In Lin Xun’s mind sea, almost a hundred fiend spirits came charging at him from across the world.

The fiend spirits were cloaked in a blood-red glow, soaring through the clouds and mist. They looked like neither demons nor monsters. Instead, with their roars and violent surges, they resembled a terrifying army from the depths of hell preparing for war.

The entire world quaked wildly as a heart-pounding stench of blood and death filled the air, surging upwards like a storm.

“The aura of each of them is comparable to that of a third-level quasi-Emperor!” Lin Xun assessed the situation, only to be stunned.

He was only on the first level of the Dark Hidden Purgatory, but the fiend spirits on this level were already so frighteningly strong.

Based on this, wouldn’t the fiend spirits on the ninth level be even more terrifying?

“Are you new here? If you don’t want to be eliminated, get out of the way!” A roar erupted like a thunderclap, reverberating through the air.

Only then did Lin Xun notice a powerful aura lurking in the nearby area. It was a thin man in a black robe, radiating a formidable presence, his eyes flashing with intense light.

Lin Xun was not surprised but instead happy by this. It was good to see people around. At least, he could find out more about the Dark Hidden Purgatory.

“What are you doing still standing there? Quickly hide!” thundered the black-robed man.

Having been training on the first level for years, he was very familiar with the situation here. It was unusual for such a large group of fiend spirits to appear together.

Once surrounded by them, the consequences would be disastrous. After all, there were almost one hundred of them and they each possessed strength equivalent to third-level quasi-Emperors!

In the past few decades, the man in black robe had only seen such a large group of fiend spirits three times, and no one dared to fight back.

“Don’t worry, my friend. I just arrived in the Dark Hidden Purgatory and wanted to test those fiend spirits’ abilities,” Lin Xun said casually.

As he spoke, a swarm of fiend spirits appeared around him, each surrounded by a bloodthirsty and murderous aura.

The man in black was speechless and almost burst out laughing. He had never seen someone so courageous.

He just got here, yet he is already shouting about going to take on a group of fiend spirits. How clueless!

“You…” The black-robed man was about to say something, when Lin Xun launched into action.

With a single swipe of his finger, a powerful streak of sword qi shot out, cutting through the air like a sword.

Shua!

The sword qi seemed to split open the heavens and earth, unraveling endless mysteries as it cut through the air, before descending with a mighty slash. From afar, it was as if a river of stars had fallen from the ninth heaven, its divine brilliance enveloping the world.

Pu! Pu! Pu!

Hundreds of fiend spirits, each with strength comparable to third-level quasi-Emperor, were drowned by the sword qi before they could come near Lin Xun, their bodies exploding like paper in a rain of blood.

All wiped out!

The man in black was stunned into silence, his eyes bulging. With just one sword strike, he wiped out an army of fiend spirits?

After a moment, he turned towards Lin Xun and asked, “Friend, are you also from Fog Obscured Alms?” His voice now carried a hint of respect.

Anyone allowed to train in the Dark Hidden Purgatory had to be a remarkable figure selected from Fog Obscured Alms and Copper Sparrow House. How would the man in black not realize the new guy was extraordinary?

“You can say that.” Lin Xun gave a casual reply, then approached and initiated a conversation with the man in black.

Very quickly he found out that the man in black was called Bochuan and had a cultivation of the first level of the Quasi-Emperor Stage. He was a core disciple of Fog Obscured Alms and had been training in the first level of the Dark Hidden Purgatory for thirty-nine years. ʀãɴọВΕŞ

Thirty-nine years ago, he broke through to the Supreme Saint-King Stage.

Now, he was already a first-level supreme quasi-Emperor. This was an amazing feat, after all, not anyone could become a supreme quasi-Emperor.

When Lin Xun learned from Bochuan that all cultivators who came to the Dark Hidden Purgatory for training would carry a life-protecting jade talisman, his face immediately darkened.

He thought of the dog who had kicked him into the whirlpool, and his anger boiled over, making his teeth clench in fury. Naturally, he blamed Big Yellow for this.

When Bochuan learned that the goal of Lin Xun’s trip was to make it to the ninth level, his jaw dropped.

The ninth level!

Throughout history, among those with cultivation below the Emperor Stage, only the Lord of Copper Sparrow House had ever reached that far. It was also there that the Lord of Copper Sparrow House became a supreme Emperor!

Bochuan drew a deep breath before asking, “Brother Lin, when you came here, did no one tell you how dangerous this Dark Hidden Purgatory is?”

Lin Xun shook his head.

Bochuan looked unsurprised. “Brother Lin, it’s not that I want to bring you down, but I don’t think you understand the Dark Hidden Purgatory yet...”

He told Lin Xun about what he knew.

“Do you mean even if you hold a life-protecting jade talisman, you can only use it in the first three levels?” Lin Xun finally understood.

“Yes, from the fourth level onwards, the fiend spirits are extremely powerful, so even cultivators like you with a cultivation of the third-level Quasi-Emperor Stage won’t dare to step beyond the third level of the purgatory.

“In the past ten thousand years, only a dozen fierce characters have ventured into the fourth level.

“As for the ninth level...it is said that even Emperors are likely to meet with disaster there. It is a land of absolute peril!”

Lin Xun nodded with understanding. “I see.”

