Chapter 294

The ambush of the Netherworld Underworld was swift, ruthless, and poisonous!

That "Netherworld Boundless, Death Realm Descends" grey domain not only instantly isolated inside from outside, but also contained a vicious deathly qi that eroded vitality, corrupted spiritual power, and directly attacked the soul and spirit. Ordinary Golden Core cultivators who entered this domain would, in an instant, have their flesh and blood wither, their soul and spirit wither, and turn into a deathly qi puppet.

At the core of the domain, Wang Ping's figure had been completely submerged by the thick, liquid-like deathly qi, with not even a trace of breath able to escape.

"Wang Brother!" Outside the domain, Lei Zhen's eyes were about to burst, his entire body surging with blazing white lightning, forming a lightning pillar that fiercely struck the grey domain's barrier, but only stirred up a violent ripple, as the deathly qi surged and actually melted and devoured over half of the lightning's power, unable to break through immediately.

"This death realm of the Netherworld Underworld combines the secret transmission of the Netherworld Deathly Qi of the Netherworld Underworld Clan with a trace of Shadow Law, and is best at trapping and grinding enemies to death, extremely yin and poisonous." Mu Lan of the Ancient God Clan frowned tightly, his entire body surrounded by flowing green spiritual light, as if also assessing the timing and method of attack.

Yu Liuli of the Fallen Immortal Clan slightly narrowed her immortal eyes, spiritual energy of the immortals swirling at her fingertips, yet she did not act rashly.

The cloak of the Void Clan's Youying fluttered slightly, the void eyes reflecting that domain of death, as if analyzing its structure and weaknesses.

Cang Xuan of the Heavenly Azure Clan, however, curled the corner of his mouth into a cold arc, as if pleased with its success.

But inside the domain, it was another scene entirely.

The Netherworld Underworld's form had not fully manifested; he seemed to have merged with this death domain, becoming countless wandering shadows and the source of deathly qi. Cold divine sense swirled around Wang Ping, carrying cruel mockery:

"Five Elements Dao Arts point to the spirit? Just so-so! Even if you have perfected the Five Elements, in my 'Nether Death Domain' that has drawn a trace of the True Meaning of Annihilation from the Myriad Laws Pool, you can only be slowly eroded and become nourishment for my Netherworld Ghost Servants!

Your flesh is not bad; refined into a corpse puppet, it would be top-grade! And your soul and spirit…… will be an even more supreme tonic!"

He was not speaking idly to threaten. Within this death domain, deathly qi permeated everywhere, not only frantically eroding Wang Ping's protective spiritual light, but also attempting to drill into his seven orifices and pores, freezing his qi and blood, polluting his golden core, and invading his sea of consciousness.

Moreover, countless wailing vengeful spirit phantoms emerged, emitting soul-piercing shrieks that disturbed the mind and stirred inner demons.

Yet, Wang Ping, at the core of the death domain, showed not the slightest panic on his face.

The deathly qi erosion that could make cultivators of the same level instantly lose their ability to resist, upon contacting his body, was immediately blocked and deflected by an invisible yet tenacious force.

The protective force field formed spontaneously by the Earth Gravity Technique after pointing to the spirit was thick and steady, like the earth bearing all things, and could also isolate impurities.

The threads of deathly qi that had entered his body, before even penetrating the meridians, were easily strangled and purified by the vigorous, vast, Five Elements-circulating life force within him (Wood Element Nourishment) and the utmost yang and fierce fire spiritual power (True Solar Fire).

As for those vengeful spirit shrieks, when they struck the Will Star in his sea of consciousness that had been tempered and was indestructible, and the mighty soul bulwark nurtured by the Soul-Nourishing Wood Heart, they were like a mayfly shaking a tree, unable to raise even a ripple.

"Annihilation True Meaning?" Wang Ping's voice sounded calmly within the death domain, exceptionally clear, as if this domain that could isolate sound had no effect on him,

Is this bit of insignificant deathly qi worthy of being called 'Annihilation'? It is merely a mix of resentful thoughts and yin filth. True Annihilation is all things returning to ruin, is the heaven and earth's cycle of rebirth, and……

He paused, and his aura suddenly shifted!

From the originally ceaselessly circulating, inclusive and peaceful Five Elements aura, a cold, profound intent that seemed capable of freezing spacetime and letting all things return to eternal tranquility slowly spread outward.

"……is eternal ice sealing and conclusion."

At the moment his words fell, blue light blazed brightly in Wang Ping's eyes!

Not the azure that nourishes all things with water, but a profound blue like the Nine Abyssal Cold Prison, cold as ancient profound ice——the Azure of Yin!

