In the vast and deep underworld.

Zhang Yao and Nether Abyss Ancestor arrived at the spot where the aura of Daoist Heisen, Sima Yan, had dissipated. After some effort, they finally found his remains.

"Alas..."

The two gazed at the remnants that resembled ashen mud dust, sighed a few times, and then prepared to hastily gather and bury them.

"Hmm?"

At this moment, Zhang Yao seemed to perceive something unusual, a change in expression:

"Fellow Daoist Mingyuan, hold on for a moment."

As he spoke, he searched through the gray-black mud dust and unexpectedly found a dark green seed.

"This is..."

Nether Abyss Ancestor was slightly startled, immediately thinking of something:

"He’s not completely dead? This seems to be some kind of life-saving method?"

"Pretty much."

Zhang Yao said as he carefully examined the seed in his hand with magical power and divine thought, and finally made a judgment:

"A very clever life-saving method, its vitality almost entirely concealed and hidden, indistinguishable from a regular plant seed."

"No wonder even a mighty being like Ascendant Tianying was deceived by it."

"Hmm..."

Nether Abyss Ancestor pondered for a moment and speculated:

"Fellow Daoist Sima Yan’s Yin Wood Dharma Body is not flesh and blood. Even if sneak-attacked by Ascendant Tianying’s Fierce Spring Divine Palm, he should be able to hold on for an extra moment or two."

"It was likely this brief buffer that gave him the opportunity to use his final life-saving method, allowing him to deceive all."

"You’re quite right, fellow Daoist."

Zhang Yao nodded in agreement and then spoke:

"However, after transforming into a seed, Fellow Daoist Sima Yan’s consciousness has completely dormant, making it difficult to awaken in a short time."

Upon hearing this, Nether Abyss Ancestor boldly guessed:

"Since it’s a seed, maybe it needs to be planted to take root and sprout?"

"In my view, it would be wise to find some spiritual soil after leaving Mo Yuan and plant this seed; it might yield miraculous results."

"That makes sense."

Zhang Yao nodded, carefully pocketed the dark green seed, and only then did he and Nether Abyss Ancestor fly away side by side.

......

"Boom!" "Boom!"

Two escape lights were traversing the deep underworld.

In the deepest layer of the underworld, though the vertical depth was only tens of thousands of feet, its breadth was extremely astonishing.

During the ongoing exploration, Zhang Yao continued to observe carefully:

In the initial range of several hundred miles near the Magnetic Barrier, due to the destructive influence of the Black Tide, it was almost identical to the second district.

But soon, changes quietly occurred:

"Is this... Muddy Qi?"

Zhang Yao’s expression shifted slightly.

His keen divine thought and senses caught the emergence of tiny threads of Muddy Qi within the pervasive Primordial Magnetic Power and the distribution of Dark Yin Spiritual Power.

"However, the Muddy Qi here seems to be very different from that in Mani Kingdom."

The previous confusion and bewilderment deepened further here.

The Muddy Qi in the deepest layer of the underworld was entirely consistent with the Muddy Qi emanating from Nether Abyss Ancestor, appearing to be ninety percent similar to that in Mani Kingdom, yet fundamentally different inside.

To simplify—

The Muddy Qi in Mani Kingdom is extremely active, utterly incompatible with Spiritual Qi; when the two collide, it’s like ice water dripping into boiling oil, provoking an intense reaction instantly.

Particularly in the twenty-four Demon Caves where Muddy Qi is most concentrated, even Golden Core Ancestors with abundant and powerful magical power cannot linger for long.

But the Muddy Qi in the deepest layers of Mo Yuan and the underworld, conveyed a feeling of laziness and deadness.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

The escape light flew across the sky, but the Muddy Qi hardly reacted, not appearing agitated in any way.

The Muddy Qi and Spiritual Qi, showing a stark incompatibility in the outside world, here in the underworld coexisted in harmony.

"What on earth is going on? Could it be that Muddy Qi also has different type classifications?"

Zhang Yao was at a loss.

He tried asking Nether Abyss Ancestor, but unsurprisingly, the latter was equally clueless, leaving Zhang Yao no choice but to temporarily suppress the question in his heart.

And as their escape lights delved deeper, further changes began to unfold.

In the dark, boundless underworld, light began to appear, and not just faint glimmers, but expanses of luminescence.

Glowing mosses, insects resembling fireflies, subterranean crystals shining with various iridescent hues, enormous mushrooms expanding and contracting continuously, flat creatures cruising mid-air that resembled strange fish, along with peculiar plants and animals...

With a broad sweep of divine thought, Zhang Yao detected no fewer than several hundred varieties of life forms, which opened his eyes widely, prompting him to exclaim:

"What you said, fellow Daoist, was not just half-bound to truth."

"In this vast space of the deepest layer, it’s indeed a world unto itself, magnificent and diverse."

After observing through divine thought, he roughly grasped some of the mysteries of the underworld.

Inhabitants of the underworld, without exception, harbor Muddy Qi within them, which is now the source of their life.

Once swept away by the Black Tide, leaving the deepest layer, it would mean severing the source of Muddy Qi, resulting either in death within the Black Tide or aberration due to its influence.

"Be careful, fellow Daoist."

Nether Abyss Ancestor expressed a hint of caution in his demeanor:

"Beyond here, the road ahead is not very peaceful."

