"Heh, heh, when Heaven and Earth return to the void, under the infinite calamity fire, all laws and paths have turned to ash. Even if you are an Upper Pure Disciple, so what? You are no more than a tiny ant, a mere Upper Pure Disciple. The disciples of Upper Pure Saint are as numerous as cattle, and there are thousands upon thousands of sects under them. As a mere Qi Cultivator, not even qualified to be entered into the 'True Name List,' how dare you call yourself an Upper Pure Disciple?" The voice of the man in black was full of disdain: "Moreover, even if the Upper Pure Saint were here, I would not fear."
The man's voice grew empty as he continued, "Who is this Upper Pure Saint? Why do I not fear him?"
At this moment, the arm of Zhang Chen holding the Crystal Stone was completely shrouded by the black robe, generating a black sleeve that wrapped around his arm, and Zhang Chen had completely lost sensation in that arm.
"Damn it, where did this old fellow come from?" Zhang Chen felt his scalp tingle and his eyes were full of horror. Upon hearing the name of the Upper Pure Saint, he was even more shocked, unsure whether the Upper Pure Saint mentioned by the other was the one he knew.
Right now, he couldn't afford to delve into it, because this old fellow was attempting to possess him, and he had to find a way to respond.
Fortunately, Zhang Chen was not entirely powerless against these old monsters. Seeing this, his gaze swept over his Golden Finger Interface, and then his eyes fell on the Soul Hooking and Soul Stealing.
Then, without hesitation, Zhang Chen activated his Soul Hooking and Soul Stealing skill:
[Target: Unknown Remnant Soul]
[Lifespan: -1,296,000]
[Status: Markable]
Looking at his Golden Finger Interface, Zhang Chen's eyes showed a hint of bewilderment: 'What? A negative lifespan?'
He had marked countless people, but had never seen one with a negative lifespan.
Seeing the black robe already enveloping his arm and spreading towards his shoulder and neck, Zhang Chen activated the Soul Hooking and Soul Stealing skill without hesitation.
Accompanied by the activation of Zhang Chen's skill, two chains appeared out of thin air. One connected the sleeve of the black robe on Zhang Chen's arm, while the other linked to the man in black before him.
Not daring to delay, Zhang Chen quickly yanked the chain in his body, and the next moment, the black sleeve turned into a black smoke, being pulled out by the chain and reuniting with the man in black on the opposite side.
"What the hell?" The man in black was stunned, sensing the strangeness in his body, staring blankly at Zhang Chen.
Seeing this, Zhang Chen quickly transformed into a stream of water and jumped into the river. When the man in black saw Zhang Chen trying to escape, he hurried to intercept, a black light transforming into a net and enveloping Zhang Chen. However, in the next moment, the black light passed through Zhang Chen's body, having no effect.
Then, Zhang Chen transformed into Yellow Spring Water, swiftly fleeing through that spring.
"Hmm, interesting! How did a spring connecting to the Great Thousand Worlds emerge in the Wangchuan River? When did this spring come into being? As the Master of the Sea of Blood, I didn't even notice," the man in black pursued all the way to the spring, showing happiness in his eyes, transforming into a black smoke and diving in to chase, but only halfway through, the flow of Yellow Spring Water cut off, losing the trace of the channel ahead.
"It seems to be a large formation. The formation's power actually summoned the Yellow Spring's spring, creating the passage connecting the two worlds. It's a pity the other side took down the formation, otherwise, I would definitely be able to cross the void and enter that Material World." His eyes were full of regret:
"But no problem, he can't escape! All I have to do is wait here, and when he opens the spring again, I can slip through."
As for Zhang Chen, he quickly climbed out from the Yellow Spring's spring, since he went downstream, and was familiar with the way, he slipped over quickly. Then an ominous feeling arose, and without thinking, Zhang Chen quickly put away the Nine Bends Yellow River Array.
In the underground river, standing in the water, Zhang Chen's eyes showed horror: "What is this? So terrifying! There are terrifying existences behind the Yellow Springs, I might have provoked terrible trouble."