Next, he asked some important questions, all of which Bochuan answered.

For example, in the Dark Hidden Purgatory, where aeth qi was weak and great dao laws powers were nonexistent, one would need to bring vast amounts of cultivation resources if they wanted to restore their strength, or hunt down fiend spirits to collect their Dao Essence Crystals.

According to Bochuan, those fiend spirits were the remnant souls, wills, blood, and qi of powerful figures who perished here in the primeval era.

Dao Essence Crystals were the condensed essence of great dao, born from the cultivation of those fearsome figures.

In their lifetime, Emperors had possessed supreme cultivation and mastered terrifying dao arts, but after their fall, the dao power they controlled would dissipate.

However, it was different in the Dark Hidden Purgatory. All the terrifying figures buried here, after their death, would have their cultivation become a part of this world. Over time, as it accumulated, it would eventually condense into Dao Essence Crystal.

Dao Essence Crystals were also ranked into different grades.

The deeper one ventured into the Dark Hidden Purgatory, the more astonishing the grade of Dao Essence Crystals that could be found.

Some rare Dao Essence Crystals might even have fragments of Emperor Dao Laws sealed inside, and could be regarded as rare priceless treasures in the outside world!

However, Bochuan had never seen such Dao Essence Crystals, because he had been training only on the first level all these years and had no opportunity to come into contact with such legacy treasures.

After learning about this, Lin Xun felt more at ease.

When he was about to take action, Bochuan suddenly said aloud, “Brother Lin, I will soon break through to the second level of the Supreme Quasi-Emperor Stage, so I am planning to train on the second level. You are new here, but your strength is impressive, far superior to mine. How about we work together?”

After a thought, Lin Xun nodded and agreed, “However, my goal is to fight my way to the ninth level, so I’m afraid I can’t team up with you forever.”

Bochuan was dumbfounded. He had already told him all the dangers of the Dark Hidden Purgatory, but this new guy still seemed to not give up on that unrealistic goal.

Was this what it was meant by the saying ‘the skilled were bold, but the ignorant were fearless’?

Bochuan did not mock or criticize him, but simply said, “Brother Lin, I believe you will change your mind once you truly experience the terror of the Dark Hidden Purgatory.”

Clearly, he did not believe Lin Xun would succeed.

Lin Xun also did not explain to him.

Very quickly, the two sped off into the distance.

The Dark Hidden Purgatory was a place of great mystery and peril, a place that came into being after the first Calamity of Ruin, a place where many were buried.

In short, it was like a burial ground world, except that there were no cemetery, only countless fiend spirits.

The Dark Hidden Purgatory was divided into eighteen levels.

Each level was connected by a blood-red vortex-like tunnel that led to the next.

According to Bochuan, there were no restrictions in going down the levels, and one could enter at any time. However, to advance to the next level, there were only two ways.

The first was to wait for the right opportunity. Every once in a while, the blood-red tunnel would appear and give one the chance to enter and exit freely.

The second was to rely on one’s own strength to forcefully fight their way out, which was also the more difficult way.

Lin Xun kept all this in mind, but he was not too concerned.

With Bochuan leading the way, he saved a great deal of time figuring out the right way. As the saying went, an old horse knows the way.

During their journey, the two also encountered fiend spirits, all of which had terrifying malevolent auras and blood-red energy swirling around their bodies. They always appeared in groups.

Naturally, they posed no threat to Lin Xun, and he got rid of them with ease, as effortless as crushing a fly.

Seeing this, Bochuan had to admit that the new guy indeed had some astonishing skills. If he was the one fighting the spirits instead, it would not be as easy.

Lin Xun collected some Dao Essence Crystals along the way.

They were different shapes and sizes, but all of which were crystal-clear and filled with pure dao power. A thumb-sized piece contained power equivalent to that in ten thousand dao crystals!

When Lin Xun tried to refine one, he immediately discovered that Dao Essence Crystal not only restored his strength, but also had beneficial effects on his own great dao power!

This filled him with anticipation. What kind of extraordinary mysteries would be hidden in Dao Essence Crystals that were imbued with fragments of Emperor dao laws?

Swoosh!

After the time it took to finish burning an incense stick, a brilliant ray of light suddenly shot into the sky and streaked across the distant void, which was particularly dazzling in this gray and gloomy world.

“Another legacy treasure has appeared!”

Bochuan exclaimed in excitement, “Brother Lin, our luck is pretty good. We encountered a fortune! Let’s go and take it before someone does!”

Swoosh!

As he spoke, he darted away with all his strength.

Legacy treasure?

Lin Xun’s dark eyes were unfathomable. He also noticed that the ray of divine light was rather extraordinary. He could vaguely see that it was an azure, palm-sized cauldron. As it flew in the air, it rained magnificent dao light, dazzling and resplendent, with an aura that was truly breathtaking.

While in deep thought, Lin Xun also rushed forward.

“Capture!”

Bochuan swung a golden whip through the air, instantly coiling around the azure cauldron.

However, before a smile appeared on his face, the cauldron unleashed astonishing waves of energy, and with a buzz, it easily broke free from the golden whip and darted into the distance. It seemed to be full of spiritual intelligence.

“What a precious treasure!” Lin Xun’s eyes lit up.