C1516 The Dark Court
The howling wind swept through the Devil Palace, shrouded in a cold and eerie silence. Two grand palaces, each towering tens of thousands of feet high, stood as a testament to time in the Land of Quiescence, revered by its people for millennia. These structures were considered sacred by dark adepts worldwide.
Nestled among the towering palaces were mountains and forests, dotted with an array of small, widely dispersed buildings. Numerous towers and caves also adorned the peaks and slopes of these mountains.
Cultivators from the Devil Palace dedicated themselves to mastering the dark arts within these confines, honing their bodies and spirits. When the Solar Spirit engaged in battles beyond the stars, they safeguarded their real bodies in designated forbidden areas.
Atop a greyish-brown peak, Yan Lu, who had attained the Spirit Walk state, along with a few close associates, delved into the profound meanings of an incomplete dark arts text. Abruptly, his Lunar Spirit, heaven soul, and dominant soul felt an overwhelming oppression. His sea of consciousness, once a fluid expanse, seemed to solidify in an instant. The same inexplicable phenomenon befell his companions, leaving them bewildered and looking skyward.
In the distance, above Zhu Zhenlin's iron-gray palace, two vast, mysterious rivers materialized from thin air—one crystalline, the other murky. The rivers intertwined above the palace, converging at a massive dark green palace that sat at their crossroads. This palace, long thought to be the abode of the Nine Underworlds' ruler, had been concealed at the earth's core for eons, occasionally haunting their darkest nightmares.
Countless ghost spirits and Terra Fiends, once bound to serve Zhu Zhenlin within the walls of his iron-gray palace, now struggled fiercely, twisting and writhing. They were desperate to assimilate with the enigmatic palace suspended where the two rivers met.
Around this palace, Zhu Zhenlin's Devil Palace followers had erected numerous shorter structures. Among them, some engaged in animated discussions, others meditated in silence, a few crafted Cursed Artifacts, and some sparred within the secrecy of hidden chambers.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Cultivators at the Lunar Spirit, Spirit Walk, and Solar Spirit levels, no matter their current actions, experienced their Mindscape beneath their brows suddenly erupting into oblivion.
They perished in an instant.
Strands of lingering dark thoughts and wills, like tendrils of smoke, drifted towards the intertwining rivers above.
Yan Lu and his companions might as well have been turned to stone, too terrified to make a move.
Indeed, they were paralyzed.
A dreadful realization dawned on them all simultaneously...
If they dared to make a move, to attempt aid, they would share the same fate.
—Their souls extinguished in a flash.
Howls of anguish filled the air!
For millennia, the souls refined and imprisoned by Zhu Zhenlin, merged into the palace's walls, columns, and the dark earth, taking the form of many ghastly and fearsome patterns, were now seemingly granted clemency. As if called forth by their deities, they broke free from their shackles with newfound divine strength.
The myriad of freed spirits surged towards the enigmatic palace in the sky, willingly integrating with it.
Most of these spirits, their wisdom and essence long sealed away, were suddenly revitalized as they ascended. From within the palace at the river's crossroads, a deluge of Shadow Moon Essence rained down.
The spirits voraciously consumed the Shadow Moon Essence, their dormant memories and spirituality reawakened, invigorated with life and vigor.
"Zhu Zhenlin! Your end has come!"
"Traitor! You should die a thousand times over!"
"Haha! Our deity has returned!"
"..."
Between the two palaces, the ghosts and spirits, some of immense stature reaching hundreds of feet, their bodies emanating a soul-warping magnetic field, bellowed at the palace below.
They were either remnants of the Bloodbrawlers or the formidable new generation of Terra Fiends.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two Unbound cultivators loyal to Zhu Zhenlin emerged, one bursting from the palace, the other from the nearby mountains, each manifesting a colossal Divine Visage.
One Divine Visage towered three thousand feet high with eight massive arms, harboring the fearsome and evil thoughts of countless deceased.