Standing in the water, Zhang Chen was still in shock, holding a piece of Crystal Stone in hand, formed from the essence of Yellow Springs.
"This operation was too reckless, the old fellow was really terrifying. If I hadn't mastered the Soul Hooking Chain, I might have ended up screwed. In the future, when upgrading skills, I must prioritize upgrading the Soul Hooking Chain." Standing in the underground cave, countless thoughts flickered in Zhang Chen's mind: "Where is the Yellow Springs' place?"
A thought rose in Zhang Chen's mind, and he immediately activated the chain skill to locate the anomaly.
As Zhang Chen activated the skill, his perception spread along the skill chain, passing through multiple invisible barriers within the Endless Void, seemingly traversing infinite distance, directly entering a dim and dark world.
In that dim and dark world, a vast yellow river flowed mightily, twisting and winding, its length unknown for tens of thousands of miles, its width unknown for thousands of miles, spanning the entire world.
With Zhang Chen's perception becoming clearer, he grew closer to the target, seeing the boundless lake, the little green boat, and the black-robed figure standing on the boat.
What he saw previously was not a lake at all. It was merely a part, a segment of the Wangchuan River.
The black-robed figure on the small boat seemed to sense Zhang Chen's presence, abruptly lifting a featureless face, yet Zhang Chen could still feel a sinister smile.
"Boy, we will meet again, preserve my body well." The voice of the man in black echoed through the entire world.
Zhang Chen, frightened by that smile, quickly pulled his perception back to his body, standing on the water, panting heavily.
"Is that really the legendary Underworld? Could that river be the legendary Wangchuan River? Is the Yellow Springs just a spring of the Wangchuan River?" Standing at the cave entrance, Zhang Chen gradually calmed down, contemplating thoughtfully.
"Is there really a Netherworld in this world, the final destination after death?" Zhang Chen was filled with shock but then he pondered slightly: "That makes sense, since there are Qi Cultivation Techniques, having an Underworld doesn't seem strange."
"He mentioned Upper Pure Saint... Could it be that this world also has the existence of Upper Pure Saint? Upper Pure Saint as the Tongtian Sect Leader? Or is it just a name coincidence?" Thought after thought flickered in Zhang Chen's mind.
"This world seems off; if there were really a Saint Level Tongtian Sect Leader, even infinite calamities couldn't harm him, could they?" The more Zhang Chen thought, the more puzzled he became.
This world is too mysterious, with countless buried Divine Demon Tombs, innumerable mysteries born of Heaven and Earth, and those gods of past times, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, it remains enigmatic to the extreme, leaving Zhang Chen perplexed.
When you don't know what to do, ask the Great Freedom Celestial Demon.
This old fellow is incredibly ancient, and if there's anyone who knows these secrets, it must be him.
As Zhang Chen summoned, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon appeared.
"Zhang Chen, what have you done? There's the aura of the Underworld on you?"
As soon as the Great Freedom Celestial Demon appeared, he sensed something wrong with Zhang Chen, inspecting him up and down.
Not hiding anything, Zhang Chen told the Great Freedom Celestial Demon everything, as the demon had been marked by him and couldn't escape his Five Finger Mountain.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon listened, his expression full of disbelief as he looked at Zhang Chen, "You say your Nine Bends Yellow River Array connects to the Underworld? Yellow Spring Water originates from the Wangchuan River? And you even infiltrated it?"
"Of course," Zhang Chen replied.
"Impossible! Do you know the origin of the Wangchuan River?" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon flatly denied, voice full of steadfast contradiction to Zhang Chen's words.
"I don't know." Zhang Chen shook his head.
"Then do you know why the Yellow Spring Water is yellow?" The Great Freedom Celestial Demon asked.
Zhang Chen shook his head.
How could he know about such things?
Even if the 21st century had various myths and legends about the Wangchuan River, none explained its origin, just mentioning it as a river in the Underworld.
"Stop keeping secrets; tell me the origin of the Wangchuan River," Zhang Chen said impatiently.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon's firm denial only spurred Zhang Chen's curiosity.