Tu Bo glanced at Quinn Shepherd’s brow and said, "Of course, what’s sealed in there is the Netherworld Divine Son. I personally suppressed him—how could I not know? There’s Heaven Duke’s seal on that willow leaf too. You’ve met Heaven Duke, and he resealed the Netherworld Divine Son for you, right? But what’s really odd is...how come you can control the Divine Son’s power?"
He hadn’t thought much about it before, but now that he considered it, the fact that Quinn Shepherd could wield the power of the Netherworld Divine Son was downright astonishing.
From Tu Bo’s perspective, Quinn Shepherd was bound to be assimilated by the Netherworld Divine Son sooner or later. But just now, in the fight outside Jade-Lock Pass, Quinn managed to unleash the Divine Son’s power—and then force it right back into the seal. There was definitely something fishy going on here.
Quinn Shepherd grinned. "Of course, I had help."
Tu Bo mused for a moment, then said, "Let me head in and see which fellow Daoist it is."
He stood there without moving. Then, inside the Keane-Sigil Continent, magma suddenly bubbled up from the ground, spreading into a molten lake. The lava swirled, and a pair of Nine-Bend Horns slowly rose from its depths, followed by the towering body of a magma Tu Bo.
The magma Tu Bo stopped swirling and stepped out of the molten lake, his massive body making the surface dry up instantly. Lava streamed down his form, setting patches of ground ablaze wherever it flowed.
The big-headed baby was busy sticking his head into the Slaughter Cauldron, rooting around for anything good inside. The Crimson Emperor was hanging out beside the Great Sun Star Lord, listening intently to stories, while Heaven Duke was hiding behind a mountain range.
The magma Tu Bo looked around, clearly surprised, and blinked all three of his eyes in confusion.
The Keane-Sigil Continent was forged from a dark fragment inside Tu Bo’s horn, refined into a seal and shaped into a jade pendant. After Fenix Greenwood Keane repeatedly escaped, Tu Bo had to deepen the seal, embedding the jade pendant within Quinn Shepherd’s third eye.
Even though he was the one who set up the seal, Tu Bo hadn’t expected the sealed continent to get this lively.
He looked up at the sky, where the patterns showed three distinct styles of seal: his own Netherworld seal, the Great Brahma King Buddha’s Buddhist seal, and the Profound Capital seal.
"Great Brahma King Buddha."
Tu Bo glanced at the giant Buddha floating in the sky and nodded. Quinn Shepherd had once visited the Buddha Realm’s twenty heavens, lost control to his demonic side, and assimilated half of Great Brahma Heaven, turning it into part of the Netherworld.
So it wasn’t surprising that Great Brahma King Buddha’s seal was here too.
He then glanced at the Great Sun Star Lord, but quickly looked away.
The Great Sun Star Lord was long dead—probably just captured and tossed in here a moment ago.
"Crimson Emperor."
His gaze landed on the Crimson Emperor. "Back in the Crimson Era, you found a warped little cosmos that managed to dodge Profound Capital’s light and escape the Netherworld’s reach. I never could track down where you ended up. Didn’t expect to meet an ancient Daoist friend here."
The Crimson Emperor’s divine sense quickly bowed. "Brother Daoist, I used my own body to patch up that warped cosmos, so my people would have a last refuge. Now I’m just a scattered soul."
The magma Tu Bo said, "When you used your undying divine sense to notify the Bright Emperor, I sensed its fluctuation."
He turned to look at Fenix Greenwood Keane, who had just pulled his head out of the Slaughter Cauldron. The big-headed baby hid behind the cauldron, peeking out nervously like a cat about to pounce, rubbing his hands and feet anxiously.
The magma Tu Bo didn’t mind, his gaze shifting to the mountain ranges of the Keane-Sigil Continent. "Brother Profound Capital, why hide? I’ve already spotted you."
