"S-something’s happened!" Lan Hao looked terrified, pointing behind him with a trembling finger, unable to speak clearly.

"What is it?" Steward Feng’s expression changed slightly.

"Meng Shiyu... Meng Shiyu is dead!"

"What?" Steward Feng’s face fell. His heart sank as he looked in the direction Lan Hao was pointing, subconsciously wanting to rush over.

But after a moment’s hesitation, he remained where he was, making no move. Who knew what dangers lurked?

"Meng Shiyu is dead?" Qin Tianlin, who had already stepped forward, looked shocked. "How is that possible!" he exclaimed.

His voice was filled with disbelief.

Too many mysteries shrouded Su Chen. Red Thunder Star was too far away and enveloped in the Nether Fog, making it extremely difficult to gather any information.

To learn more about Su Chen, the only way was to start with those who had accompanied him.

But the guards from that time had all been reassigned elsewhere by Qing Cang. The only ones who truly knew anything were Wan Chen and the other two.

This meeting with Lan Hao was a rare opportunity to both strengthen their relationship and inquire about Su Chen. If he could use Lan Hao to pull the Lan Family onto his side, the benefits would be substantial.

But he never expected that after only a moment, Meng Shiyu would be dead.

"What exactly happened?" A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, filled with scrutiny and suspicion. ’Meng Shiyu is dead, but he survived. This is clearly unusual.’

Lan Hao still looked shaken. "Just now, Senior Brother Meng asked me to go over there and collect some Spiritual Liquid. We were just chatting."

"But unexpectedly, a Netherworld Creature attacked us from the Nether Fog. Senior Brother Meng fought it to cover my escape, but... he couldn’t defeat it. He died on the spot..." Lan Hao’s face was filled with grief as he spoke, looking as if he was on the verge of tears.

"A Netherworld Creature attack?" Qin Tianlin stared at him intently and interrupted, "How could a Netherworld Creature get this close at a time like this? And besides..."

He didn’t finish his sentence. ’The most important thing is that Meng Shiyu would never die protecting Lan Hao. The story is full of holes.’

Steward Feng was screaming internally. ’I knew this wouldn’t be an easy assignment.’

But for now, all he could do was speak up. "Your Excellency, Your Excellency, the Nether Realm is treacherous and unpredictable. The Netherworld Creatures have no behavioral logic, so things like this are bound to happen."

’I don’t want to know the specifics. All I have to do now is keep these two stable until someone more important returns. Then it will be out of my hands.’

Lan Hao’s face was a mask of grief. He lowered his head, feeling a little nervous inside. ’My story has too many holes,’ he thought, ’but I’m not someone who can be easily pushed around.’

’Besides, the things Meng Shiyu discussed with me weren’t exactly proper. Qin Tianlin would probably just be making trouble for himself by digging deeper.’

’But after today, I’m afraid I’ve offended the most talented individual in the Bronze Sect.’

BOOM!

Just then, a roar thundered from the sky. Everyone couldn’t help but look up. At the mountain peak, a blinding blast of energy erupted, sending a circular shockwave sweeping outward.

A figure was violently thrown from the center of the explosion, their body tracing a twisted trajectory through the air, wreathed in purple flames.

His face was grim. It was Fan Zhao.

...

"This Nether Realm really is a treasure trove for me," Su Chen mused, looking at the new profession recorded on his panel.

According to Lan Hao, a Holy Mark Physician could condense a "Holy Mark" to quickly heal themselves or others in a short amount of time, and it could be used at any moment.

’In the real world, at the heart of the Bronze Sect, I don’t dare take as many risks as I did in the Judicial Court.’

’But here in the Nether Realm, I can act without restraint. If it isn’t quite my home turf, it’s at least a semi-home turf.’

’Lan Hao has become my mole. I don’t have to worry about the Phoenix-sequence professions anymore.’

The thought flashed through his mind as Su Chen’s gaze fell upon Xiao Hei at his side. The creature was curled up on the ground, whimpering softly.

Changes were occurring all over its body. Its arched back heaved violently, and it was as if countless living things were scurrying beneath its skin.

He had noticed this starting gradually ever since it devoured Meng Shiyu’s Spirit Fragment.

The transformation seemed to have reached a critical point. Its jet-black fur stood on end, a greasy, dark sheen flowing over it as it visibly grew coarser, harder, and denser, as if it were being covered by a fine layer of Energy Armor.

