The Second Layer Burning Hell.

Beyond the towering volcanic crater stretched a crimson plain that seemed to be burning, barren of any vegetation. The hard rock was marked with traces of flowing volcanic lava.

Far, far away, a group of monks was following a massive crevice toward the other end.

A young novice wearing moon-white monk robes, named Ding Neng, was walking unsteadily across the rocks, but still couldn’t help looking back repeatedly.

“Senior Brother Dingxin, what exactly was that behind us just now?”

Ding Neng looked for a long time but still couldn’t figure it out. He took two steps forward to inquire of Senior Brother Dingxin, who wore straw sandals ahead of him.

Dingxin had been in the Extreme Domain for many years.

Compared to Ding Neng who had only entered the Extreme Domain two days ago, his cultivation was higher and he was more mature. At this moment, his hands were pressed together in prayer, unaffected by the burning heat, walking forward step by step.

Hearing Ding Neng’s question, he also glanced toward the firmament, recalling the magnificent scene from before.

That feeling of heaven and earth changing color in shock, with all the colors in the sky being absorbed away, truly made one’s heart grow fearful.

“Amitabha…” He chanted a Buddha’s name to stabilize his mind, then let out a long sigh. “Judging by the direction, all colors converged toward our rear, so it should be that later arrivals had a conflict. However, anyone capable of such unimaginable techniques must possess extremely high cultivation.”

“Wow, then wouldn’t they be much more powerful than us?” Ding Neng’s eyes began to shine. “I wonder who it could be…”

They belonged to the Buddhist Chan sect.

After cultivating in the Nineteen Continents, if they died for any reason, their souls would transfer here to continue cultivation. After enough time passed, they would reincarnate back to the secular world and rejoin the Chan sect.

Therefore, the Chan sect sometimes specifically arranged reincarnation training.

This “Cauldron Competition,” in their view, had nothing to do with victory or defeat.

What mattered was witnessing the surrounding world and comprehending profound principles. If they could gain some insights, it would naturally greatly benefit their future cultivation.

However, Ding Neng had just arrived and was indeed too young, so he was more concerned with the conflicts happening here.

Dingxin naturally had no idea who was behind them.

He looked toward the withered old monk walking at the very front and smiled slightly: “Perhaps Master Uncle and the others know.”

Ding Neng’s face immediately showed a dejected expression.

Just seeing Master Uncle’s skeletal back from afar made him lose all curiosity, and he didn’t dare risk running forward to ask, lest he receive another good scolding about discipline!

Touching his nose, Ding Neng muttered: “If we walked slower, we might have been able to see it.”

Dingxin sighed: “If we walked slower, who knows how far behind the Snow Domain we’d fall.”

The Snow Domain again.

Ding Neng frowned, instinctively wanting to argue back.

Unexpectedly, just then, a terrifying deep gray whirlwind suddenly swept past overhead from the massive crevice beside them!

“Boom!”

It felt like their ears were filled with explosive sounds!

Ding Neng lost his footing and nearly got swept into the wind, blown into the crevice!

Fortunately, Dingxin beside him was quick-eyed and quick-handed, immediately grabbing him and barely keeping him steady!

“Crash…”

Rocks from the edge tumbled down, not even making a splash.

Ding Neng broke out in a cold sweat, looking ahead in utter shock.

That deep gray whirlwind, like a tornado, vanished at the horizon in the blink of an eye, without a trace!

The entire Chan sect group was stunned.

“What exactly was that just now?”

“Did you see clearly?”

“A demon wind out of nowhere…”

…

Ding Neng’s ears were filled with voices as he stared ahead stupidly, his face showing disbelief, suspecting he had seen wrong.

It should have just been a gust of wind passing by, with no one inside, right?

It must have just been a momentary lapse, seeing wrong…

“Brother Ding Neng, are you alright?”

After pulling him back, Dingxin saw him standing dazed for a long time and became somewhat worried.

But Ding Neng still found it hard to recover, stammering: “Just now I saw a female cultivator standing in that wind.”

And she looked particularly like that famous Senior Sister from Yashan.

But Ding Neng didn’t dare say this remaining half sentence.

Because he had sneaked away to watch the Left Three Thousand Small Gathering under the pretext of sect wandering, and if the masters found out, he would certainly get another scolding.

Actually not much time had passed, so he still had a vivid impression of that scene:

Fudao Shanren’s suddenly revealed Thick Earth Seal, the Jianzhu Sect’s instant destruction, Hengxu Real Person standing by with folded arms, that Heaven-Reaching Path splattered with fresh blood, the axe-wielding female cultivator ascending step by step, and that One Person Platform high above…

The old scenes suddenly overlapped with what just happened.