"Yin……Annihilation Ice Tide!"

Boom!

Centered on Wang Ping, endless azure light erupted violently! This was not ordinary water-element spiritual power, but a fusion of the primordial essence of Yin True Water and the spiritual nature nurtured after pointing to the spirit—"Ice-Sealed Soul, Return to Annihilation"—of——Law Ice Tide!

The azure light surged like a breached ice ocean, carrying the ultimate low temperature that freezes souls and the terrifying Dao rhyme that lets all things return to silence, rolling outward in all directions in a ring!

Hiss hiss hiss——!

Wherever the azure ice tide passed, the thick grey deathly qi and the wailing vengeful spirit phantoms instantly congealed! As if paused, then a layer of crystal-clear, translucent ice flashing with a deep blue luster—profound ice—formed at visible speed from within the deathly qi, condensing, spreading, and covering!

Not mere freezing, but a law freezing imbued with the "Annihilation" True Meaning! The activity of the deathly qi was completely stripped away, the obsession of the vengeful spirits was frozen and solidified, and even the fragments of Shadow Law that composed this death domain became sluggish and rigid under the cleansing of the Yin Ice Tide!

"What?!" A sharp pain and shock came through the mental link connecting Netherworld Underworld and his death domain! He felt his domain being reversed eroded, frozen, and dismantled from within by a higher-level, more primordial ice-cold annihilation power! His deathly qi, which he thought had fused a trace of Annihilation True Meaning, before this true Yin Annihilation power, was like meeting a natural enemy and swiftly retreated!

"Impossible! What kind of ice power is this?!" Netherworld Underworld's voice, mixed with shock and anger, echoed in the death domain, trembling with disbelief. His prideful Nether Death Domain was actually broken by the opponent using a property of mutual restraint (water overcomes fire? No, this is extreme yin cold against yin filth deathly qi) yet essentially crushing in nature!

"Break!" Wang Ping gave a soft shout, his entire body surging with azure divine light again!

Crack! Crack crack——!

A crisp, dense shattering sound rang out; the entire grey death domain, from inside to outside, instantly filled with spiderweb-like deep blue ice cracks! The next moment, it exploded with a boom!

Heavenly ice crystal fragments flew everywhere, refracting under the soft light halo of the Myriad Laws Pool into a bleak deep blue luster. The original deathly qi-filled domain vanished completely, leaving only the rapidly dissipating cold aura in the air, and the central figure standing motionless, his azure divine light gradually retracting.

Netherworld Underworld's true form, at the moment the domain shattered, was forced out of his state fused with shadow, appearing in mid-air over ten zhang away from Wang Ping, his posture slightly staggering, his grey-dark aura chaotic and disordered, clearly having suffered backlash from the domain's forced rupture.

Only then did he truly see Wang Ping's condition——unharmed in the slightest! Not even a corner of his clothes was disheveled! The deep blue cold light reflected in his calm eyes made this Netherworld Underworld Clan heavenly pride, who had long dealt with death, feel a chill from the depths of his soul.

"You……" Netherworld Underworld's voice was hoarse, full of surprise and a hint of barely perceptible fear. The opponent's strength far exceeded expectations! That ice-cold power was practically the natural nemesis of his Netherworld Underworld Clan's techniques!

However, Wang Ping's counterattack had only just begun.

"Ambusher, death is due."

The cold words spoken, Wang Ping's eyes flashed with cold light, his right hand's fingers together like a sword, and he swept in the void toward where Netherworld Underworld was!

Without earth-shaking momentum, only a sword gang condensed to the extreme, purely composed of white platinum killing伐之气, burst forth from his fingertips!

"White Tiger Slaying Divine Sword Gang!"

As soon as the sword gang appeared, it emitted an extreme sharpness and killing will to annihilate all things, slay gods and destroy souls! It was not a physical flying sword, yet sharper than any divine weapon! It swept through the void, silent and soundless, yet the space it passed through faintly showed slight black traces of being severed! Fast! Faster than thought could react! Fierce! Nothing could withstand its fierceness!

The target of the sword gang was not Netherworld Underworld's physical body, but rather the——core of the Shadow Law and the connection of his soul and spirit, exposed due to the domain's backlash and mental shock!

"Howl——!"

Vaguely, it seemed as if a dignified, domineering white tiger phantom was attached to the sword gang, emitting a soul-shaking roar!

Netherworld Underworld's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of a pinprick! The lethal sense of danger, like ice water poured over his head, made him instantly sober! He let out a strange cry, his form instinctively wanting to become illusory, blend into shadow and flee. This was his most skilled means of self-preservation.