A white-bearded old man stepped out from behind the mountain, laughing heartily: "Brother Netherworld, I’ve been waiting for you to come, and you really showed up! Now this continent has gathered the top experts from heaven, earth, and the mortal world!"
Tu Bo watched him silently, saying nothing.
Heaven Duke’s expression was calm, exuding the air of a reclusive master—mysterious and unfathomable.
After a long silence, a faint smile slowly appeared on Tu Bo’s stern face, growing larger until the god who ruled Youdu could no longer hold back and burst into hearty laughter, gasping for breath and bracing his hands on his knees.
Heaven Duke’s face darkened, and he said coldly, "Have you laughed enough?"
Tu Bo’s laughter gradually faded, but he glanced at Heaven Duke and couldn’t help bursting out laughing again.
Just then, the big-headed baby sprang like a cat, leaping onto Tu Bo’s back: "Got you! If I eat you, I’ll become the new Tu Bo!"
Tu Bo hurriedly shook himself, trying to throw him off, but couldn’t shake him loose. Alarmed, he quickly gathered his power, and the ground beneath his feet melted into magma.
Tu Bo sank into the magma lake, but the big-headed baby still clung to him, gnawing on his head.
Tu Bo sank into the magma lake, but found himself unable to return to Youdu. Growing anxious, he had no choice but to rise back up and look toward the sky.
Heaven Duke couldn’t help but sigh, "Don’t bother— the willow leaf is already sealed. Unless you break the seal, there’s no escape."
"Not tasty."
The big-headed baby tore Tu Bo’s magma body apart, lost interest in him, and ran off to study the Nether Sea inside the Slaughter Cauldron.
Tu Bo pieced his magma limbs back together, stood up, and said, "Or if someone outside peels off the willow leaf, we can escape too."
Heaven Duke was delighted and urged, "Then go ahead and remove the willow leaf!"
Tu Bo fell silent.
Heaven Duke eyed him suspiciously. Tu Bo didn’t answer for a long time, then finally said, "Brother, don’t keep staring at me."
Heaven Duke’s avatar urged, "Why don’t you just remove that willow leaf?"
Tu Bo fell silent for a moment, then said, "He’s already taken the Underworld Prefect’s paper boat to the living world."
Heaven Duke’s avatar was stunned, then let out a long breath: "That brat tricked you. But it’s fine, I can live well here. Besides, there are plenty of secrets to hear, and except for getting beaten up by the big-headed baby when he throws a tantrum, it’s not so bad."
Tu Bo kept staring at him, "You had plenty of chances to leave—every time he took off the willow leaf, you could have escaped. Why do you keep staying here?"
Heaven Duke was silent.
"Profound Capital is boring," he said.
He said, "The gods and demons in Profound Capital are basically all under Heavenly Court’s control now. My situation is much worse than yours, so compared to Profound Capital, I’d rather stay here. Little bird, you were talking about the Empress assassination incident—finish the story!"
The Great Sun Star Lord nervously glanced at Tu Bo, then at the big-headed baby. Heaven Duke laughed, "With Tu Bo here, we have more courage now. If the Netherworld Divine Son dares to eat you, the few of us can join forces and suppress him!"
The Great Sun Star Lord was overjoyed.
Suddenly, the sound of rushing wind filled the air—Fenix Greenwood Keane was stirring up the Slaughter Cauldron, its murderous power flooding out. The sky nearly cracked, and distant mountains seemed to crumble, almost destroyed by the cauldron’s ferocity!
The giant Buddha in the sky was also shaken by the Slaughter Cauldron’s ferocity, unable to stay seated.
Everyone’s face turned pale; a sense of dread filled the air.
“The Netherworld Divine Son is still growing. Soon, he’ll have the strength of an Emperor’s Throne expert—he can even control the Slaughter Cauldron’s murderous power!”
Yankang.
Quinn Shepherd and Yu Tiansun jumped off the paper boat, arriving in Yankang at night. In the distance, city lights shone brightly.
