Chapter 73

Wang Lin touched his abdomen and muttered to himself, "The Netherworld Ascension Technique, I finally understand why it's called this!"

The so-called Netherworld refers to the state the body must enter during cultivation, a state akin to being on the brink of death. This state allows one to better absorb yin-cold energy. However, any slight mistake during this period could lead to a real descent into the Netherworld.

In the Sixth-Level Cultivation Kingdom, very few people had the courage to cultivate the Netherworld Ascension Technique. Situ Nan was one of the few who succeeded. According to the Sixth-Level Cultivation Kingdom's demon path, the Netherworld Ascension Technique was also known as the Strange Technique.

The term "strange" was apt because of the numerous unpredictable changes it could bring. Some of these changes greatly benefited the cultivator, while others could lead to the dissipation of their cultivation and even death.

Thus, Wang Lin settled in this place, practicing the absorption of yin-cold energy every night. A month passed in the blink of an eye.

During this month, besides cultivating the Netherworld Ascension Technique, Wang Lin made another important discovery: the mysterious stone bead could also condense dew here, and this dew contained yin-cold energy rather than spiritual energy.

This led Wang Lin to a new understanding of the stone bead.

Wang Lin began to accumulate yin-cold dew, especially at midnight when the yin-cold energy was at its most intense, making it easier for the dew to form.

After consuming the yin-cold dew, Wang Lin found that although it contained a lot of yin-cold energy, it was clearly not on the same level as the spiritual energy dew.

If yin-cold energy and spiritual energy were considered of equal quality, the effect of the yin-cold dew would only be on par with snow water in spiritual energy, far inferior to the spiritual energy dew.

Wang Lin knew that the Netherworld Ascension Technique, in essence, depended on the amount of yin-cold energy absorbed. The more absorbed, the greater the power. Therefore, during the day, Wang Lin would enter the dream space to cultivate with yin-cold dew, and at night, he would practice in his room.

As time passed, the cold energy in Wang Lin's body gradually increased. Each time he practiced, he would merge with the surrounding yin-cold energy, becoming one with it. During these moments, his heartbeat would slow down, almost to the point of being imperceptible.

There were even a few times when his heartbeat almost stopped, but he always managed to persevere.

One morning, Wang Lin awoke from his meditation. He took a deep breath and muttered to himself, "The yin-cold energy in my body is increasing. It should be time for the first breakthrough."

Suddenly, he stared at the mist created by the array, his eyes showing a strange expression. Without a word, he waved his sleeve, and the mist parted to reveal a small path.

Wang Lin stepped out of the array and immediately noticed several long marks on the ground, extending deep into the ruins. He remembered that there were a few wild beasts that had died from blood loss before the light pillars arrived yesterday.

But now, the beast corpses were gone, clearly dragged into the depths of the ruins.

"Is there someone else in these ruins?" A chill ran through Wang Lin's heart. The other party had dragged away the beast corpses last night, and he hadn't noticed a thing.

A serious look flashed in Wang Lin's eyes as he quickly inspected the area around his house. There were no abnormalities, and the array showed no signs of being attacked.

He stroked his chin and, without a word, flashed into the forest. Soon, he returned with two beast corpses, placed them to the side, and immediately returned to the array. He formed a seal with his right hand and shot out a beam of white light, causing the mist to become even denser and the sound of wind and thunder to fill the air.

Despite this, Wang Lin still felt uneasy, a shadow of doubt lingering in his mind. After a while, he calmed his mind, spread his divine sense, and drank a mouthful of yin-cold dew, absorbing it while remaining vigilant.

Night fell, and this night, Wang Lin did not absorb yin-cold energy. Instead, he sat quietly, his divine sense spread to the maximum, covering a hundred feet, and any movement within that range was immediately reflected in his mind.

Especially the positions of the two beast corpses, which Wang Lin focused on intently. He wanted to see what kind of creature would come here at night.

Time passed, and soon it was midnight, when the yin-cold energy was at its most intense. Wang Lin remained focused, closely observing his surroundings.

The area within his divine sense was silent. The two beast corpses were now thoroughly soaked in yin-cold energy, covered in frost. Even the forest outside the ruins was eerily quiet, a calm that was almost terrifying.

This was not the first time Wang Lin had spread his divine sense at night, but even in the dead of night, there would usually be some sounds from wild beasts and insects. Such silence was unprecedented.

Suddenly, Wang Lin's expression changed. The yin-cold energy in the direction of the ruins began to boil and surge.

His eyes shone brightly, and a cold smile appeared on his lips as he watched.

