Hui Yao let out a long sigh before he said, “You’re my savior, I don’t see any reason to hide this from you. Actually, the Netherworld is a place that doesn’t exist in our world. You can think of it as a place that exists like the Luster Spatial Realm, a parallel space. However, that place is much more terrifying than the Luster Spatial Realm. There’re many Nether creatures over there. There’s no light in the Netherworld but only bloodlust and bloodshed. To put it simply, in the Netherworld, any ordinary, run-of-the-mill Nether creature is much stronger than a Sixth Jewel-tier Heavenly Jewel Master. If the Netherworld is connected to your human world, the human world will perish in no time.”
After listening to Hui Yao’s descriptions, Zhou Weiqing was stunned by his words. This was something that he had never heard of before. Disbelief began to form in his eyes.
Of course, Hui Yao knew what he was thinking. In a composed tone, he continued, “There’s no need for you to doubt me. The Netherworld really does exist. The Luster Spatial Realm was built because of the Netherworld. A hundred thousand years ago, the Netherworld almost opened up a channel that could connect to the human world. At that time, there were many powerful dragons like us in your human world and under their combined effort, they managed to seal the passage completely before they specially assigned people to guard it. Ever since then, the dragon clan has been responsible for guarding it. This is also why we rarely show ourselves in the human world. In the past, the dragon clan’s head was responsible for guarding the Netherworld’s passage. In order to guard it, the dragon clan paid a hefty price. Because of the influence of the Netherworld energy, our conceiving rate is very low. It’s also because of this that our ancestors decided to build this Luster Spatial Realm and sent Duo Si and me here when we were still young, with the objective of continuing the dragon lineage over here.”
Zhou Weiqing gasped. If what Hui Yao said was true and the person who kidnapped their children was somebody from the Netherworld, it meant that the human world was in danger.
Hui Yao continued, “There’s a high possibility that the energy that previously caused the spatial tear came from the Netherworld. After all, only the Nether Lord possesses that kind of power that’s able to temporary cause a spatial tear. Even though he and the other Nether creatures can’t enter our world, he can send his delegates here. It was exactly them who took my children away. I’ve no idea what they planned to do but I’m certain that it wouldn’t be good for you human beings, too. Your cultivation base is considered quite good among the humans, especially that strange Saint Energy of yours. However, you’re still far too weak compared to the delegates from the Netherworld.”
After mulling over it, Zhou Weiqing queried, “Who or what exactly are the Netherworld delegates that you speak of?”
Hui Yao replied without any hesitation, “Humans! Among you humans, there are some who thirst for power. Iann order to pursue this power, these people are willing to use unscrupulous tactics. It’s exactly because of this that they’re lured by the Nether Lord to become his servants. The Nether Lord would give them power so that they c help him carry out his plans. As long as there’s an opening, they’ll help the Nether Lord weaken the seal of the passage.”
A gleam flashed in Zhou Weiqing’s eyes, “Then, this means that the human world is in danger! Are you certain that the Nether creatures won’t be able to cross over to our world?”
Hui Yao nodded his head, “As long as the seal is not destroyed, even the extremely powerful Nether Lord will not be able to enter the human world. All he can do is create a spatial tear and send energy ripples over. On top of that, he’ll have to pay a hefty price every time he does so. Therefore, if you want to stop the Nether passage from opening, you’ll have to deal with those filths in the human world first. Truth be told, me and Duo Si leaving the Luster Spatial Realm is not entirely a bad thing for you human beings. We have a keen perception towards the Nether aura. As the descendant of a Dragon Emperor, the Dragon Emperor’s energy in my blood would be able to lead me to those people.”
Zhou Weiqing smiled awkwardly, “However, if you leave, it would deal a devastating blow to the entire human world. Perhaps, you don’t know but there is a palace built on the Heavenly Jewel Island in this Luster Spatial Realm. It’s called the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. Not only that, under this Heavenly Jewel Island, there is a gigantic city that is inhabited by more than ten million people. If the Luster Spatial Realm is destroyed, then, the biggest city in the human world would be gone as well. This is why we are fighting to stop you from leaving.”
