Prehistoric: The female saint Shiji, brilliant and talented

A rumor suddenly flashed through Shi Ji's mind: the father of the former Queen of the Underworld was a renowned and powerful figure in the Underworld who possessed an extremely powerful magic weapon. The core power source of that magic weapon was the Netherworld Karmic Fire.

Unfortunately, this magical artifact was later lost by accident and its whereabouts have been unknown ever since.

The fact that the Underworld Empress can now control such pure Netherworld Karmic Fire is probably inseparable from her father's experience in searching for magical treasures. Perhaps her father did not completely lose the magical treasures back then, but passed on part of the method of controlling Netherworld Karmic Fire to her.

Thinking of this, Shi Ji became even more vigilant.

To be able to raise a powerful figure like the Underworld Empress, her father must also be an extremely extraordinary person. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to allow his daughter to control such a powerful force in the Underworld, and she might even have a very high status and influence in the Underworld.

Just as Shi Ji was pondering, the Netherworld Flames suddenly changed direction and began to dance around the Black Flame Crow Gourd in his hand.

The flames continuously struck the surface of the gourd, producing a sizzling sound.

With a series of sounds, the defensive barrier on the gourd's outer layer began to show fine cracks, clearly indicating that the Netherworld Karmic Fire wanted to break through the barrier and devour the Black Flame Crow Gourd.

Upon seeing this, Shi Ji's lips twitched violently.

He hadn't expected the Netherworld Karmic Fire to be so terrifying. Even the Black Flame Crow Gourd, which was specifically designed to suppress evil spirits, couldn't withstand its corrosive power. If the stalemate continued, the gourd would probably be completely burned.

Shi Ji dared not linger any longer. She immediately put the Black Flame Crow Gourd back into her storage bag, and at the same time, she used her spiritual power to protect herself. She then quickly flew towards the depths of the ancient castle.

He traveled through layers of artificial mountains and decaying palace ruins, finally stopping in a secluded corner.

Before them appeared a stone staircase suspended in mid-air. The staircase was made entirely of dark rock, and its surface was covered with blurry ancient runes, as if it contained some kind of mysterious power.

Around the stone steps, billowing black mist swirled, much denser than the previous one, almost solidified. Faintly, one could hear eerie, terrifying low roars emanating from the mist, hoarse and shrill, like the agonizing screams of countless dead souls.

Upon hearing this deep roar, Shi Ji couldn't help but frown.

The sound didn't sound like the howl of an ordinary evil spirit; rather, it sounded more like the roar of the legendary demon race.

"Could it be that the Ghost Clan is hidden within this black mist? Perhaps even their ancestors?"

Shi Ji narrowed her eyes slightly, her heart filled with curiosity and vigilance.

He carefully climbed the stone steps and looked down at the bottom of the steps.

Upon seeing this, Shi Ji's expression instantly changed—a colossal skeleton was found coiled within the black mist below the steps.

The skeleton had existed for an unknown number of years. Its surface was covered with mottled marks, some of the bones had decayed and crumbled, and the remaining clothing on the body was tattered and worn, with only a few torn strips of cloth fluttering in the wind. The skeleton's chest cavity and limbs were covered with a layer of dark green lividity, emitting a pungent smell of decay.

Although the skeleton had long since lost its life, Shi Ji could still feel a terrifying pressure emanating from deep within its bones.

This pressure was extremely powerful, far exceeding that of ordinary Emperor Realm cultivators, and even made him feel a chill down his spine.

"This skeleton actually belonged to a powerful emperor!"
Moreover, judging from the level of the oppressive aura, it seems to be an ancient Emperor-level Great Emperor!

Shi Ji was shocked. He simply couldn't imagine why such a powerful being would remain here in the form of skeletons.

This great emperor had been dead for countless years, yet he still exuded such a terrifying aura, which greatly shocked Shi Ji.

"Could it be that this being's cultivation level had reached the Immortal Emperor level during his lifetime? Only after his death did his cultivation level drop, revealing the aura of an Emperor?"

Shi Ji couldn't help but secretly speculate.

To verify his idea, he carefully observed the skeleton's skeletal structure and rune markings, only to discover that the skeleton's cultivation level in life was actually only at the peak of the Emperor realm.

"How could a cultivator at the Emperor Realm be sitting in this place? And how could he exude such terrifying pressure?"

A look of confusion appeared in Shi Ji's eyes, her heart filled with bewilderment.

