"You... got lost?"

Xiaomiao, who was in a flowing ancient-style dress, didn't know what else to say as she listened to the voice coming from the communication artifact. A headache immediately followed.

She truly never expected that the elite cultivator squad that Earth had sent would actually... fail to even reach the Nether Realm!

Huai Jing's voice came from the wristband. It was not hard to imagine the monk's embarrassed expression.

—Amitabha. Major factions have already sealed off every route leading into the Nether Realm. People are only allowed out, not in. Even the hidden paths I knew before have all been blocked.

Huai Jing sighed.

—So now we're in this situation. There's only one way left to enter the Nether Realm.

Xiaomiao lowered her voice. "Die first and enter as souls?"

—You really are clever. That's exactly the only way left.

Huai Jing's bitter answer made her rub her forehead in frustration.

After thinking for a moment, she asked, "When did the major factions begin sealing the routes?"

—We investigated it already. At first, certain factions gradually took control of the passages leading into the Nether Realm. Then, around twenty years ago, every route was completely sealed off one after another.

"It wasn't done all at once? Are you sure?"

—Absolutely.

Huai Jing laughed softly.

—The concern you're thinking about was something this little monk and the others considered too. It probably wasn't specifically aimed at us.

Xiaomiao acknowledged him softly before falling into thought.

Soon after, she said, "There's not much I can do for you from here. Later, I'll contact Hostess Su and ask whether she has connections with any familiar factions. Maybe they can help open a path so you can provide aid in the Nether Realm. Even if we can't contribute much or become some decisive trump card, we still have to announce our presence. Otherwise, we'll end up extremely passive later on."

—Amitabha. Commander Miao, you can rest assured.

She cheerfully said with a girly tone, "Do your best."

Somehow, it did not feel out of place at all. That, in itself, was quite an impressive skill.

The conversation ended. Pale blue light floated from Xiaomiao's wristband and formed into a butterfly before slowly dispersing.

The wristbands they used were a pair of precious spirit artifacts. Unlike ordinary transmission jade talismans or voice-transmission artifacts, its greatest function was the ability to ignore barriers such as spatial separation and arrays.

Its only weakness was that it could only be used three times in total.

Huai Jing and the others were probably truly desperate. Otherwise, they would never have used such a precious spirit artifact just to transmit a message directly.

***

Within the Immortal Saint Realm, above the boundless ocean, more than a dozen people with gloomy expressions gathered, looking ready for a funeral.

Huai Jing, Long Liekong, and Hu Chang—the newly formed trio of gaming addicts—seemed more nostalgic for games than worried about the dangerous road ahead.

Nearby stood several familiar faces Wang Sheng knew well, including Fei Lianzi from the Shu Sword Sect and Gao Shixing from the Wudang Mountains. As Earth's top sword cultivators, the two were naturally chosen to join the expedition.

The five men, with three old Daoist elders from Earth, were all Golden Immortals now. After all, during Wang Sheng's hundred years on Earth, more than ten thousand years had already passed outside.

Aside from them, five Special Warfare Unit instructors also accompanied them. Their cultivation realm was somewhat lower, but their combat strength remained outstanding.

Two other individuals were also with them, but they resembled more like extra baggage than anything else.

Shi Qianzhang, the diplomatic ambassador of Earth's cultivation world, and Liu Yunzhi, the heartthrob of the cultivation world.

Their group had already begun this journey back when Wang Sheng brought Ling Sheng to the Immortal Saint Realm. Unfortunately, they encountered several problems along the way and advanced rather slowly.

There was no helping it. Even Huai Jing, the strongest among them, only possessed Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm combat strength at the moment, and that already amounted to eighty percent of his previous life's power.

Naturally, they couldn't bring everyone to the Immortal Saint Realm as fast as Wang Sheng. After all, he was now a pseudo–powerful being.

