Chapter 249: Resurrection

At this moment, Tu Jiu and the Old Witch Master were still watching him nervously from the side.

"Benefactor, that was incredibly dangerous just now. What exactly was that black flower?" the Old Witch Master asked hurriedly.

Xu Chen shook his head and said, "That was just one of my Magic Spells. I really owe you both for just now; otherwise, I would have lost my life."

The two of them shook their heads in unison, and Tu Jiu said excitedly, "Benefactor, what are you saying? My life was saved by you, and I was even able to restore my clan markings and awaken my Divine Pattern Battle Technique. Even if I died, this life wouldn't have been lived in vain. Just now, I saw you grab that stone tablet. I wonder if you saw any clues on it about how to leave Minghuang?"

Xu Chen stood up and nodded, "There are indeed some clues, but we need to get out first to search slowly. This place is not suitable for a long stay; we should leave as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, the two danced with joy and cheered, even more excited and thrilled than Xu Chen himself, and together they crowded around Xu Chen to continue moving forward.

The road ahead was completely different from the situation on the other side of the cliff.

It was exactly as if two different spaces had been misaligned and joined together. There were no traces of man-made structures; it was just an incomparably deep cavern, crisscrossed like a spider web, filled with rifts and tunnels everywhere.

Xu Chen felt this scene was very familiar.

It was practically a replica of the rift in Black Wind Ridge, only the space was larger. Each rift was hundreds of feet in size, and the tunnel Tu Jiu was leading them through was even several miles in diameter. Inside, Black Mist churned, emitting a roar like a mountain landslide or a tsunami, as if a surging underground river were raging.

"Tu Jiu, do you know where this cavern leads?" Xu Chen asked, feeling curious while also having some faint ideas.

Analyzing it based on the situation of the Black Wind Ridge rift, this massive Black Wind cavern was certainly a passage for a Nether Rift, though whether it led to the Mortal World or elsewhere in the Underworld was unknown.

If it led to the Mortal World, following it all the way might allow them to walk out.

However, he quickly dismissed this thought.

After all, his understanding of Minghuang was too little, bordering on zero. He didn't know if this massive rift cavern could lead to the Mortal World, and if it led to the depths of the Underworld, he feared he would never be able to return in this lifetime.

Tu Jiu also expressed helplessness regarding Xu Chen's question. After he originally fell into the Gu Cheng Di Gong, it took him a long time to cross that Void Fault, and he had searched for a long time within these cavern rifts before finally reaching the surface. Regarding other conditions within the cavern, he knew no more than Xu Chen, perhaps even less.

At least Xu Chen had entered Black Wind Ridge several times and had some understanding of such rifts, while Tu Jiu and the Old Witch Master had no idea that these were Black Wind passages of a Nether Rift.

"Careful, there is movement ahead!" As the three were moving quickly, the Old Witch Master suddenly warned.

Sure enough, just as the three slowed down to observe, a massive black shadow suddenly lunged from the front. Its body was like an octopus monster, and dozens of giant tentacles, like giant pythons, coiled toward the three of them.

This was another Nether Beast of at least Third-Tier.

Its aura was terrifying, radiating a pressure that made one's Soul tremble with fear. The Black Mist throughout the entire cavern seemed to suddenly solidify, pressing in like a mountain wall.

Before Xu Chen could even act, the Old Witch Master and Tu Jiu roared and lunged out, one in front and one behind.

Cyan and gold light exploded in the Black Mist as both simultaneously revealed their Divine Pattern Battle Techniques.

Tu Jiu still used his most familiar Wrath of the Earth God, transforming into a golden giant over a hundred feet tall, waving fists the size of small hills as he smashed upward.

The Old Witch Master released a massive cyan tornado, violently swallowing the octopus monster.

"Roar~"

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

Two people and one beast engaged in a fierce battle right within the massive cavern rift.

Xu Chen did not make a move, instead standing far behind to watch, not even taking out his Thunder Fire Pestle.

This Nether Beast was quite large, but its strength was significantly worse than the bull-headed giant beast they had finished off not long ago. He did not detect any prominent rule-based aura; it was simply Soul Power pressure and a formidable body.

And this style of combat was exactly what Tu Jiu and the Old Witch Master were most accustomed to and least afraid of. After countless generations of inheritance and change, the Nether Human Race had completely adapted to the Minghuang aura; they were not weak in terms of Soul Power, and after awakening their Divine Pattern Battle Techniques, they were not at a disadvantage in terms of raw power confrontation.

Therefore, although the octopus Nether Beast looked incomparably fierce, it did not gain any advantage in this battle.

Soon, the giant octopus beast was completely suppressed by Tu Jiu and the Old Witch Master. Under their violent attacks, light churned and exploded. Under the impact of the booming power, the massive cavern shook violently, and large amounts of rubble shattered and fell from the sky, only to be completely ground into dust by the aura of the battle.

Xu Chen retreated far away, found a quiet corner to sit down, took out a Soul Bead the size of a rice bowl, and began to communicate with the Blue Light Treasure Bottle, trying to store it inside.

Although he was full of wariness toward Youtong, he still needed her help if he wanted to leave Minghuang.

Relying solely on these two thugs, Tu Jiu and the Old Witch Master, the chances were likely very slim.

After all, the current situation of the Nether Human Race was already quite dire, and their range of activity was too small. If they continued to grope around, he didn't know how long it would take.

