"Where is it?"
Lin Yuan asked directly.
He believed in Nuan Shu's abilities; surely, she would search according to his request, with no possibility of cutting corners.
"Your Majesty."
Nuan Shu immediately disclosed all the information she had gathered.
As it turned out, since twenty-five years ago, when Lin Yuan was suppressed in the depths of Grand Abyss's eighteen floors, as the trusted subordinate of Xiahou Yuan, the peak of the Ninth Realm, the Ink Sun Demon Lord, he had secretly begun constructing an underground palace.
His intention was to use this underground palace as a foundation, to establish it as the stronghold for once again unifying the demonic path of the Five Domains.
This palace was built on top of a natural vortex of elemental energy.
And this vortex of elemental energy had reached the rank of Heavenly Grade.
The so-called vortex of elemental energy is where the essence of heaven and earth gathers most densely.
And a Heavenly Grade vortex of elemental energy is extremely rare throughout the Five Domains and beyond.
The Ink Sun Demon Lord discovered this vortex of elemental energy, which had never been developed until Xiahou Yuan was suppressed and there seemed no hope for his release, only then did he start utilizing it, with grand ambitions.
Unfortunately, the Ink Sun Demon Lord had grand ambitions but lacked the terrifying oppressive power that Xiahou Yuan possessed over all demonic leaders.
Thus, he was destined to be unable to control all demonic leaders and could only establish a demonic power in one place at most.
The construction of the Ink Sun Demon Lord's underground palace was extremely secretive.
If it weren't for the fact that Xiahou Yuan had not been suppressed for long when the construction began, and there were still a few loyal demonic leaders who quietly informed Nuan Shu of this matter, it was estimated that Nuan Shu wouldn't be able to find a suitable breakthrough point for Lin Yuan so quickly.
"However."
Nuan Shu hesitated.
"The underground palace built by the Ink Sun Demon Lord is not only secretive but also extremely dangerous. It is said to have more than one Heavenly Grade demonic array set up."
A Heavenly Grade demonic array is enough to suppress and kill a ninth-level expert.
"Your Majesty, if you intend to enter that underground palace, you must be extremely cautious," Nuan Shu said softly.
"It's okay."
Lin Yuan remained calm.
Several days later,
Lin Yuan and Nuan Shu arrived at a hill.
Bian Mao and many other demonic leaders followed closely behind.
"This is the entrance to the Ink Sun Demon Lord's underground palace."
Nuan Shu whispered.
"Elemental energy of heaven and earth."
Lin Yuan faintly sensed a tremendous vortex of elemental energy.
However, this vortex of elemental energy seemed to be blocked by some means, emitting no trace of elemental energy.
This was quite normal.
Generally speaking, in the absence of external interference, a vortex of elemental energy would slowly disperse elemental energy in all directions.
But in doing so, it would cause the concentration of elemental energy at the core of the vortex to decrease.
So as long as a vortex of elemental energy had an owner, it would be isolated from the outside world to increase the concentration of elemental energy within.
Since this underground palace was the stronghold of the Ink Sun Demon Lord, there would be no leakage of elemental energy.
"It's enough for me to break through to the Fifth Rank."
Lin Yuan nodded slightly.
He seemed satisfied.
"Your Majesty, let me lead the way."
Nuan Shu took the initiative to move forward, opening a mechanism beside him, and an entrance appeared on the side of the hill.
Underneath the hill.
Inside a spacious underground palace.
Nine demonic lords gathered in a great hall, engaged in heated debate.
In theory, as demonic lords of the Ninth Realm, the top experts of the Five Domains, it was difficult for them to appear in one place, as they were dispersed among the Five Domains, each holding sway over their own territory.
However, at this moment, they were gathered in the underground palace and were arguing with each other.
The reason for this was the matter of Xiahou Yuan emerging from the Great Abyss.
These nine demonic lords were all once Xiahou Yuan's trusted subordinates.
After Xiahou Yuan was suppressed, they simply divided up the territories of the demonic path and had no intention of rescuing Xiahou Yuan.
Rescue Xiahou Yuan?
For what?
When Xiahou Yuan was still around, these demonic lords, who roamed the Five Domains, were all constrained; even if they wanted to cultivate by killing a village, they faced great restrictions.
On the surface, Xiahou Yuan led the demonic path of the Five Domains in a standoff against righteous sects like Tianjian Sect.
The demonic forces were unprecedentedly strong.
But deep down, only they knew.
With Xiahou Yuan around, the heads of the demonic sects felt like there were swords hanging over their heads.
They could no longer kill and cultivate without worry.
If Xiahou Yuan wasn't so terrifying, with an incomprehensible oppressive power over demonic leaders, forget about fighting against righteous sects like Tianjian Sect, they nine demonic lords would have rebelled long ago.
"Xiahou Yuan has come out. What should we do?"
"Tianjianzi, what's going on? Wasn't it said that it's nearly impossible to escape from Great Abyss's eighteen floors? Useless!"
"Now, the first thing to do is to confirm whether Xiahou Yuan has truly come out of Great Abyss."
