“Jie jie! I never expected... you really do have some skill! Jie jie jie jie—” In the air, the Three-Eyed Demon Lord let out a sinister laugh. Standing nine meters tall, blood trickling from his mouth, his gaping maw looked especially terrifying when he laughed. That particularly evil, chilling laughter made one’s scalp tingle and hair stand on end.
“But that’s all there is to it! Today, this lord will let you witness the power of the Nine Underworlds Banner! Jie jie jie jie!”
Nine banners hung on the Three-Eyed Demon Lord’s back. Everyone knew these nine banners were precisely the Nine Underworlds Banner.
The Nine Underworlds Banner could be called a Great Dao magical treasure that made people tremble with fear at the mere mention of it.
It was said to have been personally refined by a Nine Underworlds Ancestral Patriarch during the Primordial Age, though no one knew exactly which one. Later, for unknown reasons, it fell into the hands of the famous Blood River Ancestral Patriarch, also known as the Blood River Ghost Emperor.
Back in the Great Wilderness, the Blood River Ancestral Patriarch relied on this Nine Underworlds Banner to wreak havoc across the myriad realms of the heavens. Countless experts from the Great Wilderness became sacrificial offerings to the banner, including many major powerhouses from the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens, Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, and even the Nine Heavens.
In the Present Era, the Blood River Ancestral Patriarch passed the Nine Underworlds Banner to the Three-Eyed Demon Lord. And this Three-Eyed Demon Lord, in order to refine and sacrifice to the banner in the Present Era, had slaughtered countless living beings, though no one knew the exact number.
Legends said the Nine Underworlds Banner was extremely sinister, containing a terrifyingly evil power. Once invoked, heaven and earth would change color.
One banner would kill your life, one would suck your blood, one would refine your spirit, one would dissolve your soul, one would devour your heart, one would befuddle your mind, one would rot your flesh, one would consume your body. No matter how high your cultivation or how powerful your strength, you would become a sacrificial offering to the Nine Underworlds Banner. Few could withstand it.
At this moment.
The nine banners on the Three-Eyed Demon Lord’s back emitted a sickly green mist, which burned like fire.
With a sudden *whoosh*, a green light shot into the sky. Immediately after, *swoosh swoosh swoosh*, nine beams of green light erupted one after another. In an instant, the entire sky turned an eerie shade of green.
The green light was gloomy and evil, as if one had suddenly plunged into the Nine Underworlds. It made one’s heart fill with fear, feeling extremely uncomfortable. The spirit felt oppressed, as if one could be devoured at any moment.
Eastern Peak Great Emperor, Pure Robe Bodhisattva, Purple Poison Ghost Emperor, and the others immediately invoked their own powers to protect their physical bodies. While guarding themselves, they also retreated continuously. Even they were like this; the elders from Violet Mist Immortal Realm and Loulan Blessed Land had long since hidden far away, fearing to be implicated.
Only Gu Qingfeng remained leaning against that large rock, standing there taking occasional sips of his wine. Watching the sky full of green light, he rubbed his chin and said, “This Nine Underworlds Banner thing doesn’t look ordinary. Forget its power for now, just this commotion and presence alone is extraordinary.”
“Obviously!” Da Xing the Mad Monk rolled his eyes. “Just look at what this thing is! This is the damn Nine Underworlds Banner we’re talking about!”
“Is it powerful?”
“Extremely powerful!”
“How powerful?”
Gu Qingfeng had never been particularly interested in magical treasures, so he wasn’t too familiar with the Nine Underworlds Banner.
“How powerful?” Da Xing scratched his head. “How powerful... this old monk can’t explain clearly in a short time. Let me put it this way: back in the Great Wilderness, when the Blood River Ancestral Patriarch invoked the Nine Underworlds Banner and started boasting, it scared the old-timers from the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands so much they didn’t dare step outside.”
“Really?” Gu Qingfeng smiled faintly. “Then I really have to see this.”
Within the scene.
Fusheng Imperial Lord likely also knew of the Nine Underworlds Banner’s evil nature. With a wave of his hand, he cast a formation enveloping Old Man Kaishan, Centrifugal Immortal Maiden, and the others. Then he leaped up, flashing into the air.
