Chapter 743: Relentless Pursuit

"Fellow Daoist Baili, if it's not absolutely necessary, it's best not to casually kill the Netherworld clansmen..." Han Li sighed and said.

"Understood. My apologies, Fellow Daoist Ti Hun." Baili Yan nodded belatedly and cupped his fist toward Ti Hun.

Ti Hun said nothing, merely nodding noncommittally.

"Then what do we do with these two little ones?" Hu San lifted the two unconscious Netherworld children and asked.

Ti Hun was about to speak when Han Li said:

"Let's imprison them in my cave treasure first. The fact that Yin Xiao, a Taiyi-level elder, personally protected them suggests they are no ordinary children. They might serve as our life-saving talisman later."

With that, he waved his hand, and a silver light door opened. Hu San then tossed the two children into the bamboo building.

Before Han Li could close the cave door, his expression suddenly changed.

"Damn, Ghostwood has caught up..."

As he spoke, he waved his hand and closed the silver light door.

"This way." Ti Hun frowned and quickly said.

With that, she turned and dashed toward the depths of the passage where they had previously hidden.

Han Li and the others followed closely behind, diving into it.

The passage led inward, the terrain gradually sloping upward, ending at a T-junction.

After a brief identification, Ti Hun turned left and led the group away swiftly.

Less than ten breaths after they left, at a passage exit by the Karma Fire Lake, a mass of dense baleful qi surged out rapidly, stopping and condensing on the shore, revealing a black figure—it was Ghostwood.

To pursue Han Li and the others, he disregarded the rule that non-Netherworld clansmen were not allowed to enter the Soul-Washing Zone. After sending a message to Yin Xu, he left behind all the puppets and ghost slaves, bringing only the furry white beast, and chased after them alone.

Upon reaching the lake, he immediately spotted Yin Xiao with his head burst open. His eyes widened, and he let out a thunderous roar.

A powerful aura erupted from his body, sweeping in all directions, causing the Karma Fire Lake to rumble loudly as massive pillars of fire shot up to the dome's ceiling.

"How dare you kill my kin and kidnap the sacrificial children! I'll grind your bones to dust and use them as fertilizer for my ghost vines. Find them quickly—where are they?" Gnarlwood gritted out, then yanked the small beast off his shoulder.

His grip was heavy, and the white beast's spine ached from his grasp. It bared its teeth in pain, terror filling its eyes, but dared not make a sound, only shrinking back and wrinkling its nose.

Suddenly its eyes lit up, and a white ripple emanated from them, spreading rapidly in all directions.

In a moment, it began to squeak, pointing both front paws toward a tunnel entrance on the far side of the lake of karma fire—the very one Han Li and the others had fled through.

"Excellent!" Gnarlwood chuckled.

He raised his hand and looked at the snow-white beast, whose bones he had nearly crushed, and a look of fondness returned to his face. Hastily releasing his grip, he gently smoothed its fur with care.

Then his form suddenly shot forward, quickly turning into a wisp of black mist that surged into the tunnel.

……

Han Li and his party, following the Soul-Devouring Beast, twisted and turned through the tunnels, racing ahead at top speed.

Within the Soul-Washing Zone, the underground passages were especially complex, like a rat's nest or ant colony, crisscrossing in all directions, with terrain undulating in utterly chaotic patterns.

After rounding a tunnel, they charged down a slope for several hundred zhang, only to find a rock wall blocking their path ahead.

"What's this? A dead end?" Shi Chuankong asked tensely.

"False wall. Hurry."

The Soul-Devouring Beast shouted, not slowing down at all, and charged straight into the rock wall ahead.

"Boom..." At its impact, the wall slid back several feet, revealing a gap three feet wide.

They quickly slipped through and entered.

Behind the rock wall was a spacious underground hall.

No sooner had they stepped into the hall than they heard a shout: "Elder Yin Fu, found them!"

As the words fell, a squad of Netherworld Clan cultivators, led by an elder at the peak of the Taiyi stage, rushed toward them.

"Gnarlwood is still on our tail. We can't engage them—let's go!" Han Li shouted.

Their escape lights flared, and they shot straight toward the tunnel exit at the far end of the hall.

Those Nine Nether cultivators refused to let the matter rest, shouting curses as they unleashed their abilities and gave chase.

"Let me give you a taste of this too..." Baili Yan grinned, casually tossing something behind him.

Several black spheres shaped like sweet potatoes flew from his hand, arcing backward and falling to the ground.

Upon landing, the black spheres bounced upward, their surfaces glowing with black light.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

A series of deafening explosions erupted as massive black flames burst from the black sweet potatoes, first contracting sharply, then swelling abruptly into a sea of fire that surged in all directions.

