Chapter 648: I, Li Che, am more acquainted with the Netherworld Sovereign than you are—breaking hell

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor hovered in the void, his terrifying and massive body coiling, pale white bones gleaming with a faint luster, as if the aura of death flowed over him.

He coldly watched the vanished ox demon.

Wearing the ox demon mask, the Netherworld Dragon Emperor could also recognize Li Che's identity.

The ox demon is Li Che; the Ksitigarbha King… is also Li Che.

"This brat… wants to scheme against me."

In the Netherworld Dragon Emperor's dragon eyes, it seemed as if the death origin was ignited, burning with a faint firelight.

His mighty immortal will actually could not sense Li Che's position.

It's impossible for him to just disappear for no reason, right?

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor gazed at the entrance of the abyssal hell; upon the towering city wall forged from hell's origin, it seemed as if countless ancient runes were smelted within.

It could also sense within the abyssal hell four auras immensely terrifying and powerful, of the royal-level heavenly immortals.

Those royal-level heavenly immortals are all top-tier powerhouses within the abyssal hell.

As the Netherworld Dragon Emperor who once stood at the pinnacle of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, how could he not know the situation of the Netherworld? He had heard of its four great abysses.

In the three abysses of Netherworld, Death, and Reincarnation, each has an extremely powerful sovereign.

Yet this hell abyss is rather mysterious; whether it has a sovereign is unknown, but the four royal-level heavenly immortals are undeniable.

"Li Che… wants to lure this Dragon Emperor into slaughtering his way into that hell abyss? Is he planning to borrow a knife to kill?"

"Or rather, Li Che's purpose in entering the Netherworld is precisely within the hell abyss?"

"What lies within the hell abyss?"

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor's eyes burned with a faint death flame.

"Hellfire Divine Tree!"

Vaguely, he saw a terrifying divine tree that seemed to prop up the entire hell abyss, its branches lush and leaves dense, each leaf burning with black flames.

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor gazed at the alluring Hellfire Divine Tree; each leaf upon it seemed to have wailing souls screaming and lamenting.

"The two sages' supreme divine tree, the topmost divine tree in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths…"

"The Ksitigarbha King's purpose in entering hell is probably for this Hellfire Divine Tree."

At this moment, the Netherworld Dragon Emperor couldn't help but confirm it in his heart.

If there were no purpose to enter the Netherworld, the Netherworld Dragon Emperor would not believe it at all.

Netherworld, is that a place for humans to stay?

That is not a place where the living can dwell; the three origins—death, reincarnation, and Netherworld—constantly rotate and erode, and even immortals cannot resist this erosion.

Once fully eroded, one will inevitably fall and become a Netherworld creature.

"Then where has the Ksitigarbha King gone now?"

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor furrowed his brows.

He gazed at the hell-origin wall that lay across and blocked the way; to enter the hell abyss, one must certainly cross this wall.

"The Ksitigarbha King is Li Che, possessing a miraculous translocation technique; perhaps… the Ksitigarbha King entered by using this method to translocate himself inside?"

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor narrowed his eyes.

In the next instant, the corner of his mouth curled up with a cold smile.

"Feigning disappearance, putting on a pretense of having entered the hell abyss, making this Dragon Emperor think you entered the hell abyss, then eagerly rushing to forcefully break in."

"With four top-tier hell sovereigns, if I forcefully break in I will surely clash with them; using the Ksitigarbha King's breath-concealing method, perhaps I could take advantage of the Dragon Emperor's clash with the hell sovereigns to slip in unseen and secretly head for the Hellfire Divine Tree's location!"

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor snorted coldly, actually seeing through all of Li Che's schemes.

"But, the time left for this Dragon Emperor is not much…"

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor exhaled a mouthful of death-flame dragon breath; amidst his sharp teeth, death-flame dragon breath continually surged, burning and twisting the void.

"This Dragon Emperor, just as you wished!"

On the Netherworld Dragon Emperor's dragon maw, a cold arc slowly rose.

He had guessed Li Che's calculations; if so…

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor planned to turn the tables, using their own scheme against them!

The Ksitigarbha King hidden in the darkness is indeed hard to act upon; this breath-concealing technique truly steals the workings of heaven and earth, leaving the Dragon Emperor in awe.

Even before a royal-level heavenly immortal, he could successfully conceal his breath.

However, before a sovereign-level entity, Li Che would inevitably be unable to remain hidden.

The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths have no sovereign; or rather, if there is one, the emperor of the hidden heavenly court is actually a sovereign-level powerhouse.

But the emperor's whereabouts are unknown.

Yet within the Netherworld, there are three sovereign-level powerhouses.

The Death Sovereign is suppressing the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths' strong ones at the Netherworld's mouth, while within the Netherworld there are also the Netherworld Sovereign and the Reincarnation Sovereign!

