Chapter 1464: Deep Layers of the Earth Abyss

After a significant pause, the blood-red glow of the round bead contracted. Suddenly, an incredibly ancient female voice emanated from it.

"Di Xue, why are you seeking me?" the voice demanded. "Don't you know I have crucial matters to attend to, matters concerning our grand scheme?" The owner of the voice seemed highly displeased that the Blood-Robed Man was contacting her at this moment.

"Hehe," the Blood-Robed Man chuckled softly. "It's been decades since we settled on the Grand Servant. Now that I rarely contact a fellow Daoist, do you mean you don't even have time for a brief chat?"

"Stop beating around the bush," the old woman's voice deepened, showing great impatience. "What exactly do you want? Speak plainly, or don't blame me for cutting off this secret connection."

"Hehe," the Blood-Robed Man said nonchalantly. "Last time, we decided to split our tasks: Mu Qing was to collect blood sacrifices, Six-Legs was responsible for gathering Yin-spirit energy, I was to refine a large number of puppets, and you, fellow Daoist, were tasked with cultivating the plan's most crucial eight thousand Yin-Armored Dark Ghosts. How is your progress now?"

"Hmph, asking the obvious!" The old woman paused, then replied coldly. "Don't you know how many spies you've planted under my command? How could you not know about the progress?"

"Haha, the feeling is mutual," the Blood-Robed Man said with a laugh. "Don't your subordinates often appear at my puppet-refining grounds? But now, I wish to hear it directly from you."

"This is hardly a secret; there's nothing to hide," the old woman replied indifferently. "The eight thousand Yin-Armored Dark Ghosts are easy enough to manage. As long as Six-Legs can provide ample Yin-spirit energy, cultivating them is only a matter of time. The only trouble is with the eight Yin-Armored Ghost Kings who will lead these Dark Ghosts. They can only be successfully refined from the souls of those with exceptionally powerful divine senses. Materials of this caliber—premium souls—are not easy to find."

"Oh, how many of those eight Ghost Kings have you managed to refine?" the Blood-Robed Man asked with considerable interest.

"Three have been refined! The success rate is really too low," the woman's voice sank, sounding somewhat embarrassed.

"Hehe, here we go," the Blood-Robed Man said with a smile, stroking his palm. "The reason I contacted you this time, fellow Daoist, is precisely to provide such a premium soul material."

"Old Monster Di Xue, aren't you busy gathering enough puppets? When did you become interested in Yin souls?" The old woman was startled, a little surprised.

"Unlike Six-Legs and you, I'm not very proficient in the Dao of Ghosts," the Blood-Robed Man said leisurely. "However, I just discovered a member of the Flying Spirit tribe who was able to sense a trace of my divine sense that I imbued into a mud puppet. Although it was just a wisp of divine sense, one can imagine how powerful this person's spiritual consciousness is. It should be sufficient as a material for your Ghost King refinement, shouldn't it?"

"A Flying Spirit tribesman?" The old woman's voice became firm, and she grew cautious. "Has it come to the time for their tribe's trials again? Since they could detect your divine sense, have those old fellows come down themselves?"

"Don't worry, it's just a junior Spirit General. It won't cause any major trouble," the Blood-Robed Man said indifferently.

"A Spirit General? Then there's no issue. But to detect your divine sense, their spiritual consciousness is indeed exceptionally strong," the old woman pondered briefly before replying. "Very well, I'll accept this gift. But you wouldn't tell me this for nothing, would you? What do you want in return?"

"Hehe, I like dealing with sensible people like you, fellow Daoist," the Blood-Robed Man chuckled. "It's simple. For the specific information I provide, one Ten-Thousand-Year Blood Fish will suffice. But if you want me to personally capture him for you and deliver him to your doorstep, I'll require two blood fish." The Blood-Robed Man's eyes rolled as he made an exorbitant demand.

"Hmph, what do you take my Ten-Thousand-Year Blood Fish for, that you expect two for a mere soul?" the old woman snorted coldly, speaking unceremoniously. "I'm currently preoccupied. In short, if you send the soul to me, I will give you one Ten-Thousand-Year Blood Fish. Consider yourself lucky for such a bargain."

"Fine, one it is. In ten days, this person's soul will be sent to you," the Blood-Robed Man agreed cleanly and decisively, clearly believing he had indeed secured a great bargain.

"By the way," the old woman suddenly asked, "what are Mu Qing's and Six-Legs' opinions regarding the trial candidates of the Flying Spirit tribe? Should we eliminate all of them, or let them roam freely in the first three layers as before? They won't hinder our grand plan, will they?"

"Our grand plan is at a critical juncture; we cannot attract the attention of the Flying Spirit tribe," the Blood-Robed Man replied without hesitation. "As long as they don't affect us and don't enter below the fourth layer, we'll let them be. Mu Qing and Six-Legs, I presume, also understand this."

"As you say!"

After a faint sound, the old woman's voice from the round bead suddenly vanished, and the bead immediately stopped rotating, its red glow disappearing instantly without a trace. With a single grab, the round bead instantly flew into his hand, then vanished with a flash.

