"Of course, Young Master Su, you are a Geomancer! I almost forgot!"
The Vermilion Bird Demon King suddenly understood upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words.
"Young Master Su, you recognize the terrain here?" he inquired.
Although his demonic power was vast, his knowledge of geomancy and topography was limited.
"Yes," Ye Yunfei said.
"This terrain is called the Nine Dragons Arched Pearl Formation and belongs to a supremely inauspicious land. The central peak is the most perilous location. If we enter via the Vital Gate, things will be much easier."
After speaking, Ye Yunfei directly took out an ancient-looking compass: the Surveyor's Plate.
*Buzz…*
Ye Yunfei activated the compass, and streams of yellow, profound runes burst forth. A golden pointer rose from its surface, spinning rapidly before finally coming to a halt, pointing in a direction that coincided with one of the nine mountain ranges.
The Surveyor's Plate could quickly perceive the state of the surrounding earth and could also predict fortune and misfortune.
"The Vital Gate is there. Let's go." With a flash, Ye Yunfei rushed toward that mountain range.
"Come, let's follow him," the Vermilion Bird Demon King waved his hand and strode after him.
"Your Majesty, do we really trust him?" one of the senior demons couldn't help but transmit a message to the Vermilion Bird Demon King.
"I trust him," the demon king replied.
The other senior demons had no choice but to follow.
After a few breaths, Ye Yunfei arrived atop the mountain range where the Vital Gate was located. After using the Surveyor's Plate to measure the area, he finally located a secluded cave entrance.
"Go, let's enter!" Without hesitation, Ye Yunfei directly led the Vermilion Bird Demon King and the senior demons inside.
Inside was a slanted, downward tunnel that extended for over a hundred meters.
*Splash, splash…*
At the end of this tunnel, unexpectedly, lay a black underground river, flowing slowly.
Ye Yunfei stood beside the river. There was no further path ahead; they had to proceed by wading through the river.
"Young Master Su, what is this river? Why is it black? It seems a bit eerie," the Vermilion Bird Demon King asked.
"This is an Underworld River," Ye Yunfei answered after examining it.
"An Underworld River from the Netherworld? How is that possible?" the Vermilion Bird Demon King couldn't help but frown.
"Of course it's not the real Netherworld Underworld River. Rather, in ancient times, some powerful beings, according to the special terrain here, arranged a river according to the netherworld principles of an Underworld River. Its sole purpose is to gather the earth's Yin energy, forming a river of Yin. If it truly were the legendary Netherworld Underworld River, even you, Demon King, would have to turn back immediately," Ye Yunfei explained.
"So that's how it is," the Vermilion Bird Demon King and the senior demons understood upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words.
"Why would ancient powerful beings arrange this Underworld River here? What is its use?" the Vermilion Bird Demon King asked again.
"To guard something. If I'm not mistaken, beneath this underground area, there must exist one or a group of terrifying beings. They might be corpses, or they might still be alive.
This ominous Nine Dragons Arched Pearl Formation was laid down by them to prevent outsiders from entering. And the Divine Crystal we seek is likely also inside.
The beings capable of possessing a Divine Crystal... you can imagine how terrifying their strength must be."
"Young Master Su, what you say makes sense. It seems we must be very careful on this exploration. If anything feels off, we must retreat immediately," the Vermilion Bird Demon King said, a trace of wariness appearing on his face upon hearing Ye Yunfei's explanation.
*Boom! Boom!…*
At that moment, the sound of violent energy explosions suddenly echoed faintly. The entire underground area began to shake.
"It seems those who entered from the central peak have encountered something terrifying and are already fighting. We must hurry!" Ye Yunfei said, then directly stepped into the Underworld River and began wading forward.
"Young Master Su, this Underworld River is filled with sinister, Yin-type energy that can corrode flesh and Soul Bodies. Be careful!" the Vermilion Bird Demon King exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Ye Yunfei walk directly into the river, quickly offering a warning.
"It's fine, I have a way to deal with it." Ye Yunfei waved his hand and took out the Netherworld Yin Blade. With a slash…
*Boom!*
The Underworld River began to tremble. Waves of thick, sinister Yin aura continuously poured into the Netherworld Yin Blade.
This blade could devour all sorts of sinister, Yin-type energies and laws in the world. The more it devoured, the stronger its power would become.
The vast accumulation of Yin energy in this Underworld River before them was a perfect opportunity for the Netherworld Yin Blade to replenish its energy.
"What kind of artifact is this?!" The Vermilion Bird Demon King and the senior demons looked at the Netherworld Yin Blade in Ye Yunfei's hand with some shock.
The aura emanating from this blade even made them feel a sense of trepidation.
"Go! Let's hurry!" Ye Yunfei shouted, holding the Netherworld Yin Blade and charging forward through the river.
The Vermilion Bird Demon King and the senior demons followed closely behind Ye Yunfei.
Along the way, they encountered several types of ferocious-looking spectral creatures, all of which were slain by a single stroke of Ye Yunfei's blade and then absorbed by the Netherworld Yin Blade.
The Netherworld Yin Blade seemed to be the natural bane of all Yin-type beings!
