Chapter 26: Shifting Strategies

The tremors in the Soul-Devouring Green Abyss lasted for a full thirteen seconds. Lin Chuan stood in the center of the second valley, the vibrations beneath his feet forcing him to bend his knees slightly to maintain his balance.

In the distance, the muffled sound of rockfalls echoed, and debris rained down from the cliffs lining the valley. More unsettling was the realization that this shaking was not confined to the Soul-Devouring Green Abyss—the entire Azure Underworld Secret Realm was swaying.

"What is happening?" Lin Chuan steadied himself and looked up at the grey, hazy sky. "Did that old lecher wake up?"

The Blood Spirit Ring grew slightly warm, and Xiao Pang’s soul form drifted out. A rare look of gravity sat upon his round face. "Not fully awake yet. It is merely an instinctive reaction."

The shaking stopped as abruptly as it had begun. The valley returned to silence, with only the occasional sound of falling rocks in the distance serving as a reminder that what had just occurred was no hallucination.

Lin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief, but his brows remained tightly knitted. "An instinctive reaction?"

"The Nine Nether Soul-Refining Array is his life-bound formation, which he spent over a million years refining," Xiao Pang explained, his small eyes scanning the surroundings with vigilance. "The nine array disks have been nourished by his divine soul for eons. Even with only one percent of his original soul essence remaining, he can still sense and manipulate the disks within a certain range."

Lin Chuan nodded thoughtfully. "So, he sensed that two disks were missing and tried to summon them back?"

"Exactly," Xiao Pang sneered. "Unfortunately for him, the Blood Spirit Ring is a treasure I forged during my peak. It contains a pocket dimension that isolates the inside from the outside. No matter how strong that old lecher’s instinctive consciousness may be, it cannot penetrate the spatial barrier of the Blood Spirit Ring."

Lin Chuan rubbed the Blood Spirit Ring, suddenly realizing that this seemingly ordinary ring was far more precious than he had imagined. To be able to block the perception of a World Lord-level powerhouse, even if only a residual instinct, was proof of how astonishing Xiao Pang’s craftsmanship had been at his peak.

"The tremors just now..." Lin Chuan suddenly thought of something. "Was he trying to summon the disks?"

Xiao Pang nodded. "It is like someone being bitten by a mosquito while asleep; they would swat at it subconsciously. That old lecher’s instinctive consciousness is 'swatting' at us."

The comparison almost made Lin Chuan laugh, but he quickly fell into deep thought. If collecting two disks triggered such a reaction, what would happen if they continued?

"Pang-er," Lin Chuan said in a low voice, "if we continue to collect the disks..."

"It will continue to irritate him until he fully awakens." Xiao Pang finished Lin Chuan’s thought. They exchanged a look, both seeing the gravity in the other's eyes.

Lin Chuan calculated quickly. "Based on the intensity of the reaction just now..."

"At most four," Xiao Pang said decisively. "If we collect four of the outer disks, that old lecher will certainly wake up completely."

This number made Lin Chuan’s heart tighten. Their original plan had been to collect all eight outer disks to prevent the Nine Nether World Lord from fully resurrecting, and then seize the opportunity to control his residual soul. But now, it seemed the plan had to be adjusted.

"If he wakes up and forcibly summons the remaining four disks..." Lin Chuan muttered, rapidly simulating various possibilities in his mind.

Xiao Pang sneered. "Then he could resurrect ahead of schedule. While his state wouldn't be complete, it would be enough to crush us as we are now."

Lin Chuan’s brows furrowed. According to Xiao Pang, once the Nine Nether World Lord awoke, he would immediately recall the remaining four disks to merge with the core disk and force a resurrection. Under these circumstances, they would hold four disks while the Nine Nether World Lord would have the other five, placing them in a dire situation.

"Wait," Lin Chuan suddenly looked up. "These disks are condensed from evil souls and are the purest form of soul energy, right?"

Xiao Pang blinked. "Correct. Each disk contains the essence of a million evil souls and carries part of the secrets of the Nine Nether Soul-Refining Array."

"If you devour four disks," Lin Chuan’s eyes glittered, "what level could you recover to?"

The question caught Xiao Pang off guard, and his small eyes began to dart around. He understood what Lin Chuan meant—rather than holding onto the disks and waiting to control a fully resurrected Nine Nether World Lord, it would be better to convert them into their own strength now.

