Chapter 123: A Narrow Escape from Death

Suffering the consequences of his own actions, Qingxu now deeply felt the bitter truth: revealing the secret of the Underworld River had indeed avenged the previous attack, but it had also placed him in grave danger. He had not thought things through carefully enough.

Having sworn a solemn oath to abandon the plan of refining the Netherworld Blood Sea into a doppelgänger, this decision was one that the Underworld River had made after much deliberation. He clearly understood the current situation: these quasi-Saint cultivators were united in their opposition to him, and there was no chance of changing that. Among the more than twenty quasi-Saints, many surpassed him in speed, cultivation level, divine calculations, and spirit treasures. Once the rift deepened, even retreating to the Netherworld Blood Sea would pose a problem—nine times out of ten, he would suffer a bitter defeat there.

After much consideration, the Underworld River was forced to give up this golden opportunity. Faced with the threat to his life now and the future promise of achieving an “Immortal Body,” he wisely chose to prioritize survival.

“The Heavenly Dao bears witness. Today, I, the Underworld River, swear to renounce the refinement of the Netherworld Blood Sea into a doppelgänger. Should I break this oath, may my body and soul be utterly destroyed, reduced to ashes forever.”

Upon hearing this oath, the grim expressions of the quasi-Saints softened, and the atmosphere relaxed considerably.

“That Underworld River is truly cunning. His oath minimizes his losses to the extreme. As long as he doesn’t cultivate the full 480 million Blood Divine Sons, he does not violate his vow. So cultivating 450 million, 460 million, or 470 million is still permissible! Even without refining the Netherworld Blood Sea, the difference is negligible—very close to his original intent,” Qingxu mused, his mind sharp and calculating. He quickly discerned a loophole in the Underworld River’s oath: the vow only forbade refining the entire Netherworld Blood Sea into a doppelgänger. It did not forbid cultivating the Blood Divine Sons up to, but not reaching, 480 million. Thus, the Underworld River could cultivate up to just under that number without breaking his oath to the Heavenly Dao.

Now, Qingxu felt deeply frustrated, utterly so. He felt as if he had been foolish, as if his verbal sparring had only caused the Underworld River to lose the “Blood Sea Everlasting, Underworld River Immortal” vow. Yet, given enough time, the Underworld River could still cultivate the Blood Divine Sons as long as he controlled them without reaching 480 million. This was practically no different from his original purpose, only more time-consuming and troublesome—and, crucially, it meant Qingxu had lost all hope of help from the quasi-Saints.

Not only was Qingxu troubled, but the Underworld River’s own heart churned with turmoil. Glaring venomously at Qingxu’s lecherous, foolish face, he ground his teeth in hatred. This was a terrible loss for him. In truth, his situation was far from as favorable as Qingxu imagined. Initially, he had intended to start with the heart of the Blood Sea; by refining the core of the Blood Sea to merge with his own origin, he could instantly generate 480 million Blood Divine Sons at will. Even if his true self was destroyed, he could use the Blood Sea’s heart to resurrect himself—an almost god-defying power. But now? Not to mention the enormous expenditure of essence and effort required to cultivate the Blood Divine Sons, without the Blood Sea’s core, his primordial spirit could control at most a thousand Blood Divine Sons simultaneously. Exceeding that would cause spiritual fragmentation and damage to his foundation. Moreover, he had lost the ability to resurrect.

The gap was staggering: from nearly immortal to a mere shell controlling a thousand weak doppelgängers—a chasm between heaven and hell. No wonder the Underworld River despised Qingxu with such intensity.

“Heh heh, don’t worry. The ancestor won’t kill you now. Once I capture your blood and return to the Blood Sea, I’ll make you suffer properly,” the Underworld River sneered, his mocking gaze sweeping over Qingxu. In an instant, his mind conjured hundreds of torturous methods, resolved to make Qingxu endure them all once captured.

“Underworld River, have you no shame? A mighty quasi-Saint fighting a mere early-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal like me?” Qingxu rolled his eyes, searching for any possible escape while trying to buy time with his words.

“Shame? Ha ha! The ancestor cares not. You’ve ruined my grand plan today; you can’t escape heaven or earth. I advise you to surrender obediently and suffer less,” the Underworld River replied coldly. He was well aware that Qingxu sought to flee, but he didn’t care in the slightest. The ley line space had only one entrance and exit, and he stood between Qingxu and the gateway. Without defeating him, escape was impossible. The other quasi-Saints had promised not to intervene, so there was nothing to fear. As for teleportation arrays or void shifting, none could be used here. Qingxu was nothing more than fish on a chopping block, utterly at the Underworld River’s mercy.

Before the Underworld River’s oath, the quasi-Saints had adhered to their promises, leaving the matter alone. As for other Great Luo Golden Immortals and Taiyi True Immortals, they dared not provoke this seasoned quasi-Saint, and had no close ties with Qingxu to risk themselves.

Deprived of others’ aid, Qingxu found himself isolated instantly.