Closing his eyes slowly, Hui Yao contemplated for a moment before replying calmly, “Actually, there might be another way. Right now, our children have not hatched so no matter what those people planned to do with our children, they will have to wait till they are fully hatched. However, without our energy, no matter what methods they use to speed up the hatching, it will take at least five years before it can happen. Six months have passed since that incident, so we still stand a chance if you can get us out of here within three years.”
Shangguan Xue’er who was standing by the side suddenly interjected, “We will do our best to meet your request. Do you have any methods that you can use to leave this place without destroying the Luster Spatial Realm?”
Hui Yao nodded his head, “Other than destroying the realm, there is another way. Teleportation. Forcefully tear open the space and teleport the two of us out of here, just like how they tore open the space and sent the humans in last time.
Zhou Weiqing drew a long breath, “But that can only be done if we are extremely powerful! I’m afraid that even a Heavenly God tier person would not be able to do that!”
Hui Yao replied, “Being powerful is one thing. If you can find the Spatial Teleportation Stone, you’ll be able to save a lot of energy. With the amount of Saint Energy that you possess right now, it’s more than enough for you to activate the stone. I’ll give you a coordinate and you only need to carve the coordinate on the stone. As for how to activate it, well, I don’t really know how either. After all, this Spatial Teleportation Stone is extremely rare even in the ancient times.”
Zhou Weiqing quickly looked over at Shangguan Xue’er, “Have you heard of this stone?” The richest place in the mainland was the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. There were many treasured collections in the palace. Perhaps the Spatial Teleportation Stone might be amongst them.
Unfortunately, she shook her head, “I’ve never even heard of such thing before. But, if it really exists in this world, I’m sure that we’ll be able to find it.”
Zhou Weiqing turned and looked at Hui Yao. If it was not for the Netherworld, he would do his best to persuade the pair of dragons to not destroy the Luster Spatial Realm. But now, the matter was a lot more serious than he had originally thought. The presence of the Netherworld not only threatened Zhongtian City, but the entire human population as well. How could he possibly stop them from going out?
At this moment, Little Fatty Zhou’s vigor came back again. After a short while of mulling it over, he looked at Hui Yao as he said in a deep voice, “Sir, how about this? We prepare ourselves for both eventualities. Give us three years and we’ll use this three years to search for the Spatial Teleportation Stone. At the same time, we’ll slowly relocate Zhongtian City’s civilians to another safe place. If we’re not able to find the stone in three years time, you can leave the Luster Spatial Realm. That will give us enough time to move all the inhabitants away. But of course, finding the stone would be the ideal solution. And at that time, I give you my words that I WILL open a passage for you and send you out from here.”
It was the most plausible idea so far. Hui Yao nodded his head, the gaze that was trained on Zhou Weiqing had a tint of appreciation, “You’re a clever human. Let’s do as you say. I’ll give you three years.”
Zhou Weiqing nodded his head, “Thank you, sir. In that case, we shouldn’t waste anymore time. We’ll take our leave now and help you search for the stone.”
Hui Yao suddenly exclaimed, “Wait a minute! Before you leave, please absorb more of my Heavenly Energy. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee I can hold back the urge to find my children.”
Zhou Weiqing was stunned. But, at this moment, Hui Yao already stretched out his claw towards him. Although he had a calm look on his face, Zhou Weiqing understood his intention clearly. Smiling, he replied, “Thank you, I’ll take it then.”
…
Heavenly Jewel Island, Heaven’s Expanse Palace
Shangguan Tianyang and Tianyue were standing in front of the activated the formation of the Luster Spatial Realm with bitter looks on their faces.
Six months! Since the day Zhou Weiqing and the girls entered the Luster Spatial Realm, six months had passed! There were still no signs of life in the Luster Spatial Realm. The occasional energy ripples were no longer as intense as before.
