Published at 19th of March 2025 5:10 pm

Chapter 1235: Unexpected

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

At this moment, Han Li's trio was advancing through a dark passageway with Qu Lin at the forefront, walking along while keeping constant tabs on Jin Tong's location.

It didn't take long before they reached the end of the passageway, arriving in another giant stone hall.

This stone hall was tens of thousands of feet in size, but it wasn't empty like the previous ones. Instead, it was lined with two rows of huge, black stone pillars.

The stone pillars were all completely translucent, seemingly having been crafted from some type of crystalline material, and they were etched with ghostly designs that could've been array patterns or some type of text.

The two rows of stone pillars lined the entire hall, leaving only a path that was around a hundred feet wide in the center, leading deep into the hall.

Given the dim environment, it was only just barely possible to make out an azure gate at the very back of the hall.

Han Li stood cautiously at the entrance of the hall as he asked, "Do you know what this place is, Fellow Daoist Lan?"

Lan Yan shook her head in response.

"The inscriptions on these stone pillars seem to be the legendary infernal text," Qu Lin remarked as he closely examined the black stone pillars.

"Infernal text?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Infernal text is said to be text used in the underworld. I just so happened to see it by chance in an ancient scripture a very long time ago," Qu Lin explained.

"Does the underworld really exist?" Han Li asked.

"It does. It's said to be the place where all living beings are reincarnated, but very few people can go there without first passing away, so it gradually became the stuff of legends," Qu Lin replied.

"Can you read infernal text, Fellow Daoist Qu?" Han Li asked.

This wasn't the first time that he had heard of the concept of reincarnation, and he had always been very curious about the underworld, but prior to this, he had never found any evidence that it truly existed.

"I only know such text exists, but I'm unable to comprehend it. Having said that, it looks like these pillars were erected to form a seal, so presumably, something must be sealed inside. It should be fine as long as we don't touch them," Qu Lin said, and Han Li nodded in response.

That was his assumption as well.

However, he was unsure of whether it was safe to walk through the path between the pillars.

He activated his Infernal Devilish Eyes and even took the risk of releasing his spiritual sense once again to examine the pillars, but was unable to find anything useful.

"Are you sure that Gold Devouring Immortal is up ahead, Fellow Daoist Qu?" Han Li asked.

"I'm certain that it's nearby. However, the presence of this infernal text here makes me feel a little apprehensive. I don't know if we'll encounter some unforeseen perils up ahead, so you'll have to make the decision on whether we continue onward from here," Qu Lin replied.

"We've already made it this far, it would be a huge pity to turn around now. Having said that, this is indeed a rather strange place, so from here onward, I'll lead the way. Fellow Daoist Qu, you can follow along behind me, while Fellow Daoist Lan brings up the rear," Han Li decided.

Lan Yan naturally raised no objections to this, while Qu Lin smiled as he said, "That would be ideal. I may be a Gold Devouring Immortal, but I have no weapons other than my physical body. Your powers far exceed my own, so with you leading the way, I'm sure we'll all be safe."

"In that case, let's keep going. Make sure to be on your guard," Han Li said.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Han," Lan Yan replied with a faint smile, then blinked twice at Han Li while Qu Lin wasn't looking.

With that, Han Li stepped into the hall, with Qu Lin and Lan Yan trailing along behind him.

After walking for a short distance, nothing happened.

However, Han Li remained alert and vigilant as he continued onward.

Right as they reached the center of the hall, the sound of faint rustling suddenly rang out from the stone pillars on either side of them.

The sound was very faint, but given Han Li's incredibly sharp senses, he was able to hear it right away.

"Something's happening!" he yelled as a layer of protective golden light appeared over his body.

Right at this moment, a series of writhing black shadows suddenly appeared over the stone pillars in the hall, and Han Li immediately stomped a foot down onto the ground upon seeing this, propelling himself forward like a speeding arrow.

Lan Yan hurriedly followed along upon seeing this, whereas Qu Lin shot back in retreat instead.

Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing this, but before he had a chance to do anything, streaks of black light suddenly shot out of the black shadows on the stone pillars like countless arrows, converging toward Han Li's trio from all directions.

The streaks of black light were giving off a high-pitched shriek, striking the listener with a sense of disorientation and nausea.

