BOOK 2: CHAPTER 420: TOOTH FOR TOOTH, NINE NETHER’S PURPOSE

Vol 2 Chapter 420 Tooth for Tooth, Nine Nether’s Purpose

Even Zheng Fa was a little stunned:

No proper procedure was followed, yet I was suddenly dragged into the Underworld?

Mu Qingyan’s memories surfaced again in his mind:

The power of the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor seemed to be the Underworld itself.

His own appearance might change the situation in Xuanwei a bit, but the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s plan had probably been brewing for an entire era.

The Underworld had arrived as expected.

As the words "City of the Wrongfully Dead" entered everyone’s ears, wisps of white smoke emanated from the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s body.

The smoke thickened, seeming to gain weight, flowing from top to bottom to cover the black Yin Mountain and the silent City of the Wrongfully Dead, then slowly drifting toward Zheng Fa and the others.

Behind Zhizhong, the Buddha’s dharma image reappeared.

The wisdom sword swept out a crescent-shaped majestic Buddhist light.

The light pierced the thick smoke, but it was like a mud ox entering the sea, causing no ripple at all.

“I said, I will not kill you.”

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor stood on the mountaintop, coldly watching Zhizhong struggle.

Zhizhong seemed utterly disbelieving. His divine footwork appeared again, turning into golden light, retreating along his path of arrival.

But was there really a path to retreat?

The golden light spun in the air like a headless fly for three circles, then Zhizhong’s figure appeared again.

His face grew increasingly panicked.

Logically, Zheng Fa was Zhizhong;

he also did not believe the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor would spare him.

He glanced at the livestream screen, only to see the four separate views had merged into one.

Lady Nishang and her two companions, along with their disciples, had crossed the arch bridge and were now on the same barren plain, just to their left.

Yet looking around, none of them were visible.

There were clearly many people nearby, but none could be seen.

A chill rose from the tailbone, creeping up his spine, chilling the back of Zheng Fa’s head.

“Trying to leave?” The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s tone was laced with mockery. “Once you cross the Naihe Bridge, even if you are a True Immortal, trying to turn back is just futile lament.” ℞𝖆ΝóᛒÊ𝙎

It truly was the Naihe Bridge.

Old Monk Zhizhong’s face darkened as his lips moved, seemingly reciting Buddha’s name.

Zheng Fa couldn’t hear what he was saying because another sound forced him to look up and forward.

Within the swirling mist, the previously silent Yin Mountain and City of the Wrongfully Dead suddenly became lively.

Shouts of battle, angry yells, and cries of sorrow echoed in the fog,

Growing louder and more intense,

Sharper and more piercing.

The chaotic noise clawed at Zheng Fa’s ears, burrowing into his mind.

One by one, ethereal souls appeared in the white mist.

They wore similar robes and came from the same sect.

Yet now, they looked like sworn enemies, fighting without mercy.

They killed fellow disciples with the Heavenly River Sword Technique, only to be killed by the same sword technique in turn.

Even when they fell to the ground, these disciples called out “Senior Brother! Junior Brother!”

The emotions hidden in their cries were unclear—whether hatred, confusion, or longing.

This was the scene of the Heavenly River upheaval.

Zheng Fa could not bear to watch closely and simply closed his eyes, whispering in his heart, “City of the Wrongfully Dead.”

In the livestream, the four around Zhizhong also lowered their eyes, seemingly unwilling to face it.

...

In the Jiushan Realm, Xie Qingxue held the Tongjian tightly in her left hand and gripped the Qingping Sword with her right, her killing intent soaring.

Even Yan Wushuang, usually so carefree, had trembling hands holding the Tongjian at this moment.

Uncle Pang looked up at the sky and said softly, “Such a tragic scene—the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor has remembered it for hundreds of thousands of years…”

Elder Yu’s face was unusually solemn.

“If you were him, if something like this happened in the Jiushan Realm, could you forget?”

...

The Heavenly Emperor body looked toward the imposing Nine Nether Demon Ancestor atop Yin Mountain with a hint of pity.

“You dare not look.”

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor seemed to be laughing.

“You don’t even dare to look at what you did back then.”

Even the eloquent Zhizhong didn’t know how to respond.

“But I haven’t forgotten a single day.”

“I carry their lingering souls, hiding east and west, constantly listening to their wails.”

“The scenes you can’t bear for even a moment, I’ve watched for hundreds of thousands of years.”

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was not usually talkative, but now he spoke endlessly, obviously harboring hatred too deep and too long.

It was clear the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s revenge would only grow fiercer.

Yet the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor said again:

“Rest assured, I swore by the name of Heavenly River, I will not kill you.”

“Unlike your Four Sects, I won’t disgrace that name.”

The four around Zhizhong did not relax.

