The words of the Extreme Martial Dao Lord caused the atmosphere to grow even more somber.
The martial artists he spoke of were no ordinary warriors. For them to be worthy of a Dao Lord's concern, they were all Progeny-tier disciples.
Not long ago, the two great martial arts sacred lands—the Universe Daoist Academy and the Extreme Martial Arena—discovered that their Progeny disciples were falling into sudden comas, remaining completely unconscious.
Upon deep inspection, they found wisps of Hellfire flickering deep within their souls, as if mocking them.
Furthermore, this Hellfire was contagious. Anyone who attempted an inspection would find their mental energy parasitized by the Hellfire the moment it entered the infected person's body.
Fortunately, the Dao Lords arrived in time and noticed the anomaly. Using their immense power, they directly obliterated the parasitic Hellfire, preventing it from spreading further.
However, the two martial Dao Lords were at a loss regarding the primary sources of infection—those who had already fallen into a deep sleep and where the Hellfire had taken root.
Extinguishing the Hellfire itself was simple; they didn't even need to throw a punch. A gentle breath of astral wind would be enough to blow it out.
But the souls of the Progeny disciples, where the Hellfire had taken root, would also be extinguished along with the fire, vanishing like bubbles.
Since these were Progeny disciples, they could not be handled so callously.
From a public standpoint, these were the closest individuals to the Dao Lords. If they didn't even attempt a solution and allowed the souls to be destroyed, it would inevitably alienate the other disciples.
From a private standpoint, a Progeny was different from a common disciple. The word "Progeny" carried significant weight.
To be a Progeny was to have caught the Dao Lord's eye. After spending so much time together, even a stray cat or dog would form a bond, let alone a disciple who inherited one's own Daoist laws.
Thus, the Yin-Yang Dao Lord and the Extreme Martial Dao Lord traveled together to the Xuanyuan Immortal World to seek the help of the Hunyuan Dao Lord.
The Hunyuan Dao Lord was of a very senior generation, having attained the Dao in ancient times. He had even participated in the massive Great Hell Hunt of that era.
He was a ruthless man who had actually entered Hell and fought the Mother of Hell with cold steel.
Therefore, facing the plea for help from the two martial Dao Lords, the Hunyuan Dao Lord agreed immediately, even though there had once been a bit of unpleasantness between him and Li Taiji.
Once the Hunyuan Dao Lord stepped in, he displayed his techniques: Daoized Silver Threads to Ferry the Heart-Fire and Golden Light of the Great Dao to Illuminate Clarity.
Using the Dao as a guide, he lured the Hellfire out of the disciples' bodies and then used the Golden Light of the Great Dao to illuminate and utterly obliterate it, leaving not a single trace.
However, the Hellfire was bound to the disciples' souls—they shared both glory and ruin. After the Hellfire was removed, their souls suffered severe trauma.
Just like Huang Mao just now, they bled from their five orifices and their auras became withered. They could only be sealed in ice using Heaven-Earth treasures and placed in secret realms that nourished the soul to recover naturally.
"Fellow Daoists."
Chen Xu stepped forward.
"Could you tell me what happened in the Sea of Spirit? How did traces of Hellfire end up there?"
Hearing this, the Hunyuan Dao Lord and the Extreme Martial Dao Lord both looked at Chen Xu.
The Hunyuan Dao Lord's brow furrowed slightly, then suddenly relaxed as if he had realized something, and he began to laugh.
"So the creator of the Immortal-Martial Dao, who caused such a stir in Fellow Daoist Taihao's territory, is actually the work of the Lord of the Undead."
The Extreme Martial Dao Lord also revealed a slight smile.
"I was wondering how that boy suddenly changed his root-bone. It turns out that madman changed it for him."
"Taiji, you were so stubborn about not telling us, insisting you used your Yin-Yang Great Magic to wash his foundations."
"Hmph!" Li Taiji grunted, seemingly displeased, and quickly changed the subject.
"Fellow Daoist Chen is asking about the situation in the Sea of Spirit. Why are you two rambling and going off on such a tangent?"
"Hahaha, you old rogue."
The Extreme Martial Dao Lord shook his head with a laugh, then regained his serious expression as he looked at Chen Xu.
