I transmigrated to a chaotic world and became the sole player.

The dilapidated boat, like a ghost, glided silently across the viscous, gray River of Souls. A pale green lantern at the bow emitted a faint yet powerful light, enough to dispel the thick fog within a radius of several feet, becoming the sole source of light in this deathly silence. The light reflected on the slowly flowing water, and beneath the surface, countless distorted, tormented, blurry faces flashed by, emitting silent, chilling wails.

Lu Zhao sat cross-legged on the cold deck. The medicinal power of the [Healing Pill] and [Life and Death Elixir (Diluted)] dissolved within his body, nourishing his damaged meridians and flesh, and repairing the deep, bone-revealing wound on his left shoulder. The excruciating pain lessened slightly, but the combined effects of blood loss and the depletion of his spiritual and mental energy still left him feeling weak and dizzy. He dared not be careless in the slightest, regulating his breathing while vigilantly observing his surroundings.

At the stern, the boatman's illusory figure, draped in a tattered straw raincoat and whose face was obscured, remained motionless like an ancient stone sculpture. Only his eyes, hidden in the shadow of his straw hat and appearing as two empty points, would occasionally turn slightly as the boat moved forward, scanning the river surface. Lu Zhao could sense that this boatman's illusory figure was not a living being, but rather a programmed restriction or lingering will, operating according to some kind of rule, responsible for ferrying "passengers" who "met the conditions."

"This River of Souls, I wonder how wide it is, and where it leads..." Lu Zhao gazed in the direction the small boat was heading. The gray-black fog was so thick it seemed impossible to dissipate, and the River of Souls appeared endless. Only the eerie green light stubbornly pierced the darkness, illuminating a small patch of water ahead. The air was filled with a deathly stillness and decay ten times denser than the "Deadly Wasteland," and an indescribable, cold, and ancient pressure that seemed to emanate from the depths of the netherworld.

He could even sense that the wisp of annihilation energy within his body, in this environment, was as if it had returned to its womb, becoming unusually active and slowly and spontaneously absorbing and assimilating the homologous energy contained in the surrounding mist. Although the speed was extremely slow, it was indeed happening. Meanwhile, the life force of "Hibernating Dragon" was suppressed to its lowest point, barely able to maintain basic vital signs.

"This environment is a paradise for those who cultivate the Dao of Annihilation. But for other cultivators, it's undoubtedly a dead end," Lu Zhao thought to himself. No wonder the remains said that only by crossing the "Soul River Ferry" could one reach the "Nine Nether Altar." The Soul River and the environment alone could weed out 99% of uninvited guests.

He didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps an hour, perhaps longer. Just when Lu Zhao felt his injuries had stabilized considerably and his condition had improved somewhat, a different scene suddenly appeared in the thick fog ahead.

The grayish-black fog began to thin, its color gradually shifting from pure grayish-black to a dark red, as if stained with blood. In the air, the pure, deathly stillness began to be mixed with a pungent, nauseating stench of blood, and... a terrifying aura of rage, evil, and boundless hunger and destructive desire!

This aura is somewhat similar to the aura emanating from the "Demon Sealing Well" in Qingfeng Town, which belongs to the divided soul of the "Soul Devouring Demon Lord," but it seems to be more ancient, violent, and carries a unique pressure and resentment belonging to the "dragon" type!

"It's the aura of the 'Nine Netherworld Evil Dragon'?!" Lu Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately stood up, fully alert. He knew that they were probably not far from their destination.

The small boat broke through the dark red mist, and the view ahead finally became clear.

The River of Souls reaches its end here. No, perhaps not the end, but rather a branching out, or seeping underground. Ahead lies an incomparably vast, desolate plain composed of dark red rocks, barren and devoid of any vegetation. Above the plain, thick, dark red blood clouds hang heavy, churning and flashing with faint crimson lightning. On the earth, countless bottomless, enormous ravines crisscross, like scars on the land. Within these ravines, a dark red, viscous liquid, resembling both magma and blood, slowly flows and churns, emitting scorching heat and a pungent, acrid stench of sulfur and blood.

In the very center of the plain, and in the most awe-inspiring place, stands a colossal altar, hundreds of feet tall, forged entirely from a strange, dark red, almost black metal mixed with bones, its shape grotesque, resembling countless dragon skeletons entwined and coiled together!

