"I only need to take control of them all."
Ye Yunfei pondered for a moment, then immediately cast a Mind Reading technique.
Instantly, bizarre thoughts and notions arose within the minds of the Soul-Hook Envoy in the black palace, as well as the dozen or so black-robed figures seated cross-legged around the Teleportation Altar.
Recently, Ye Yunfei's Soul Power had risen to another enormous level; the Mind Reading he wielded could now even interfere with Ninth Level Sovereign Gods. Although the Soul-Hook Envoy and those dozen-odd members of the Great Netherworld within the black palace were profoundly eerie, their strength remained far inferior to that of a Ninth Level Sovereign God.
The Mind Reading cast by Ye Yunfei instantly plunged them into endless, bizarre trains of thought, from which they could not extricate themselves.
Then, Ye Yunfei followed up with the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art. Countless puppet soul threads surged into the palace, assaulting the soul seas of the Soul-Hook Envoy and the dozen-odd dark figures seated around the altar.
Already disturbed by the Mind Reading, their minds tangled in confusion, bodies trembling, evidently in considerable pain, their consciousness began to blur. Under this assault of the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art, they could scarcely muster any meaningful defense.
Soon after, the puppet soul threads cast by Ye Yunfei burrowed deeply into the soul bodies of the Soul-Hook Envoy and those dozen-odd black-robed figures.
Ye Yunfei noticed that the soul bodies of these dozen-odd black-robed figures and the Soul-Hook Envoy exuded a thick aura of death, devoid of much vitality.
Nearly half the members of the Great Netherworld specialized in cultivating death energy and Death Laws, so even their soul bodies seemed lifeless and half-dead.
Death energy was one among many energies in the world, but of course a particularly eerie one, as were the Death Laws.
In the eyes of ordinary beings, why the members of the Great Netherworld were so mysterious and hard to deal with mainly stemmed from death energy and Death Laws being too bizarre, making them hard to cope with.
However, to Ye Yunfei, death energy and Death Laws held no more mystery. Having devoured so many soul bodies of Sovereign Gods from the Great Netherworld, Ye Yunfei possessed a far deeper understanding of death energy and Death Laws than those dozen-odd black-robed figures or that Soul-Hook Envoy inside the black palace.
"This is bad! A powerful enemy must be upon us!"
At this moment, the dozen-odd black figures surrounding the Teleportation Altar realized something was wrong. They knew a powerful foe must be lurking nearby, attacking them.
Yet the Mind Reading and Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art cast by Ye Yunfei were overwhelming. By now they had thoroughly trapped their thoughts, while those puppet soul threads continuously bored deeper into their soul bodies, preventing their souls from mounting any effective defensive reaction.
Before long, the dozen-odd black-robed figures around the Teleportation Altar, along with the Soul-Hook Envoy, gradually ceased their struggles; even their gazes turned docile.
"Using the heritage techniques of the Soul Race against these Great Netherworld folk—seems to work rather well," Hun Lao couldn't help but laugh.
"Indeed.
Though these folks from the Great Netherworld are eerie, the Soul Race is also notoriously eerie and troublesome. The arts and secret techniques of these two great factions each have their strengths, both are hard to counter.
So using the Soul Race's heritage against Great Netherworld members—that's basically fighting fire with fire," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"We greet our master!"
By then, the dozen-odd black-robed figures inside the black palace and the Soul-Hook Envoy all walked out together, respectfully standing before Ye Yunfei and calling out in unison.
Ye Yunfei nodded.
Now these Great Netherworld members had become Ye Yunfei's absolutely loyal slaves. Through the puppet soul threads embedded deep in their soul seas, Ye Yunfei could fully control their words and actions; those threads would compel them toward absolute loyalty.
Moreover, if Ye Yunfei wished to take their lives, he had only to will it, detonating the puppet soul threads in their soul seas, instantly causing their soul bodies—even their entire heads—to explode.
Afterwards, Ye Yunfei entered the Phantom Tower, had the Soul-Hook Envoy carry the tower on his person, then stepped onto the Teleportation Altar.
With a resounding boom, the Teleportation Altar erupted with powerful teleportation energy, enveloping the Soul-Hook Envoy as transmission began.
"I wonder how strong the Netherworld of this Fourth Void is overall? Now that we're charging in like this, are we in for trouble?
If the Netherworld's overall strength exceeds our expectations and we can't handle it, we could very well be in danger later," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said to Ye Yunfei.
"You're always so timid! We haven't even entered yet and you're already this scared," Hu Miao said with a dismissive curl of her lip.
"It's not fear, it's taking precautions. Forewarned is forearmed.
Besides, given my current spatial talent, if the Netherworld really is that dangerous, I can always escape; there's nothing to be afraid of," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm added.
In recent times, since Ye Yunfei had obtained more and more cultivation resources—ever higher in grade—these had supplied vast quantities of high-grade resources to the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, whose bloodline had therefore undergone successive advances over multiple stages, with his strength continually rising.
Of course, besides the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Hu Miao's strength had also been steadily rising all along. These ancient relic beasts possessed natural racial advantages in cultivation; as long as they had sufficient cultivation resources and ample time, they faced almost no bottlenecks in cultivation, breaking through and advancing unceasingly.