On Yin Mountain and in the City of the Wrongfully Dead, thousands of souls suddenly laughed—a bitter, chilling laugh.

“Who goes there!”

A disciple of Haori Mountain beside Zheng Fa asked.

Zhizhong and the others looked around.

At some unknown moment, many human shadows had appeared beside them.

Their faces were indistinguishable in the thick mist but all had considerable cultivation.

Remember, disciples of the Four Sects admitted into the Heavenly River Sect were the elite of their sects.

Yet these strange figures nearby were almost equally strong.

Zheng Fa hurriedly looked back at the livestream and saw that these people were indeed Lady Nishang and her companions.

Zhizhong also sensed something wrong and said, “Hold your fire!”

But one person in the mist broke the rules and suddenly attacked a disciple of Yaochi Sect.

Seeing the Taiji symbol above that person’s head, Old Monk Zhizhong shouted, “Is your Taishang Dao mad?!”

But when he saw a disciple of Leiyin Temple nearby also disobeying orders and attacking, he realized something:

“You are underlings of the Nine Nether!”

Zheng Fa suddenly understood what the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was doing.

Sure enough, the laughter of those souls quieted, leaving only a few long songs faintly heard in the fog:

“Once allies, now sworn foes.”

“Brothers of the same sect, turned enemies in a blink.”

“Once drunk and calling friends, now meeting with weapons and severed heads.”

“Don’t say there’s no retribution in this world;

outside the City of the Wrongfully Dead, grudges cease.”

These verses were neither poems nor songs, and the tune was strange and unpleasant.

Yet when sung by these souls, there was a heartbreaking sorrow piercing the heart and lungs.

Zheng Fa also realized clearly that those who struck first were not the Four Sect disciples who had just entered the Heavenly River Sect.

As Zhizhong said, these were the previous Nine Nether underlings—secret agents of the Four Sects like the Netherworld Immortal Qin Mu.

None of them were impulsive.

Without understanding the situation clearly, they would never act rashly.

Yet the Nine Nether underlings had infiltrated the crowd, ambushing the Four Sect disciples.

They could not see the faces around them clearly;

who could tell who was Nine Nether underling and who was loyal to the Four Sects?

Moreover, the Four Sects themselves were riddled with contradictions. The four True Immortals could control their own sect’s disciples, but how could the other three sects truly obey?

Zhizhong wanted to restrain himself.

But suddenly, a figure emerged from the mist, exuding the aura of Haori Mountain, striking Zhizhong fiercely!

“True Immortal!”

No... it was one of the Four Slaying Immortal Swords.

Zheng Fa felt the Trapping Immortal Sword’s excitement in his soul and realized the origin of the ambusher:

A secret Nine Nether Demon Ancestor agent among Haori Mountain disciples, wielding either the Slaying Immortal Sword or the Absolute Immortal Sword, was conducting the ambush.

Zheng Fa’s internal Heavenly and Earthly Fiend Transformations technique activated, turning him into smoke, evading everyone’s eyes and ears.

Zhizhong and the others did not have such means.

They knew something was wrong but were trapped in the situation without time to distinguish friend from foe, seeing everyone as a Nine Nether underling.

At this point, survival was the priority!

Zhizhong led Leiyin Temple disciples to counterattack the indistinct cultivators.

One person in the mist was struck down and fell to the ground.

That unfamiliar face suddenly changed, becoming one even Zheng Fa recognized.

“Master!”

Several Taishang Dao disciples shouted, glaring furiously at Zhizhong and the others.

Zhizhong’s expression also darkened, just as he was about to speak, a black and white Yin-Yang diagram flashed and slammed onto a Leiyin disciple next to him, smashing him utterly.

“Xuan Ding!”

Zhizhong shouted, his long eyebrows flying with rage.

But looking up, he saw only unfamiliar faces;

in the mist, he didn’t even know where Xuan Ding was.

...

“This Nine Nether Demon Ancestor is... tooth for tooth, blood for blood.”

Uncle Pang and the others were dumbfounded.

In the livestream, the Four Sect disciples could no longer distinguish friend from foe, fighting wildly.

One by one, they fell.

Most were not killed by the Nine Nether underlings.

Instead, they died from the madness of the other three sects and even their own comrades.

Elder Yu sighed, “This is the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s revenge.”

“He wants the Four Sect disciples to taste betrayal by their allies.”

“He wants the Four Sect disciples to experience the pain of mutual slaughter among comrades.”

The Heavenly Emperor body nodded lightly, then suddenly said:

“I know why he’s livestreaming now.”

“Hm?”

“Hatred...” The Heavenly Emperor body pointed at the livestream screen and said, “The Four Sects have such deep blood grudges in front of so many cultivators.”

