Chapter 354

The misty light swirled within the spirit herb garden of the Xuanwei Peak abode.

Wang Ping sat cross-legged in the void three feet above the ground, his eyes slightly closed, his mind and spirit fully immersed in deep communion with the Jianmu seed within his dantian.

The "Five Elements Vital Soil" of the spirit herb garden, carefully blended by him with a portion of "Primordial Chaos Soil" obtained from the Immortal Palace and exchanged "Yin Wood Essence" from the Dao Academy, now emitted a vigorous yet gentle vitality, which, through the delicate spirit-rune meridians he had laid in the garden, seeped thread by thread toward the Jianmu seed temporarily moved outside his body.

The two dripping green tender leaves, nourished by abundant spirit energy, swayed slowly; the chaos nebula-like patterns in their veins seemed to have gained life, flashing on and off with some profound rhythm. Each flash caused the space within three feet around it to produce an extremely minute, almost instinctive "breathing"-like rhythm—the flow of air, the drifting of spirit energy, even the refraction of light—all becoming unusually smooth and tranquil.

Wang Ping attempted to simulate a thread of his pure chaos immortal essence into the gentlest spatial ripple, like a mother lightly stroking an infant, gently wrapping the sprout. This was not forced infusion, but guidance and resonance. The Dao pattern on the lotus seed at the sprout's tip suddenly glowed faintly, as if touched by this same-source, gentle spatial undulation; the tender leaves trembled lightly and actually drew that ripple "in" on their own.

After a moment of silence, a more refined, condensed feedback, carrying an innate spatial stabilizing Dao rhythm, quietly seeped from the sprout's tip, following Wang Ping's spiritual connection, thread by thread nourishing back into his chaos nascent infant within. The nascent infant embraced this rhythm, its countenance seeming to grow slightly more solemn, and the chaos aura flowing around it gained several points of an indescribable weightiness.

"Indeed, actively guiding its spatial properties is more effective than mere spirit-nourishment." A hint of realization rose in Wang Ping's heart, and he was about to seize the moment, attempting to guide the Jianmu seed to sense more distant, finer spatial folds—

Suddenly, an extraordinary tremor came from his waist!

The Chaos Star Token he always wore close to his body was no longer emitting the usual warm transmission; instead, it gave out a low, urgent vibration, as if his heart were tightly gripped! The chaos star pattern on the token's back suddenly detached from the token itself, projecting a golden seal phantom no larger than a cun, yet solid beyond compare, rapidly spinning! At the phantom's core was an ancient "Ming" character Dao pattern, surrounded by nine tiny star chains—this was precisely the "Nine-Star Summons Seal" uniquely belonging to the Dean, also his master Jiang Mingyuan, representing the highest priority and emergency state!

Wang Ping snapped his eyes open; the chaos color in his pupils flashed and vanished, instantly restoring clarity and sharpness. His master summoning him with this seal could not be mere discussion or cultivation guidance—something heaven-shaking must have occurred!

He hesitated not. With a thought, his suspended form drifted down. His right hand drew forth, and the Jianmu seed transformed into a streak of green light, instantly sinking into the depths of his dantian, re-rooting in the palm of his chaos nascent infant, carefully nurtured by pure chaos immortal essence. His left hand reached out, and the prepared set of formal instructor robes—dark blue with embroidered dark gold chaos cloud patterns—flew to him automatically; in the blink of an eye he was fully dressed, not a wrinkle in sight. He solemnly wore the Chaos Star Token at the most visible point on his waist.

All actions flowed smoothly, completed in two or three breaths. Wang Ping finally glanced at the spirit-energy-lush spirit herb garden, his form flickered, and he became a streak of inwardly restrained gray escape light, trajectory straight as a sword, tearing through the thin mist atop Xuanwei Peak, shooting at near-Nascent Soul limit speed toward the highest, most prominent, and most mysterious—Mingdao Peak! —of the Dao Academy's core region.

