You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

"Boom boom boom!"

The muffled thuds continued, and the gray space was filled with flickering light and shadow, with residual energy radiating outwards. Chen Yang, in the quiet room, had beads of sweat on his forehead; this kind of all-out effort from a distance was quite taxing on his mental energy.

However, after a barrage of attacks, the result left him extremely frustrated.

That spatial barrier seemed to possess infinite resilience; no matter how many spells were unleashed, it remained unmoved, at most rippling a few times, silently absorbing and dissolving all the energy of the attacks. It wasn't even broken, not even leaving a decent dent.

"Huh...huh..."

Chen Yang's spiritual phantom appeared somewhat "dimmed" in this space, a sign of excessive mental exertion.

He stopped his futile attack, a sense of powerlessness washing over him. Was force not working?
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Anger wouldn't solve the problem; this bead clearly couldn't be broken by brute force. Thinking about the bead's origin and possible function, as well as his current predicament, his thoughts shifted, and his attitude suddenly changed.

Chen Yang suppressed all aggression, his spiritual fluctuations became calm, and even carried a hint of sincerity as he spoke to the empty space.

"Senior? Or... an unknown being? I, Chen Yang, have no intention of offending you. Obtaining this precious pearl was purely by chance. If I have offended you in any way, or violated any taboos, please show yourself so that I may explain or make amends. I have absolutely no intention of forcibly taking or destroying it; I only wish to understand the situation and find a way out."

These words were much more polite, carrying a sense of probing and de-escalation.

Shortly after he finished speaking, a strange change occurred!

The once solid, gray spherical barrier suddenly began to melt and disintegrate at a visible speed, like ice and snow under the sun! It wasn't broken, but rather it disintegrated on its own, turning into specks of light that dissipated.

Before Chen Yang's consciousness could even register the surprise, the "ground" beneath his feet vanished instantly.

He felt an irresistible sense of weightlessness, and his entire consciousness plummeted downwards!
"what happened?!"

All around was endless darkness and nothingness, with no reference points, only a persistent, intense feeling of falling, as if plummeting into a bottomless abyss. Time lost its meaning here, leaving only eternal falling and solitude.

"Where am I going to fall to? Is my divine consciousness really going to 'die' here? No, divine consciousness is formless, how could it die from a fall? This is still an illusion or a test!"

A realization flashed through Chen Yang's mind, but the overwhelming sense of panic from the impending fall was incredibly real, attempting to shatter his composure.

After an unknown amount of time had passed since the "fall," just as Chen Yang's consciousness began to feel somewhat hazy and numb, a bright light suddenly appeared below, which then rapidly expanded!
"boom!"

There was no impact or pain as expected, only a sudden, tangible feeling of "landing," and at the same time, the scenery in front of me suddenly became clear.

Chen Yang suddenly "opened his eyes" and found himself standing on solid ground. A gentle breeze caressed his face, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees mixed with a faint spiritual energy.

He looked around, his pupils suddenly contracting.

The familiar outlines of floating islands dot the pale golden sea of ​​clouds, while in the distance lies the silhouette of that magnificent yet eerie core landmass. Beneath our feet lies a small but well-organized island, in the center of which sits a quiet, quaint town with blue bricks, gray tiles, and stone-paved streets.

This place... is the very floating island he visited before with Gu Jinghui and Uncle Li, the one where they discovered a large number of ancient books and documents! Even the location of the crooked old locust tree at the entrance of the town is exactly the same!
"Mysterious Netherworld Cave Heaven? How did I end up here again?"

Chen Yang was deeply shaken.

He immediately checked himself and found that he was not a physical being, but still in a state of consciousness. However, he was solid in this place like a real person, and could clearly feel the breeze, see colors, smell odors, and had all five senses.

He tried to circulate his internal magical power, but found it completely empty. The connection between himself and his physical body had become extremely weak, as if separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. The sensation of the Yin Marshal's authority had also almost disappeared.

"It's not the real Xuanyou Cave Heaven... it's an illusion! Or rather, it's an extremely realistic illusionary space projected and constructed by this bead based on my memories!"

Chen Yang quickly made a judgment. What was their purpose? To trap me? Or did they want me to see something?
He walked along the familiar street, the town still deserted and eerily silent, with only the echo of his own footsteps. Shop doors and windows were tightly shut, as if time had frozen there.

"You... want me to understand this place? To understand this 'Mysterious and Netherworld'?"

Chen Yang stopped and looked at the empty street, asking in a deep voice.

He wasn't addressing a specific person; it was more like he was speaking to this illusory space or to the entity controlling the beads.

