Chapter 191 - Ruler of the Underworld

Xu Ying changed into Li Xiaoke’s fresh clothes and tidied himself up.

Li Xiaoke had the bearing of a Great Han scholar-official. His slim, close-fitting garments were mostly black with red-trimmed lapels.

Xu Ying had never paid much attention to his appearance. Only after meeting Yuan Weiyang had he bought a few sets of clean clothes at her suggestion. But that had been the extent of her advice, so whenever Xu Ying bought clothes, he chose the same style.

He had never worn anything so fine. The fabric lay against him like a second skin, with no discomfort. Li Xiaoke was tall, while Xu Ying had a broad frame of similar height, so the outfit fit him perfectly. Its hem fluttered as he moved, lending him a handsome, carefree air.

Li Xiaoke silently admired the sight. Whenever I captured this brat before, I dragged him straight out of the countryside and started experimenting on him. Who would have thought he could look so presentable? His complexion is just a little dark.

He turned to look for the Emperor of the Underworld Court, intending to finish him off to prevent any future trouble. But the emperor had vanished from the cliff where he had been pinned.

Li Xiaoke’s heart tightened. He said gravely, “That fellow has immense power in the underworld. We need to leave!”

Xu Ying was puzzled. “You’ve already wounded the emperor badly. It would be a miracle if he has even a fraction of his strength left. Why fear him?”

With excitement in his eyes, Xu Ying said, “If we join forces, Xiaoke, we can surely put the emperor to the sword!”

Li Xiaoke snorted and hurried away from the Martial Dao Other Shore. Xu Ying tried to slip away in the opposite direction, but strands of sword qi appeared around him, forcing him to follow Li Xiaoke.

“The underworld emperor isn’t particularly formidable. Even some of the stronger Exorcist Immortals can defeat him. Without his immortal corpse, he’s nothing more than an ordinary Ascension Stage Qi Cultivator. Even with it, he’s no match for me,” said Li Xiaoke, his expression growing somber.

“But he was never the true ruler of the underworld.”

Even his voice trembled a little. “There are other beings behind him. Terrifying beings.”

Not long after they left, Martial Immortal Zhai arrived. The young martial grandmaster had fought his way through the ancient battlefield. Though it was even more fearsome than before, it had failed to halt his advance. Blood filled his shoes, leaving a footprint with every step.

“Brother Xu’s aura is here.”

He looked around but found no trace of Xu Ying, so he headed toward the Five-Color Immortal Mountain. There, Heavenly Venerable Wu’s vital energy surged skyward like a mighty torrent, brimming with vigor.

Meanwhile, Xu Ying followed Li Xiaoke in the opposite direction, racing through the depths of the Abyss of Cangwu.

The Purple Immortal Herb had long since hidden inside Xu Ying’s ethereal void, trembling in fear. As far as he was concerned, Xu Ying had struck a bargain with the enemy. Xu Ying had sold him out for personal gain, and traded a sword technique for a chance to live.

Yet he had nowhere left to flee. All the herb could do was hide deeper within Xu Ying’s ethereal void. If those two scoundrels catch me, I’ll be done for! They’ll even chew up everything. They won’t even leave any medicinal dregs!

The herb wandered around until it discovered a spring in the ethereal void. Burrowing down through its waters, he descended into a hidden region.

Following the Yellow Springs into the depths, it finally reached the most mysterious of the human body’s six Secret Troves: the Gushing-Spring Secret Trove.

Before it stretched a vast netherworld sea. Four lotus-shaped grotto heavens floated on the surface, piercing through the sea to draw out immortal herbs for the soul!

The lotus grotto heavens were vast and fathomless. They refined an unending stream of immortal herbs, which was then carried through the Yellow Springs into Xu Ying’s Soul!

Inside one of the lotus grotto heavens floated three leaves from the herb of immortality!

Startled and delighted, the Purple Immortal Herb hurriedly swam over, plucked the three leaves, and attached them to himself. The leaves fused with him on their own. With those three leaves in place, the herb breathed a sigh of relief.

At least I’m not running around naked anymore. That brat stripped off my clothes and yanked the leaves off my head. What a thug! But he’s so capable that even when I was stripped bare and fought him with everything I had, I still couldn’t beat him. Come to think of it, where did my other three leaves go?

Little did he know that the Gushing-Spring Secret Trove was divided into left and right halves, each a mirror image of the other. The other three leaves were floating inside the other Gushing-Spring Secret Trove!

Xu Ying watched Li Xiaoke’s back, his eyes flickering in thought.

Years ago, while exploring Five-Colored Mountain, Li Xiaoke had rescued the Emperor of the Underworld Court. Back then, the emperor had been nothing more than a new soul born within an immortal corpse, with little influence in the underworld.

What sort of place was the underworld? Powerful and lowly beings alike mingled there. It held countless ghosts, but it was also home to untold numbers of powerful Qi Cultivator ghosts who roamed unchecked.