Mingdao Peak, symbol of the Ninth Dao Academy's authority and foundation. The peak is not natural stone; legend says the founding ancestor of the Dao Academy, with supreme power, extracted the cores of nine giant spirit veins and meteoric chaos iron from beyond the heavens, forging and casting them into one body, engraved with ancient guardian and spirit-gathering great formations passed down from antiquity. The peak stands ten thousand ren high; its upper half is perpetually enveloped in surging chaos clouds and mist, which are not water vapor but a highly liquefied blend of heavenly-earthly spirit energy and chaos Dao rhythm—ordinary cultivators touching even a strand risk assimilation or crushing.

Wang Ping held the Star Token and flew all the way. The closer he approached Mingdao Peak, the greater the invisible pressure in the air became, as if passing through layer upon layer of viscous yet tenacious spirit-energy barriers. Ordinary Golden Core cultivators reaching this point would likely be unable to move an inch. But he bore the chaos inheritance, and now, with his mind on the summons, his chaos immortal essence flowed naturally, resonating faintly with the omnipresent chaos Dao rhythm around him; that pressure instead became a propelling force, his speed not diminishing but increasing.

Passing through seven layers of peak-protecting spirit-light barriers of varying colors and natures, his vision suddenly opened. He now stood on the platform atop Mingdao Peak, wrapped in chaos clouds and mist. Here the mist became thin and gentle, like the finest gauze curtain, flowing slowly. The platform was paved with a single slab of "flawless white jade," smooth as a mirror, reflecting the seemingly within-reach, slowly rotating chaos nebula phantom above—that is the manifestation of the core of the mountain-protecting great formation, containing terrifying power and supreme Dao principle.

At the platform's end stood that seemingly simple yet awe-inspiring hall that made all Dao Academy disciples feel reverence. The hall's entire structure was built of "Innate Purple Qi Stone," a legendary divine stone that spontaneously inhales and exhales chaos purple qi, nourishing the spirit soul and stabilizing the Dao foundation. The whole hall had no carved beams or painted pillars, simple and unadorned, yet naturally exuded a grand air of "the great form has no shape," "the great Dao is simple." The doors were tightly shut, appearing ordinary wooden ones, but when Wang Ping's spiritual sense drew near, he felt a will as vast as a star sea, as deep as the Returning Abyss, enveloping it—any unauthorized probe would be silently devoured.

He had just landed on the white jade ground before the hall, not even having time to adjust his slightly disturbed breath from high-speed escape, when the two heavy purple-qi-stone doors silently slid inward, revealing a piece of deep darkness. At the same time, his master Jiang Mingyuan's familiar yet gentle voice, now carrying an undeniable solemnity, directly echoed in the deepest part of his sea of consciousness, calm, yet each word weighed a thousand jin:

"Ping'er, enter."

Wang Ping's heart jolted; his master rarely summoned him so directly via spiritual sense transmission, and the address had shifted from his usual "Wang Ping" to the more intimate yet also more serious "Ping'er." He dared not be the slightest bit negligent; he straightened his robes and stepped into that darkness.

One step inside, it felt like crossing worlds.

The sense of space within the hall was utterly twisted and expanded. Though the hall appeared only dozens of zhang square from outside, inside it seemed boundless. Underfoot was mirror-polishable black "Netherworld Cold Jade," icy and piercing to the bone, yet able to calm the spirit soul, reflecting the true, slowly rotating vast star chart overhead. That star chart was no illusion, but a true projection of the heavenly stars drawn down by supreme power; each star's light, orbit, and even the unique Dao rhythm it emitted were identical to the outer starry sky, even clearer and purer. Starlight fell, flowing across the black jade floor, as if one stood at the center of the universe.

The hall's interior was vast and empty, save for the enormous ancient-style desk carved from the heartwood of a whole "Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit-Nourishing Tree," and behind it the gray-clad figure standing with hands behind his back, gazing up at the star chart—nothing else. The warm, soothing aura emitted by the Spirit-Nourishing Wood slightly neutralized the icy chill of the Netherworld Cold Jade and the desolation of the starry sky.

Jiang Mingyuan today wore only an unadorned deep gray hemp Dao robe, his posture straight as a pine and cypress, but merely standing there, back turned, gazing at the star chart, gave one the feeling of bearing the entire starry sky, carrying the anxieties of myriad ages. He did not even turn his head, but Wang Ping could sense that his master's attention had already shifted from the star chart; that abyss-like spiritual sense was scrutinizing him from inside to outside, every minute breath fluctuation, every soul ripple, clearly perceived.

