Chapter 516

Overlooking the entire territory of the Nine Abysses, the location of the Demon Prison is actually the true center of the Nine Abysses.

The Demon Prison was built here after significant consideration.

To the east of the Demon Prison lies the Great Rift Abyss that pierces through the Nine Layers of the Abyssal Depths; to the north, the Blood Sea churns; to the west, the Yellow Springs and the River Styx flow; to the south, the Soul-Severing Mountain stands tall.

The perilous terrain on all sides forms the first barrier of the Demon Prison.

The second barrier of the Demon Prison is the Nine Pass Fortresses.

The Dui Gate Pass, located due west of the Nine Passes, directly faces the Ghost Gate Pass, and is close to the confluence of the River Styx, Yellow Springs, and Blood Sea. Since the establishment of the Demon Prison, the area between Dui Gate Pass and Ghost Gate Pass has been a trade hub for travel between the Nine Abysses and the mortal world.

And the Nine Pass Auction currently being held is taking place in this area.

"Finally reached the Ghost Gate Pass."

The mountain is in sight, but it'll run a horse to death!

When she parted ways with the Nether Deer, Hua Changxi thought she was not far from the Ghost Gate Pass, but after setting out she realized that the Ghost Gate Pass had a magnifying projection effect; the actual distance was nearly ten times farther than she had expected.

At this moment, her whole body exuded the exhaustion of a long journey.

The towering Ghost Gate Pass, black as ink all over, seemed built from solidified eternal night, exuding a suffocatingly eerie atmosphere.

Beneath the pass, the ghost troops under the jurisdiction of Nether Capital City stood ready in strict formation; the military camp was heavily fortified, impregnable.

Hua Changxi gazed at the Ghost Gate Pass, pondering how to get through.

Forcing her way through was definitely not an option.

"Sigh..."

Although she had only descended into the Nine Abysses a few times, she had offended quite a few powers there.

With her sword she split Ghost Mother Mountain, with fire she burned Ghost Infant River, offending the Ghost Clan; and this time she also killed Lady Crimson Nightmare, and disguised as a ghost, she killed many beings of the Nine Abysses at the fourth abyssal entrance.

She destroyed the clone of Lady Spider Lily, further offending the Yellow Springs Clan.

She seized the ghostly blue light orb, offending... no, not just offending—she had directly become the public enemy of all the races of the Nine Abysses.

Hua Changxi sighed, feeling that the Nine Abysses and she were mutually opposed; otherwise, why would she stir up a heap of trouble every time she descended?

Regardless, now that she needed to pass Ghost Gate Pass, it would be unwise to offend Nether Capital City again.

Since a forceful breach was impossible, she would have to cleverly slip through.

"Hmm?"

"Why has the fog grown thicker?"

Unnoticed, a large amount of white mist had quietly surged around Ghost Gate Pass, mixing with the gray mist, making the airborne mist denser and larger. By the time the patrolling ghost soldiers on the walls of Ghost Gate Pass noticed, Hua Changxi had already completed constructing her 'Soul Domain.'

If before taking the Nine-Orifice Exquisite Soul Heart Fruit, the Soul Domain Hua Changxi constructed was a thatched hut, now the Soul Domain she constructed was a reinforced concrete house.

Thus, even though the Ghost Marshal realm powerhouse stationed at Ghost Gate Pass detected something amiss, he was directly trapped within the white mist's cover and could not get out no matter what.

When the 'ding-a-ling' sound of the soul bell rang out, all the ghost troops fell into a dream.

"Phew~"

During this time, a shadow as fast as lightning flashed through Ghost Gate Pass. After the shadow plunged deeper into the gray mist, soon the mist in the air began to thin.

Soon, the Soul Domain collapsed, and the dream dispersed.

Ghost Gate Pass returned to normal. The ghost troops felt nothing unusual and continued their patrol as usual. Only the stationed Ghost Marshal shook his head, feeling as if he had forgotten something.

"Pairing the Nightmare Art with the Soul Domain—the effect is really quite good."

Looking back at the Ghost Gate Pass left behind, Hua Changxi continued eastward in high spirits.