The altar was pyramid-shaped, divided into nine levels, each covered with densely packed, intricate, and dizzyingly complex blood-red runes. These runes differed from the gray runes of the Nine Netherworld Path that Lu Zhao had seen before; they were more sinister and violent, seemingly containing endless pain and madness. At each of the eight corners of the altar stood a thick, dark red stone pillar, its top inlaid with a giant skull, and eerie green will-o'-the-wisps burning in the skull's eye sockets.

At this moment, the entire altar was radiating an eerie, dark red light that shot skyward! The light was almost tangible, even causing the blood-red clouds above to swirl into a massive vortex. Around the altar, the will-o'-the-wisps on the eight skull pillars flickered wildly, their glow mingling with the altar's own crimson light.

What made Lu Zhao's pupils shrink even more was that on the plains surrounding the altar, along the edges of those enormous ravines, thousands of figures, clad in black robes and hooded, their faces obscured, were kneeling densely packed together! Like the most devout believers, they prostrated themselves towards the altar, chanting in a low, fervent, and uniformly synchronized chanting. This chanting was not in any known language, but a twisted, evil, and soul-piercing demonic sound, seemingly capable of stirring up the deepest fears and desires in people's hearts.

Before these kneeling figures in black robes, at the base of the altar, lay a small mountain of mangled corpses of various demonic beasts and even... cultivators! Blood flowed like streams from the mountain of corpses, meandering upwards along the grooves carved into the altar, flowing into the higher levels. The stench of blood was so thick it was almost tangible, suffocating the senses.

"A blood sacrifice! It's underway!" Lu Zhao was horrified, his hands and feet turning ice-cold. The scene before him was strikingly similar to that in Qingfeng Town, but on a larger scale, with a more complete ritual and far more black-robed figures participating! Moreover, the evil aura emanating from the altar far surpassed that of the Blood Fiend Array in Qingfeng Town! This was definitely a long-planned, massive, and nearly completed blood sacrifice ritual!

"These black-robed men... are they from the Blood Fiend Cult? Or some other evil cult?" Lu Zhao could sense that the auras of those black-robed men varied in strength, with the weakest only at the third or fourth level of Qi Refining, and the strongest even faintly showing fluctuations of the Foundation Establishment stage! Moreover, the fanatical, devout aura mixed with blood fiend energy emanating from them was exactly the same as that of the Blood Fiend Cult members!

"Their target is indeed this 'Nine Nether Altar'! No, their target is to break the seal below by sacrificing blood to this altar, releasing the remnant soul of the 'Nine Nether Evil Dragon'!" Lu Zhao recalled the warning left by the remains, and a strong sense of urgency and anger rose in his heart. These madmen, in order to release the ancient demon, actually slaughtered so many living beings!

He forcefully suppressed the urge to rush out and disrupt the ceremony. That was impossible. Forget the thousands of black-robed believers and the possible Foundation Establishment stage experts; the terrifying pressure emanating from the altar itself made his soul tremble, making it impossible to even approach. With his current strength, rushing forward would only be suicide.

"We must find a way to sabotage it, or... at least get more information, and then find a way to leave the secret realm and notify the sect!" Lu Zhao forced himself to calm down, observing the altar and the surrounding environment.

The small boat came to a stop a hundred paces from the shore, ceasing all further. It seemed that this was the ferry's final destination.

"Disembark...or...return..." The boatman's illusory voice rang out again, devoid of any emotion.

Go back? The other side of the Soul River was occupied by the "Azure Edge Squad" and countless ghostly figures; going back would only lead to certain death. Lu Zhao took a deep breath, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the boatman's illusory figure, and then leaped, landing lightly on the dark red rocks on the shore.

The moment my feet touched solid ground, an even stronger sense of bloodshed, evil, and a heart-pounding tremor emanating from the depths of the earth surged from beneath my feet. It was as if a ferocious beast sealed beneath my feet was frantically breaking free of its shackles.

Lu Zhao immediately activated the [Return to Nothingness Concealment Technique] to its maximum, simultaneously employing the concealment method from the incomplete "Nine Netherworld Annihilation Scripture," simulating his aura to be as close as possible to the annihilation and deathly stillness of the surrounding environment. Like a fish swimming in the shadows, he cautiously crept towards the altar, using the ravines and rocks as cover. He dared not get too close, and at the edge of a relatively deep ravine about five hundred feet from the kneeling black-robed crowd around the altar, he found a crevice in the rocks where his vision was still acceptable and he could hide well.

