Chapter 2709: Scorching Heat

Chapter 2709: Chapter 2708: Scorching Heat

The surfaces of these stone gates were covered in dense red patterns, and together with the black bodies, they looked as if Zhou Ming had transformed into these gates to guard this place.

Song Ruozhao silently watched the stone gate ahead, then, without another word, drew his Sword. The Long Qin Sword appeared, and several streaks of golden Sword Qi shot toward the gate.

Although Song Ruozhao had accepted the Qingfeng Sword after his hair turned white, he did not intend to cultivate the dual-sword style his master had once suggested. Instead, he continued to use his own Long Qin Sword.

After all, he had wielded this kind of single-handed Sword for thousands of years. Even back when Song Ruozhao was sealed and had no weapon, he still manifested a Sword in his inner world to practice sword techniques.

The realm of “no Sword in hand, Sword in the heart, man and blade as one” was something he comprehended during these three thousand years.

He was already that formidable without a Sword; if he now held the Long Qin Sword in his hand, his power would naturally soar even higher.

As for the Qingfeng Sword, Song Ruozhao’s plan was to avoid using it unless absolutely necessary. Only in extremely critical situations and against enemies that were extremely hard to deal with would he possibly bring out the Qingfeng Sword, joining it with his Long Qin Sword to meet the foe.

The golden Sword Qi struck the stone gate, pulverizing it in an instant. Originally Song Ruozhao had harbored some misgivings about the obstacles in the Nine Nether world and did not want to act rashly.

But after his hair turned white, Song Ruozhao’s temperament seemed to have undergone a subtle yet delicate change. Faced with anything blocking his path, he would show absolutely no mercy, not bothering in the slightest to consider what those things were or what purpose they served.

Ling Feng watched from behind as Song Ruozhao kept unleashing Sword strikes, saying not a single word and not intending to step up to help.

Right now, Song Ruozhao gave Ling Feng the feeling of a freshly sharpened blade, brimming with endless edge and fighting intent, convinced that he alone could sweep away every enemy ahead.

Yet he had not reached the kind of extreme that made Ling Feng worry his sharpness would harm himself. Though Song Ruozhao seemed to be brandishing all sorts of powerful sword moves with nothing held back, it hadn’t become a double-edged Sword that cut the wielder as well.

Song Ruozhao had been controlling his own power very well. He had great confidence in his strength, but he absolutely would not abuse it. Every move and every form, Song Ruozhao kept a precise grip on the limits.

“Now he really does look a bit like those sword-path prodigies of the old Nine Provinces.” Ling Yao said with a smile.

“You noticed too?” Ling Feng tilted his head and asked.

Ling Yao nodded. “When I first met him, I only felt that his cultivation was unfathomable, but his temperament was rather straightforward, not much like some so-called genius. Judging from his behavior and manners, he merely seemed approachable.”

“Looking at him now, he’s already undergone a complete transformation. His temperament is restrained; deep, yet not vicious or gloomy. His power is fierce, but every move follows a clear pattern and his own intent.”

“The current Brother Song is a true prodigy. With his aid, I believe it won’t be too hard for the two of you to eradicate Zhou Ming.”

Ling Feng also smiled and nodded.

In the time it took for just a few sentences, Song Ruozhao had already destroyed all those black stone gates. Neither his heart nor Ling Feng’s had ever considered using Song Ruozhao’s abilities like those of a slave.

Ling Feng letting Song Ruozhao smash the stone gates alone while he himself didn’t act was precisely to give Song Ruozhao a chance to vent. Song Ruozhao himself was well aware he needed such an outlet, and in just a few moves, he shattered all the gates.

You could call this a mutually beneficial situation.

Ling Feng and Ling Yao stood on Little Fei’s back and came to hover beside Song Ruozhao, who stood proudly in the void.

Ling Feng laughed and said, “At first I had no idea how to leave this Nine Nether, I hadn’t even found a way to break the game. Only just now did I finally get it.”

