Dawn in the East Sea market was shrouded in a green mist.
Yun Qingyu stood by the inn window, gazing at the towering water tornado connecting sea and sky in the distance. Overnight, far from weakening, the waterspout had expanded severalfold. Now, the vague outline of a palace could be clearly seen looming within the vortex—the ascending ruins of Return to Void.
"How is Nian'er?" he asked softly.
Chu Yao placed the brewed medicinal soup by the bedside. "Divine Doctor Sun's 'Soul-Fixing Needle' has temporarily stabilized her condition, but..." She gently stroked the green mark between her daughter's brow, "This seal spreads by a fraction every single hour."
Yun Nianya slept quietly, her long eyelashes casting shadows on her pale, tiny face. Were it not for those eerie green marks, she would look just like any ordinary three-year-old child.
Yun Qingyu walked to the bedside, gathering a wisp of White Lotus Purifying Fire at his fingertips, and carefully channeled it into his daughter's meridians. As the flame wandered, he saw two forces entangling within the child—the golden-blue bloodline power surged like a river, while the pitch-black Nether Qi clung like an incurable disease, bit by bit devouring the pure bloodline.
"Strange..." Yun Qingyu furrowed his brows. "The Nether Qi seems to be... mimicking the operational trajectory of the Jiuxiao Cold Moon bloodline?"
Chu Yao was startled upon hearing this, immediately checking her daughter's wrist. After the Cold Moon True Qi made a full circuit, her complexion turned even uglier. "It's not mimicking, it's... learning. It's using Nian'er's bloodline to comprehend how to crack the seal!"
Hasty footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the window. Lin Qingyang hurried in, perspiration beading his forehead. "Two seniors, the fishermen on the east side of the market have begun mutating!"
The three of them rushed to the eastern district of the market immediately. The sight before them made one's hair stand on end—dozens of fishermen wandered aimlessly down the streets, their eyes glowing green, their skin covered in spiderweb-like cyan-black patterns. From time to time, they emitted inhuman low growls, thick dark-green slime dripping from the corners of their mouths.
"Just like the snow corpses of the Extreme North..." Chu Yao gripped the Jade Flute tightly, "corroded by the Nether Qi."
A seven or eight-year-old little girl suddenly rushed out from an alley, running straight toward the mutated fishermen. "Daddy!"
"Dangerous!" Yun Qingyu flashed forward, scooping the little girl up in his arms. The child struggled desperately in his hold. "Let me go! Daddy is just sick!"
Before her voice had even faded, the fisherman she called "Daddy" abruptly turned his head, lunging at an unbelievable speed! Yun Qingyu side-stepped to avoid him, only to see the fisherman suddenly freeze in place, his throat emitting a rattling, clicking sound, and then...
"Bang!"
His skull burst open like a ripe watermelon, and a three-foot-long green crawling worm burst out from the neck cavity, shooting toward the little girl like lightning!
"Screech—"
A sword Qi arrived a step late yet struck first, pinning the crawling worm to the ground. Lin Qingyang sheathed his sword, his face pale. "It's a Nether Corpse Worm! It can burrow into living people and control their consciousness!"
The little girl fainted from fright. Yun Qingyu looked around; more and more mutants were pouring in from all directions, and the market was already in utter chaos.
"We must evacuate the civilians immediately!" Chu Yao blew horizontally across the Jade Flute, an ice wall forming instantly to temporarily block the mutants on the east side. "Nephew Lin, is there a shelter in this market?"
"There is! In the cave beneath the sea cliff!" Lin Qingyang pointed westward. "But the cave has limited capacity..."
"Save as many as we can." Yun Qingyu handed the little girl to a Taixu disciple. "Chu Yao and I will hold the rear; you are responsible for organizing the evacuation."
Right at that moment, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from the distant sea surface! The water tornado blasted apart, and amidst the misty spray, a bronze palace broke through the water, hovering a hundred zhang high in the air above the sea!
"The Return to Void ruins... have fully manifested!" Lin Qingyang gasped in shock.
What was even more terrifying was that the palace gates were slowly opening, dark green mist pouring down like a waterfall. Wherever it passed, the seawater boiled, and schools of fish instantly turned to white bones!