The Blue Light Treasure Bottle was as temperamental as ever.

Xu Chen did not get discouraged. He used his Divine Sense to repeatedly strike and release the intention of collecting the Soul Bead. Finally, under his persistence, a faint blue light flashed between his brows, and the Soul Bead in his hand vanished. Almost simultaneously, it appeared inside the treasure bottle, and then, under the guidance of his Divine Sense, it floated beside the pool of Ghost Soul Water.

"Consider yourself to have some conscience!" Youtong snorted coldly.

Xu Chen gave a dry laugh: "You should know my concerns, but I won't go back on what I promised."

"I won't go back on what I promised either, but one is far from enough!" Youtong said.

"Rest assured, there are more, but you must hurry!" Xu Chen reminded.

"One Soul Bead isn't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth..."

Youtong seemed very impatient. The Nether Beast egg suddenly erupted with a black light. With a pulse of expansion and contraction, this giant Soul Beast egg suddenly turned into a cloud of dust and drifted down; the thick Soul Power inside had been completely devoured.

Xu Chen:...

"I said it wasn't enough to fill the gaps between my teeth, hurry up!" Youtong's voice came out again.

Fine. Xu Chen suppressed his wildly fluttering heart, withdrew his Divine Sense from the Blue Light Treasure Bottle, and with a wave of his hand, more than ten pitch-black Soul Beads, each at least the size of a bowl, floated before his eyes. He then began to communicate with the treasure bottle again.

In fact, Xu Chen also knew that the Blue Light Treasure Bottle should be able to store anything, but it wasn't like a familiar storage Magic Treasure that only required communicating with an Array to collect things directly. Instead, it had a very strong resistance to things it wasn't interested in, requiring repeated communication.

Therefore, Xu Chen was usually too lazy to spend time communicating and researching it.

Especially regarding things from the Underworld, the Blue Light Treasure Bottle's resistance was even stronger, particularly toward these items related to Nether Beasts. It was just like when he had reluctantly subdued the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus; it was very unwilling, as if storing them inside posed a threat to it.

However, ever since he had stored the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus, this resistance had weakened quite a bit, and most of the time, communication would succeed.

Soon, after some repeated communication, the dozen or so Soul Beads were all stored into the Blue Light Treasure Bottle.

At this time, the battle between Tu Jiu, the Old Witch Master, and the giant octopus beast was also drawing to a close.

This giant Nether Beast had become quite miserable, and in the end, it was completely beaten into a pile of rotten meat by the two of them working together, leaving behind only a little tough skin, some meridians, and one giant Soul Bead.

The two tidied up the spoils of war and returned with the Soul Bead, their faces full of joy, to report their success.

Xu Chen did not stand on ceremony; after collecting the Soul Bead, the three set off again.

For a long time afterward, the three searched everywhere for a way out within this massive, empty cavern rift that was like a labyrinth.

From time to time, Nether Beasts appeared along the way.

These Nether Beasts were completely incomparable in strength to those that had appeared in Black Wind Ridge; the weakest, in Xu Chen's view, had reached at least Third-Tier.

However, ordinary Third-Tier and Fourth-Rank Soul Beasts were no match at all in the hands of Tu Jiu and the Old Witch Lord, so Xu Chen hardly had to lift a finger along the way; the two of them pushed forward, crushing and slaughtering everything in their path.

Both of them were extremely excited, one could even say they were quite frantic.

The Nether Human Race had not experienced such a hearty and thorough victory against Nether Beasts for a very long time, so they killed with great joy, and Xu Chen also continuously harvested Soul Beads of all sizes, all of which he collected into the Blue Light Treasure Bottle.

Demon Lord Youtong did not refuse any of these Soul Beads; no matter how many he collected, she could absorb them all.

Meanwhile, the aura of that Nether Beast blood egg grew stronger and stronger, with streaks of black light constantly expanding and flickering on its surface, floating in the Ghost Soul Water pool like a black sun, looking just like a black hole.

Xu Chen also became increasingly nervous and uneasy.

He felt that Demon Lord Youtong should have been resurrected and reborn long ago, and in order not to harbor a future disaster, he decided to stop putting Soul Beads inside.

By the edge of the Ghost Soul Water pool, a thick layer of dark gray Soul Bead dust had already settled.

Sensing Xu Chen's routine Divine Sense observation, Demon Lord Youtong's clear and cold voice sounded once again: "Where are the Soul Beads? Hurry up!"

Xu Chen replied dryly: "There are none left!"

"Hmph, stingy!"

"Big sister, I have already been very generous, okay? Soul Beads aren't just clods of dirt; how could I have so many? You have absorbed nearly a hundred of them during this time; some things should stop in moderation, don't be insatiable as if you can never be fed," Xu Chen said, curling his lip.

"Forget it, I am a dignified Demon Lord, I won't bicker with you. Move aside, I am coming out!"

Demon Lord Youtong also seemed to feel that she had eaten a bit too much for free during this time, so with a huff, the black-light-flickering Nether Beast blood egg turned into an afterimage and whistled out of the mouth of the Blue Light Treasure Bottle; Xu Chen only felt a heaven-collapsing and earth-shattering explosion in his Sea of Consciousness, and in an instant, black light permeated his entire Sea of Consciousness, causing his Soul to instantly lose its light.

(End of chapter)