Chapter 147: Undead Bone Beasts

"Shadow, the outer perimeter of the Fierce Beast Mountain Range isn't particularly dangerous, right? Secretly capturing a few fierce beasts and leaving shouldn't be a problem, should it?" Although he had no desire to visit the Fierce Beast Mountain Range, given little Kunlun's attitude, if he didn't satisfy her, this trip through the netherworld could not possibly continue. Right now, he had no choice but to try his best to accommodate her and pay the price for his own words.

"The outermost periphery of the Fierce Beast Mountain Range contains only low-level fierce beasts, mostly at the Earth Immortal and Heaven Immortal levels. The fierce beasts in the central hinterland are at least at the Mysterious Immortal level, and there is no shortage of those at the Taiyi True Immortal level. As for the deep interior, that is the habitat of the Great Luo Golden Immortal fierce beast kings. However, fierce beast kings of the Great Luo Golden Immortal rank occasionally patrol with groups of Taiyi True Immortal fierce beasts. As long as one is careful not to provoke them, operating in the outer perimeter is relatively safe. If my master merely requires a few fierce beasts to feed the little mistress, that is quite simple; capturing them will be effortless for this subordinate," Ying Fan declared, expressing his loyalty.

"Where is the Fierce Beast Mountain Range? How far is it?" Hearing Qing Xu's words, little Kunlun, who had been throwing a tantrum on the ground, realized the situation had turned around and that her delicious food was secured. She immediately scrambled to her feet, overjoyed.

"Due west, two hundred thirty-seven thousand nine hundred and forty-six miles away. However, there are quite a few major factions along the way, along with a few powerful beings at the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm. Reaching the Fierce Beast Mountain Range will not be easy."

"Oh? Shadow, why are you so familiar with the Netherworld?" Qing Xu remembered that Ying Fan had previously been slumbering in the Swamp of Flaying Bones and Dissolving Ashes and didn't even believe saints existed. This had naturally led Qing Xu to assume he was an ancient fossil that had long been out of touch with the world. But now he realized something was amiss, as Ying Fan appeared intimately familiar with the Eighteen Levels of Hell in the Netherworld.

"This subordinate was previously in a deep slumber, refining and merging the essence of the Shadow Emperor. In my spare time, I also split into thousands of shadow avatars to roam the Eighteen Levels of Hell."

"Shadow avatars?"

"Just a little trick, nothing worth putting on stage. It merely uses the shadow body as a medium to project manifestations without any actual combat power. However, they are extremely difficult for others to destroy, and they can merge into any shadow to conduct reconnaissance. They have no use in combat whatsoever. It is only a pity that my cultivation has not yet reached the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm; otherwise, these divided shadow avatars could possess one percent of my true power," Ying Fan sighed in explanation, leaving Qing Xu dumbfounded.

Are you kidding me?!

"The ancient Shadow Clan is simply too abnormal! Wouldn't those Great Luo Golden Immortal Shadow Clan powerfull beings be able to infinitely deploy shadow avatars possessing one percent of their power? No wonder back then Demon Ancestor Luohu dared to defy the entire world, using the sole strength of the Demon Cult to fight against all the factions of the Primordial World," Qing Xu thought to himself, gaining some insight into the absurdity of the Shadow Clan. He also deduced the sheer terror of the Demon Cult; if the Shadow Clan was merely the tip of the iceberg, one could easily imagine the terrifying extent of the Demon Cult.

At the end of the ancient era, the tribulation evolved to its peak, and Luohu relied solely on the Demon Cult to fight against all living beings of the Primordial World. Among them were supreme clans like the Dragons, Phoenixes, and Qilin that dominated the Primordial World, as well as ancient deities of the caliber of Hongjun, Ancestor Ice, and Great Immortal Yangmei. Although he ultimately failed and perished, Luohu dragged down a vast multitude of powerful beings to their graves, causing the three clans to wane and ninety-nine percent of the powerful beings to perish. The ordinary living beings of the Primordial World were severely affected as collateral damage, their populations drastically shrinking, and powerful figures plummeted in number. It even resulted in the destruction of seven or eighty percent of the spiritual veins across the three great continents of Western Niuhe, Southern Nanzhan, and Northern Beiju.