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor had once seen the Netherworld Sovereign; a powerhouse of his level, to fall and become a heavenly immortal within the Netherworld, must obtain permission from at least two sovereigns.

Otherwise, after falling he could not retain his original strength; the Netherworld heaven-earth will would strip and shatter his origin power, his cultivation would plummet, at least dropping below the royal level.

Yet now he can maintain his royal-level cultivation mainly because he has received the approval of the Netherworld Sovereign and the Death Sovereign.

So…

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor opened his mouth and emitted an ultimate resplendent dragon roar.

In his dragon claw appeared a strand exuding extremely pure origin-rule order chains.

He fiercely gripped and clenched it, instantly shattering the order chain; in the darkness, an invisible ripple spread like a wave, continuously expanding.

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor closed his eyes; his mighty immortal will seemed as if a large chunk had been cut away.

Sizzle—

He reopened his eyes, and a rolling heat surge gushed from his nostrils!

Anger flashed in the eyes.

"Earth Store King!"

"I, the Dragon Emperor, have paid such a huge price; I will surely execute you!"

The low growl echoed throughout the void.

The next moment, the Dragon Emperor let out another dragon roar.

A scale shot out at high speed, and then a dragon shadow swiftly burst from the vortex formed by the shattered scale.

A mighty dragon aura spread out.

That was a one-eyed Netherworld Candle Dragon.

Once one of the ancestral dragons of the dragon lineage, a top-tier existence possessing imperial-level combat power.

Like the immortal Yinglong, it was among the strongest top-tier combat forces among the original inhabitants of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, but now it has likewise fallen into becoming a netherworld creature.

Upon the Netherworld Candle Dragon's appearance, its eyes seemed to show a rotating cycle of life and death aura.

That eyeball, in the blink of an eye, shifted black and white, life and death fluctuated, yin and yang harmonized!

"Together, attack the Abyss of Hell!"

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor spoke to the Netherworld Candle Dragon.

"Dragon Emperor, are you serious?"

The one-eyed Netherworld Candle Dragon gazed faintly at the Dragon Emperor.

"That... is the Abyss of Hell!"

"One of the Four Netherworld Abysses, filled with unknown and immeasurable power!"

"Even the Sovereign of Death is unwilling to lightly involve themselves in it."

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor naturally guessed that the Candle Dragon would ask this, so he pondered and spoke, beginning a secret discussion with the Candle Dragon in the void.

Mo City Fengdu.

The present Mo City Fengdu is not far from full recovery.

Repeated ruptures and restorations have made each destruction and reconstruction of Mo City Fengdu a step in its strengthening, growing ever more resilient.

Just as a martial artist tempers the flesh, only after countless hammerings can an invincible body be forged!

Li Che could feel that this newly rebuilt Mo City Fengdu was driving the maturation of the Painting Immortal Dao Fruit toward the Eight Transformations!

As long as another level‑10 transformation is achieved, the Eight Transformations can be realized!

The Eight‑Transformations Painting Immortal Dao Fruit might become Li Che's strongest backing!

Even when facing a Sovereign directly, there should be a chance to survive.

Of course, that's merely surviving; if marked by a Sovereign, he might not even get a chance to reach Mo City Fengdu.

Sovereign‑level power is truly too great; now Li Che struggles against even imperial‑level immortals, let alone a Sovereign.

Sitting cross‑legged atop the Sovereign's Tower.

Li Che's black hair flew wildly, his body exuding a rich hellish aura; the Hell Dao Fruit trembled incessantly, this Seven‑Transformations Hell Dao Fruit perfected to the extreme granting him tremendous aid in the netherworld.

With a flick of his finger, the Heaven‑Earth Chessboard instantly blossomed and expanded above his head.

As it spun, it seemed to reflect a picture of heaven and earth.

In the image lay the scene outside the Hell Abyss, the wall outlined by the surging hellish origin completely sealing off the death origin.

And when Li Che's gaze sharpened, he saw the Netherworld Dragon Emperor's series of actions.

Seeing the Netherworld Dragon Emperor crush an order chain, then crush a dragon scale…

He summoned another ancient dragon, the Netherworld Candle Dragon.

Hum—

The Heaven‑Earth Chessboard drifted down, appearing before Li Che, who sat cross‑legged at the star position, raised his hand, and placed a flower‑pinched piece.

As the piece landed, stars scattered across the board, as if he were playing a game against the Netherworld Dragon Emperor.

A great dragon opened its maw and roared; Li Che gripped his longsword, intending to slay the dragon.

"Netherworld Dragon Emperor, though you have become a fallen spirit, your mind has not wholly deteriorated; you are not utterly foolish or stupid."

"Are you planning to turn the tables?"

"The first order chain you crushed carried the aura of the Netherworld origin…" Li Che narrowed his eyes.

