“`
“What place?”
Lin Yuan asked directly.
He believed in Nuan Shu’s ability and was certain that it would search according to his instructions, without any possibility of cutting corners.
“Respected master…”
Nuan Shu immediately recounted all the information it had gathered.
It turned out,
that ever since twenty-five years ago, when Lin Yuan was suppressed in the eighteenth layer beneath the Great Abyss,
the Moyang Demon Lord, once a formidable subordinate of Xiahou Yuan at the peak of the Ninth Realm, began to secretly construct an underground palace.
He intended to use this underground palace as a foundation to once again unite the Demonic Tao forces of the Five Domains and establish his stronghold.
This underground palace was built upon a natural primordial qi vortex.
And this primordial qi vortex had reached the rank of Sky-grade.
The so-called primordial qi vortex is a place where the Heavenly Earth Vital Energy gathers most densely.
And those that reach the rank of Sky-grade are few and far between across the Five Domains and four seas.
The Moyang Demon Lord discovered such a primordial qi vortex but never expanded it until Xiahou Yuan was suppressed and lost all hope of emerging, at which point he began to utilize it for his grand ambitions.
Unfortunately, despite his lofty goals, the Moyang Demon Lord lacked Xiahou Yuan’s nearly terrifying suppression over all other demon chiefs.
As such, he was doomed to be unable to command all demon chiefs and could only establish a single Demonic Tao force.
…
The construction of the underground palace by the Moyang Demon Lord was exceedingly secretive.
If it were not for the fact that Xiahou Yuan had not been suppressed for long when the construction began,
and there were still a few demon chiefs with loyalty informing Nuan Shu in secret,
it’s likely that Nuan Shu would not have been able to find a suitable breakthrough location for Lin Yuan so quickly.
“It’s just…”
Nuan Shu’s face showed some hesitation.
“The underground palace built by the Moyang Demon Lord is not only secret but also extremely dangerous. It is said that there is more than one Sky-ranked Demon Formation set up…”
A Sky-ranked Demon Formation is powerful enough to suppress and kill a powerhouse of the Ninth Realm.
“If the respected master intends to enter that underground palace, you must be extremely cautious…” Nuan Shu said softly.
“No matter.”
Lin Yuan’s expression remained calm.
…
Several days later,
Lin Yuan and Nuan Shu arrived in front of a hill.
Bian Mao and many other demon chiefs followed closely behind them.
“This is the entrance to the underground palace built by the Moyang Demon Lord,”
Nuan Shu whispered.
“Heavenly Earth Vital Energy…”
Lin Yuan faintly sensed a massive primordial qi vortex.
However, this primordial qi vortex seemed to be under some sort of seal, not releasing even a trace of primordial qi.
This was quite normal.
Generally speaking, in the absence of external interference,
a primordial qi vortex would slowly release Heavenly Earth Vital Energy in all directions.
But by doing so, the concentration of vital energy at the vortex’s core would decrease.
Therefore, as long as the primordial qi vortex has a master, it would be isolated from the outside world to enhance the energy concentration within the area.
As this underground palace was the stronghold of the Moyang Demon Lord, there would no doubt be no leakage of primordial qi.
“This will be sufficient for my breakthrough to the Fifth Rank,”
Lin Yuan nodded slightly,
clearly satisfied in his heart.
“Respected master, I will lead the way,”
Nuan Shu took the initiative, triggered a nearby mechanism, and the hill in front of them suddenly revealed an entrance.
…
“`
Under the hills.
Within a spacious underground palace.
Nine great Demon Lords gathered in a grand hall, engaged in fierce debate.
In principle, as Ninth Realm Demon Lords, peak powerhouses of the Five Domains,
it was unlikely for them to gather in one place; they were usually scattered across the Five Domains, each presiding over their own territories.
Yet now, they were assembled in the palace, arguing with each other.
The reason was the matter of Xiahou Yuan leaving the Great Abyss.
The nine Demon Lords were the capable subordinates of Xiahou Yuan back in his day.
After Xiahou Yuan was suppressed, they simply divided up the territory of the former Demonic Tao.
And they had no intention of rescuing Xiahou Yuan.
Rescue Xiahou Yuan?
For what purpose?
While Xiahou Yuan was in power, these Demon Lords, who roamed the Five Domains, all had their hands tied—even the slaughtering of a village for practice was greatly restricted.
On the surface, it seemed that Xiahou Yuan led the forces of the Demonic Tao in the Five Domains to confront the righteous powers like the Tianjian Sect.
The influence of the Demonic Tao was unprecedented.
It was quite a spectacle.
But the bitterness of that, only they knew.
With Xiahou Yuan around, it was as if a sharp sword hung over the heads of all the demons in the world.
They could no longer kill at will in their practice.
If Xiahou Yuan hadn’t been so terrifying, wielding an incomprehensible suppressing force over the demons,
let alone facing the righteous forces like the Tianjian Sect in battle, these nine great Demon Lords would have rebelled long ago.
…
“Xiahou Yuan has emerged, what should we do?”
“What the hell happened with Tianjian Zi? Wasn’t it said that escaping the eighteen layers of the Great Abyss was as hard as adding wings to a tiger? Useless!”
“First, we need to confirm whether Xiahou Yuan leaving the Great Abyss is true or false.”
The Demon Lords questioned each other, and no matter how much they suppressed it, the terrifying aura distinctive of a Demon Lord burst forth, making it impossible for average Seventh Realm or Eighth Realm powerhouses to even approach.
“Enough.”
“Xiahou Yuan has indeed left the Great Abyss.”
One of the Demon Lords spoke up; his eyes were narrow, projecting a kind of soft yet sinister quality.
“Jiang Jianke, who was stationed outside the Great Abyss, is dead, and so are the guardians, someone has already performed the ‘Soul Search’…”
The Demon Lord paused for a moment before saying again, “Xiahou Yuan has indeed emerged.”
With this statement,
The grand hall fell into silence.
All the Demon Lords became silent.
Xiahou Yuan had come out.
So, what should they do now?
Continue to watch and wait?
Or take the initiative to admit their wrongs?
If they continue to watch, what if they provoke Xiahou Yuan…
But if they proactively admit fault, would Xiahou Yuan forgive them?
The Demon Lords pondered over and over and felt that no matter what choice they made, the consequences would be difficult to handle.
“Not only has Xiahou Yuan come out,”
“his strength has at least recovered to the Ninth Realm.”
At that moment, a plump and beautiful Demon Lordess spoke.
“The Ninth Realm?”
“How is that possible?”
A hot-tempered Demon Lord could not hold back anymore.
Not to mention that under suppression, Xiahou Yuan’s physical body and Primordial Spirit had already been sealed by Tianjian Zi and other Ninth Realm peak powerhouses, and his bones were penetrated with millennium-deep-sea fine gold to lock his limbs.