Han Li and the others had already flown far enough, yet they were still struck by the powerful blast, their backs burning and their hearts churning with nausea and discomfort.

The pursuing Nine Nether cultivators fared even worse—before they could even use their own Karma Fire Thunder, Baili Yan had thrown several at once, engulfing them all.

The echoes of the explosions rumbled endlessly through the underground hall, and the waves of Karma Fire lingered for a long time.

No sooner had Han Li and the others flown out of the hall than a figure flew in from a passage on the left.

He wore a black robe, was quite thin, with a gaunt face, looking like an elderly accountant—no one would associate him with a powerful Great Luo中期 cultivator.

But in fact, he was Yin Xu, the Great Luo cultivator guarding the Soul-Washing Zone.

Now alone, the old man hovered in midair, gazing at the miserable state of his clansmen below. In his gray-white eyes, like two brewing storms, gray clouds seemed to swirl endlessly.

Just then, another figure flew out from the passage behind—Gui Mu, who had been chasing them.

"Elder Yin Xu, did you intercept them?" Gui Mu called out before even drawing near.

"Hmph, too late." Yin Xu's face darkened as he snorted coldly.

Gui Mu knew he was being blamed for failing to guard the Hundred Treasures Zone and letting Han Li and the others in, so he did not argue.

"I didn't have time to explain earlier, but these men killed Yin Xiao by the Karma Fire Lake and kidnapped two sacrificial children," Gui Mu said.

"What! What were you and Yin Gua doing? How could you let them take the sacrificial children?" Yin Xu's face grew even darker as he barked.

"Well... Elder Yin Gua had already captured them, but You Luo suddenly rebelled, giving them a chance to escape the Nether Prison and make their way here," Gui Mu replied.

"Youluo... such a huge incident has occurred. Where is Yin Gua? Where is he?" Yin Xu frowned and asked again.

"Elder Yin Gua had exhausted himself earlier and is temporarily in seclusion, but I have already sent someone to notify him. He should be arriving soon," Gui Mu said.

"He still has the mind to go into seclusion? Now is the critical juncture of the Three Domain Alliance. If the Domain Lord finds out about the sacrificial child, we'll all be in deep trouble," Yin Xu said angrily upon hearing this.

"Elder Yin Xu, we absolutely cannot report this to the Domain Lord like that. You and Elder Yin Gua might only suffer some flesh wounds and get through it, but I will have my organs dug out and be turned into a puppet..." Gui Mu's expression changed as he quickly said.

"Hurry up and chase after them, clean them up, and cover our tracks," Yin Xu said with a furrowed brow.

"Thank you, Elder Yin Xu," Gui Mu said gratefully.

With that, the escape lights on the two of them connected, and their figures shot up, instantly disappearing from where they stood.

At the same time, Ti Hun was leading the others, racing along a wide, sloping downward passage. Han Li suddenly turned his head to look behind him and felt his scalp tingle.

Behind them was nothing but darkness; the passage they had just flown through had completely vanished.

A flash of purple light suddenly shone in his eyes as he activated his Nine Nether Pupils. When he looked, he saw a vast expanse of black shadow filling the entire passage, surging toward them.

Wherever it passed, it was as if swallowed by darkness, everything disappearing without a trace.

"Damn it, Elder Yin Xu has caught up too..." Ti Hun also noticed the commotion behind and cried out in alarm.

As soon as her cry rang out, the pursuing black shadow grew even more rampant, its speed suddenly doubling, and in no time it would catch up to them.

Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from the black shadow, Han Li knew they were no match for it. He gritted his teeth and furiously urged the Truth Treasure Wheel to reverse within his body.

Then, with a sweep of his arms, two streams of green light burst from his sleeves, enveloping the others, and with a flicker, they vanished from the spot.

A moment later, at a passage entrance, the figures of Han Li and the others suddenly appeared, and with a rush, they all flew out of the doorway.

Before their bodies even landed, Han Li swept his gaze around and found himself in a colossal underground cavern.

The cavern was tens of thousands of feet wide, with very flat terrain below. Not far away, there was a sizable white square, and behind the square was a cluster of round-topped palaces with rather peculiar architecture.

Outside the palace cluster, a layer of hazy red light shone, with black runes flickering faintly on it—it was actually a sealing grand formation.

"What place is this? Why is it sealed off with a restriction?" Han Li asked in confusion.

"I've seen this place in Yin Xiao's memories. I only know it's a very important location, one that even the Domain Lord takes very seriously. Normally, no one is allowed to enter, and fighting nearby is strictly forbidden," Ti Hun said after a moment of thought.