Seeing the mixture of shock and terror in Qingxu’s face, the Underworld River’s heart felt a cruel satisfaction. He did not rush to capture him immediately but steadily closed the distance, exerting heavy psychological pressure.

Though his steps were slow, each sound resounded clearly in Qingxu’s ears and heart, tightening his nerves. His face grew unprecedentedly solemn, and deep within his eyes flickered a trace of despair. Any hope of escape seemed lost.

Quasi-Saints and Great Luo Golden Immortals were inherently worlds apart. When a quasi-Saint unleashed their laws, they could even disregard numbers. Though a single quasi-Saint could not withstand an endless wave of Great Luo Golden Immortals, they could still slay hundreds or thousands one by one. The Underworld River was not just any quasi-Saint; he was an elite among them, with mysterious and unfathomable divine powers. Qingxu, barely at early Great Luo Golden Immortal level, cultivated the path of the gods without triple-flower culmination or five-qi harmonization, and his Dao level was unremarkable. The disparity was as vast as heaven and earth.

With each step drawing nearer, Qingxu could only retreat, slowly edging toward the Heart of Ice Soul.

Like a cat toying with a mouse, the Underworld River’s intention was clear. Killing Qingxu would be effortless, but that would not satisfy his grudge. He needed to make Qingxu suffer bitterly before death. The more Qingxu pleaded and suffered, the greater his pleasure.

As Qingxu neared the Heart of Ice Soul, an idea struck him. Though seemingly a death sentence, it was his only option to stall for time.

With the speed of thunder and lightning, he summoned the Ren-Gui Misty Veil, merging it with himself to perform a secret divine technique. He transformed into a wisp of icy vapor, heading straight for the Heart of Ice Soul. Qingxu intended to merge with the Heart—an act of self-sacrifice, throwing himself into the jaws of the fierce Ice Ancestor. Yet, it would also create trouble for the Underworld River. To deal with him, the Underworld River would have to confront the Ice Ancestor first. Drawing disaster eastward might offer a slim chance of survival amid the chaos.

Only the Underworld River and the Ice Ancestor understood that Qingxu could transform into icy water vapor, so it was no surprise to them. The others were dumbfounded. When the Underworld River had said Qingxu could wield divine powers, they had thought it absurd. Now seeing it with their own eyes left them stunned. For an early Great Luo Golden Immortal to cast spells within the forbidden barrier set by a peak quasi-Saint like the Ice Ancestor was nearly impossible—even for early quasi-Saints, let alone a Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Seeing Qingxu’s icy form approach the Heart of Ice Soul, the Underworld River’s heart jolted. He abandoned his cat-and-mouse game and gave chase at full speed, determined to stop Qingxu from merging with the Heart. Otherwise, trouble would be immense.

The Underworld River’s reaction was swift, far faster than Qingxu expected, but he was still slightly too late. Forced to retreat repeatedly, Qingxu had drawn close to the Heart of Ice Soul. Now, desperate, he fled with all his might. The Underworld River could only watch helplessly as Qingxu’s icy form neared the Heart.

Just as the icy vapor was about to merge with the Heart of Ice Soul, an unexpected twist occurred. The Ice Ancestor, unable to recover from his injuries, hastily cast a spell, firing a beam of divine energy that pierced through the icy vapor. He had to stop Qingxu; otherwise, his own situation would worsen. Every moment of delay was precious. Though the surface conflict between the Underworld River and the quasi-Saints was resolved, only Qingxu could buy time to aid the Ice Ancestor’s recovery.

The Ice Ancestor’s move took Qingxu by surprise but was within reason given the dire circumstances. Qingxu had no time for second thoughts and inevitably overlooked some details. Besides, even if he had foreseen this, he had no choice—it was his only temporary measure for survival.

*Pfft!*

Not wishing to kill Qingxu and lose a valuable delaying pawn, the Ice Ancestor’s strike was suppressive rather than lethal. Yet, it inflicted serious injuries upon Qingxu. Fortunately, his extraordinary Xuanyellow Body saved him. An ordinary early Great Luo Golden Immortal, even a body cultivator, would have died. Qingxu coughed up a mouthful of essence blood, his face pale as paper.

Under the piercing divine energy, the Ren-Gui Misty Veil separated from his body, hovering in the void, shimmering with radiant colors and rich spiritual resonance. Coincidentally, some of Qingxu’s essence blood stained it.

Touching Qingxu’s essence blood, the Ren-Gui Misty Veil seemed to awaken like a slumbering prehistoric beast. An overwhelming, terrifying aura filled the ley line space, so intense that even the quasi-Saints trembled.

*Boom!*

The veil unfurled, crystal clear and pure white, but faint grayish talismanic runes appeared on its surface—indecipherable and mysterious.

*Whoosh!*

In an instant, as soon as the runes fully formed, the veil surged forward into the Heart of Ice Soul, sweeping out the Ice Ancestor’s primordial spirit, then returned to wrap Qingxu, tearing open the void and vanishing without a trace. Those watching were left wide-eyed and bewildered, utterly unclear about what had just transpired.