There was no response.

But the moment he asked that question, Chen Yang keenly sensed that the "atmosphere" of the surrounding space seemed to have undergone an extremely subtle change. The lingering, purely confining feeling had subtly gained a guiding quality.

"Sure enough it is."

Chen Yang understood.

But this guidance is too subtle. Does it mean he should go through the entire exploration process again? Or try to understand something here? Aimless wandering is not a solution.

He frowned, pondering a way to escape. Forcing his way in was out of the question, but following this vague guidance led nowhere. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him!
"I am the Yin General, in charge of the Yin-Yang order. Although this place is an illusion, trapping my consciousness, it is ultimately a contest at the level of soul consciousness. And I... have the power to return to the living! Even for myself, it has the effect of stabilizing the soul and anchoring it to reality!"

With that thought in mind, Chen Yang no longer hesitated.

He immediately sat cross-legged, clearing his mind of all distractions, and silently practiced a secret technique from the "Mysterious Yin Soul-Seizing and Spirit-Slaying Great Art" that combined with the authority of the underworld—

It wasn't an attack, but rather a "Soul-Fixing and Resurrection Technique" to stabilize his own soul's origin and strengthen its anchor to his mortal body. This technique is usually used to treat mortals whose souls have left their bodies or been injured, but now he was using it to combat the illusion's stripping and bewitching of consciousness.

"Soul, return! Spirit, do not stray! Anchor in the mortal world, rely on the underworld. May the three souls be secure, and the seven spirits return to their true form. By decree!"

As the incantation in his mind was completed, a cool yet incredibly resilient power surged from the deepest part of his consciousness, like an invisible thread that crossed the boundary between illusion and reality, suddenly taut, with the other end firmly tied to his original soul in the Qingwei Sect pavilion!
"Om-!"

The entire illusionary landscape of "Mysterious Cave Heaven" began to shake violently, like a reflection in water being thrown onto a boulder, twisting and shattering! The island beneath their feet, the distant suspended mountain, the golden sea of ​​clouds... everything peeled away like a faded painting.

Chen Yang felt a powerful pulling force, and the scene in front of him receded rapidly, blurred, and finally turned into a chaotic darkness.

"Ahem! Ahem!"

In the quiet room, Chen Yang suddenly opened his eyes, his body leaned forward uncontrollably, he coughed violently a few times, his forehead was covered with fine cold sweat, and his face was slightly pale.

He was breathing heavily, his heart pounding, feeling a sense of exhaustion as if he had just survived a disaster.

He immediately looked down at his palm, where the dark red World Spirit Orb still lay quietly, though the swirling nebula inside seemed to have dimmed slightly.

"That was close... What a bizarre thing!"

Chen Yang was still shaken. If he hadn't been quick-witted and used the secret technique within the underworld's authority targeting the origin of the soul to forcibly "return to life," he probably would have been trapped in the illusion created by the bead, and wouldn't know when he would have been able to escape.

He dared not be presumptuous any longer and quickly put the beads back into the brocade box.

With a "snap," he tightly closed the box, then affixed several of his own hand-drawn soul-suppressing talismans to it. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief and carefully put the brocade box into the deepest part of his storage bag.

"We can't touch this thing easily for now. We need to find out how to use it through other means... Perhaps, someone knows something about it."

Chen Yang's eyes flickered as he thought of the instigator of that blatant lie. With a thought, a dark, ancient procession banner appeared in his hand. The banner moved without wind, emitting a chilling, eerie light.

With a wave of his procession banner, Chen Yang forcibly pulled out a pale blue, somewhat ethereal figure, which landed on the ground and staggered a few steps before regaining its balance. It was the soul of the palace-dressed girl, "Li Yue," but now her soul was even more transparent than before, her face filled with fear and resentment.

As soon as she appeared, her gaze swept quickly, and when she saw the window, she immediately transformed into a green shadow and tried to escape.

"Humph!"

Chen Yang snorted coldly, and the procession banner in his hand trembled slightly.

"Crash!"

Several illusory chains, formed from pure Yin magic and invisible to the naked eye, shot out from the parade banner. They arrived first, easily catching up with Qingying, binding her tightly, and dragging her back.

"what!"

The Liyue spirit emitted a painful shriek, and hissing blue smoke rose from the places where it was bound by chains.

These chains specifically damage the soul's essence, causing pain a hundred times more intense than physical pain.

"Let me go! You bastard! You despicable! Shameless! Why are you holding me captive! I have no grudge against you!"

Unable to struggle, Li Yue could only scream and curse, her once beautiful face contorted with pain and rage.