Yun Qingyu made a decisive judgment: "Chu Yao, take the Taixu disciples to organize the evacuation, I'll go set up defenses by the shore!"
"No!" Chu Yao grabbed him by the arm. "The Fate Pact won't let us stay too far apart!"
"Then we go together." Yun Qingyu looked at Lin Qingyang. "The evacuation work is up to you."
The two of them flew on their swords toward the coast, followed by six Taixu disciples. The closer they got to the shoreline, the denser the Nether Qi became, until eventually even breathing carried a stabbing pain.
"Form the array!" Yun Qingyu gave the order, and the Taixu disciples immediately took up positions according to the Seven Stars alignment, forming a sword array. Chu Yao took out twelve ice crystals, laying down the "Dark Ice Demon-Sealing Array", a secret technique of Palace Master Hanyue.
As soon as the array was formed, the first wave of Nether creatures landed on the shore—hundreds of half-fish, half-human monsters with scales glowing green and razor-sharp teeth bared.
"Kill!"
Sword Qi crossed and intersected, ice spikes fell like rain. The first wave of attacks was quickly beaten back, but closely following came the second wave, then the third... Each wave stronger than the last. Two hours later, every single Taixu disciple was nursing injuries, and Chu Yao's Dark Ice Array had also suffered over fifty percent depletion.
"We can't go on like this..." Yun Qingyu slashed a giant crab monster to pieces with a single sword strike. "The monsters pouring out of Return to Void are endless; we must seal the source!"
Chu Yao wiped the blood from her temple. "You mean..."
"Enter Return to Void, and find the Sea-Calming Pearl." Yun Qingyu's gaze was firm. "Only this way can we stop the Nether Tide."
"But Nian'er..."
"Carrying her makes it more dangerous." Yun Qingyu looked toward the distant market. "Lin Qingyang will protect her well."
Chu Yao hesitated for a moment, finally nodding. The two instructed the Taixu disciples to hold their ground, then flew on their swords toward the bronze palace on the sea.
The closer they got to Return to Void, the stronger the corrosive power of the Nether Qi became. Eventually, even their protective spiritual energy began to corrode, their skin feeling as though it were being pierced by ten thousand needles. Just as the two were about to collapse, Chu Yao suddenly blew her Jade Flute, and an ice-blue ray of light wrapped around them both—this was Palace Master Hanyue's life-saving secret art, the "Moonlight Heavenly Cover".
"It can only last for a quarter of an hour," Chu Yao panted. "We must make it quick and decisive!"
The Return to Void palace was right before their eyes. This ancient ruin was forged entirely from bronze, its surface covered in runes Yun Qingyu had never seen before. Most eye-catching of all was a black banner hanging above the palace gates, embroidered with nine ferocious ghost eyes that were slowly rotating at this moment, as if watching the visitors.
"Banner of Ten Thousand Souls..." Yun Qingyu felt a chill in his heart, "The ultimate treasure of the Nether Palace!"
As soon as the two landed on the platform before the hall, the banner suddenly fluttered without wind, and a hoarse voice issued from within:
"We have awaited you for long... descendants of Jiuxiao and Hanyue..."
The palace gates burst wide open, and dark green mist poured out like a living thing, condensing into a passage before the two of them. Yun Qingyu exchanged a glance with Chu Yao, both gripping their weapons tight as they stepped inside.
The scene within the hall was completely unexpected—instead of the gloomy terror they had imagined, it was a resplendent and magnificent hall, its four walls embedded with countless night-shining pearls that illuminated the entire space as bright as day. Were it not for the Nether Qi lingering in the air, one might almost think they had arrived at some ancient immortal palace.
"An illusion," Chu Yao said in a low voice. "Return to Void is an ancient battlefield, how could it be so intact?"
White flames rose along the edge of Yun Qingyu's sword, gently grazing a pillar beside them. Wherever the flames passed, the facade of "resplendent magnificence" shattered like foam, revealing the rusted bronze true color underneath.
"As expected of the Jiuxiao Sword Master, seeing through falsehoods at a single glance."