"The transmission has ended. We should have already entered the Netherworld," Ye Yunfei suddenly spoke.
Ye Yunfei then saw that the Soul-Hook Envoy had already emerged atop a black Teleportation Altar, surrounded by a dark, cold, deathly silent space.
Looking around, this grim, ominous world appeared to harbor not a shred of vitality or warmth; as if only eternal night-like chill and deathly silence existed here.
This frigid space held no sun, moon, or stars. Heaven and earth were filled only with impenetrable gloom and grayish mist, the air thick with a bone-chilling cold.
Leaving the black Teleportation Altar, the Soul-Hook Envoy drifted away in one direction within this cold space.
"This must be the Netherworld—to think the Great Netherworld folk have carved out such a revolting world here," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said, surveying this bizarre world.
"Master, this frigid world seems permeated by a strange fragrance—doesn't it resemble the scent of Other Shore Flowers we encountered before on the Samsara Passage?" Hu Miao abruptly asked.
"Not the fragrance of Other Shore Flowers. Although Other Shore Flowers themselves are indeed eerie plants, they still possess some faint traces of life force.
But that bizarre fragrance permeating this space carries no life force whatsoever—just one whiff chills a person's very marrow.
Instead, I think this scent is more like the smell of paper money burned by ordinary mortals in the mundane world," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said.
Now the Soul-Hook Envoy continued forward with an unnatural gait. Ye Yunfei saw numerous figures similarly dressed to the Soul-Hook Envoy passing by in either direction, as well as patrolling squads moving about.
Each member of these patrols was draped in a black robe and held dark chains in their hands that rattled and clanged.
Everywhere, gloom and grayish mist filled the scene. Alongside the path, occasional bald, black trees stood upright, some bearing crow-like birds emitting rasping cries.
After a while, ahead suddenly stood a tall, dark city wall blocking the way. Inscribed upon it was a gate depicting two spirits, above which hung a plaque bearing three characters: "Ghost Gate." Many Soul-Hook Envoys moved briskly in and out through the Ghost Gate, their comings and goings clearly bustling.
The Soul-Hook Envoy halted, withdrew a Soul-Seeking Pennant, which gently rotated, releasing all the souls the Envoy had gathered earlier in the external world, forming them into neat ranks in front.
Then this Soul-Hook Envoy brandished that black-and-white staff in his hand, driving those souls forward as they walked through the Ghost Gate.
"For souls arriving in the Netherworld, the path of Samsara begins at the Ghost Gate. After the Ghost Gate, they enter the King's Court, where all deeds done in their previous lives are reviewed—their merits and sins are judged, and based on the principle that good and evil eventually receive due recompense, a decision is made as to which hell layer these souls shall enter next, and what punishments they must suffer.
There are a total of eighteen hells within the Netherworld. These souls must undergo a set ordeal and torment in the corresponding hell, after which they may reincarnate.
Not a few souls cannot endure the brutal tortures of hell and end up utterly annihilated, losing all chance at rebirth," Ye Yunfei transmitted as the Soul-Hook Envoy entered the Ghost Gate.
Having devoured the soul bodies of many Sovereign Gods from the Great Netherworld, Ye Yunfei had gained some understanding of the Netherworld.
And having controlled this Soul-Hook Envoy, Ye Yunfei had gleaned even more about the Netherworld.
Hence, although this was Ye Yunfei's first time in the Netherworld, he already had a relatively clear picture of its structure.
Past the Ghost Gate, they entered a path crowded densely with souls.
Alongside the path were planted a great many peculiar flowers that appeared dyed crimson in color—amidst the omnipresent gloom and dusky tones of this world, these blood-red unusual flowers stood out almost as the sole splash of brightness amidst eternal night, eye-catching yet unnervingly scarlet.
As souls walked upon this path, some would suddenly start weeping, others wore masks of pain, still others smiled faintly, while yet others suddenly knelt, pouring out confessions.
"So this is where that strange fragrance came from earlier! But what flowers are these exactly?
They seem somewhat akin to the Other Shore Flowers we saw on the Samsara Passage, but then again, they're not exactly the ones from the passage.
Master, do you know what flowers these are?" Hu Miao asked curiously.
"Within the Netherworld, these flowers are also known as Other Shore Flowers. In fact, many structures or sites in the Netherworld are modeled after the Samsara Passage. This path we're walking on right now is called the Yellow Springs Road, and these crimson flowers flanking the road are named Other Shore Flowers.
Souls walking upon this road will find themselves inevitably recalling vivid memories of their previous lives—memories that evoke joy, pain, or confession.
Passing the Ghost Gate, traversing the Yellow Springs Road is how it goes in the Netherworld," Ye Yunfei replied.
"What? This place too is called Yellow Springs Road?
Those Great Netherworld fellows are truly revolting!
Just blindly imitating the Samsara Passage.
These so-called Other Shore Flowers around here can't hold a candle to the Other Shore Flowers in the Samsara Passage. These here are steeped in a sinister, frigid, sickly reek that makes you want to steer clear the moment you see them."