From the direction of the ruins, a strange shadow quickly appeared, moving so fast that Wang Lin's divine sense only caught a glimpse of a black figure. The beast corpses on the ground vanished in an instant.

Wang Lin was startled. In the moment the figure appeared, he saw its appearance: a humanoid creature with blue skin.

Strange symbols covered every inch of its skin, and nine half-inch-long yellow papers were attached to various parts of its body. This bizarre and terrifying appearance left Wang Lin in shock.

The strange creature reappeared, standing outside Wang Lin's array, its eyes filled with contemplation.

It took a few steps back, looked at the array mist with hesitation, and then quickly circled around the area.

Wang Lin watched the creature intently, not rushing to attack. He wanted to see what it would do.

After circling the area, the creature stopped, its eyes showing curiosity. It then moved toward the array.

The moment it entered the array, a flash of killing intent appeared in Wang Lin's eyes. He formed a seal with his right hand and shot out a beam of white light, causing the mist to boil and surge.

Immediately, the sound of stones shattering echoed from within the array. One by one, the arrays were quickly destroyed, and the mist began to fade.

Without hesitation, Wang Lin spat out a beam of green light, which shot out like a whirlwind. A loud explosion echoed from within the mist, followed by the creature's angry roar. A powerful force then erupted from the array, spreading in a ring and throwing countless stones into the air, where they shattered and turned to dust.

The mist quickly dissipated, and the creature saw Wang Lin, its eyes filled with a bloodthirsty look as it stepped forward with a sinister smile.

Wang Lin remained calm, pointing his right hand, and a green light flashed. A flying sword instantly appeared behind the creature, piercing through it and emerging from its chest, leaving a trail of blue blood.

The blue blood immediately turned to ice and fell to the ground.

The creature let out a pained groan, took a few steps back, and its face showed fear.

Wang Lin's heart sank. Despite the flying sword's attack, the creature could still move. Without a word, his eyes flashed with cold light, and he tapped his storage bag, causing an ancient sword sheath to fly out.

The green flying sword flashed and entered the sheath, stopping at the two-fifths mark. Its color quickly changed from green to blue, then to black, before it shot out and slashed at the creature.

The creature's eyes showed even more fear as it tried to dodge. The black sword pierced through its chest, and a series of loud explosions echoed as the creature was thrown back like a broken kite.

The flying sword, covered in the creature's blood, stuck to its body, and no matter how Wang Lin tried to move it, it wouldn't budge, even losing its ability to teleport.

Wang Lin's eyes narrowed, and his killing intent grew. In the moment the flying sword hit, he had noticed that the strange symbols on the creature's body flashed simultaneously, indicating that it had used some secret technique to resist his attack.

Without a word, he tapped his storage bag and took out a paper talisman he had obtained from Zhang Hu, quickly chasing after the creature. Suddenly, Wang Lin's pupils contracted as he saw the creature's body twist in an impossible angle in mid-air, landing on one knee. A large wound appeared on its chest, and blue blood flowed out.

The symbols on its body were flashing rapidly, and as they did, the wound began to heal quickly.

Wang Lin didn't blink, spitting out a mouthful of spiritual energy and casting the paper talisman. The talisman immediately ignited, transforming into a beam of black light that emitted intense heat and shot toward the creature's chest wound.

The creature let out a惨叫, its body being pierced through.

"Still not dead!" Wang Lin's heart sank. Despite the fatal wound, the creature was still alive! However, he was slightly relieved that after the paper talisman's attack, the flying sword, which had been stuck to the creature's body, finally broke free and returned to him in a flash of black light.

The creature's eyes showed a struggle, and it suddenly tore off one of the nine yellow papers on its body. The moment the paper was torn, a green gas erupted from every part of its body, enveloping it.

Wang Lin's face darkened, and without hesitation, he pointed at the sword sheath. The flying sword immediately returned to the sheath, sinking to the three-fifths mark! The color of the flying sword quickly changed from black to red.

The three-fifths mark was Wang Lin's current limit. Based on his analysis, with his current early Foundation Establishment stage, using a flying sword that had sunk to the three-fifths mark of the sheath, he could stand a chance against a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

At this moment, the green gas around the creature's body rapidly contracted and fused back into its body. When it reappeared before Wang Lin, its chest was smooth, showing no sign of the wound.

It stared at Wang Lin, its eyes filled with hatred, but clearly wary of him, especially when it saw the flying sword, its face showing fear.

"Who are you!" Wang Lin did not rush to attack. The creature had nine yellow papers, and tearing one could heal it from a near-death state. This meant the battle would not be resolved quickly.