"A mere high-level Spirit General, plus two low-level Spirit Generals, and three Blood-Wood Puppets at the low Spirit Commander level should be more than enough," the Blood-Robed Man murmured, then shook his sleeve. With three "thump" sounds, three blood-red figures flew out from his sleeve, flashed, and landed on the ground before him.

Within the gloomy blood-red light, there were indeed three indistinct figures of varying forms, kneeling motionless. The Blood-Robed Man's eyes flared with blood-red light, and three almost imperceptible blood threads shot out from between his eyebrows. They vanished in a flash into the three indistinct blood-red figures in front of him. Instantly, the bowed figures raised their heads, and eerie green light flickered in their eyes.

"Go, kill those three, and bring back their souls!" The Blood-Robed Man pointed a finger at the image on the bronze mirror, speaking emotionlessly.

With a flash of blood-red light, the three blood-red figures instantly transformed into three blood-red arcs, circled nearby, and then vanished into the nearby wall. Only then did the Blood-Robed Man lean back in his wooden chair and slowly close his eyes, as if everything he had done earlier was merely a trivial matter to him.

In the center of the mysterious mountain range on the first layer, atop a gigantic mountain shrouded in gloomy gray energy, stood a hundred-zhang-high altar. On a dark stone platform atop it, a massive, grayish-white eyeball, the size of a human head and riddled with bloodshot veins, was enshrined. From the pupil of the eyeball, countless gray threads sprayed forth, dancing in all directions and drawing in the surrounding gray energy. Below the altar, an exceptionally tall, mysterious figure clad in a dark cloak stood motionless.

In a vast, ruined palace on the sixth layer of the Nether Abyss, shrouded in green light, a beautiful woman with snow-white hair and a bloodless complexion stood beside a black abyss over a hundred feet wide, coldly observing everything within it. Beside her stood two young women in their twenties. Both women were equally pale, but one was petite, with a sweet, round face, appearing delicate and alluring, inspiring a desire in men to embrace her. The other had a graceful figure and skin like snow, but her expression was unusually cold.

Around the deep pool, small magic formations of varying sizes were scattered everywhere, from which dark runes continuously emerged and drifted towards the cold pool. In the center of the pool, several indistinct figures clad in strange, dark armor floated motionless in the black water. Those black runes divided into several streams. As soon as they approached the figures, they instantly flashed and merged into the dark armor of the indistinct figures, disappearing in the blink of an eye. But these figures remained motionless, as if inanimate objects. Seeing this, the white-haired beauty's expression grew grim, and her brows gradually furrowed.

"Activate the Underworld Flames!" the white-haired beauty suddenly spoke coldly. Her voice was surprisingly ancient, indeed that of the old woman who had just spoken with the Blood-Robed Man.

"Yes!" the two charming women answered in unison. They each stepped forward, and with a flash of spiritual light, one held a small, dark bottle, while a black palm-leaf fan appeared in the other's hand. With solemn expressions, both raised their treasured items simultaneously. An eerie cry rang out, and a fire dragon covered in black flames flew out from the mouth of the gourd, then plunged headfirst into the pool. Immediately, surging black flames rose throughout the deep pool.

On the other side, the petite woman slowly but strenuously waved the palm-leaf fan in her hand, which was covered in array patterns. Large sheets of black flames immediately surged from the fan and rushed into the deep pool. The two types of flames seemed to originate from the same source. As they intertwined, the black flames immediately swelled several times in intensity, completely enveloping the indistinct figures. The white-haired beauty's expression remained unchanged, but a faint hint of expectation flickered in her eyes.

Han Li, currently flying through the second layer, naturally had no idea that he had been targeted by some terrifying entities. However, after experiencing that strange chill earlier, he had become much more cautious in his movements. While rapidly flying with Lei Lan and Bai Bi, he spared no spiritual energy, frequently using his Spirit Eye to observe the surroundings. This approach allowed Han Li to detect the locations of low and mid-level demonic beasts in advance, easily avoiding trouble by taking slight detours. As for ordinary beasts, they could no longer survive in the second layer, so he naturally wouldn't encounter them.

Because Lei Lan and Bai Bi had expended a lot of spiritual energy when entering the second layer, their flying speed was not fast. This allowed them to absorb spiritual energy from the spirit stones in their hands while traveling, so they could quickly recover their cultivation. After a day of flying, they encountered no trouble at all.

By the second day, after Lei Lan and Bai Bi had fully recovered their spiritual energy and still nothing had happened, Han Li decisively stopped the frequent use of his Spirit Eye ability. The three of them entered a dark green mountain range at a normal escape velocity. In the afternoon of the second day, after they had crossed a large mountain, something unexpected occurred.

In the sky opposite them, a spiritual light suddenly flickered, followed by a sharp whistling sound. A green streak appeared with a flash, then shot rapidly towards their direction. The next moment, unusual lights also flickered behind the green streak, and three yellow glows appeared in the distance, chasing relentlessly at a speed no less than that of the green streak. The appearance of these escaping lights was so peculiar that even if Han Li and the others wanted to dodge immediately, they couldn't react in time. Han Li frowned, then slowly brought his escaping light to a halt, with the two individuals behind him.