Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 343: Netherworld Pearl

Fang Hao felt a chill rush from his tailbone straight to the top of his head, and every hair on his body stood on end. The scene before him was just too damn eerie! The Black Water Pool was so deathly still it made one’s heart race, the runes on the twelve giant pillars twisted like living creatures, and then there was that crystal coffin and that black pearl that looked ominous no matter how you sliced it... This place exuded a sinister aura that screamed "whoever enters, dies."

"netherworld pearl..." Su Xuan’s voice carried an uncontrollable tremble and fanaticism. His old eyes were fixed on the black pearl floating above the center of the pool, and his withered body was shaking slightly as if he were looking at some peerless treasure. "The legendary netherworld treasure that can communicate between Yin and Yang and control the Reincarnation of life and death... It actually exists! Hahaha! Heaven is helping me! Heaven is truly helping me!"

Fang Hao’s heart skipped a beat. For something to make an old monster like Su Xuan, who had one foot in the Soul Transformation stage, lose his composure like this, it definitely wasn’t anything good. This old fox was already difficult enough to deal with; if he got his hands on this "netherworld pearl" thing, then today Fang Hao would truly be unable to escape even with wings, a certain death!

"Senior Su," Fang Hao suppressed the terror in his heart, slowly backing away to try and create some distance while forcing a smile that looked worse than crying, "this pearl looks wicked; it’s better if we don’t touch it. If you want to capture me, let’s go outside and settle it one-on-one. Don’t do it in this ghostly place, just in case we disturb something we shouldn’t..."

"Shut up!" Su Xuan snapped his head around, his eyes brimming with a fierce light. His previous mask of "kindness" was completely torn to shreds, leaving only naked greed and killing intent. "Little thief, do you think I would still believe your lies? Today, I will have both your Chaos Spirit Root and this netherworld pearl!"

Before he had even finished speaking, Su Xuan’s withered figure flashed like a ghost. He actually abandoned Fang Hao and lunged straight for the netherworld pearl at the center of the pool! In his eyes, the threat Fang Hao posed at this moment was far inferior to this legendary treasure!

"Not good!" Fang Hao’s expression changed drastically. Although he didn’t know exactly how powerful the pearl was, he could tell even with his toes that he absolutely could not let Su Xuan succeed!

In that lightning-fast moment, Fang Hao could no longer afford to hold back. With a thought, the golden puppet, its chest caved in and its spiritual light dim, appeared once more. Its massive body fearlessly blocked the path between Su Xuan and the center of the pool, arms crossed in an attempt to intercept him.

"Get out of the way!" Su Xuan roared, striking out in fury. His withered palm carried a terrifying Chaos Spiritual Power that felt like an overwhelming wave, slamming hard into the golden puppet.

"Boom—!"

With a loud crash, the golden puppet’s body—which had been reinforced enough to go head-to-head with the Late Nascent Soul Stage—was actually cracked inch by inch by this single palm strike. Countless parts flew everywhere, and the light at its core instantly extinguished. Like a pile of scrap metal, it fell toward the pitch-black water.

Fang Hao’s eyes nearly split from rage. This golden puppet was one of his greatest trump cards, and it had been destroyed just like that! But he had successfully bought a split second of obstruction against Su Xuan.

That very instant!

A ruthless glint flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes. He pointed his fingers like a sword and stabbed fiercely toward Su Xuan’s back!

"Nine-Revolutions Soul-Splitting, explode!"

The last remaining nine-revolutions soul-splitting pill, which he had been nurturing inside the chaos pill cauldron, turned into a streak of dark purple light. It arrived second but struck first, detonating with a bang the moment Su Xuan was about to touch the netherworld pearl!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only countless dark purple soul threads, as fine as cow hair and containing terrifying Soul Poison, which burst out like fireworks, instantly enveloping Su Xuan!

"Ah—!"

Su Xuan let out an incredibly shrill scream, clutching his head as his figure stumbled back. Although his cultivation was profound, his Divine Soul was still a weakness. Being hit at close range by the explosion of this pill specifically designed to attack the Divine Soul caused him heavy damage, even with his protective Magic Treasures! He felt as if his Sea of Consciousness was being pierced by thousands of steel needles at once; his Divine Soul was in agonizing pain, and his vision went black.

Having succeeded in his strike, Fang Hao did not linger for a second. He turned and sprinted toward the tunnel he had come from! He didn’t dare have the slightest bit of greed; this ghostly place and that pearl were definitely ominous things. Touching them could lead to eternal damnation!

However, just as he was about to rush into the tunnel, another change occurred!

The netherworld pearl, which had been floating quietly, seemed to be disturbed by the Soul Poison explosion and the impact of spiritual power. It suddenly shuddered, erupting with a deep black halo that seemed capable of swallowing all light!

As the halo swept past, time in the entire underground space seemed to come to a standstill.

Fang Hao remained in his running posture, frozen in place and unable to move. Su Xuan also stopped screaming, suspended in mid-air while clutching his head. Even the splashing pool water and the flying golden puppet parts were frozen in the air.

