Just these four words suddenly transported the several Yama Kings in the hall into a trance-like state.

A thousand years ago, the Yin-Yang Realm War had not yet erupted.

Within the Eight Directions City, the Eight Palace Yama Kings had not yet appeared. Only Lord Qin Guang, who had just gained consciousness, held the Book of Life and Death, controlling the existence of all life on Origin Star.

He was not in human form, but had been born from the rules themselves, strangely gaining his own consciousness.

Thus, he gradually became “Lord Qin Guang.”

At that time, the Extreme Domain had not yet been separated from Jiushijiu Zhou.

When cultivators died, they could enter reincarnation, and occasionally living people would arrive at the Extreme Domain through various coincidences and karmic connections.

But having someone break through the gates of the Yin-Yang realm and directly kill their way in—that had only happened once!

And it was all for just a little marten…

Among the other Yama Kings, some had witnessed that magnificent spectacle of one person battling half the Extreme Domain with their own power, while others had pieced together the terror of that day from various later records…

Having reached the position of the Eight Palace Yama Kings, how could they not know of “Luye Laozu”?

“What exactly is her background…”

Song Emperor King stroked his beard, staring at the woman driving the Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot, feeling unease constantly rising in his heart.

As if she would bring some catastrophe.

“She carries heavy treasures, and her behavior is extraordinary in every way.” This time it was the Yama King who spoke, acting like a peacemaker. He furrowed his thick eyebrows with an air of natural authority. “The Myriad Seal Dharma Marten belongs to that person—how could it just randomly follow her?”

“After that old witch Luye ascended, the Qiankun Gourd was taken by her, the Nine Curves River Map was given to Buyu, the Heaven-Earth-Human Three Seals were passed to Fudao. Only the Crimson Slaughter Small Realm and the Myriad Seal Dharma Marten remain missing to this day…”

Lord Qin Guang’s voice also became somewhat heavy.

Because Luye Laozu’s ascension was also a thousand years ago, when the Extreme Domain had not yet been sealed, so they knew something about the affairs of Jiushijiu Zhou.

In fact, the Extreme Domain was originally part of Jiushijiu Zhou.

How could their information not be interconnected?

Now to see the Myriad Seal Dharma Marten beside this female cultivator who had accidentally come to participate in the cauldron competition…

A marten that had followed that old witch was not something that could be easily tamed by just anyone.

Lord Qin Guang frowned and asked everyone: “What do you think?”

“This marten is not within the Six Paths to begin with—it wouldn’t be strange for it to appear anywhere.”

Lord Wu Guan, with his narrow peach blossom eyes, short stature, and voice carrying a soft, childlike quality like an innocent neighbor child.

“Perhaps it just finds this female cultivator interesting and is playing around her. If it had truly acknowledged a master, it would have come out to save her during such danger earlier. This lord is quite interested in this marten…”

The Myriad Seal Dharma Marten.

Who didn’t know that this was originally just a very ordinary little marten?

Yet it was forcibly transformed by that old witch Luye Laozu into a monster that could reach heaven and earth, jumping beyond the Six Paths!

A thousand years ago was still the transition period from ancient times to the present.

When Luye Laozu dominated Jiushijiu Zhou, the various demon gods and strange beasts on the ground, though nearly extinct, still left traces.

Among these strange beasts, any that were somewhat powerful were born with Dao seals bestowed by heaven, basically all unique.

Therefore, cultivators called them the “Innate Dao Seals” of demon beasts.

Because they shared the same world, the human race multiplied while strange beasts also needed living space.

Between the human race and the strange beast demon gods, deeper conflicts erupted. In the long battles, human cultivators gradually discovered the benefits of the demon beasts’ innate Dao seals, and finally found ways to strip away these innate Dao seals and attach them to themselves.

This was the secret behind the power of all ancient cultivators—

Hunting strange beasts, obtaining their blood and essence, using the “Myriad Laws Return to Origin Wheel” to reverse-engineer their “Innate Dao Seals,” then attaching them to themselves.

