Seeing the storage ring in Evan's hand, the other three were instantly startled. "Lin Feng, where did you get this storage ring? Did you get it from killing those Netherbeasts just now?" Roxy couldn't help but ask.
"Those Netherbeasts weren't high-ranking, so their storage rings wouldn't have much worth—I didn't bother with them. This storage ring belonged to a Red Lotus Guard. Since he was a Saint Martial Realm seventh-layer expert, there should be something valuable inside," Evan replied.
He immediately sent his spiritual sense into the storage ring, but a powerful rebound force instantly bounced his sense away. This was the first time Evan had encountered such a phenomenon, and it struck him as rather odd.
"Lin Feng, this is the Netherworld, not Azure Tide Ruins. Here, there are plenty of experts with powerful souls. It's perfectly normal for storage rings to have soul restrictions. No need to be so surprised," Luna said at that moment.
Since Luna said so, there must be a way to break it. Evan felt a surge of joy and immediately asked, "Sister Luna, how do I remove this soul restriction? I really want to see if there's anything I need inside."
"Heh, don't rush! Breaking this soul restriction is actually very simple. All you have to do is fuse fire element power with your spiritual sense—let the fire burn away the soul imprint, and the restriction will naturally be lifted. Of course, most people can't do this, but you're different. You're a special case," Luna said.
This was the first time Evan had heard of fusing elemental power with spiritual sense. "How do you even fuse them? I don't know the method! Just spit it all out at once, you're killing me with suspense here!"
"You're really slow. Just use your heart to communicate with the fire element, and once you reach resonance, it will naturally follow your spiritual sense. Try it—it's easy," Luna said.
For Evan, maybe it really was easy. He'd long since mastered the fire element, and reaching resonance took him only a few minutes. But for others, it would take days or even months—assuming they had comprehended the fire element at all.
Once you grasp one element, you can grasp the rest. Achieving resonance with the fire element meant Evan could do the same with others, though the effect was weak—mainly useful against fragile souls. But for breaking the soul restriction on a storage ring, it was more than enough.
Evan’s mind moved as soon as the thought struck him. He sensed the storage ring in his hand heat up, and in an instant, its contents appeared clearly in his mind’s eye. At first glance, he was delighted—inside was a detailed map of the Netherworld’s regional layout.
Seeing Evan’s expression change, Roxy immediately asked, "Evan, did you find something good? Hurry and show everyone what you’ve got!"
"It’s definitely a great find. I was planning to head out and scout the area, but now it looks like we don’t need to. There’s a map of the Netherworld’s territories right here—maybe the heavens are finally taking pity on us after all these days of being hunted and are giving us a sign." Evan said.
He immediately took out the map from the storage ring and spread it on the ground. The four of them studied it closely. After looking it over, Evan said, "Looks like the Netherkin territories are the largest, but they’re the farthest from here. Beast King City, capital of the Netherbeasts, is about a thousand li away—so our last encounter was dangerously close to their base, but we got out unscathed."
As for the human stronghold, Xianglong City is tens of thousands of li away, but it’s actually the closest major human city to us. Blackspirit City and Nine‑Shade City are even farther. What are you all planning to do?"
"I want to go check out Xianglong City—the human city. Didn’t they say they’re recruiting inner disciples? Maybe I’ll get a shot at joining directly." Ethan Fenn said.
"That was Shadowlin City recruiting outer disciples. When did you ever hear about Xianglong City recruiting inner disciples directly? Are you brain-damaged or just showing off?" Ryan Ouyang rolled his eyes at Ethan.
"If I’m not mistaken, those so-called outer disciples are probably Black Lotus Guard candidates—one of Xianglong City’s power structures. If there’s a real chance to get in, it’s worth trying." Evan said.
"I’m planning to head to Nine‑Shade City. That place is supposed to be heavy in yin energy, which should complement my physique. Maybe I’ll get a quick boost in strength." Roxy said.
"I’m pretty lazy—I don’t like running all over the place. Since we’re already closest to Beast King City, I’ll head there. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful!" Ryan Ouyang said smugly.
"Since you’re all heading to those places, that leaves me with Blackspirit City or Hellsward City. The Nether Monarch from the Netherkin seems to know me, so I’d better go to Blackspirit City. What I’m most worried about is what happens if any of us run into danger after we split up." Evan said.
"That’s right, Evan, don’t worry about us. We’ll keep a low profile and try to complete our mission, and if we can’t, we’ll just focus on staying alive. It’s really not that hard." Roxy said.
"Since you all insist, I won’t say any more. But there’s one thing you must remember: no matter where you go, you have to return to Shadowlin City in two and a half years. By then, we’ll need to go back—otherwise, Frostbane Sect might be wiped out." Evan said seriously.
"What’s going on? There’s a time limit for us in the Netherworld?" Ethan Fenn asked, confused.
"You all haven’t forgotten what happened when we first entered Cloudcrest Mountain, right? That enormous pressure was because someone helped us, but if we don’t return in two and a half years, he’ll attack our sect—or maybe every sect in the Azure Tide Ruins. With his strength, he could wipe out a sect with a single strike.
He gave me three years, but we have to finish everything in two and a half. Make sure you keep that in mind. Let me check if there are any Netherstones in this storage ring—without them, we won’t survive here." Evan said.
Sure enough, after checking, Evan found thousands of Netherstones of all sizes in the storage ring and took them all out.
Then he took out another storage ring, broke the soul restriction using the same method, and found another few thousand Netherstones inside. "There are about four thousand Netherstones here. Let’s split them—one thousand each. Remember, keep a low profile and don’t get into trouble, especially you, Ryan. Your temper is the worst and you’re the most likely to cause problems."
After dividing the Netherstones, Evan said, "You all broke through to the Saint Martial Realm using the Netherghost Violet Orchid. What does the Netherghost Violet Orchid actually look like? Is it really some kind of orchid flower?"
The three of them burst out laughing. "Evan, I thought you already knew what the Netherghost Violet Orchid looked like. Turns out you know nothing! The Netherghost Violet Orchid is actually a kind of energy body, very similar to a Starstone. But you don’t absorb it slowly—you swallow it whole. The moment you take it, it’s agonizing and you have to frantically circulate your Stellar Power. That’s what triggers your potential and lets you break through your realm. You’ll understand once you try it," Roxy said.
After hearing this, Evan felt a little embarrassed. He really hadn’t known—sometimes what you don’t know can really surprise you…