"Fellow Daoist, as the master of the Land of the Undead, which is one of the six special worlds alongside the Sea of Spirit, I assume you are no stranger to the characteristics of that world."
Chen Xu nodded.
The Sea of Spirit was an extremely unique existence among the myriad worlds. As long as one mastered the method, they could allow their soul to enter the Sea of Spirit at will.
As for the method of entry, it could be said that any world that possessed transcendent power would have a way to get in.
While the methods differed slightly from world to world, the ultimate goal was the same.
The reason transcendents were so keen on entering the Sea of Spirit was precisely because it contained a vast number of treasures that could temper and strengthen the soul.
These ranged from something as small as Soul Fluid to something as large as Soul Dao Rhyme fragments—all of which were highly sought after by transcendents.
When Chen Xu's main body was studying in Akhan, he had also entered the Sea of Spirit to experience it after mastering the Anchoring Method.
After a few times, Chen Xu stopped spending time there.
For him, the efficiency of capturing Soul Fluid in the Sea of Spirit was too low. Scavenging for a year or two, or even three or four, didn't provide as noticeable an improvement as merging a single space fragment.
Moreover, the probability of encountering high-value soul treasures in the Sea of Spirit was low. Chen Xu felt that all his luck had been spent on his talents, so he stopped harboring fantasies about opening blind boxes.
But at that time, the Sea of Spirit was still a thriving place.
The transcendents of the myriad worlds gathered there—mages, hunters, warriors, knights, martial artists, monks, beast tamers—as long as one was a transcendent, there was no one who didn't need to strengthen their soul.
Across time and space, countless strangers gathered there to engage in a cycle of scavenge, fight, and extract.
Big fish ate small fish, small fish ate shrimp, and shrimp ate Soul Fluid. It was a scene of vibrant life and competitive growth.
Though dangerous, it wasn't nearly as dangerous as this Hellfire.
The Extreme Martial Dao Lord began his explanation.
"Several years ago, a rumor suddenly spread through the Sea of Spirit that the long-unseen Soul Dao Rhyme fragments had reappeared."
"In an instant, a massive number of transcendents flooded into the Sea of Spirit, each hoping to be that one lucky individual to capture a Dao Rhyme fragment and step into the Mythic or even Eternal rank in a single bound."
"My disciples, Fellow Daoist Li's disciples, and the one here now... they likely all began frequently entering the Sea of Spirit from that point on."
Soul Dao Rhyme fragments were a random product of the Sea of Spirit. Some said they were pieces of world Dao principles that had fallen off, suggesting the Sea of Spirit was failing and heading toward collapse.
Others said they were a surplus of world Dao principles—that the Dao principles of the Sea of Spirit were so powerful the world could no longer contain them, and the overflowing principles formed fragments.
But few cared about the well-being of the Sea of Spirit; they only cared about the whereabouts of the soul fragments.
After all, a single soul fragment could allow a mortal without a trace of transcendent power to enter the Mythic rank or even reach the Eternal rank.
Such a rare treasure, every time it appeared, stirred up a storm that covered the entire myriad worlds, drawing in countless transcendents.
Even those at the level of a Dao Lord's Progeny were not exempt.
Chen Xu suddenly thought of Akhan. Could the corruption there have also spread from the Sea of Spirit?
Before Chen Xu could think further, the Extreme Martial Dao Lord continued.
"Not long ago, Fellow Daoist Li and I discovered abnormalities in our disciples one after another, and unexplained gazes even appeared within our dojos."
"After a careful investigation, we found the disciples who had been infected."
"Before we could even question them, the Hellfire flared up, forcing them into dormancy."
"We only learned through questioning other disciples that they had been frequently entering the Sea of Spirit recently."
"However, Fellow Daoist Li and I also entered the Sea of Spirit together and found nothing."
"Later, we sought out the Hunyuan Dao Lord for his help, and only then did we manage to sever the Hellfire within the disciples."
While the Extreme Martial Dao Lord was speaking, the Hunyuan Dao Lord's gaze remained fixed on the silver thread in his hand and on Huang Mao, as if he were deep in thought.
As soon as the Extreme Martial Dao Lord finished speaking, the Hunyuan Dao Lord suddenly spoke.
"Fellow Daoists, I wonder if you would be willing to join me in investigating the Sea of Spirit?"
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