Chapter 513

In the east of the Fifth Layer of the Nine Nethers, before the mouth of the Nether River Falls, the key to the Nine Nether Soul Realm—the Nether Firewood—hung silently in the air, radiating a cold, eerie glow.

With the Nether Firewood at the center, the strong of the Nine Nether races fanned out, sealing the area tight.

The air was thick with the fierce aura of battle, and the atmosphere was tense and heavy.

In this deadly silence, on the verge of eruption, all the beings of the Nine Nethers fixed their gaze on the figure of a person and a deer calmly walking toward the waterfall mouth.

On the deer’s back, after safely passing through that suffocating arena of slaughter, Hua Changxi’s taut nerves relaxed slightly.

Just a moment ago, all her focus had been on vigilance and preparing to fight at any moment, leaving no room for anything else. Now, she could finally spare some attention to observe the various powers of the Nine Nethers.

The moment she looked, her pupils constricted sharply, and shock and disbelief flashed rapidly in her eyes.

Good heavens—looking around, every single faction included human figures among them, from as few as two or three to as many as seven or eight.

Were humans really that capable?

This Nine Nethers had been infiltrated like a sieve!

Hmm?

Hua Changxi’s gaze suddenly paused, sweeping over to White Bone Lady, who stood behind the Ghost Clan ranks.

However, the five attendants by her side had now become five pure-blooded Ghost Clan members, no longer the five Lingtai Realm human cultivators she had seen before.

Had those five died?

Hua Changxi quickly looked away—since they had chosen to step into the depths of the Nine Nethers, presumably they were prepared to meet their end on the path of cultivation.

When her gaze turned to the various races of the Nine Nethers, her eyelid twitched violently.

The Ghost Clan had not only a Ghost King in command but also over a dozen Ghost Marshals.

Lord Yellow Spring and Lady Spider Lily stood side by side, their auras no weaker than the Ghost King’s.

Although the Demon Clan had not dispatched a King realm powerhouse, everyone present was at the Demon Marshal realm.

The Blood Sea Clan’s strength was roughly equal to the Demon Clan’s.

The Soul Clan had the fewest members and the weakest auras, but having read the Soul Canon, Hua Changxi knew they were not without means of self-defense.

Hua Changxi had encountered these five major powers before, so her gaze quickly swept past them and turned to the other scattered clans.

When she spotted two striking figures—one black and one white—among the factions, her pupils suddenly widened.

Was that… Heibai Wuchang?

Not far from those two figures stood a hunchbacked old woman holding a long wooden ladle.

Could that be the legendary Meng Po?

Heibai Wuchang belonged to Youdu City, while Meng Po was one of the people of the Wheel of Reincarnation…

Good—it seemed the main powers of the Nine Nethers had all gathered here.

The next moment, Hua Changxi’s gaze turned to the faint blue orb of light floating in the air.

Just what was this thing, to have drawn all the major powers of the Nine Nethers to fight over it?

Should she… try to snatch it too?

Hua Changxi glanced down at the Netherworld Deer beneath her, then looked at the increasingly close Nether River Falls.

The Netherworld Deer was fast, but could it outrun the many strong beings of the Nine Nethers?

Just as Hua Changxi was secretly sizing up the various Nine Nether powers, they were likewise sizing her up.

If at first their attention had been on the Netherworld Deer, once the Soul Lament sounded, their main focus shifted to Hua Changxi.

Especially since the Netherworld Deer was willing to carry her through the air, they became even more curious about her.

The Netherworld Deer was the most proud and aloof creature in the Nine Nethers—bar none.

Being able to attract the Netherworld Deer to appear was already the limit most Nine Nether beings could achieve; having it carry them around was something they had hardly ever imagined.

"Soul Clan—are they about to produce a venerable realm powerhouse?"

The various Nine Nether powers began a silent exchange of glances, their gazes vaguely sweeping toward the Soul Clan’s location.

The Soul Clan was both bewildered and conflicted at this moment.

Bewildered, because although they were prodigies of the Soul Clan, they had never heard of a female cultivator in the clan who could play the Soul Ballad and summon the Youming Deer.

Conflicted, because since she was a member of the Soul Clan, could they ask her to help them seize the key to the Nine Nether Soul Realm?

Behind Lady White Bones, Chu Junyi and the other four were also communicating via divine sense.

"This time, I've truly broadened my horizons—even seen the legendary Youming Deer."

"Better not to have seen it. The Youming Deer is the messenger of the Nine Nether, and it only draws close to those who have 'walked the Great Dao of the Nine Nether.' Its appearance means that a Dao Lord may soon emerge in the Nine Nether."

"Impossible. The Nine Nether doesn't even have a single Imperial Realm expert yet."

"Not necessarily. Perhaps we just don't know about it."

On the other side, the Youming Deer had already carried Hua Changxi to the entrance of the Nether River Waterfall.