"Master." Wang Ping walked to a point three zhang before the desk, stopped, bowed, his voice steady yet carrying sincere reverence from the heart.

On the desk lay scattered seven or eight jade slips. They varied in color and shape: some like small swords, silver light chilling; some like medicine cauldrons, emerald green and fragrant; some bore dragon engravings, noble and magnificent; some were simple and unadorned yet full of ancient charm……Each emitted strong spirit-energy fluctuations and unique encrypted Dao rhythms, clearly from different powerful forces. These jade slips seemed casually placed, yet faintly formed a suppressive formation, sealing off any possible leakage of ominous qi from within.

Jiang Mingyuan finally turned slowly.

His face remained jade-like and warm, brows and eyes tranquil, showing no trace of hostility or agitation, like an ancient, unchanging deep pool. But Wang Ping, having long interacted with his master, could better sense the undercurrents stirring beneath that deep pool. Now, Jiang Mingyuan's eyes were no longer the former all-encompassing, deeply wise calm, but like a starry sky sealed by ice—grave, solemn, and deep within hid a trace of something extremely rare in his eyes—worry.

This trace of worry made Wang Ping's heart sink sharply.

"Ping'er, look at these things." Jiang Mingyuan offered no pleasantries, directly pointing at the jade slips on the desk, his voice low, as if fearing to disturb the hall's condensed starlight, "These, over the past three months, have been transmitted to me via the highest-secret channel of the 'Spirit Realm Watch Alliance'—urgent reports. From Tiange Pavilion, Wan Beast Mountain, Medicine God Valley, Great Yan Dynasty, Beixuan Profound Sect, Nanli Fire Palace, Xiji Diamond Temple……seven top-tier powers, plus two hidden sects renowned for intelligence."

With each name he spoke, Wang Ping's heartbeat grew heavier. These powers were none other than regional overlords with deep foundations, enjoying great fame in the Spirit Realm. That they could simultaneously transmit urgent reports in the highest encryption meant the matter's gravity far exceeded ordinary sect conflicts or secret realm disputes.

Jiang Mingyuan flicked his finger; the jade slip shaped like a small sword, its body silver-white, the "Tiange Pavilion" slip, first blazed with light, hummed, and projected a heart-stopping image.

The image seemed to be recorded by alternating between "wide-area perception" and "detail-focus" modes of some high-grade celestial surveillance artifact. First entering view was a familiar starry sky background, belonging to the "Dark Star Belt" on the Spirit Realm's southeastern fringe. At the center, a star that should have shown a faint blue spirit-energy halo now resembled a giant drained of blood—dim, lightless, deathly still. The original mountain-river contours, green vegetation cover, and blue water bodies on its surface were all replaced by a suffocating gray decay and scorched black.

The lens zoomed in at extreme speed, piercing the thin, chaotic (spirit-energy-depleted) atmosphere. The image became clear, and even more shocking.

What kind of hellish scene was this?

Once perhaps a densely forested mountain range, now only naked black skeletons remained, as if gnawed by giant beasts; all trees, flowers, grasses—whether mundane or spirit plants—had withered and carbonized, turning to dust at a light touch. Rivers had long dried up, their beds cracked into fissures tens of zhang deep, the edges congealed with strange, dark red crystals, like the residue left after the earth's blood was evaporated dry.

The lens swept over what should have been a gathering place for low-level cultivation civilizations in ruins. Crumbling stone buildings lay tilted this way and that; streets, squares, interiors……were piled high with countless withered, twisted skeletons! These skeletons held the postures of their final moments in life: some lay face-up, fingers dug deep into the ground; some curled in corners, arms around heads; some fled in the same direction, jostling and trampling each other……Their skin clung to their bones, gray-black, eye sockets sunken, mouths wide open, as if voicelessly screaming, yet leaving no trace of blood or battle. All skeletons, regardless of gender, age, whether mortal or low-level cultivator (judged from remnants of torn clothing and stray artifacts), none escaped.

The entire planet emitted no sound, showed no activity, not even wind seemed to move—only an absolute, utter silence. That silence, through the image, nearly froze the viewer's soul.

