Chaos had erupted in the Nether Realm, throwing the entire realm into disorder.

It had not descended into complete collapse, but the sudden blow to the Nether Realm, the last place of order within the Three Realms, had already sent ripples through all three realms.

Sitting on Earth, Wang Sheng faintly felt a mounting pressure.

In truth, this was already the beginning of his distant contest with Feng Jiu.

His opponent's opening move struck a vital point. The more he considered it, the more uncomfortable it made him. The Nether Realm and the Six-Path Wheel of Reincarnation were both crucial to his plans.

Inside the villa, he paced back and forth. Before long, the floor was marked with a trail of footprints.

Er Gou hurried down from the second floor and quickly used enchanted power to clean the area. Afterward, he rushed to the kitchen to prepare tea for his master.

Ling Sheng, who had changed into a simple dress that made her look soft and delicate, also awakened from her meditation. She did not dare speak; she simply stood at the corner of the stairs, quietly waiting to be called.

Having thought things through, Wang Sheng already had a plan. After Er Gou served him tea, he instructed, "Bring me paper and a brush."

"Yes, Master."

The herb spirit quickly fetched a brush and paper that had only been used as decoration before. He then carefully ground ink at the side.

Soon, Wang Sheng finished writing a letter.

"Ling Sheng, do you remember Chun Yangzi, my forefather, and Fairy Zhi Bing?" he asked.

"Yes, Master, I remember."

"Go to the Realm of Exiled Immortals' exit and deliver this letter to one of them. Make sure to bring back their reply. If neither of them is there, find my younger sister Xiaomiao and leave the letter with her. After delivering it, ask if they have a reply. If they do, bring it back."

Ling Sheng answered firmly, "Yes, Master."

With a serious expression, she took the letter. She then faced a nearby window and, with a flash, turned into a streak of light that shot out of Earth.

At her current cultivation realm, the trip would not take long.

Wang Sheng sat on the sofa and waited quietly, already planning how to respond to each move.

Half a day later of flying at full speed, Ling Sheng stopped at the Realm of Exiled Immortals' exit.

An array had been set up around it. Instead of swiftly breaking through it, she tore open a gap, slipped through, sealed it again, and even made a simple repair. Afterward, she turned and flew out through the wormhole.

Before leaving, she did not forget to nod lightly at Earth's nearby immortals, who didn't even have time to react. A faint smile appeared on her face. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Master said not to harm others or damage public property.

Chun Yangzi and Zhi Bing were still guarding the exit, refining methods to break the array. Finding them required no effort at all.

When Chun Yangzi opened the letter, he frowned, then said in a grave tone, "That disciple's handwriting truly is an embarrassment to me."

Zhi Bing shot him a glance from the side. Chun Yangzi smiled, narrowed his eyes, and read through the letter carefully.

"What did Fei Yu write?"

Still smiling faintly, Chun Yangzi replied, "It's about the Nether Realm."

With a tap of his finger, the letter turned to ash and scattered.

Chun Yangzi continued, "Fei Yu is currently watching the turmoil in the Nether Realm. He still has about thirty years left inside the array, which means three thousand years for us before we can leave seclusion.

"During this time, he wants us to work with Emperor Qinghua to stabilize the Six-Path Wheel of Reincarnation and carefully make contact with the experts of the Nether Realm. That child is receiving the Great Dao, yet he still worries about so many things."

Zhi Bing murmured, "Since Fei Yu has said so, you should make the trip."

"No need. We already received word from Hostess Su. Emperor Qinghua has secretly gone to the Nether Realm. The Dao of Death is stronger there. He will quietly protect the Six-Path Wheel of Reincarnation. If we act now, we may expose too much and arouse suspicion from those in the Nether Realm."

From the side, Ling Sheng remarked gently, "Grandmaster, my master is waiting for your reply."

"Yes, I will just... mm?"

Chun Yangzi suddenly froze and stared at Ling Sheng.

Zhi Bing frowned slightly and snorted coldly. Her beautiful face turned icy.

Chun Yangzi immediately reacted and hurriedly said, "Bing Bing, do not be upset. I am not staring because Ling Sheng is beautiful. You are the most beautiful in my heart! Look, her true form should be a Ghost Heart Vine, but she's different now."

Zhi Bing also examined Ling Sheng, and surprise soon showed on her face.

She herself had cultivated from an ice spirit to become a Grand Dao Golden Immortal. However, Ghost Heart Vines stood somewhere between a fiend, a devil, and a spirit. Moreover, they were naturally prone to the Great Dao targeting them and heaven punishing them.

Yet now, Ling Sheng seemed like a normal, profound being who could cultivate. Even her aura had grown similar to Wang Sheng's; it was balanced and steady, with a trace of clear and refined essence.

Ling Sheng said, "Master used the Dao of Creation to grant me a new life."

"Oh? The Dao of Creation can be so wondrous?"

Chun Yangzi praised it a few times, then took out a jade talisman, wrote a reply on it, and handed it to Ling Sheng.

Zhi Bing said, "Your master is at his weakest right now. Since he has given you a heaven-defying transformation, stay by his side and protect him as best as you can. Do not let yourself be even a single step away from him."

