Chapter 31: The Netherworld River

While flying swiftly, Pang Yue suddenly sensed an anomaly in his dantian. Upon inspecting inwardly, he found the Book of Separation and Regret quietly returning. He glanced behind him. Now, having flown ten thousand miles in a single breath, only a single streak of escape light trailed him from afar.

Pang Yue steeled himself, abruptly twisting his escape light and coming to a halt mid-air. The light following behind was caught off guard, hesitated slightly, then continued to rush toward him.

Fixing his gaze, Pang Yue saw within the escape light a stunning female cultivator. She wielded a violet silk treasure, her speed on par with the sword escape technique augmented by sword fusion and thunderous sword energy. Ordinary magical objects could never achieve such velocity; only treasures specialized for flight might manage it.

She wore an elegant long gown, exuding grace and beauty, her skin as fair as snow. An aura of profound spiritual energy surrounded her, as if she were the perfect woman crafted by the heavens.

Pang Yue locked his sword intent on her, the Seven Killing Sword darting like a swimming fish, emitting swift whistling sounds. She was no ordinary opponent—her cultivation had reached the peak of the Dao Foundation, even surpassing Pang Yue by a margin. The violet silk treasure twined around her, automatically shielding its master, its defenses nearly impenetrable for most Dao Foundation cultivators.

As Pang Yue observed her, a rumor came to mind. He tentatively asked, "Is your surname Gao, given name Yan?"

"Indeed," she replied.

The woman's voice was melodious, like the song of a heavenly lark.

Pang Yue mused to himself that her reputation was well-deserved. Gao Yan was hailed by the upright cultivators as the foremost beauty of the age. Her father, Gao Chong, was a prominent elder of Qingyun Mountain, a formidable figure in the righteous path. Her mother, it was said, hailed from a powerful clan of cultivators and was herself a great master. Gao Yan was a peerless talent in cultivation, with her ascension to the Golden Core realm an expectation shared by all of Qingyun Mountain.

Yet Pang Yue had not anticipated that she possessed such courage, daring to pursue him alone to this place.

"Fellow Daoist, Gao Yan does not wish to kill. Surrender yourself and come with me to see my father!"

Her voice, like an oriole emerging from the valley, was utterly enchanting.

Pang Yue could not help but laugh, pointing with a finger as the Seven Killing Sword slashed forth. The pale sword radiance instantly cut through the space between them, aiming for Gao Yan's brow.

Thunder rolled.

Gao Yan arched her graceful figure backward, her violet silk treasure swirling to wrap around her. The Seven Killing Sword struck the silk, clashing hundreds of times in an instant.

"If you can withstand seven of my swords, I will go back with you!"

Pang Yue laughed boldly, conjuring a long bridge of white bone beneath his feet, and in a flash, appeared behind Gao Yan. He pointed once more, sword light stabbing at the back of her head.

The Bridge of No Return—renowned for traversing voids and unfettered flight.

Among the ten great treasures of the White Bone Demon Sect, its wonders surpassed even the Seven Killing Sword.

Gao Yan's brows knitted; she spun around swiftly, her slender, pale fingers blossoming like lotus flowers, sending forth shadows to intercept Pang Yue's sword energy. At the same time, she summoned her violet silk treasure.

The violet silk expanded, lengthening dozens of times, and rushed toward Pang Yue like a bolt of lightning.

"The third sword."

—

The Bridge of No Return shifted beneath Pang Yue, carrying him away in an instant. The Seven Killing Sword swept forth, transforming into a rain of sword shadows that enveloped Gao Yan.

Killing intent surged like a tide, flooding into Gao Yan's sea of consciousness.

Her expression changed; she hastily employed secret techniques to suppress her mind. The violet silk fluttered and wrapped itself protectively around her.

The sword light fell like fine, flickering rain upon the silk, which spun and glowed, repelling every attack.

Suddenly, the sword light’s rhythm changed, jumping and piercing at the pivotal points where the silk’s spiritual energy turned, tugging at its essence and pulling outward.

The silk unraveled—

"The fourth sword!"

Pang Yue’s voice sounded beside Gao Yan's ear.

She suddenly discovered that a long bridge of white bone had appeared beneath her feet. A strand of sword energy, seeming both real and illusory, descended gently, striking her smooth forehead.

In the next moment, a powerful sword intent sealed her sea of consciousness.

Crack.

A jade pendant on Gao Yan's body fractured lightly.