That day, it was that Yashan Senior Sister pressing her hand on the One Person Platform, so a beam of light projected out, making the entire sky of the Nineteen Continents change from day to night, becoming a vast sea of stars;

Today, it was those mysterious cultivators of unknown identity who stole away the splendor of the entire firmament, making the entire Burning Hell lose its luster…

Was it a coincidence?

Ding Neng became somewhat confused.

He knew very little, but was very clear that Master Uncle Liao Kong, a three-lifetime good person, had only ranked on the Second Heaven Tablet after Sister Jian Chou of Yashan broke through to Golden Core.

“Hmm, I must have seen wrong…”

Cultivators from other parts of the Nineteen Continents didn’t enter reincarnation at all. Besides, how could such a powerful person possibly die?

Ding Neng touched his smooth head, smiled at Dingxin, and didn’t think further.

However, the withered monk at the very front looked thoughtfully toward the direction where the whirlwind had disappeared.

The entire Second Layer Hell continued the lifeless atmosphere of the First Layer Hell.

Moreover, there were always terrifying heat waves rising from nowhere, burning and disturbing people’s minds.

That mass of whirlwind ravaged across the wasteland at a terrifying speed.

“Too fast! Can’t take it anymore!”

“Wow, so fast! My god, I can’t even see what’s around us!”

“Slower, slower, Jian Chou, go slower… ugh…”

…

Little Gu Ling belonged to the bird clan and naturally loved wind.

When the Kunwu Battle Chariot took flight, it was comparable to light speed, making her excitedly shout and yell.

Chen Tingyan on the other side was nearly crying. He would get dizzy even riding in a carriage, which was why he preferred horseback riding when he was still on the human island. If he had to ride in a carriage, it absolutely had to be exquisitely crafted by skilled artisans with no bumping.

But this Kunwu Battle Chariot was something else—once it took off, it was suicidal!

He was nearly blown away entirely, his face twisted by the wind, and the gale was like a rogue trying to strip off all his robes!

He clung desperately to the compass platform with both hands, not caring about his image anymore, almost ready to vomit for Jian Chou to see.

“Slower!”

“Slower please!”

“Really can’t take this anymore…”

“This damn awesome Kunwu Battle Chariot doesn’t even have protective arrays?”

Jian Chou was absolutely not having a good time either.

Too fast!

Really so fast that souls trembled!

The surrounding scenery was completely unclear—only feeling red clouds that immediately stretched into long lines and disappeared cleanly from around them.

The edge of the sky grew closer and closer!

Only then did Jian Chou vaguely remember: when Sima Languan suddenly appeared earlier and she panicked while driving the chariot to escape, she seemed to have indeed missed activating something…

However, seeing Chen Tingyan’s wretched state, she felt somewhat guilty and didn’t dare say anything.

Immediately, she began searching around the compass platform.

The characters on the compass platform were all ancient script. Though Jian Chou recognized them, their great age made identification somewhat difficult, so it was slow going.

After looking around completely, she finally found the key location before Chen Tingyan got blown away!

Wind Protection Array!

Crane Spreading Wings!

“Found it!”

Jian Chou finally breathed a sigh of relief. Silently chanting in her heart, her hands immediately formed seals, slapping this corner of the compass platform while turning the compass spoon handle.

She immediately heard crisp “crack crack” sounds, then a “snap” as if something had locked into place.

In that instant—

“Hum!”

A clear cry!

Two deep white beams of light, like spreading crane wings, leaped up from both sides of the Kunwu Battle Chariot!

Crane Spreading Wings!

All the oncoming gale passed over and under these white crane wings, no longer blowing directly into the chariot.

The terrifying howling wind stopped, and Zhang Tang’s fierce, wildly dancing robes finally settled down. Chen Tingyan, who had been desperately clinging to the compass platform, was already pale as paper with trembling legs and weak hands and feet.

The moment the wind stopped, he nearly cried with emotion: “I hate riding in vehicles…”

Even if it was the Kunwu Battle Chariot!

It couldn’t change the cruel reality of his motion sickness!

Any vehicle could go die as far away as possible!

His noble young master demeanor had long since completely disappeared.

Chen Tingyan looked extremely disheveled.