Thus, they became the cultivators’ “Life-Bound Dao Seals.”

With Dao seals, cultivators could possess many abilities that demon beasts had, soaring through heaven and earth with mighty power. Luye Laozu’s “Myriad Seal Dharma Marten” was the most outstanding, and most insanely cruel “masterpiece” of this method at the end of ancient times.

This marten was originally just the most ordinary one.

No one knows how it gained that old witch’s favor back then, but she actually kept it by her side. Every time she hunted a demon beast and stripped its innate Dao seal, instead of using it on herself, she bestowed it upon this marten!

How powerful was her life of cultivation?

The demon beasts she hunted numbered in the tens of thousands!

Countless people witnessed that ordinary little marten gradually becoming powerful, becoming omnipotent, with “Dao seals” on its body multiplying one after another!

By the time Luye ascended, this little marten had become a true “Myriad Seal Marten.”

Those who heard of it were often terrified.

Finally, it was crowned with the name “Myriad Seal Dharma Marten.”

But since Luye Laozu’s ascension, truly no one knew its whereabouts.

At this moment, Lord Wu Guan held the cat in his arms, looking at the marten standing on Jian Chou’s shoulder with slight radiance in his eyes: “Tell me, if we killed this marten and put its essence, blood, and bone marrow into the Myriad Laws Return to Origin Wheel, what kind of Dao seal would be produced?”

The great hall was completely silent.

No one answered this question because no one knew.

After a long while, Song Emperor King finally laughed: “I’m more curious about this female cultivator’s origins…”

Lord Qin Guang stood with his hands behind his back, also watching, only saying: “No rush, we’ll eventually see through it.”

Yes.

They would eventually see through it.

And she would eventually be seen through.

The seventh level bull pit hell—the beast tide had retreated.

Several people on the Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot traveled with it all the way. What they saw was again blue sky and white clouds. The devastation left by the previous terrifying attack had been left far behind them.

The little marten licked its paws, crouching on Jian Chou’s shoulder.

Jian Chou looked ahead. On the surface, she showed no emotional fluctuations, but inwardly she had begun thinking: the little marten’s existence had always been a mystery to her.

It had suddenly emerged from Yashan’s Thousand Cultivators’ Tomb, inadvertently bringing the killing disc, causing her to mistakenly enter the Crimson Slaughter Small Realm. In that struggle, she had seized Xie Buchen’s opportunity, fought with Kunwu’s Gu Qingmei, and unexpectedly encountered Zhang Tang…

After that, besides eating and hiding things, the little marten seemed to have done nothing else.

Until today…

Jian Chou knew its mouth was powerful—after all, that roar had nearly toppled Gu Qingmei back then. But she hadn’t expected it to be this powerful…

One roar and the beast tide scattered!

Jian Chou calculated in her heart, feeling the little marten couldn’t be as simple as it appeared on the surface. But now wasn’t the time to investigate its origins.

She could only be certain of one thing—

With the little marten, she would have divine assistance in this Animal Realm!

As for the Eight Yama Halls…

There had been no movement until now, no interference. Either they hadn’t discovered more clues, or they were patient enough to wait for her to exit the cauldron competition before dealing with her.

That was perfect.

Let them remain patient, waiting for her to gradually reveal her trump cards bit by bit, to see what her background was, waiting for her to return to the Extreme Domain from the eighteen levels of hell before properly “investigating” her…

A barely noticeable smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

Jian Chou had to feel fortunate that she had decisively participated in this cauldron competition. Even though it was a life-and-death crisis, it was also her best chance to approach the Heaven-Releasing Creation Array and get closest to Jiushijiu Zhou.

Her mood suddenly improved considerably.

Chen Tingyan and the others standing behind couldn’t see her expression, only occasionally seeing the little marten that had been so majestic just moments ago casually swish its tail, looking extremely leisurely.

Gu Ling had always wanted to go up and pet it, but remembering the scene of the little marten’s outburst earlier, and considering her own strength, she became somewhat timid.

