Even if the Pantheon relies on the many residual blessings left by the Ancestor Master, it may not be able to withstand it, right?

"Where is the Profound Ancestor now?" Zhi asked in a deep voice.

If possible, he plans to avoid this situation recently; this person's reputation is not good. In order to explore the path of transcendence, he has long gone to the extreme measures.

"Not sure," Huang Xu shook his head. "Perhaps already infiltrated the Netherworld."

Zhi immediately denied: "Impossible, the Heavenly Will of the Netherworld is so powerful that it's terrifying, perceiving reality and illusion, leaving nothing uncovered."

Huang Xu just said: "Don't underestimate this person's capabilities."

Zhi's expression changed unpredictably.

With the Profound Ancestor's extensive experience and tenacity, if he entered the Netherworld in advance, he could possibly discern some of its arrangements, rendering their years of painstaking efforts bankrupt! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

At this moment, Zhi had developed the idea of leaving, losing the heart to continue probing for information with Huang Xu.

However, Huang Xu was not about to let him leave, asking with interest:

"How far has the situation here progressed now? How long is it expected to take to breach the Netherworld?"

Zhi calmed his spirit and said: "We agreed to a duel with them, each side sending nine people. If our people remain standing on the battlefield in the end, the Netherworld will open its gates, allowing us to enter freely; if the Netherworld wins, we cease hostilities for a thousand years."

"They agreed to that?"

"They had no choice," Zhi said lightly. "This is their last-ditch effort."

Huang Xu mused: "If the Netherworld truly loses, will they really open their doors?"

Zhi laughed: "With nine strongmen dead, how much combat power can the Netherworld still have left? It's merely a dying resistance."

Huang Xu praised: "Taoist Friend is quite right."

After sending Huang Xu off, Zhi's expression immediately turned somber.

He promptly contacted Heart Venerable, informing him of the possibility that the Profound Ancestor had already arrived.

"...It doesn't matter."

Heart Venerable said calmly,

"What Invincible Being? Just a monkey ruling the roost before the ancestors return. If he dares to enter the Netherworld in person, someone will deal with him."

"Just right, we've always feared potential usurpers in the Netherworld; let him probe the way."

Zhi's heart skipped a beat; being able to deal with the Profound Ancestor, they can naturally deal with them too!

"What exactly is hidden in the Netherworld?" Zhi asked in a deep voice, not wanting to die without understanding.

"Just remember not to rush ahead; no matter how good the opportunities in the Netherworld are, they're not for you to seize!" Heart Venerable warned.

Zhi likewise warned: "Also don't forget the Profound Ancestor's status! If he really dies in the Netherworld, it's not something we can afford!"

Heart Venerable paused for a moment and said: "Is that legend true?"

Zhi said solemnly: "Why else do you think the Heavenly Prison Palace remains silent?"

...

...

Yanhuang Federation.

Donghuang Heaven.

With the invasion of external enemies, any civilization and force with means have almost all relocated to Daluo Heaven through various channels.

Only the Yanhuang Federation, due to many reasons, had to hold strong in this place.

The Federation's high level temporarily chose to seal off information, so most of the Federation's citizens still don't know that the vast Netherworld is already at war with the outside world, even precariously...

The Bright Moon hung high, the city lights were dazzling, bustling with people, the worldly atmosphere was thick.

Occasionally, a long-haired woman with ancient charm but dressed in modern summer attire passed by, her hair fluttering in the evening breeze, drawing much attention.

In a small snack shop.

"It's been a long time since I've been in the mundane world; the smoky atmosphere is still so wonderful," the young man wiped his mouth, his actions very down-to-earth, his lips rosy and teeth white, his appearance handsome beyond reason, a Daoist Crown on his head.

The Daoist Crown was nothing special, just tall, already exceeding the young man's height, directly poking into the roof.

At this moment, the young man shook his head, making people worry the Daoist Crown might fall off.

The man next to him listened, looked back, noticing the young man's crown almost piercing through the roof, laughed and said:

"Brother, which high place are you from?"

The young man looked back, smiling: "Are there many great people here?"

The man raised his thumb, with a hint of pride, and said: "Absolutely! Know about the Emperor Heaven Universe? Nowadays, for those remnants, many forces on the Nine States want to enter the Great Universe, all must borrow the way from us!"

The young man's eyes showed a strange color: "Emperor Heaven..."

If not mistaken, back then, two great generals under the Netherworld Lord's command were named Emperor Heaven and Houtu.

