Chapter 232: Returning to the Trial Ground

Nanxuan Laozu wore a look of astonishment; to be able to disperse the white light hand of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator with a single strike—what kind of force was this? Upon closer inspection, he saw that the black giant hand was precisely what Qin Xiaofeng's previous Magic Treasure had transformed into, and the hundreds of black fierce tigers had long since vanished.

This kind of Magic Treasure that could infinitely divide and transform was truly rare! Moreover, its power was shockingly great; for a Golden Core Stage cultivator to possess such a Magic Treasure, one could almost say they were an invincible existence among their peers.

"Nanxuan Laozu, and you call yourself a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator—to think you can't even defeat a Golden Core junior!"

Although unable to break the light prison to escape, the Demon Emperor's speech was not restricted; he tilted his head back and mocked Nanxuan Laozu.

His old face flushing red and then turning pale, Nanxuan Laozu was also extremely furious in his heart. Facing a cultivator much weaker than himself, he was unable to find a way to strike, which made him feel utterly humiliated!

At this moment, inside the Trial Ground, countless Transmission Arrays descended from the sky. Zhang Nuo flashed out from one of them and looked around; the Trial Ground was still the same as before.

Because the Transmission Arrays were assigned randomly, Zhang Nuo did not appear in the same place as the Demon Emperor's External Incarnation. With his Divine Sense fully extended, Zhang Nuo probed everything around him. A moment later, he retracted his Divine Sense, a look of relief appearing on his face.

As long as he didn't encounter the Demon Emperor's External Incarnation at the start, he might still have a way to contend with it. Identifying the terrain, he noted that this place was quite far from the Dark Swamp, requiring a few days of travel.

The 'Hell Butterfly' wings on Zhang Nuo's back consumed a great deal of Yin Qi, so he had no choice but to retract them first! He then steered his escape light and flew rapidly toward the direction of the swamp.

Along the way, he saw many places where he had stayed in the past. Several years ago, Zhang Nuo was still a small Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator in the Trial Ground, but in the blink of an eye, when he returned here again, he was already a Golden Core Stage cultivator.

Thinking about everything that happened in the Trial Ground, it felt just like yesterday. If he hadn't been struck into the Trial Ground by Zuo Mutang, what kind of scene would the outcome have been?

After flying for a day, Zhang Nuo thought about many things, and memories flashed through his mind one after another. At this time, he flew over a small mountain below him; that was the place where Zhuge Qing had once recuperated from her injuries, and also the place where the three major sects joined forces to confront Tie Lin.

Everything had become like smoke passing before the eyes, with only memories left to seek!

A day later, Zhang Nuo's figure finally appeared at the edge of the Dark Swamp. Taking a deep breath of the air here, it was still just as foul-smelling.

Suddenly, a sinister aura drifted over, making Zhang Nuo's heart instantly fill with joy! Because that was Yin Qi, pure Yin Qi! Back when he was in the Dark Swamp, Yin Qi had emanated from it, but at that time he didn't know how to utilize this Yin Qi. Now, however, it was different; Zhang Nuo possessed the 'Hell Butterfly'.

Thinking of this, his figure flashed and he arrived above the Dark Swamp. Black Yin Qi drifted out from between his eyebrows, and slowly, the 'Hell Butterfly' flew out.

The black butterfly, with its entire body burning with Red Glow Fire, flapped its wings incessantly in front of Zhang Nuo. Suddenly, it quieted down and turned its head to look at the vast Dark Swamp.

After a light cry, the Red Glow Fire on the black butterfly's body surged upward, and the raging flames transformed into the form of the 'Hell Butterfly' in mid-air, reaching a size of two zhang.

Just as Zhang Nuo was feeling surprised, countless amounts of Yin Qi surged toward this place from the Dark Swamp. By his Divine Sense's estimation, these Yin Qi were like a tidal wave, almost no different from the Spiritual Qi gathered by the Nine Dragon Sword Case.

The Yin Qi converged into strands of black thread visible to the naked eye, transmitting toward the mouth of the 'Hell Butterfly'. The greedy black butterfly sucked incessantly, like a child that would never be full.

In fact, this was no wonder; ever since merging with the 'Hell Butterfly', the little bit of Yin Qi Zhang Nuo absorbed was simply not enough. Added to the fact that he had frequently used the butterfly wings to fly during this period, the Yin Qi in his body was about to be completely exhausted.

Now, the Yin Qi in the Dark Swamp had solved his urgent need. Before long, the 'Hell Butterfly' began to bloom with black light; these rays of light were like the luster of metal, chilling to the bone!

However, looking at the 'Hell Butterfly's' appearance, it seemed it was still absorbing Yin Qi! Zhang Nuo simply sat cross-legged in mid-air. Originally, he had been forced into the Trial Ground by Nanxuan Laozu, and he had no confidence in dealing with the Demon Emperor's External Incarnation alone.

The Yin Qi here was dense, which was the perfect opportunity for him to practice the 'Immovable Underworld King'. Closing his eyes slightly, he silently began to circulate the 'Immovable Underworld King' technique.

If Nanxuan Laozu were to see this scene, he would surely be driven mad with rage! At such an important moment, Zhang Nuo actually still had the mood to practice here!

Feeling the dense Yin Qi around him, Zhang Nuo channeled it into his body and practiced according to the 'Immovable Underworld King' method. This attempt was no small matter; Zhang Nuo's heart was instantly filled with joy.

Previously, when he was in the outside world, because the Yin Qi was thin, he never felt anything when activating the technique. But the situation now was different; as soon as the Yin Qi entered his body, the 'Immovable Underworld King' technique automatically began to circulate, and it was extremely smooth.

