‘Di Ting? Nether Prison’s most powerful existence? Has the man who is said to have broken the shackles and is determined to unite the Netherworld into a great world come?’
The previous Nether King tensed up, and he released his divine will to scan the surroundings. Just hearing the name made him a little nervous. It was an incredible feeling. He was Nether King Tian Cang, who was not afraid of anything and even dared to attack Nether Prison. However, when he heard the name from Nether Puppeteer Patriarch, he sucked in a cold breath, and his heart skipped a beat as if he had heard something that should not be mentioned.
Bu Fang frowned in the distance. He also heard the Patriarch’s weak voice. “Di… Ting…” The name seemed to have a magical power that made those who heard it tense up. He thought that it was familiar, and this familiarity came from the memory of his previous life.
Di Ting was a mystical beast who served Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva. It was said to have nine different images and possessed the abilities of many spirit beasts.
‘Is this Di Ting the legendary Di Ting in the memory of my previous life? Is he really a mystical beast who serves Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva?’
For some reason, the idea came to Bu Fang’s mind. But then, he thought maybe they just had the same name. This was a different world, and the Earth Prison here was not the underworld he knew from his previous life. So obviously, this Di Ting was not what he knew. They were different.
There could be no such coincidence in this world.
Nether Puppeteer Patriarch’s call of Di Ting was like her last struggle before her death. The name seemed to hold all her hopes.
The way things turned out was totally out of her expectation. She did not expect Bu Fang to have a way to revive Tian Cang. To achieve that, he must fight against the supreme Power of the Laws. Had this little chef been able to do that?
Although the resurrected Tian Cang was strong, Nether Puppeteer Patriarch was not afraid of him. She had even become crazy and unleashed the power of the God’s Heart fragment to kill all the people present. She would rather use the method of mutual destruction than disturb Di Ting because she was worried that it would affect his breakthrough.
What she did not expect, however, was that her God’s Heart had been stolen by that accursed puppet!
She spent her whole life making puppets, but in the end, she was defeated by a puppet. Maybe that was her karma. What goes around comes around.
On the verge of death, Nether Puppeteer Patriarch was filled with resentment and fear, so she called out the name, a name that should not be mentioned.
A rumbling sound rang out in the sky as one figure after another tore apart the void and walked out. Some of them were surrounded by blazing flames, some were hidden in shadows, and some were clad in black chef robes.
The Great Saints of the nine Nether Prison clans had all arrived. However, they were greeted by Nether Puppeteer Patriarch’s dying scene and a name she called out, “Di… Ting…”
As soon as they heard the name, their faces became very uneasy, fear evident in their stunned features.
…
Meanwhile, in the Di Ting Clan’s homeland…
It was a frightful world enveloped in a black vortex. The spinning vortex was rumbling, and there was black energy beating inside like the breathing of some terrible existence.
A vague figure could be seen sitting cross-legged in the center of the vortex.
“Di… Ting…” A faint voice drifted over, lingering around the vortex. It sounded like the wail of a ghost, which made the hair of those who heard it stand on end.
A Great Saint of the clan was sitting not far away. Suddenly, he opened his eyes. He thought he heard something. Soon, he heard it clearly. It was a long sigh, coming from the black vortex. His expression changed instantly, and he turned to look at it and saw that the vortex slowly stopped spinning. Then, he heard another sigh. His cheeks twitched, and he went down on his knees with an excited look on his face.
‘Pa-Patriarch?! Is Patriarch leaving the seclusion?’ he thought to himself.
Di Ting Patriarch was breaking through that supreme realm, which was the realm above the Perfected Great Saint realm. No one in Nether Prison had succeeded for tens of thousands of years. Had he succeeded? If so, it would be great news for the Di Ting Clan!
“Welcome back, Patriarch! All the worlds will once again be awed by Patriarch’s mightiness!” cried the Great Saint with great excitement, his body trembling. His voice rumbled and spread, making the whole homeland boil up.
After a brief pause, the vortex finally began to slowly shrink. It began to spin again as well, but its speed was much slower now. With a clear sound of footsteps, a figure emerged from inside.
The Great Saint knelt on the ground, his face becoming more and more respectful. He could already feel a supreme pressure from the vortex, which he had never felt before. Even Nether Puppeteer Patriarch, who was a Perfected Great Saint, could not compare to it.
Was that the legendary realm above the Great Saint? What kind of a realm was it?
Tap, tap, tap…
The Great Saint raised his head and stared at the vortex, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Patriarch after his breakthrough. As the footsteps grew louder and louder, the figure in the vortex gradually became clear.
However, when he saw the figure clearly, the Great Saint completely froze. His eyes were full of astonishment and disbelief!
‘Heavens! Is this our Patriarch?!’
The Great Saint felt that his world view collapsed at this moment. What slowly emerged from the vortex was not a peerless expert with a striking appearance, nor a terrible existence that gave off a majestic aura, but a… cute dog?
‘What the heck?’
A dog? The highly respected Patriarch of the Di Ting Clan, the supreme existence who awed the whole Earth Prison, was actually a… dog? A cute dog?
