At the entrance of the Netherworld island, a chilling air of desolation filled the heavens and earth, all things were dead silent.

The Nine Calamities Divine Monarch and Celestial Ghost Buddha had been summoning wind and rain in the Netherworld Realm since the ancient battle, rising to power in the chaotic times and becoming rulers. Who could have expected them to suffer such a setback?

"Time Domain..."

In the cold voice of Celestial Ghost Buddha, there was a hint of gravity, "Since the Longevity Immortal Monarch has already fallen, why is this thing activated? That little cultivator absolutely doesn’t have this capability, could it be the Longevity Immortal Monarch faked his death?"

Unlike the calm Celestial Ghost Buddha, the Nine Calamities Divine Monarch couldn’t hide his anger. His unique disaster domain spread recklessly, causing cracks to appear in the ground while toxic gas and cold waves erupted fiercely.

"Celestial Ghost Monk!"

The voice of the Nine Calamities Divine Monarch was chilling and sharp like a blade, "If it weren’t for you stopping me, those ants could have been wiped out with a swipe. Now outsiders have gained the Netherworld opportunity, are you satisfied..."

The eyes of Celestial Ghost Buddha remained indifferent, "If I didn’t intervene, how would I have any chance to survive if you obtained the opportunity? It’s merely a Great Path competition, each relying on their own means."

After speaking, his figure suddenly vanished.

Seeing the other party leave, the Nine Calamities Divine Monarch snorted coldly but didn’t make a move. Instead, he closed his eyes and waited quietly.

Not long after, intense disaster fire and immortal light spread from the void, indicating the arrival of the immortals under his command controlling the Star Realm.

A domain light cluster formed by over a thousand immortals rose into the air from the ancient palace in the Star Realm and bowed in unison, their voices echoing through heaven and earth:

"Greetings, Master!"

The immortals, upon arriving here, were curious about what had just happened, but due to the Nine Calamities Divine Monarch’s volatile temper, no one dared to ask further.

The Nine Calamities Divine Monarch stood in the dark void, looking at the massive Star Realm below and said in a deep voice, "Thousands of years ago, the Celestial Ghost Monk and I found this place at the same time, intending to settle life and death to determine the position of Realm Master, but discovered it was an empty dream because only the Starry Sky Dominator can control this Netherworld."

"The position of Starry Sky Dominator couldn’t be broken through for a long time, but the Celestial Ghost Monk, cunning and deceitful, came up with a plan to replace the Netherworld with a law domain of the Star Realm Devouring Skill. If he succeeds, he might take advantage of the grand momentum of heaven and earth to ascend to Starry Sky Dominator in one go, by then how would we have any path to survival?"

"Everyone, place down the Star Realm, raise the grand array, start replacing the central hub of the Netherworld from here, this is a battle of life and death, be vigilant and tireless!"

"As you command, Master!"

The crowd of immortals were all enthusiastic, even the voices of the common soldiers rang loud and clear in all directions.

The Nine Calamities Divine Monarch nodded in satisfaction, looking coldly at the depths of the Netherworld, "Almost forgot to remind you, in that Netherworld palace, after the previous Realm Master fell, the origin violently erupted, and now that the ’Black Calamity’ barrier has vanished, those ancient sealed Heritage demon corpses, Evil God fiends, and various anomalies will probably all break free. Avoid that side if you don’t want to die!"

The immortals felt a chill in their bones, and any lingering curiosity vanished into thin air...

...

Drip, drip...

On the cold, rough giant stone slab, liquid occasionally dripped down from above, a product of the extreme condensation of Cold Evil, each drop forming a large patch of ice, only to be gradually evaporated by some kind of scorching force.

In the darkness, Fatty Tiger whispered softly:

"Taoist, where is this place?"

The two demons of the Spirit Corpse Sect were full of fear as they stared around. Their minds were at a loss; how did they end up in a different place when they were just bewildered by the Nine Calamities Divine Monarch?