"Could it be that there's more to this skeleton than meets the eye? Perhaps it's not an ordinary emperor, but possesses some special power, or is connected to a powerful force?"

Shi Ji pondered in his mind. Although he really wanted to go down and investigate more closely to obtain more clues, his reason told him that this skeleton was definitely not simple. If he approached rashly, he might trigger unknown dangers, or even awaken some kind of power within the skeleton. The consequences would be unimaginable.

After careful consideration, Shi Ji decided to temporarily abandon further exploration.

He took out the Black Flame Crow Gourd, carefully opened the gourd's mouth, and aimed the gourd at the Netherworld Karmic Fire emanating from around the skeleton.

The gourd suddenly unleashed a powerful suction force, drawing the stray karmic fire into it bit by bit.

These Netherworld Flames are extremely precious and may come in very handy in the future. Shi Ji plans to collect them first and then slowly study the secrets of this skeleton when she has the opportunity.

After collecting the Netherworld Flames, Shi Ji didn't linger and quickly flew out of the castle.

Along the way, he avoided the remaining evil spirits and restrictions, successfully leaving the dangerous castle and returning to the eighth level of the abyss where he had been before.

"Master, you're finally out!"

As soon as I stepped into the abyss, a familiar voice came from there.

The white jade toad was anxiously pacing around in place. When it saw Shi Ji's figure, it became very excited and quickly hopped over to greet her.

Shi Ji nodded slightly in response.

He could sense that the white jade toad had been secretly guarding the exit to prevent the remnants of the underworld from launching a sneak attack, which warmed his heart.

"Congratulations, Master, on breaking through to the Emperor level!"

After your seclusion this time, your aura is far stronger than before; it's as if you've undergone a complete transformation!

The white jade toad circled Shi Ji twice, carefully sensing his cultivation fluctuations, and then excitedly congratulated him.

Shi Ji then realized that during her fierce battle with the Netherworld Saint King, she had unexpectedly broken through her bottleneck by using the power of the Heaven-Mending Technique and the Immortal-Slaying Formation, raising her cultivation level from the mid-Emperor Realm to the Emperor Sect level.

Although this seclusion was not intentional, it yielded fruitful results, and Shi Ji couldn't help but show an expression of ecstatic joy.

However, he quickly composed himself, remembering the important purpose of his trip, and asked, "By the way, now that I have killed the Underworld Empress, I cannot find any clues about the Underworld Flower in her memories. Do you know how to find the Underworld Flower?"

Upon hearing this, the white jade toad quickly suppressed its joyful expression and replied earnestly, "Master, the Underworld Flower is extremely rare in the Underworld. It does not grow randomly, but only blooms in specific areas along the Yellow Springs River."

Moreover, the banks of the River of the Underworld are quite far from here. To reach them, one must use the pure waters of the Underworld as a medium to open a spatial passage to the riverbank; otherwise, it's impossible to even get close, let alone pick the Underworld Flower. "Oh? I see."

Shi Ji nodded, having found her direction, and immediately said, "In that case, let's head to the Yellow Springs River right away and try to find the Underworld Flower as soon as possible!"

"As you command, Master!"

The white jade toad dared not be negligent and quickly responded.

It leaped onto Shi Ji's shoulder, guiding him, and the two flew together toward the Yellow Springs River.

The Yellow Springs River is more than 3,000 miles away from the eighth abyss. Along the way, one must not only cross barren deserts and treacherous canyons, but may also encounter ferocious beasts from the underworld.

Most of these ferocious beasts are extremely powerful, and if they encounter a powerful Emperor-level beast, they may even face a life-or-death crisis.

Fortunately, Shi Ji possessed the "Technique of Void Travel".

This unparalleled divine ability is a top-tier void secret technique passed down from ancient times. It can briefly tear through space to perform long-distance teleportation at extremely high speed.

No matter how many powerful beasts were along the way, even those at the Emperor level, none of them could detect his presence, let alone stop him from traversing the void.

The two sped along and soon covered most of the distance.

Just then, Shi Ji suddenly heard a shrill scream coming from the valley on her right.

A thought struck him, and he stopped his spatial traversal, looking in the direction from which the sound came.

In the valley, a group of soldiers clad in silver armor and wielding spears were seen attacking dozens of large, vicious dogs.

These vicious dogs were entirely black, had three heads, and spewed black poisonous mist from their mouths. They were the famous "Three-Headed Netherhounds" of the underworld, with strength comparable to a cultivator in the early stage of the Emperor Realm.

