Above the Nether Capital City.

Bao Zheng and Jiang Ziwen stared nervously at the coarse-clothed woman, nerves taut, immortal qi circulating within them, ready to unleash their strongest attacks at any moment.

"You two don’t need to be so tense. I came to you because there’s something important we need to discuss."

The coarse-clothed woman landed in front of Bao Zheng and spoke calmly.

"Shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?"

Bao Zheng did not relax his vigilance and asked in a low voice.

"You can call me Xuan Tu. I come from... the Wu Clan."

Regarding her identity, Xuan Tu did not conceal it and spoke frankly.

The Wu Clan!

Bao Zheng and Jiang Ziwen exchanged a look, a gleam flashing in their eyes.

They had studied the history of the myriad worlds across the heavens. After the great war between the Wu and the Yao, the Yao Clan became the myriad clans of the heavens, while the Wu Clan fled far into the Netherworld and vanished from sight.

They had never expected to see a powerhouse of the Wu Clan today!

"Miss Xuan Tu, what do you need from us?"

Bao Zheng asked softly.

Deep in his heart, he still maintained a strong sense of wariness. In this world, there are almost no people who draw their sword to help at the sight of injustice; there is only the exchange of利益.

As the saying goes, the bustle of the world is all for profit; the clamor of the world is all for profit.

Xuan Tu coming to them definitely had an agenda.

Moreover, the Wu Clan itself was an extremely complicated race, bearing the karma of the Chaotic Ancient Era. A single misstep would drag one into a vortex, so it was only natural to keep them at arm’s length.

"Do you know why the Wu Clan migrated to the Netherworld after the Wu–Yao Calamity?"

Xuan Tu did not answer directly, but instead posed a new question.

"Why?"

"Because of Reincarnation. One of the Wu Clan’s ancestors was endowed with Tianming. At the end of that great calamity, he sacrificed himself to become Reincarnation, blocking most of the karmic backlash for the Wu Clan. From that point on, the Wu Clan, which had once dominated the land, became the guardians of the Six Paths of Reincarnation." Xuan Tu explained.

Bao Zheng suddenly understood and continued asking, "And later? I feel the heavenly rules of the Netherworld have already changed greatly. I’m afraid the Six Paths of Reincarnation must have been affected as well, right?"

Xuan Tu nodded, her three thousand strands of black hair flying as her expression grew gloomy. "During the Sky-Breaking Era, we were expelled from the Six Paths of Reincarnation."

Her tone was filled with killing intent.

As guardians of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, to be driven out of Reincarnation itself was nothing less than a colossal humiliation for the Wu Clan.

"Who was it..."

Bao Zheng was slightly shocked. He was just about to ask who had made the move when he suddenly reacted, his voice tightening as he said, "The Lords of the Nine Capitals!"

The power structure of the Netherworld was simple. Aside from the Lords of the Nine Capitals, there were only the various City Lords.

And all these cities were under the jurisdiction of the Lords of the Nine Capitals.

In other words, the Lords of the Nine Capitals were the true rulers of the Netherworld, the ones who set the rules.

"Not entirely. Behind the Lords of the Nine Capitals, there’s still some mysterious existence. But as for who exactly, even the Wu Clan doesn’t know."

Xuan Tu’s tone was filled with dread as she spoke.

"So, you want to join forces with me, defeat the Lords of the Nine Capitals, and reclaim the Six Paths of Reincarnation?"

Bao Zheng asked.

"Exactly."

Xuan Tu nodded, then added, "But the Wu Clan reclaiming the Six Paths of Reincarnation isn’t because of the Lords of the Nine Capitals—it’s because of the Yao Clan. Of course, in the process, I’ll be doing some things that will definitely make the Lords of the Nine Capitals very unhappy."

At this point, she looked at Bao Zheng and Jiang Ziwen and said, "As for forming an alliance with you, you can understand it as: the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Friend? What if we reconcile our conflict with the Lords of the Nine Capitals?" Bao Zheng said lightly.

"Impossible."

Xuan Tu spoke with certainty.

Bao Zheng fell silent.

