Chapter 1176: Purple Firmament Divine Thunder

Xiao Dongxu slept for seven days straight. The exhaustion faded completely from his face, and a spark of life gradually returned to his dull eyes.

By the pool, he washed his face with clear water and scrubbed his hair with soap pods. Shedding his crazed appearance, he returned to his old self.

He looked much more spirited.

Seeing Xiao Dongxu recover, Su Junhan felt genuinely happy for him.

The group soon arrived at the main hall of Tianji Mountain.

Inside, Zhong Zhengyuan and a group of elders were discussing their current predicament.

The Underworld's Reincarnation had been occupied by demonic cultivators.

Reincarnation between heaven and earth was now tainted with demonic energy. Because of this, new births brought an endless stream of demonic energy into all corners of the world; wherever there were people, there would be demons.

Just days prior, they had even discovered cases of children being corrupted by demonic energy. With the enemy hiding in the shadows, it was incredibly difficult to find a point of attack.

Zhong Zhengyuan said, "The demonic cultivators are hiding in the Underworld, stirring up chaos across the world. To resolve this Tribulation, we must strike at the root."

Chen Daoqiu paused in surprise. "Senior Brother, are you saying we should strike at the Underworld?"

Zhong Zhengyuan nodded. "It is the only way..."

It was their only option left.

Everyone voiced their opinions. After a long while, they dispersed one by one to think the matter over carefully. This was not a decision that could be made overnight.

Xiao Dongxu stepped forward and finally brought up Mister Chen's situation with Mister Zhong.

He had not gone into detail that day, afraid that Mister Zhong would worry and fail to rest properly. Now that he had no such concerns, he laid out everything regarding Mister Chen.

Zhong Zhengyuan froze in astonishment. "Trapped in a dream..."

He opened his mouth, thoroughly astonished.

He was not so much surprised that Mister Chen would make such a misstep, but rather that his predicament would be so thorny.

Zhong Zhengyuan let out a soft sigh. "Mister Chen knows perfectly well how agonizing the Red Dust can be, yet he never once turned back. Years ago, I guessed that he was destined to face such a Tribulation."

Chen Daoqiu said, "Mister Chen has always been unconstrained by convention. Besides, since he came from the Mortal World, he likely finds it difficult to forsake it. That is why things have ended up like this. Alas, our priority now should be figuring out how to wake him."

Xiao Dongxu shared the information that he and the Fox Lord had gathered earlier, then explained his own idea.

He felt that the ancient runic characters they had used previously might still work. If Mister Chen was truly in the Underworld, they could track him down with just a single token.

"We can try it first," Zhong Zhengyuan said. "At the very least, we must confirm whether he is actually in the Underworld."

"Alright!"

The group assisted Xiao Dongxu in reconstructing the Formations.

They used the ancient characters as the formation's foundation, linking yin and yang to knock upon the Gate of the Yellow Springs once more.

But this time, things did not go so smoothly.

...

Down in the Underworld.

Another anomaly rippled through heaven and earth.

A vortex of yellow sand suddenly whipped up directly in front of the Demon Sovereign.

Manyue, who was reading a book nearby, lifted her head and looked over.

The Demon Sovereign raised his eyes to the vortex gradually taking shape before him. Puzzled, he glanced at Manyue.

Manyue spoke. "Someone is using ancient Arts and Techniques to connect the realms of yin and yang. This gateway is strictly an exit; no one can enter through it."

The Demon Sovereign watched the vortex, rubbing his chin.

He asked, "Is this gate really such a coincidence? Opening right in front of me?"

...

Meanwhile, at the Back Mountain of Tianji Mountain.

The Gate of the Yellow Springs opened.

Xiao Dongxu immediately snapped his eyes open. "I found him! Mister Chen is indeed in the Underworld!"

But before anyone else could speak, the Tribulation energy between heaven and earth suddenly surged rapidly toward Tianji Mountain.

"Crack!"

In a split second, a bolt of Purple Firmament Divine Thunder struck down.