Moreover, this place felt extremely oppressive to them, mana operated obscurely and with difficulty, domain power was hard to extend, it seemed as if they had been reduced back to mortals.

"Shh, keep it down!"

Zhang Kui’s face was grave as he looked in all directions.

Although he was far stronger than the others, he wasn’t much better off. His internal Little World was severely suppressed, and each exercise of skill required significantly more mana than usual.

This place was strange, as if heaven and earth had become a cage.

He concentrated his mind and delved into the Immortal King Tower.

In the dark void, the 108 divine statues that had absorbed the "Black Calamity" had now turned into black glass-like crystals, the giant stone disc behind them had transformed into a burning black halo, like ancient divine spirits descending, with three heads and six arms, dignified and fierce.

Curiously, they had already broken the golden chains on their bodies, meaning they had escaped the suppression of the Immortal King Tower, yet they no longer were in turmoil, peacefully hanging in the remaining void.

These ancient divine statues apparently had no consciousness but seemed to operate according to some law, not a system he understood, yet their power was no less than that of the Immortal King Tower.

The question was, why did they come here?

Thinking of this, Zhang Kui hastily pinched a spell, the enormous immortal power circulated with difficulty, finally casting the Tongyou Skill.

The Tai Chi Light Wheel in his eyes spun, and the originally dark space became clear and vivid at once.

This was an exceptionally large stone hall, at least a thousand meters high, beyond one’s sight. The ground was paved with greenstone slabs, each the size of a room, mottled and ancient, full of cracks.

What was hair-raising was that every so many meters a thick stone pillar rose from the ground, with bronze chains and hooks engraved with strange cloud patterns, exuding cold bloodthirsty killing intent.

On the nearest pillar, hanging was a corpse of a Three-Eyed Giant, long withered and preserved like a dry cadaver, its face twisted with fangs, all three eyes gouged out, leaving black voids.

Looking around, almost every pillar bore enormous dark shadows, roughly half were ancient Heritage, while the rest included Giant Demons, Star Beasts, and Disaster Beasts—either severely mummified bodies or mere skeletons were left.

What is this place?!

Zhang Kui’s eyes were filled with astonishment, and a sense of foreboding filled his heart.

This place looks quite like a prison, or perhaps a torture chamber...

"Taoist, what exactly did you see?"

A rather anxious Fatty Tiger finally couldn’t resist asking.

Zhang Kui thought for a moment, and didn’t hide it, describing what he saw, and said in a deep voice, "I don’t even know why those divine statues connected to this space, could it be... this is the Netherworld’s great prison?"

The two demons of the Spirit Corpse Sect looked at each other, a bitter expression on their faces.

"Taoist Friend Zhang, this Ancient Netherworld is the central hub of the Netherworld Realm, though various legends circulate, only the Realm Master can control it. We, with our low strength, have never seen these."

Zhang Kui nodded, "Let’s go, let’s leave this place first."

With this, he led them hastily in a random direction.

After they just left, within the hollow eyes of the mummified Three-Eyed Heritage corpse on that stone pillar, red light slowly emerged.

The group flew through the air rapidly, stone pillars bound with bodies swiftly left behind, while the shadow in their hearts deepened.

This place... seems to have no boundaries!

Indeed, genuinely no boundaries, not an abnormal space illusion array, but truly endless.

Almost all pillars were tied with ancient Heritage bodies.

Who bound them here and slaughtered?

So many corpses, likely an entire race has gone extinct...

Zhang Kui suddenly paused, turning back to somberly ask the two demons: "I remember you said it was the ancient Heritage who first found this place, becoming the masters of the Netherworld Realm, but later encountered something terrifying and bizarre, nearly exterminating them, leading to broken lineage?"

The two demons from the Spirit Corpse Sect looked at each other and nodded.

"Taoist Friend Zhang’s meaning... these are those Heritage?"

As they spoke, the eyes of the two demons turned fearful,

"Then who slaughtered them here?"