Such a bold move could only be made by Evan Chu. Only after entering this dark undercurrent did he truly feel how terrifying the danger described by the Golden Dragon King was.
The pressure inside this undercurrent was immense—even with Evan's current defenses, he felt suffocated. On top of that, there was a powerful corrosive force, all due to the concentration of dark element in the lakebed undercurrent.
But Evan didn't pay it any mind; the dark element couldn't affect him at all. With a thought, he instantly resonated with it, and the corrosion vanished. However, his whole body was still involuntarily swept along by the current.
There weren't many lakes here, but Evan had already been in the undercurrent for almost half an incense stick's time. He'd traveled far beyond the lakebed's width, which felt strange—he had no idea where this current was leading.
He slowly extended his spiritual sense. Although his body was out of his control, there was no real danger. He'd entered the undercurrent to search for soul medicine, so he had to see the task through.
Just like before, there was no life in the undercurrent—this really was a dead lake. After searching for a long time, he still couldn't find the soul medicine he was looking for, which left him a bit disappointed. He even considered breaking out of this current to check if the other undercurrents held anything.
After a while, he suddenly sensed a strong energy fluctuation not far ahead. The surge was so intense that his spirits instantly lifted. In a place like this, such a fluctuation could only mean two things: either a living being had appeared, or there was a precious treasure. Anything that could cause an energy wave here was bound to be something good.
Steadying himself, Evan followed the undercurrent toward the source of the energy. He could have used Watershift here, but he didn't—he wanted to see where the current would ultimately take him.
Soon, he reached the place where the energy fluctuation originated. A primordial, savage aura washed over him, leaving Evan utterly shocked. He sensed a powerful living being and immense strength hidden within the undercurrent—there really was a monster in this dead lake.
Focusing his gaze, he saw that the monster was a dark beast, its whole body pitch-black except for two eyes that shone like jewels. The creature was dozens of meters long, with a round head, a flat body, and many tentacles—its appearance was bizarre and downright ugly.
Octopus monster? That was Evan's first thought. He hadn't expected to find such a powerful beast here—though maybe it shouldn't be called an immortal beast, but a dark beast, given the intense dark aura it radiated.
Evan was shocked to find he couldn't see through the octopus monster's strength at all. Normally, even at the demigod level, he could gauge an opponent's power, but not with this thing.
A strong sense of danger welled up from his subconscious. Could this creature have surpassed the demigod rank? That shouldn't be possible—how could a demigod-tier powerhouse exist in the Immortal Realm, especially without an Ascension-Seal Pearl?
Evan drew the Frostbane Divine Sword and watched the giant monster warily. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't last a moment here—the dense dark element alone would have corroded them to nothing.
The undercurrent was still just as fierce, but Evan managed to steady himself. "Master, do you know what this monster is? It's really shocking to see such a thing here—this place must be extraordinary. You might gain something totally unexpected," the Emerald Immortal Empress said at that moment.
Evan was instantly delighted—after all, the Emerald Immortal Empress was from millions of years ago and knew far more than he did. He couldn't help but ask, "Emerald, what exactly is this thing? It's got such strong dark element—is it a dark creature?"
"It is indeed a dark creature, and not just any dark creature—it's a primordial dark beast from ancient times. I only learned about it by chance from an ancient record. This monster is called a Black Zhang, and it possesses terrifying corrosive power.
Its attack power isn't that overwhelming, but its defense is absolutely monstrous. Without a divine-grade weapon, you can't harm it at all. Even if you use powerful martial arts, it's useless—it can directly reflect the force of your attacks, so the damage is minimal.
But this thing has a fatal weakness: its eyes. If you strike its eyes, its defenses drop to the lowest point, and then you can kill it," the Emerald Immortal Empress explained.
Evan paused, then said, "So if I kill this thing, I'll get some kind of surprise? Besides the dark element, is there anything else it might have?"
"That's not it. The Black Zhang isn't an Immortal Realm beast at all—it's a Netherbeast from the Netherworld. Do you know what that means? It means this place might actually be an entrance to the Netherworld. There are quite a few entrances from the Netherworld to the Immortal Realm, but very few have ever been found, since both realms are unimaginably vast," the Emerald Immortal Empress explained.
Most entrances are sealed or restricted by barriers, so the chances of discovering one are extremely slim. If you can find a Netherworld entrance, your worries will naturally be resolved," the Emerald Immortal Empress said.
Evan's mind spun—if he could really find the Netherworld entrance through the Black Zhang, he wouldn't have to worry about his wives in the Netherworld anymore. He could go there himself to find them. Judging by how they've absorbed spirit stones, though, maybe only Princess Ivy will ascend to the Netherworld.
The Immortal Realm and Netherworld have fought wars before, but that was ages ago—even the Emerald Immortal Empress wasn't alive then. The entrances have been completely sealed, and nobody knows where they are. If one really exists here, it's an incredible stroke of luck—a true surprise, and one you don't even need to kill the Black Zhang to get.
"But don't celebrate too soon. To pinpoint the exact entrance to the Netherworld, you have to slay the beast. Only then will its soul return to the Netherworld, revealing the entrance's location. After you find it, you'd better annihilate the Black Zhang completely—body and soul—or you'll bring unimaginable trouble. I'm sure you know what I mean," the Emerald Immortal Empress warned.
"Got it, of course I do! Looks like coming to this dead lake was absolutely the right move. The Netherworld entrance has been a headache for me for ages—if I can really find it, I'll finally be at ease," Evan said.
"Since top-tier soul medicine appears here, there must be a Netherworld entrance. You may not know, but places where soul medicine grows always have dense deathly Netherworld qi, or soul energy. Only such places can produce soul medicine, and the very best kind only grows where Immortal Essence and Netherworld qi coexist—which is only possible at an entrance.
Back when the Golden Dragon King said he'd found top-tier soul medicine, I already suspected this. Finding the Black Zhang just confirms it. But be careful—it looks like the Black Zhang is still sleeping, and the aura it gives off is incredibly strong. You need to stay on guard," the Emerald Immortal Empress warned...