Although the Luster Spatial Realm was obviously more important than Zhou Weiqing and the four girls, the three Shangguan sisters were their only successors for f*ck sake! If all of them died inside the Luster Spatial Realm, it would spell disaster for the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. Even worse, Zhou Weiqing and the daughter of the Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord were in there as well! Before this, somebody from the Wan Shou Empire had entered the Luster Spatial Realm and all of them had retreated due to the terrifying force inside. Those people had already returned to the Wan Shou Empire and they even spread the news that Tian’er was inside. If they really died in the Luster Spatial Realm, Long Shiya the Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor and Xue Aotian, the Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord would definitely come demanding an explanation. Even though the Heaven’s Expanse Palace was strong, it would never be able to fight against the both of them.
Frowning, Shangguan Tianyue said, “Brother, I think it’s better if we send somebody to have a look! There’s no movement at all after so long. We need to get the bodies back if they’re really dead!”
Shangguan Tianyang sighed out loud, “Brother, it’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have let them enter the realm in the first place.”
Tianyue’s eyes had a worried look as he shook his head, “It’s no use saying all these now. What’s done, is done. All we can do now is to pray for those children. Brother, I…” As he uttered those words, tears began to well up in Tianyue’s— who was a freaking Heavenly Emperor Level master— eyes.
Tianyang did not know how to comfort him.
Without warning, a powerful ripple suddenly fluctuated in the Luster Spatial Realm. Both the brothers quickly looked over at the golden screen.
In a flash, five shadows appeared soundlessly out of thin air. Another shimmer flashed past and in just a blink of an eye, five people were already standing in front of them.
Zhou Weiqing was standing at the front with a smile on his face. However, there was something different about his temperament. The instance he appeared, even Tianyang and Tianyue who had a high cultivation base could feel an obvious crushing presence from his body. They were both completely taken aback by it. It looked like he must have had a fortuitous meeting inside the realm.
Their gaze moved to the three Shangguan sisters who were standing behind Zhou Weiqing. Seeing that they were all safe and unharmed, Tianyue was so happy that he almost shed tears in front of them. He immediately went to the three sisters and spread his arms wide before pulling them into his warm embrace.
“FINALLY! You three are finally out! You really gave me a huge fright, you know!”
The worries and solemnity in Tianyang’s eyes vanished instantly. Chuckling, he looked over at Zhou Weiqing, “You brat! You’re really one lucky bastard! Looks like you’ve got quite a harvest this time!”
Zhou Weiqing chortled, “This time, we managed to solve a huge problem for the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. Just take it as the bride-price for Xue’er, Fei’er and Bing’er, okay?”
Tianyang laughed out loud, “What a sly boy! You just don’t want to pay that one billion gold, huh? Alright then! As long as the Luster Spatial Realm’s problem is resolved for good, I’ll let you go this time.”
Zhou Weiqing smiled awkwardly, “… Actually, it’s not completely resolved,” Although they just came out of Luster Spatial Realm, the matter was too important so he did not dare to drag it out a second longer. At once, he spilled all the details about the situation in the Luster Spatial Realm to Tianyang.
Tianyue walked towards them to listen to the story. The more they listened to it, the more they began to worry, particularly the part about the Netherworld which elicited a deep frown on their foreheads.
Zhou Weiqing continued, “Uncle, Father-in-law, have you heard of the Netherworld before? Does this place really exists? I find it a little unbelievable.”
Creases appeared between Tianyang’s brows, “The dragons don’t lie. On top of that, our ancestors in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace had mentioned the existence of the Netherworld before in the ancient books and records but the information is very vague. Before this, we did not pay much attention to it but if what the dragon said is true, then we would be in great trouble.”
Zhou Weiqing replied, “The Netherworld is not that most pressing issue at the moment. Let us just put this matter aside and solve the Luster Spatial Realm issue first. Although the dragons gave us three years, it’s actually quite a short time. Have any of you heard of the Spatial Teleportation Stone?”
