Translator: CinderTL
One year later.
A sphere formed from intertwined tentacles burst skyward from a bottomless underground cave.
Without pausing, the sphere pierced through the pitch-black Primordial Qi and hurtled toward the northern horizon.
Several afterimages surged from the cave, pursuing the sphere relentlessly.
"Master, my injuries are too severe, and my demon power is nearly depleted. I fear I cannot maintain this form much longer," Shadow Void's voice echoed.
Inside the sphere, Song Wen, who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, opened them.
"Retreat to my Sea of Consciousness to heal and recuperate. My spiritual power has recovered by twenty percent. Leave the rest to me."
As he spoke, the Black Hole above his Sea of Consciousness scattered a shower of silver light motes.
"Thank you, Master."
The tentacles forming the sphere gradually writhed apart.
It became clear that all nine tentacles were heavily scarred, with five of them broken and uneven in length.
As the sphere dissolved, Song Wen was revealed within.
The tentacles then began to fade, returning to Song Wen's Sea of Consciousness.
As the shadow void began absorbing the Soul Source Essence, a faint, ethereal glow enveloped its form. Wounds began to heal, and severed tentacles silently regenerated new tissue.
Meanwhile, Song Wen continued his frantic dash northward, summoning the Nether Fox to scout ahead.
Hot on his heels were several late sixth-tier and peak sixth-tier resentful spirits, relentlessly pursuing him.
Normally, with the shadow void at his side, a mere handful of sixth-tier resentful spirits would pose no threat.
However, during the past year spent traversing the underwater tunnel, Song Wen had repeatedly clashed with formidable foes. He had either barely survived these encounters, narrowly defeating his enemies, or been forced into humiliating retreats, barely escaping with his life.
As a result, the shadow void had suffered repeated grievous injuries.
It was only thanks to the Soul Source Essence that the shadow void's body had been repaired. Without it, the creature would likely have long since scattered into soul fragments and vanished.
Song Wen, though he had managed to evade fatal attacks using Minor Teleportation Talismans and Substitute Puppets, had sustained no serious injuries. However, his spiritual power had been repeatedly depleted, leaving his body utterly exhausted.
If not for the ability of Song Wen and the shadow void to alternate between resting and traveling, he would likely still be trapped somewhere within the underwater tunnel, struggling desperately to survive.
Despite the perilous journey, Song Wen had slain numerous void fiends and resentful spirits, devouring their Soul Bodies and causing the Sea of Consciousness Black Hole to generate vast quantities of Soul Source Essence.
This allowed Song Wen to break through his divine sense realm, advancing to the mid-stage of Void Refinement, even without the time for secluded cultivation.
As Song Wen fled at full speed, the resentful spirits behind him relentlessly closed the distance.
He raised his hand, unleashing a surging torrent of Thunderlight.
Boom!
The Thunderlight erupted like a raging inferno, hurtling toward the pursuing resentful spirits.
Each spirit was wreathed in dense Primordial Qi, which churned and surged, extinguishing the Thunderlight.
However, this brief disruption widened the gap between Song Wen and his pursuers.
"Master, the concentration of Primordial Qi ahead is rapidly decreasing," the Nether Fox reported.
Even without the Nether Fox's warning, Song Wen had already sensed this.
The range of his divine sense perception was gradually expanding, now reaching five kilometers in all directions.
While this distance might seem short, it was a significant improvement. For much of his journey through the Submarine Tunnel, Song Wen's divine sense had been virtually confined to his body, leaving him nearly blind.
"Master, there's a Fifth-Tier Void Beast four thousand li to the northwest," the Nether Fox spoke again.
Song Wen's expression brightened—this was excellent news.
He immediately adjusted his course and headed northwest.
Soon, Song Wen spotted the void fiend the Nether Fox had mentioned.
The creature resembled a wild pheasant, but instead of feathers, its body was covered in scales. Several tentacles protruded from its tail.
Clearly sensing Song Wen and the resentful spirits, the void fiend was desperately trying to escape.
