Chapter 704: Sea of Suffering Reincarnation

True Monarch Pu Du’s sigh was not concealed. Any True Monarch within the Primordial Sect’s domain could hear it clearly.

‘Composure? Hah… How can you snatch a prize from the fire without first burning your boats?’

‘Who is the cat and who is the mouse… We’ll find out in the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation.’

A glance confirmed that the All Heaven Star Formation was active and stable. With his mind settled, Xu Yunfan closed his eyes again, immersing his entire Heart and Spirit into his Origin connection with Clone Wukong.

A luminous screen from his Attribute Panel silently unfolded in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness. As his Dharma Aspect began to operate, the Linn Character State took precedence, gathering all incoming information. It converted the data into a cold, digital torrent and began rapidly analyzing every wisp of environmental data fed back by Clone Wukong from the Sea of Suffering, as well as…

…the auras of the powerful enemies that were rapidly approaching.

After all, with the Attribute Panel at his disposal, he could forcibly take control of Clone Wukong at any moment and unleash his own Divine Power without any hindrance.

「Sea of Suffering Reincarnation.」

The world here seemed to have lost all vibrant color, leaving only a deathly, monotonous gray.

A viscous fog roiled about, feeling like solidified dust weighing down on Wukong’s heart.

Wukong swept his gaze across the area with his Eyes of Golden Flame, only to discover that the fog was a condensation of countless lingering regrets from dissipating True Spirits, their unfulfilled obsessions, and pure Death Qi. Inhaling it brought a bone-chilling cold and a sense of spiritual suffocation.

Beneath his feet, the seawater was as thick as plasma. It churned silently, emitting a heavy, metallic stench of decay.

The occasional yin wind that blew carried a strange power that could corrode the soul. Even with the protection of the dark gold membrane of light from his Soul-Protecting Profound Mirror, Wukong could feel his heart pound with fear.

He was not a Golden Core True Monarch, after all. He couldn’t just roam this place without restraint.

Before him were countless True Spirits, their forms blurred, with only a glimmer of instinctual Spiritual Light remaining. They floated mindlessly between the gray fog and the waves of blood, like puppets pulled by invisible strings. They converged into silent, desperate rivers, all flowing toward a colossal rift in the depths of the Sea of Suffering that stretched from the ground to the sky.

They were slowly drifting toward the Reincarnation Nether Sect.

Here, the True Spirits of mortals and Cultivators were indistinguishable.

Wukong’s Molten Gold Pupils pierced through the thick gray fog, seeing to the very edge of his vision.

A gargantuan city, whose magnificence was as indescribable as its sinister aura, lay crouched in the distance. It was like an Ancient Fierce Beast hibernating at the end of death’s abyss.

Its walls soared into the gray sky, built from strange, colossal stones that shimmered with a dark, metallic luster.

‘The Netherworld?!’

Wukong’s expression was one of shock. He had spent many years journeying east with Sanzang in the Eastern Wilderness and had naturally studied countless Buddhist Scriptures. These texts naturally mentioned the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation and the Netherworld city within the greater region of the Netherworld.

But seeing it with his own eyes, he finally understood just how majestic the great city was, larger even than a star.

That was the Netherworld—the final destination of the dead, the hub of Reincarnation.

At the city gates, he could faintly make out a long line of stupefied True Spirits, driven by some invisible Rules. They flowed numbly into the massive, all-consuming shadow.

Just as Wukong prepared to use his Magical Power, braving the Power of the Soul-Eroding Wind to sneak toward the Netherworld, a slightly urgent voice boomed like thunder in the depths of his consciousness.

“Stop. Find a place to hide, quickly. Something followed you.”

Wukong’s Stone Embryo Tendons and Bones tensed abruptly. If not for his stone-like nature, he would have jumped in shock.

He forcibly suppressed his instincts and concealed his aura to the absolute limit. Without a moment’s hesitation, he darted to the side, hiding his form in the shadow of an immense black reef formed from solidified resentment. His Molten Gold Pupils scanned the roiling gray fog from where he had come, filled with suspicion and alarm.

