The spiritual energy was restored, and he became a mortal immortal in two days.

Qingcheng Mountain, early morning

Before the fog had dissipated, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard on the mountain path.

The first to arrive was Kunlun Yuxuzi. He brought eight Kunlun elders, all of whom were in the late stage of the Golden Core realm, dressed in moon-white Daoist robes and with ancient swords hanging at their waists.

Upon entering the Taoist temple, Yu Xuzi bowed to Chen Xuan and then stood silently by the courtyard wall with a solemn expression.

The second group to arrive was Taiqingzi. This patriarch of Taiqing Temple had just recovered from his injuries, and his Taoist robe was still wrapped in bandages, but he insisted on coming in person.

Behind him followed three true disciples of the Taiqing Temple, each holding a jade box containing sacred healing medicines accumulated by the Taiqing Temple over a thousand years.

The third group was Pei Hanchuan. He came alone, dressed in a green robe and carrying a sword. His sword intent was restrained yet profound.

Ye Li followed behind, her face still somewhat pale, the injuries she sustained in the last battle in the Northern Frontier had not yet healed.

The fourth group was Shen Cangming. He came from the East Sea, flying on his sword the whole way without stopping, and his robes still smelled of the sea breeze when he landed.

He held in his arms an ancient sword wrapped in brocade, which was the treasure of the East Sea Sword Sect, the "Cangming Secondary Sword".

The fifth group was led by Ying Yuehua. This clan patriarch, Ying, was accompanied by three clan elders, each carrying a heavy black iron sword.

The Ying family has guarded the northern frontier for generations, and every member of the family is a tough and resilient person.

The sixth batch was Sha Wanli.

He had come from the Western Desert, his skin roughened by the wind and sand, but his eyes shone even brighter than before. After Chen Xuan completed the incomplete version of the Hunyuan Seal Technique, his cultivation showed signs of a breakthrough.

Finally, Wang Mingyuan arrived. He brought Ye Li, Lin Xiaoman, and three high-ranking members of Lingxiao, riding in Lingxiao's newly developed "Cloud Shuttle".

As the shuttle descended, it stirred up a gust of wind, causing the old plum trees in the courtyard to rustle.

The small Taoist temple courtyard has never been so lively.

Wu Minghuang stood in the courtyard as the host, her crimson-gold phoenix robe gleaming in the morning light.

Shangguan Wan'er stood beside her, holding a register in her hands, checking the identities of the guests one by one.

Lu Yao was busy moving stools and serving tea, her face flushed with excitement.

"Gentlemen."

Wu Minghuang spoke, her voice clear and melodious, "The reason we've gathered at Qingcheng Mountain today is something we all know perfectly well."

"The gentleman is here; please speak freely."

The group exchanged glances, and finally Yu Xuzi spoke first: "Holy Master, Kunlun has received news that there are unusual movements in the Western Desert's Sea of ​​Death. The aura of the Myriad Poison Ancestor... has reappeared after disappearing for three thousand years."

Taiqingzi continued, "Taiqing Temple's monitoring points in the southern border region have also detected anomalies."

"After the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Poisons emerged from the sand, he did not stay in the Western Desert, but headed towards the Central Plains."

"Not just a thousand poisons."

Pei Hanchuan's voice was deep, "At the Northern Frontier Demon Sect's headquarters, an aura that has been dormant for a thousand years has been awakened."

"That is the true patriarch of the Demonic Sect, Li Tianhun."

"He was already in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm a thousand years ago, and now that he has awakened, his cultivation level is probably only higher."

Shen Cangming added, "In the East China Sea, the seal on the Penglai waters is secure, but we have detected a strange fluctuation on the seabed, originating from... the Central Plains."

Ying Yuehua nodded: "The Northern Frontier Demon Suppression Tower also reacted."

"Although the seal in the tower has been reinforced by the Holy Master, the Nine Provinces Mystic Pearl has been rotating on its own these past few days, as if it is sensing something."

Sha Wanli spoke last, his voice hoarse: "Ancestor, the auras of the Myriad Poison Ancestor and Li Tianhun disappeared simultaneously after entering the territory of the ancient city of Fengdu in the Central Plains."

"It wasn't hiding, it wasn't escaping, but... being swallowed up by some stronger being."

"The tracking techniques of the Hunyuan Sect are infallible."

Silence fell over the courtyard.

The Ancestor of Ten Thousand Poisons, mid-stage Nascent Soul. Li Tianhun, late-stage Nascent Soul.

The two great demons, working together, were already invincible in the world. But these two great demons were actually "swallowed" at the same time.