Song Wen raised his hand and unleashed a surge of spiritual power, ensnaring the void fiend. With a powerful flick of his wrist, he hurled the creature violently to the right.
As expected, the resentful spirits were drawn to the void fiend, swarming after it to the right.
Seizing the opportunity, Song Wen fled in the opposite direction.
After escaping tens of thousands of li, Song Wen, seeing the resentful spirits hadn't pursued him, asked, "Nether Fox, which way will lead us out of this Primordial Qi Death Zone the fastest?"
The Nether Fox's massive eyes swiveled slightly as it raised a front paw, pointing diagonally to the right.
"This way should be the quickest."
Song Wen nodded and flew in the direction indicated by the Nether Fox.
As time passed, the surrounding Primordial Qi grew increasingly thin, and Song Wen's divine sense range gradually expanded to over a hundred li.
This finally eased the tension that had been gripping his heart for over a year.
In such a Primordial Qi-depleted region, he reasoned, there were likely no powerful resentful spirits or void fiends lurking.
"Master, there's a group of cultivators ahead," the Nether Fox suddenly announced. "They're divided into two factions and are engaged in a fierce battle."
"What are their cultivation levels?" Song Wen asked.
"Five in total, all divine transformation stage cultivators," the Nether Fox replied.
Song Wen's expression shifted. Suppressing his aura, he slowly approached.
Soon, five cultivators—three women and two men—entered Song Wen's perception.
The three women, though numerically superior, were being relentlessly pressed by the two male cultivators, their situation growing increasingly precarious.
Their cultivation levels were far below Song Wen's, and they remained oblivious to his approach, still locked in desperate combat.
To Song Wen's surprise, both male cultivators were practicing the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art, and both had reached the late divine transformation stage.
The three women, on the other hand, consisted of one early-stage and two mid-stage divine transformation cultivators.
The three appeared to be from the same sect, their spiritual power resonating with a shared origin, radiating a righteous and awe-inspiring aura—clearly cultivators of the Orthodox Path.
As his gaze swept across them, Song Wen swiftly formulated a plan.
First, he recalled the Nether Fox into his Spirit Beast Pouch. Then, he rapidly suppressed his aura, ultimately settling at the late divine transformation stage.
With a flash of movement, Song Wen lunged toward the group of five.
Simultaneously, two Thunder Spears, each several dozen feet long, materialized above his head.
"Jiang Yushan, your life ends here!"
Song Wen channeled his spiritual power into his voice, roaring with furious intensity.
His voice exploded like thunder, further agitating the already turbulent Primordial Qi that churned around them like boiling water.
The five cultivators reacted differently to the challenge.
The two male cultivators froze momentarily, then descended into panic.
The Thunder Spears were hurtling directly toward them.
Each man manipulated a Corpse Coffin to intercept the spears.
"Fellow Daoist, you've mistaken us! We are not this Jiang Yushan you seek!" one of the male cultivators shouted.
The three female cultivators' faces lit up with delight.
The female cultivator in the early stage of Divine Transformation was about to unleash her flying sword at the two male cultivators when the other two women stopped her.
They pulled her back and slowly retreated, clearly intending to seize the opportunity to escape.
Song Wen cursed inwardly, "The world is cold and heartless; people have lost their ancient virtues."
I saved their lives, yet they're abandoning me to flee!
Though contempt burned in his heart, Song Wen pretended not to notice the women's movements, focusing his furious gaze on the two Corpse Dao male cultivators.
"Jiang Yushan, stop your lies! Die!" Song Wen roared.
As he spoke, two Thunder Spears struck the Corpse Coffins simultaneously.
Thunderlight blazed, violently shredding the corpse qi shrouding the coffins.
The Corpse Coffins, now like kites with severed strings, were flung wildly through the air.
Witnessing this, the two female cultivators in the mid-stage of Divine Transformation, who had been dragging their injured companion away, immediately summoned their flying swords and retreated further instead of advancing.
"Fellow Daoist, we'll lend you a hand!"
(End of the Chapter)