From this angle, he could see some details of the altar more clearly, as well as the actions of the men in black robes.

On the ninth and highest level of the altar, three figures were standing on the platform.

In the center stood a figure clad in a magnificent black robe trimmed with dark gold, a grotesque dragon-head bone crown on his head, and wielding a bizarre scepter, entirely blood-red, topped with a constantly pulsating heart resembling that of a living being. His back was to Lu Zhao, obscuring his face, but the aura emanating from him was unmistakably that of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator! Moreover, his aura was distinctly different from the black-robed figures below, far deeper and more malevolent, seemingly sharing the same origin as the altar beneath his feet and the ferocious creature sealed deep within the earth! He must be the chief priest of this blood sacrifice!

On the left stood an old man with a hunched back, dressed in an ordinary black robe, holding a thick, blood-red book. His aura was that of someone in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, and he seemed to be a priest assisting in the ritual.

On the right was a tall woman in black robes whose face was completely shrouded in the shadow of a hood, but whose outline could still be discerned. She held a jet-black longbow that seemed to absorb all light, and her aura was also that of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, giving off an extremely dangerous feeling. She appeared to be a guard.

At this moment, the high priest raised his crimson scepter, chanting an even more piercing and distorted demonic chant. With his chanting, the blood gushing from the mountain of corpses below flowed faster, and the crimson runes on the altar shone even more intensely. The will-o'-the-wisps atop the eight skull pillars suddenly surged, transforming into eight thick, eerie green pillars of fire that shot skyward, merging with the crimson light of the altar, and slamming fiercely into the center of the cloud vortex above the altar, pierced by the crimson light!

"Boom—!"

The earth trembled even more violently! Spiderweb-like cracks began to appear on the ground beneath the altar, and dark red, scorching liquid (earth fire? demonic blood?) gushed forth from the fissures! A more terrifying, more violent dragon's roar, seemingly from the primordial chaos, carrying endless pain, rage, and a desire to destroy everything, faintly echoed from the depths of the earth! It was as if the remnant soul of the suppressed "Nine Netherworld Evil Dragon" was frantically responding to the call of the blood sacrifice, attempting to break free of its final shackles!

"The ritual... has reached its most crucial moment!" Lu Zhao's heart pounded like a drum, and cold sweat beaded on his palms. He could feel the seal rapidly weakening, and the remnant soul of the "Nine Netherworld Evil Dragon" could break free at any moment!

What to do? What can he do? Charge out and interrupt? That's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Sabotage quietly? He can't even get close. Just watch a demon be born?

No! Absolutely not! The tragedy of Qingfeng Town must never be repeated! Moreover, once this remnant soul of the "Nine Netherworld Evil Dragon" is born, the first to be affected will probably be everyone in the secret realm, including himself!

Just as Lu Zhao was anxiously racking his brains for a solution, a sudden change occurred!

On the east side of the altar, in the kneeling crowd of people in black robes, a commotion suddenly broke out near the edge!

Suddenly, several men in black robes sprang up, tearing off their robes to reveal the inner disciples' attire of the Qingyun Dao Sect! The leader was none other than the young man in brocade robes who had shown hostility towards Lu Zhao in the plaza earlier—the one at the eighth level of Qi Refining! Beside him were three other inner disciples with considerable auras, two at the seventh level of Qi Refining and one at the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining.

"You heretics! How dare you commit this blood sacrifice against the heavens! Disciples of the Qingyun Dao Sect, you shall die!" the young man in brocade robes shouted fiercely, his silver longsword bursting with dazzling light as he slashed at the nearest black-robed believer! The other three also attacked simultaneously, unleashing spells and sword light in quick succession, instantly killing dozens of unsuspecting low-level black-robed believers around them!

This sudden turn of events caused a momentary chaos at the blood sacrifice site. The black-robed believers on the outer perimeter stirred, but the believers on the inner perimeter and the chief priest on the altar did not seem too panicked.

"Hmph, a few ignorant little insects have sneaked in." On the altar, the hunchbacked old priest sneered, flipping through the blood-red tome in his hand while chanting incantations.

