Chapter 460

Watching the few Ghost Clan members leave, Hua Changxi revealed her figure once again.

Although she had refined the Ghost Fire Token, she did not move it, still letting it float in the blood cage.

As a desolate, vast, and ancient will from the Ghost Fire Token surged into her mind, Hua Changxi finally understood the origin of the Ghost Fire Well.

During the Primordial Era, when the heavens and earth were first settled, Yin and Yang were still being harmonized.

A sudden, drastic change occurred deep within the Nine Netherworlds; Yin veins surged violently, the barrier of the netherworld cracked, and the Ghost Infant River, formed from the wails of billions of vengeful spirits, broke through the boundaries, carrying endless death energy and obsession, intending to backflow into the world of the living.

Wherever the death energy passed, vegetation withered and died, and living beings turned to ash.

The Zhu Que Emperor sensed the anomaly in the Nine Netherworlds and descended personally to the disaster zone, using supreme divine power to suppress the rift.

However, this rift was no ordinary gap; it was eroded by the origin of the Nine Netherworlds and could not be completely sealed. If forced to be blocked, it would instead trigger a greater collapse.

Therefore, the Emperor used the Nanming Li Fire as a hammer above the rift to carve out a giant well that connected Yin and Yang—the Ghost Fire Well.

At the bottom of the well, the "Zhu Que Prison-Suppressing Array" was set up, and a section of his own finger bone was used as the array core to seal the rift, locking the Ghost Infant River firmly in the abyss at the bottom of the well and cutting off its momentum to backflow.

Above the well, the eight-grade Dao weapon "Nine-Story Prison Tower" was placed. The tower body was cast from meteorite black iron and true Zhu Que feathers, with restrictions set on each level, layered one upon another, suppressing the Ghost Fire Well so that the ghost fire would not overflow into the human world and the ghost energy would not stain the mortal realm.

Since then, although the rift remained, the human world was safe.

Initially, the Ghost Fire Well was merely a place of suppression.

However, as time passed, the Zhu Que Army gradually became a formal organization. Anyone who violated military orders or defied the laws of heaven was thrown into the well to suffer the punishment of having their souls scorched by ghost fire and their bones eroded by yin wind, as a warning to others.

Over time, the Ghost Fire Well became the exclusive military prison of the Zhu Que Army.

By the time the human race rose and Nanxiang City was established, cultivators from all directions gathered. If any cultivator violated the rules of Nanxiang City, they would also be locked in the Ghost Fire Well to be judged and punished.

Thus, this ghostly well, originally carved to suppress the Nine Netherworlds rift, gradually became stained with the laws and punishments of the human world.

It was both a seal and a prison; both a protection and a judgment.

And the Ghost Fire Token was the supreme token of authority over everything in the Ghost Fire Well—

The Zhu Que totem on the token was engraved with the ancient will of the Zhu Que Emperor, using his divine bone as a contract and his Li Fire as an oath. From the day it was cast, it served as the key to suppressing the netherworld, the seal of law, and the torch that burns away evil.

The holder of this token could control the eight-grade Dao weapon "Nine-Story Prison Tower," and everything inside the tower would move according to the token holder's will; they could also open and seal the Zhu Que Prison-Suppressing Array and sense the movements of the Nine Netherworlds rift; furthermore, in times of crisis, they could activate the power of the token to burn the Zhu Que bone array core, forcibly suppressing the rampaging ghost energy and ghost fire, and delaying the collapse.

At the same time, the Ghost Fire Token also preserved a divine ability created by the Zhu Que Emperor specifically for the Zhu Que Army guarding the Ghost Fire Well—the Crimson Nether Flame Prison.

"Crimson Nether Flame Prison..."

So that was the name of Jing Sheng's blood-vein chain divine ability.

That's right, Zhu Que Army members who cultivated the Crimson Nether Flame Prison could all transform their bloodline power into blood-colored chains.

To cultivate the Crimson Nether Flame Prison divine ability, one must first cultivate the "Zhu Que Divine Art," and second, draw ghost fire into the body to temper the physical body; only by combining the two could one cultivate the blood-vein chains.

The blood-vein chains existed between life and death, containing both the intensity of the Zhu Que fire and the eeriness of the Nine Netherworlds ghost fire.

Once unleashed, it could burn an enemy's soul into nothingness, erode their Dao foundation in an instant, and even transform fire into shadows, concealing one's form and tracks, making it impossible for opponents to defend against.

Once this divine ability reached great success, its combat power would be so unpredictable that it could kill enemies across realms and shock all evil.