In the image's final breaths, the celestial surveillance artifact seemed to have caught something; the lens jerked toward a spot where the planet's shadow met the starry sky. There, an extremely faint, thin, smoke-like mist of gray-black shadow, like a ghost, "peeled" off the planet's surface, writhed, and in an incomprehensible way instantly vanished into the deep starry background, disappearing. At the moment that shadow swept past, the entire image violently fluctuated and distorted, filled with snow-like noise points; even the recording artifact's own stable spirit-energy output showed signs of disorder and decline!

Though the image was blurry, though separated by endless star space and the jade slip's transmission, yet at the very instant that gray-black shadow appeared, a chilling, deathly stillness—seeming able to strip all life, annihilate all soul essence—still, like an icy poison snake, followed the viewer's spiritual sense and surged violently into Wang Ping's sea of consciousness!

"Hmph!" Wang Ping grunted; his chaos immortal essence circulated spontaneously, the "Seal" divine character in his sea of consciousness flashed once, and only then did he dispel and suppress that invading thread of cold death qi. His face turned slightly pale, but his eyes were sharp as a drawn sword, fixed on where the image had vanished, each word deliberate, his voice carrying suppressed shock and fury: "Netherworld death qi! So pure……so domineering!"

This aura was all too familiar to him! In the Immortal Palace fragments, those beings corrupted and transformed by the "Chaos" source, then birthed by the Reverse Yuan Hall's blood sacrifice evil method, bore similar auras on the Netherworld monsters. But the aura lingering in the image before him, its purity, its contained pure "annihilation" and "extinction" Dao rhythm, far surpassed any Netherworld creature he had seen! This was more like……a source power, or rather, a source power highly refined and put to use!

"Not bad." Jiang Mingyuan's voice was like frozen ice; he pointed again, and the emerald-green "Medicine God Valley" jade slip lit up.

Another horrific scene unfolded: a smaller planet, its surface originally covered with special five-colored crystal ores (a mineral star in the Withered Spirit Star Field), now those ores had lost all luster, become gray and brittle, like weathered rock. The planet's surface was likewise deathly silent; countless dried corpses of miners and guard cultivators lay scattered at mine mouths, along transport tracks, in simple camps. Likewise, a fainter but identically natured trace of gray-black energy residue was captured by Medicine God Valley's specially made, extremely sensitive "Myriad Spirits Sensing Mirror."

Next, the jade slip stamped with a golden dragon seal, displaying royal bearing, the "Great Yan Dynasty" slip, lit up, showing the destruction of a secret spirit-medicine trial field; the slip engraved with beast totems, the "Wan Beast Mountain" slip, revealed the miserable state of a planet where low-level spirit beasts were bred; the Beixuan Profound Sect's slip recorded the exhaustion of a cold-attribute resource star; the Nanli Fire Palace's slip showed the inexplicable extinction of a fire vein……

One after another, images of dead planets, twisted dried corpses, ghost-like gray-black traces……like icy meteorites, they struck Wang Ping's heart lake, raising stormy waves. Though the hall maintained constant temperature, he felt a chill rise from his spine, rushing straight to his celestial palace.

Jiang Mingyuan waved his sleeve expressionlessly; all the horrific images vanished simultaneously, leaving only nine points of starlight marking the event locations, suspended above the desk, connected by faint lines, sketching a sparse network covering several border star fields in the Spirit Realm's southeast and northwest.

"From three months ago until yesterday's latest urgent report arrived, similar events have totaled nine." Jiang Mingyuan's voice echoed in the vast hall, each word like a heavy drumbeat, "Locations scattered, targets varied—there were low-level cultivation civilization planets, special resource ore planets, spirit-medicine trial fields, even a naturally formed 'Weak Water Spirit Spring'……yet the common point, as you see: sudden loss of contact, short duration; spirit energy efficiently and largely extracted or directly annihilated; living beings exterminated not by battle, but as if their life force and souls were instantly plundered; scenes all retained highly similar Netherworld death qi traces."

He walked to the desk, lightly tapped the surface with his finger, his gaze shifting from the star-coordinate network to Wang Ping; the solemnity in his eyes nearly became substance: "This is absolutely no natural disaster, nor could ordinary heretics or demonic forces achieve this. Their methods' cruel efficiency, target selection's strangeness (seemingly scattered, yet seemingly aimed at specific planet origins or resources), have surpassed our understanding of threats within the Spirit Realm."