Chen Yang looked at her expressionlessly.

"No enmity? You deceived me, used me, lured me to the Xuan You Palace, tried to possess my body and resurrect me, and then wanted to kill me to silence me. Is that what you call no enmity? It's only right to arrest you."

"I...I was just trying to protect myself! I had no other choice!"

Liyue offered a sophistry.

"Who knows if you're in cahoots with those who harmed me back then!"

"Alright, stop with that."

Chen Yang interrupted impatiently.

"I have no interest in hearing your new stories. I'm asking you, what exactly is that red bead in the brocade box, the core of the spirit realm? Why was I trapped in an illusionary space when I probed it with my divine sense, and almost couldn't get out? Is it trying to trap people in the illusion of the Mysterious Netherworld Cave forever?"

Li Yue's eyes flickered as she avoided Chen Yang's sharp gaze, feigning a pitiful appearance.

"I...I don't know either. My lord, although I obtained that bead by chance back then, I have never truly refined or controlled it. I only know that it is the core of the cave, but I don't know its specific mysteries."

I myself am a victim, trapped by it and that cave for millennia! Please, have mercy and let me go! I truly didn't mean to kill you; I only lied to you. I was just trying to escape, to survive!

She pleaded repeatedly, her voice filled with sorrow, trying to evoke Chen Yang's pity.

Chen Yang remained unmoved and coldly shook his head.

"Don't know? Do you take me for a three-year-old? You went to great lengths to leave behind this brocade box, guiding people to find your physical body and this pearl. How could you not know its dangers? As long as you don't understand the matter of the Realm Spirit, you can forget about leaving this patrol banner."

He paused, his tone turning cold.

"When I took you in before, I only imprisoned you; I didn't let you experience the torment of punishing the spirits within the patrol banners. It seems I was too lenient. Since you're so stubborn, then go in and 'enjoy' it for yourself!"

I will activate the Soul Refining Array within the banner, letting you taste a flavor far worse than the eighteen levels of hell, so you'll know what price you'll pay for deceiving and manipulating me, Chen Yang!

Upon hearing the words "Soul Refining Array" and "Eighteen Levels of Hell," Li Yue's soul trembled violently, and her face finally revealed genuine fear.

The mere thought of the torture inflicted on the soul sent chills down her spine.

"No! Don't! I'll tell you... I might know a little!"

she screamed.

"But that bead is really strange, I'm just guessing! You have to promise to let me go first, then I'll tell you!"

"At this point, you still dare to negotiate with me?"

Chen Yang's eyes were icy cold. He stopped talking and the patrol banner in his hand shone brightly, a powerful suction force enveloping Li Yue.

"I really don't know everything! It's no use for you to refine me—" Li Yue's scream came to an abrupt halt as her entire soul was forcibly absorbed into the pilgrimage banner. A pale blue shadow on the banner struggled and twisted a few times before falling into complete silence. Only a faint, painful fluctuation of soul power could be heard.

Chen Yang expressionlessly put away the parade banner.

This woman is cunning and treacherous. Even if she's telling the truth now, she's bound to be holding back. It's better to punish her severely first, to wear down her luck and cunning. The secret of the Realm Spirit Pearl can't be rushed. Perhaps after things are settled on the Jianghe side, or after my cultivation breaks through again, I'll have other methods.

He checked the storage bag to make sure the brocade box was sealed properly before getting up, pushing open the door of the quiet room, and walking out.

It was already afternoon outside, and the slanting sunlight bathed the Qingwei Sect's many halls in a golden glow. Disciples were practicing martial arts in the square, their shouts echoing faintly, full of youthful vigor.

Chen Yang had just reached the plaza in front of the hall, intending to check on the disciples' cultivation, when his cell phone rang. It was Gu Jinghui.

"Hey, Chen Yang! Are you still on the mountain?"

Gu Jinghui's voice was tinged with tension and urgency.

"Yes, what's up? I just got back a short while ago."

Chen Yang asked.

"Something's happened!"

Gu Jinghui speaks very quickly.

“I just went to our back mountain as usual to patrol the area near the entrance to the Xuan You Cave Heaven. Guess what? I found that the cave entrance that we sealed with boulders and formations... seems to be loosening!”
It wasn't the kind of damage caused by human intervention; it was more like... energy fluctuations from inside seeped out, affecting the outer seal and stones, causing them to shift slightly and spiritual energy to dissipate! I feel... as if someone came out from inside, or... something 'moved' inside!

Chen Yang frowned.

"Are you sure? Has the formation been triggered with any warnings?" (End of Chapter)