Now, she could only look longingly with glowing eyes.

The old woman beside her could only feel helpless.

Zhang Tang had known something about this little marten beforehand. Though surprised by its existence now, thinking about how Jian Chou had also entered the Extreme Domain alive, he simply suppressed all his doubts.

He was someone skilled at suspicion.

However, suspecting Jian Chou now wouldn’t serve any purpose.

After all, they were grasshoppers tied to the same rope.

Zhang Tang’s gaze wandered across the endless plains below.

Seeing they had basically reached the middle position shown on the map, he couldn’t help but speak: “Around here should be where the ‘special passage’ marked on the previous Barrier-Free Prison’s map is located. Do you plan to try it?”

Clearly, this question was directed at Jian Chou.

Jian Chou looked back at him. She actually wanted to try, after all, she had trump cards in hand, and the rules stated: the Prison Lords of the eighteen levels of hell must not attack cultivators participating in the cauldron competition.

“What does Lord Zhang think?”

“If the passage is real, it could save considerable time. Reaching the eighteenth level of hell early to make arrangements could give us a significant advantage.”

Of course, after getting there, whether everyone would be enemies or friends was unknown.

Jian Chou had her own plans and probably wouldn’t turn against others.

But for the remaining few people, that was hard to say.

Zhang Tang was crystal clear about this, but what was meant to come would come eventually, so he didn’t avoid the topic: “Therefore, I think we should try.”

“No objections.”

Hearing this, Chen Tingyan looked at Zhang Tang with a grin, his words carrying a hint of laziness as his fan opened and closed repeatedly.

The old woman and Gu Ling were originally just along for the ride.

The three who had just spoken were the core, so naturally they wouldn’t voice opposition. They also nodded in agreement.

“Then let’s go explore this possibly existing ‘secret passage.'”

If she could reach the eighteenth level of hell before everyone else arrived, it would be extremely advantageous for her.

Right now, they were definitely far ahead of everyone else.

A casual sweep of the cauldron ring showed that on the Star Cloud Scroll, of the dozens participating, less than half remained in the eighteen levels of hell.

Most of those who had disappeared were dead.

Calculated this way, their chances of winning were already quite good.

Jian Chou turned the Sinan Round Platform, clearly visualizing the map’s direction in her mind. After confirming, she directly turned the Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot toward the right.

The battle chariot “stained with blood” was like a huge white feather floating in mid-air.

Wild wind swirled up, pushing forward.

The Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot charged straight ahead.

At this moment, the little marten crouching on Jian Chou’s shoulder suddenly sat up straight.

“Aowuuu!”

It’s coming, it’s coming!

It couldn’t help but cry out excitedly, its two round black eyes becoming bright and sparkling, anticipating something.

Such an abnormal reaction immediately caught Jian Chou’s attention.

Things that could excite the little marten…

Were mostly not good things.

Her mouth twitched as she directly warned: “There should be something ahead.”

Everyone had just witnessed the little marten’s abilities and saw its reaction. At this moment, they all gripped their magical artifacts and closely watched below, mentally preparing themselves. Even if they saw some horrifying scene, they should be able to handle it.

But half a quarter-hour later, when they clearly saw the situation ahead, everyone still couldn’t help but feel their scalps explode!

A sinkhole!

On the vast prairie, a huge circular collapse had appeared!

The Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot was now at the edge of this collapse. Looking over, they couldn’t see how large this collapse actually was.

Dark black soil seemed to have been dug from muddy swamps.

The edge of the collapse still connected with the grassland, but the further inward, the more depressed it became, sloping downward like steps.

The Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot entered from the edge.

Almost simultaneously, a fierce pressure immediately swept over, as if this entire area was shrouded by something.

“Boom!”

The entire Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot suddenly sank heavily!

As if there was some pulling force below, or something above suddenly pressing down, actually forcing the battle chariot down three feet!

Moreover, as the battle chariot continued forward, it kept sinking!

