After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

A bright blue light shone brightly within Chen Ya's body.

The withered meridians were gradually opened up, and delicate light patterns emerged from the broken parts. The old veins were burned to ashes, and new spiritual veins spread out again along the bones and flesh.

A withered tree comes back to life.

Life force surged along the meridians, and the wound on the shoulder, gnawed by the corpse poison, began to expel grayish-white pus and blood. The exposed flesh contracted inward, and new flesh emerged from the edge of the wound.

Inside the water tank, Su Qingling and Su Qingwu were enveloped in blue ice cocoons.

The extremely cold, heavy water is still being pushed inward.

However, that water pressure was no longer enough to disrupt the sacred body circulation within them.

The two of them sank into the depths of the spiritual vein.

The power of the tides washed over the ice cocoon again and again, slowly washing away the losses left by the previous battle.

The sword light in Xiao Hongli's hand became increasingly refined.

She suffered more than a dozen soul wounds, which, though bloodless, were more tormenting to her soul than being cut in the flesh.

But with each swing of her sword, her wrist became more steady than the previous one.

The vengeful ghosts that pounced at her were shattered one by one by her sword.

Her sword-like heart was also sharpened by the tearing and biting of countless ghosts.

In the lava pool, the black gold dragon finally stopped howling.

It was submerged in crimson magma, spewing out a string of sparks from its nostrils.

Dark gold patterns emerged on the surface of the dragon scales.

The young dragon's body was scorched by the earth's fire. At first, it would instinctively struggle, but later it began to actively absorb the firepower from the magma.

On Qin San's side, the mechanical hammer array was still operating.

The iron arm fell again and again, striking his shoulders, back, waist, and legs.

His body was covered in bruises.

The bone was broken and then set, only to be broken again shortly after.

But his lower body became more and more stable, his feet gripped the ground firmly, and his boxing stance was no longer easily broken by the mechanical hammer.

The blood and qi in everyone's bodies surged.

The barriers of cultivation have cracked.

Just as everyone was preparing to break through their constraints, a rustling sound came from an empty flowerpot in the shadows of a corner.

The white umbrella mushroom, which had been quietly absorbing spiritual energy, began to swell uncontrollably.

A few breaths later, countless mycelia intertwined in mid-air, forming a face that resembled an old monk in meditation.

His face was lowered, aimed at Zhou Ran.

"Zhou Ran..."

Its perception pierced through thousands of meters of the earth's crust, reaching the deepest part of Jiangcheng.

Bai Xuan's voice is ancient and distant, making it difficult to distinguish whether it is male or female.

"The body beneath Jiangcheng..."

"He's alive!"

The originally calm flow of spiritual energy in the secret room was disrupted by this shout.

Zhou Ran opened her eyes.

The purple-gold demonic eyes burst forth with light.

He clasped his hands together in front of his chest.

"Certainly!"

The oppressive aura of a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator descended.

He forcefully suppressed the restless energy of the four women and one dragon, who were about to break through their cultivation barriers but were on the verge of going astray, back into the depths of their respective meridians.

"Keep pushing through the barriers."

"Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up."

"Anyone who dares to give up, I'll personally cripple them."

Zhou Ran left with a remark, then got up and walked towards a dark corner.

He stopped in front of the flowerpot covered with mycelium.

Explain yourself.

"What's alive?"

Zhou Ran looked down at Bai Xuan, his voice very low.

Bai Xuan has lived for four thousand years. He has seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the cultivation world, as well as the fall of powerful figures and the annihilation of sects.

But the Buddha's eye, which had been opened after being baptized by "a monk's cup of tea," was now trembling violently.

"Zhou Ran, you have absorbed Ye Futian's memories, so you should have seen real immortal techniques."

"The death of the physical body does not mean annihilation."

"Some things, as long as there is still a shell left, can be put back into existence."

The mycelium of the white mycelium stretched taut, one by one.

"The so-called remains of an ancient powerful being buried deep in the earth veins of Jiangcheng, connected to the dry well of the underworld, are not the corpse of a human cultivator at all."

Zhou Ran lowered her eyes and brows.

"continue."