"That's right, Shadow, do you know the exact location of the entrance to the third-tier Iron Tree Hell? And has anyone descended here before?" Seizing the opportunity, Qing Xu asked about the two issues troubling him.

Ying Fan certainly did not disappoint Qing Xu: "The entrance to the Iron Tree Hell is at the bottom of the Scissors River. The netherworld river water within it immediately turns into sharp shears the moment any living soul enters, dismembering them. In particular, due to the unique properties of the netherworld river water, which traps souls and prevents them from dissipating, endless wronged souls struggle and writhe within the Scissors River. To enter, one must not only face the dismembering shears of the netherworld river water, but also endless wronged souls pulling, tearing, and biting. Furthermore, this Scissors River originates from nowhere on the side of the Fierce Beast Mountain Range and flows toward an unknown destination."

"A few days before you, Master, a female cultivator also descended. That female cultivator's cultivation was unfathomable; merely the aura she radiated caused this subordinate to tremble all over and become completely paralyzed. However, she did not seem like an immortal cultivator; her magical power was extremely bizarre—neither demonic nor orthodox, containing both overwhelming dominance and extreme cold. By this subordinate's rough estimate, her cultivation is at least at the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, or perhaps even a Quasi-Sage."

"The Scissors River? Originating from nowhere beside the Fierce Beast Mountain Range and flowing into the unknown? A mysterious female cultivator?" After pondering for a long time without unraveling the mystery, Qing Xu temporarily pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.

"Let's move! First to the Fierce Beast Mountain Range, and then we'll search for the entrance to the Iron Tree Hell." Issuing his instructions, Qing Xu took the lead with the Black and White Impermanence following closely. Little Kunlun immediately gave chase upon seeing this, leaving only Ying Fan stunned in place.

"Descend into the Scissors River? Are you kidding me?!" Snapping out of his daze amidst his muttering, Ying Fan couldn't care about much else and hurried to catch up with Qing Xu, anxiously attempting to dissuade him: "Master, you cannot! The netherworld river water in the Scissors River is extremely mysterious. My shadow avatars tested it—anyone without Mysterious Immortal cultivation cannot withstand it, and there are also endless wronged souls."

"Mysterious Immortal cultivation? Endless wronged souls? Heh, none of these are of any consequence to this Daoist. Although my cultivation is low, only at the peak of the Earth Immortal realm, my Dao comprehension and boundary have nearly reached the peak of the Heaven Immortal realm. Furthermore, my physical Dao body is at least as formidable as the Mysterious Immortal level, and I have a Prehistoric Spirit Treasure Dao robe for protection. The Scissors River water cannot harm me. As for those wronged souls, it just so happens that this Daoist has been wanting to refine a Myriad-Demon Banner." Among the three portions of private stash he had retrieved back in Mangdang Mountain, there were several ghost artifacts, including precisely a ghost-controlling banner. This was a magical treasure capable of upgrading its grade; as long as it had living souls and wronged souls as supplements, its power would continuously climb until it transformed into pure demonic might.

Hearing Qing Xu put it this way, Ying Fan said no more, though he thought to himself inwardly: "As expected of a disciple under a saint, and he even possesses a Prehistoric Spirit Treasure. Not many people in the former Demon Cult possessed such things!"

Although little Kunlun possessed spatial teleportation techniques, this place was far too distant from the Fierce Beast Mountain Range; if she were to use it, she would exhaust all her magical power. Therefore, Qing Xu's group traveled by flight-light to shorten the distance to the Fierce Beast Mountain Range.

Half a day later, having traveled ten thousand miles, Ying Fan suddenly called for the group to stop. Seeing QingXu's puzzled look, he explained in a heavy tone: "Master, another four thousand miles ahead lies a medium-sized faction. Although there are no Great Luo Golden Immortals, there are three or five Taiyi True Immortal powerhouses. The crucial point is that Mysterious Immortal ghost kings, Heaven Immortals, Earth Immortals, and Huashen-level minor ghosts total no less than three to four thousand individuals. With our strength, we cannot meet them in direct combat."