At the far end of the hall, a figure on the throne slowly stood up. It was a middle-aged man draped in a dark green robe, his features too exquisitely handsome to belong to a mortal, save for his eyes, which were as deep as an abyss, seemingly capable of swallowing all light.
"Mo Shang, Left Envoy of the Nether Palace." The man gave a slight bow, "By order of the Lord, I have specially come to welcome the two of you."
Yun Qingyu pointed his sword at him. "Stop putting on airs and playing ghosts! Where is the Sea-Calming Pearl?"
Mo Shang chuckled lightly. "The Sea-Calming Pearl is indeed deep within Return to Void, but..." He suddenly raised his hand, shooting a beam of green light toward the roof of the hall, "Before that, please meet someone first."
A crystal cage hung down from the roof of the hall, and huddled within it was a tiny figure—Yun Nianya!
"Nian'er?!" Chu Yao cried out in shock, "Impossible! She was clearly..."
"In the market cave?" Mo Shang shook his head mockingly. "Did you really think a child bearing the Lord's mark could escape tracking?"
A violent shock struck Yun Qingyu's heart. He immediately tested the connection via the Fate Pact, only to discover that the "Yun Nianya" before his eyes truly did share a bloodline connection with Chu Yao! Even more terrifyingly, the mark between the child's brow had turned completely dark green, casting an eerie smile in their direction.
"Don't be fooled!" Chu Yao suddenly shouted sternly, "This is not Nian'er!"
She violently swung her Jade Flute, sending an ice spike shooting toward the cage. Just as the ice spike was about to hit, "Yun Nianya" suddenly transformed into a puff of green mist, drifting through the gaps in the railings before recondensing beside Mo Shang to turn into a green-robed little girl.
"Such sharp perception, descendant of Hanyue," the little girl said in an aged voice, "too bad you're too late..."
Mo Shang bowed in salute. "Welcome, Right Envoy."
Yun Qingyu treated them as a formidable enemy. With both the Left and Right Envoys of the Nether Palace present, the situation was worse than anticipated!
"What have you done to Nian'er?" Chu Yao asked in a chilling voice.
The green-robed little girl—the Right Envoy of the Nether Palace—smiled insidiously. "That little girl is visiting our main stronghold. The Lord likes her very much, and is personally... instructing her."
Blazing with fury, Yun Qingyu channeled his Jiuxiao sword Qi outward. "You're courting death!"
Mo Shang and the Right Envoy attacked simultaneously, green light and black Qi weaving into a net that completely neutralized the sword Qi. The four of them engaged in a fierce battle within the hall; wherever they passed, the illusions shattered, revealing the true, dilapidated state of Return to Void.
"It's useless," the Right Envoy cackled. "Shrouded under the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls, your power will be continuously sapped!"
Indeed, Yun Qingyu felt his internal spiritual energy draining away at an abnormal rate. Worse still, the connection of the Fate Pact began to grow sluggish, and his coordination with Chu Yao was no longer in sync.
"Chu Yao, merge!" Yun Qingyu made a prompt decision.
The two stood back-to-back, unleashing the full power of the Fate Pact. Yet just at the instant when the fusion was about to complete, the Right Envoy suddenly crushed a bone talisman, a beam of green light striking Chu Yao precisely between her brows!
"Ah!" Chu Yao shrieked, the fusion process interrupted. Yun Qingyu suffered the backlash as well, vomiting a mouthful of blood.
"We anticipated this move of yours long ago," the Right Envoy said smugly. "How does the 'Pact-Breaking Talisman' specially prepared by the Lord taste?"
Half-kneeling on the ground, Yun Qingyu felt the connection of the Fate Pact flicker on and off. Even more terrifyingly, the split soul of the Demon Sovereign that had lain dormant within his body for so long began to stir restlessly!
"Qingyu!" Seeing his abnormality, Chu Yao endured her intense pain and blew the Jade Flute. The calming melody temporarily stabilized the situation, but the two of them were already at the end of their rope.
Mo Shang walked over slowly. "Surrender. The Lord promises that as long as you willingly become Nether Envoys, we will spare that child."
"In your dreams!" Gritting his teeth, Yun Qingyu stood back up, unleashing the Jiuxiao Sword Art once more. Yet this sword strike was vastly diminished in power, easily blocked by Mo Shang.