Li Che was all too familiar with the Netherworld Sovereign's aura, having dealt with them even more often than with the Death Sovereign.

To put it nicely, Li Che is even more acquainted with the Netherworld Sovereign than the Dragon Emperor is!

Therefore, when the Netherworld Dragon Emperor produced an origin order chain imbued with the Netherworld Sovereign's aura, Li Che guessed the emperor's plan.

And as the Netherworld Candle Dragon appeared, Li Che grew ever more certain.

Pinching a piece, he dropped it with a clack onto the board, as if a black pillar of light shot up and burst forth.

Boom—

A brilliant dragon roar exploded.

Indeed, within the chessboard's image.

The Netherworld Dragon Emperor and the Netherworld Candle Dragon struck simultaneously; both dragons, still retaining imperial‑level immortal power, roared as they launched an assault and carnage upon the Hell Abyss.

Rumble—

A terrifying explosion erupted, and dreadful death origin surged forth in waves.

Then the wall forged from condensed hell origin burst open with a huge gap, countless shattered stones flying sideways, each stone actually rich with hell origin!

As soon as the broken opening appeared.

In the depths of Hell Abyss, four terrifying Imperial Celestial Immortal auras surged forth, like four pillars of light propping up the Hell Abyss.

The immensely rich corpse qi slowly entwined and intertwined.

Then, the four Hell Emperors seated in the Hell Abyss killed their way out from the gap.

They outright blocked the Netherworld Dragon Emperor and the Netherworld Candle Dragon, two Imperial Ancestral Dragons, outside the Hell Abyss.

Li Che was astonished to discover that these four sovereigns seated in the Hell Abyss actually exuded corpse qi soaring to the heavens, like extremely terrifying Corpse Emperors, as if transformed from the corpses of sovereigns in myth!

Corpse qi...

It inevitably reminded Li Che of the Corpse God Sect that once caused him great trouble in the mortal world.

However, that Corpse God Sect and the four Hell Corpse Emperors are completely not on the same level as opponents.

"Is there any connection between the two?"

"Probably not; the Corpse God Sect is the work of the Black Sumeru's Golden Cicada behind the scenes……"

Li Che murmured.

Although the Golden Cicada Immortal is the Black Sumeru's Celestial Immortal, it seems not even an Imperial Celestial Immortal, so how could it draw the Corpse Emperor power from the Hell Abyss into the mortal world and create the threat of the Corpse God Sect?

Never mind.

Li Che rose to his feet atop the Lord's City, and the entire Ink City Ghost City shook violently.

"Using scheming against scheming… do they plan to force me to block myself inside the Hell Abyss?"

"The Netherworld Dragon Emperor should know my target is the Hell Fire God Wood… perhaps they intend to summon the Netherworld Sovereign to utterly exterminate me."

"But…"

Li Che's eyes flickered slightly.

The corner of his mouth involuntarily curled into an arc.

Yet in his heart, a new plan arose.

"Using scheming against scheming, then I too will scheme against scheming… the Hell Fire God Wood, I absolutely cannot abandon it… therefore… I must enter this Hell Abyss."

"My purpose in provoking the Netherworld Dragon Emperor is merely to open a gap!"

"Now the Hell Origin City Wall is shattered; the opening to enter the Hell Abyss has already been opened!"

Enough.

Li Che raised his hand, and a white chess piece floated into view in his palm.

After a pull of about one percent of a breath, Li Che's form vanished directly into Ink City Ghost City.

Reappearing, he was already in the void where terrifying battle qi raged like a storm.

The Dragon Emperor, Candle Dragon, and four Corpse Emperors clashed; the terrifying battle aftermath made space unable to bear it, constantly shattering; such a level of collision and clash was truly exaggerated and horrifying.

Li Che bore the Heaven-Earth Chessboard above his head, and moreover operated the power of the Sleeping Dragon Elephant from the Dragon Elephant Golden Strong Dao Fruit, and the strength of the Eight Transformations Dao Fruit; it was still not insignificant.

Although it cannot be hidden from the Sovereign, but now it is still possible to conceal it from the Emperor and the Celestial Immortal.

His whole body seemed to vanish without trace from the Netherworld, as if transparent within the Netherworld; Li Che glanced at the Ancestral Dragon and Corpse Emperor genuinely wielding real weapons, while he himself walked slowly into the Hell Abyss.

His black robe fluttered wildly, the terrifying battle aftermath surged wildly above his head.

Yet it did not affect him in the slightest, giving a sense of ease like wind blowing wheat fields and clouds light and breeze gentle.

Boom—

The Hell Origin Wall was shattered by the Dragon Emperor; the floating pieces of the Hell Origin Wall crumbled apart, turning into gravel, diffusing a rich mist-like Hell Origin.