The other, with a girth rivaling mountains, was entwined with rusted iron chains, wildly propelling itself towards the celestial palace.
Youyu, emaciated in form, drifted out from the palace and gently descended with it.
At that moment, every being from the Everlands who had attained a certain level of cultivation and understood the secrets of the Root of the Lunar Meridian, especially those who had ventured into the Land of Terror, felt a shudder deep within their souls.
Youyu, clutching a scroll, gave it a light flick towards the Divine Visages of two Unbound cultivators from the Devil Palace.
The formidable dark adepts, their Solar Spirit, Lunar Spirit, and Dominant Soul instantly spiraled out of control, turning on each other in a frenzied clash that left their minds in disarray.
Their Divine Visages, struck by the scroll, shattered into a cacophony of green, cyan, purple, and black crystals and a shower of luminescent shards.
Both Unbound cultivators were slain in a single confrontation.
Inside the palace, Zhu Zhenlin sighed deeply, his gaze resting on his son, whose soul had already perished beneath a stone pillar. "Enough, let those who are not involved depart."
Youyu, scroll in hand, perched on the eaves of the palace, nodded subtly in agreement.
Subsequently, the dark adepts who had not yet condensed their Lunar Spirit and were under Zhu Zhenlin's command all heard a forgiving voice within their hearts.
"Retreat," Zhu Zhenlin uttered quietly.
The next instant, Youyu unfurled the scroll, and it seemed as though another Land of Terror emerged, slowly engulfing Zhu Zhenlin's palace like an encroaching tide.
Observers from afar found their vision blurring, unable to discern the unfolding events.
In the Rainbow Ocean, the once-clear images beneath Liu Ying, Yu Yuan, and Jiang Miaojie on the moonstone platform were now obscured as if stained by gray ink.
"How dare he strike at such a time?" Liu Ying exclaimed, her face a portrait of incredulity, as if she had just snapped out of a trance.
"The Dark Court!" Jiang Miaojie inhaled sharply, her eyes alight with reverence. "Could that be the fabled Dark Court, known for traversing between the realms of the Undead and the Terra Fiend, navigating life and death?"
Yu Yuan's consciousness stirred.
A memory sparkle burst forth, and without needing Jiang Miaojie's explanation, he recognized that the Dark Court Youyu had mastered was the Bloodbrawlers' prized relic.
Yuan Qingxi had previously entrusted the enigmatic scroll to Youyu, known as the Chronicle of the Shadows, for him to unveil its mysteries.
It was a spatial container that housed the Dark Court.
Within the Chronicle of the Shadows, the Dark Court was nestled, supported by two rivers that connected with the Root of the Lunar Meridian. This allowed Youyu to traverse life and death, navigating through the Land of Terror, the Defiled World, and the Rainbow Ocean.
The Dark Court was also the renowned Divine Artifact of the Bloodbrawlers.
Youyu was its master.
"Zhu Zhenlin is likely facing his demise."
Tian Zang's figure descended gracefully.
"Senior Tian Zang!"
"Tian Zang!"
Jiang Miaojie and Yu Yuan exclaimed in surprise.
"He imprisoned me in the Dark Court to search for Xuanli. And it seems he has indeed found Xuanli," Tian Zang said with a bitter smile, addressing Yu Yuan. "Although Zhu Zhenlin has risen to become the second-in-command at the Devil Palace, the Way of Heaven he initially comprehended actually originated from Youyu."
This revelation left Yu Yuan and the others astounded.
"What do you mean by that?" Liu Ying was the least informed among them.
"Zhu Zhenlin was handpicked by Yuan Qingxi and had long been integrated into the Bloodbrawlers. The arcane techniques Yuan Qingxi taught him, including the Cycle of Life and Death Spell and several other forms of Spirit Magic, all stem from Youyu. Yuan Qingxi's cultivation of him, enabling his rapid advancement, was to one day make him a lieutenant for Youyu," Tian Zang clarified.
