Chapter 145: A Match Made in Heaven

"Junior Sister Shui, ahead lies the region of the Nether-Absolute Underground Palace. Exercise caution!"
"Understood, Senior Brother Wushan, you be careful too..."

This was a band of young cultivators, each full of vigor and glowing with high spirits. The vast majority of the members came from Sword-Burial Peak. Yes, they were the very ones intending to ambush Lin Zhan.

However, there was an interloper among them—Shui Xinhai, a disciple of the Blazing Crimson Refining Palace, who had managed to blend in at some unknown point.

To think of Shui Xinhai merely as a simpleton who only knew how to cling to Ning Wanqing's thighs and act cute would be a grave mistake.

Upon learning that this group intended to join forces against Lin Zhan, and realizing her own strength was insufficient to contend with so many, she had cleverly seized the opportunity to claim she held a grudge against Lin Zhan. She smoothly infiltrated the enemy's ranks and even managed to thrive among them.

Aside from Fan Ning, the rest of the Sword-Burial Peak disciples in this wave were senior brothers who had entered the sect long before him. Every single one of them was a cultivator above the Yellow Realm, with the top two having already stepped into the peak realm of the third-grade Yellow Realm.

The combined strike of more than twenty such Yellow Realm experts would likely make even the Sword-Burial Peak elders, Chongming and Chongliang, feel a sense of dread.

Moreover, this mission to encircle and annihilate Lin Zhan had been secretly arranged by Sword-Burial Peak.

Fan Ning, the personal disciple of Peak Master Sword Slave, had been defeated by Lin Zhan and lost face. Naturally, many inner and outer sect disciples felt deeply resentful that numerous of their peers had been forcefully crushed by Lin Zhan.

While no drastic actions could be taken openly, no one could care about the rules in secret.

In the grand tournament finals, human lives were as worthless as grass, and any accident could happen. If Lin Zhan were to die one or two times, it would hardly be worth mentioning.

"Agh... What is that... The Red-Tailed Scorpion Queen..."

Midway through their journey, a Sword-Burial Peak disciple responsible for flank cover wailed. Clutching his neck, he collapsed straight to the ground.

His limbs convulsed, and foam spilled from his mouth. In the blink of an eye, he stopped struggling. Immediately after, white smoke began to rise from his body, and amidst the terrified cries of his surrounding companions, he instantly dissolved into a pool of soapy liquid.

From the bubbles crawled a scorpion-like creature with a body as white as snow and a raised red tail stinger.

This Red-Tailed Scorpion Queen was small in size, but its arrogant posture was fully displayed. Having eaten its fill, it made a threatening gesture before quickly scuttling into the nearby grass.

The Sword-Burial Peak disciples stood dumbfounded in their tracks, not daring to move. The Red-Tailed Scorpion Queen would only attack one person at a time and devour them completely; resistance was futile. As for the others, as long as they remained motionless, they would be safe.

Should anyone move, the scorpion queen would spray a massive amount of venom, turning a large tract of land into a dead, desolate wasteland where not a blade of grass could grow.

Naturally, it had the capital to act so arrogant.

Yet, things were rather peculiar. How could this Red-Tailed Scorpion Queen, which naturally thrived in the crimson flame region east of the Northern Frontier Forest, appear in the dark, damp, and sunless Southern Light Abyss? It was utterly abnormal!

"Ah... You scared me to death..."

This was Shui Xinhai's reaction as she patted her chest in response to the sudden turn of events.

Her little face was deathly pale, her expression flustered and spot-on, perfectly matching the terror of a young girl encountering poisonous insects, rats, or snakes.

No one knew that the Red-Tailed Scorpion Queen—possessing venom against which there was no cure in the entire world—had actually been quietly released by her. This was, after all, her natal toxic treasure.

Had it not been for the need to create a state of chaos, the Red-Tailed Scorpion Queen wouldn't have needed to show off and put on airs after poisoning a man to death; coming and going without a trace would have sufficed.

This appearance was deliberately orchestrated under Shui Xinhai's command.

"Junior Sister Shui, don't be afraid, Senior Brother is here." Wushan, the senior-most disciple of Sword-Burial Peak, drew close, patted Shui Xinhai's shoulder, and finally let his hand linger there.

