Chapter 444: Returning to the Netherworld

In the early morning, after arranging everything, Rod prepared to set off for Ice City. There was no time to waste—any delay could lead to problems. Lucy and Ada wanted to go with him, but Rod refused, leaving the two girls frustrated. However, they had no choice but to obey, as Rod was on a mission. They could only stay in Water Screen City to assist in defense and set up a thorough security network.

The journey to Ice City wasn’t very far. With Rod’s advanced strength and his extraordinary speed, he could reach there in less than half a day if he wished. But doing so would waste too much combat energy. To prepare for the challenges ahead, Rod chose a more cautious approach and slowed down slightly.

Having learned from his previous experience, he was better prepared this time.

By evening, after traveling nonstop, they finally arrived at Ice City. Without time to admire its scenery, Rod headed straight toward the Netherworld.

The towering Netherworld appeared even more magnificent under the sunset, like a giant standing on the frozen plain. While other places already felt the warmth of summer, Ice City remained in spring, with much lower temperatures and a damp atmosphere.

Taking a deep breath, Rod rushed straight into the Netherworld. Since it wasn’t yet open, he had to break through the barrier using his own combat energy from another location. This required strength at the peak of the Yin Yellow realm, so it wasn’t something ordinary people could do.

Moreover, few people knew about this place. Aside from the elders inside the Netherworld, perhaps only Rod was aware of it—even Melon didn’t know. This was likely to protect the trolls!

Arriving at that remote corner, where there was no one around, Rod seized the moment. He gathered all his combat energy, which surged through his meridians like the surging Yellow River.

Placing his hands on the energy barrier, his combat energy rushed inward like a drill under his control. The barrier rippled like liquid as energy converged toward it.

At the critical moment, Rod didn’t pause. With a sharp shout, his combat energy erupted!

Boom… With a dull sound, the entire barrier began to shake. The area ahead was in even more violent turmoil. Fortunately, no one was paying attention to what was happening here; otherwise, they would surely think something terrible had occurred in the Netherworld.

After all this, a gap appeared before him. Rod didn’t hesitate and rushed in immediately, as the gap was quickly closing. The magic of this barrier exceeded everyone’s imagination—creating it the first time had taken Rod half a day. It also made him admire the trolls even more.

Upon entering the Netherworld, Rod returned to a familiar place. The first test was still an energy assessment, but now these tests were much tougher than when they were first set up, as the area was in a closed state.

Just as he thought about taking a breather before continuing, a disturbance arose ahead, and suddenly a gap appeared in the energy shield.

“Someone’s here!” Rod immediately became alert, ready to attack at any moment.

But soon, he relaxed. He recognized the person clearly and a hint of excitement appeared on his lips. It was none other than Andrews, an elder of the troll tribe—the same man he had met twice before. The first time was in the core of the Netherworld, and the second time was when Rod had broken in here after Nightingale was injured. Andrews had appeared to save him when he was in danger and on the verge of getting lost. Now, before even entering the Netherworld, he had encountered this guy, which was like a boost for Rod, saving him a lot of effort.

“Haha, kid, I knew you’d come!” Andrews gradually emerged from the energy shield, his hearty laughter echoing as he took two steps at a time and soon reached Rod’s side.

“Elder!” Rod didn’t dare neglect Andrews and quickly greeted him.

Rod truly revered this elder. Even now, he found it difficult to discern this man’s true strength, as there was a vague sense around him. His strength was clearly at the Yang Xuan realm, and although he seemed to be in the middle stage of that realm, Rod could always sense a dangerous aura from him, which made him feel some fear.

“Come here—there’s an urgent matter. You must be aware of the opening of the Divine Demon Gate!” Without wasting words, Rod got straight to the point.

“The Gate of Gods and Demons has opened. Well, it’s you who did this, right? I saw it. Hey, another season of chaos is coming!” Andrews let out a long sigh, filled with emotion. Just as the Wolf King had said, their troll tribe knew more about this than anyone else; otherwise, he wouldn’t have sighed like that.

“Some demon souls have emerged—three of them!” Now that he knew, Rod asked the most crucial question, watching Andrews’ reaction to the news.