To swallow their existence... how terrifying would that be?

Chen Xuan, who had been sitting with his eyes closed at the stone table, opened them at this moment: "Fengdu Ancient City, three thousand feet underground."

His voice was calm: "The main altar of the Netherworld Palace."

Wang Mingyuan stepped forward and brought up the holographic projection of the Lingxiao satellite.

In the projection, on a basin surrounded by black mountains in the heart of the Central Plains, stands the ruins of an ancient city shrouded in miasma.

Beneath the ruins, a nine-story inverted black palace can be vaguely seen, like nine layers of hell stacked on top of each other, each exuding a chilling aura of death.

"Fengdu Ancient City was once the entrance to the underworld in ancient times."

Wang Mingyuan's voice was solemn, "It was sealed by the major sects three thousand years ago, and has been a forbidden area ever since."

"But three months ago, the spiritual energy resurgence intensified, and the seal began to loosen. We sent three reconnaissance teams in, but none of them returned."

"The last team sent back a video before they died—"

He pulled up the video.

The footage shook violently. A Lingxiao scout, his face covered in blood, screamed into the camera: "The Netherworld Palace... has more than one master! Gu You is only the master of the Ninth Palace!"

"There are eight more halls above! And the master of each hall... is an ancient, powerful being!"

"They...they are waiting for someone...waiting for someone called 'Primordial'..."

The video was interrupted.

"In the beginning."

Pei Hanchuan frowned. "I've seen this name in the ancient books of the Sword Ruins."

"Ten thousand years ago, there was a powerful being who called himself 'Taichu' and another powerful being called 'Jiuyou' who joined forces to seal away the extraterrestrial demons."

"Later, the Primordial Ones vanished without a trace, and the Nine Netherworlds fell into the abyss. For ten thousand years, no one has seen them again."

All eyes turned to Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan remained silent for a long time before speaking: "Tai Chu was my alias ten thousand years ago."

The courtyard was deathly silent.

Ten thousand years. Not a thousand years, but ten thousand years.

The identity of the Holy Master can be traced back ten thousand years?

"The Nine Netherworlds..."

Wu Minghuang's voice trembled.

"Nine Netherworlds was once my only comrade-in-arms."

Chen Xuan's voice was calm, yet it carried a complexity that no one had ever heard before: "Ten thousand years ago, we sealed the rift in the heavens together and suppressed the entrance to the Netherworld together."

"He changed later."

He believed that sealing away the outer world was cowardly, and that the right path was to completely destroy it.

"He wanted me to remove the seal, let all the extraterrestrial demons descend, and then detonate the spiritual veins of the human world, so that we would all perish together."

I refused.

"He then fell into the Netherworld, using its power to refine himself, and became the Lord of the Netherworld Palace."

"He has been waiting for all these ten thousand years."

"Wait for the spiritual energy to recover, wait for the seal to loosen, wait for a chance to settle things with me."

The words had barely left his mouth—

"Buzz".

A dark imperial edict pierced through the sky.

The imperial edict, like a black lightning bolt, tore through the clouds above Mount Qingcheng and plunged straight into the Taoist temple courtyard.

When the decree was issued, the ground trembled, the old plum tree in the courtyard rustled its leaves, and the Cangming Sword emitted a deep sword sound from the bluestone.

The decree unfolded, and black flames burned on its surface, within which lines of golden text emerged:

"In the beginning, ten thousand years ago you sealed off the heavens and suppressed the netherworld, claiming to be the guardian of humanity."

"Today, I have opened the Nine Palaces of the Netherworld, gathering the power of all demons, and I wish to fight against your Tianmen Mountain."

"Victory! I shall be forever imprisoned in the netherworld, never to set foot in the mortal realm again."

"If you lose, remove the seal from the heavens and let the heavens descend. I will have my own ways to deal with it."

"Three days later, Tianmen Mountain."

"If they don't come—the entire world will be slaughtered."

Signed: Lord of the Netherworld Palace, Jiuyou.

The golden characters burned away completely, and the decree turned into a wisp of black smoke, dissipating into the air.

The courtyard was deathly silent.

Everyone watched the wisp of black smoke dissipate, their hearts filled with shock and disbelief.

The Lord of the Netherworld Palace, the Nine Nether True Man who was on par with the Holy Master ten thousand years ago, actually took the initiative to challenge him to a duel.

And his tone was so arrogant—"If you don't come, the whole world will be slaughtered"—what gave him the right?

"gentlemen."

