In a daze, Zhao Feixiong even thought Zou Feng had cast some sort of Illusion Technique on him. But Zou Feng obviously wouldn’t be so bored, so it had to be a Skill that had progressed to a Realm he couldn’t understand...
Zhao Feixiong’s guess was right. Since Zou Feng had chosen to come out of seclusion, he had definitely achieved his staged goal.
"Ancient Demon-Suppressing Golden Body (Transcendence) Progress: 6%."
With Sect Leader Yan Canglan of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect personally passing down his Skill, the gift from the Golden-winged Roc, and the newly found Vermilion Bird Remains, it was a sure thing for this Cultivation Skill to reach the Realm of Transcendence in the Alternate Space. However, while it seemed that only half a month had passed in the outside world, Zou Feng had actually spent more than a year cultivating in the Alternate Space, where time flowed differently.
"Nine Immortal Ascension Skills (Limit-Breaking) Progress: 95%."
Over the past year, aside from primarily cultivating the Ancient Demon-Suppressing Golden Body, Zou Feng would chat with the Queen Mother whenever he was bored. As his Realm and strength improved, his "connection" time with the Queen Mother grew longer and longer. Although it was mostly awkward small talk—which was, in fact, him being corrupted by the Queen Mother—the Nine Immortal Ascension Skills still made considerable progress.
Yet, even though the Nine Immortal Ascension Skills seemed very close to the Realm of Transcendence, Zou Feng knew very well that without some special encounter, the final hurdle would be difficult to overcome. But even if he could push the Nine Immortal Ascension Skills to the Realm of Transcendence now, Zou Feng wouldn’t dare to break through at this stage.
He faintly felt that reaching the Realm of Transcendence in the Ninefold Celestial Court was equivalent to Ascension. It would be an uncontrollable Ascension. His three ethereal and seven corporeal souls might even split, with a portion automatically ascending to somewhere in the Celestial Court. And the consequence of ascending would likely be a direct encounter with one of the Nine Great True Immortals... Therefore, it was for the best not to break through the Nine Immortal Ascension Skills for now. He would continue to accumulate his strength.
In addition, his other Cultivation Skills and regular Skills had naturally seen minor improvements. Zou Feng was even considering whether he should try to merge the Tribulation-Indestructible Body into the Ancient Demon-Suppressing Golden Body. Unfortunately, that was a massive undertaking that would take a tremendous amount of time.
The Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect’s attack on the Yama Underworld was imminent. Cultivating in seclusion for a dozen days was fine, but if it dragged on any longer, it would be easy to miss the opportunity... After all, the Celestial Dao Cauldron’s descent upon the Northern Domain consumed an exaggerated amount of resources in every aspect. For one, this place was completely different from the Eastern Earth Immortal Realm, making it entirely unsuitable for the Celestial Dao Cauldron’s operation.
A moment later, Zhao Feixiong had intended to challenge Zou Feng to a Dance Battle, but the Undying Master, Ma Qianqin, and the others—who had sensed Zou Feng ending his seclusion—quickly arrived. Their eyes were even sharper; they could tell at a glance that Zou Feng was fully prepared.
Ma Qianqin, who initially had some complaints about Zou Feng, couldn’t help but light up.
"The Ancient Demon-Suppressing Golden Body? Not bad, not bad. It looks like you’ve cultivated it into something entirely different, avoiding the inferior path of strictly following the rules step by step!" Ma Qianqin nodded repeatedly as she assessed him.
After all, she was the epitome of someone who completely ignored normal cultivation methods. In the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, whatever Body Refining Skill fell into Ma Qianqin’s hands would inevitably end up being cultivated in whatever chaotic way she saw fit. Fortunately, this woman was also a Child of Fortune, an anomaly among Alien Species. Even by cultivating blindly, she grew stronger, and her methods would subconsciously align perfectly with her physical body over time.
The Undying Master nodded and stepped forward. "Without further ado, let’s depart!"
Zou Feng had assumed that the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect would dispatch their entire army to the Yama Underworld’s location. He was even ready to bring everyone from the Holy Lotus along, then attempt to gradually transform the Yama Underworld into a "Yama Disco." In a perfect world, all the Underworld Cultivators would be infected by the "Yama Disco," put down their butcher knives, and start dancing on the spot.
However, as the Undying Master explained, there was no way to attack the Yama Underworld by overwhelming it with a massive army and pouring everyone inside. First of all, just entering the Yama Underworld was an extremely difficult task in itself. If ordinary Cultivators went in, they would likely fall into Reincarnation—literally losing their lives, ending up in the Underworld, and throwing their lives away for nothing. Therefore, to attack the Yama Underworld, they had to form dozens of elite squads to separately breach the "Ten Halls of Yama" first. Only then would the Underworld’s core reveal itself.
This so-called Underworld’s core was actually a formidable Magical Treasure, only slightly inferior to the Celestial Dao Cauldron. If they couldn’t destroy this Magical Treasure, even if they slaughtered all the Underworld Cultivators, the Yama Underworld would spring back to life like weeds in a spring breeze.
Moreover, finding the respective entrances to the Yama Underworld was only possible after the Celestial Dao Cauldron had arrived in the Northern Domain. Normally, not even Underworld Tribulation Cultivators could accurately locate the Underworld’s entrances. To return, they had to first communicate with their respective King Yan, then execute a special Dharma Gate to wait for teleportation at temporarily designated locations.
In short, Zou Feng’s plan to bring the entire Xuanwu Dance Troupe to spread "joy" in the Underworld was dashed. He was chosen as a member of an elite Underworld assault squad; Zhao Feixiong and the others weren’t qualified for it yet. Zhao Feixiong’s group would still be responsible for clearing out the stragglers hiding deep within the Northern Domain. They would also purge those turncoats from the Demon Race.
This was for the best. After all, venturing into the Underworld carried much greater risks. Even staying in the Northern Domain to eradicate the remnants of the Tribulation Cultivators was obviously much safer with Zhao Feixiong and Zhu Caiwei there, not to mention the Celestial Dao Cauldron constantly suspended overhead.
Next, Zou Feng immediately bade farewell to all the ladies one by one, preparing to set off at once.