"Dead...dead?"

Nether Abyss Ancestor was stunned, completely unprepared for such a development.

Just moments ago, the seemingly invincible Ascendant Tianying was killed so effortlessly, without even a chance to escape.

And at the moment of Ascendant Tianying’s true form’s death:

The Ghost Shadow Avatar instantly ’dissolved,’ collapsing like black mud, eventually forming a head-sized black mud lump floating in mid-air.

The Three-Headed Black Death Beast also seemed to be freed from some kind of control and influence, whimpered a few times before hastily fleeing.

The battle had concluded.

"Is it over..."

Nether Abyss Ancestor was in a daze, feeling an unreal sense like being in a dream.

Just two or three breaths ago, he was trapped in a desperate situation, surrounded by wolves and tigers, heavily injured awaiting death, with no hope in sight.

Yet only two or three breaths later, Ascendant Tianying’s true form was killed in one move, the Ghost Shadow Avatar’s consciousness dissipated, and the Black Death Beast fled, winning the battle so easily.

"Cough, cough..."

A weak cough awoke the Nether Abyss Ancestor.

He immediately scanned his eyes and saw a deathly pale Zhang Yao, swaying unsteadily, his aura as weak as a candle flame in the wind, seemingly unable to maintain even the Escape Light. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Qingxu!"

Disregarding his own severe injuries, Nether Abyss Ancestor hastily flew over with his Escape Light and supported Zhang Yao.

"How are your injuries?"

He asked worriedly.

"Hoo, hoo...I’m okay."

After taking a few deep breaths, Zhang Yao’s aura started to rapidly recover, and he waved his hand, indicating he was fine.

"I just need some time to recuperate and heal."

On the surface, he wasn’t visibly wounded, but in truth, his condition was quite dire.

The breaking of the Six Viscera was a minor issue, but the Array of the Six Harmonies and the Profound Abyss was temporarily unusable, affecting his cultivation foundation, and needed quick repair.

One could say this was his most serious injury in hundreds of years, even more so than his life-and-death battles with Yu Wen Tai in the past, despite the talent blessing.

"That’s good."

Seeing that Zhang Yao’s aura was stabilizing, Nether Abyss Ancestor finally relaxed, saying:

"It’s all thanks to you this time, turning the tide."

"We should focus on recovering from our injuries first. This deep underworld is full of dangers, and we’re too vulnerable in our current state."

The one who managed to kill Ascendant Tianying’s true form must have been Zhang Yao’s powerful trump card, and wisely, he didn’t ask about it.

"Alright!"

Zhang Yao agreed readily and immediately, and the two of them found a hidden spot nearby to sit and heal.

"Gulp!"

Nether Abyss Ancestor showed a pained expression, taking out a silver-glowing Spirit Pill. After ingesting it, his aura immediately improved significantly.

Zhang Yao, on the other hand, focused his attention, aligning the remaining faint Magical Power and Divine Thought, focusing entirely on his body’s abdomen.

The injuries of overall bone fracture and broken Six Viscera healed in just one or two breaths under the talent of Essence Qi Transformation, but the ’Array of the Six Harmonies and the Profound Abyss’ could not repair itself after breaking down once.

"The price paid this time is still too high. I need to avoid such life-and-death situations in the future."

After a careful examination, Zhang Yao couldn’t help but feel a heavy heart.

The arrays within his body were his cultivation foundation, but they were formed by internal and external integration, which he couldn’t maintain by Magical Power alone.

Simply put:

A few breakdowns or fractures of the array wouldn’t matter much, but if it happened too frequently, it could potentially shake the array’s foundation.

For instance, the breaking of the Six Viscera’s Array this time resulted in a small loss of Six-sided True Blood. If too much True Blood were lost, the Array of the Six Harmonies and the Profound Abyss would be unsustainable.

"Luckily, the loss of True Blood was minimal, and it will eventually be replaced with Dragon Species True Blood, so the impact isn’t significant."

Zhang Yao steadied his mind, quickly beginning to re-inscribe Spirit Patterns and construct Array Veins to repair the internal Array of the Six Harmonies and the Profound Abyss.

Half an hour later:

Zhang Yao, skilled and familiar, repaired the internal array, letting out a long sigh of relief, calming his mind.

"Thankfully, the Five Elements Divine Wheel was powerful enough, killing Ascendant Tianying in one strike; otherwise, the situation would have been dire."

Zhang Yao’s thoughts flickered, feeling a tinge of gratitude.

While the Five Elements Divine Wheel was formidable, Ascendant Tianying not only had his true form but also a Ghost Shadow Avatar. Who’s to say his consciousness wouldn’t transfer into the avatar once his true form died?

Driving an incomplete Five Elements Divine Wheel required a huge cost, and if it failed to turn the tide, Zhang Yao would become a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Thus, he initially didn’t intend to use the Five Elements Divine Wheel to slay Ascendant Tianying until the situation collapsed and he was forced to take the gamble.

Luckily, the results were good in the end; it seemed Ascendant Tianying had no way to transfer his consciousness.

"No...this is uncertain either."

Zhang Yao suddenly realized:

"With his many methods, and his true form having long become akin to a Black Tide monster, it wouldn’t make sense if he couldn’t transfer consciousness."

"It was likely that under the suppression of the Five Elements Divine Wheel, he couldn’t unleash his Mysterious Skills, leading to his decisive and swift death..."