Just as he appeared in the air, the Three-Eyed Demon Lord let out a maniacal laugh. The Nine Underworlds Banner behind him instantly shot out!
*Swoosh swoosh swoosh!*
The nine banners descended from the sky, embedding themselves all around Fusheng Imperial Lord like nine sky-pillars, trapping him within. They resembled nine ferocious demonic deities heavily surrounding Fusheng Imperial Lord.
“Jie jie jie jie! Fusheng Imperial Lord, prepare to die!”
Accompanied by the Three-Eyed Demon Lord’s wild laughter, a fierce wind arose, a sinister breeze swept in, and the Nine Underworlds banners rustled loudly, as if truly transforming into nine demonic deities, corroding Fusheng Imperial Lord’s physical body, devouring his soul, and eroding his mind and spirit...
Yet.
Surprisingly, no matter how evil the Nine Underworlds Banner was, Fusheng Imperial Lord merely stood in the air, hands clasped behind his back, unmoving. He didn’t even attempt to resist, nor did he even glance at it.
He truly wasn’t looking. Fusheng Imperial Lord’s eyes had closed at some point. The feeling he gave off was as if it wasn’t him being enveloped and devoured by the Nine Underworlds Banner, but someone else. He seemed completely unaffected.
How could this be?
Was the Nine Underworlds Banner merely an empty reputation?
Or was Fusheng Imperial Lord’s existence even more powerful than the legends said, so powerful that even the Nine Underworlds Banner—which had wreaked havoc and spread terror throughout the Great Wilderness—could not harm him in the slightest?
Others might not know.
But Da Xing the Mad Monk knew very clearly. It wasn’t that the Nine Underworlds Banner was overrated, nor was it that Fusheng Imperial Lord was so powerful he could ignore it. The truth was that with the Three-Eyed Demon Lord’s current cultivation and strength, he simply could not control the Nine Underworlds Banner and was utterly incapable of unleashing its true power.
And indeed, that was the case. Any Great Dao magical treasure was not easy to control.
Take the Great Dao magical treasure in Lord Lingyin’s hands. He had been refining it since the Ancient Era, all the way to the Present Era today. No one knew how many years he had spent refining it, yet he still couldn’t control it.
One must know that the Nine Underworlds Banner was far, far more powerful than the Great Dao magical treasure in Lord Lingyin’s hands. Naturally, the difficulty of controlling it was not on the same level.
Even though the Three-Eyed Demon Lord had slaughtered over forty worlds and killed billions of living beings to refine the Nine Underworlds Banner, he still could not control it.
As everyone knew.
If one forcibly invokes a treasure they cannot control, the consequences are extremely dangerous. Having one’s cultivation drained and spiritual power exhausted is a minor matter. Once backlash occurs, at best one suffers severe injuries; at worst, being reduced to ashes on the spot is entirely possible.
This was also why, during the previous struggle with Eastern Peak Great Emperor and the others for the Seven-Colored Lotus, the Three-Eyed Demon Lord had never invoked the Nine Underworlds Banner. However, now, facing such a powerful existence as Fusheng Imperial Lord, the Three-Eyed Demon Lord could no longer afford to care about that.
Seeing that the Nine Underworlds Banner couldn’t harm Fusheng Imperial Lord, the Three-Eyed Demon Lord still frantically urged it on, even if it meant exhausting all his strength.
“A pity! What a pity!” Da Xing the Mad Monk sighed. “It’s a shame the Three-Eyed Demon Lord simply cannot control the Nine Underworlds Banner. Otherwise, today would have been quite a spectacle.”
After a pause, Da Xing added, “If that old turtle grandson Blood River Ancestral Patriarch were the one to invoke the Nine Underworlds Banner, Fusheng would definitely have a tough time today.”
“Speaking of which, that old turtle grandson Blood River Ancestral Patriarch really treats this brat Three-Eyed Demon Lord well, actually passing his own Nine Underworlds Banner to this guy. But clearly, this guy Three-Eyed Demon Lord’s brain isn’t up to the task!”
“Still too young. This time, running into Fusheng, this brat Three-Eyed Demon Lord is probably going to be finished here.”