Chapter 106: Absolute Power – The Awakening of the Demon God of the Netherworld
“Thousands of years ago, beneath the Netherworld, there were undead creatures filled with poisonous miasma. These were not ordinary beings. Among the three realms of heaven, earth, and humanity, the ghost race emerged. But the biggest difference between ghosts and undead is that ghosts possess their own consciousness, while undead do not. Thus, during the cycle of reincarnation, the Bull-Headed and Horse-Faced deities were responsible for burying these undead deep beneath the Netherworld, at the lowest levels of the eighteen hells.”
The Wolf King paused for a moment before continuing, “You must know that these undead have no consciousness. They are formed from those who die in the three realms—heaven, earth, and humanity—without souls. Their bodies are covered in poisonous miasma. Day after day, year after year, thousands of years passed. More and more undead accumulated beneath the Netherworld, and the miasma grew denser. In the depths of this underground realm, the most vengeful demon god was born. The gods call him the Demon God of the Netherworld.”
“This demon god has no physical form—it’s formless and intangible—but it possesses consciousness. It can control countless undead beneath the Netherworld and expand its body infinitely through the dense miasma, until it surrounds all three realms.”
Aotian was shocked and exclaimed, “What? If it can surround all three realms with miasma, then doesn’t that mean it has the power to destroy them?”
The Wolf King nodded. “That’s correct. It indeed has the power to destroy this world. Moreover, no one has ever seen its true form. That’s why it’s said to have no body.”
At that moment, Qiong Ba, the former leader of the immortal clan, stepped forward and asked, “What does that man mean? Since it has appeared yet the three realms haven’t been destroyed, does that mean there’s something that can suppress it?”
The Wolf King nodded. “That’s exactly it. The last time the Demon God of the Netherworld awakened, the gods in the Divine Realm, such as Pangu and Nüwa, were still asleep. It was Hou Yi who was patrolling the Divine Realm at that time.”
“Hou Yi noticed the awakening of the Demon God of the Netherworld and used his last divine arrow to seal it away again. You see, heaven and earth are divided into yin and yang. The Demon God of the Netherworld is an embodiment of extreme yin, while Hou Yi’s divine arrow represents extreme yang. With that arrow, the demon god fell back into slumber. But Hou Yi couldn’t kill it because its body was surrounded by thick layers of poisonous miasma. Even with divine power, it was impossible to approach it. As a result, not even Hou Yi could see its true face.”
“In the end, Hou Yi gave up trying to kill the Demon God of the Netherworld and decided to wait until gods like Pangu, Nüwa, and the Yellow Emperor woke up before reporting the situation. To prevent the demon god from awakening again in a short time, Hou Yi left his divine bow on earth.”
Aotian quickly interjected, “What’s the use of leaving the bow? We don’t have a divine arrow.”
Qiong Ba added, “Even if we could get a divine arrow, what good would it be? With such thick layers of miasma surrounding its body, we still can’t kill it. Who knows when it might awaken again?”
Aotian looked at Qiong Ba and said, “We don’t even have an arrow right now. Who knows—this world might disappear by tomorrow. You’re still thinking about how to kill it? It’s already good enough that we’ve managed to seal it away.”
Aotian was already the leader of the Demon Sect, having ruled for thirty years, yet he still appeared middle-aged, with a look of weariness in his eyes. Dressed in black, combined with his dark skin, he resembled an iron man.
Qiong Ba refused to give up and said, “So what if it’s sealed? Do you plan to go fetch arrows again next time he wakes up?”
Qiong Ba wore silver-white armor but no crown. His long spear was black, and his tall, thin frame made him seem older than Aotian.
At that moment, Liu Yi’s eyes flashed red as he shouted at the two of them, “Enough! Why are you still arguing at a time like this? If we don’t unite now, we might not see the sun rise tomorrow.”
Liu Yi’s words seemed to intimidate these two legendary heroes who had dominated for years. They actually fell silent… Perhaps they realized Liu Yi was right—if they didn’t unite, the world might indeed be destroyed soon.
Liu Yi turned and continued, “Teacher, since you know this story, you must have some solution.”
The Wolf King nodded and said, “There is indeed a solution, but given the current situation, the Nine Nether Demon God is about to awaken. There’s no time left. Even if we had a solution, we wouldn’t have the time to use it.”