Li Che was not polite either, gathering up all the gravel from those broken Hell Origin Wall pieces.

These gravel pieces can directly be considered more precious than Dao Essence Divine Crystals—Origin Divine Crystals!

"A great harvest!"

Hell Origin Divine Crystals, if given to Xixi to absorb, letting the divine flesh ball absorb, could likely speed up the rebirth speed of the Third Prince and Qitian.

It could even become the energy source for activating the Hell Qitian Armor and Hell Nezha Armor.

At a glance, the boundless Hell Origin Wall made Li Che's heart stir greatly, with an urge to pick up a hoe and completely pry open every corner.

But he still suppressed this urge.

Covertly collecting some gravel is fine, but if the entire Hell Origin Wall were taken away,

those four Corpse Emperors would likely immediately shift their target and come to kill him.

Greed leads to indigestion.

Mark this spot; later we can come swing the hoe.

Li Che then stepped forward, crossing the city wall.

Boom—

His whole body directly stepped into the Hell Abyss!

Whooo—

A pressure like a mountain range suddenly crashed down, and Li Che's pupils narrowed slightly.

The Heaven-Earth Chessboard seemed at this moment to be about to be twisted under suppression; each line on it writhed and bent like a winding serpent.

Li Che hurriedly activated the Hell Dao Fruit in his chest.

Accompanied by the Hell Dao Fruit, a throbbing beat sounded, and that immense pressure gradually dissipated.

Or rather, because of the Hell Dao Fruit, Li Che's whole body seemed to merge with the Hell Abyss.

"Lord of the Hell Dao Fruit… is he still alive, and moreover, right here in this Hell Abyss?"

Feeling the violent throbbing in his chest, Li Che's heart trembled slightly.

He lifted his gaze to the Hell Abyss; this is an immeasurably vast expanse of heaven and earth, at its center stands the Hell Fire God Tree, swaying, with countless souls as its leaves.

The Hell Abyss is immeasurably vast, inside dwell all kinds of Netherworld creatures.

"In the Hell Abyss…… could there also be a mighty sovereign on par with the Death Sovereign and Netherworld Sovereign?"

Most likely, there is.

Li Che's intuition told him that there absolutely existed a ruler-level powerhouse.

It's just that he didn't know where.

"My goal... is the Hellfire Divine Tree; nothing else matters."

Li Che's body trembled, the Hell Dao Fruit activated, and he shot toward the Hellfire Divine Tree at breakneck speed.

And as he drew near, the Hellfire Divine Tree seemed to sense something.

Boom—

Countless leaves shook off from the Hellfire Divine Tree and then transformed into one strange, bizarre creature after another.

The only common point was that they were wreathed in hellfire, with corpse qi surging to the heavens!

Only then did Li Che see that the roots of the Hellfire Divine Tree were actually piled up from countless corpses.

There were one after another void hollows, unknown from where they summoned corpses; dead bodies fell in droves onto the roots of the Hellfire Divine Tree, becoming nourishment, which the tree devoured.

Then, they became part of the divine tree.

Boom—

Countless leaves fell, burned, and then transformed into immensely powerful divine corpse spirits!

From corpses of the Divine Fire Realm, to the Dao Fusion Realm, to the Dao Slaying Realm divine corpse spirits, Li Che easily blasted and slaughtered them all.

Now Li Che is too powerful; having opened the heavens twice, he is no longer on the same level as before.

But Li Che did not relax in the slightest.

On the contrary, the solemnity on his face grew ever thicker.

He expanded the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, enveloping and concealing the battlefield where he fought the divine corpse spirits.

Boom——!!!

When a Dao Slaying Realm divine corpse spirit was blasted apart by Li Che's bare fists!

Countless black, fire-like leaves piled together, and as they burned, the rich corpse qi surged, actually forming a Nirvana Realm divine corpse spirit.

Li Che's heart grew ever heavier.

His guess turned out to be true!

Each time he slew a divine corpse spirit, he could draw one step closer to the Hellfire Divine Tree.

But the closer he got, the stronger the divine corpse spirits condensed by the Hellfire Divine Tree became.

Even Nirvana Realm divine corpse spirits posed little pressure to Li Che.

Sweeping through, Li Che's formidable combat power was unmistakable.

Although his heart was heavy, Li Che had no retreat; he had to approach the Hellfire Divine Tree!

Boom—

When a divine corpse spirit rivaling a half-step Earth Immortal, having reached the end of the Nirvana life-and-death path, was blasted apart by Li Che's bare fists, exploding into countless sparks.

His complexion grim and heavy, he looked toward the distance.

There, countless branches piled and intertwined, slowly condensing into a humanoid silhouette.

A vast surge of hellish origin erupted.

Li Che let out a deep breath.

"Hell Immortal Corpse."

(End of Chapter)