"The underworld is rife with dangers and bloodthirsty native life forms, some as strong as those at the Golden Core Stage."

"Especially when the Black Tide erupts, turning a portion of the deepest-layer creatures into Black Death Beasts, they often become even more ferocious!"

Zhang Yao nodded solemnly and said:

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist, I will be cautious."

......

Just as the Nether Abyss Ancestor had said:

After the massive appearance of the underground beings, it heralded the advent of danger.

Especially as they came from the surface, their aura was as conspicuous as a torch in the night, attracting various dangerous creatures to ceaselessly pounce upon them.

A few hours later:

"Boom!" "Boom!"

Two escape lights fled desperately, a large swarm of wasp-like flying insects behind them, finally circling in the air before leaving when they realized they couldn’t catch up.

"Phew..."

Zhang Yao and the Nether Abyss Ancestor noticed this scene, took a deep breath, and slightly slowed their escape light.

At this moment, both of them were in a somewhat sorry state, especially the Nether Abyss Ancestor, whose clothes had become tattered.

"This underworld is indeed too perilous!"

Zhang Yao’s face showed a trace of lingering fear.

The two traveled thousands of miles, engaged in more than a dozen battles of varying sizes, and during the most dangerous moment, were besieged by a dozen frenzied Black Death Beasts and underground fierce beasts, nearly suffering severe injuries.

Thankfully, both were quite powerful, and with their combined efforts, they traversed thousands of miles without danger, reaching the depths of the underworld.

"Fellow Daoist, you succeeded in traversing the underworld and reaching the Zhuoxiu Tribe not long after advancing to the Golden Core Stage. Truly impressive!"

Zhang Yao looked at the Nether Abyss Ancestor, a trace of admiration in his eyes.

With strength comparable to a late-stage Golden Core, even he found the journey through the underworld quite wretched, and he wondered how the Nether Abyss Ancestor had managed it back then.

"Back then, it was a gamble with my life. Had I not been lucky and succeeded by chance, I wouldn’t be here today."

The Nether Abyss Ancestor waved his hand and said:

"However, it’s also possible that my strength wasn’t great back then, and my aura was weaker, attracting fewer Black Death Beasts and underground fierce beasts."

"That’s very possible."

Zhang Yao nodded thoughtfully, then asked:

"However, we haven’t seen any spiritual objects or treasures along the way?"

In the first and second zones of Mo Yuan, spiritual objects are abundant, and treasures are plentiful.

In the deepest layers of the underworld, logically, there should be even more rare dark attribute spiritual objects and treasures of higher grade.

Yet, they had traversed thousands of miles and had hardly seen any spiritual objects or treasures.

"Haha..."

The Nether Abyss Ancestor chuckled and said:

"Fellow Daoist, have you forgotten what I once said?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yao’s gaze flickered:

"The Zhuoxiu Tribe... Could it be that all the treasures and spiritual objects here have been plundered by them?"

"Indeed."

The Nether Abyss Ancestor said:

"Even in the deepest layers of Mo Yuan, the birth and growth of various spiritual objects and treasures require a long time."

"And the Zhuoxiu Tribe, aware of their value, regularly sends people to sweep the underworld, rarely leaving any behind."

"I see..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yao pondered:

"No wonder you said that any Golden Core Cultivator entering the deepest layers of the underworld can’t avoid the Zhuoxiu Tribe."

"Aside from becoming a Soul Tamer, if one wishes to benefit from the deepest layers, there’s no avoiding the Zhuoxiu Tribe!"

"You’re quite right."

The Nether Abyss Ancestor smiled slightly and said:

"We are already very close to the territory of the Zhuoxiu Tribe, only about a few hundred miles away."

"Let’s continue on our journey!"

"Alright!"

Zhang Yao responded, and together with the Nether Abyss Ancestor, they slightly increased their escape light speed.

As the two delved deeper, the concentration of muddled Qi around them noticeably increased, and they felt a bit uncomfortable.

As stifling and lifeless as it was, muddled Qi was a naturally opposing force to Spiritual Qi, affecting cultivators like themselves to some extent.

"Fellow Daoist Qingxu."

While flying, the Nether Abyss Ancestor suddenly used his Divine Thought to speak:

"Before, time was tight, and I couldn’t explain many things to you in detail."

"Now that we’re very close to the Zhuoxiu Tribe, the nearby few hundred miles have been specially cleared by them, so there’s basically no danger."

"I can also tell you more about the Zhuoxiu Tribe now."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yao showed a trace of interest and said:

"I am eager to hear the details."

"Hmm..."

The Nether Abyss Ancestor pondered briefly, then said:

"As for the Zhuoxiu Tribe in the underworld, I don’t know much, but I do know some basic information."

"This tribe is called the ’Wujin Tribe.’ It is a powerful group with many strong members, undeniably the overlords of the underworld, occupying the best area."

"How long they’ve been living in the underworld is hard to ascertain, and their cultural customs, lifestyles, etc., are entirely different from the surface Human Race..."

Zhang Yao patiently listened to his introduction. When he was almost finished, he suddenly asked:

"You mentioned they are called the ’Wujin Tribe.’

Does that mean there are other Zhuoxiu Tribes besides theirs in the world?"