The Great Saint was dumbfounded. Staring at the little dog coming out of the vortex with small and nimble steps, he had a constipated look on his face.
How would he describe the dog? It had striped yellow and white fur, with yellow fur around its eyes. Its triangular ears were pointed upward, its nose was black, its body was slightly chubby, and its legs were short. All in all, it looked cute.
Although its legs were very short, its speed was fast. In just a flash, it had come up to the Great Saint.
The void around the dog was all distorted as if it were about to crumble, while a frightening aura shrouded its body.
The Great Saint had not recovered from the tremendous shock, so he was still on his knees, his mouth wide open and looking as if he had forgotten to breathe.
‘Our Patriarch is a dog?’
Di Ting’s eyes were lively, full of spiritual energy. It seemed that because he had just emerged from the terrible vortex of Nether energy, he had not had time to hide his appearance. Soon, a large amount of black Nether energy gathered toward him and wrapped him up completely. At the same time, a terrible pressure immediately filled the air, making the Great Saint lie prone on the ground and dare not move.
“You didn’t see anything…” an indifferent voice rang out.
The Great Saint snapped out of his shock at once. “Yes, mighty Patriarch…” he said, swallowing.
…
A gust of wind blew past without stirring up any dust.
Tian Cang’s eyes narrowed as he clutched Nether Puppeteer Patriarch’s head with one hand. After releasing his divine will and scanning the surroundings, the corners of his mouth curved slightly upward, revealing a sneer.
“Di Ting? Will he come and save you?” Tian Cang said lightly.
Di Ting was now at a critical moment of breakthrough. If he were to come to save Nether Puppeteer Patriarch, he must stop his breakthrough. Would he do that for her? It was unlikely…
Nether Puppeteer Patriarch’s long eyelashes fluttered, then she slowly closed her eyes. She seemed to have lost all hope and was quietly waiting for her death.
Tian Cang didn’t relent. At his level, compassion no longer existed. Besides, he would not be soft-hearted toward Nether Puppeteer Patriarch. He would kill her without mercy!
His metallic palm tightened slowly, and a terrible force was bursting out of it.
Crack…
There was a sharp cracking sound. In everyone’s eyes, Nether Puppeteer Patriarch’s head slowly cracked, and her pretty face was crushed and twisted. Her body jerked, and then she opened her mouth and coughed up blood.
In the sky, all the Great Saints of Nether Prison fell silent.
Nether King Tian Cang was resurrected, and Nether Puppeteer Patriarch was killed. These were two major events that could change the situations of two small worlds. Without Nether Puppeteer Patriarch, there was a good chance that Nether Prison would not be able to withstand Tian Cang’s attack soon.
Unless… Di Ting Patriarch could hear Nether Puppeteer Patriarch’s call, pause his breakthrough, and come out to help them.
Bu Fang and the others were calm as they watched Nether Puppeteer Patriarch’s head being squeezed in Tian Cang’s palm. There was no sympathy on Earth Prison’s side, even though she was a woman, and a pretty one at that. They all knew very well that she was actually a crazy woman.
“Die,” Tian Cang said coldly and took a deep breath.
This time, he no longer held back his strength. He didn’t muster all of it just now because he was waiting. He wanted to see if Di Ting would show up or not. Now, it seemed that Di Ting had indeed chosen to give up Nether Puppeteer Patriarch. Perhaps in his opinion, achieving a breakthrough was more important than her. Of course, this would be the choice of most people.
Crack!
As Tian Cang clenched his palm harder, Nether Puppeteer Patriarch’s skull began to crack. Suddenly, his expression changed. The moment his strength burst out, a terrible supreme pressure fell upon him. He had not batted an eye when facing Nether Puppeteer Patriarch, and yet he was shocked now. He looked up at the boundless sky and took a deep breath.
The sky had changed. In the blink of an eye, it became very dark, as if from day to night. Then, the void tore apart and became a huge gap.
“Tian Cang, stop it.” A godlike voice rang out. It was deafening, lingering in everyone’s ears and making their bodies shake.
The next moment, a figure enveloped in black Nether energy emerged in the huge gap.
It was Di Ting! The strongest man in Nether Prison finally showed up!
The strongest man in Earth Prison and the strongest man in Nether Prison had finally met. This would be a battle that occurred only once in many ages! The real confrontation between the two worlds was likely to break out completely at this moment!
Tian Cang squinted at the figure in the gap.
The faces of Bu Fang, Er Ha, Ice Saint, and the others also became grave.
“Why should I listen to you? Who are you to tell me what to do?” Tian Cang said defiantly.
His hand was still on Nether Puppeteer Patriarch’s head, and he was undaunted even in the face of Di Ting. He held out the other hand, and the Nether King Halberd immediately flew into his grip. Then, he raised it over his shoulder and flung it out. With a ripping sound, the halberd pierced through the air and turned into a black arrow, heading at Di Ting, who was wrapped in black Nether energy in midair.
“Why? Because I’m Di Ting. If you kill her, I will destroy Earth Prison…” Di Ting’s voice was loud and imperious.
The next moment, the Nether King Halberd was caught in a plume of black smoke. It twisted and cracked completely under a terrible force.