The white mycelium and human face were twisted together.

"Based on my four thousand years of demon cultivation memories and heritage, I can only deduce three conclusions."

"Each one of them is enough to drag Jiangcheng into a dead end."

Zhou Ran put his hands behind his back.

"explain."

Firstly.

Bai Xuan lowered his voice.

"That remains are an empty shell left on Earth by a ruler of the Void Realm."

"The beings in the illusory realm do not have stable physical bodies; they wish to transcend planes and descend to the mortal world."

To maintain combat capability in the long term, we must find a vessel capable of containing them.

"This empty shell was buried in the earth's veins and absorbed the yin and yang energies for thousands of years."

"Now, we only need one last bite of food."

Bai Xuan raised his head, his empty eye sockets meeting Zhou Ran's gaze.

"Thirty million souls."

"As long as the rebel army of the underworld pours the souls of 30 million people in Jiangcheng into it, that divine body will awaken."

"When the time comes, even Ye Futian at his peak wouldn't be willing to take on the consequences head-on."

A cold glint flashed in Zhou Ran's eyes.

Void Realm Miscellaneous Items.

They turned Jiangcheng into a hotbed of life, using 30 million living people as fodder.

Secondly.

Secondly…

The white mycelium writhed restlessly.

"That thing is the core of a reverse spirit-devouring array."

"The fact that the Earth's spiritual energy has been depleted so quickly over thousands of years is not necessarily just due to the cycle of heaven and earth."

Bai Xuan's speech became increasingly rapid.

"If it is activated, the earth veins of Jiangcheng will be drained first."

"Then there are the surrounding mountains and rivers."

"After that, the entire ley lines will be dragged into a chain reaction of decay and death."

"Finally, we'll send them all into the void."

"At that time, Jiangcheng will become a wasteland in the graveyard of the heavens."

"Not even a blade of grass can survive."

Zhou Ran's finger bones made a soft sound when pressed.

It's not an occupation.

It means to squeeze dry.

They squeezed out the life force, then the earth's veins, and finally, the human soul.

In the end, they didn't even keep the bone marrow.

"The third one."

Bai Xuan paused for a few breaths.

This deduction is one that even it itself is unwilling to consider in detail.

"This wreckage is a domino that divides the territory."

"The underworld and the world of the living were originally two separate rivers."

"But what if this wreckage itself is a waterway connecting two realms?"

Bai Xuan's tone began to drift.

"Once the canal is cleared..."

"The boundary between Yin and Yang in Jiangcheng will be permanently dissolved."

"The waters of the Yellow Springs flow back into the human world."

"The living become ghosts, and the dead return to life."

"Order collapses, everything reverses."

"That's not a ghost story."

"That's a complete mess in Jiangcheng, between the realms of Yin and Yang."

The underground chamber fell completely silent.

In the distance, only the sound of extremely cold, heavy water churning could be heard.

There was also the low sound of fire bubbles bursting in the lava pool.

Zhou Ran stood still, the light in his purple-gold demonic eyes gradually tightening.

Three inferences.

Regardless of which one it is, with his current mid-stage Golden Core cultivation and the Primordial Overlord Body, he cannot force his way into the mortal realm.

The opponent's plan was not a killing trap.

It is a winch that is simultaneously tightened from three ends: the earth veins, the underworld, and the void.

Holding out in Jiangcheng is like standing on a time bomb.

Where is the countdown?

Where is the lead wire?

Who's holding the switch?

Everything is unknown.

"I see."

Zhou Ran exhaled, his brows furrowing more and more deeply.

But deep down, he already had a plan.

Since the source of control over the remains lies in the underworld, and since the rebels of the underworld have extended their reach to Jiangcheng, then let's storm into the underworld.

The hand holding the fuse chopped it up.

Zhou Ran looked up.

There was no more hesitation in his purple-gold pupils, only an uncontrollable killing intent.

He turned around.

Li Zhiyao stood in the corner the whole time.

The yin energy of two thousand years has been completely eliminated.

Looking at Zhou Ran's back, she already guessed what he was going to do.

"You are going to the underworld."

It's not a question.

It is a conclusion.

"right."