Jian Chou felt somewhat guilty and quickly helped him up, with some embarrassment: “After all, it’s a newly acquired chariot, so I’m not very skilled with it…”

Chen Tingyan finally managed to stand steady but still felt like he was stepping on clouds, his whole body floating.

He looked at Jian Chou with a melancholy gaze, really wanting to say “I’ll never get on your vehicle again,” but thinking that he had said he would pursue her, he chickened out and ultimately didn’t voice a single complaint.

He could only stomp his foot hard!

“Damn Pan Hexun! Damn broken chariot! Just wait until you’re useless and I’ll dismantle you!”

Everyone remained speechless.

The entire Kunwu Battle Chariot was really so powerful it made their scalps tingle.

None of them had expected this thing to have such terrifying speed when running. Now that the wind problem was solved, they felt much more stable.

Crane wings rose with the wind, and the entire chariot soared through the sky. With speed slightly reduced, they could carefully distinguish the scenery below.

Jian Chou vaguely remembered seeming to accidentally pass through a group of monks earlier, though she didn’t know if they were from the Snow Domain Esoteric sect or Chan Buddhist cultivators from the Western Sea.

After her battle with Pan Hexun, her cultivation had not decreased but increased, making her the one among them who least needed rest and breathing regulation. So she said to everyone: “I’ll look for the entrance to the next layer. You all might as well take this opportunity to regulate your breathing and heal. If anything happens, I’ll call you.”

“Good idea.”

Everyone looked at each other, knowing this wasn’t the time for politeness.

The Kunwu Battle Chariot’s six-sided protection was activated, with wings on both sides for defense, so they didn’t need to worry about surprise attacks for now.

So the few who had already taken pills sat down to regulate their breathing and meditate, while Jian Chou continued identifying directions, matching what she saw with the map in her mind.

What she needed was to reach the final layer at the fastest speed!

Among their original group, Wang Renjie had been killed by Zhang Tang’s blade, and Li Han, or rather Fu Chaosheng, had disappeared the moment they entered.

But Jian Chou didn’t need to worry about his whereabouts or stop to wait.

So at this moment, there was only single-minded forward progress!

Thus, countless people throughout the seventy-two cities experienced the fastest passage speed they had ever seen—arguably the fastest in Cauldron Competition history!

Half an hour later, Jian Chou piloted the Kunwu Battle Chariot, racing across most of the Burning Hell and successfully finding the Burning Hell Prison Division at the edge, directly entering the next layer.

The third layer of the Six Paths Hell Path: Solitary Hell!

What met their eyes was actually a scene of human world.

A long river hung inverted, with some exiled souls standing lonely on the riverbank, giving a sense of oppression, as if only oneself existed between heaven and earth.

At that moment, Jian Chou piloted the Kunwu Battle Chariot, flying over the long river.

Her heart felt momentarily melancholy, thinking of Yashan.

However, she knew clearly that this was the “heart-confusing” effect of Solitary Hell trying to keep them there, so she was too lazy to linger and didn’t compare whether the scenery here differed from the human island.

The Kunwu Battle Chariot roared past!

This time, it took only a quarter hour to directly enter the Prison Division, not even getting off the chariot but bringing the chariot directly into the well.

Thus, they completely passed through the three layers of Hell Path, the first of the Six Paths.

What followed was the even more difficult Hungry Ghost Path.

In the three layers of hell—Outer Obstacles, Inner Obstacles, and No Obstacles—countless hungry ghosts on the ground attacked the chariot. However, after the previous two layers of coordination, Jian Chou had become quite adept with the Kunwu Battle Chariot.

She didn’t even need to lift an eyelid before directly summoning those thirty-six flying wheels!

For a moment, the three layers of Hungry Ghost Path hell were filled with the wails and cries of hungry ghosts, adding even more to the miserable state of this earthly hell.

When they found the Prison Division of the third layer of Hungry Ghost Path—the sixth layer of hell overall—they finally encountered a group of monks outside the gate.

Most wore snow-white robes with hoods hanging behind them.

A few wore red robes decorated with golden patterns, giving the feeling of eternally unmelting snow on heaven’s mountains—solemn and sacred.

The Kunwu Battle Chariot flew high in the sky, already splattered with bone-white bloodstains from being besieged by countless hungry ghosts, appearing incredibly fierce.

Compared to this group of monks below, there was a strangely strong contrast.

Jian Chou looked down at them from above, frowning momentarily, feeling that this attire was somewhat different from the monks she knew, definitely not from the Western Sea Chan sect.

Then…

“Snow Domain Esoteric sect?”