Chapter 425: Chapter 143 Nether City
The dark sky was ignited by an unknown light; within the sudden illumination, a majestic mountain city stood tall and imposing.
The mountain city was built against the mountain, with city walls made of rugged rocks, winding and undulating with the terrain, extremely precipitous.
This place is known as "Nether City," adjacent to Wushan, and is the largest gathering place for the adherents of the Devil God Sect.
As for Wushan, which is said to have existed in the past, it is not a place where ordinary sect members could enter, and not everyone is willing to operate under the watchful eye of the Great Venerable, such as...
Undercover agents.
Even if they knew their identities were exposed, undercover agents were not willing to take a trip to Wushan.
In Wushan, if the Great Venerable truly had the intent to kill, then not even immortals could save a person.
It’s not just undercover agents; even the strong members of the Devil God Sect may not wish to enter Wushan, and they may not be particularly loyal to the Great Venerable.
The eight fourth-grade experts of the Devil God Sect, known to outsiders as the Eight Desolate Evil Gods, are said to have not stayed in Wushan all year round. Among them, the Huai River True God Wuzhiqi has been building his influence in the south, without stepping a half step into Liangzhou Province for over a hundred years.
For demon, ghost, and monster alike, the Great Venerable is like a towering pillar of white jade, a purple-gold beam across the sea, a strong leg they must cling to; but for the fourth-grade experts, this is not necessarily the case.
With fourth-grade strength, there is no place in the world they cannot go; at most, they simply take a detour when encountering a third-grade expert.
They can protect themselves, so why would they let someone stand above them?
Although the reality is that the Great Venerable stands above them, they can pretend he does not exist.
For various reasons, a Nether City emerged within these dark mountains, which not only facilitated the cultivators of the Devil God Sect to stick together but also provided a foothold for those waiting to enter Wushan when it was not yet revealed.
However, as more and more cultivators gathered, Nether City gradually developed and has now become similar to a ghost market. Inside, there is everything one could imagine; even some forces from other places would come to Nether City in disguise to do business.
"Eh?"
The Holy Infant King flew high and looked toward the mountain city, "Today’s Nether City seems especially lively."
"With one command from the Great Venerable, the whole Liangzhou Province is bustling, and how could Nether City not be lively?"
Ashuren hummed lightly and said, "It’s probably someone fleeing after a killing or bringing good loot to Nether City to launder."
"There are quite a few old timers in Nether City," the Rashamon whispered with a faint smile, "Predecessor, you might encounter an old friend of Taibai True Monarch."
An old friend of Taibai True Monarch...
The Holy Infant King and Ashuren tensed up at the same time, feeling an urge to stay away from "Li Qinglian."
However, when they looked at Jiang Li, they saw that he had already retracted his ever-changing Qi Mechanism and revealed a calm demeanor, gazing into the distance toward the dark void behind the mountain city.
There, the massive mountain peak seemed to appear and disappear, with shadowy, indistinct ghostly figures emerging upon the mountain, a vaguely discernible dragon shape.
"Predecessor, looking for Wushan?"
The Rashamon laughed softly: "Wushan is still hidden in the past now; to enter Wushan, you’ll have to wait a bit longer."
However, I saw Wushan...
Jiang Li silently shifted his gaze away from the mountain, outwardly calm and composed.
He was certain that the mountain was Wushan, and the dragon-shaped apparition that appeared had a significant resemblance to the Great Venerable he had seen that day.
On this matter, Jiang Li was confident he could not be wrong.
After all, he was an expert capable of recognizing a person by their figure, a "Breast Recognition" master.
For Wushan, which was not yet supposed to be revealed, to be seen by Jiang Li, there were only two possibilities that could lead to this. Either Jiang Li’s Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill had already been able to penetrate through time and see through the Great Venerable’s Cosmic Dao Technique, or he had a different connection to Wushan.
The former was almost impossible, while the latter...
Jiang Li could only think of a certain brotherhood.
"Let’s go."
He whispered softly and drifted up along the mountain path.
After two winding turns on the spacious mountain path, it led to the great gate of Nether City—or perhaps one should say, the gate of the city wall.
Nether City didn’t have a real city gate, but a massive archway stood thirty feet tall with cultivators clad in tight-fitting clothes standing guard on either side.
