As this shadow appeared, the spiritforce between heaven and earth began to riot wildly.
A long river of the Underworld meandered and twisted, flowing slowly through the air, accompanied by darkness and cold.
The entire sky instantly turned dim, becoming bleak and desolate, with the sunset completely disappearing.
Within the Underworld River, black petals floated down from the sky.
In just an instant, tens of thousands of petals fell.
The people of God Demon City looked up at the sky. Someone trembled and said, "Ten thousand lotuses descend from the sky, this is the arrival of a Godly Monarch."
"I wonder which great one has come, why would they come to God Demon City?"
God Demon City had stood for countless years, and those who came here were mostly powerful figures from various domains.
Even Grand Empyreans could be found here.
But when it came to a being like a Godly Monarch, everyone had to be extremely cautious.
The Southern Region, such a vast land occupying nearly one-fourth of the Ancient Continent, had birthed fewer than five Godly Monarchs.
In the end, only the Eternal Godly Monarch truly left a legacy.
At this moment in the sky, the Underworld River flowed with a rustling sound.
In the distance, a large group of small black dots appeared.
As the black dots grew closer, the crowd could see clearly, they were a group of powerful figures walking on air.
These people wore black-purple robes, and each one emitted an intense aura.
Even the weakest among them had reached the Fusion Heaven Realm, and several were Grand Empyreans.
At the center of this group, the Underworld River transformed into a mat.
A woman sat on the mat, eyes closed, indifferent to the outside world.
Yet even surrounded by Grand Empyreans, she gave off the impression of being the most terrifying of them all.
"They’re from the Underworld," someone said cautiously upon seeing the formation.
"When did God Demon City offend the Underworld?"
"In this era, who would dare offend the Underworld? The Underworld Godly Monarch hasn’t yet crossed the Immortal Dao Bridge. With him overseeing things, and the Underworld staying hidden for so long with few clansmen active outside, there hasn’t even been a chance to offend them."
Yet no matter how the people of God Demon City speculated, it was all in vain.
The oppressive aura from the Underworld's arrival above left everyone afraid to make a move.
“Azure God, you came but don’t show yourself? Do you want me to come greet you?” The woman on the Underworld mat spoke slowly, her voice echoing through the heavens.
“Of course not, of course not, I’ve just arrived,” came an old voice from the other side of the clouds.
An elderly man riding backward on a blue ox, holding a book, appeared at the edge of the sky, chuckling.
At first glance, he still seemed far away, his figure blurred.
But within a few breaths, the old man had already appeared above God Demon City.
“Underworld Godly Monarch, why such a temper?” the old man said with a smile, closing his book.
He had a head full of white hair, and his temples were speckled with gray.
His eyebrows were especially long, also white, and he wore a light-colored coarse robe, giving off the air of a hermit or an immortal sage.
Riding backward on the blue ox, his aura wasn’t heavy, instead, it felt light and carefree.
“Azure God? Which Azure God is that?” someone below asked in confusion.
“Seems to be a very ancient race. A Godly Monarch from the Cang Clan long ago,” someone who knew a bit speculated.
“Didn’t expect him to still be on the Eternal Lands and not have gone to the Immortal Dao Bridge.”
“Aren’t you planning to give me an explanation for this matter?” the woman from the Underworld asked.
“My personal arrival is the explanation,” the old man replied with a smile.
“The one who killed my descendant?” she asked.
“He’s in the God Demon Battlefield. My Cang Clan’s Altar of All Living Beings has locked onto him. Don’t worry, he won’t escape,” Azure God replied.
“To the God Demon Battlefield,” the woman said calmly.
“My Cang Clan hasn’t appeared in the world for a long time. Do people think they can forget about us? Today will serve as a warning to all, even if I one day cross the Immortal Dao Bridge, no one will dare touch anyone from my Underworld.”
…………
Inside the God Demon Battlefield, when Xu Zimo and the other two emerged, the remnants hiding there didn’t even dare show their heads.
After sending the Seven-Face Infernal Archon to retrieve his Seven-Face Lotus from the Bone Mountain, Xu Zimo and his companions began walking toward the Ancient Demon Race’s sacred land.
That sacred land used to be the home of the Ancient Demon Race, but after the devastating war where many demons perished, no one knew what became of it.
Upon arriving at the Ancient Demon Race’s territory, Xu Zimo found it engulfed in darkness.
The ground beneath was crimson, and dark demonic clouds hovered above.
The land was filled with active volcanoes. The entire area was scorched and battered by frequent eruptions.
Few now came here, though a few resilient demon trees still grew.
Occasionally, black vultures flew by with shrill, unpleasant cries, landing on the demon trees, their eyes watching passersby with cold malice.
“Master, it’s just up ahead,” the Bone Demon pointed toward a volcano in the distance.
After walking for more than ten minutes, they arrived at the volcano that seemed ready to erupt at any moment.
The massive volcano looked like a giant beast baring its fangs and claws. Black smoke rose like war plumes into the sky.
The volcano glowed crimson, and approaching it one could feel the searing heat.
Up close, even space itself seemed to melt.
The Bone Demon stepped in front of the volcano, forming seals with both hands, it looked like some ancient sealing technique.
A character meaning “demon” flew from his hands and sank directly into the volcano.
Immediately after, the volcano erupted violently with a thunderous roar.
It felt as if some great terror was brewing inside.
Before them, a spatial gate appeared.
The three of them stepped into the gate and seemed to enter the interior of the volcano.
What greeted them was an endless sea of magma. The molten lava could melt steel instantly.
At temperatures of tens of thousands of degrees, normal people wouldn’t survive.
In this magma sea, a narrow path extended deep into the interior.
Flames spouted on both sides, forming dragon-shaped waves that swam through the magma.
“You picked quite a place,” Xu Zimo remarked.
“It wasn’t exactly our choice. The ancestral tree was left here long ago, so we built our sacred land around it,” the Bone Demon explained. “To hide the ancestral tree, Lord Seven-Face even moved this volcano here for cover.”
“No one’s come for a long time,” the Seven-Face Infernal Archon said wistfully.
He seemed to have changed faces again, now looking quite serious.
The three of them followed the narrow path across the magma, walking deeper.
The magma sea was quite vast. After crossing it, they arrived at a pitch-black alley.
They walked through it, finding countless roads inside, criss-crossing and interwoven.
Even if someone made it past the magma, they would easily get lost in this place.