Once Huai Jing finished the voice transmission, the other dozen or so people who had overheard the conversation all frowned deeply with bitter expressions.

They had already been stranded in the Immortal Saint Realm for over thirty years. Despite all their efforts, they still could not find a path downward. Their arrogance had long since been worn away, leaving behind only helplessness and lingering frustration.

"These great cultivators of the Immortal Saint Realm don't really make sense!"

"If we could clean up organized crime here, we'd wipe every last one of them out!"

"Everyone," Shi Qianzhang said as he stood with his hands behind his back. At first glance, his calm demeanor really did resemble some lofty expert. "What do we do now? Maybe we should just head back. Standing around here is dangerous. Some random great power could pass by and erase us with a flick of the hand."

Liu Yunzhi replied calmly, "If you want to go back, then go by yourself. We've already come this far! How can we quit halfway?"

"There's no such thing as abandoning a mission halfway through!"

"The problem is figuring out how we're supposed to get down there."

Shi Qianzhang muttered from the side, "People always say having an elder around is like having a treasure at home. Why not ask the old guys?"

Instantly, more than a dozen gazes turned toward the three old Daoist elders. However, shortly afterward, every pair of eyes shifted toward the bald monk standing among the crowd.

Good ol' Huai Jing.

"I..." Huai Jing found himself speechless. After a moment, he muttered helplessly, "In my previous life, I was only an arhat. Do you even understand what that means? Among Buddhists, it goes Buddha, bodhisattva, then arhat.

"I was basically equivalent to a department sect master and a headquarters officer rolled together. I could fight, endure hardship, and obey orders without hesitation, but right now, I truly have no idea."

Hu Chang grumbled, "The King of Hell selection is about to begin. If we waste another few decades here, everything will already be over!"

Long Liekong, who had mostly been silent, remarked, "Actually, I do have an idea. I possess a divine ability that can store people, and Buddhist Master Huai Jing also has a treasure capable of hiding others inside. We could all hide inside Buddhist Master Huai Jing's treasure, then have him figure out a way to sneak into the Nether Realm alone.

"Along the journey here, we've already seen that many factions have Buddhist cultivators. Building connections with them shouldn't be too difficult..."

Huai Jing's mouth twitched slightly as he forced out a bitter smile. "We're not even from the same temple. Sharing a bowl of rice together won't be easy."

"Just give it a try," persuaded Liu Yunzhi. "At this point, we can only rely on you, Buddhist Master."

Shi Qianzhang became strangely excited. "Buddhist Master!"

The few Special Warfare Unit instructors nearby immediately stepped forward as well and shouted in unison, "Buddhist Master!"

Little by little, Huai Jing straightened his back. The bitter smile on his face slowly turned into one brimming with confidence. Somehow, before he even realized it himself, he had already nodded and agreed to the matter.

Only after taking out the purple-golden alms bowl and storing everyone inside did he belatedly pat his bald head.

"Amitabha. Why do I feel like I've been tricked?"

Naturally, he did not dare waste time. He immediately headed toward the nearest passage leading to the Nether Realm, intending to first determine which faction controlled the area. Afterward, he would locate a Buddhist cultivator within their ranks to see whether luck would favor him.

Right now, this was their only option left.

***

Meanwhile, within Fengdu City.

"The fourth ring is only one layer deeper than the fifth ring, so why are the housing prices nearly ten times higher?"

Inside a newly purchased courtyard residence, Wang Sheng could not help but grumble while arranging arrays throughout the property.

The previous place was no longer safe enough.

Ever since encountering and rejecting the recruitment of that "heartless, powerful, wandering slaughter cultivator," Wang Sheng had constantly felt as though someone was watching him.

The other party clearly was not broad-minded. That stale old mentality of "if I can't use him, then eliminate him immediately" left Wang Sheng thoroughly speechless.

It was not that he feared the other side. Even if he could not win, he could still escape. He simply did not want anything interfering with his upcoming plans.