However, by the way, they ignored everyone who came and went, it seemed that these guards served more as a symbol than as practical defenders.
Once inside, one could see a series of continuous buildings, mostly constructed of stone blocks, grand in design and revealing a rough simplicity, carrying an air of primordial wildness...
"Big brother, come and play."
Jiang Li turned towards the voice to see a pure wooden pavilion standing tall in the distance, seemingly grown directly from the living trees, adorned with flowers blooming along up and down the structure, and girls dressed to the nines waving from the balcony.
’It seems... not so rough and simple after all.’ Jiang Li silently retracted his earlier thought.
"That there is Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, the young ladies inside are devil cultivators bearing the Dao Fruits of plants and all sorts of flowers. Perhaps you are interested, sir?"
The Rashamon woman edged closer with a charming and mischievous smile. "But I personally think, compared with those ordinary embellished ones, I am far more pleasing to the eye, wouldn’t you agree?"
The woman drew near, a faint, alluring fragrance enticing Jiang Li’s sense of smell, her beautiful figure very seductive indeed.
Regrettably, she wasn’t quite appealing to the heart—the muscles around her chest were somewhat lacking.
Jiang Li’s eyes remained clear as day, like the impotent protagonist in a novel, devoid of any lust, and said indifferently, "A beauty is certainly pleasing to the eyes, but not as enticing as the Sword Dao. Rashamon woman, if you wish to test the sharpness of Qixing Dragon Abyss, I am not opposed to satisfying your curiosity."
There was a master who liked to observe her disciple, and you never knew when or where she might cast her gaze upon you, even though in theory, Tianxuan couldn’t possibly look across thousands of mountains and rivers to see Jiang Li, but when it came to reality...
Hmm, Jiang Li would never know if Tianxuan could sense his philandering ways.
There was also a senior sister, who, ever since she started comprehending the Wordless Heavenly Scripture of Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, had become increasingly sharp. If it hadn’t been for Tianxuan being a notch higher last time, she might have revealed herself.
Such was the self-discipline of an affiliated son-in-law.
By the way, these insights were imparted to Jiang Li by his big brother Feng Manlou during casual conversations.
The Rashamon woman had hit a snag, but she seemed not to be discouraged, still eyeing Jiang Li with a predatory gaze.
Ashuren, on the other hand, laughed and said, "Since the senior is not interested, then please excuse me for a moment."
With that, the Great Asura walked with his head held high to a nearby pavilion, where two scantily clad women immediately greeted him. Judging by their pale blue skin and the horns on their forehead, these must be female cultivators who contained the Ghost Attribute Dao Fruit within them.
Ashuren took one in each arm and entered the pavilion with the women—no one unaware of his actions would ever connect him with Buddha Country.
’So impatient. Could it be a contact point for Buddha Country?’ Jiang Li wondered.
"Pah, lecher."
The Holy Infant King spat contemptuously, a look of disgust spreading across his face.
The three continued on their way, and gradually, they were met with more and more scrutinizing gazes from around.
The tiny stature of the Holy Infant King was the most conspicuous sign, allowing everyone to recognize his identity as one of the Nineteen Demons of the Divine Sect.
"It’s the Holy Infant King... and another one... the Rashamon woman!" someone exclaimed in shock.
"Who’s that in the middle, doesn’t look like he’s one of us?" another person wondered.
"I heard that the Suiming Yaksha and the Six Ghost Kings from the Nineteen Demons started a slaughter in Wuyang, what brings the Holy Infant King and the Rashamon woman to Nether City?"
Some chose to make their move.
A sudden gust of evil wind appeared, as countless insect-like shadows swarmed towards the three, with chaotic noise assaulting the ears, full of agitation.
But before they could close in, Jiang Li’s gaze had already swept over them, and in an instant, flames erupted, enveloping all the shadows, burning fiercely. The sky in front of them began to pour with rain, and bulky insects fell in droves.
"Locusts?"
Jiang Li glanced at the charred burn remains once over before shifting his gaze to the front, focusing on a silhouette holding a banner, "Locust God."
One of the Nineteen Demons of the Devil God Sect, the Locust God was a mysterious figure clad in a black cloak, wielding a yellow banner.