The demonic lords questioned each other, and even with their suppressed power, the terrifying aura of a demonic lord burst forth, making it impossible for ordinary seventh or eighth-level experts to approach.
"Enough."
"Xiahou Yuan has indeed come out of Great Abyss."
One of the demonic lords spoke. He had narrow, slightly feminine eyes, giving him a sinister air.
"Jiang Jianke, who was stationed outside Great Abyss, is dead, and those guards have already been 'soul-searched' by someone."
The demonic lord paused for a moment and continued, "Xiahou Yuan has indeed come out."
As soon as these words were spoken, silence fell upon the great hall.
All the demonic lords fell silent.
Xiahou Yuan had come out.
So what should they do? Should they continue to wait and see? Or should they apologize proactively?
If they continued to watch, what if they angered Xiahou Yuan? But if they proactively apologized, would Xiahou Yuan forgive them?
The demonic lords thought and thought, feeling that no matter what choice they made, it would be difficult to resolve the situation.
"Xiahou Yuan not only emerged."
"His strength has at least recovered to the Ninth Realm."
At this moment, a plump and beautiful woman spoke up.
"The Ninth Realm?"
"How is that possible?"
A fiery-tempered demonic lord couldn't help but interject.
Leaving aside Xiahou Yuan being suppressed, his physical and spiritual bodies were already sealed by Tianjianzi and other peak Ninth Realm experts, with limbs locked using a thousand-year-old deep-sea precious metal, even suppressing a ninth-level expert would be difficult, let alone enduring it for twenty-five years under the depths of Great Abyss's eighteen floors?
"A while ago, I secretly instigated Bian Miao, Yin Shi, and other peak eighth-level demonic leaders to take action against Xiahou Yuan."
"The result."
"Bian Miao and the others haven't contacted me until now."
The plump and beautiful woman spoke.
In fact, she withheld some information, such as not only Bian Miao, Yin Shi, but also one of her disciples.
"Bian Miao, Yin Shi?"
Hearing this, the demonic lords on the scene frowned.
They had heard of these rising stars of the demonic path.
Especially Yin Shi, whose assassination methods were enough to make ninth-level experts wary.
To deal with these two quietly, ordinary ninth-level experts couldn't manage it.
When the plump and beautiful woman said Xiahou Yuan had already recovered to the Ninth Realm, there was absolutely no exaggeration.
"Moyang, why don't you speak up?"
"What should we do now?"
A demonic lord furrowed his brow, looking towards Moyang, who sat in the foremost position.
This time, several of them were able to gather together solely due to Moyang's invitation.
When Xiahou Yuan was still around, as subordinates of the Demon Emperor, they followed Moyang's lead.
After Xiahou Yuan was suppressed, the nine demonic lords scattered, but Moyang's influence remained the strongest.
"What should we do?"
"Anyway, I don't want to return to the way things were before."
Moyang, the Demon Lord, sneered.
The other eight demonic lords breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Moyang's statement.
Not only Moyang didn't want to, but neither did they.
"Moyang, please tell us your thoughts quickly."
The demonic lord who spoke first immediately inquired.
With their understanding of Moyang, since he dared to say so, he must have confidence and a plan.
"When Xiahou Yuan emerged from Dayuan, he will certainly seek revenge on Tianjian Sect."
"Twenty-five years ago, Tianjianzi personally sealed Xiahou Yuan. With this grudge unaddressed, do you think Xiahou Yuan can bear it?"
Moyang retorted.
"Indeed."
"At that time, Tianjianzi was not a good person either. He broke Xiahou Yuan's mental state with Bai Qing. Now that Xiahou Yuan has come out, he won't cause us trouble for the time being."
"However, Tianjian Sect is not easy to provoke, especially Tianjianzi, who is known as the strongest in the world."
"If Xiahou Yuan seeks revenge on Tianjian Sect, we just need to watch."
The demonic lords contemplated along with Moyang's words.
They breathed a sigh of relief.
"But."
"What if?"
Suddenly, the plump and beautiful woman frowned.
"What if Xiahou Yuan doesn't go after Tianjian Sect, but instead comes after us?"
The plump and beautiful woman raised the most worrying question for the demonic lords.
Indeed.
What if? Xiahou Yuan, this person, has always been unpredictable.
"What if?"
Moyang sneered again.
"This is why I called you all here."
"Although this possibility is small, it still needs to be considered."
Moyang, who had lived for hundreds of years, naturally thought things through thoroughly.
"This underground palace, which I spent twenty years building, is equipped with nine Heavenly Grade demonic arrays inside."
"We nine demonic lords, as long as we sit in the nine Heavenly Grade demonic arrays, can use the terrain. Even if a tenth-level expert comes, we can hold them off for a while."
"As for Xiahou Yuan, he definitely won't be able to do anything to us. After a while, he won't want to continue facing off against us."
"Even if he really does, we'll secretly contact Tianjianzi. He must be very interested in Xiahou Yuan."
Moyang was confident.
As a demonic leader, he didn't mind cooperating with righteous sects.