Its body swelled as if being inflated. Its knuckles elongated, the claws at their tips glinting with a cold, metallic luster. Its face also twisted, its lower jaw jutting forward while its canines grew longer and sharper, piercing out from its lips.

Its pupils contracted sharply, becoming two vertical slits filled with violence and a keen light, staring fixedly ahead.

An aura far more ferocious and solid than before began to emanate uncontrollably with every inch of its physical metamorphosis.

’It actually advanced to Tier Six... No wonder these Netherworld Creatures covet Outer Realm Spirit Bodies so much.’

Su Chen looked at the transformed Xiao Hei before him.

"M...Master." Xiao Hei knelt on the ground, its mental fluctuations carrying reverence and piety.

Su Chen, in turn, faintly sensed a peculiar energy being transmitted from Xiao Hei. It was minuscule, like a strand of hair, and it wrapped around him.

"Is this... faith?" he mumbled, lost in thought. He had no idea what use this stuff was for an Outer Realm Spirit Body like him. For now, it was too minuscule to feel anything.

’This Xiao Hei might actually be of great use later on.’

The thought flickered through Su Chen’s mind and was gone. He suddenly sensed something and looked up at the sky.

A streak of purple light was flying backward—it was Fan Zhao.

’So there really are other Netherworld Creatures on that mountain.’ Su Chen wasn’t surprised. His eyes narrowed slightly. Without the slightest hesitation, he circled around the position of Qin Tianlin and the others, approaching from the side.

At the foot of the giant mountain, the non-sentient Netherworld Creatures had already been scared into scattering in all directions.

"Don’t follow me up. Go back to that mining area first and hang out with that Centipede Dragon—the one with two rows of claws. I’ll come find you later."

Su Chen thought for a moment and decided to have Xiao Hei leave first. ’If I encounter danger, I can escape the Nether Realm quickly, but the same isn’t necessarily true for this guy.’

"Can you find the place?" he asked specifically.

After its promotion, Xiao Hei’s comprehension and intelligence had risen by a great margin. It responded accurately, "I can find it."

’Netherworld Creatures have a better sense of direction here than I do.’ Su Chen waved his hand, dismissing it.

He then found a small path and began to climb the mountain. Though the mountain was rugged and steep, it posed little difficulty for him.

Halfway up, he switched to his Priest Black Tuo form, which would have a special use later.

Upon reaching the mountainside, signs of Netherworld Creatures began to reappear. There were Tier Six Netherworld Creatures patrolling the area, but upon seeing him, they were all startled and kept their distance, not daring to approach.

The sounds from the sky were continuous. Su Chen could now see the battlefield relatively clearly. Three Netherworld Creatures were locked in a fierce battle with Fan Zhao.

A Netherworld Creature resembling a scorpion-armored tyrannosaur was the main attacker, its tail barb flashing with a cold light. There was also one that looked like a cross between a giant ape and a rhinoceros, its horn wreathed in ominous purple-black lightning.

To the right coiled a long, centipede-like body, with a murky compound eye open on each segment of its back armor.

Su Chen couldn’t make out the finer details, only the brilliant flashes of exploding energy.

’This Fan Zhao is pretty impressive,’ Su Chen thought. ’He’s holding his own against three of them, and this is just his Spirit Body. These carefully selected and meticulously trained individuals can’t be underestimated.’

Su Chen mused to himself, becoming even more cautious. He took another detour and gradually approached the summit.

The summit was not a sharp peak but a huge, bowl-shaped depression with jagged, menacing edges, resembling the giant mouth of an extinct volcano.

In the central area, there was a deep and quiet cavern. Su Chen frowned slightly and stepped cautiously inside.

It was unusually calm inside, with a faint, rank smell. The cave wasn’t deep, and at its end, a half-person-tall flame burned quietly.

The flame was not the usual orange-red or golden-yellow, but a purer, more translucent pale gold. Its texture was like molten glass or flowing light, and it emitted a soft halo.

"Spiritual Fire!"

Su Chen’s steps faltered. His expression hardened, and a fiery heat surged in his eyes, but he immediately suppressed it.

A giant, python-like Netherworld Creature emerged from the darkness to the side. Its body was covered in dense, dark-red-to-black scale armor that had the luster of cooled, solidified lava.

At the fork of its neck, it actually had two human-faced heads. The left face was fair and delicate, that of a breathtakingly beautiful woman. The right was masculine and handsome. If one ignored their entangled necks, they would look like a perfectly matched couple.