Chapter 1 Whether They Are Loyal or Not

Regardless of the schemes those cultivators who turned to ghost cultivation were hatching in secret, under Duanmu Lin's control, restricted by the Aurora Underworld, they could only struggle in their perceived freedom.

The more they struggled, the more Ye Chuxiao and Duanmu Lin gained, becoming stronger.

Therefore, Ye Chuxiao and Duanmu Lin, though fully aware of the ghost cultivators' overt flattery and covert conspiracies, chose not to interfere.

It was good to let them maintain their ambitious desires.

If their spirits were crushed, wouldn't they all simply give up entirely?

Wanting both the ferocity of wolves and the loyalty of dogs—such good fortune was rare!

Did the exposure of the truth about the King of Hell and the Aurora Underworld mean the end of strife and assassination?

Not at all!

Probing and contact were out in the open.

Underground attacks even exceeded those of the past.

Anyone with a brain could clearly understand the potential and power of the Aurora Underworld.

Because of this, no ruler was willing to see such a magical and powerful existence outside of their control.

At the same time, they harbored great ambitions to control the Aurora Underworld.

They even regarded it as the key to obtaining supreme hegemony.

It could be said that from the moment the truth about the Aurora Underworld was revealed, the attitudes of the true power and force brokers of the Wasteland Battle Realm toward Ye Chuxiao and Duanmu Lin underwent a tremendous change.

Originally, the two were defined as devils who killed and seized merit, but for those powerful nations and forces that possessed the world, commanded strong armies, and were protected by many divine artifacts, they were nothing more than a temporary minor ailment.

Although they knew of the existence of these two, they did not care.

But now, what they possessed had become an object of contention.

Their original indifference had turned into extreme concern.

To the north of the King of Hell City, which was still under construction, there was a Bone Mountain, covered in white stones, looking like a pile of white bones from afar. Upon closer inspection, it was devoid of weeds, just a ghastly white expanse, chilling to the bone.

Yet, on top of this evil mountain, someone had the leisure to build a small pavilion.

The yin wind howled past, through the pavilion, causing it to shake precariously, as if it could tumble down the mountainside at any moment.

Ye Chuxiao stood in this pavilion, holding a jade sword in his hand, constantly playing with it, a look of mockery on his face.

"Another challenge?" Duanmu Lin flew down from mid-air, glanced at the jade sword in Ye Chuxiao's hand, and asked.

Ye Chuxiao nodded. "That's right. It's a challenge sent by the Emperor of Chu, using the matter of the Marquis of Zhenhai, Lin Run, as bait, wanting to force me into a battle with their Pillar of the Nation, Liang Xiaotian. At the same time, he also mentioned using the Aurora Underworld as a bet, his words full of threat and provocation."

"Then didn't they offer anything to wager?"

"Since it's a bet, there's no reason for only one side to put something on the table," Duanmu Lin said.

Ye Chuxiao sneered. "The challenge doesn't mention what they're betting."

"It seems that this is just a test, an attempt to sound us out."

"If we ignore it, they'll likely become more aggressive and send people and troops to invade. If we face them head-on, they can set a trap and send out all their generals to capture us in one fell swoop."

"A decisive battle? Ha... What era is this? Still pulling off this stunt?"

"Who would believe it?"

Duanmu Lin frowned and said, "Doesn't that mean whatever we do is wrong?"

Ye Chuxiao laughed. "Just playing dirty tricks. Are we afraid?"

"Everyone thinks this so-called King of Hell City under construction will be our base. With such a city nailed here, we've become monks with a temple, our lair seized."

"Aren't those ghost cultivators who feigned obedience also playing this game, so they built the city on their own initiative?"

"They even deliberately chose such a desolate and poor place to build the city, ostensibly to cater to the King of Hell's majesty, but in reality, to ensure that the new city must rely on external support in all aspects, making it difficult to become an independent system."

"Ultimately, they're using various means to create ties for us, making it difficult for us to leave easily. I can even imagine that once the city is built, a large number of people will be moved here, worshiping us three times a day, using emotions, beliefs, and similar things as invisible ropes to bind us."

At this point, Ye Chuxiao paused, sorted out his thoughts, and then continued, "But are we really pinned down?"

"Breaking the situation is very simple. We just abandon a part of the ghost cultivators who aren't very useful, letting them dissipate into the world again as a warning, and then we disappear without a trace, watching the so-called King of Hell City wither. After a few years, when a large number of cultivators are about to reach the end of their lifespan but can't find a way out, they will naturally blame all their problems on the people who are forcing us now."