The Right Envoy shook her head in a sigh. "Incorrigible. If that's the case..." She suddenly raised her hand, shooting a beam of green light toward a spot on the ceiling of the hall, "Then let you see the child's current state with your own eyes!"
An image manifested on the roof of the hall—Yun Nianya was locked inside a green crystal, countless hair-thin green threads piercing into her tiny body. The child's expression was agonizing, but she could emit no sound, with only large, heavy teardrops rolling down.
"Nian'er!" Chu Yao felt her heart tearing apart, rushing toward the image recklessly. Taking advantage of the opening, the Right Envoy struck a palm toward her back!
"Careful!" Flying forward to protect her, Yun Qingyu took the palm strike directly with his shoulder. The Nether Qi invaded his meridians along his arm, turning his entire right arm dark green in an instant!
"Qingyu!" Turning back to support him, Chu Yao poured Cold Moon True Qi into his body as though it were worthless.
The Right Envoy sneered. "What a loving couple. Too bad..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the entire palace began to shake violently! Mo Shang's expression shifted drastically. "Not good! Someone touched the Sea-Calming Pearl!"
The image on the roof abruptly shifted, displaying the scene deep within Return to Void—a thin, small figure was struggling to hold an azure pearl, and it was none other than the real Yun Nianya!
"How is that possible?!" the Right Envoy shrieked. "She was clearly..."
Little Nianya in the image raised her head, the golden-blue mark between her brows shining brightly. The Sea-Calming Pearl in her arms lit up in response, and a blue beam of light pierced through layers of obstacles, shining directly into the main hall!
"Daddy... Mommy..." The child's voice came through the blue light, "Nian'er has come to save you..."
Wherever the blue light passed, the Nether Qi melted away like snow meeting the scorching sun. Yun Qingyu's right arm also returned to normal, and his internal spiritual energy began to recover rapidly.
"No!" Roaring in anger, Mo Shang lunged toward the source of the blue light, only to be forced back by a sudden flash of sword Qi!
"Bullying a little child, aren't you a bit too shameless?"
A streak of azure rainbow flew in from outside the hall, landing to transform into a slovenly old man, his wine gourd still dripping with liquor.
"Sword Immortal Li Taibai?!" The Right Envoy looked as though she had seen a ghost. " Weren't you... dead a hundred years ago?"
"Dead?" The old man took a swig of wine and grinned broadly. "Then are ghosts the ones standing here now?"
Yun Qingyu was both startled and overjoyed. The Sword Immortal was a legendary figure in the cultivation world; a Tribulation Passing Stage mighty expert a hundred years ago, rumored to have long since ascended to the immortal realm!
Li Taibai turned his head to size up Yun Qingyu and his wife. "Not bad, not bad, the little brats of Jiuxiao and Hanyue are quite promising." He suddenly frowned. "Eh? Why do you both smell of that old Nether ghost?"
Before they could answer, the old man suddenly struck out like lightning, tapping Yun Qingyu and Chu Yao between their brows. The two instantly felt a cool breeze coursing through their whole bodies, and the sluggishness of the Fate Pact vanished entirely!
"Thank you, Senior!" Chu Yao saluted.
"Don't rush to thank me yet." Li Taibai looked outside the hall. "Old man me is just here to scout the way; the main act is arriving right now."
As if to corroborate his words, a beam of white light, brighter than the sun, suddenly descended from the sky, directly piercing through the dome of the Return to Void palace! Within the white light, a majestic voice echoed across heaven and earth:
"Nether vermin, how dare you covet the Sea-Calming Pearl!"
Mo Shang and the Right Envoy turned pale as paper. "Th... Taixu Demon-Suppressing Sword?! Lingxiaozi isn't dead?!"
The white light dissipated, revealing Lingxiaozi standing upon a sword. Compared to when they parted ways at Taixu Mountain, his aura was now more than ten times fiercer. Floating behind him were no longer seven swords, but a sword wheel composed of a full forty-nine spiritual swords!
"Step back, you two little brats." Li Taibai pulled Yun Qingyu and his wife behind him. "Old man Lingxiao is losing his temper; it's quite terrifying."
