Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Underground Encounter

"BOOM!" Suddenly, a muffled bang erupted from the now-pitch-black Spirit Pill, knocking the closest person, Shen Haoran, unconscious!

The blast forced both Ji Lingxuan and Elder Yan back several meters. Ji Lingxuan, who was already pale, now looked even weaker. Her face was completely devoid of color, and her long hair was covered in a layer of frost—the result of a backlash from the Nine Nether Qi.

"How are you holding up, little girl? Can you still go on?" Elder Yan asked worriedly.

"COUGH, COUGH... I’m alright! Brother Haoran must have succeeded, right?" Ji Lingxuan said with relief, looking at Shen Haoran, who was gradually being enveloped by black flames.

"This is no time to be worrying about him. You should be worrying about yourself! If Shen the kid saw you like this, his heart would break! But still... weren’t you afraid? Afraid you might fail and get both of you killed?" Elder Yan said, a hint of lingering fear in his voice.

"No. Because I believe Brother Haoran will definitely succeed," Ji Lingxuan said sweetly, her eyes fixed on Shen Haoran.

"You two..." Elder Yan looked from one to the other and could only let out a long sigh.

"Shen the kid is probably in the final stages of fusion. He should wake up soon. Let me help you suppress the Nine Nether Qi in your body first. If something happens to you, that kid will have my head!" Elder Yan sighed softly, summoning a cluster of black flames to help Ji Lingxuan suppress the Nine Nether Qi within her.

At that moment, the Underworld fell silent...

A day later, Ji Lingxuan emerged from her state of Cultivation. With Elder Yan’s help, the Nine Nether Qi in her body was temporarily suppressed. She could probably hold on for another two days, but if Shen Haoran didn’t wake up by then, her situation would become perilous.

"It’s... It’s already been a day. Hasn’t the fusion succeeded yet?" Elder Yan said doubtfully, gazing at Shen Haoran, who was still enveloped in black flames. ’Back then, it took me less than half a day to fully fuse with it!’

"Don’t worry. I’m sure Brother Haoran is having some special insights of his own," Ji Lingxuan said with a smile.

"Perhaps," Elder Yan replied noncommittally.

At that moment, Shen Haoran was indeed in a peculiar state. His Spiritual Thought was also enveloped in a sea of black flames, leaving him completely unaware of his body’s condition.

Inside Shen Haoran’s body, the pitch-black Spirit Pill continuously spat out clusters of flames. Upon appearing, these flames acted as if they had entered a new world, darting about wildly. As they roamed, they brought about earth-shattering changes within him.

His meridians, which had been withered and shriveled by the Fire Spirit, began to swell once more, growing tougher and wider than before. After rampaging through his body, the flames returned to his Dantian, plunged headfirst into his Spirit Sea, and began to frolic joyfully within it.

With the integration of these black flames, waves of black fire occasionally surged within Shen Haoran’s Spirit Sea, creating a bizarre sight. However, Shen Haoran was oblivious to these changes. He remained completely immersed in the world of his Spiritual Thought, unable to break free.

Seeing that Shen Haoran’s aura was still long and steady, Ji Lingxuan felt relieved and entered a state of Cultivation once more.

And so, more than half a day passed before Elder Yan woke Ji Lingxuan from her Cultivation.

"Someone’s coming. It should be Luo Xiaowen and her group," Elder Yan said in a low voice.

"Them? How did they find this place?" Ji Lingxuan frowned, glancing at the still-unconscious Shen Haoran. ’If Luo Xiaowen is here, then Wu Mengqi and that Yang Yu must be with her.’

"I don’t know. They must have run into trouble in the Spirit Emperor’s Tomb and fled here. I sense there aren’t many of them," Elder Yan said.

"But Brother Haoran hasn’t woken up yet. Their arrival might disturb him!" Ji Lingxuan said with concern.

"Should I go and send them away?" Elder Yan asked.

"No, don’t. Your existence is a secret, Elder Yan. If others found out, it could be bad for Brother Haoran. I’ll handle it," Ji Lingxuan said.

"You? The Nine Nether Qi in your body isn’t fully suppressed yet! As far as I know, there’s a Tier Eight Spirit Pupil in that group. He doesn’t get along with Shen the kid, does he? Can you handle them?"

"Don’t worry. Leave it to me."

"Alright, then. Be careful. They’re here. I’ll hide myself," Elder Yan said, and his figure vanished into the darkness.

After Elder Yan disappeared, several voices could be heard from not far away...

"Brother Yang, where are we? Can we still get back to the surface?" Wu Mengqi said, crying.

"You have the nerve to ask? If you hadn’t gotten greedy and touched that Spirit Pearl, triggering the mechanism in the grand hall, would we be in this mess?" Luo Xiaowen shot Wu Mengqi a look.

"How was I supposed to know it was the trigger for the hall’s mechanism? Besides, didn’t you like that Spirit Pearl too?" Wu Mengqi retorted.

"But at least I have enough self-awareness to know what you can and can’t touch!" Luo Xiaowen said.

"I—" Wu Mengqi was cut off by Yang Yu before she could finish.

"Stop arguing. There’s someone ahead!"

"Someone!?" Hearing Yang Yu’s words, the group tensed up again. ’There’s someone else in this pitch-black Underworld?’

"That silhouette looks so familiar... It’s Ji Lingxuan!" Luo Xiaowen’s eyes were sharp, and she recognized Ji Lingxuan at a glance.

"Ji Lingxuan?" The others looked over and saw that it was indeed the missing Ji Lingxuan.

"Ling Xuan!" Seeing a familiar face, Luo Xiaowen happily called out and ran over. ’After these past few days with Wu Mengqi, I was at my wit’s end. How could I not be happy to finally see another intelligent person?’

However, when she was within fifty meters of Ji Lingxuan, a cold, emotionless voice rang out: "One step further, and I will kill you without mercy!"

Hearing Ji Lingxuan’s emotionless voice, Luo Xiaowen froze, stopping in her tracks to look at Ji Lingxuan with suspicion.

"It’s me, Sister Xiaowen! Don’t you recognize me?" Luo Xiaowen asked tentatively.

"I remember," Ji Lingxuan said flatly. But it didn’t matter if they were acquaintances. Shen Haoran was at a critical juncture, and no one was allowed to disturb him.

"Then why are you...?" Luo Xiaowen was confused.

"Right, where’s Little Brother Shen?" Luo Xiaowen suddenly realized that Ji Lingxuan was alone.

But Ji Lingxuan didn’t answer her.

"Look, isn’t that Shen Haoran inside that ball of fire?" a Martial Artist behind Luo Xiaowen suddenly shouted.

At his words, the group’s gazes went past Ji Lingxuan to the black flames behind her. The figure within did indeed look like Shen Haoran.

Seeing where they were looking, Ji Lingxuan’s eyes turned icy. "This is not a place for you," she said coldly. "Please leave. If anyone dares take another step forward, I will kill them without mercy!"

With that, the aura of a Spirit General erupted from her body, completely enveloping the group.