As a mere newcomer, how had he established himself in the underworld and become the Emperor of the Underworld Court?

“Li Xiaoke must know something.” Xu Ying’s gaze shifted, settling on Li Xiaoke’s back.

A harsh, grating caw sounded overhead.

Xu Ying looked toward the sound and saw a crow flying overhead. Unlike the solid-black crows of the mortal realm, this one was speckled with white light, as though stars hung from it.

As it beat its wings, it resembled a star crossing the sky. It alighted on an old tree ahead and cocked its head to study Xu Ying and Li Xiaoke.

A chill lingered in its wake, and gray snowflakes drifted from the sky.

Li Xiaoke’s expression changed. He whispered, “A jackdaw! We need to go!”

He surged forward, pulling Xu Ying into a run that grew faster by the second. Yet his injuries were so severe that he kept coughing up blood.

In the Land of Heavenly Retribution, Xu Ying, Fairy Qingbi, Jin Buyi, and the others had grievously wounded him. Those wounds carried the power of a Dao avatar. Once that power invaded his flesh, skin, and hair, it was difficult to expel.

Fairy Qingbi’s spatial mystic arts, Jin Buyi’s divine saber, and Xu Ying’s Heavenly Dao Divine Ability had all greatly weakened him. Fairy Qingbi had also sliced away most of his transplanted Exorcist Immortal grotto heavens, leaving his mystical power far weaker than before.

Combined with the wounds he had sustained on this trip to Five-Colored Mountain, his injuries were far worse than Xu Ying realized.

Caw!

Another jackdaw flew down from the sky and landed ahead of them, tilting its head to stare.

Xu Ying flicked a finger. A strand of sword qi shot from his fingertip and struck the jackdaw. It exploded into a cloud of gray vapor, darting to and fro in the air before settling back onto the branch to reform into a jackdaw.

“Don’t do anything rash!” Li Xiaoke tensed. He pulled out a handkerchief and coughed repeatedly, soaking it with blood.

Xu Ying raised his eyebrows. He could tell that the jackdaw was likely an underworld creature, a phantom composed of the resentment of those who had died unjust deaths.

The clamor of countless jackdaws erupted overhead, their cawing deafening.

Li Xiaoke’s face fell. “We’re done for! Go!”

Xu Ying was startled as well. The sky glittered with stars, lighting up a vast river of starlight. An immense flock of jackdaws flew by, packed so densely that no one could count them.

Li Xiaoke summoned his Primordial Spirit, lifted Xu Ying with it, and accelerated, hurtling forward.

Yet the river of stars shone brilliantly overhead, and the flock followed them without pause.

Before long, Li Xiaoke had carried him ten thousand li, following the course of the Abyss of Cangwu that stretched overhead. Above them, countless jackdaws wheeled like a swirling river of stars, as though the Milky Way had fallen into the underworld.

Li Xiaoke still could not shake them off. Cold sweat covered his forehead as he shouted, “Give me the herb of immortality! I need to eat it and recover my strength, or we’ll all die here!”

Xu Ying took out a leaf of the herb of immortality and handed it to him. “You must have met Xu Fu. After taking this leaf, you can only return to your peak condition if you’re standing on an immortal mountain. Otherwise, your injuries will remain exactly as they were. It won’t help you at all. Do you have an immortal mountain right now?”

Li Xiaoke seized the herb of immortality, uncertainty crossing his face. Having crossed swords with Xu Fu multiple times, he knew the man’s methods, which made him pause.

Then the river of stars ahead began to descend.

Gritting his teeth, Li Xiaoke swallowed the herb of immortality. Just as Xu Ying had warned, it had no effect whatsoever. Instead, Li Xiaoke grew calm. Spotting an ancient, dilapidated temple in the distance, he went there to take shelter.

Temples like this were a common sight in the underworld, often housing forgotten gods. A miserable fate awaited gods who no longer received offerings; their shrines sank into the realm below, their incense qi gradually dissipating until the gods themselves withered into lifeless wooden and clay idols.

Li Xiaoke entered the temple, frowned slightly, and swept the dust from the floor. Once he had finished, he began wiping down the dust-covered tables, chairs, and benches, working with painstaking care and refusing to leave so much as a speck behind.

Xu Ying could only shake his head. He went to the entrance and looked outside. A brilliant river of stars shone in the sky beneath the floating Abyss of Cangwu.

Stars began falling from the heavens, descending into a barren grove of dead trees outside the temple. For a moment, the withered trees seemed flush with leaves that caught the light, but a closer look revealed countless jackdaws perched on them. What seemed like foliage were merely patches of starlight gleaming off their wings.

The jackdaws stared at the ruined temple with bright, piercing eyes.

Xu Ying’s scalp prickled. He shut the doors and retreated inside.