However, that White Tiger Slaying Divine Sword Gang seemed to have locked onto his very "existence," ignoring his physical illusory form, carrying the terrifying will to slay gods and souls, destroy laws, and thrusting straight toward him!

"Netherworld Substitute Death Technique!" At the moment of life and death, Netherworld Underworld dared hold nothing back, let out a fierce cry, bit his tongue tip, and spat out a mouthful of essence blood. The essence blood instantly burned, turning into a mass of thick blood-colored shadow, blocking before the sword gang!

Pu!

The blood-colored shadow, like paper paste, was easily pierced and torn apart by the sword gang! But the sword gang's speed was also thus hindered by an insignificant instant.

It was precisely this instant that Netherworld Underworld completed his final life-saving secret method. His body violently trembled, a darker, almost imperceptible shadow separated from within him, and at near-space-jump speed, fled toward the distance! While the "body" left behind instantly lost all vitality, turning grey and stiff.

Hiss!

The White Tiger Slaying Divine Sword Gang pierced that grey and stiff corpse, the terrifying Slaying Divine power erupted, completely annihilating that corpse together with the residual thread of divided soul within it into nothingness!

"Ah——!" Far away, that fleeing dark shadow let out an extremely mournful, pain-filled miserable cry, violently shaking in mid-air, its aura instantly withering to the extreme, like a candle in the wind. Although he escaped death by relying on the substitute death secret method, the aftermath of the sword gang's soul-slaying power still heavily wounded his primary soul source!

That dim shadow dared not linger even a fraction, not even daring to glance back, burning its last potential, it turned into an almost invisible grey line, fleeing in utter disarray toward the void passage at the edge of the Ten Thousand Laws Pool, vanishing in an instant. Only a hiss full of fear and venomous hatred remained, faintly echoing:

"The might of the Five Elements…… terrifying indeed! Wang Ping…… this grudge…… must be avenged!"

By the poolside, once again fell into a deathly silence.

This silence was deeper and more shocking than when Wang Ping had defeated Yan Jin before.

Everyone's gaze focused on the youth who had just withdrawn his fingers, his divine light fully retracted inward, as if he had merely brushed off dust.

From Ming Shang's sudden ambush and the death domain's shroud, to Wang Ping erupting with the Taiyin Jiemie Han Chao ice seal breaking the domain, then to the White Tiger Slaying God Sword Gang forcing Ming Shang to display the death-substitution secret technique, his main soul heavily wounded as he fled…… the entire process took no more than twenty or thirty breaths!

Even shorter than the time taken to defeat Yan Jin!

Yet the means displayed were all the more chilling!

That ice-sealing death-qi, domain-freezing azure Han Chao, its icy extinction intent made even Mu Lan, who cultivates the Wood Life Dao, feel his heart palpitate. That White Platinum Sword Gang, which ignored defenses, directly slayed the divine soul, forcing the heavenly pride of the Netherworld Clan to use the death-substitution technique yet still suffer heavy wounds, its sharp killing intent made even the proud and arrogant Cang Xuan feel a deep dread in his eyes.

Could the Dao of the Five Elements truly be this powerful? Not only endless and perfectly integrated, but it could also elevate the power of a single attribute to such a pinnacle of perfection? That Han Chao had already touched the true meaning of "Taiyin Jiemie"! That Sword Gang even contained the killing origin of "Nothing Uncut"!

This was no longer merely about cultivation level and spiritual power being strong, but about comprehension of the "Dao" having reached a height that made peers look up in awe!

"Taiyin True Water…… Jiemie Han Chao…… that chill is absolutely not ordinary ice law!" A heavenly pride who cultivates water techniques turned pale, muttering to himself.

"White Tiger Main Kill…… that Sword Gang is truly terrifying! My divine soul actually felt a sting!" Another covered his forehead, heart still trembling.

"Ming Shang's death-substitution secret technique 'You Ming Blood Shadow Escape' was used, yet he still suffered heavy damage to his divine soul…… this Wang Ping, decisive in killing, his strength is unfathomable!" Someone drew a conclusion.

Mu Lan of the Ancient God Clan took a deep breath, then said slowly: "Water极 Yin extinction, Metal极 sharp killing. Among the Five Elements, he has already obtained the true meaning of two, and perfectly integrated them with his own Dao foundation. Such a person already has the qualifications to contend for the position of 'Daozi'."

The "Daozi" he spoke of was obviously not Wang Ping's self-proclaimed Five Elements Daozi, but the Spirit Realm-recognized title for a peerless heavenly pride who may one day qualify to assault the highest realm.