Liu Yi turned to Qiong Ba and said, “Leader Qiong, does your immortal clan have any powerful formations that can temporarily seal this Nine Nether demonic energy, suppress his awakening, and buy us time to find a solution? At least this way, we won’t just wait here to die.”
Qiong Ba thought for a moment and said, “In our Divine Sect, half of what we learn is about spears and spirit talismans. As for powerful formations, we really don’t have any.”
Aotian sneered coldly and said, “Hmph, the so-called leading sect of immortals is nothing more than this.”
Qiong Ba also sneered, “Fine, our Divine Sect admits defeat. But does your Demon Sect have any powerful formations that can seal such dense demonic energy and prevent the poisonous miasma from spreading?”
Aotian was momentarily speechless by Qiong Ba’s words. Indeed, the Demon Sect focused mainly on swords and didn’t pay much attention to powerful formations, relying mostly on defensive arrays.
Qiong Ba suddenly remembered something and said to an old man beside him, “Elder Qingyun, isn’t your Flowing Light Sect best known for its formations?”
The old man, called Elder Qingyun, wore a gray robe, held a long sword, had a somewhat gaunt face with deeply sunken eyes, and white beard. After glancing at Aotian, he said, “Of course, I have a way to temporarily suppress that demonic energy. But I’d like to see if Leader Aotian has an even more powerful formation, so as not to embarrass myself.”
Aotian’s expression changed slightly, clearly furious…
Liu Yi glanced at the old man, his eyes flashing red, and said, “Elder, now is not the time for you two to compete! Look around,” he added coldly, “If anyone has any disputes at this moment, blame me for drawing my sword mercilessly—death awaits us all.”
His icy words made everyone shiver. The most terrifying are those who fear death not, especially those of their cultivation level.
Elder Qingyun snapped angrily, “You…”
Before he could finish speaking, Qiong Ba immediately interjected, “Taoist master, what he says makes sense too. Do we really still need to fight now? We could die at any moment—why fight? If we’re lucky enough to survive this ordeal, we’ll have plenty of time to fight against the demonic forces in the future.”
Aotian smiled coldly and said, “I’m ready at any time.”
Qiong Ba glanced at Aotian, remained silent for a moment, then continued, “Taoist master, please share your plan first…”
Taoist Qingyun replied, “This formation I’ve devised is called ‘Heavenly Light Six Directions.’ It consists of six paths, each path further divided into six sub-paths—36 in total. Thirty-six demon-suppressing flags are used to control it, with each flag containing a Six Directions formation. However, each flag requires someone with high cultivation to infuse internal energy to keep the formation functioning. This way, the Six Directions formations will suppress the demonic energy in four directions, confining it within a circle.”
After hearing this, Liu Yi nodded and said, “A great formation. Now, I ask the leaders of the righteous forces and the dark demonic forces to return to their respective sects and send all their experts at least a hundred miles away from Fengdu Ghost City to help suppress the demonic energy.”
Liu Yi turned to look at the people below and around the arena and added, “The experts here can also join. We need many skilled fighters to suppress this demonic energy. The more time we gain, the greater our chances. If everyone agrees, let my teacher lead you all. How does that sound?”
Suddenly, it became quiet below. Someone shouted, “Agreed.” In an instant, those who felt they had sufficient cultivation joined this mission to suppress the demonic energy and prevent the spread of poison. Many went behind Wolf King, including Tianjiao and Lan Ren.
Liu Yi glanced at Qi and Lin behind him and said, “You stay here with the teacher to suppress the demonic energy and protect his safety. I’ll go and mobilize the White Tiger and the Thirty-Six Elite Riders.”
After saying that, he turned to look at Tianlong and Huofeng and said coldly, “I know some people harbor ulterior motives. If a single hair falls from my teacher’s head before I return, I’ll make that person wish they were dead.” His voice was icy, as if coming from hell, revealing absolute power. Tianlong and Huofeng instinctively stepped back.
After arranging everything, Liu Yi continued, “I think we can proceed separately now. The sooner, the better…”
Whether a person can become a hero isn’t as simple as hating evil and protecting the innocent—that’s just what a great knight does. A true hero is one who steps forward in times of danger for the sake of everyone. It seems that fate itself is shaping Liu Yi into a hero!