It followed the rift torn open by the Formations and shot straight into the Underworld.

The lightning flashed before their eyes.

It all seemed to happen in an instant, leaving no time at all for anyone to resist.

The surging heavenly might paralyzed everyone present, leaving them too terrified to move.

In that momentary daze, another thunder tribulation blasted straight down, roaring through the rift Xiao Dongxu had opened and piercing into the Underworld.

Xiao Dongxu panicked, his mind descending into chaos.

As a result, the Formations shattered.

The backlash hit him instantly.

"Pfft..."

Xiao Dongxu instantly coughed up a mouthful of blood as the ancient characters upon the Formations burst into flames.

"Boom!"

With a flash of firelight, the Formations were burned clean away.

Su Junhan rushed to support Xiao Dongxu, immediately channeling a stream of Spiritual Energy into him.

"Young Fellow Daoist Xiao!"

"Dongxu!"

Xiao Dongxu caught his breath. Swallowing the blood in his throat, he steadied his aura and said, "I... I'm fine..."

Looking somewhat dazed, he tilted his head up toward the sky.

He could not fathom what had just gone wrong.

Why had it drawn down the Purple Firmament Divine Thunder?

Furthermore...

Why hadn't the Purple Firmament Divine Thunder injured any of them? Why had it simply plunged straight down through his Formations into the Underworld?

Was it aiming for Mister Chen?

How could that be possible?

...

Before the Underworld's Gate of Reincarnation.

The Demon Sovereign studied the swirling vortex of yellow sand. "For someone to bridge yin and yang like this... they are nothing short of a prodigy. This is something even I have never managed to accomplish."

Manyue said, "Surprising, isn't it? I was taken aback at first, too. This world is under my control, yet this person somehow bypassed me entirely and tore a hole straight through it."

The Demon Sovereign was about to reply when a sudden sense of danger pulsed from the vortex.

"Whoosh!"

He instantly flipped backward, his robes snapping in the wind.

With a raise of his hand, the Demon Sword that rested at the center of the Underworld flew straight into his grasp.

Manyue was startled as well.

The next moment, lightning flared deep within the vortex of yellow sand.

A flash of the Purple Firmament tore across her vision.

"Crack!"

Deafening thunder boomed, accompanied by a surging wave of heavenly might.

Manyue could not have been more familiar with this kind of heavenly thunder. It was a punishment from the Heavenly Dao—the Purple Firmament Divine Thunder, designed to eradicate evil and annihilate demons.

Gripping the Demon Sword, the Demon Sovereign thrust it forward.

A majestic wave of demonic energy surged outward.

But his divine sense was currently incomplete, and he was borrowing another's shell. In a mere instant, the demonic energy in his body was completely depleted, yet the Heavenly Tribulation still roared right in front of him.

In that perilous moment, the Black Pagoda resting near the Gate of Reincarnation trembled and shot toward him.

It rapidly channeled a relentless stream of demonic energy into him.

Fueled by this, the Demon Sovereign exerted his strength and swung his blade again, finally shattering the blast of thunder tribulation before him.

"There's more?!"

The Demon Sovereign seethed with anger as another bolt of thunder tribulation struck at him from the vortex.

With the Black Pagoda supplying him with demonic energy, he made no mistakes this time. A single swing of his sword shattered the thunder tribulation.

Once the thunder tribulation faded away,

"Bang..." The vortex of yellow sand crumbled apart, raining across the ground as a spray of grit.

"Clang..."

The Demon Sword hit the ground.

The Demon Sovereign let out a long sigh of relief. The searing pain in the webbing of his hand snapped him back to his senses.

It was immediately followed by a towering wave of resentment.

Manyue said, "You are injured."

Veins bulged on the Demon Sovereign's forehead. He snapped his head toward her. "If my true physical body were here, there's no way this thunder tribulation would have hurt me!"

Manyue watched the Demon Sovereign fly into a furious rage.

She simply shook her head, treating the outburst as nothing more than a passing spectacle.