“Since the Nine Nether is just a small world anyway, why don’t we go all out and destroy it, keep going until this small world can no longer withstand our power and collapses, or some useful flaw appears.”

“Then we’ll take that as the breakthrough point to tear open Nine Nether’s link to the Nine Provinces and get out of here.”

Song Ruozhao nodded, clearly quite in favor of this method.

In the distance from the three, the Blade of the Apocalypse flew back at extreme speed, stopping beside Ling Feng and saying, “Master, I’ve already destroyed all the Shan Feng and plants ahead.”

Not long after, Kai Tian and the God Slayer Saber also returned, reporting the same sort of situation as the Blade of the Apocalypse. While Song Ruozhao destroyed the stone gates, Ling Feng hadn’t been idle; he had sent his own divine weapons to obliterate a large number of Nine Nether’s physical objects—in short, smashing whatever they saw.

The effect might not have been obvious, but Ling Feng firmly believed that even small efforts were no trivial contribution.

The ground beneath the three, and the stone gates Song Ruozhao had shattered, suddenly began to squirm again. The fragments of dozens of gates gathered in front of them, condensing into a single massive stone gate.

Once the gate took shape, a tiny violet point emerged from its center, then spread out in all directions along the gate. In the blink of an eye, it formed a violet rippling membrane.

“Those who enter this gate shall gain new life!” A hoarse, indifferent voice sounded from within the gate.

Ling Feng muttered, “Gain new life? Then of course we have to go in and take a look. I want to see if there’s an even deeper layer beneath the Nine Nether, so the residents of Nine Nether can have somewhere to go after they die!”

Song Ruozhao stared at the hazy ripples on the gate and the drifting violet light spots, then exchanged a glance with Ling Feng.

Little Fei carried Ling Feng and Ling Yao, while Song Ruozhao used Sky Command to fly, and they went straight into the black stone gate.

“Let’s go!” Ling Feng shouted with a great laugh.

As soon as the three entered, the black stone gate collapsed in an instant, and the violet membrane turned into countless specks of light that scattered into heaven and earth, leaving only a field of rubble.

The fragments hadn’t lain there long when a swarm of black bugs drilled out from underground. They opened their mouths, revealing white fangs, and devoured all the fragments of the stone gate clean.

…

Just as the three passed through the gate, a wave of scorching heat rushed at them. The high temperature made even Ling Feng frown slightly, forcing him to release some Spiritual Energy to wrap around himself.

Song Ruozhao’s bones had long since been tempered to crystal clarity, like fine jade. That miraculous change had spread to his flesh as well, so now his body feared neither cold nor heat, and its toughness far surpassed that of ordinary members of the Devil Clan.

He was sturdier than many body-cultivating experts. Faced with this level of high temperature, Song Ruozhao’s expression did not even flicker.

As an Ancient Goddess, Ling Yao naturally had special means. Using her power to control matter, she separated countless tiny water droplets out of the air, surrounding her body with them to resist the heat.

Little Fei, with its hard shell and the Insect Race’s unique internal circulation system, was of course unafraid of high temperatures as well.

What met their eyes was a field of red. Scarlet and yellow magma flowed everywhere, and scattered rocks and mountain bodies collapsed under the spreading heat, eventually melting away.

Ling Feng sighed. “Could this be the real Nine Nether? Or maybe hell itself? Is that why it’s so hot?”

Song Ruozhao said mildly, “Back when I listened to Master’s lectures, he mentioned such places. The Nine Nether is not made of only one layer or a single small world, but a composite of multiple worlds, collectively called the Nine Nether.”

“Although each small world is different, they share one trait: the environments are all harsh, even vicious. Ordinary people can’t stay long in the Nine Nether; they either die or go mad.”

Ling Feng laughed. “Then it seems we just passed through the first world. What was that one? The Initial World? The Illusion World?”

As Ling Feng indulged in guessing, a cry for help suddenly came from the distance:

“Help! Is anyone there? Somebody save me!”