After just one cycle, Zhang Nuo felt his physical body was much sturdier than before. Besides the massive Spiritual Qi within his body, there was also a small strand of Yin Qi surging restlessly.

Excitedly opening his eyes, an unconcealable excitement made him laugh out loud. When he looked toward the 'Hell Butterfly', he saw that its entire body was wrapped in Yin Qi, and even the giant butterfly shadow condensed from the red flames had turned black. Viewed from afar, it truly looked like a giant black butterfly.

"Could it be that it hasn't had enough to absorb?"

Zhang Nuo had already stayed in this place for nearly two days, and the 'Hell Butterfly' had been absorbing like this for two days. During this time, the Demon Emperor's External Incarnation had not appeared. This actually made Zhang Nuo feel somewhat surprised.

According to common sense, the cultivation of the External Incarnation also belonged to the Nascent Soul Stage, so its escape speed should naturally be faster than his, but why had it been so slow to appear?

The place where Zhang Nuo had originally obtained the Black Book was in the center of the Dark Swamp; if something entered, Zhang Nuo would be able to sense it. He really didn't know what kind of trick the Demon Emperor was playing.

After waiting in the same spot for another day, the External Incarnation still did not appear. By this time, the 'Hell Butterfly' seemed to have absorbed enough Yin Qi; its body size continuously shrank, and finally, with a flash, it vanished into Zhang Nuo's brow.

Just as the 'Hell Butterfly' merged with his body, the massive Yin Qi transmitted from the butterfly's body made Zhang Nuo nearly suffocate. His brow bulged a few times, nearly forcing the 'Hell Butterfly' back out.

Because he lacked a powerful Underworld cultivation method as a foundation, Zhang Nuo's body found it difficult to withstand so much Yin Qi. Fortunately, at the final moment, the 'Hell Butterfly' forcibly restrained the Yin Qi on its body, and only then did things stabilize.

A layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and Zhang Nuo shook his head with a bitter smile. Before, it was because of a lack of Yin Qi, but now there was so much Yin Qi that he couldn't withstand it; it was just like a person who had been hungry for several days suddenly eating too much and being unable to take it.

Standing in mid-air, he let his body adapt for a while before he felt a bit better. Looking around, the Demon Emperor's External Incarnation still hadn't appeared. At the same time, Zhuge An and the others hadn't arrived here either. What on earth had happened? Zhang Nuo pondered deeply, unable to figure out the reason.

However, the Transmission Arrays descending from the sky of the Trial Ground had not disappeared, which meant the Transmission Array on the Tianjiang Plain was still active.

Since the Transmission Arrays hadn't disappeared, Zhang Nuo could naturally return. He couldn't be bothered to worry about these matters and continued to practice the 'Immovable Underworld King' by utilizing the excellent Yin Qi in the surroundings.

On the evening of this very day, the sound of fighting came from the sky in the distance. A series of booms shook the entire Dark Swamp until it trembled incessantly.

Zhang Nuo, who was in mid-air, opened his eyes at once and looked toward the direction where the sound came from. He saw that high in the sky, three cultivators were fiercely attacking one cultivator.

Every time a Magic Treasure was unleashed, it was incomparably powerful! Yet the cultivator being besieged was even more formidable; without using a single Magic Treasure, they relied solely on divine abilities to continuously block the attacks of the three.

"The Demon Emperor's External Incarnation!"

With just one glance, Zhang Nuo clearly recognized the person being besieged, while the other three cultivators were none other than Zhuge An, Xiao Zhengxing, and Zhuo Zhiyan! With the Sect Masters of the three major sects joining forces to attack, the External Incarnation of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator hadn't suffered the slightest disadvantage, which made Zhang Nuo involuntarily gasp in cold air.

One had to know that these three were all Golden Core Late Stage existences, and each of them possessed significant divine abilities. Even so, it was still this strenuous to deal with the External Incarnation; if Zhang Nuo were to encounter it alone, he would likely only have the option of fleeing.

"Nanxuan Laozu! You almost got me killed!"

Feeling lingering fear in his heart, he muttered to himself, then transformed into a streak of escape light and charged toward the four people engaged in the fierce battle.

It turned out that when Zhuge An and the others arrived at the Transmission Array on the Tianjiang Plain, they saw Nanxuan Laozu and Qin Xiaofeng fighting intensely, while the Demon Emperor was trapped within the light prison below.

Upon seeing Zhuge An and the others arrive, the Laozu immediately ordered them to also enter the Trial Ground to lend Zhang Nuo a helping hand. Thus, Zhuge An and the others quickly charged into the Trial Ground.

With their cultivation, even if someone tried to block them, it would be useless. However, Zhuge An's luck seemed a bit poor; as soon as he entered, he encountered the Demon Emperor's External Incarnation!

Seeing that Zhuge An was alone, this External Incarnation's killing intent surged, wanting to finish him off right here. Fortunately, this Sect Master of the Nanxuan Sect had a few life-saving methods. After several failed attempts to kill him, he even encountered Zhuo Zhiyan, who had also entered the Trial Ground.

The two joined forces and barely managed to contend with the Demon Emperor's External Incarnation. Seeing that there was no hope of killing them, the Demon Emperor wanted to fly toward the Dark Swamp, but how could Zhuge An and Zhuo Zhiyan let him leave so easily?

And so, the two entangled him all the way, and finally, they encountered Xiao Zhengxing! With the three of them joining forces, they were finally able to hold off the Demon Emperor's External Incarnation for a few days.