The waterfall's roar was like ten thousand horses galloping, and the mist it kicked up carried a bone-piercing chill, dampening Hua Changxi's flowing robes.

Hua Changxi's peripheral vision kept watching the blue orb suspended in midair, and the restlessness in her heart grew stronger.

When the Youming Deer leaped toward the waterfall, stepping on it and calmly swimming upstream, she took a deep breath, a glint of determination flashing in her eyes.

"Whoosh~"

A whip of soul power lashed through the air, like a spirit snake, precisely wrapping around the blue orb before yanking it back!

Only after the key to the Nine Nether Soul Realm streaked across the sky like a meteor and landed in Hua Changxi's hand did the Nine Nether powerhouses react.

"How dare you!"

"You seek death!"

"Leave the Nether Fire Kindling!"

Ghost King Su Mingyue bellowed, and the black mist around her rolled, forming a massive ghostly hand that blotted out the sky, viciously grabbing at the deer and the woman.

The Yellow Spring Lord and Lady Flower of the Other Shore also flickered into motion, a yellow and a red terrifying aura shooting toward the Nether River Waterfall like lightning.

The other forces also made their moves.

However, it was too late.

The Youming Deer trod on the crashing Nether River Waterfall as if on solid ground.

Unafraid of the chilling erosion of the Nether River water and unhindered by the suppression of the Deep Abyss Gate, it carried Hua Changxi and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

"Boom~"

Su Mingyue's ghostly hand grabbed only empty air, and the waterfall's immense force shattered it into black mist scattering everywhere.

The Yellow Spring Lord and Lady Flower of the Other Shore, who followed closely, were also a step too slow. They could only stop at the waterfall's edge in frustration, their faces pale, staring at the Nether River Waterfall.

Even Imperial Realm experts could not all walk up the Nether River Waterfall against the current.

In front of the Nether River Waterfall, deathly silence descended once more.

Behind Lady White Bones, Chu Junyi and the other four felt the anger and frustration simmering in the air. Exchanging glances, they also felt a tinge of schadenfreude.

The great forces of the Nine Nether had fought bitterly, rivers of blood, all for the Nether Fire Kindling. Now, a suddenly appearing female Soul Clan cultivator had snatched it away right in front of everyone, without breaking a sweat, and vanished unscathed.

This... was humiliating enough for all the powerhouses present.

"Well, the Soul Clan is truly capable!"

In an instant, the wrath of every major power in the Nine Nether turned toward the Soul Clan present.

The Soul Clan members, secretly overjoyed that Hua Changxi had taken the kindling, were not too bothered by the accusations from the other forces.

Su Mingyue was furious. Her prestige among the Ghost Clan was low—otherwise, she would not have failed to command Red Nightmare Lady earlier.

She had originally hoped to use the seizure of the kindling to gain support from various Ghost Clan factions. Who would have thought an unexpected interloper would ruin her plans?

Just as Su Mingyue's anger had nowhere to vent and she was about to attack the Soul Clan present, Yan Mo appeared.

"Where are that human and the Youming Deer?"

Hmm?

The various forces of the Nine Nether all looked over.

Su Mingyue asked sharply, "What human race?"

The Nightmare glanced at Su Mingyue, sensing her King Domain aura, then replied, "The Nether Stag is carrying a human. Haven't any of you noticed?"

Boom~

These words were like a thunderbolt from the nine heavens, directly stunning the minds of the Nine Nether powerhouses.

The Nightmare glanced at the dazed Yellow Spring Lord and sneered contemptuously, "Can't even recognize a human—truly useless."

In truth, if it hadn't heard the Soul Ballad, it wouldn't have been able to confirm that the Nether Stag was carrying that human from Soulmare Valley.

The moment it remembered that it hadn't obtained the Nether Blade, ferocity surged in the Nightmare's eyes. That damned human had tricked it out of ten Nine-Orifice Soulheart Fruits.

"That human stole ten of my Nine-Orifice Soulheart Fruits. If any of you help me capture her, I will reward you handsomely."

Ten Nine-Orifice Soulheart Fruits!!!

These words shook the Nine Nether powerhouses once again.

The Yellow Spring Lord immediately retorted, "You're the useless one, letting a human rob your home."

The Nightmare glared at him. "You want a fight?"

The Yellow Spring Lord: "Fight if you want. Who's afraid of who?"

As soon as the words fell, the Yellow Spring Lord and the Nightmare began fighting.

The various forces of the Nine Nether quickly retreated—these were two top-tier King Domain powerhouses.

Chu Junyi and his four companions also withdrew with Lady White Bone. Along the way, the five of them exchanged looks and communicated with their spiritual sense.

"That Nightmare must be mistaken, right? How could the Nether Stag be carrying a human?"

"Yeah, she's clearly radiating a soul race aura."

"Hey, think about us. Aren't we now giving off ghost race auras?"

"If that person really is human, then they've trampled the face of all Nine Nether powerhouses into the ground."

"I want to know which senior of the human race has emerged. That's just too awesome!"