“Which of these disciples is not elite? Each has a master, sect members, or even descendants.”

“After this, how can there be any trust left among the Four Sects? It will be difficult to prevent conflict.”

Elder Yu nodded slowly and added, “I wonder if this Nine Nether Demon Ancestor only wants revenge...”

The Heavenly Emperor body shook his head.

That he did not know.

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor had been patient for so many years;

his main goal was surely revenge.

But whether there was another purpose, he could not say.

Would the Four Sects just let him do as he pleased?

Thinking of this, the Heavenly Emperor body looked again at the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor atop Yin Mountain.

...

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor silently stood on Yin Mountain, watching the massacre of the Four Sect disciples.

It was as if he were carefully appreciating a play.

Only when most of the Four Sect disciples had fallen did he slowly raise a hand, releasing a stream of light from his sleeve.

An ancient, mysterious book appeared before everyone.

The cover bore two ancient characters: “Life and Death.”

“You want to sever the Heavenly River Method, yet now you die by the Heavenly River Method.”

Zhizhong’s body stiffened as he looked at the speaking Nine Nether Demon Ancestor.

The Four Sect disciples also gradually stopped fighting.

“In truth, I never cultivated the Heavenly River Method at first, and even now, I do not know what the fundamental technique of Heavenly River truly is.”

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s tone carried mockery.

“Although my dharmakaya path has reached its limit, the Heavenly River’s method has never been perfected...”

It seemed the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor did not know the continuation of the Heavenly River Method?

“He said he already has ideas. Once the Demon Sect is eradicated, he will study it with me.”

That flag is planted...

But this did align with Zheng Fa’s impression of the Heavenly River Venerable:

If this prodigy had a flaw, it was trusting himself too much and withholding many things.

Even now, Zheng Fa did not know what the fundamental Heavenly River technique was—

The Nine-turn Golden Core Method related more to the Qingping Sword.

The Trapping Immortal Sword Canon seemed only to correspond to the Trapping Immortal Sword.

The Heavenly River Method and Dharmakaya Method were broad categories of techniques, more like a concept.

For example, the Dharmakaya Method’s “Great Freedom True Explanation” was the fundamental technique, and for Yang Spirit Method, the “Vermilion Heaven Jade Manual” was as well.

Yet the Heavenly River Method seemed incomplete or never fully passed down, lacking a fundamental technique.

Thinking this way, the Four Sects must have been troubled back then:

Unable to find the fundamental great technique, they simply severed the entire Heavenly River Method...

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor continued:

“But you hunted me until even my dharmakaya was destroyed.” The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor stretched out a hand, and the ancient book in the air fell into his palm.

“If I perish, you won’t let me resurrect. I have no choice but the Heavenly River Method.”

“Only choice is to fuse with this Life and Death Register.”

As he finished speaking, the black and white mysterious light on the Life and Death Register suddenly bloomed.

“Golden Immortal artifact...”

Old Monk Zhizhong murmured almost like a moan.

So envious!

Looking at the seemingly unimpressive Life and Death Register, Zheng Fa almost drooled.

This meant the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor held at least two Golden Immortal-tier supreme treasures:

One was the Slaying Immortal Formation Diagram.

The other was the Life and Death Register.

In today’s Xuanwei, they were nearly invincible.

And he was now basically... the spirit of the Life and Death Register?

No wonder the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was so different from other Demon Ancestors:

Other Demon Sects existed in family form.

Only the Nine Nether Demon Sect was different, not caring about bloodline at all.

“All the Heavenly River’s lifelong achievements have flowed eastward and lost.”

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor looked at Zhizhong and the others with a chilling smile.

“My path ahead is already blocked.”

“How can you immortals remain righteous?”

“In this Xuanwei, evildoers reign supreme, and the righteous are left only as bones!”

His words carried an undeniable power.

“I want to turn Xuanwei into the Underworld, where good and evil receive their due and the heavenly way is just!”

“You evildoers of the Four Sects will fight endlessly here in my Underworld, with no escape.”

This Nine Nether Demon Ancestor truly came solely for revenge...

It was clear he was strong now but could not transcend the Life and Death Register’s constraints, seemingly only able to reach the Golden Immortal level this life.

A heart full of hatred with no hope—what could he do? Zheng Fa could not imagine.

He even understood that even if he had some connection with the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, he could neither persuade nor stop him.

No!

In that black and white mysterious light, there seemed to be traces of incense fire power!

Those fallen Four Sect disciples gradually turned into bones, nourishing the rotting mud beneath them.

The surrounding space seemed to expand slightly.

“Ritual? Or is this Life and Death Register a Tongtian treasure?”

Zheng Fa thought secretly. The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor might not be all about revenge:

He used the Tongjian livestream to seemingly collect incense fire power for the Life and Death Register?