Lingxiaozi pointed his sword, and the forty-nine spiritual swords poured down like a violent storm! Mo Shang and the Right Envoy resisted desperately, yet they didn't even last three breaths before being shredded into pieces by the sword Qi!
"This is just the beginning." Lingxiaozi withdrew his sword and looked at Yun Qingyu. "Where is the child?"
The blue light of the Sea-Calming Pearl shone once more, and little Nianya's figure appeared at the hall doors. Hugging a pearl taller than herself, she wobbled toward her parents. "Daddy... Mommy... Nian'er did it..."
As soon as she finished speaking, the child collapsed from exhaustion. Yun Qingyu took a step forward to catch her, finding that his daughter's entire body was burning hot, while the golden-blue mark between her brows was several times brighter than before, and the green veins had been suppressed to the point of being nearly invisible.
"The Sea-Calming Pearl has temporarily suppressed the Nether mark," Lingxiaozi said after examining her. "But the hidden danger is not yet removed; we must..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the entire Return to Void palace suddenly began to collapse! A malevolent divine will emanated from the deepest depths of the abyss:
"The game has just begun... my little vessel..."
Li Taibai's expression shifted. "The old Nether ghost has woken up! Let's go!"
Lingxiaozi swept his sleeve, carrying everyone soaring into the sky. Behind them, the Return to Void palace crashed down into the sea floor, and a gigantic vortex formed in its wake, swallowing up all the Nether creatures within a hundred-li radius...
Half a day later, the East Sea market.
The cultivators who had survived the disaster were clearing away the ruins. Yun Qingyu stood outside the temporary medical clinic, watching his sleeping daughter on the bed with a whirlwind of complex emotions.
Chu Yao walked over to his side. "Divine Doctor Sun says the Nether mark within Nian'er's body has been temporarily suppressed by the Sea-Calming Pearl, but..."
"But it could backlash at any time," Yun Qingyu continued. "And the Nether Palace Lord has already set his sights on her."
Lingxiaozi and Li Taibai walked over side-by-side. The old sword immortal wore a grave expression. "The situation is worse than anticipated. Although the old Nether ghost hasn't fully awakened, he can already interfere with the mortal realm. We must reinforce the remaining seals before he acquires a complete vessel."
"A vessel..." Chu Yao's voice trembled, "You mean Nian'er?"
Li Taibai nodded. "That lass possesses both the Jiuxiao and Hanyue bloodlines; she is the perfect target for soul annexation. The old Nether ghost will stop at nothing to get her."
Yun Qingyu clenched his fists. "Is there any way to completely eradicate the mark?"
"There is," Lingxiaozi said, dropping a bombshell. "Gather all nine ancient divine artifacts and set up the 'Zhou Tian Star Dou Great Array'. But before that..." He looked at little Nianya, "We must send the child to the safest place possible."
"Where?" the couple asked in unison.
"Above the nine heavens, the Taixu Secret Realm," Lingxiaozi said in a deep voice. "That is a minor world opened up by the Taixu Ancestral Master; the Nether Palace will never be able to find it."
Yun Qingyu and Chu Yao exchanged glances, seeing both reluctance and resolve in each other's eyes.
"We'll accompany her," Chu Yao stated firmly.
"No," Li Taibai shook his head. "Only uncultivated children can enter the Taixu Secret Realm. If you go, you'll only attract the Nether Palace's attention."
Yun Qingyu felt as though he had been struck by lightning. "You want us... to separate from Nian'er?"
"Temporarily," Lingxiaozi comforted. "Once we gather the artifacts and cleanse the mark, you can reunite."
Little Nianya woke up at some point, staring at them with wide, blinking eyes. "Daddy... Mommy... Nian'er isn't afraid... The green-eyed uncle said... as long as I'm a good girl... he won't hurt you..."
The child's innocent words cut like a knife to the heart. Chu Yao fought back her tears as she hugged her daughter. "Nian'er is the bravest..."
Yun Qingyu walked to the window, gazing at the gradually calming sea in the distance. The setting sun cast his shadow long and far—lonely yet resolute.
He knew that a disaster far more terrifying than the Tiansha Demon Sovereign had only just begun...