An indescribable aura—ancient, desolate, and filled with supreme majesty—emanated from the netherworld pearl, filling the entire space.

Then, under Fang Hao’s terrified gaze, the netherworld pearl slowly began to rotate. The cracks on the surface of the pearl writhed and expanded like living things. An ethereal voice, sounding as if it came from the Nine Nether Hells, echoed directly within the Sea of Consciousness of both Fang Hao and Su Xuan, carrying endless indifference and... a hint of curiosity.

"Chaos... and... Netherworld... Interesting..."

The moment the voice faded, the netherworld pearl suddenly erupted with a brilliant black light! Fang Hao only felt an irresistible suction pull at him, his vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness.

...

After an unknown amount of time, Fang Hao slowly woke up.

He found himself lying in a vast, grey, and boundless space. There was no sky, no ground, and no distinction between up, down, left, or right—only endless grey mist and a suffocating deathly silence.

"Where... is this?" Fang Hao struggled to sit up and checked himself. His body was fine, but his spiritual power circulation was somewhat sluggish, and his Divine Sense was suppressed to an extremely low level. He tried to communicate with the chaos pill cauldron and the spirit beast bag and found he could still sense them, but it was as if they were separated by a thick layer of frosted glass; the connection had become extremely weak.

"You’re awake."

A cold, emotionless voice abruptly sounded behind Fang Hao.

Fang Hao spun around to see a figure dressed in black robes with a blurred face, seemingly condensed from the grey mist, appearing there silently at some unknown time. This figure had no physical form and no aura, as if it were part of the grey mist itself.

"Who are you?" Fang Hao backed away several steps warily, his Chaos Spiritual Power quietly circulating within him.

"Who I am is not important," the black shadow’s voice remained cold. "What is important is that you and that intruder disturbed the Master’s slumber."

"Master? Slumber?" Fang Hao’s heart stirred as he thought of that crystal coffin. "Your Master is the person in that coffin? And this place is... the inside of that pearl?"

"You can understand it that way," the black shadow said slowly. "This place is the ’Domain’ of the netherworld pearl. The Master has slept for ten thousand years and requires Netherworld Qi for nourishment. You trespassed into the Forbidden Land and even disturbed him with Soul Poison; you have committed a great crime."

Fang Hao’s expression turned grim. "We had no intention of offending anyone. We were just being pursued and entered this place by mistake..."

"Explanations are useless," the black shadow interrupted. "According to the rules, those who disturb the Master’s slumber shall suffer the punishment of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering. However..."

The black shadow’s tone shifted, and its blurred face seemed to "look" at Fang Hao. "You possess the power of Chaos. Between this and the Netherworld Qi, one is the beginning of life and the other is the end of death; they reinforce and counteract each other, making you quite special. The Master... is somewhat curious about you."

Fang Hao’s heart sank. This was not good news. Being the object of "curiosity" for such an old monster usually resulted in an end worse than death.

"Then... what about Su Xuan?" Fang Hao asked tentatively.

"That half-baked Soul Transformation Cultivator?" The black shadow’s tone carried a hint of disdain. "His Divine Soul was wounded, and he forcibly activated a secret technique. He has been eroded by Netherworld Qi and is now trapped in the ’Soul Refining Domain,’ unable to live and unable to die."

Fang Hao sucked in a breath of cold air. That old fox Su Xuan had actually fallen! This netherworld pearl was truly terrifying!

"Tell me, what do you want?" Fang Hao said in a heavy voice. He knew that playing tricks in front of such a being was useless.

The black shadow was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "I will give you a chance. Complete a mission. If you succeed, you can be spared from death and even... be sent away. If you fail, you will join that intruder and sink here for eternity, turning into nourishment for the netherworld pearl."

"What mission?"

The black shadow raised its hand, and the grey mist surged, condensing into a mirror. Within the mirror, a scene appeared—it was a land of crimson with flowing lava. Three black suns hung in the sky, and countless monsters with twisted forms and fierce auras were fighting and roaring across the land.

"This place is called ’Blood Fiend Purgatory,’ a Trial Grounds within the netherworld pearl. A certain item is sealed within it, a fragment of the ’soul suppressing stele,’" the black shadow said slowly. "Your mission is to enter the Blood Fiend Purgatory, find the soul suppressing stele fragment, and bring it back. The time limit is three days."

"soul suppressing stele fragment?" Fang Hao’s brow furrowed. "What is that? Why do you want me to get it?"

"This is the Master’s command; there is no need to ask more," the black shadow’s voice was cold. "You only need to know that this is your only chance for survival. Will you go, or not?"

Fang Hao looked at the hellish scene in the mirror, his heart feeling bitter. How was this a mission? It was clearly sending him to his death! The monsters in that Blood Fiend Purgatory... even the weakest probably had the strength of the Golden Core Stage, and there were no shortage of Nascent Soul Stage existences among them!

But did he have a choice?

Fang Hao took a deep breath, suppressed the fear in his heart, and a flash of determination crossed his eyes.

"I’ll go!"