Hearing Ying Fan say this, Qing Xu also calmed down. A medium-sized faction like this was truly not something they could currently contend with. Not to mention anything else, just those three or five Taiyi True Immortal powerhouses alone would be more than enough to handle.

"Sigh! Unfortunate events keep piling up one after the other. So frustrating." Thoughts aside, the journey still had to be made.

"Let's go take a look; if it doesn't work out, we'll detour." Giving the order, Qing Xu led the group forward.

Four thousand miles was a long distance, but under the flight-light of Qing Xu's group, it didn't take too long to arrive. Coming into view was a vast plain, presenting a village constructed simply from wood and stone. To call it a village was actually just a pile of random rocks and wooden boards arranged with little regularity, serving merely for simple shelter against the cold. Yet even this architecture, which Qing Xu looked down upon, was considered a luxurious enjoyment in the current Primordial World, and anyone capable of stacking together such a construction would certainly be praised by people as a "Grandmaster."

"Why is it so quiet?" Even though there was no vital breath of living yang energy in the netherworld, netherworld vitality still existed. Furthermore, this was a large village of several thousand people; it was impossible for there to be not the slightest sound or movement. Yet Qing Xu's group waited for a long time without discovering a single ghost shadow.

"Shadow, send out a shadow avatar to investigate."

"Understood!"

A flash of pitch-black light swept across Ying Fan's body, and an illusory black shadow emerged from between his brows, vanishing in a flash so swiftly that even Qing Xu's visual acuity failed to capture it.

"Too fast! The movement of the shadow avatar is ten times faster than Ying Fan himself, and it is illusory and pitch-black, making it practically like a fish in water within the netherworld. Discovering it is difficult enough, and even if discovered, it is hard to destroy since it is merely a projection. This thing almost entirely relies on naturally dissolving and dissipating on its own." Qing Xu was extremely envious of Ying Fan's shadow avatar, especially upon hearing that this entity could possess one percent of his own power, which made him even more attentive. To be honest, when he previously used momentum to force Ming He to give up refining the Netherworld Blood Sea into four hundred eighty million Blood God Spirits, he might not have been entirely free of a trace of envy, jealousy, and hatred. Now that such an overpowered secret technique as the shadow avatar existed, not cultivating it was simply out of the question.

"When we return, I'll ask Master for guidance. If there are no issues, I'll bind myself to Ying Fan with an Archaic Master-Servant Contract. Anyway, his cultivation hasn't reached the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm yet, and I can't cultivate it right now anyway. There's plenty of time, no rush." Even if he were to bind himself to Ying Fan with the Archaic Master-Servant Contract right now, it wouldn't make much difference from the present situation; he still fundamentally couldn't cultivate the Shadow Clan's secret techniques and divine abilities.

"How could this be? How is this possible?!" Ying Fan, who had been keeping his eyes closed to sense the departed shadow avatar, suddenly opened his eyes and exclaimed in shock.

"What is it? Did you find something?"

"Master, the thousands of minor ghosts in the village ahead have all perished, and more than half of the dozen Mysterious Immortal ghost kings have also died. The remaining few ghost kings have joined forces with four Taiyi True Immortals to fight a life-and-death battle against an undead bone beast." When Ying Fan mentioned the undead bone beast, his entire body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"An undead bone beast? What is that?"

"An undead bone beast is a fierce beast that has undergone transformation, subjected to a white bone secret technique and divine ability. Its flesh, marrow, and magical power are all completely fused into the bones of its entire body, granting it 120% of its peak-moment strength. The most terrifying aspect is that it is extremely difficult to kill; even if blasted into a pile of shattered bones, it can instantly recover without consumption, permanently maintaining its peak combat capability." Ying Fan recounted the characteristics of the undead bone beast as he understood them.