“Yu Tiansun, this is as far as I’ll take you,” Quinn Shepherd said.
The old underworld official glanced at him, "You played a trick on Tu Bo. I’ll be sure to jot this down in my little book."
Quinn Shepherd laughed, "Go ahead—what’s one more thing on my record?"
“You’ve just given up on everything,” the old official said.
The old official shook his head, then bowed to Yu Tiansun, "Shepherd, take care of your brother." With that, the little boat drifted into the darkness and disappeared.
Quinn Shepherd watched the old official leave, then led Yu Tiansun toward the Celestial Saint Academy. He had his own reasons for asking the underworld official to bring them there.
Yu Tiansun was now like a blank slate, knowing nothing and unable to care for himself. Quinn Shepherd had to teach him the basics, but avoided teaching him any divine arts, lest he ruin this promising student.
The best way was to teach him basic runes, and let him figure out the rest for himself.
The next morning, Quinn Shepherd tossed Yu Tiansun into a primary school class to learn basic runes of the Four Great Spirit Embryos and Five Planets along with the other students. By the second day, the teacher returned him, saying, "He’s already learned everything, and even fought the other students in class."
Quinn Shepherd was stunned. He tested Yu Tiansun and found that he had indeed learned the basic runes like Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise, and even created a few new divine arts. Though simple, they were already quite impressive.
"Could he really be a Tyrant Body?"
Quinn Shepherd took Yu Tiansun to hear lectures from the village chief, who taught him the most basic sword techniques. In just two days, Yu Tiansun mastered them, leaving the chief sweating in disbelief.
"Is he a Tyrant Body?" Quinn Shepherd asked.
The village chief was baffled, hesitating, "He does seem like one... Where did you find this kid?"
"A million years ago."
The village chief grew even more confused, muttering, "A Tyrant Body from a million years ago... Wait, I’m getting dizzy..."
Quinn Shepherd then brought Yu Tiansun to the butcher’s class to learn knife techniques. In two days, Yu Tiansun mastered them easily.
“Shepherd, this boy is much smarter than you,” the butcher said with a laugh.
Quinn Shepherd snorted, feeling disgruntled. "I learned the basic knife techniques in a few days too, but mastering them is tough."
“He learns faster than you and is even more talented,” the butcher replied.
“He’s even faster than that Xu Shenghua kid!” the butcher added.
Quinn Shepherd, face dark, took Yu Tiansun to every class at the Celestial Saint Academy. No matter the discipline—even the hardest ones like mathematics and creation—Yu Tiansun mastered them quickly.
Three months later, Yu Tiansun had mastered all the basic runes and techniques taught at the Celestial Saint Academy.
Dao Master Lin Xuan heard there was a mathematical genius at the Celestial Saint Academy and rushed over to take Yu Tiansun to further study at the Daoist Academy, but Quinn Shepherd sent him away.
Finally, Quinn Shepherd threw Yu Tiansun into the Celestial Record Pavilion, where he could read any book. After another month, Yu Tiansun emerged.
Quinn Shepherd was incredulous. "You finished already?" he exclaimed.
Yu Tiansun hung his head in embarrassment. "I just looked through them—I didn’t really learn much. There were too many mistakes in those books…"
Quinn Shepherd let out a long breath, steadying himself as a strange thought crossed his mind: "Am I the fake Tyrant Body, and he’s the real one? No—I need to take him to see Xu Shenghua!"
In the West Earth, at the Academy of the Firmament, Xu Shenghua looked serious as he stared at Yu Tiansun, testing, "Tyrant Body?"
Quinn Shepherd nodded with difficulty, his voice bitter: "He’s even smarter than me…"
"No wonder his talent and perception are so close to mine," Xu Shenghua said.
Xu Shenghua praised, "He learns everything instantly! But why does he seem a bit silly?"
(Author’s note skipped per guidelines.)