Han Li hurriedly channeled his Spirit Refinement Technique to stabilize his own soul, and at the same time, arcs of golden lightning emerged over his body, forming a series of golden lightning whips that lashed out in all directions to clash against the arrows of black light.

The lightning in Han Li's Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had all evolved to become Cardinal Heavenly Lightning, granting them a significant power boost, and the arcs of lightning were able to eradicate the arrows of black light with ease.

Meanwhile, Lan Yan had summoned a set of around a dozen flying daggers, which were revolving around her to form an intricate array that kept the oncoming arrows of black light at bay.

As for Qu Lin, his skin had turned a pure golden color, and he simply allowed the arrows of black light to strike him as he continued to fly back in retreat.

A string of resounding thumps rang out as the streaks of black light struck his body, but they were only able to leave some faint marks behind, and no substantial damage was inflicted.

In the blink of an eye, Qu Lin had already returned to the entrance of the stone hall, and his hands began to glow with radiant, golden light as he swept them through the air.

Two bursts of golden light flew out of the palms of his hands before striking a wall in the stone hall.

There were two very shallow indentations on the wall, and they were pulverized by the two streaks of golden light.

The streaks of black light shooting out of the stone pillars instantly became over ten times brighter, and they suddenly changed directions, piercing into the ground.

All of a sudden, a series of inky black infernal text runes emerged from the ground below, forming an enormous array that was giving a bone-chilling glacial aura.

Han Li instantly felt his entire body tighten up as he plummeted down onto the ground, and at the same time, countless strands of black light rose up from the array below to envelop his entire body.

In the blink of an eye, he was completely bound and immobilized, and the immortal spiritual power in his body had also become stagnant.

Lan Yan fared even worse, falling to the ground ahead of Han Li before she was also immobilized by the black array.

"What's the meaning of this, Qu Lin?" Han Li yelled.

He had never truly trusted Qu Lin, but he hadn't anticipated that Qu Lin would be so familiar with the restrictions in this place.

It was clear that his offer to take Han Li to Jin Tong for the price of fifty million Immortal Origin Stones had been nothing more than a ruse, and his objective all along was to lead them here.

"Thank you for bringing me into the Nine Origins Temple and taking me so close to the Gold Devouring Immortal, Fellow Daoist Han. You've saved me a great deal of trouble," Qu Lin said with a gleeful smile.

"You're also searching for that Gold Devouring Immortal? Have you been here before?" Han Li asked.

"Of course I'm searching for that Gold Devouring Immortal. Us Gold Devouring Immortals can only evolve by devouring our own kind. Additionally, that Gold Devouring Immortal devoured an avatar of mine, so I have to take back the power that it took from me," Qu Lin replied with a cold smile.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

The Gold Devouring Immortal that Jin Tong had devoured earlier had to have been the avatar in question.

"That's enough chit-chat. If I stay here any longer, Gui Lingzi is going to get here. Farewell," Qu Lin said as he turned to depart.

Right at this moment, the stone gate deep within the hall abruptly sprang open with a resounding boom, and gusts of howling yin wind swept through the hall as a huge, black shadow emerged before descending upon Han Li's trio.

Han Li and Lan Yan were already immobilized on the ground, and they were even more ensnared under the weight of the black shadow, with Lan Yan even falling onto her bottom.

"Shoot! He certainly wasted no time!" Qu Lin grumbled as he rubbed his hands together, and countless streaks of translucent light that resembled sword qi erupted out of his body, then combined to form a massive, golden sword projection to strike the black shadow up above.

A gash was instantly torn into the shadow, and Qu Lin's eyes lit up as he flew back the same way he had come from as a streak of golden light.

"To think you would dare to come back here after betraying and fleeing from the Nine Origins Temple all those years ago! I'm not letting you get away again!"

A piercing voice rang out up above as a giant, black claw the size of a house appeared out of thin air before making a grab for Qu Lin.

The claw was covered in scales, and the nails of its five fingers were riddled with special runes and patterns that were giving off unmatched power, easily scratching five huge rifts into the space in its path.

A loud thump rang out as Qu Lin's body was sliced into several pieces, but those pieces of his body then each transformed into a golden beetle that was around the size of a human head before racing away in a flash, instantly vanishing into the passageway leading into the stone hall.

The black shadow up above faded away, revealing a thin and gaunt black-robed young man with a bewildered look on his face.

Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of the black-robed man.

Gui Lingzi!

Share