The young man's eyes showed nostalgia, clearly remembering that the woman named Houtu always admired the Netherworld Lord, but too bad the Lord was oblivious to romance.

In the end, the two of them perished alongside the Netherworld Lord in the final ambush.

Both died before the Netherworld Lord.

Of course, though it is said to be death in battle, in the Transcendence Domain, true death doesn't exist, only eternal suppression does.

And after the escape of the Netherworld Lord back then, the two were further scrutinized by all sides, "disassembled" into countless pieces, and suppressed by various Gates.

The Heavenly Prison Palace also had a share, belonging to the woman's Transcendence, that is, Houtu, the most crucial part of the Primordial Spirit.

The young man shook his head, discarding these old matters like sesame seeds and rotten grains.

Living too long, having too good a memory, is not necessarily a good thing.

"Wouldn't you say, Taoist Friend Houtu?"

The young man asked with concern in his heart, patting the jade pendant at his neck.

The jade pendant gave no response.

The young man sighed. After the years of experiments by his Taoist Friend Houtu, she occasionally went too far, but surely a Primordial Spirit of such grandeur wouldn't be broken by him, right?

"Boss, the bill!" the young man shouted.

A woman in an apron hurried over, smiling gently, "You're from that place, right? No need to pay, consider the first meal on the house."

The young man insisted, "That won't do; I specifically exchanged for your Federation's currency."

Saying that, he pulled out a stack of small-denomination banknotes from his pocket, wetted his fingers with saliva, and began counting them on the spot.

The sight left the proprietress amused and helpless; it had been years since they'd seen paper money when a simple scan at the terminal would suffice. She wondered where he exchanged such scattered bills.

"...There, payment complete!" The young man said with gusto after counting, "I, Luo Xuan, never owe a tab!"

The proprietress had no choice but to accept them.

Seeing that she didn't even count the money, trusting him so readily, the young man lost some interest and his gaze shifted as he said:

"Proprietress, I heard that someone used to frequently come here for meals in their youth?"

The proprietress's eyes lit up, "You must mean Marshal Ji, Ji Jingqiu, right? We've been here for a hundred years. In my grandfather's time, he was a regular. The hot and sour noodles you had just eaten are from his recipe."

The young man's eyes were like the autumn water and vast sky, as if traces of time quietly flowed along the riverbed.

He laughed, "I see."

He glanced along the Time River once.

In the words of the proprietress, both her grandfather and his parents were just ordinary people, without any Karma changes.

How curious, could it be that his top disciple really didn't lay any plans on Ji Jingqiu?

In that case, this person's rise wasn't even part of Taiyi's plan? Even Taiyi couldn't predict Ji Jingqiu's rise beforehand?

This was interesting.

"Taoist Friend Houtu, do you think Ji Jingqiu might be a reincarnation of that Netherworld Lord?" The self-proclaimed Luo Xuan said with a smile.

This time, the jade pendant trembled slightly.

"Such a hopeless romantic," Luo Xuan sighed, "I'm not teasing you anymore. I'm leaving, leaving."

He stepped out of the snack shop, along the street that had only been repaired but never rebuilt over the decades, as if flowing upstream the Time River, seeing a certain young man of years past.

With great interest, Luo Xuan, though only a clone had arrived, it contained Heaven-Reaching Path Skill of the true self, enough to briefly reverse the Time of this realm.

For him, the decades of Ji Jingqiu were naturally "brief."

But just as Luo Xuan reached out, a flash of blade, accompanied by the eruption of the Time River.

A chill spread across Luo Xuan's neck, as a fine head soared high in the street.

In the haze, it seemed someone said lightly in his ear:

"What an idiot."

...

The grand Tao Palace floated in the Sea of Realms.

The young man sitting within opened his eyes, his gaze slightly somber, but without much surprise.

"This power isn't much different from Harmonization of One Realm, perhaps... even greater killing power? Though the limitations are greater than those of the Harmonization of One Realm, attention to Taboo is all that's needed, no need to mind excessively."

Luo Xuan muttered to himself.

This time, as he tried to reverse the Time, it provided the person with a reason to strike, tantamount to handing himself over.

"If Time isn't feasible, then let's try Heavenly Destiny."

Luo Xuan closed his eyes and once again slashed out a clone, projecting into the Netherworld.

However, when he applied the same old trick, looking not upstream time but spying on the Heavenly Destiny of this realm, Heaven and Earth's absolute law pointed a finger from an infinite height, and Luo Xuan's clone shattered on the spot!

A voice, cold and different from before, rang out:

"What do you think this place is? How dare you act arrogantly; summon your brother here!"