“What’s happening?”

Everyone was immediately terrified.

Jian Chou’s pupils also constricted sharply, but seeing the little marten had no reaction from beginning to end, she forced herself to calm down before keenly discovering: “The gravity here is wrong…”

The further into this pit they went, the more terrifying the gravity became!

This should be the reason for the Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot’s descent!

But inside here, an extremely delicate balance was maintained.

Gravity continuously increased, but the sinkhole also continuously descended. The distance between the battle chariot and the pit surface remained exactly the same as their previous distance from the ground, without any change.

“If I’m not mistaken, that special passage to the next level seems to be inside this sinkhole?”

Chen Tingyan had also looked at the map earlier. Now seeing the surrounding situation, he was secretly alarmed.

“…Don’t tell me it’s at the very bottom of the sinkhole…”

An ominous premonition, following Chen Tingyan’s words, enveloped everyone’s hearts.

Faintly, strange sounds seemed to drift from ahead.

Like a woman’s mournful sobbing, or like a lone wolf howling in the long night. Sometimes it sounded like spring water tinkling as it flowed through mountain streams.

This sound was so faint at first that Jian Chou almost doubted she had misheard.

But after advancing only about a hundred zhang further, Zhang Tang also heard this sound. After another hundred zhang, Chen Tingyan and the others also completely confirmed there was indeed a sound.

Jian Chou frowned tightly, gripping her trump cards in both hands again, feeling a strange sense of familiarity constantly rising from the depths of her heart…

This sound—she seemed to have heard it somewhere before.

“It sounds like wind…”

As soon as she said this, Chen Tingyan also frowned: “But you’ve already activated the Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot’s protective array. Along the way, even if there was wind, it would all be diverted by the crane wings. We’ve had complete silence all along—no wind can penetrate the array to reach us.”

Wind sounds were naturally similar.

Even Chen Tingyan knew this point—how could Jian Chou not know?

But she completely couldn’t suppress this thought rising from within.

Wind sounds…

She was too familiar with them.

Because of her “Riding Wind” Dao seal, her understanding of wind surpassed others, so at this moment, as they continued forward, that feeling didn’t diminish but grew stronger!

Right…

Riding Wind!

In that instant, Jian Chou’s heart jumped violently as she directly struck the Sinan Round Platform: “Descend!”

“Jian Chou?!”

Chen Tingyan and the others were startled, not knowing what she intended to do.

Jian Chou didn’t look back, only controlling the massive Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot to sink downward while saying: “It’s fine, I just want to see what’s below…”

Soon, the Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot, while continuing to advance, also descended to only a hundred zhang from the pit surface.

This distance was enough for cultivators with decent cultivation to clearly see the situation below!

At that moment, even Zhang Tang, whose brow was usually solemn, couldn’t help but twitch violently!

Chen Tingyan directly cried out in alarm: “Wind-Devouring Stones!”

The entire huge pit surface was all black.

At some unknown time, the black mud they had seen when first entering had completely disappeared. What gradually appeared on the surface, embedded in the ground, was densely packed, countless Wind-Devouring Stones!

They were like black honeycombs with countless wind-eroded holes.

Faintly, wisps of fine wind blew from the unfathomably deep pit bottom, passing through the gaps in these stones and producing the sounds they had heard earlier…

Wind-Devouring Stones!

The further inward, the denser the Wind-Devouring Stones became. Everything in sight was nothing but these!

They could even see streams of black wind blowing past below!

At that moment, the Kunwu All-Directions Battle Chariot stopped descending.

Standing before the Sinan Round Platform, Jian Chou completely and thoroughly remembered the Wind-Devouring Sword she had bought after entering the Extreme Domain, and that time…

The Black Wind Cave she had never fully explored!

Author’s Note: Recently I’ve been making writing bets with friends in the circle—whoever writes less buys lunch. I’ve lost three days in a row and am almost broke now…

😀

My heart is so tired.

Going out to buy lunch now. Buddha bless them to write less today…