Soul Land: Legend of Saint Seiya

Chapter 196: The Emergence of the Nether Domain

Within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Xiao Yu sat cross-legged, channeling his soul power. Spiritual energy from the surrounding environment surged into his body as though drawn by an invisible force, continuously refined and converted into soul power coursing through him.

"Ha!"

In an instant, Xiao Yu's eyes snapped open. An immense wave of soul power exploded outward, sweeping through the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and scattering the precious celestial herbs in its vicinity.

At that moment, Xiao Yu finally broke through the bottleneck of Level 70. Now, all he needed was a new spirit ring to officially become a Soul Sage.

Soul Sage was a significant milestone in the soul master world. Upon reaching this rank, one could activate their Spirit Avatar, amplifying their strength several times over.

As a wielder of a god-level martial soul, Xiao Yu's power, combined with his Spirit Avatar, could easily contend with any Title Douluo below Level 95. Even against a Level 95+ Title Douluo, unless their spirit abilities or attributes specifically countered his, Xiao Yu could hold his own—and if not victorious, he could certainly retreat unscathed.

Upon breaking through to Level 70, just as the system had foretold, Xiao Yu's martial soul underwent a transformation.

A brilliant seven-colored pillar of light shot into the sky, altering the heavens. The previously clear weather changed abruptly as dark clouds, like massive black waves in the ocean, covered the sun, plunging the world into darkness.

The Apostle of the Underworld materialized over Xiao Yu, with six spirit rings—yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black—appearing behind him, orbiting rhythmically.

The dormant power of the Underworld King within Xiao Yu awoke. His long black hair flowed as though caught in an unseen wind, and the soul power radiating from him was devoid of impurities. It was a pure, ominous darkness that inspired both fear and reverence. The disparity between his power before and now was like that between a mortal and a deity.

Whoosh!

Beneath his existing black wings, another pair of wings burst forth, rapidly growing until all four spanned nearly three meters.

His pale green eyes deepened into a dark crimson, and his piercing gaze was as sharp as a blade, deterring all who might dare look at him.

"Nether God Domain!"

Upon reaching Level 70, as the system had predicted, his god-level martial soul unleashed its innate domain. A boundless aura of darkness emanated from him, enveloping the surroundings in an oppressive, deathly chill.

If Qian Renxue's Angelic Domain specialized in purifying an enemy's soul power, then Xiao Yu's Nether God Domain represented absolute death. Any enemy within the domain would be subjected to the constant corrosion of death energy. Should they sustain injuries within the domain, the wounds would worsen under the influence of the death aura, inevitably leading to death unless they left the domain's range. Even the top-tier healing martial soul, Sacred Heart Begonia, would be powerless to reverse the injuries.

In addition to this, the Nether God Domain granted Xiao Yu a 30% boost to all attributes while reducing his opponent's strength by 10%.

"Hmm?"

While experiencing the effects of the Nether God Domain, Xiao Yu suddenly furrowed his brow. He felt a strange resonance, as though his domain was connecting to something far away—a faint, almost ephemeral sensation, as if it originated from a distant horizon. No, it felt like a call transcending dimensions.

Xiao Yu focused his energy into his domain, attempting to establish a link with the distant resonance.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly. Suddenly, Xiao Yu sensed everything around him blur, the colors of his surroundings fading until the scene before him became completely illusory.

Swish!

A flash of black light, and Xiao Yu's figure disappeared from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"Where is this place?"

Xiao Yu found himself standing atop a high slope, surrounded by a gray, foggy expanse. The sky above was an endless sheet of dull clouds, offering no hint of stars or constellations. The air was thick with abundant dark elemental energy, overwhelming in its density.

In the distance, Xiao Yu spotted a massive black vortex. Countless shadowy figures moved in an orderly procession toward it, each leaping into the abyss without hesitation.

"Yellow Springs Hirasaka!"

As a devoted fan of Saint Seiya, Xiao Yu immediately recognized his surroundings. This was none other than the entrance to the land of the dead—Yellow Springs Hirasaka, the same place where Cancer Saint Deathmask had sent Shiryu during the battle of the Twelve Temples.

"How did I end up here?"

Xiao Yu scanned his surroundings, thoroughly baffled. Finally, he called out to the system in his mind, "System, care to explain? Is this your doing?"

The system, as expected, didn't disappoint and quickly provided an explanation:

"Ding! Based on system detection, the host's martial soul has undergone evolution. It has advanced into the Nether King Martial Soul, reaching 10% activation of the Underworld King's power. This triggered resonance with the system's internal Netherworld. When the host fully activated the domain, a peculiar link formed between the domain and the Netherworld, resulting in the host's teleportation here."

"The system's internal Netherworld?"

Xiao Yu pondered this for a moment. "So, in simpler terms, it's a new plane, right?"

"Correct!"

The system confirmed Xiao Yu's deduction.

"Roar!"

Just as Xiao Yu was about to ask more questions, a thunderous roar echoed through the air, causing his muscles to tense instinctively. He turned toward the source of the sound.

What greeted his sight was a massive skeleton, towering over two meters tall. Its entire body consisted of white bones, save for two eerie green flames flickering in its eye sockets.

"Roar!"

The creature let out another piercing howl. It moved suddenly, its right arm morphing into a blade of bone as it leaped high into the air and slashed down toward Xiao Yu with lightning speed.

"What the—what's happening?!"

Caught off guard, Xiao Yu couldn't help but curse. With the Nether King Martial Soul now in effect, the Nether King's Sword materialized in his hand. Its blade radiated dark light as Xiao Yu swung it up to meet the bone blade.

Boom!

The impact sent both Xiao Yu and the massive skeleton stumbling back several steps.

"Hiss—"

Suppressing the churning blood in his chest, Xiao Yu inhaled sharply. The skeleton's strength was no less than that of an ordinary Soul Douluo.

The skeleton seemed to have felt significant pain as well. It let out a deafening roar and raised its bone blade again, slashing furiously toward Xiao Yu.

This time, a burst of black light erupted from Xiao Yu's chest, enveloping his entire body. It was one of the soul bone abilities granted by the 100,000-year torso bone he had recently absorbed—Nether Emperor's Aegis.

The bone blade struck down, colliding with the black light of the Nether Emperor's Aegis. At Xiao Yu's current level of soul power, no attack short of a Title Douluo's full-strength blow could breach his defense.

Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Yu's fifth spirit ring lit up. His frost-laden longsword radiated unparalleled power as he slashed ferociously at the skeleton, cleaving it in two instantly.

(End of chapter)

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