After a moment, he asked, "I want to ask one last question—what is a Tianming bearer?"

Xuan Tu said in a deep voice, "They are a special group of people who carry a special Tianming, just like that ancestor of the Wu Clan. I remember the name of the first-generation Tianming bearers was... Ox-Head and Horse-Face."

At these words, Bao Zheng and Jiang Ziwen were utterly horrified, completely losing their composure.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face!

They were all too familiar with those names.

High-ranking deities of the underworld—and also their subordinates.

"Where are they now?"

Bao Zheng hurriedly asked.

"In a place you currently cannot reach."

Xuan Tu shook her head.

Bao Zheng once again fell silent. After a while, he smiled and said, "Miss Xuan Tu, I agree to form an alliance with you."

"For the Tianming bearers?"

Xuan Tu asked curiously.

Bao Zheng did not answer that question.

Xuan Tu didn’t press further. Her figure gradually grew indistinct. "Once you break through to the Immortal Venerable realm, I’ll come find you. As you are now, you’re far too weak. Just focus on cultivating."

"As for the Ghost Clan, I’ll hold them off for a hundred years for you."

"Oh, and one more thing: the power in your bodies is extremely similar to the Dharma image manifested by the Ghost Lord’s avatar. Under no circumstances are you to use it lightly. Otherwise, even if the Wu Clan has to stake everything, we still won’t be able to protect you."

As her voice faded, Xuan Tu’s figure had already disappeared.

"More and more interesting."

Staring at the place where Xuan Tu had vanished, Bao Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly and muttered to himself.

The Tianming bearers were precisely the deities of the underworld.

From his conversation with Xuan Tu, he learned that the Tianming bearers were temporarily safe; they should be imprisoned somewhere.

In addition, there was the King Qin Guang Dharma image manifested by the Ghost Lord, which should have a direct connection with the Tianming bearers—or rather, the existence behind the Lords of the Nine Capitals understood the Ten Yama Kings extremely well.

Only then could the Ghost Lord obtain King Qin Guang’s inheritance!

Most crucial of all—

The heavenly rules of the Netherworld had changed, and it should have been after the Sky-Breaking Era.

And what happened during the Sky-Breaking Era?

The Human Emperor led the human race to wage war upon the heavens!

"Power!"

"I need overwhelming power!"

Bao Zheng shook his head, casting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind. Right now, he was far too weak. Even if he had countless conjectures, he had no way to verify them.

Strength determines everything.

Including the unknown truth.

It is also the key factor in turning from a chess piece into a chess player.

"Let’s go. For the next hundred years, we’re safe."

Having thought it through, Bao Zheng looked up and said to Jiang Ziwen, then flew toward the Nether Capital City.

In the Wu Clan’s strength, he still had considerable confidence.

A hundred years!

To break through to the Immortal Venerable realm!

...

The Yang World!

The Seventh Heaven!

It had already been twenty years since the Qin Dynasty began forging the Nine Provinces Heaven Great Thousand World.

Inside the Endless Palace.

Qin Wudao sat cross-legged, wearing imperial robes that shone with dazzling golden light. Above his head, a vortex of immortal qi spun, suffused with endless Rhymes in Dao, continuously pouring into his body.

Around him, the Dao power of the Hongmeng Imperial Dao coiled, releasing a terrifying aura like a colossal god-demon dragon, emanating supreme presence and suppressing myriad worlds.

"Break!"

Suddenly, Qin Wudao opened his eyes and shouted. A terrifying suction force spread out from within him.

Heaven and earth trembled.

The myriad great Daos prostrated themselves.

Vaguely, countless god-demon phantoms could be seen kneeling!

In this moment, his constitution fully activated. The bones, flesh, and organs that had surpassed the Chaos God-Demon Physique, together with a soul that had reached the Chaos God-Demon Physique, allowed his cultivation speed to reach a terrifying level.

Like a whale swallowing, the energy in the Dao Pool beneath the Endless Palace instantly dissipated by a tenth.

Without any obstruction, he began to assault the bottleneck of the Immortal Emperor realm.