Shui Xinhai gently shook him off, regained some of her normal composure, and walked away without leaving a trace.

Wushan withdrew his hand sheepishly, then gazed at the bubbly "remains" of his junior brother not far away, a hint of solemnity in his eyes.

"This was an accident. Be careful, we are about to enter the Nether-Absolute Underground Palace."

The twenty-odd people walked forward in silence, each harboring their own thoughts, though everyone instinctively crowded toward the middle of the formation.

For if another Red-Tailed Scorpion Queen were to appear, perhaps someone else would take the blow first. None of them realized that hidden right in the middle of their formation was a mysterious beauty-scorpion. This seemingly harmless beauty-scorpion was actually the most fatal threat of all...

Deep within the ruins of the third trial of the Nether-Absolute Underground Palace, inside a secret chamber, two ghostly figures—one black and one white—were engaging in a certain form of communication.

"Qingjue, how many years has it been?" the black figure said softly, as if his voice traveled across thousands of years.

The white figure swayed, dancing lightly and ethereal: "Wuyou, does the number of years matter... Without today, we would continue to stand guard here, regardless of how many years pass."

"Yes, regardless of how many years..." The black figure, Wuyou, sighed softly. Looking at the flawless face of the white figure opposite him, carved as if from jade, he smiled. "Then on this final day, let us stand shoulder to shoulder once more, shall we?"

A faint flush unexpectedly appeared on the face of the white figure, Qingjue, as she nodded with an intense gaze.

In an instant, the light of the candle on the table within the secret chamber flared brilliantly, and the surrounding decay was swept away in an instant. It was replaced by neat and simple domestic decorations—as it turned out, this place had once been a bedchamber.

The black and white figures smiled, locking eyes. Amidst a wave of spatial turbulence, the matchless pair transformed from ethereal phantoms into flesh and blood, hand in hand. One was as handsome as jade with the transcendent air of an immortal, while the other possessed an otherworldly beauty unsullied by mortal dust.

"Qingjue!"
"Wuyou!"

These two were the earliest founders of the Nether-Absolute Underground Palace, as well as the first inheritors of the origin grounds of the Nether-Absolute Formation.

The name of the Nether-Absolute Underground Palace was derived from the combination of "Nether" and "Absolute" from their respective names.

There was not a shred of evil intent in it. Lin Zhan had been mistaken earlier, assuming that "Nether-Absolute" must refer to some unspeakable dark forces.

Qingjue and Wuyou could truly be considered a pair of celestial lovers envied by the world.

Even as external storms raged for millennia and struggles spanned ten thousand years, a wisp of their split souls had remained anchored in this tiny space, keeping vigil for ten thousand years and gazing across the ages. Now, solidifying into physical forms in this manner meant exhausting their final remnants of energy, unable to last long. Yet, to bring final closure to unfinished matters, it was more than enough.

In the blink of an eye, the two arrived at the outer chamber of the underground palace. Right in the center lay sealed the most important inheritance of their origin grounds: the Nether-Absolute Formation.

Eight small formation flags, representing the essence of the formation and the vital components for establishing it, lay quietly there.

Additionally, there was a set of Floating-Dust Formation manuals—a set of secret formation techniques which were the very reason the entire Nether-Absolute Underground Palace could remain hidden from outsiders in the form of a speck of dust.

To study this set of Floating-Dust Formation manuals to the realm of mastery, combined with realm-level strength, granted such heaven-defying creation.

"Dismiss the external formations. Once that little fellow outside enters, there will be no need to keep them," Qingjue said, raising her head to look at Wuyou.

Wuyou formed hand seals and silently chanted the formation incantation. The entire Nether-Absolute Divine Palace outside underwent earth-shaking changes.

That labyrinthine forest, the winding city walls, and the magnificent architectural complexes within the city—after remaining hidden for countless ages—re-erected themselves upon this abyss land, their ancient aura lingering long and unyielding.

As for the boundless expanse of ancient battlefield ruins outside the city, along with the countless skeletons of ancient cultivators and warriors, at this very moment they shattered and sublimated completely, turning into mist and dust that transformed into sweet rain and merged into the heavens and earth. The once-open expanse began to sprout green grass, flowing streams, and burgeoning vitality... (To be continued.)