Wu Minghuang grabbed Chen Xuan's sleeve, "You can't go."

"Since Jiuyou dares to challenge us, he must have something to rely on."

"He absorbed the Ten Thousand Poison Ancestor and Li Tianhun, and his cultivation level has probably reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage or even higher."

"You've just returned from the Western Desert, and you haven't fully recovered..."

"That's precisely why I have to go."

Chen Xuan interrupted her, his voice calm yet undeniable, "Nine Netherworld has waited for ten thousand years, waiting for me."

"If I don't go, he really will slaughter everyone in the world. I know his nature."

Shangguan Wan'er said softly, "Sir, Jiuyou said he has his own means to deal with the extraterrestrials."

What does he mean?

Chen Xuan was silent for a moment: "Ten thousand years ago, when the heavens were sealed, Jiu You secretly took the heart of a demon emperor from beyond the heavens. For the past ten thousand years, he has probably been refining that demon heart."

"The method he mentioned... is probably to merge with the demonic heart and use the power of the heavens to fight against the heavens."

"Fusing with the Demonic Heart?!"

Pei Hanchuan's expression changed drastically. "That's the origin of an extraterrestrial demon. After merging with it, will it still be itself?"

"That's why he challenged me to a fight."

Chen Xuan gazed into the distance, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. "He's almost unable to suppress his demonic heart. He challenged me to a duel, hoping I would kill him and destroy his demonic heart."

"But he was proud his whole life and would never ask for help."

"He would rather die at my hands than have my pity."

Everyone fell silent.

This is hardly a challenge.

This is clearly going to one's death.

A proud old friend, who had been proud for millennia, used the most resolute method to achieve his final redemption.

"gentlemen."

Wu Minghuang gripped his hand tightly, "I'll go with you."

Chen Xuan shook his head: "This battle is different from the past. After Jiu You merged with the Demon Heart, his cultivation level is at least at the Refinement Void Realm."

"You'll only be throwing your lives away."

He looked at Pei Hanchuan: "Hanchuan, if I don't come back, you will take over the Human Alliance."

"Wu Minghuang will assist you, while Taiqingzi, Yuxuzi, Shen Cangming, Sha Wanli, and Ying Yuehua will each guard a region."

"Remember—no matter what happens, hold Qingcheng Mountain. This is the last line of defense I left behind."

Pei Hanchuan knelt on one knee: "Master, your disciple will certainly not fail your trust."

The rest of them knelt down simultaneously: "We swear to protect Qingcheng Mountain to the death!"

Chen Xuan looked at the old friends kneeling all over the courtyard, remained silent for a moment, and then raised his hand to help them up: "Get up, all of you. I was just saying that in case, after living for nine thousand eight hundred years, it's not that easy to die."

With red eyes, Lu Yao rushed over and hugged his arm: "Senior brother, you have to come back. You promised to teach me the Cangming Sword Technique."

Chen Xuan ruffled her hair: "Don't worry, I'll teach you when we get back."

Late at night, atop Mount Qingcheng

The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the cliff edge.

Chen Xuan sat alone on the cliff, the Cangming Sword lying across his knees.

The lights in the Taoist temple at the foot of the mountain gradually went out, and everyone had settled down to rest.

Light footsteps sounded. Wu Minghuang came over carrying a pot of hot tea and sat down beside him.

"What are you thinking about, sir?"

"Thinking of the Nine Netherworlds."

Chen Xuan took the teacup, looking at the bright moon reflected in it, "Ten thousand years ago, on Tianmen Mountain, he and I sealed the heavens side by side."

"At that time he said—In the beginning, if one day I fall into evil ways, you must kill me with your own hands."

He paused for a moment: "I thought he was joking at the time. Little did I know... his words would come true."

Wu Minghuang said softly, "Sir, does Jiuyou... really have no other way out?"

"The demonic heart has been inside his body for ten thousand years, and has long since merged with his divine soul."

"Once the demonic heart is fully awakened, the consciousness of the extraterrestrial demon emperor will devour him and descend to the mortal realm in his body."

"By then, it won't just be him who dies, but also hundreds of millions of other lives on earth."

Chen Xuan's voice was low and deep. "His challenge to me was the last bit of dignity he wanted to retain before his demonic heart was fully awakened."

"He didn't want to die meaninglessly. He wanted to die by my hand—by the hand of an old friend who stood shoulder to shoulder with him in sealing the heavens ten thousand years ago."

Wu Minghuang grasped his hand: "Sir, will you be saddened by killing an old friend?"

Chen Xuan remained silent for a long time.

