Chapter 516: Public Enemy of the Nine Netherworlds

Looking down over the entire territory of the Nine Netherworlds, the land where the Demon Prison lies is in fact the true center of the Nine Netherworlds.

The Demon Prison was built here based on significant considerations.

To the east of the Demon Prison lies the Great Rift Abyss, which pierces through the nine layers of the Netherworld Abyss; to the north, the Sea of Blood churns violently; to the west, the Yellow Springs and the River of Nether flow through; to the south, the Soul-Breaking Mountain stands tall.

This treacherous terrain, fraught with danger at every turn, forms the first barrier of the Demon Prison.

The second barrier of the Demon Prison is the fortress of the Nine Passes.

Duimen Pass, located due west of the Nine Passes, faces directly toward Ghost Gate Pass and lies near the confluence of the River of Nether, the Yellow Springs, and the Sea of Blood; since the establishment of the Demon Prison, the region between Duimen Pass and Ghost Gate Pass has served as the gathering place for trade between the Nine Netherworlds and the mortal world.

And the Nine Passes Auction currently underway is being held in this very region.

"Finally arrived at Ghost Gate Pass."

Seeing the mountain from afar runs the horse to death!

When she parted ways with the Nether Deer, Hua Changxi thought Ghost Gate Pass was not far away, yet only after setting out did she realize that Ghost Gate Pass possessed a magnifying projection effect; the actual distance was nearly ten times farther than she had anticipated.

At this moment, her entire body radiated the exhaustion of a long and arduous journey.

The towering Ghost Gate Pass, piercing the clouds, was pitch-black as ink throughout, as if constructed from solidified eternal night, exuding a gloomy aura that stifled the breath.

Beneath the pass city, the ghost army under the jurisdiction of Youdu City stood in strict formation, their military camps heavily fortified and impregnable as a moat of molten gold.

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

Forcing a breakthrough was definitely not an option.

"Sigh..."

Although she had descended into the Nine Netherworlds only a few times, the number of Nine Netherworld factions she had offended was considerable.

She had split Ghost Mother Mountain with her sword and burned Ghost Infant River with fire, offending the Ghost Race; this time, she had even killed Lady Chi Yan, disguised herself as a member of the Ghost Race, and slain numerous Nine Netherworld beings at the entrance of the Fourth Abyss.

She had destroyed the avatar of Lady Paramita Flower, thereby offending the Yellow Springs clan as well.

By seizing the dark blue orb of light, she had offended... no, not merely offended, but had directly become a public enemy of all races in the Nine Netherworlds.

Hua Changxi sighed, feeling that the Nine Netherworlds were incompatible with her; otherwise, she would not stir up a heap of trouble every single time she descended there.

Regardless, now that she needed to pass Ghost Gate Pass, she could ill afford to offend Youdu City again.

Since she could not force her way through, she would have to pass by wit.

"Hmm?"

"Why has the mist grown thicker?"

Around Ghost Gate Pass, a massive amount of white mist had quietly surged forth at some unknown moment; mingling with the gray fog, it caused the mist in the air to become denser and more voluminous, and by the time the patrolling ghost soldiers on the pass walls noticed, Hua Changxi had already completed the construction of her 'Soul Domain'.

If, before consuming the Nine-Aperture Exquisite Soul Heart Fruit, the Soul Domain constructed by Hua Changxi was a thatched cottage, then the one she constructed now was a reinforced concrete house.

Therefore, even though the Ghost Marshal-realm expert stationed at Ghost Gate Pass detected the anomaly, he was directly trapped within the white mist and could not escape no matter what he tried.

When the ringing sound of 'ding-ling-ling' from the soul bells arose, all the ghost soldiers fell into a dream realm.

"Hoo~"

During this interval, a black shadow swift as lightning pierced through Ghost Gate Pass; after the shadow plunged deep into the gray fog, the mist in the air began to thin out before long.

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

Ghost Gate Pass returned to normal; the ghost soldiers felt nothing amiss and continued their patrol as usual, while only the stationed Ghost Marshal shook his head, feeling as though he had forgotten something.

"The combination of Nightmare Technique and Soul Domain yields truly excellent results."