Duanmu Lin said, "That's a good idea. Although our power is not yet stable, the advantage of time is on our side. As long as we wait patiently, everything will eventually submit to us."

Saying this, her beautiful eyes turned, "But why do I feel like you don't intend to do that?"

"It feels like you're also in a hurry!"

Ye Chuxiao turned around and reached out, using his finger to scratch Duanmu Lin's nose.

"So clever."

"But you're right, I am indeed also in a hurry."

"The foundation of your Aurora Underworld is not yet solid. If we want to stabilize your foundation in a short period of time, we must enter the secular world and quickly integrate with it."

"From this point of view, the existence of the King of Hell City has its own necessity."

After all, Duanmu Lin's Aurora Underworld was not a true Six Paths of Reincarnation.

When living beings died naturally, their souls would not directly report to the Aurora Underworld.

With Duanmu Lin's current ability, she could only envelop the place where her aurora bloomed, sending the souls of the living beings who died at that time into the Aurora Underworld for transformation.

In a sense, this was also Duanmu Lin's unique domain.

This domain also had range and time limitations.

If Duanmu Lin could really envelop the entire Wasteland Battle Realm with the Aurora Underworld, then she would already be the Heavenly Dao of this realm, an invincible existence.

"So, what do you plan to do?" Duanmu Lin asked, holding her small face, looking at Ye Chuxiao.

"Simple, publicize the contents of this challenge and convey our meaning at the same time. Say that what Great Chu is doing is not righteous, and reduce Great Chu's future entry quota to the Underworld by 30%," Ye Chuxiao said.

Duanmu Lin was stunned. "Do we have a quota limit for entering the Underworld now?"

Ye Chuxiao laughed. "We can factually not have it, but as long as others don't believe we don't have it, isn't that enough?"

"Besides, we're not really expanding recruitment now. We mainly accept the souls of Intent Realm and Wisdom Realm cultivators. How would outsiders know whether we have limited capacity or can expand infinitely?"

Duanmu Lin gave a thumbs up.

"It has to be you!"

To this day, Ye Chuxiao and Duanmu Lin certainly no longer had to personally handle any specific operational matters.

The challenge reply, after being polished by professionals, instantly spread throughout the world.

And the contents of the Chu Kingdom's challenge were also embellished and interpreted.

Highlighting the arrogant and insincere parts.

The stirring of the pot was very obvious.

The Chu Kingdom reacted quickly, and the second challenge came directly to the King of Hell City through world-wide broadcasting.

"A divine sword of the artifact level, three peerless divine abilities, and several treasures as a bet?"

"Although it's still asymmetrical, it's at least a bit more sincere. But knowing that I use a blade, they use a divine sword as a bet. Is this continuing to provoke me?" After receiving the news, Ye Chuxiao conveyed his thoughts to the people below.

Thus, the tug-of-war began.

The exchange of challenges between Ye Chuxiao and the Chu Kingdom was actually transmitted through 'rumors.'

And the 'bargaining' part of it was even more shocking.

Originally, many people were looking forward to an earth-shattering battle.

They were all eager to watch this great battle. Even if they couldn't eat the meat or drink the soup, at least they would have watched a great decisive battle between Intent Realm cultivators and broadened their horizons.

However, as rumors constantly bounced back and forth between the two regions, pulling for a long time, even detailing some insignificant disputes over interests, this duel, which was not yet known whether it would take place, became like an absurd farce.

People's expectations also dropped again and again.

In such noise and farce, no one knew that one of the protagonists of this farce had actually made an agreement with another person and began a contest.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the isolated peak of stone resembling rosy clouds.

An old man with a blade sat cross-legged under an ancient pine tree on the isolated peak.

Although he had not unfolded his domain, the man was almost completely integrated with the isolated peak.

The wrinkles and age spots on his face were deep, but his tall and majestic figure did not have the slightest hunch.

And what was more attractive than him was the blade in his arms.

It had a kind of magic, as if it would naturally absorb people's gaze and attention, swallowing all the light.

This was a divine artifact!

And Ye Chuxiao should have had a divine artifact of his own long ago.

This blade might be good!

It was for this blade that Ye Chuxiao had come to this appointment.

"The blade is good!" Ye Chuxiao commented.