A vast and mighty aura emerged from within—the projection of a Golden Core soul.

Pang Yue sneered, unleashing a ray of divine light from the Book of Separation and Regret, which dissolved the pendant into dust in an instant.

The Golden Core soul vanished soundlessly.

Gao Yan’s consciousness was locked, her spiritual power intact but unable to be wielded. The violet silk treasure slowed and hovered in the void.

"His swordsmanship… terrifying!"

Gao Yan’s beautiful eyes shimmered with awe. Though her cultivation and spiritual power exceeded his, she had not lasted beyond four swords before being subdued.

Compared to her previous sparring with senior brothers in the sect, this was child’s play.

For the first time in her life, she felt death so near.

Pang Yue stowed away the violet silk, seized Gao Yan with his spiritual power, and sped toward the distant horizon.

Their duel had lasted less than half a stick of incense.

Yet Pang Yue’s heart was filled with warnings—someone from afar had already locked onto this location.

No, they had locked onto him.

He concentrated; this insight had come from the Book of Separation and Regret.

"Did you do something to me?"

He glanced at Gao Yan, his expression cold.

Though she possessed great cultivation and exceptional heritage, she lacked combat experience, making her easy prey for Pang Yue. Yet her keen mind could not be underestimated.

"It’s Soul-Locking Incense. Within ten thousand miles, any cultivator from Qingyun Mountain can find your location."

After a pause, she added, "Once this incense sticks, it won’t fade for ten years..."

"Impressive trick, fellow Daoist!"

—

Enraged, Pang Yue laughed grimly and abruptly halted his escape light.

His expression shifted, thoughts tumbling.

He had heard of Soul-Locking Incense—it was invisible and insubstantial, affecting the soul. Without mastery of soul techniques, it was almost impossible to remove.

Even the Book of Separation and Regret was unable to help.

Looking at the yellow sands of the desert, Pang Yue suddenly thought of a solution.

He took out a jade token, touched it, and spoke to it: "Junior sister, come quickly to Lover’s Bluff by the Nether River!"

...

A vast rift stretched across the barren desert, its length unknown. The gorge was over a thousand yards wide, pitch-black inside, with howling winds and bottomless depths.

All spiritual energy vanished here. For cultivators, coming to this place was like mortals losing air—utterly suffocating.

Four streaks of escape light hovered above the great chasm, staring down but not daring to descend.

"It looks like Senior Sister Gao and Pang Yue went down..."

The four hesitated.

They knew from the sect’s records that the bottom of this Nine Nether Great Gorge harbored an ancient Nether River, teeming with demonic creatures and perilous.

Throughout history, most of the cultivators who explored the gorge perished at its depths, many of them Golden Core masters.

For those of the mystical sects, the Nether River ranked among the top three of the world’s ten forbidden zones.

As the four wavered, three terrifying spiritual pressures appeared at the horizon.

In moments, three escape lights appeared overhead.

The overwhelming presence of Golden Core masters nearly caused the four to lose control of their flight.

"Uncle Master!"

"Greetings, Master!"

Seeing Gao Chong, the four hurried to salute.

Gao Chong swept his gaze over the Qingyun Mountain disciples, disappointment written on his face.

"He intends to use the Nether River to obscure the Soul-Locking Incense!"

Gao Chong spoke grimly.

Sun Yiyan glanced at Gao Chong, saying, "Had you not rushed to kill him, things would not have come to this."

Gao Chong’s sword-like brows rose in displeasure. "Eradicating evil is our duty! Sun Daoist, how many friends and kin have we lost to the Demon Sect over the last thousand years? If I recall, your partner fell to the White Bone Demon Sect as well. Your disciple has reached this point; entering the path of demons is only a matter of time. How can you let emotion cloud your judgment?"

Ren Cang, standing nearby, smoothed things over. "That boy Pang is protected by demonic treasures. If he enters the Nether River, finding him will be like searching for a needle in the sea. What do you propose?"

"My beloved daughter is still in his hands. I’ll go ahead!"

Gao Chong snorted coldly and plunged into the darkness of the gorge.

Sun Yiyan mused, "Gao Chong knows a secret art for divination. Given time, he will find Pang Yue. I’ll keep an eye on him."

With that, sword light flared from his body and he vanished into the gorge’s darkness.

"The old Daoist has other matters, so I won’t accompany you."

Ren Cang shook his head with a bitter smile, glanced at the four Dao Foundation disciples of Qingyun Mountain, and turned to leave.