Ling Sheng replied softly, "Please rest assured, Senior. Unless my master commands it, I will not allow even a cun of gap between us."

"Mm." Zhi Bing waved her hand. "Off you go."

Ling Sheng bowed, then turned and hurried back into the Time-Cycle Grand Array.

As she passed through that layered array again, she smiled apologetically to the group of Earth's immortals nearby. She tore open the array, slipped inside, then repaired it before turning into a streak of light and flying toward Earth.

Several of the array's overseers gathered and murmured among themselves.

"Um... should we report this to the higher-ups?"

"We definitely should. The question is, who exactly was that senior?"

"If she were not so powerful, I would have thought I had fallen in love the moment I saw her."

The others immediately shot back at him in annoyance.

They all came from the Special Warfare Unit and maintained decent discipline. It did not take long before they reported Ling Sheng's exit and entry into the array.

In the end, the matter was left unresolved.

***

The Nether Realm was actually the "underside" of the Immortal Saint Realm. It was located deep beneath it, where all filth and impurity gathered.

In the beginning, it was just a vast Blood Sea and an endless stretch of darkness. As the Great Dao evolved and clarity separated from impurity, turbid breath sank below. Not only did it make the Blood Sea more terrifying, but it also created the Nine Foul Springs.

The Blood Sea was filled with corrupted blood that could dissolve all things and harm all beings. Nevertheless, around the Primal Era to the early Ancient Era, a supreme being was born from it before the Sea of Dao Laws was fully established. He called himself Minghe. At the height of the Immortal Saint Realm, he was one of the five strongest experts.

His Great Dao of Slaughter and Great Dao of the Asura were Daos of pure killing. In those days, he had wiped out countless powerful beings.

But in the early Ancient Era, the Great Virtuous Houtu resolved to transform herself into the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Using the power of the Blood Sea as its foundation, she completed the grand cycle of reincarnation for the Three Realms.

This was the will of the times and the direction that the Great Dao was heading. However, Minghe refused to give up the Blood Sea. Hence, one of the Three Pure Ones slew him.

As the Great Dao continued to evolve, the Nether Realm was born above the Blood Sea. Houtu sacrificed herself and became the Six-Path Wheel of Reincarnation.

Later, Haotian established the Three Realms, and the Nether Realm naturally became one of them. Fengdu City, the Five Ghost Emperors, and the Ten Kings of Hell were quickly established, forming the system that it used to this day.

When the Heavenly Palace fell, the forces opposing the Heavenly Court rushed into the Nether Realm.

Ziwei led people there to cover the retreat of the Nether Realm's immortals, but they only managed to escort a portion away. After fleeing to Earth, they established the Small Nether Realm.

Although the opposing forces had many experts, they were ultimately disorganized. They had no clear plan and only sought to destroy the order of the Nether Realm.

The Great Dao protected the Six-Path Wheel of Reincarnation, and ancient experts from the Primal Era who owed Houtu a debt also appeared to guard it, preventing it from being harmed.

Once the enemy forces left to seize territory in the Immortal Saint Realm, the remaining experts of the Nether Realm gathered once more. They rebuilt order and maintained the stability of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, refusing to involve themselves in any factional conflicts.

All of this had originally been an act of virtue—a way to accumulate merit.

Yet now, after more than a hundred thousand years of peace, war had erupted once again in the Nether Realm, and the Six-Path Wheel of Reincarnation had come under attack once more.

This time, however, the invaders failed to even reach the Six-Paths Wheel of Reincarnation before the Nether Realm's experts and the immortals of the Heavenly Court, who had rushed in to assist, drove them back.

At the same time as Wang Sheng read Chun Yangzi's reply, in an unremarkable city of the Nether Realm, two graceful beings wearing bamboo hats walked through the bustling streets, searching for a place to stay. One of them spoke in short, clipped words, while the other responded with light laughter through telepathy.

"Senior Sister, this place does not feel much different from the Immortal Saint Realm," Lin Feiyao remarked.

"Cultivators," Mu Wanxuan answered.

"Mm, there are more ghost cultivators and yin cultivators here, but there are still quite a few normal cultivators too."

"The sky."

"Oh, right. There is no sun, moon, or stars here, and it feels rather oppressive."

Qinghua remained hidden in the shadows, protecting the Six-Path Wheel of Reincarnation. The two had followed along to see what was happening.

Mu Wanxuan had already gotten seventy percent of the Great Dao of Life. Though it was not yet complete, it allowed her to contribute and granted her the ability to protect herself, albeit barely. Moreover, since neither of the two had ever shown themselves before, they would not draw attention.

They found an unoccupied residence and purchased it with Immortal Stones. Afterward, they settled down.

Mu Wanxuan continued her cultivation, while Lin Feiyao frequently went out to gather information and passed it back to Hostess Su's intelligence network.

They had no other choice. Although Hostess Su's Qiluo Celestial Realm had branches across the four great sky regions, it had never extended into the Nether Realm.

Their trip was not in vain.

In less than half a month, Lin Feiyao discovered that someone in the city was recruiting a group of unaffiliated practitioners, offering generous rewards in exchange for their service.

After discussing it with Mu Wanxuan, the two chose not to take the risk of infiltrating the group. Instead, they decided to track their hired band of unaffiliated yin immortals.