"Nine Heavenly Grade demonic arrays?"
"Moyang, you are bold indeed."
"No wonder I felt a bit suppressed when I entered this underground palace. So it's because of the Heavenly Grade demonic arrays."
The other demonic lords murmured, their spirits slightly shaken.
They were well aware of the power of Heavenly Grade demonic arrays. One Heavenly Grade demonic array could suppress a ninth-level expert.
Not to mention nine?
"Alright."
"These are the array eyes of the Heavenly Grade demonic arrays. Familiarize yourselves with them."
Moyang's thoughts moved slightly, and he sent eight pieces of jade to the eight demonic lords in front of him.
"Array eyes?"
"Interesting, these nine arrays are not individual entities but seem like a whole. We, as the main demonic lords of the array, can control the power of the entire formation with a slight thought."
The eight demonic lords quickly comprehended, feeling overjoyed.
No wonder Moyang was so calm; he actually had such a trump card.
At this moment, the eight demonic lords finally showed relaxed smiles on their faces. Since learning that Xiahou Yuan had emerged, they had not relaxed for a moment.
Just then.
A man dressed in black armor rushed in, his expression flustered.
"Demonic lords, someone, someone has broken in."
This man's voice trembled, apparently finding it difficult to believe even at this moment.
"Someone has broken in?"
Moyang's pupils contracted.
As the master of this underground palace, he had deployed a large number of personnel outside, with more than ten eighth-level demonic leaders.
Under such circumstances.
How could outsiders possibly break in?
The underground palace was interconnected, with Heavenly Grade arrays suppressing it, rendering ordinary investigation methods useless.
Even a ninth-level expert could be trapped for a while.
"What's going on exactly?"
Moyang was about to inquire.
A series of faint footsteps sounded.
The demonic lords looked up and saw a tall woman standing at the door.
At the sight of this woman.
The nine demonic lords furrowed their brows.
"Nuan Shu?"
"How..."
Moyang, the Demon Lord, was astonished.
The other eight demonic lords were equally puzzled.
They naturally knew Nuan Shu; when Xiahou Yuan was still around, Nuan Shu was one of the thirty-six guardians, second only to the nine demonic lords.
Just as Moyang was about to continue questioning.
Next to Nuan Shu, a tall figure appeared out of nowhere.
At the sight of the tall figure, the minds of the nine demonic lords buzzed.
"X-Xiahou Yuan?"
The nine demonic lords seemed to have seen a ghost.
They had just been discussing how to deal with Xiahou Yuan.
They hadn't expected Xiahou Yuan to appear before them.
"My lords."
Moyang immediately reacted.
He bowed slightly to Xiahou Yuan and whispered, "I wonder what brings Your Excellency to this underground palace?"
Although he felt unwilling to face Xiahou Yuan from the bottom of his heart.
But thinking back to the days when Xiahou Yuan ruled, Moyang felt he could struggle a bit.
Moreover.
With the means Moyang had arranged over the years, with nine Heavenly Grade arrays and nine ninth-level demonic lords.
Even facing the former Xiahou Yuan.
Moyang wasn't so desperate.
"This place is mine, what do you say?"
Lin Yuan swept his gaze around, sensing the dense spiritual energy filling the air, and spoke.
"Your Excellency is surely jesting?"
Moyang's face stiffened.
He had labored tirelessly for twenty years to build this underground palace, how could he just hand it over?
Not to mention the nine Heavenly Grade demonic arrays within the palace, Moyang believed he could withstand anyone.
"If you don't give it, I'll come take it."
Lin Yuan took a step forward directly, entering the palace.
"Attack."
Moyang's mind tensed, without hesitation, he fully communicated with the Heavenly Grade demonic arrays.
The other eight demonic lords looked at each other. At this moment, they were all in the same camp, none of them willing to be under Xiahou Yuan's control again.
Boom.
From all directions.
Up, down, left, right.
The air suddenly condensed.
An invisible pressure emerged. Hum!!
Strands of demonic energy appeared from all sides of the main hall, One gives birth to two, two gives birth to four, four gives birth to eight...
In an instant.
Countless strands of demonic energy intertwined and coiled, following specific trajectories, forming a killing array.
However.
Just as Lin Yuan stepped on the floor of the inner hall with his right foot.
The countless demonic energies that had appeared from all over the main hall suddenly solidified.
The killing array, already formed entirely of demonic energy, began to boil, as if receiving an imperial decree, all of it coiled around Lin Yuan's feet, and a breath far surpassing before erupted.
Majestic demonic might.
As Lin Yuan entered the inner hall, the ninth-level pinnacle Moyang, who was already kneeling on the ground,
Even without knowing why, facing Lin Yuan at this moment, he couldn't help but kowtow incessantly!
Lin Yuan walked past each demonic lord kneeling on the ground, trembling all over.
Stepping up the steps, he turned and sat on the main seat of the hall.
Slightly leaning, he looked down at the people kneeling in the hall.
...
I need POWAAAA :D
15 chapters ahead on patreon: patreon.com/David_Lord
64