Tianyue shook his head blankly while Tianyang’s eyes had a look of contemplation in it. After giving it some thoughts, Tianyang proclaimed, “That actually sounds quite familiar to me. I think I’ve seen it before in the records. How about this, you guys get some rest first and I’ll think back to where I’ve seen the term before.”
Zhou Weiqing nodded his head in agreement. They had been in the Luster Spatial Realm for so long, it was indeed true that they needed a good rest.
This time, he was not arranged to stay in the Heavenly Jewel Island hotel. Instead, he was given a place to stay in the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. And perhaps it was the three Shangguan sisters who deliberately arranged it, but Tian’er was taken away by them, leaving him alone in the room staring at empty walls.
Regarding this matter, Zhou Weiqing did not have any complaints at all. Besides, when he excused himself from the four girls, they seemed to have a look of cheekiness on their faces.
There was a reason why he was so relaxed about it. After all, he had already completed the request from Shangguan Tianyang.
After Hui Yao was resurrected, he had offered his energy for Zhou Weiqing to devour using the Demonic Devour. Along with the massive amount of Atmospheric Energy that he devoured in the Luster Spatial Realm, when he was devouring Hui Yao’s horrifyingly vast Heavenly Energy, not only was Tian’er’s body filled with the Saint Energy, even the three Shangguan sisters were the same. On top of that, the four girls’ cultivation base managed to have another breakthrough. Tian’er even successfully entered the Eighth Jewel Level, leaving her much closer to the regeneration stage.
The three Shangguan sisters had no Saint Attribute so it was impossible for them to regenerate their energy like how Zhou Weiqing did. Even though that might be the case, he was still able to fulfill the original request that Shangguuan Tianyang made. In other words, he was eligible to marry the three sisters now. This time, no matter what, he would take the three Shangguan sisters along with him when he left. Since they had only arrived a short while ago, he had no time to voice out his request to Shangguan Tianyang.
Zhou Weiqing already had a plan. Although he no longer had to devour Heavenly beasts, when he left this place, he would still have to go to the Heavenly Snow Mountain.
From Hui Yao’s words, and the terrifying Destruction Energy in his body previously, he had a speculation about the Netherworld. This was because when they were still at the Heavenly Snow Mountain, the technique that Tian’er’s mother, Phelia passed to him was the Nether State. It also seemed as if she was guarding a place. Perhaps, she had something to do with the Netherworld. As the most powerful person in the world, the only Heavenly God tier master among humans, the Heavenly Snow Mountain Lord would be the person who most likely had heard of the Netherworld.
As for the Spatial Teleportation Stone, Zhou Weiqing did not have the intention to look for it himself. With his power, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It would be much better to let the Heaven’s Expanse Palace carry out this task. One of the reasons he wanted to go to the Heavenly Snow Mountain was to ask the Mountain Lord to use his energy to search for the stone as well. If the two most powerful people in the two Great Saint Lands were unable to search for the stone, needless to say, it would be even more impossible for him to obtain it. If the worst happened and he was unable to get his hands on it, at least they were still left with the choice to relocate all of Zhongtian City’s civilians. Even though the destruction of the Heavenly Jewel Island would greatly impact the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, but with the three years as a buffer, it would still be acceptable.
The next morning, a Heaven’s Expanse Palace pupil came to inform Zhou Weiqing to meet Shangguan Tianyang.
It was still the palace that he was familiar with, the white fog of illusion made it him he feel like he was in a paradise on Earth. Shangguan Tianyang and Tianyue were both present and the three Shangguan sisters and Tian’er stood beside them. Looking at how close they were, Zhou Weiqing felt a great relief in his heart.
“Uncle, Father-in-law,” The titles had slowly grown on him.
To his surprise, his future father-in-law did not seem to have any objection to the way he was addressed. Right now, the two Palace Masters had a solemn look on their faces.
