Chapter 217: The Nether Gate Suddenly Appears!

Immortal light surged, and the earth trembled endlessly.

It had been nearly two years since the female corpse fell into the back of Mount Pingdu. Now, with such great commotion erupting again, the people inevitably let their imaginations run wild.

In the past, the sudden appearance of such a strange phenomenon would have piqued Wang Sheng's curiosity. Now that he had to consider more than just curiosity, though, he immediately suppressed the feeling. He flew to Xi Lian's side and closely observed her expression.

Xi Lian frowned slightly. A thoughtful look appeared in her alluring eyes. "What a terrifying surge of primal qi. This isn't something an ordinary immortal could cause. Do experts powerful enough to do that really still exist in this realm, even though the Heavenly Court is no longer here?"

"Let's wait for Mou Yue's update for now, Big Sister," Wang Sheng replied. "We shouldn't act rashly."

Xi Lian nodded lightly. "Alright."

She had been planning to bring Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan over to join the excitement. Unfortunately, she now had no choice but to abandon the idea.

Mu Wanxuan also flew to them and quietly watched the distant horizon. She closed her eyes and began to sense the violent fluctuations in primal qi that accompanied the flashing immortal light.

Though the light lasted only half a minute before vanishing, the earth trembled for another two to three minutes. An earthquake was likely occurring at Mount Pingdu.

When everything finally calmed down, the phone in the villa rang. The three quickly returned indoors and found a call from Mou Yue. Wang Sheng answered and turned on speaker mode.

"Hey. This is Wang Sheng. Wanxuan and Xi Lian are with me. Anyway, what happened over there? Don't rush; give me all the details," he immediately remarked, subtly warning Mou Yue to choose her words carefully and avoid saying something about keeping an eye on the fox fiend.

Mou Yue quickly gave him a report.

—Energy has erupted at Mount Pingdu. Based on the preliminary analysis of the energy signature, the research institute has confirmed that it's coming from the female corpse underground. There was also a strong earthquake near Mount Pingdu. Fortunately, it didn't cause severe damage since the seismic energy shot up with those beams of light.

—You don't have to worry, Daoist Master Wang. Multiple military units are stationed around Mount Pingdu, and rescue operations have already begun. Regular signals have also been blocked within a fifty to sixty-kilometer radius of the area, but since some fiber-optic lines are still functioning, updates should come in soon.

—The situation is still unclear, and we don't know what will happen next. For now, we hope you and Daoist Master Bu Yu can stay with Big Sister. If anything happens, we'll notify you immediately. I'll also add you to a secure group chat shortly. The latest intel will be shared there.

The Special Investigation Unit was clearly concerned that Xi Lian would head over and make an already unpredictable situation even harder to control.

Wang Sheng glanced at Xi Lian. She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

"Alright, we'll stay here for now. Keep us updated," Wang Sheng replied. After a moment's thought, he added, "I'll compile all the information Big Sister knows and send it to you as soon as I'm done."

—Thank you for your help, Daoist Master Wang and Big Sister. I'll inform the other Daoist masters now.

Mou Yue ended the call in a hurry. The three were left standing in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window, staring at each other in silence.

Soon, Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan turned to Xi Lian.

Xi Lian blinked. With exaggerated seriousness, she tugged at the neckline of her stretched-out dress. "What are you two trying to do? Little Fei Yu, are you finally evolving beyond being worse than a beast?"

For a moment, Wang Sheng was utterly speechless. "Stay focused, Big Sister. How much do you know about the netherworld? With all that commotion at Mount Pingdu, this information could be important for the authorities."

Xi Lian flirtatiously rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. Since you asked so earnestly, I'll share a few

common

knowledge that today's cultivation world doesn't even know."

Wang Sheng raised his phone slightly. "Big Sister, can I record a video? It'll be more convincing that way."

"Wait a moment!"

Xi Lian vanished in a flash. After just over ten seconds, she drifted back in wearing a graceful and elegant ancient dress. She sat upright on the single armchair by the window.

"What do you think? Do I look good on camera like this?"

Mu Wanxuan clapped politely from the side and gave her two thumbs-up, making her smile in satisfaction.

"Let's begin. What do you want to know?"

Wang Sheng opened his camera app. "Big Sister, you probably know about the netherworld legends circulating these days. Just talk about how much truth there is to them. Say whatever comes to mind. I'm recording now."

Mu Wanxuan reached in from the side and mimicked clapping a film slate to begin.