As for the details of the plan... he had not thought that far yet.

But the goal was obvious: cause trouble for the Immortal Emperor, win the Nether Realm over to their faction, and protect the Six-Path Wheel of Reincarnation.

Fengdu City was far too chaotic right now. No matter how much Wang Sheng thought things through, it still made more sense to establish a rough direction first and adapt according to circumstances afterward. Hence, he chose to step back and move his residence from the fifth ring of Fengdu City into the fourth ring instead.

Although it was only one ring closer, the fourth ring stood nearer to the Nether Realm's stationed ghost armies. There were also more Nether Realm experts patrolling the area, which meant the overall order was better, and cultivator activity was somewhat lower.

It would naturally be for the best if the other side backed off because of this. It would also prove that their faction did not dare offend the Nether Realm and, therefore, could not truly be considered a top-level force.

But if they continued spying and scheming without restraint, then they would indirectly prove that they belonged to one of the Immortal Saint Realm's top factions—one that did not even think of the Nether Realm as a threat and acted with complete disregard.

Clearly, the situation belonged to the latter. Wang Sheng had only just finished arranging the arrays around his new home when several people appeared beyond the courtyard.

Though they vanished almost instantly and looked no different from the countless hurried figures moving through the city, the sensation of being watched became all too obvious.

Wang Sheng muttered, "Trouble."

A trace of coldness flashed through Ling Sheng's eyes behind him. She whispered, "Master, I'll go deal with them."

"Not yet. Let's wait for them to make the first move. In just a few days, Emperor Qinghua will supposedly appear. Fengdu City will definitely descend into chaos then, which means they probably won't have time to bother with us. If they continue pestering us afterward, we'll leave the city and fight them outside."

"Yes, Master," Ling Sheng obediently answered.

Wang Sheng smiled faintly. "How's that bluffing cultivation technique I taught you before? Have you mastered it?"

"I have fully mastered it."

Wang Sheng nodded seriously. "Good. When you fight, remember to conceal your origins properly. Don't let anyone figure out where your roots truly lie."

"Yes, Master."

At that moment, Wang Sheng had a thought. "That person from before was probably the Black Emperor."

Wang Sheng blinked. A strand of immortal light flew out from his ring and condensed into a tiny, three-cun-tall fairy. She sat sideways quietly on Wang Sheng's shoulder.

Yaoyun said softly, "He altered the appearance he used back in the Heavenly Court. Even his Dao and Dao Rhythm now differ greatly. I failed to recognize him at first, but after spending the past few days thinking carefully, I finally remembered him. That person should definitely be the Black Emperor."

"Even his Dao has changed completely?"

Yaoyun nodded. "Mm. Otherwise, I would not have initially mistaken him for someone else."

"It was really him?" The corners of Wang Sheng's mouth twitched slightly as he muttered, "That makes things troublesome. Why the hell did he suddenly take an interest in me?"

Just as Yaoyun was about to reply, her delicate brow furrowed. "Someone's coming. They're about to break the array."

"Hide first."

"Alright."

The sword cultivator and his sword spirit worked together with perfect coordination. Yaoyun vanished instantly as Wang Sheng drew Abi[1] from the Great Dao sword case.

Unity of man and sword: Dao of Creation version! Wang Sheng inwardly shouted.

The old sword spirit within Abi immediately floated out and hovered behind him, radiating an incomparably pure slaughter aura from head to toe.

Wang Sheng was rendered speechless.

Why does this feel a little strange...

Merging with Yaoyun looked much more pleasing to the eye.

At that very moment, the arrays surrounding the courtyard shattered without warning. Gray figures appeared outside the walls like ghosts and blasted apart the restriction-reinforced courtyard walls. Meanwhile, the courtyard gate was kicked open with a single violent strike.

1. Raws confirm that this is indeed meant to be Abi, not Yuan Tu. How Wang Sheng got it remains unclear. ☜