"Yuan Qingxi's intention was for Zhu Zhenlin to assist him in awakening his master Youyu. From the outset, Yuan Qingxi never intended for Zhu Zhenlin to succeed Youyu's divine throne."
"In Yuan Qingxi's eyes, that divine throne has always belonged to Youyu. He would rather wait for millennia for his master to awaken than to consider anyone else."
"Zhu Zhenlin is a prodigy in his own right. Having already made significant progress on the sacred way, he wouldn't easily relinquish his position."
"Particularly after Zhu Zhenlin began to realize that as a cultivator from the Bloodbrawlers, he was constrained by the rules of the Everlands. With the Dragon Slaying Stage as an insurmountable barrier to divinity, he became even more determined to shatter those constraints," Tian Zang disclosed the hidden truth.
With this insight from Tian Zang, Yu Yuan and Jiang Miaojie understood the reasons behind Zhu Zhenlin's betrayal.
The sacred way originating from Youyu, if overthrown at the Dragon Slaying Stage and successfully claimed, would belong to Youyu, not Zhu Zhenlin.
Without overthrowing it, constrained by his identity as a member of the Bloodbrawlers and the magic arts he had been practicing, his Path to Godhood would be obstructed.
For him, both paths were dead ends.
Without breaking away from the Bloodbrawlers and seeking a new sacred way at the Devil Palace, he would never reach the pinnacle of divinity and claim the seat of the Supreme God.
His only option was rebellion.
Only through rebellion could he shatter all his chains and carve out a new destiny.
And so, he triumphed.
After his success, he was acutely aware that part of the foundation of his great path was derived from Youyu. Should Youyu awaken and ascend to the same heights, he would naturally be overshadowed.
It was akin to the Chronowyrm's existence, which brought Huangyin and Xuanying unbearable torment, yet they were powerless to change their fate.
Naturally, Zhu Zhenlin was not willing to have a rival who would eternally overshadow him after achieving godhood.
Thus, the Evil King Yu Xi renounced the Way of Heaven of the Bloodbrawlers and forged a new sacred way within the Skyblight Cult, ascending to the highest echelon. No sooner had he been revived by Yuan Qingxi than he was besieged and slain by several peak warriors from the extraterrestrial realms, dying shortly after his awakening.
Zhu Zhenlin knew that should Youyu awaken, he would be dominated by him, so he dared not reveal himself.
Instead, he used others to do his bidding, disclosing Youyu's whereabouts and prompting the extraterrestrial peak forces to unite in an assassination.
Now, Youyu has once again ascended to the Supreme God.
He proactively sought out Zhu Zhenlin. Yu Yuan was not surprised, for he knew this day would eventually come.
What puzzled him was the timing of this encounter.
"Taishi has not yet awakened, and Tianqi has not provided a definitive response. He clearly lacks understanding. Through Zhu Zhenlin, he intends to inform the Boulderdawn Sect and the so-called supreme beings of the Everlands what Youyu represents today."
Tian Zang inhaled deeply and declared, "With the Dark Court under his control, he stands as the first enigmatic God of Ghosts since ancient times. He has mastered his original sacred way, the second sacred way carved out by the Evil King Yu Xi, and the current Path into Shadow. He has penetrated the essence of all three paths and has successfully ascended to godhood."
"The Root of the Lunar Meridian is at its peak of strength and has fully awakened."
"In the Everlands, at this juncture, he is someone whom no one would dare cross."
Tian Zang then cast his gaze toward the heavens, "Particularly now, as the Demon Lord's real body has encountered some unknown fate in the extraterrestrial realm and has yet to return."
"Tan Xiaotian is absent?" Yu Yuan demanded.
"Indeed, Han Miaoyuan sent a clear message to his specter clone at the Devil Palace. He was aware of the impending council. Yet, despite the passage of time, his real body has not made its way back." Tian Zang withdrew his gaze, then, looking toward the Devil Palace, he added, "Zhu Zhenlin's situation seems more perilous than fortunate."