Luoxian Clan's Yu Liuli fell silent for a moment, her clear celestial voice ringing out: "Taiyin Jiemie…… somewhat resembles a certain ancient immortal cold qi recorded in our Luoxian Clan's annals. This person's opportunity, comprehension, and nature are all of the highest choice."

The shadow around Xu Clan's You Ying flickered slightly, transmitting a trace of extremely faint divine thought fluctuation, as if communicating with kin or some existence, content unknown, but the sense of "interest" and "danger" grew stronger.

In Tian Cang Clan's Cang Xuan's silver pupils, coldness and battle intent intertwined. Wang Ping's displayed strength undoubtedly listed him as an opponent who must be dealt with seriously, even…… as…… an obstacle that must be removed.

"Hahaha! Good! Well done, Wang brother!" Lei Zhen's wild laughter broke the silence, he strode to Wang Ping's side and slapped his shoulder hard (the force slightly offset by the Five Powers field automatically circulating on Wang Ping's body surface), face full of excitement, "Those rats in the gutter, they should have been dealt with long ago! Satisfying! Your chill and sword light, amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

Wang Ping smiled at Lei Zhen, then calmly swept his gaze over the crowd by the pool. Those whom his gaze touched, aside from a few top heavenly prides who could meet his eyes calmly, most involuntarily looked away, or slightly lowered their heads, not daring to face his sharpness.

After this battle, Wang Ping's image of Five Elements perfection and unfathomable strength was deeply imprinted in the hearts of all heavenly prides present. No one would dare regard him as an ordinary Golden Core cultivator to be toyed with anymore. He had firmly established himself among the top heavenly prides by the Ten Thousand Laws Pool through strength, even…… faintly showing signs of surpassing them!

Wang Ping paid no heed to others' thoughts. He raised his hand and made a grasping motion; at the spot where Ming Shang's "death-substitution corpse" had been shredded by the sword gang, a barely perceptible grey crystal gleam was drawn into his hand. It was a crystal the size of a grain of rice, of strange texture, retaining pure soul power and a trace of shadow law aura.

"A fragment of the Netherworld Soul Pearl? Though merely transformed from a death-substitution corpse, quality greatly reduced, yet it still contains a trace of pure soul power and shadow characteristics, perhaps useful." Wang Ping put it away. Even mosquito legs are meat, let alone remnants of the Netherworld Clan heavenly pride's core secret technique.

He looked again at the still slowly circulating, magnificent and vast light sea of the Ten Thousand Laws Pool. The pool's law origin, having been absorbed by everyone, had become somewhat thin, but the core remained deep and unfathomable.

"With this matter settled, I should seek a way to leave, or…… see if the Ten Thousand Laws Pool still holds other secrets." Wang Ping's thoughts turned. The Five Points Spirit Array perfection had been achieved, strength greatly increased, after consecutively defeating two strong foes to establish prestige, no one would dare provoke him lightly in the short term. It was time to consider the next step.

However, just as his mind relaxed slightly, preparing to communicate with Lei Zhen or probe the poolside environment——

Change, again!

Not a sneak attack from other heavenly prides, but from the very space of the Ten Thousand Laws Pool beneath their feet!

Om——!!!

The entire chaotic-colored space suddenly and violently trembled without warning! As if a pair of invisible giant hands were violently shaking this small world!

The law light sea at the center of the Ten Thousand Laws Pool, with a diameter of a hundred zhang, suddenly boiled, rotated, and collapsed inward! A colossal seven-colored vortex formed suddenly at the light sea's center, emitting a terrifying suction that devoured everything!

At the same time, the warm, jade-like chaotic-colored ground by the pool began to crack inch by inch, countless dazzling seven-colored rays of light shooting out from the fissures! The soft halo in the sky also became chaotic, twisted chaotic air currents raged like mad dragons!

A vast, ancient will, as if it had slept for endless ages and now suddenly awakened, mixed with the chaotic and violent law storm, swept through the entire space!

"What's happening?!"

"Is the space collapsing?!"

"Ten Thousand Laws Pool anomaly!"

All heavenly prides, including Wang Ping, Cang Xuan, You Ying, Mu Lan, Yu Liuli and other top figures, at this moment turned pale, frantically circulating spiritual power to protect their bodies, resisting the sudden spatial tremor and law storm!

The suction of the seven-colored vortex grew stronger and stronger, law fragments in the light sea were madly sucked in, the cracks in the poolside ground widened, the entire space seemed as if it would completely disintegrate in the next second!

"Is it the inheritance trial ending? Or did we trigger some restriction?" Alarm bells rang in Wang Ping's mind, Five Elements divine light instantly circulated throughout his body, forming the strongest defense, his gaze locked firmly on the center of the seven-colored vortex that seemed able to devour everything.