. He hurriedly spurred the Jinhe Sword to parry and turned to flee, but Mount Fengdu crashed down head-on, crushing both his Primordial Spirit and physical body to powder.
Su Jingyan would not normally have been killed in a single blow, but Mount Fengdu was extraordinarily heavy, refined by Great Emperor Beiyin over untold tens of thousands of years, and adept at harming primordial spirits. His Primordial Spirit had shattered first before his physical body was obliterated, crushing him to death on the spot.
Immortal King Su's wisp of indestructible true spirit drifted aimlessly, sinking into the ancient Nether Sea.
Seeing this, the other immortals of the Wanshen Thunder Department were seized by terror and fled in all directions. The five prefects immediately led their subordinate gods in hot pursuit.
The Nether Sea of this ancient era was vast beyond measure. If those immortals went into hiding, finding them would be no easy task, but fortunately, they had no way to escape this realm.
The Northern Emperor did not join the chase. He reached out to seize the Jinhe Sword, but unexpectedly, the immortal sword tore through the void and vanished.
Seeing this, the ten God Emperors also reached out one after another, but their grasps all caught only empty air. They let out soft exclamations of surprise. The Jinhe Sword pierced through the barrier of heaven and earth, flying off to parts unknown.
The Northern Emperor's face darkened. "Sword Lord Jinhe's strength is even more formidable than before!"
He came before Xu Ying and the ten God Emperors, bowed slightly, and said, "Fellow Daoists of the ancient Netherworld, Beiyin greets you. My sincere thanks for the karmic grace of the ten Fellow Daoists."
"You are too courteous," the ten God Emperors replied, returning the courtesy. "Fellow Daoist need not stand on ceremony."
The Northern Emperor straightened up and said, "I have returned from death, and my strength is not what it once was.
"If my strength returned to its peak, I would not necessarily be inferior to you ten Fellow Daoists. When order is restored to the Netherworld in the future, my Six Palaces of Mount Luofeng must have our place. The ten Fellow Daoists cannot monopolize it all."
The ten God Emperors exchanged glances, each wearing a knowing smile.
Worried things might grow tense between them, Xu Ying smiled and said, "The Northern Emperor resides in the Nether Sea of the North Pole in the Netherworld, dwelling on Mount Fengdu. Revering him as Great Emperor Beiyin—or the Northern Emperor—the living beings of the myriad worlds chose him as the ruler of the Nether Sea."
King Chujiang of Puming Palace smiled. "So the Northern Emperor resides in the New Nether Sea."
"The New Nether Sea?" The Northern Emperor froze.
Xu Ying smiled. "That name is quite interesting. If the Nether Sea of the myriad worlds' Netherworld is called the New Nether Sea, then the Nether Sea of the ancient era should be called the Ancient Nether Sea."
King Chujiang said, "Fellow Daoist Beiyin may not know this, but you were born as a primordial deity in answer to the prayers of all living beings, naturally ruling the Netherworld. But the ten of us are different from you. We are not primordial deities of the Nether Sea, but incarnations."
The Northern Emperor was taken aback, knowing little about this.
Though Xu Ying knew Daoist Taiqing and Dongming Xuhuang, he did not know much about Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirits of this kind either. He asked, "Gentlemen, is a Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit an incarnation?"
King Chujiang explained, "A Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit is also an incarnation, but one that can detach from the true body and act according to the Great Dao. However, the Great Dao it follows is the heaven and earth Great Dao within the true body's Dao arena. Thus, even though detached from the true body, every move, every word, and every action is a thought of the true body."
His explanation was not obscure, and both Xu Ying and the Northern Emperor understood.
The Northern Emperor's expression changed slightly, his heart pounding erratically.
If the Ten Great God Emperors including King Chujiang were merely incarnations, then just how powerful and terrifying must their true body be?
With ten exceptionally powerful beings descending upon the Netherworld, not only would he, Beiyin, have no place, but even Dongyue, Cangwu, and the Reincarnation Mysterious Maiden would have nowhere to stand!
"To tell you the truth, while we appear to be ten people, we are in reality all one."
King Chujiang seemed to read his thoughts and smiled. "Our true body is known as Heavenly Venerable Taiyi Saving from Suffering. Seeing that the ghosts of the Netherworld had no one to rely on, he divided into ten great incarnations—which is us—to manage the Netherworld, punish evil and promote good, and maintain order.
"As for the Heavenly Venerable's true body, he cares little for our meager divine power, much less would he contend for the New Nether Sea."
King Taishan of Shenhua Palace added, "The Heavenly Venerable is not in this world. When he departed, he did not even take us along, which makes it plain to see. If someone is already governing the New Nether Sea, we are more than happy to enjoy our leisure; we will not compete for it in the slightest."
Xu Ying's heart stirred. *This Heavenly Venerable is not in this world either. Could he, like Xuhuang, have gone searching for that so-called other shore?*
Ashamed and chagrined, the Northern Emperor offered his apologies. "It was I who misunderstood everyone, judging the hearts of noble men with the petty mind of a small man. I hope you Fellow Daoists can forgive me."
Xu Ying smiled. "Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, what do the ten Fellow Daoists plan to do?"
His heart thudded. If he could invite these ten God Emperors to his side, then even if the Imperial Monarch descended, he would dare put up a fight!
King Chujiang said, "Naturally, we shall remain behind to guard the Ancient Nether Sea.
"The world's Great Dao has revived here. Though there are no wandering souls at this moment, souls will soon be drawn by the Great Dao of heaven and earth and arrive here.
"Governing the Netherworld of the Ancient Nether Sea is our duty. We must remain here and await the Heavenly Venerable's reappearance."
A bit disappointed, Xu Ying probed, "Could Heavenly Venerable Taiyi Saving from Suffering also have gone to the other shore?"
The ten God Emperors shook their heads one after another. "We do not know this either. We are merely Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirits, and know little of the upheavals back then."
King Qinguang said, "After the Heavenly Venerable departed, we remained behind to guard the Ancient Nether Sea and manage the Ten Halls of Yama. However, the world's Great Dao grew strange.
"Day by day, the Great Dao withered and decayed, and the Netherworld gradually emptied out. Finally, one day, an alien Great Dao supplanted the original Great Dao.
"If it had merely been the rise of an alien Dao, that would have been one thing, but soon, immortal gods of the alien Dao attacked us, causing the Ancient Nether Sea to fall into complete ruin."
As for the full story behind it all, they did not know.
Xu Ying pondered. "Immortal gods of the alien Dao... Could it be today's Immortal Realm?
"Yet does the Immortal Realm truly have the power to destroy the Dao arenas of so many ancient beings and slay their Heav..."
Chapter 413