Instantly, the large number of black-robed believers kneeling around the four young men in brocade robes seemed to receive a command. Their eyes flashed red, and they all let out inhuman roars, leaping up from the ground and fearlessly rushing towards the four men! These believers were generally at the fourth to sixth level of Qi Refining, but there were a great many of them. They seemed to be empowered by some kind of power, becoming crazy and fearless, and instantly overwhelmed the four men.

"It's Li Mu!" Lu Zhao recognized the young man in brocade robes; he was one of Zhao Wuji's henchmen. "They actually infiltrated the blood sacrifice team? Are they trying to sabotage it, or... do they have other plans?"

Regardless of their purpose, their appearance undoubtedly disrupted the situation, attracted the attention of most of the black-robed believers, and may even have... diverted the attention of the early-stage Foundation Establishment guard on the altar?

"An opportunity!" A glint flashed in Lu Zhao's eyes. Although Li Mu and the others were likely doomed, the chaos they had created might be his only chance to do something!

His gaze swept rapidly around the altar. Destroying the altar itself was unrealistic, but... those eight skull pillars burning with ghostly fire seemed to be an important part of the altar's formation, and a key node for guiding and transmitting the blood sacrifice power! If... if he could destroy just one of them, even if it was only for a moment, could it delay or even interrupt the blood sacrifice ritual?

This idea was utterly insane. That skull pillar was clearly no ordinary object, and it was protected by will-o'-the-wisps, making it extremely dangerous to approach. But... it was the only method he could think of that might work, and offered even a sliver of hope!

"I'll risk it all!" Lu Zhao gritted his teeth and quietly slid out from the crevice in the rock where he was hiding. He didn't rush towards the east side where the fierce battle was raging, but instead chose the west side, which was relatively "peaceful," with fewer kneeling believers, and the nearest skull pillar to him was only about three hundred feet away!

He pushed the [Return to Nothingness Concealment Technique] and [Flowing Cloud Step] to their limits, his figure almost blending into the dark red ground and the pervasive blood-red mist, moving swiftly like a ghost through the shadows surrounding the western crowd of believers. He dared not use his spiritual power to fly, fearing it would attract attention, relying solely on his agility and physical strength.

Along the way, occasionally, kneeling black-robed believers seemed to sense something amiss and looked up in confusion, but Lu Zhao was too fast and his aura was extremely well concealed. He would often pass by before they could react.

One hundred zhang... fifty zhang... thirty zhang...

The nearest skull pillar is getting closer and closer! The pillar is ten zhang tall and requires several people to encircle it. Its surface is covered with twisted blood-red runes. In the eye sockets of the huge skull at the top, ghostly green flames flicker, emitting a cold and evil aura, faintly connected to the blood-red light at the center of the altar.

Lu Zhao could even feel the heat emanating from the will-o'-the-wisp and the burning sensation on his soul. He knew he couldn't get any closer, or he would surely be discovered.

He lurked behind a protruding rock about twenty feet away from the stone pillar, holding his breath and staring intently at the flickering will-o'-the-wisp and the base of the stone pillar.

"It must be a single, decisive blow, causing sufficient damage..." Lu Zhao's mind raced, rapidly searching for a solution. A talisman? Probably insufficient to move this stone pillar. The Annihilation Finger? Not powerful enough, and too energy-consuming. The [Mysterious Yin Soul-Slaying Needle]? Perhaps it could interfere with the ghostly fire, but ineffective against the stone pillar itself...

His gaze fell upon the unused Soul-Suppressing Pearl (Tier 1, High Grade) he held in his robes, obtained from the "Netherworld Tomb." Two remained. The destructive soul force from the exploding Soul-Suppressing Pearl possessed immense destructive power against souls, spirits, and energy structures. The will-o'-the-wisps emanating from this skull pillar were clearly a combination of soul force and demonic energy; the pillar itself also contained a vast amount of energy...

"Perhaps... we could try shooting the Soul-Silent Pearl into the skull's eye socket, into the core of the will-o'-the-wisp!" A daring, almost suicidal thought arose in Lu Zhao's mind. The core of the will-o'-the-wisp was undoubtedly the key node in the stone pillar's energy circulation; destroying it would yield the best results. But that place would also be the most dangerous.