Thinking of this, he felt even more relieved and increasingly eager to fully master the complete version of the Five Elements Divine Wheel.

"Qingxu!"

Nether Abyss Ancestor’s voice called from the side.

Zhang Yao turned his head to look and found that his Divine Qi was fully sufficient, his aura stable, seemingly recovering at least eighty to ninety percent of his strength.

"You’re finally awake, it seems you’ve almost fully recovered."

The Nether Abyss Ancestor said as he held a large clump of rounded black sludge in his hand.

"Is this the avatar of the Faceless Shadow?"

Zhang Yao’s gaze was fixed as he asked.

"Yes!"

The Nether Abyss Ancestor sighed:

"As I surmised before, this thing is indeed the Black Death Beast that was fused by Ascendant Tianying."

"I have no idea what method he used to almost erase the beast’s instincts and yet refined it into a controllable avatar..."

Zhang Yao’s expression flickered, and he asked:

"Now that this Black Death Beast is in such a state, will the Zhuoxiu Tribe still acknowledge it?"

"They probably will..."

The Nether Abyss Ancestor was not entirely sure.

After calculating together for a while, they first went to where Ascendant Tianying died and found his Storage Bag fallen in a crevice of a rock wall.

Zhang Yao and the Nether Abyss Ancestor opened the Storage Bag on the spot, ready to divide the contents.

"This guy’s possessions are indeed not trivial..."

After sweeping through it with his Divine Thought, Zhang Yao couldn’t help but exclaim.

Ascendant Tianying seemed to have an extraordinary background, coupled with previously ambushing many Golden Core Cultivators, making his possessions incredibly rich, likely surpassing some Golden Core Perfection cultivators.

They divided the most conspicuous Spirit Stones, Magical Treasures, and Secret Treasures first, before discerning and appraising the purposes and values of the remaining Spirit Grass, Spiritual Gold, Spirit Pills, and sundry items.

The ’Little Celestial Essence Pill’ for healing, considered a decent middle-grade third-grade Spirit Pill."

"And this ore, it should be ’Tai Sui True Gold,’ a top-tier Heaven and Earth Treasure level item."

"Hmm? A Command Token from the White Jade Celestial Palace..."

The Nether Abyss Ancestor suddenly picked up a hexagonal jade-white Command Token from a pile of sundries, his expression serious:

"This guy is actually a core member of the White Jade Celestial Palace!"

"Oh? The White Jade Celestial Palace?"

Zhang Yao raised his eyebrows and said:

"Is this one of the Three Celestial Palaces you mentioned?"

"Yes."

The Nether Abyss Ancestor explained succinctly:

"Zhiyao, Qingchen, Baiyu, the presence of these Three Celestial Palaces within the Celestial Continent Nine Mansions is almost an open secret among the Golden Core circles."

"Each of the Three Celestial Palaces has its focus: Zhiyao Celestial Palace holds precious Spiritual Gold Treasure Materials, QingCheng Celestial Palace contains rare Treasures and Spiritual Objects, while the White Jade Celestial Palace has superior Magical Treasures and Spirit Pills."

"The commonality among them is their very loose control over and selection of outer members, as long as there is no double affiliation allowed, it’s basically a public platform."

He paused for a moment before speaking again:

"But core members are different."

"Core members are basically key figures cultivated by the high-levels of the Three Celestial Palaces, considered insiders of the palaces, with entirely different status from outer members."

"Typically, for instance, the ’Celestial Palace Envoys’ who execute missions of assassination and deterrence are generally filled by core members with profound cultivation and formidable strength."

"I see!"

After listening, Zhang Yao found many of his doubts resolved.

As it stands, the basic structures of the Three Celestial Palaces are not very different from what he learned from Ancestor Heze back in the day.

As for more detailed questions, he didn’t have time to ask, instead contemplating the current situation:

"This Ascendant Tianying being a core member of the White Jade Celestial Palace... then the profound method he used to subdue and refine the Black Death Beast and turn it into an avatar must have been obtained from the Celestial Palace!"

"And now he’s stirring trouble in this Nether Abyss, could it be at the behest of the White Jade Celestial Palace’s high levels?"

How much does the White Jade Celestial Palace know about the situation beneath the Nether Abyss?

If Ascendant Tianying was sent by them on purpose, then what is their goal? Could it be targeting the Zhuoxiu Tribe of the Underworld?

"That, I’m afraid, will be very difficult for us to ascertain."

The Nether Abyss Ancestor’s expression turned cautious:

"The scale of the Three Celestial Palaces is vast, but the number of core members is actually not many, and the death of any one is a big deal, sure to invite investigation."

"If this was a private act of Ascendant Tianying, then it’s relatively manageable, as we’re not pushovers, and dead men have little value."

"But if he was on a confidential mission from the Celestial Palace high-ups, then the trouble for us two might be significant..."

Zhang Yao frowned, then slowly eased his brow, saying:

"As it stands, we can only respond to challenges as they come."

"In my opinion, we shouldn’t waste any time and should first find out the whereabouts of Fellow Daoist Sima Yan and arrange for his remains."

"Then, we should hurry to the Zhuoxiu Tribe to complete the ’Earth Milk Bathing Body,’ after all, time waits for no one."

"Hmm."

The Nether Abyss Ancestor nodded in agreement and sighed:

"Poor Fellow Daoist Sima, truly unlucky to have perished at the hands of Ascendant Tianying twice in succession..."

"Such is fate!"