“Everyone.”
The Hunyuan Dao Lord was the first to break the silence, looking at the other three.
“Whether this is right or wrong, we can only go in and find out. As long as we haven't seen it with our own eyes, there is still a glimmer of hope.”
As he spoke, the Hunyuan Dao Lord beckoned to Li Taiji and the Extreme Martial Dao Lord. The two Nine Nether Dream Butterfly silk robes they wore flew into his hand, turning into spots of starlight that merged into his soul.
The moment the silk robes were removed, the powerful and terrifying soul auras of the two martial Dao Lords surged outward.
Their Spirit-Body Unity soul origin, layered upon a base Unique-tier soul and further augmented by Unique-tier martial blood-qi, was utterly terrifying to the transcendents who had entered the Sea of Spirit to cultivate.
Indeed, those nearby immediately suffered. Under the impact of this horrific aura, their souls were directly knocked unconscious.
Only a scattered few with souls comparable to the mythic-tier managed to release their departure techniques and flee the Sea of Spirit before blacking out.
A martial Dao Lord entering this place in person was, in a sense, simply too overwhelming for others.
Feeling a bit guilty, Li Taiji threw a punch toward the silt below. With a loud boom, a massive fist print appeared on the ground.
Around the fist print, the qi of Yin-Yang and the Eight Trigrams continuously spread, instantly forming a domain.
Li Taiji placed a restriction within the domain: no fighting, no harming others. It was his way of providing some protection to those unfortunate, innocent transcendents.
After all, cultivation was not easy for the myriad beings, and the Sea of Spirit was home to all sorts of people. If some of the stunned transcendents happened to be the Progeny of other Dao Lord-level powers, it would be a massive headache.
This bizarre Hellfire was already giving Li Taiji enough of a problem; adding extra disputes would only be adding fuel to the fire.
After putting away the silk robes, the Hunyuan Dao Lord performed more hand seals on the spot, causing ripples of blue light to cover his soul.
He then followed the same process to apply these blue ripples to Li Taiji, the Extreme Martial Dao Lord, and Chen Xu.
“Everyone, that volcano is neither truly fire nor truly soul; it exists somewhere between the two. However, the heat within can still burn the soul.”
“This Water Skin Technique I have applied will protect you from the pain of those flames for three hours.”
“Remember, once the time is up, you must retreat first so I can recite the incantation to apply another layer. Otherwise, even as Dao Lords, your souls will inevitably suffer damage. The Sea of Spirit is one of the six special worlds; though it lacks a conscious will, the things it leaves behind are not to be underestimated.”
Seeing the three nod in succession, the Hunyuan Dao Lord turned. Guided by his connection to the silver thread, he led the way and dove headfirst into a volcanic crater.
The other three immediately followed.
As soon as he entered the volcano, Chen Xu felt waves of heat rushing at him. This was the temperature even after being insulated by the Hunyuan Dao Lord’s Daoist technique; without the Water Skin, his soul would likely have been scalded instantly.
The magma below, which constantly spat out bubbles, was undoubtedly even hotter.
Yet one had to marvel at the wonders of the world. In such a high-temperature environment, the rising bubbles actually contained tiny embryos.
As the bubbles rose, these embryos continuously absorbed the surrounding heat, developing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
By the time the bubbles floated out of the crater and popped, the embryos inside were fully developed. Native creatures of the Sea of Spirit, in all sorts of different forms, were born this way.
This was also the reason for the group's anxiety.
These native creatures were the prey of transcendents from the myriad worlds. If they were contaminated, the transcendents of the myriad worlds would suffer as well.
The four sank deeper and deeper. Just as they were about to touch the boiling magma, the Hunyuan Dao Lord struck out with a talisman seal, carving a narrow path through the lava before diving in.
The other three followed closely. Although the Hunyuan Dao Lord’s talisman held back the surrounding magma, the temperature here was several times higher than outside.
But there was no other way. The silver thread had already vanished beneath the lava, so the four could only plunge into the boiling depths.
They continued to descend. The Hunyuan Dao Lord stayed at the front, sensing the thread's position and constantly striking out seals to clear the path.
Li Taiji and the Extreme Martial Dao Lord were in the middle, while Chen Xu brought up the rear.
Suddenly, Chen Xu heard a faint, bizarre calling voice.
“Un... dead... come... here... help...”
Chen Xu’s heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show it. He observed the others secretly and found that the three in front showed no reaction, indicating that this strange call was directed only at him.
The voice seemed to come from all directions at once, making it impossible for Chen Xu to pinpoint its source. He could only suppress his unease and continue descending with the group.
As they went deeper, the Water Skin on their bodies gradually thinned, and the sensation of heat grew more intense.
The frequency of the calling voice increased, and its content became clearer.
“Lord of the Undead... come... here... help me... be careful...”
Almost every ten meters they descended, the call would come again, growing more distinct each time.
Yet the three in front remained unaffected. It seemed the call truly was meant only for him.
Chen Xu kept his expression neutral while his mind raced.
Who was the source of this call? Why call only him? Was it because he was the Lord of the Undead?
The Lord of the Undead, the Land of the Undead, the Sea of Spirit, special worlds... Special worlds!
Chen Xu suddenly realized the connection. Could it be that he could hear this call because of his status as a representative of a special world?
Hell was also one of the six special worlds. Did the fact that Hellfire could enter this place have something to do with that mysterious call?
Chen Xu didn't know. His time as a powerhouse was too short, and he was ignorant of many secrets. Youth was his greatest asset, but it was also his greatest weakness.
After a while, the Hunyuan Dao Lord stopped. His silver thread was just ahead, circling and swimming frantically within the magma, appearing very agitated.
With a solemn expression, the Hunyuan Dao Lord reached out and caught the silver thread. After refining it, he gained the final bit of perception. The target was still further ahead.
“Fellow Daoists, if my calculations are correct, we have already descended 9.99 million miles. Any further, and we will reach the Spirit Core of the Sea of Spirit.”
The Extreme Martial Dao Lord suddenly spoke, looking at the Hunyuan Dao Lord.
“Yes. This silver thread tells me that the traces of the Hellfire are just ahead, inside that mysterious Spirit Core.”
“The Core Illusion, a place where the boundary between reality and illusion is blurred. Fellow Daoist, that is a forbidden zone of the myriad worlds and the very foundation of the Sea of Spirit. If the Hellfire truly is inside, we are in massive trouble.”
“Sigh. Though the Mother of Hell appears arrogant and disdainful of everyone, she is actually sinister and cunning, planning every step. I cannot tell what the purpose of this particular chess piece is.”
“But since my opponent has made a move, I cannot refuse to play.”
With that, the Hunyuan Dao Lord broke through the boundary of the Spirit Core and stepped inside.
The other three followed him in.
In the next instant, Chen Xu felt as if he had entered a dreamlike world. He was surrounded by dense clusters of soul particles that were constantly gathering to form embryos and being ejected outward.
This world had no sky, no land, no ocean, and no wind. There were only endless soul particles, evolving into life.
Moreover, upon entering the Spirit Core, Chen Xu sensed the direction of the previous call and heard the full message.
“Land of the Undead, Lord of the Undead, my old friend... I implore you, come to the lowest depths of this Soul Origin Realm and help me with a favor so that I may find redemption. And... be careful of Hell. It has already fallen into madness.”
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