Xiao Pang’s soul form shrank back into the Blood Spirit Ring. Lin Chuan waited patiently, knowing Xiao Pang was carefully evaluating the energy and characteristics of the disks.

A few seconds later, a flash of blue light appeared, and Xiao Pang reappeared, his round face alight with rare excitement. "Saint Martial Realm!"

"What?" Lin Chuan doubted he had heard correctly.

"By devouring four disks, I can recover to the Saint Martial Realm!" Xiao Pang repeated, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

Lin Chuan gasped. He had already learned the cultivation hierarchy of the Cangxuan Continent from Xiao Pang: Body Tempering, Spirit Martial, Profound Martial, Earth Martial, Sky Martial, Venerable Martial, Emperor Martial, Saint Martial, and God Martial—the nine great realms. The Saint Martial Realm was the eighth, only one step away from the peak!

"Are you sure?" Lin Chuan asked, his voice tight. "The Saint Martial Realm?"

Xiao Pang nodded firmly. "The purity of the energy in the disks far exceeds expectations, and they contain secrets of the Nine Nether Soul-Refining Array, which provides a special bonus to my soul recovery."

This answer made Lin Chuan’s heart race. In the Cangxuan Continent, a Saint Martial powerhouse stood at the pinnacle, acting as the ancestor-level figures of major sects and factions. If Xiao Pang could truly recover to this level, they could practically walk anywhere with impunity.

"Then what about the Nine Nether World Lord?" Lin Chuan forced himself to stay calm. "If he recalls the remaining four disks plus the core disk..."

Xiao Pang had already crunched the numbers. "At most, the peak of the Emperor Martial Realm."

"Only the Emperor Martial Realm?" Lin Chuan asked in surprise. "He has five disks, including the core one, so why..."

"Because he is only a residual soul," Xiao Pang interrupted, his eyes gleaming with wisdom. "The Nine Nether World Lord’s soul essence is only one percent of his peak. Without the complete Nine Nether Soul-Refining Array to convert it, his energy utilization efficiency is pitifully low."

Lin Chuan suddenly understood. Like a leaking bucket, no matter how much water one poured in, most of it would be lost. The Nine Nether World Lord’s residual soul state meant he could not efficiently utilize the energy of the disks.

"We are different," Xiao Pang continued, his tone filled with confidence. "My soul is complete; I am only drained of power. These disks are like custom-made supplements for me; my absorption efficiency is at least three times higher than his."

Lin Chuan quickly compared their strengths: Xiao Pang at the Saint Martial Realm against the Nine Nether World Lord’s residual soul at the peak of the Emperor Martial Realm. With the Nine Nether World Lord in an unstable state, combined with Xiao Pang’s past peak experience, they were almost guaranteed victory.

"Let's do it!" Lin Chuan slapped his thigh, his eyes flashing with the thrill of adventure. "Four disks will be enough for you to recover to the Saint Martial Realm, and we can go head-to-head with that old lecher!"

Xiao Pang grinned, revealing his signature cunning expression. "Just what I wanted."

The two exchanged a look and tacitly turned to head out of the valley. Now, they needed to find and collect the third and fourth disks as quickly as possible, completing Xiao Pang’s recovery before the Nine Nether World Lord fully awakened.

As they walked out of the valley, Lin Chuan suddenly thought of a question. He lowered his voice and asked, "Will the commotion just now attract trouble?"

Xiao Pang was dismissive. "The Li family will surely investigate, but they won't find this place. The evil souls of the Soul-Devouring Green Abyss will keep the riffraff away for us."

Lin Chuan nodded and quickened his pace toward where Zhang Lin and the others were waiting. Every second was precious now; they had to complete their plan before the Nine Nether World Lord awoke.

When they saw Lin Chuan, the trio of Zhang Lin clearly breathed a sigh of relief. Li Yu trotted over to meet him. "Brother Lin, the tremors just now..."

"A normal phenomenon of the secret realm," Lin Chuan said dismissively, then changed the subject. "I discovered that the distribution of these valleys might follow a pattern. We need to speed up from here on."

Without waiting for their response, Lin Chuan strode off toward the northwest. Through his soul connection, Xiao Pang had told him the third valley was likely in that direction.

Zhang Lin and the others exchanged glances, but considering the value of the Azure Underworld Grass, they quickly followed. They did not notice that the ring on Lin Chuan’s right hand was emitting a faint blue light, as if greedily craving something...