‘Xu Yunfan?!’

Wukong reeled, his Heart and Spirit trembling with incredulous horror.

‘How… how can you send me a message here?! This place is cut off from the Ten Thousand Realms! Under the Reincarnation Law, not even a True Monarch’s Divine Thought can penetrate it! Your main body is on Divine Sky Mountain, so how did you do it?!’

The voice, of course, belonged to Xu Yunfan, and he had no intention of explaining himself to Wukong.

“Silence. You are a product of my Cloud Scripture Incarnation, and your True Spirit Origin is tied to mine. Even across countless layers of the Boundary Sea, the mere Law of the Sea of Suffering is hardly enough to sever our connection. Focus on hiding yourself and conceal that glimmer of Golden Nature. They’re here!”

Wukong’s mind was in turmoil.

Having read many scriptures, he was well aware of the terror and isolating properties of the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation. Xu Yunfan’s ability to communicate across realms so easily was something that could not be explained by a simple Cloud Scripture Incarnation Technique.

A deeper chill settled in his heart.

‘This Xu Yunfan’s trump cards are far more unfathomable than what he has revealed.’

Wukong didn’t dare to think further. He operated the Profound Mirror at full power, locking down every trace of his Stone Embryo’s Vitality and the fluctuations of his Indestructible Golden Nature. His entire being became like a truly lifeless Stubborn Stone.

The instant he finished concealing himself, two distinct yet equally destructive auras tore through the viscous gray fog and descended upon the edge of the deathly sea of blood.

The first to appear was a beam of light, condensed to the absolute extreme.

It was a light forged from pure, cold will and an edge that could sever all things.

The moment it appeared, the surrounding fog was cleaved apart as if by an invisible blade. A straight, bottomless trench was plowed into the surface of the viscous sea of blood, a wound that did not heal.

A sizzling sound echoed from the trench’s edge as the Death Qi was forcibly annihilated by the supreme Sword Intent.

Within the radiance, the vague silhouette of a person could be seen. Their aura was sharp enough to pierce the soul. It was none other than the Wansheng Sword Sect’s Phecda Star Pivot Sword Soul Profound True Monarch!

“Xu Yunfan!”

True Monarch Tong Xuan’s cold voice echoed over the silent Sea of Suffering, laced with bone-deep hatred and chilling killing intent. It stirred the surrounding Death Qi, creating small vortexes.

“The humiliation in the Boundary Sea, the feud over the Grotto Heaven—today, in this land of the dead, I will settle the score with you for both. You may be as cunning as a demon, but entering this forsaken land with your Divine Soul separated from your body is simply courting death! I’d like to see where you can run now!”

He had clearly mistaken Wukong’s aura, which the Profound Mirror had simulated to mimic Xu Yunfan’s Divine Soul fluctuations, for his target.

Before his voice had even faded, the condensed Sword Spirit trembled violently. It split into hundreds of Sword Threads, each as fine as an ox hair and nearly invisible. Like living vipers, they instantly plunged into the sea of blood and gray fog, rapidly fanning out in all directions to search the area.

Wherever the Sword Threads passed, they produced a faint yet grating tearing sound in the space around them.

This was precisely the advantage that Wansheng Sword Sect Cultivators held in the Sea of Suffering. Their will and Divine Soul were condensed like a sword, allowing them to temporarily resist the Soul-Eroding Yin Wind. They could even transform their Sword Spirit into threads to conduct wide-ranging and relatively precise searches.

Not to mention a Golden Core True Monarch, who could run rampant with his Sword Intent alone.

The second aura to arrive, however, sent an even deeper chill through both the hidden Wukong and Xu Yunfan’s main body, far away on Divine Sky Mountain.

It lacked any earth-shattering power, but it carried a creepy, unnatural fusion of life and death.

A figure materialized out of thin air. It was not a spiritual projection of a Divine Soul, but a true body of flesh and blood.

This was a middle-aged man dressed in a magnificent Purple Gold Daoist Robe. His face was handsome, but held a demonic pallor.