The battle was extremely fierce. Although the soldiers were well-coordinated, the three-headed hounds were numerous and fearless. The soldiers gradually fell into a disadvantageous position, and several of them were bitten by the hounds and lay on the ground on the verge of death.

The soldiers were all dressed in standard armor, with golden auspicious cloud patterns engraved on it. The weapons in their hands emitted a holy light, and they were surrounded by a majestic aura. They were clearly a well-trained regular army.

Upon seeing the group's attire, Shi Ji was suddenly startled—he recognized this army; it was none other than the Heavenly Court's army!

The leader, clad in dull armor long since lost its luster and covered with deep claw marks and corrosion marks, had a ghostly green soul fire flickering in its eye sockets that was several times more intense than that of the other Yin soldiers. It let out a sharp, piercing mental shriek, brandishing the nearly broken ghost-headed blade in its hand, and commanding the Yin soldiers to surge forward like a tide.

However, this surging offensive appeared so fragile and vulnerable in the face of Shi Ji's ninety-nine flying swords, each imbued with an unparalleled will to kill.

As the net of light woven from flying swords swept past, the commander and the hundreds of Yin soldiers around him were instantly annihilated into the purest Yin energy and vanished without a trace.

The remaining ghostly soldiers, having lost effective command, became even more chaotic, especially after Shi Ji subsequently unleashed the colossal, mountain-like "Stone Sword of Annihilation."

With a single blow, they completely collapsed and fled into the depths of the vast ghost realm, disappearing without a trace.

Shi Ji did not pursue. He slowly lowered his body and his gaze fell on the edge of the battlefield.

There, scattered among the bones were some unusual ones.

These were not the remains of those low-level Yin soldiers from before. Their bones faintly gleamed with a jade-like luster, and even after countless years of erosion, one could still sense a trace of extraordinary energy fluctuations within them.

Even more striking are the fragments of armor and weapons that, though broken, still reveal their exquisite craftsmanship and precious materials, which accompany these skeletons.

His steps stopped in front of a relatively intact skeleton.

The armor on this skeleton was the most severely damaged, almost torn to shreds, but a jade identification token half-hidden under the broken armor caught Shi Ji's attention.

The jade plaque is engraved with three large ancient seal characters: Lu Mingzhong.

This name, like a pebble thrown into an ancient well, stirred up ripples in the depths of Shiji's memory.

He remembered it; it was an old story he had heard long ago when he was still active within the Heavenly Court's sphere of influence.

It is said that the Heavenly Court once dispatched a general named Lu Mingzhong to lead an elite celestial army to a remote and desolate star field to hunt down a group of rampant demons.

However, the mission seems to have failed; the demon leader escaped, and Lu Mingzhong and his men have disappeared without a trace.

Later, the Heavenly Court dispatched an even stronger team of experts, including the then-renowned Heavenly Court Vice General, known as the "First Warrior."

Li Yingqiong and others, known as the "leaders," went to handle the aftermath and continued the pursuit.

However, the final outcome was that the team sent later was also completely wiped out, with no one surviving.

Unexpectedly, Lu Mingzhong's burial place was deep within this underworld.

His body had long been devoured by an unknown entity, leaving only a skeleton.

His armor, which should have been an imperial-level weapon and extremely precious, had now lost all its spirituality and was no different from ordinary iron, lying scattered on the ground.

Not only his, but looking around, the scattered bones and weapon fragments were all made of rare divine materials used to forge top-tier divine weapons and armor. The core parts of some of the broken armor pieces even met the basic requirements for forging imperial weapons!

Armor of Emperor-level quality!

What a precious existence it is! Its defensive power is heaven-defying. Even if an ordinary Immortal Emperor-level expert exerts all his strength, he may not be able to break through its defense in a short time.

However, these materials used to make imperial weapons, which should have lasted for eternity and shone brightly, were scattered on the ground like scrap metal, turning into dust of history along with their owners.

The scene exuded an indescribable eeriness and terror.

What kind of terrifying power or being could cause such utter destruction? Even an Emperor-level weapon couldn't withstand it?

A gloomy feeling settled over Shi Ji's heart.

He carefully stepped over the ruins that once represented glory and power, and continued toward the heart of the area.

The deeper one goes, the more stagnant the surrounding air becomes, an invisible pressure spreading out, as if even much of the light is being swallowed up, and visibility grows increasingly dim. (End of Chapter)