Wang Ping forced himself calm, thinking rapidly, combining with Yunhao's prior transmission, a terrible conjecture arose: "Master, could the timing of these events be related to the 'unknown spatial fluctuations' detected at the edge of the Immortal Palace fragments? Also, the manner in which that final gray-black shadow in the image fled……seems not to be ordinary escape?"

A flash of approval crossed Jiang Mingyuan's eyes, but deeper still was worry: "The Alliance Intelligence Bureau and Celestial Surveillance Bureau have already conducted cross-analysis. In time, the first capture of unknown fluctuations at the edge of the Immortal Palace fragments occurred exactly five days before the first planet-extinction event. In region, the macroscopic spatial area where the Immortal Palace fragments reside, and these nine event-star fields, both belong to the 'Unstable Buffer Zone' of the Spirit Realm's outer-layer spatial structure. Although the actual distance between them is measured in light-years, hopelessly far……"

He paused, his tone growing even lower: "According to the Celestial Surveillance Bureau's mobilization of highest authority, retrieving the 'broad-deep spatial monitoring records' of these event-star fields before and after the incidents, they discovered a more unsettling sign. Near each event-star field, they had monitored extremely brief, weak, yet regularly abnormal 'spatial fold' activity."

Jiang Mingyuan made a grasping gesture with one hand; above the desk, beside the star-coordinate network, appeared several segments of twisting, jumping ripple patterns. "This 'fold' differs from natural spatial turbulence, also differs from stable wormholes or transmission-array fluctuations. Its form shows a non-natural, short-lived 'opening-closing' trait, energy release concentrated and abrupt, dissipation extremely rapid. After joint assessment by many elders proficient in spatial formations, they concluded……this strongly resembles some as-yet-unmastered-principle, non-stable, ultra-long-distance spatial deployment or reception technology, whose activation and deactivation moments cause a 'reverberation' on the local spatial structure!"

Spatial deployment technology! Netherworld race!

These two words exploded like thunderbolts in Wang Ping's mind! All clues instantly linked! The probing fluctuations at the edge of the Immortal Palace fragments (possibly early reconnaissance), the Spirit Realm border planets successively being "harvested" (testing or resource plundering), accompanied by abnormal spatial folds (deployment/reception traces)……This clearly is a premeditated, organized war overture using superior spatial technology for cross-star-field invasion! And the enemy is that mysterious race, with countless ties to "Chaos," possibly even its minions or same-origin existence——the Netherworld race!

"Master, how does the Alliance judge?" Wang Ping's voice was somewhat dry.

Jiang Mingyuan walked up to Wang Ping, his gaze falling on Wang Ping's face like a tangible substance, as if he wanted to see through every thought Wang Ping had at this moment. "The highest echelon of the Secret Alliance has held three emergency top-secret meetings. Synthesizing all intelligence, the think tank has deduced the most likely conclusion: this is neither mere plunder nor random testing. Its systematic nature, purposefulness, and the accompanying application of spatial technology indicate that the Netherworld Clan (or some vanguard force thereof) is conducting a precise 'resource survey' and 'environmental adaptation' test, while also possibly preparing for subsequent larger, deadlier operations—such as locating the affluent core regions of the Spirit Realm, establishing a stable invasion foothold, and even..." His voice dropped lower, carrying a hint of icy chill, "seeking and attempting to open passages to certain sealed 'Forbidden Sources' (such as the 'Chaos' core beneath the Chaos Immortal Palace)—clearing obstacles, accumulating data, draining the Spirit Realm's border defenses."

The hall was deathly silent. Only the star chart above continued to operate, starlight coldly falling upon the two of them.

After a silence lasting several breaths, Jiang Mingyuan suddenly shifted his tone, his voice becoming immensely solemn, even carrying a hint of entrusted gravity: "Ping'er, the borderlands of the Spirit Realm, countless beings suffering, war flames already ignited, the Alliance cannot idly watch the Netherworld ravage, waiting for its blade to reach our throat."