Slowly and clearly, Xi Lian began, "The netherworld is where souls pass through reincarnation. Most of the stories circulating now are more or less true; the Ten Yanluo Palaces and the Six Paths of Reincarnation do exist.

"The legends about the Blood Sea, River of the Dead, or Empress Houtu creating the cycle of reincarnation are mostly fictional additions by later generations. Perhaps the true Nether Realm has a Blood Sea or an Asura race, but in this world's netherworld, none of those things exist.

"Master Santong and Daoist Master Qinglin mentioned multiple times that the Heavenly Court created the netherworld of this world as a place of reincarnation. It was meant to rapidly increase the human population and expand the number of cultivators.

"That's why it is often referred to as the 'Small Nether Realm.' It's not actually in this world, though. It's simply connected to this planet, and its only entrance is the Nether Gate, which was located beneath Mount Pingdu. Tens of thousands of ghost soldiers were once stationed there, forbidding cultivators from entering, but they probably joined the Heavenly Court on their campaign too."

"How deep underground is the Nether Gate?"

Xi Lian thought for a moment. "About three hundred

li

below the surface."

"Is there anything else you want to add?"

"That's all I know." Xi Lian gestured for Wang Sheng to stop recording. After Wang Sheng sent the video to Mou Yue, she smiled playfully. "Now, isn't it time for you to tell me some of the things you know? Just now, Little Yue mentioned something about the female corpse. What was that about?"

Wang Sheng looked up from his phone. "We were talking about the daughter of the Jade Emperor; the thirteenth princess of the Heavenly Court."

Xi Lian's eyes lit up with excitement. "Wow, a big shot! A princess of the Heavenly Court would at least be a Heavenly Immortal!"

Wang Sheng sighed deeply. "It's her corpse..."

Xi Lian's lips thinned as a trace of worry flashed across her eyes. "So even a princess of the Heavenly Court has fallen. Then perhaps... the Heavenly Court really has been completely defeated."

In an attempt to console her, Wang Sheng replied, "Our sect's forefather sent us a letter after the thirteenth princess returned to Earth. Since she was badly wounded before the final battle, she was sent back here to recover. Unfortunately, she didn't make it.

"Seven or eight years ago, the officials of Hua Republic recovered her body from the far side of the moon. Thanks to the lingering power of incense offerings, she briefly regained a sliver of immortal consciousness, broke the seal on the Heavenly Qi, and reawakened the primal qi on Earth."

Xi Lian remained in deep thought while he summarized past events. She then glared at him in dissatisfaction. "Why didn't you tell me all this earlier?"

Wang Sheng smiled in embarrassment. "You didn't ask."

Xi Lian rolled her eyes. "Fine. What else are you hiding? Just say it all now!"

"That's really everything. Apart from her, the Heavenly Court only ever sent us our forefather's little box," Wang Sheng replied. He then shifted the topic to what could have happened at Mount Pingdu.

Wang Sheng guessed that the disturbance had something to do with the female corpse fighting another presence, but Xi Lian immediately dismissed the idea. The Small Nether Realm was only a place of reincarnation; it was neither chaotic nor bizarre down there.

Mu Wanxuan thought for a moment, then typed a few lines on her phone to express her own view.

Mu Wanxuan: Since the female corpse had previously broken the seal on the Heavenly Qi, could she now be breaking the Earth Qi seal?

"We still have no idea how the three seals actually work," Wang Sheng answered. "And this doesn't really feel like it. The immortal light just now looked more like a surge of unstable energy. Maybe the princess was trying to tell us that she's already picked her next life and is ready to reincarnate."

Xi Lian scoffed. "An immortal reincarnating would have auspicious signs at birth. What would be the point of releasing immortal light before entering the womb?"

The three discussed the matter for quite some time, but they failed to reach a conclusion.

Just as they decided to stop thinking about it and return to their usual routines of cultivating or sleeping, Mou Yue sent them a video that lasted just over ten seconds. It was shaky and filled with background noise and voices, but it clearly showed a stone archway. With nothing nearby for scale, it was impossible to tell how large the archway actually was.

The structure was plain and unadorned. Gray mist curled around it, and two completely uncarved, smooth, jade-green stone columns were holding it up. Hanging in the center was a black plaque.

Wang Sheng paused the video and frowned at the plaque. He took a screenshot, then slowly zoomed in on the image. Mu Wanxuan and Xi Lian leaned in beside him, staring closely at the black plaque to make out the writing.

Mu Wanxuan's gaze sharpened as she softly read the characters. "Nether... Gate..."

"It's the Nether Gate!"