After reading the information in her mind, Hua Changxi's spirit calmed down a little; she could now leave the Nine Netherworlds with the Ghost Fire Token at any time and return to the bottom of the Ghost Fire Well.

However, if the array core of the Zhu Que Prison-Suppressing Array was not retrieved, the array could not seal the Ghost Infant River from backflowing ghost energy and ghost fire into the human world, and the hundreds of Zhu Que Army members currently maintaining the array with all their might would not be able to hold on for long.

The Zhu Que bone array core must be retrieved...

Hua Changxi's gaze turned toward the direction where the few Ghost Clan members had disappeared. The next moment, she flashed, turning into a streak of light, and quickly pursued the few Ghost Clan members.

On both banks of the Ghost Infant River, black mist swirled, and withered bones formed forests.

Hua Changxi quietly followed the few Ghost Clan members, skimming over the ghostly green river surface like a silent red shadow, hidden in the shadows where ghost energy surged.

Before long, a towering and eerie altar stood prominently ahead.

The altar was based on white bones, with skulls as steps and ribs as railings; the entire altar was actually built entirely of skeletons.

Ghost fire swirled around the altar like snakes, the greenish-blue flames licking the void and emitting low wails; ghost energy as thick as ink surged from the ground, rushing straight into the sky, dyeing the entire sky a deathly gray-black.

At first, the distance was still great, and Hua Changxi could only see a cluster of red-gold flames burning stubbornly in the darkness at the center of the altar, like the last star in the night that refused to be extinguished.

But as she quietly approached, the scene on the altar suddenly pierced her eyes.

Her heart tugged violently, and she almost suffocated.

Directly north of the altar, nine pale bone pillars were arranged in an arc, each over three zhang high, covered in twisted runes and emitting a nauseating, evil aura.

And hanging from each bone pillar was a Zhu Que Army member!

Their shoulders were pierced by ghost chains as thick as a child's arm, and the flesh and blood at their collarbones had long since rotted away, revealing ghastly white bones.

The ghost chains glowed with a ghostly green cold light throughout, constantly writhing, greedily extracting the essence blood and soul power of the Zhu Que Army members like living creatures.

These extracted essence blood and soul power flowed like water, winding toward the center of the altar.

There, a red-gold bone segment floated in mid-air; it was the array core of the Zhu Que Prison-Suppressing Array—the Zhu Que bone!

At this moment, the Zhu Que bone was burning with pure Nanming Li Fire, the flames as intense as rage, constantly trembling and roaring, as if resisting the suppression of the sacrificial array.

Every vibration caused the entire altar to shake slightly, causing the ghost fire to dissipate.

However, as the essence blood and soul power of the nine Zhu Que Army members were continuously injected into the altar's array patterns, that power of resistance was being eroded bit by bit.

The vibration of the Zhu Que bone became smaller and smaller, and the flames turned from intense gold to dim red, then gradually grew thinner...

Looking at the dying Zhu Que Army members, Hua Changxi clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms, and crimson flames surged deep within her pupils.

Just as she could no longer suppress her anger and was about to rush out to save the people and seize the Zhu Que bone, a faint but familiar spiritual aura fluctuation came from the east side.

"Creak~"

On the east side of the altar was a black stone mountain burning with green ghost fire. The stone gate of the mountain suddenly opened, and several Ghost Clan members with not-so-weak auras walked out.

The wisp of familiar spiritual aura that Hua Changxi had sensed was emanating from the stone gate.

"Congratulations, Lord Ghost Commander."

Several Ghost Clan members walked onto the altar and bowed flatteringly to a Ghost Clan member with an even more terrifying aura, "I imagine it won't be long before the Nanming Li Fire on the Zhu Que bone is completely extinguished."

They looked at the Zhu Que bone in the center of the altar, their eyes filled with greed and eagerness, but also with fear that went deep into their bones.

The Ghost Clan member called the Ghost Commander had a tall figure, with a string of infant skulls hanging around his neck, deep-set eye sockets, and ghostly green fire dancing in his pupils.

"How many Zhu Que Army members are left in the prison?" His voice was low and harsh, making one's soul feel uncomfortable.

"Fewer than a hundred."

A Ghost General licked his fangs, his eyes flashing with hungry light, "But don't worry, my lord—the essence blood and soul power of those hundred people are enough to extinguish the last trace of Li Fire."

Another Ghost General added with a sinister laugh: "Even if it's not enough... there are still over three hundred human cultivators in the prison. Although their souls are weak, as long as the quantity is sufficient and the blood is hot enough, it will be enough to burn out that bit of residual fire."