To Rod’s disappointment, Andrews showed no change at all, remaining calm as if he had already known.

The next moment, he smiled slightly and said, “It’s not three—it’s four!”

“Four?” Rod exclaimed, looking at Andrews in disbelief. They saw four?

“That’s right, four. One of them is very strong and has hidden his presence. Without the secret techniques of our troll tribe, it would be hard to detect him. You need to be careful!” Andrews showed a hint of concern.

“Water Screen City has detected one. It should be a demon general, currently inhabiting the eldest prince of the war faction. His strength has recovered to the upper stage of the Yin Yellow Realm!” Rod quickly added. Could this powerful being be that demon general? Rod hoped for an answer—if so, things would be much easier. The other three shouldn’t be too difficult to deal with either. If not, things would really get serious.

“A demon general? Well, his strength must be considerable. After all, only the most powerful demons can break through the Gate of Gods and Demons first! But he’s definitely not the main demon general. The big players won’t appear so soon. He’s just a vanguard—nothing to worry about! At the upper stage of the Yin Yellow Realm, dealing with him shouldn’t be hard!” After hearing Rod’s words, Andrews pondered for a moment before analyzing slowly.

He continued, “That powerful guy is likely one of the main demon generals. If my guess is right, he belongs to one of the four great demon marshals.

Below the Demon God are the four great demon marshals, followed by thirty-six demon generals, and then 320 heavenly demons! The powerful being we saw is probably a demon marshal, sent to clear the way. If he’s found a host now, his strength must have recovered to the middle or upper stage of the Yang Xuan Realm. You must find him as soon as possible. Otherwise, once he reaches the Xuan Huang Realm in a while, no one will be able to deal with him!” This was what Andrews was truly worried about.

“Demon Marshal!” Rod was shocked once again—there was even a Demon Marshal? It seemed this was news even the Wolf King didn’t know about. If they found out, it would be tough for everyone.
“A Demon General was spotted near Water Curtain City. Why did you run here? Have you forgotten the last lesson? If not for me, would you still be alive from last time? Fortunately, the Gate of the Demon God has been open lately, and our ancestor ordered us to keep an eye on the Netherworld. Someone patrols every day, and I happen to be in charge of this level. Otherwise, you’d be in big trouble—defenses have been upgraded even further than before!” Andrew then looked at Rod with some confusion and asked.
On his end, Rod was also frustrated: “I can’t find the demon souls, and I don’t know how to search for them. I can’t possibly measure each one’s soul strength one by one! That’s even harder than searching for a needle in a haystack!”
“Testing soul strength?” Hearing Rod’s words, Andrew suddenly laughed and looked at him playfully. “That might work for ordinary demons, but against Demon General-level beings or even higher-ranking demons, you can’t detect anything at all. They can hide perfectly!” With a sigh, Andrew said bitterly, “This is the method the Wolf Clan gave you, right? Well, during the War between Gods and Demons, although the Wolf Clan was strong, they were only suited to deal with lower-ranking demons, so that’s all they knew!”
“What good method could there be?” Hearing this, Rod knew there must be a method, so he pressed further, secretly glad that he hadn’t come in vain—the Troll Clan was truly extraordinary.
“Don’t you have a divine aura of a God King? Why waste it? Finding demon souls is its greatest use. Generally, a divine aura can search within dozens of kilometers, but a God King’s aura can detect anyone within a hundred miles, giving warnings. Don’t you know that?” Andrew said helplessly, rolling his eyes.
Having mountains of gold and silver yet going begging—that’s the most ridiculous thing. Such shameless waste.
“There’s no other method besides this, so you need to hurry up and train!” When it came to divine auras, Andrew had to remind them.
Then he added with some emotion, “It’s time for our Troll Clan to return as well. We’ll be going back in half a month. We should be able to help a lot. Our ancestor has ordered us to get ready. You just hold on a little longer!”

Hearing Andrews’ words, Rod was both amused and puzzled. His divine essence actually had such a use? Realizing this, he suddenly understood why his divine essence had gone berserk when he observed it last night—it must have sensed the presence of those demon souls. He sighed inwardly, realizing he had been too focused to consider this crucial point. With that thought, he let out a long sigh.