Gazing at Ghost Gate Pass receding behind her, Hua Changxi, in high spirits, continued her journey eastward.

After passing Ghost Gate Pass, Hua Changxi keenly perceived that the closer she drew to the region of the Demon Prison, the weaker the erosion of the flesh by the Nether Qi in the air became.

She reasoned that this might be related to the relatively large gathering of human cultivators in the Demon Prison area.

Where there are many humans, Yang Qi becomes more abundant; when Yang Qi neutralizes the Nether Qi, the erosive power diminishes.

A long road shrouded in ghostly gloom...

Churning gray fog...

Yin winds carrying 'living beings'...

Such scenes reminded Hua Changxi of her experiences during her first descent into the Nine Netherworlds.

Most human cultivators who descend into the Nine Netherworlds can only operate within a single region, namely the area of the Nine Passes of the Demon Prison.

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

Before long, figures began flashing into view from all directions; some were human cultivators, others were beings of the Nine Netherworlds.

Without exception, all these people were moving in the same direction.

Not long after, intermittent clamor began drifting through the air, mixed with whispers, disputes, and sporadic roars.

Further ahead, a bustling scene of shoulder-to-shoulder crowds suddenly crashed into view—at the gap where the gray fog parted, figures surged and interwove, creating an eerie uproar that surpassed even the markets of the mortal world.

The site of the Nine Passes Auction had finally been reached!

Hua Changxi did not rashly approach; instead, she hid far away within the gray fog, observing quietly.

To facilitate viewing the overall situation of the site, she flew directly to a high altitude to look down.

The venue for the Nine Passes Auction was a specially demarcated region, circular in overall shape.

On the side closer to Ghost Gate Pass were the stalls of the Nine Netherworld beings; on the side closer to Duimen Pass were the stalls of the human cultivators.

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

On the east and west sides of the stone platform stood two crescent-shaped towers respectively.

The two towers fitted together perfectly, forming a complete circle.

On the western tower sat representatives of the various factions of the Nine Netherworld races; on the eastern tower sat representatives of the various human factions.

The two parties presented a direct state of opposition.

However, although they did not get along, the auction continued to be held, and necessary order was maintained.

No matter how fiercely they argued, no one resorted to violence.

After scouting the general situation at the Jiuguan Auction, Hua Changxi descended from the sky, packed her spoils into a bundle, transformed into a minor ghost race lackey, and swaggered into the auction grounds.

Her appearance attracted absolutely no attention.

At the previous auction, grade-two resources were sufficient for bidding.

Nowadays, with the acceleration of spiritual qi recovery, heavenly treasures and earthly riches are emerging endlessly; grade-two resources are no longer worth looking at.

For this auction, only treasures of grade four or higher qualify to be sold in the central auction building.

Those capable of producing grade-four-or-higher resources are few; those who cannot must set up stalls for face-to-face trading instead.

After entering, Hua Changxi did not rush to find a spot but leisurely wandered around for a circuit.

The stalls of the Nine Netherworld and the human race were clearly demarcated, yet further divided into four major zones based on grade.

With the central auction building as the core, four rows of stalls radiated outward like semi-circular ripples.

The higher the grade of the zone, the closer it lay to the auction building.

Hua Changxi toured both the Nine Netherworld and human stalls, selectively trading for items she wanted, then set up her own stall on the Nine Netherworld's grade-four trading path.

"Passing by, don't miss out! Come choose high-grade ghost artifacts!"

She had emptied the Lady's Tower, so she truly possessed no shortage of ghost artifacts; since they were useless back in the human realm, she needed to dispose of them quickly.

At first, Hua Changxi's stall attracted no customers, but before long, as one ghost after another traded for their desired ghost artifacts, her stall began to bustle.

When she subsequently brought out resources needed by the Demon Race, the Nether River Clan, the Yellow Spring Clan, and various other scattered Nine Netherworld tribes, she became the most prominent stall owner in the Nine Netherworld region.

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

Then, she became famous.

She attracted the attention of the powerful experts seated in the auction building.

Although these experts were somewhat surprised that a minor ghost race lackey could produce resources needed by so many different races, they restrained themselves and observed silently.

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

"That is... the Nether River Crown Prince!"