After passing Ghost Gate Pass, Hua Changxi keenly perceived that the closer she got to the area of the Demon Prison, the weaker the erosion of the nether qi in the air on her physical body became.

She thought this might be related to the fact that many human cultivators gathered in the Demon Prison region.

When there are many humans, the yang qi becomes stronger; when yang qi and nether qi neutralize each other, the erosion force weakens.

The long, ghostly road shrouded in eerie qi...

The surging gray mist...

The yin wind carried "living things" with it...

This scene reminded Hua Changxi of her first descent into the Nine Nether.

Most mortal cultivators who descended into the Nine Nether could only move within one area—the nine-pass region of the Demon Prison.

Thus, she knew she had now entered the territory covered by the Demon Prison.

Soon, figures flickered into view from all directions—some were mortal cultivators, others were inhabitants of the Nine Nether.

Without exception, all of them were heading in the same direction.

Before long, snatches of noise began drifting through the air—fragments of clamor mixed with whispers, arguments, and occasional roars.

Farther ahead, a bustling scene abruptly burst into view—at the gap where the gray mist parted, countless figures jostled and crisscrossed, creating a strange, chaotic spectacle even more bizarre than a mortal market.

The Nine-Pass Auction venue had finally arrived!

Hua Changxi did not rush forward. Instead, she stayed far back, hidden in the gray mist, quietly observing.

To get a better overview of the scene, she flew directly into the air for a bird's-eye view.

The Nine-Pass Auction was held in a specially designated area, circular in shape.

On the side near Ghost Gate Pass were the stalls of the Nine Nether inhabitants; on the side near Dui Gate Pass were the stalls of mortal cultivators.

In the very center stood a stone platform over one meter high and a hundred meters in diameter.

To the east and west of the stone platform stood two crescent-shaped towers.

When the two towers were combined, they formed a perfect circle.

In the western tower sat the various clan powers of the Nine Nether; in the eastern tower sat the various human factions.

The two sides were directly confronting each other.

However, despite the antagonism, the auction had always been held, and the necessary order was maintained.

Even when arguments grew fierce, no one resorted to violence.

After scoping out the general situation at the Nine-Pass Auction, Hua Changxi descended from the air, packed her spoils from this trip into a bundle, transformed into a minor ghost underling, and swaggered into the auction venue.

Her appearance drew no attention whatsoever.

In the previous auction, Tier-2 resources were sufficient to enter bidding.

Now, with the acceleration of spiritual energy recovery, heavenly treasures and earthly marvels emerged in endless streams, and Tier-2 resources were no longer impressive.

In this auction, only treasures of Tier-4 and above were qualified to be auctioned in the central auction tower.

Those who could produce Tier-4 or higher resources were few; those who couldn't had to set up stalls for face-to-face trades.

After entering, Hua Changxi did not hurry to find a spot but leisurely strolled around in a full circle.

The stalls of the Nine Nether and the humans were clearly separated and further divided into four zones by grade.

With the central auction tower as the core, four rows of stalls radiated outward like semicircular ripples.

The higher the grade of the zone, the closer it was to the auction tower.

Hua Changxi visited both the Nine Nether stalls and the human stalls, picking and choosing to trade for some items she wanted, then set up her own stall on the Nine Nether Tier-4 row.

"Don't miss out, come take a look! High-grade ghost artifacts up for grabs!"

She had cleared out Niangniang Tower, which had quite a few ghost artifacts. They'd be useless in the mortal world, so she needed to offload them quickly.

At first, no one paid attention to Hua Changxi's stall. But soon, after one ghost after another traded for their desired ghost artifacts, her stall began to attract a crowd.

When she successively brought out resources needed by the Demon clan, the River Styx clan, the Yellow Springs clan, and other scattered Nine Nether tribes, she became the most popular stall owner in the Nine Nether zone.

Even human cultivators were drawn over, trading for many items they wanted at her stall.

And then, she became famous.

This drew the attention of the various powers seated in the auction tower.

Although the powers were a bit surprised that this minor ghost underling could produce resources needed by so many clans, they all held back and silently observed.

Until a dark green figure walked toward Hua Changxi's stall.

"That is... the Minghe Prince!"