"meeting."

He said softly, "I have lived for nine thousand eight hundred years and killed countless enemies, but I have never killed an old friend. Jiuyou... is the first."

"And the last one."

Wu Minghuang stopped talking, simply leaning on his shoulder and watching the bright moon with him.

Another set of footsteps sounded.

Shangguan Wan'er walked over, holding a neatly folded blue robe in her hands.

"Sir, this was sewn by your disciple overnight."

She unfolded her blue robe, revealing a line of small embroidered characters on the inside of the lapel: "May you return safely, sir."

"This disciple's cultivation is too low to accompany Master to the battlefield."

"I can only... I can only sew one garment for you, sir."

Chen Xuan took the blue robe, looked at the small characters on it, remained silent for a moment, and then said softly, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

He stood up and draped the blue robe over his shoulders. The new clothes fit him perfectly, the stitches fine and dense, each stitch embodying his worries and hopes.

"I'm going to rest."

Chen Xuan turned and walked towards the Taoist temple. "You should all get some sleep too. Tomorrow... we still have to travel."

Wu Minghuang and Shangguan Wan'er looked at his back, exchanged a glance, and saw the same determination in each other's eyes.

"Wan'er, what if Master doesn't come back..."

Wu Minghuang said softly.

There are no "ifs".

Shangguan Wan'er interrupted her, "The master will definitely come back. He said—having lived for nine thousand eight hundred years, he won't die so easily."

Wu Minghuang smiled: "You're right."

She stood up and looked at the bright moon in the night sky: "He said he would come back, and he definitely will."

"He didn't come back three hundred years ago because he didn't know I was waiting for him."

"He knows this in this life—so he will definitely come back."

Three days later, Tianmen Mountain

Tianmen Mountain remains as it was 300 years ago, with two sheer cliffs facing each other, like a gate to heaven opening up.

The "human line" drawn by Chen Xiang in his younger days still remains on the cliff face. The sword energy mark that runs across the mountain is still as clear as ever after three hundred years of wind and rain.

Chen Xuan stood alone before the Line of Humanity.

He changed into a new blue robe sewn by Shangguan Wan'er, with the Cangming sword hanging at his waist.

The mountain wind howled, blowing his robes and long hair.

At the end of the mountain path, a dark figure slowly walked towards them.

Lord of the Underworld, Jiuyou.

He was dressed in a jet-black imperial robe, embroidered with nine underworld dragons, each with a ghostly green flame burning in its eye socket.

His face was as pale as paper, his features were so handsome they were almost otherworldly, and there was a black line resembling a vertical pupil between his eyebrows.

The most bizarre thing was his chest; where the imperial robe was open, a pitch-black heart was beating, and with each beat it emitted a dense, otherworldly demonic aura.

He walked a hundred paces away from Chen Xuan and stopped.

The two looked at each other.

Ten thousand years have passed in silence.

"In the beginning."

Jiuyou spoke first, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping, "It's been ten thousand years, you've aged."

"Nine Netherworlds".

Chen Xuan said calmly, "It's been ten thousand years. Have you gone mad?"

Jiuyou was taken aback, then burst into laughter. His hoarse, piercing laughter echoed through Tianmen Mountain: "Mad? Perhaps."

"After merging with this demonic heart, I myself can't tell whether I am Jiuyou or the Demon Emperor from beyond the heavens."

He pointed to the beating heart in his chest: "With each beat, it whispers a word in my ear."

"It has spoken 3.65 million sentences in 10,000 years."

"Every single sentence is—'Kill the beginning, destroy the world.'"

"But I didn't listen."

Jiuyou's smile twisted. "I've endured for ten thousand years, waiting for this day."

"Taichu, do you know why I chose Tianmen Mountain?"

Chen Xuan did not answer.

"Because ten thousand years ago, right here, we sealed off the heavens together."

Jiuyou looked around and said, "At that time, I said, 'Tai Chu, if one day I fall into the demonic path, you must kill me with your own hands.'"

"You promised, and today, it's your turn to keep your promise."

Chen Xuan remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "Is there no other way?"

"no."

Jiuyou shook his head, "The demonic heart has become one with my soul. If I were to separate the demonic heart, I would surely die."

"If I don't detach myself, the Demon Emperor's consciousness will eventually devour me."

"I'm going to die either way, so I might as well die by your hand."

He smiled, a self-deprecating smile on his face: "I have roamed the Nine Netherworlds for ten thousand years, and I refuse to die at the hands of demons."

"To die by the Primordial Sword can be considered... a peaceful end."