He had no time to hesitate. The resistance from Li Mu and the others on the east side seemed to be about to be suppressed. The chanting of the chief priest on the altar grew even louder, the dragon's roar from the depths of the earth became clearer, and the vibrations of the seal had reached their limit!

"Now!"

A resolute glint flashed in Lu Zhao's eyes. He took out two Soul-Suppressing Beads and tightly bound them together with specially made spiritual silk mixed with his own blood essence and the energy of annihilation. Then, he took out the black longbow (obtained from the black-clad assassin "Shadow Killer," of decent quality) and placed the bound Soul-Suppressing Beads on the bowstring.

He slowly drew back the bowstring, channeling most of his remaining spiritual power, along with all the controllable annihilation energy he could muster, into the arrow (the Soul-Silent Pearl)! At the same time, he activated the [Divine Refinement Technique] to its limit, his mental power locking onto the core of the ghostly green flame flickering in the eye socket of the skull pillar three hundred feet away!

Wind direction, distance, energy fluctuations, the patterns of will-o'-the-wisp... all factors are rapidly calculated and adjusted with the aid of the [Refining Spirit Technique].

The bow is drawn to its fullest extent, the arrow aimed at the netherworld.

"go!"

Lu Zhao roared inwardly and released the bowstring.

"call out--!"

Two Soul-Silent Beads, shrouded in a gray-black aura and faintly pulsating with soul power, tore through the pervasive blood-red mist like two intertwined gray meteors, shooting with astonishing speed and unparalleled precision toward the eye sockets of the skull pillar!

Twenty zhang (approximately 33 meters) was covered in the blink of an eye!

Only when the Soul-Silent Pearl flew ten feet in front of the stone pillar did the flickering will-o'-the-wisp seem to sense the threat, suddenly surging in an attempt to form a defense. But it was too late!

"Pfft! Pfft!"

The two Soul-Soul Beads, one after the other, sliced ​​through the hastily formed barrier of ghostly fire like a hot knife through butter, and plunged deep into the skull's huge right eye socket, which was burning with eerie green flames! They went straight into the core of the ghostly fire!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

On the altar, the high priest, who was chanting, suddenly stopped, as if sensing something. He abruptly turned his head to look at the stone pillar on the west side! The hunchbacked priest and the black-robed female guard beside him also changed color at the same time!

"How dare you!" the hunchbacked priest roared, the crimson tome in his hand surging with bloody light, as if he were about to unleash some kind of technique.

However, it was too late.

"boom--!!!"

A deafening roar, far more muffled yet terrifying than the one at the Soul River Ferry, seemingly originating from the very soul, exploded from the eye sockets of the skull pillar!

It wasn't a physical explosion, but rather a pure, highly concentrated annihilation soul power that was completely detonated at the core of the ghost fire—its most sensitive and vulnerable energy node! Simultaneously, all the controllable annihilation energy that Lu Zhao had attached to it also exploded!

The gray light instantly engulfed the skull, then spread like a plague along the blood-red runes on the stone pillar's surface, eroding everything in its path! Wherever it passed, the runes quickly dimmed and crumbled! The flickering eerie green flames let out a mournful, invisible shriek, suddenly surged, and then instantly extinguished!

"Click...click click..."

The towering, dark red skull pillar, ten zhang tall, was riddled with countless fine cracks, from which gray mist swirled. The entire pillar trembled violently, groaning under its strain. The crimson energy band connecting the pillar to the main altar also fluctuated violently, twisted, and then... snapped!

"Buzz—!"

The crimson light emanating from the entire Nine Nether Altar suddenly dimmed! The pillar of crimson light that had shot into the sky also showed obvious fluctuations and weakened! The crimson runes surrounding the altar began to stagnate. The dragon's roar from the depths of the earth abruptly transformed into a furious howl, and the power that had been impacting the seal seemed to momentarily become disordered and weakened due to this sudden interference!

"Success!" Lu Zhao was overjoyed, but his expression changed immediately. He saw that the chief priest's cold, murderous gaze, like two sharp swords, instantly traversed hundreds of feet and locked onto his hiding place!

"You ant...you're asking for it!"

A cold, majestic, and furious roar, like thunder, exploded in Lu Zhao's mind! At the same time, a terrifying spiritual pressure, enough to freeze the soul, crashed down like a mountain, completely enveloping the area where he was!

The enraged lock-on of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator! Lu Zhao instantly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, unable to move!