*Rumble…*
In the distance, intense waves of energy fluctuations constantly echoed, indicating terrifying battles were occurring.
Everyone who had barged in from the central peak were top-tier experts of the Eastern Barrens. Even they were encountering such fierce resistance, indicating that truly terrifying things indeed existed beneath this land.
Roughly half an hour later.
They finally reached the source of the Underworld River. Ahead, there was no more path, only a massive abyss.
This abyss was shrouded in pitch-black thick mist. Eerie, sinister energy surged upward in waves, making one's hair stand on end, filling the area with a sense of the bizarre.
At this moment, numerous experts had gathered around the edges of the abyss. These experts were the top Eastern Barrens experts who had just entered from the central peak.
Some were disheveled, with tattered clothes, faces covered in dust, looking quite wretched. Others bore injuries, stained with blood, some even with broken limbs.
"Quite a few people have already fallen. Young Master Su, fortunately, you led us in through the Vital Gate. Otherwise, even if we could make it here, we would inevitably have gone through fierce battles and faced the risk of casualties," the Vermilion Bird Demon King said, sweeping his gaze over the Eastern Barrens experts and noticing some were missing.
The senior demons also secretly felt relieved, casting somewhat admiring glances at Ye Yunfei.
"Su Fei! That lad seems to be Su Fei, the senior brother of the Purple Star Sect from Yan Country!" Suddenly, an old man with sharp, piercing eyes fixed his gaze on Ye Yunfei and said coldly.
Hearing the name Su Fei, many of the powerful experts looked over.
Because Su Fei had obtained first place on the Prodigy Ranking, many Eastern Barrens experts had heard his name.
After all, within the Eastern Barrens, young geniuses on the prodigy rankings still received considerable attention.
"That fellow is an Elder of the Zhao Family," the Vermilion Bird Demon King said in a low voice to Ye Yunfei.
"So that's it," Ye Yunfei nodded.
The conflict between the Zhao Family and Ye Yunfei was extremely severe, with almost no possibility of reconciliation!
This was something Ye Yunfei naturally understood perfectly well.
"Amitabha, it is Young Master Su. A hero emerges from among the young indeed," an old monk said with his palms together in greeting.
"He is the current presiding abbot's fellow disciple from the Heavenly Dragon Monastery, Zen Master Haotian," the Vermilion Bird Demon King informed Ye Yunfei in a low voice.
"Zen Master Haotian, you flatter me," Ye Yunfei returned the courtesy.
"Humph! At such a young age, ignorant and arrogant, how can he be considered a hero? Brat, remember this: the world is never short of talents, but it lacks those who can survive to maturity. Mind your own conduct!" A tall, elderly man with a stern, imposing face swept a glance at Ye Yunfei and snorted coldly.
"This fellow is an Elder of the Beast Taming Sect, named Gao Ping," the Vermilion Bird Demon King whispered.
"Old man, whether or not I survive to maturity is none of your concern. Rather, your Beast Taming Sect dares to provoke me. You will regret it sooner or later," Ye Yunfei retorted coldly.
What?!
He dared to challenge an Elder of the Beast Taming Sect to his face like this?!
Hearing this, the other experts were somewhat shocked.
One had to understand that every expert standing here was among the most elite masters of the Eastern Barrens. The average young person arriving here, seeing so many top-tier experts, would already be trembling in fear, not daring to breathe heavily. Yet this kid not only showed no trace of fear but instead provoked them openly!
This was simply audacious to the extreme!
"Brat! How dare you be so insolent before me, with not a shred of respect!" The Beast Taming Sect Elder erupted in fury.
*Rumble…*
An overwhelmingly terrifying energy pressure erupted from his body, materializing into a fiery-red flood dragon that roared as it charged toward Ye Yunfei.
"Gao Ping, at your age, bullying a youngster. Are you not ashamed?" The Vermilion Bird Demon King took a step forward, placing himself in front of Ye Yunfei.
Before the fiery-red flood dragon could get close, it was shattered by the demonic energy aura released by the Vermilion Bird Demon King.
"Vermilion Bird Demon King, if it truly comes to a fight, you alone may not be able to protect this boy!" The elderly Zhao Family member stared at the Vermilion Bird Demon King and said.
Furthermore, several other experts also gazed at Ye Yunfei with ill intentions.
Clearly, they also bore malicious thoughts toward Ye Yunfei.
"If you're not convinced, then fight! Spare me the useless chatter!" The Vermilion Bird Demon King responded with extreme forcefulness and a cold tone.
"Gentlemen, do not act rashly. We came here to seek the Divine Crystal. Whatever grudges you have can be settled later. That Divine Crystal seems to have developed spiritual awareness. Fighting here might alert it, and then no one will obtain it," a powerful expert spoke aloud, their voice clear and resonant.
"That makes sense!" The other experts nodded.
Gao Ping and the other several experts had no choice but to let it go and no longer paid attention to Ye Yunfei.
"Look! The Divine Crystal!"
Suddenly, someone pointed towards the abyss and shouted excitedly.
Indeed, from the depths of the abyss, a dazzling divine radiance bloomed. Vaguely, a shimmering, dazzlingly bright crystalline stone could be seen rising and falling within!