"Naturally, it is good!" said the old man holding the blade.

"So, you used this blade as bait to lure me here, also for the Aurora Underworld?" Ye Chuxiao asked.

The old man said disdainfully, "A great man is born into the world, and dies when he dies. How can he enter another's cave, be a puppet, and be manipulated by others?"

Ye Chuxiao was not surprised to hear this.

In this world, there were Intent Realm cultivators who feared death, and naturally there were those who did not.

For some people, in order to exist, in order to live, they could pay any price.

But some people believed that some things could transcend life and existence.

"The blade is good, but...it's not very suitable for me." Ye Chuxiao looked at the blade in the old man's arms a few more times, shaking his head with some regret.

This blade should have been continuously nurtured by the old man from a top-grade spiritual treasure into a divine artifact.

Therefore, it was full of the old man's marks.

Even if these marks could be washed away, it would take a longer time to scrape them off little by little.

For Ye Chuxiao, this was not cost-effective.

With this time, Ye Chuxiao might as well nurture the Yuanyang Treasure Blade.

In terms of material, the Yuanyang Treasure Blade actually had the qualifications of a divine artifact, but this qualification was not strong enough, and Ye Chuxiao needed to spend time to slowly nurture it bit by bit.

Divine artifacts also had differences.

Among them, divine artifacts that were enhanced solely by the strong will of one person, constantly tempered with true qi and magic power, were the most common 'exclusive divine artifacts.'

The power of this type of divine artifact was often combined with its creator, in a mutually reinforcing state.

If the weapon lost its master, if it had a fierce nature, it would directly sever its spirituality and turn into ordinary iron.

Even if it had a gentler nature, its spirituality would be greatly reduced, and its power would plummet.

On the other hand, divine artifacts that were forged by relying on the strength of the materials and forging techniques themselves, creating a supreme embryonic form, and then refined day and night by many powerful cultivators, possessed generality and universality.

They were more stable and had more independence and inheritance.

This type of divine artifact often appeared in powerful countries and sects.

Ordinary wealthy families rarely had the qualifications to create such divine artifacts.

Whether a country or a sect was powerful often depended on how much of this kind of foundation they had.

The spear in the Wen family's mountain city was originally the exclusive divine artifact of the Wen family's ancestors. As its ancestor died, its spirituality gradually faded.

It was only after later generations continuously nurtured and strengthened its spirituality in a special way that it barely possessed some characteristics of a common divine artifact.

Specific descendants of the Wen family could unleash its full power.

"So, will you still fight?" the old man asked.

He seemed to have come specifically to seek a battle because he heard that Ye Chuxiao's blade technique was very good.

Ye Chuxiao took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

"Fight!" After saying this, his eyes also burst with fighting spirit.

The Yuanyang Treasure Blade had already turned into a surging heat, flowing quickly and fiercely through his body.

It also wanted to fight hard, even if it was to compete with a divine artifact.

The so-called nurturing and refining was definitely not a simple matter of protection and maintenance.

Weapons were originally objects of killing, and spiritual weapons needed to maintain their sharpness and fierceness even more.

Killing and fierce battles were the process of forging stronger spirituality.

In this process, people could transform, and weapons could naturally transform as well.

"Good! Come!" The old man stood up, waiting for Ye Chuxiao to strike first.

His hand was on the hilt of the blade, as if he was gathering strength.

The starting iaijutsu, just the rhythm alone, already made people feel tense.

Ye Chuxiao dispelled all kinds of distracting thoughts, his spirit seemed to spread infinitely.

The domain expanded accordingly, mountains, rivers, clouds, trees, as if all things would be contained within his domain, turning according to his will.

The rich and manic energy between heaven and earth, in Ye Chuxiao's perception, was as smooth and silky as a trickle.

They conformed to Ye Chuxiao's will and were arbitrarily transformed and simulated into any shape.

In the domain of the Intent Realm cultivator, the conventional so-called spells and divine abilities lost their meaning.

With just one thought, Ye Chuxiao could easily achieve the effects that most spells and divine abilities required.

The old man looked at Ye Chuxiao, who had transformed into chaos at this moment, as if he would absorb and contain everything, and no longer hesitated.

In an instant, the divine blade was unsheathed.

The sharp blade light compressed and collapsed the domain, like a divine mountain suddenly rising, cutting the domain enveloped by Ye Chuxiao in half in an instant.