He locked eyes with Wang Ping: "By the Alliance's supreme decree, the Ninth Dao Institute is authorized to immediately form an elite investigation and eradication squad, heading to the junction of the newly occurred events and relatively concentrated 'Dark Star Belt' and 'Withered Spirit Star Region'. The mission has three objectives: conduct in-depth surveys to obtain firsthand Netherworld energy samples, spatial disturbance data, and enemy traces; assess threat level and pattern; if encountering controllable enemies, eradicate them resolutely and attempt reverse tracking. And you..."

Jiang Mingyuan's voice suddenly rose, carrying undeniable resolve: "Wang Ping! By the Alliance's decree and my strong recommendation, I appoint you as the leader of this squad!"

Although he had some premonition, when the appointment was actually issued, Wang Ping still felt his heart clench violently, a heavy pressure and fervent sense of responsibility surging simultaneously. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

Jiang Mingyuan raised his hand to stop him, his gaze piercing: "I chose you not because you are my disciple. First, you personally experienced the Immortal Palace's upheaval, directly faced Netherworld corruption, and your understanding of this power is unmatched—this is your greatest advantage. Second, you bear the Chaos Inheritance, which has an innate restraint against Netherworld deathly energy, already verified. Third, your character is resilient and steady, you make sound judgments in crisis, and you harbor the thought of protecting all beings, making you fit to bear life-and-death responsibilities. Fourth, you are now a first-rank instructor of the Dao Institute, your status and qualifications are sufficient, and your recent performance has been evident to the institute's senior leadership."

He paused, his tone softening slightly but weighing even more heavily: "Of course, you are not fighting alone. The Alliance will draw elite personnel from participating forces to form a team, at least including a spatial array grandmaster, a cultivator specialized in Netherworld purification, and formidable guards. The Dao Institute will also send two assistants to aid you. You have the right to set requirements for team members' abilities. Three days later, assemble at 'Hidden Dragon Plain' for departure."

Wang Ping drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging complex emotions in his chest, his eyes regaining their calm sharpness, like tempered cold iron. He stepped back, adjusted his attire, and bowed deeply to his master, and to this decision bearing countless expectations and responsibilities, his voice ringing like metal:

"Disciple Wang Ping, I accept the command! I will exert my utmost effort to uncover enemy traces, eliminate threats, not betray my master and the Alliance's heavy trust, not betray the lifeblood of the borderland beings!"

Seeing his disciple stand tall like a pine, gaze firm, the hint of worry in Jiang Mingyuan's eyes seemed to ease slightly, replaced by a complex relief and deeper expectation. He stepped forward, personally helped Wang Ping up, patted his shoulder, the warmth and strength from his palm seeming to convey his own belief.

"Ping'er, the road ahead through the star rivers is long and perilous. Remember, you are the leader, and also a disciple of the Dao Institute. Hold your heart like Chaos, able to withstand myriad dangers while remaining steadfast; act like a sharp sword, cut when you must, precise and decisive. Protecting team members and yourself is as important as completing the mission. When facing irresistible force, decide swiftly, seek aid or retreat—not as cowardice, but to preserve the spark. The Alliance has already laid hidden hands in the relevant star regions."

"Disciple, I will faithfully follow my master's teachings!" Wang Ping responded firmly.

When leaving Mingdao Peak, the night was already deep. The starry sky beyond the Chaos clouds was especially clear and brilliant. Wang Ping looked back at the peak's halls gradually being swallowed again by the clouds, as if he could still feel his master's gaze, heavy as a mountain.

He did not linger in the slightest; his escape light flared again, but not returning to Profound Subtlety Peak, instead once more rushing straight to the Myriad Phenomena Sutra Pavilion. With only three days, he needed to seize every moment, perusing every possible record concerning Netherworld spatial technology, deathly energy traits, and purification methods, even if only fragments. At the same time, he had to re-examine all his own means—Chaos Immortal Essence, Heaven-Overturning Seal, Chaos Tribulation Sword, the Fusang Tree seed, even the 'Suppress' character divine writ and gravity technique—considering how to unleash them to the utmost when facing the Netherworld.

Beneath the starry sky, the undercurrents had already turned into monstrous waves. The wandering souls of the borderland planets wept silently, the Netherworld's shadow spreading in the darkness.