By then, Li Xiaoke had wiped the tables, chairs, and benches spotless and was busy putting the temple in order and making repairs.

Xu Ying frowned and could not resist saying, “The jackdaws are right outside, and you’re still wasting your time on this.”

Li Xiaoke snorted and floated down from the roof. “I gravely wounded the Emperor of the Underworld Court and offended his backer. Those jackdaws are that person’s eyes and ears. Their arrival means he’s already pinpointed our location. Cleaning this place will improve my fighting strength.”

His mystical power swept up the scattered glazed tiles and laid them neatly across the ruined temple’s roof. The gray bricks on the ground also rose of their own accord and slowly settled into place.

Xu Ying quietly switched his crossed collar from left-over-right to right-over-left. A vicious gleam flashed in Li Xiaoke’s eyes as he looked over, his murderous aura turning chillingly cold. Xu Ying quietly switched his collar back to left-over-right. Only then did Li Xiaoke rein in his murderous aura.

Li Xiaoke said flatly, “Don’t try anything. We should sit quietly and nurture our sword qi. As long as we hold out tonight, we’ll be safe when the sun rises.”

He repaired the temple doors as well, then returned inside and sat cross-legged.

Xu Ying smiled. “I can teach you a move from the Heavenly Sword. It should help you deal with the enemy.”

Without opening his eyes, Li Xiaoke shook his head. “Fighting with a sword art I’ve just learned leaves no time for mastery, giving my opponent an easy flaw to exploit. I can only trust the moves I’ve honed through countless trials. That offers me the best chance at survival.”

He added evenly, “Ageless Immortal, don’t underestimate me. You may have caught me in your schemes, but I’m still among the very best in the lower realm. Here in the mortal world, no one can toy with me at will! Not even the ruler of the Underworld Court!”

He fell silent and nurtured his sword qi.

Li Xiaoke was once a grandmaster, a man of remarkable bearing. With his life at stake, he’s gradually recovering some of his old spirit. A pity he’s already rotten, thought Xu Ying.

As Li Xiaoke silently nurtured his sword qi, it grew increasingly stronger. His sword intent rose to an unprecedented level and kept climbing!

Xu Ying found himself admiring him. His talent for the sword Dao is exceptional. If he’d shown this resolve earlier, how could I have defeated him?

He raised his head and gazed toward the Abyss of Cangwu in the distant sky.

Just how long is this great abyss? Where does it lead? Xu Ying wondered.

Without either of them noticing, the jackdaws' cries outside had faded, leaving an uncanny stillness.

The underworld had its own cycle of day and night, and night had now fallen. The countless points of starlight formed by the jackdaws had descended outside the temple, lighting up the sky.

The eerie chill emanating from the jackdaws made the air bitingly cold. Only after Xu Ying stirred his martial Dao vital energy did his body feel somewhat better.

A sinister wind swept in, sending spirit money ash swirling across the sky. It blotted out both the Abyss of Cangwu and the sky above. Xu Ying looked up, but the sea of ash stretched as far as he could see.

The temple doors burst open. A bone-chilling wind howled through them, bearing clouds of spirit money ash that surged toward the temple in an all-engulfing tide!

A world-shattering roar filled Xu Ying’s ears. The temple instantly aged, rotted, and collapsed, leaving only the patch of ground where he and Li Xiaoke sat!

An enormous sword blade rose from the earth before Li Xiaoke, its edge cleaving the oncoming ash into two torrents that roared past them on either side.

Standing amid those torrents, Xu Ying heard the clamor grow louder and more terrifying. Everything around him decayed and collapsed. Mountains crumbled, and the earth split apart; the wreckage swept up in the torrents of ash and hurled behind him!

Li Xiaoke’s sword qi grew ever stronger, surging into the sky to hold back the onslaught of ash by sheer force. He sat upright and motionless, blood streaming from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Yet his sword qi and sword intent only intensified, remaining terrifyingly steady!

Then a sound rose from the ashes, like an ox's bellow or a dragon's cry. It also resembled the discordant sound of the Heavenly Dao or the incomprehensible voice of the immortal Dao. It battered his sword qi, threatening to shatter it at any moment!

His heart pounding with dread, Xu Ying watched Li Xiaoke anxiously. Behind Li Xiaoke, grotto heavens of every size lit up, all of them ragged and battered, yet still operating at full force. Clearly, he, too, had been pushed to his limit!

Time lost all meaning. Just as Li Xiaoke’s sword qi began to falter, the sky brightened, and the ash retreated with a vast, rustling rush.

Xu Ying looked up. Light shone from the Abyss of Cangwu. An enormous Three-Legged Golden Crow, reduced to a skeleton yet still covered in feathers, beat its wings and flew out of the abyss, drawing a dark red sun behind it.

Pursuing the sun, a torrent of ash rushed through the sky behind the skeletal Golden Crow.