Another half a month passed as Lin Xun hurried on the road. During this, he had encountered dozens of raids of various scales, but the majority of them were swarms of Netherworld Soldiers. The number of Netherworld Generals, on the other hand, only made up a tiny portion. He had only killed five during these last two weeks, obtaining five Yellow Spring Beads along with big surges of netherworld power. By now, the nine netherworld runes in the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron had all become much more consolidated. They even showed faint signs of becoming complete, which was a stark contrast to how variegated and blurry they had been at first. Even Lin Xun had not anticipated this kind of bountiful harvest before entering Gathering Netherworld. “With my current battle prowess, killing Ninth Realm Ancestors is no longer something risky. When I reach the seventh realm of Practicing Voidness, maybe I can test if I can hold up against an Ancestor of a Path... “Apart from that, the power of the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron has made a clear improvement, enough to match my strength...” While traveling, Lin Xun perceived the changes in his cultivation. “There's also the Great Dao Furnace Art, which has assimilated half of the various legacies I have. But it's still quite a distance away from truly integrating thousands of daos and deriving thousands of arts.” During the recent years, the five dao bodies had been comprehending and blending the various inherited powers in Lin Xun's arsenal. However, mere integration was nothing special. The goal was to lean on the foundation of this integration and create his own, unique path to walk on. This was carrying on the past and opening up the future. Until now, the five supreme sword dao legacies like the Taixuan Sword Scripture, the Tornado Sword Scripture, and No Escape were no longer the only ones completely integrated. Several dozens of legacies had been added to this troop, such as the Green Lotus Grotto Art, the All-Inclusive Plant Index, the Great Treasury Silent Scripture, and many more. They had all become a part of Lin Xun's Great Dao Furnace Art. This was an ‘ongoing scripture.’ Only when one had a truly complete Emperor-grade scripture to aid their cultivation would one be able to comprehend immortality at the Ancestor Stage! “The most urgent thing is to break through to the next realm! “Only after breaking through will I be able to go farther and survive longer in the Great Thousand Battle Domain, otherwise, I’d have no choice but to flee as soon as I come across an Ancestor of a Path...” Lin Xun's eyes glowed with determination. Currently, his cultivation had long since reached the very peak of No-Law, Against Heavens. He only needed an opportunity to enter Practicing Voidness. At that time, the increase in his cultivation would result in a transformation of his battle power! “The Gates of Hell isn’t far ahead,” the green sparrow suddenly reminded him. Lin Xun flinched. Letting go of all distractions, he raised his eyes to look. In the very distant black mist, there was a huge illusion of a door gate that connected the heavens above and the earth below. Although vague, it looked extremely lofty and mysterious. Rumor had it led to a place of horror in the netherworld. Once entering, the souls of the dead could not go back! Of course, this was just a rumor from the last epoch. When Lin Xun carefully approached it, he finally got a clear look. It was a black gate that bridged the sky and earth, like something that belonged to the world of gods. The two stone pillars on both sides were hundreds of feet thick, engraved with cloud motifs that had become mottled and faded due to the erosion of time. Meanwhile, the lofty beam in the sky was inscribed with three big, black rune words: Gates of Hell! Just a glance at it made one's heart drum. The green sparrow informed, “What awaits you behind this door is not only an endless stream of Netherworld Soldiers and Netherworld Generals, but also very likely also the attacks of Six Yin Lightnings.” The so-called Six Yin Lightnings were six types of lightning filled with bizarre power. It was rumored that only the netherworld could produce such a terrifying tribulation. These six types were the Asura Blood Lightning, Heavenly Destiny Severance Lightning, Human Soul Lightning, Evil Spirit Fury Lightning, Hell Annihilation Lightning, and Animal True Lightning. Asuras, Heavenly Beings, Humans, Hungry Ghosts, Hells, and Animals corresponded to the six paths of hell in the previous epoch! [1] The green sparrow then elaborated on the terrifying nature of the Six Yin Lightnings. When hearing that even Emperors would transform into animals when struck by the Animal True Lightning and never be able to recover their true forms, Lin Xun almost laughed out loud. He imagined a group of Emperor experts suddenly turned into pigs, cows, and sheep. It was spectacular indeed. In fact, he couldn't help but recall the time in the Ancient Wasteland Domain when Xi turned a group of Saints into a flock of sheep and herded them away. “Don't laugh. You probably won’t even be able to cry when you get turned into an animal,” snorted the green sparrow. Lin Xun was stunned, and a layer of goosebumps appeared all over his skin. It was certainly creepy to think about... He suddenly remembered something, “Right, didn't you say that there is a mysterious forbidden area near the Gates of Hell?” The green sparrow said, “Enter this gate and walk for less than ten miles, you’ll see a broken stele on the side of the road that says ‘Yama.’ Far east from this stele is where that mysterious forbidden area is located.” “Yama?” Lin Xun raised a brow. “What kind of danger lurks in that mysterious forbidden area?” The green sparrow’s voice became serious, “A kind of law power that shattered after the destruction of the last epoch. It resembles a burning black flame that’s eternal and indestructible, also known as the ‘extinguishing law fire.’ “In the past, there was a true Ancestor of a Path who went to explore this forbidden area and came across unknown dangers. The moment they escaped the forbidden zone, their entirety was engulfed by the extinguishing law fire and reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. “It was this incident that made people aware of the ferocity of that forbidden area, it’s capable of utterly killing an Ancestor of a Path!” Lin Xun was aghast. He squinted, “It's so dangerous, so why do you still suggest I go there?” The green sparrow chuckled, “Because your lifebound Emperor weapon nurtures two different law powers, which is enough to resist the extinguishing law fire. If you can collect some of this fire... Hehehe, then you can pose a threat to immortal characters!" This had Lin Xun tempted. Only then did he understand what the green sparrow meant by calling this a unique opportunity for him. The green sparrow continued, “Of course, this is just my inference. It doesn’t matter if you don't want to go. After all, that hellish place is indeed very dangerous.” Lin Xun's eyes flickered. After a moment of silence, he said, “Let's go, we’ll take a look first.” He then walked toward the Gates of Hell. As soon as he arrived under the gate, the Nirvana law power in the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron abruptly emerged. It then released a gorgeous, colorful rain of Nirvana light that enveloped the two massive stone pillars as well as the lofty beam. “It has found another power that it can draw in and refine?” The green sparrow was stunned for a good moment. Lin Xun was also a little surprised, but soon his heart grew expectant. Shortly later, the Nirvana law power withdrew its light and returned to the sword cauldron. Lin Xun probed his spirit sense into it and immediately saw the change. In the netherworld that had recently been built in the realm of Nirvana law power, there was a new Gates of Hell that touched both the sky and earth! Obviously, the power that the Nirvana law power had just absorbed was a part of the netherworld! However, the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron didn't change much this time, except that one of the nine netherworld runes had become clear and complete in one fell swoop. When Lin Xun sensed it, a strange dao mystery immediately surged into his mind. A long time later, Lin Xun learned that this netherworld rune was imprinted with a complete netherworld dao called Soul Capturing Dao! This dao was divided into two parts: rectifying and soul capturing. The former could rectify all kinds of dead souls there were: incomplete souls, ghosts, heroic souls... Rectified souls would become pure soul power, which could be used to nourish and cultivate one's own spirit. Meanwhile, soul capturing was a much more overbearing ability. It was like wielding a shackle that could forcefully pull out the opponent’s primordial spirit! The most amazing thing was that this Soul Capturing Dao was not a secret art, but instead a law power. After one mastered it, it could be integrated into their own cultivation. As a result, this power could be utilized in all sorts of fighting tactics! Understanding all this, Lin Xun couldn't help but marvel inside. What a marvelous dao. Just how powerful was the netherworld in the last epoch to have this kind of bizarre and overbearing law power? At the same time, he reckoned that this dao probably had an inextricable relationship with the Gates of Hell. Whether it was rectifying dead souls or capturing them, it was all for the purpose of taking them to the Gates of Hell for adjudication, which would be executed by the Six Paths Division! Lin Xun was a little curious. There are nine netherworld runes, and one of them is the Soul Capturing Dao. What about the other eight? Unfortunately, those eight netherworld runes were still incomplete. His only choice was to honestly gather the power to perfect and explore them. “Hurry up,” urged the green sparrow. It could tell at a glance that Lin Xun had reaped a big harvest, which made its heart itch with curiosity, but it also knew full well that he would never divulge what the harvest was. Lin Xun nodded as he secretly instructed the Green Wood Dao Body to start studying the Soul Capturing Dao. Only then did he resume walking forward. After passing through the Gates of Hell, Lin Xun proceeded with immense caution, lest an Animal True Lightning bolt fall and hit him. Traveling for less than three miles, a Netherworld General leading a group of Netherworld Soldiers suddenly rushed out from the churning black mist and charged toward him. Lin Xun naturally wouldn’t be polite. He leaped at them, and in a matter of moments, this group of ferocious creatures had been massacred, easily gaining him another Yellow Spring Bead. Lin Xun was about to survey the changes in the nine netherworld runes... A blood-colored lightning bolt appeared out of nowhere, cutting through the void and slashing at him without making a single sound during the entire process. Furthermore, its speed was incredibly fast! Caught off guard, Lin Xun could only resist head-on with the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron. The sword cauldron shook violently and emitted rumbling buzzes. The collision produced a splash of blood-red sparks, which impacted Lin Xun to the point he staggered back and his qi and blood tumbled. He was startled. Isn’t this lightning a little too powerful?! Its might surpassed even that of a Ninth Realm Ancestor. On top of that, it was incomparably tricky, silent and sudden, making it impossible to guard against. Not giving Lin Xun time to think, more lightning bolts shrouded in fiendishly red sheens noiselessly swept out from the black mist... 1. From buddhist cosmology ☜