CHAPTER 440: CHAPTER 289: DEVOUR THE NETHER RIVER, YELLOW SPRINGS PATH

"The Undying King was... suppressed?"

The deathly silence was broken by a whisper of disbelief. The voice of the Judgement Knight was hoarse, as if his throat had been scraped by sandpaper.

"How is that possible? The Undying King coexists with the Nether River; he is one of the sources of the concept of the Path of the Dead.

In this world, aside from those seven supreme True Gods, even those other Evil Gods who secretly control the origins of other paths can at most defeat or expel him, but it’s utterly impossible to completely suppress him!"

Another Cardinal shook his head violently, attempting to deny the reality that was overturning their understanding.

"But the fact is right before us." Someone pointed at the Void Vision, which still retained a terrifying aura, their voice trembling, "And that Hand of the Heavens which appeared last, though incomprehensibly powerful, seems to exude an aura unlike any of the True Gods we know."

"The rift that the Undying King forcibly opened, where does it lead?

Is it the Divine Kingdom of some unknown entity?"

"First, that being who claimed to be the Ten Halls of Yama descended a decree and stirred the Yellow Springs, then that even more terrifying Hand of the Heavens appeared, directly capturing both the Nether River and the Undying King.

Could it be that the Hand of the Heavens is the true power of the Ten Halls of Yama?"

Speculations surged like tides within the Judgement Court, each guess causing the seasoned Church strongmen to feel a jolt of fear.

"This mysterious force named the Underworld has a foundation so profound that it far exceeds any of our previous imaginations and estimates."

The Inquisitor, who had maintained relative calm, let out a long sigh, a rare expression of lingering fear and relief on his face, "Had it not been for the Undying King’s reckless charge, inadvertently drawing the full attention of the Ten Halls of Yama, it’s likely that we, the observers, would have been the ones suppressed today."

He glanced around at his subordinates, whose expressions varied, and his tone became extremely solemn:

"Everything that happened here today, all details are classified as the highest taboo, strictly forbidden to be disclosed to any non-core member within the Church."

Pausing for a moment, a complex light flickered in his eyes as he continued:

"Regarding the Union quietly expanding within the Victoria Kingdom, and the Underworld that seems to lurk behind it, we can relax some restrictions.

Even allow certain conveniences in ways that don’t attract attention."

This decision surprised many present.

The Chief Judge noticed their confusion and explained, "The power level displayed by the Underworld has already far surpassed our initial estimates.

Its future development cannot be confined to just the region of the Victoria Kingdom.

Rather than having irreconcilable conflict with it now, we should maintain observation for the time being, let it grow stronger.

After all, if something uncontrollable were to occur in the future, it would not be a matter for the Steam Sect alone, but a problem all True God Churches need to face together.

By then, the responsibility and pressure should naturally also be borne by the Seven Great Churches together, shouldn’t it?"

The profound meaning contained in these words made the strong ones present thoughtful, nodding to show their understanding.

...By deftly distributing the potential enormous risk across the entire True God Camp, it was undoubtedly a wise choice.

...

How the Steam Sect adjusts its strategies and assesses risk was not something Lu Yan had the spare mind to care about at this moment.

His full attention was already focused on the Undying King and the vast, illusory Nether River that had just been forcibly dragged into the Underworld small heaven and earth by the Hand of the Heavens and thoroughly suppressed by the Divine Court’s order.

As the Undying King and the Nether River, these two great spoils of war, were suppressed beneath Fengdu City in the Underworld Heaven and Earth, a flood of information immediately gushed into this realm.

Path of the Dead, Nether River, Sequence 2 Earth Angel, Hidden Evil God...

Above the sky of the Underworld small heaven and earth, the probability clouds transformed into countless stars burst forth with unprecedented brilliant light at this moment.

They rapidly revolved, frantically receiving, analyzing, and digesting this sudden influx of massive information.

All sorts of previously vague or completely unknown concepts and information slowly coalesced in Lu Yan’s consciousness like pieces of a puzzle.

Allowing him to gain a clearer understanding of this mysterious version of the world shrouded in layers of fog.

The Path of the Dead is an exceedingly ancient Extraordinary Path deeply bound to the life and death rules of this world.

But the highest pinnacle of this path seems to have no corresponding True God, which inherently makes the Path of the Dead an incomplete path, its power endpoint firmly locked at the level of Sequence 2.

And the title of the Sequence 2 in the Path of the Dead is precisely the Undying King.

As for the Undying King who had just been suppressed by Lu Yan borrowing the order of the Divine Court and Underworld, he was, several thousand years ago, a strong Transcendent walking the Path of the Dead.

With peerless talent and perseverance, he forged ahead and successfully ascended to the Sequence 3 Ferryman’s realm, just one step away from Sequence 2.

However, for any Extraordinary Path, advancing from Sequence 3 to Sequence 2 Earth Angel requires leveraging the symbolic origin of the Transcendent Path and completing an ascension ritual.

And the symbolic origin of the Path of the Dead is precisely that Nether River flowing through legend and concept.