“T-There’s no clue at all?” Zhou Weiqing frowned as he asked.
Shangguan Tianyang replied, “There are, but they’re a little troublesome.”
Chills ran down Zhou Weiqing’s spine. Shangguan Tianyang was the Palace Master of the Heaven’s Expanse Palace. If even he found it to be a difficult task, then it was certain that obtaining the Spatial Teleportation Stone would not be a stroll in the park.
Tianyang replied in a low voice, “My memory serves me correctly, there IS a record of the Spatial Teleportation Stone in my Heaven’s Expanse Palace ancients books and records. In the record, it’s stated that the stone was the greatest treasure of a place named Mystical Heavenly Palace.”
“Mystical Heavenly Palace? Where’s that?” Zhou Weiqing asked. The Five Great Saint Lands of the Boundless Mainland were the Heaven’s Expanse Palace, Heavenly Snow Mountain, Passion Valley, Blood Red Hell and the Heavenly Demon Sect but he had not heard of the Mystical Heavenly Palace before. If this Mystical Heavenly Palace was not even powerful enough to be even classified as one of the Saint Lands, why did Shangguan Tianyang seemed so wary of it?
Tianyang continued, “It’s not just you. I’ve never heard of this place as well. The Mystical Heavenly Palace is actually not situated in our Boundless Mainland.”
“W-What?” Astonished, Zhou Weiqing looked at him with a face full of doubts.
Shangguan Tianyang added, “In our world, other than our Boundless Mainland, there is another relatively small mainland that stands alone in the middle of the ocean. It is called the Mystical Heavenly Mainland. Because they are very far from the Boundless Mainland, not many people have heard of them before. It was only when a few of their people came over to our Boundless Mainland and got into a quarrel with our people that they were recorded down in the ancient books and records. In this Mystical Heavenly Mainland, they also have a few Saint Lands like ours. And this Mystical Heavenly Palace is the most powerful and strong land over there. At first, even though they were forced to retreat after under the cooperation of our few Saint Lands, we could not do much to them because they possessed the Spatial Teleportation Stone. In the end, we signed an alliance treaty that specified the two mainlands would never interfere with each other and the people from both sides would never step foot again on the other’s land. That was how we finally solved the problem. However, that was around a thousand years ago. Now, it’s really rare to find anyone who knows anything about them.”
“A-Another mainland exists out there?” Zhou Weiqing asked, “Then, is there a map or something? The ocean is completely different than a mainland. Even if we don’t take the number of powerful Heavenly beasts into consideration, how the hell are we supposed to find a palace in a freaking vast ocean if we don’t even know where the specific location of the Mystical Heavenly Mainland is?”
Shangguan Tianyue replied, “You don’t have to worry about this. That year, we managed to snatch a piece of the ocean map from one of their people. The map has a detailed account of the location of the Mystical Heavenly Mainland. After all, it’s a large mainland, not just a small island. It would not be hard to find the place. Still, the mainland is probably several tens of thousands of miles away from the Boundless Mainland. It won’t be easy getting to that mainland. On top of that, the treaty of alliance between the two mainlands are still valid to this day. If we’re to send somebody to search for the Spatial Teleportation Stone in the Mystical Heavenly Mainland, not only will we offend the people there, there might be a possibility that a war might break out as well. Right now, we already have enough matters on our hands. It’s absolutely unwise to provoke such a powerful enemy.”
The clever Zhou Weiqing immediately understood the underlying meaning behind the two brothers’ words. With a slight chuckle, he answered, “I’ll go then. I’m not from the Saint Land anyway. Besides, my goal is relatively smaller. If I can’t fight them, I can just borrow the stone from them, can’t I?”
Without a doubt, his ‘borrow’ was no different from ‘taking without asking’.
Satisfied with his answer, a smile could be seen on Shangguan Tianyue’s face. Although this future son-in-law of his was not really compatible with his daughters in terms of appearance, when it came to his power and ability, there was rarely anyone of his age that would be able to match up to him.
