"This environment has become far worse than before..."
Seeing Reincarnation Purgatory turn into this state, Di Jiang couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.
He thought he would never return, but he didn't expect to be proven wrong so quickly.
"Daoist Venerable, the situation is urgent; we must speed up."
Di Jiang said solemnly. If they delayed any longer and the Lord of Ten Thousand Voids completely escaped, it wouldn't just be a simple matter of the Immortal Realm's Reincarnation spiraling out of control.
The power of an existence that was once at the peak of Limitless Primordial, even after being suppressed for countless years, was not something they could withstand.
"It won't be easy to reach the ninth floor."
Di Jiang said seriously:
"The Immortal Ancestor suppressed the Lord of Ten Thousand Voids on the ninth floor. Later, the Dao Ancestor also worried about the Lord of Ten Thousand Voids escaping, so he not only perfected the Restrictions of Reincarnation Purgatory but also isolated the other layers."
"I previously spent a great deal of effort just to figure out a few paths."
"You've worked hard."
Han Xuanji nodded, understanding the other's difficulties.
In the future, he could publish a biography called 'The Redemption of the Ancestral Witch'.
However, Han Xuanji did not intend to take the usual path.
He naturally knew that time was of the essence.
"Mm, follow me."
He didn't rush to sign in at various places in Reincarnation Purgatory. Instead, with a thought, the [Reincarnation Purgatory Central Restriction Dao Seal] he had just obtained from signing in emerged from his palm.
The Dao Seal was ancient and simple, possessing a dark, dull color with many miraculous runes flowing on its surface.
It did not emit a world-shaking Aura, yet it possessed a unique scent of its own.
Before Di Jiang could understand Han Xuanji's intention, he heard a slight vibrating sound.
Buzz—!
The Dao Seal trembled slightly, and those profound runes suddenly lit up, like billions of stars being ignited in the night sky.
An invisible yet majestic will, centered on the Dao Seal, instantly resonated with the entire vast and ancient Restriction system of Reincarnation Purgatory!
Under Di Jiang's disbelieving gaze, a passage appeared before them.
"This... this is?"
Di Jiang's massive body suddenly stiffened. He looked at the passage that appeared out of thin air, then at the Dao Seal in Han Xuanji's hand that emitted a familiar yet strange Aura.
He was too familiar with this place. During the eternal years he was suppressed, he wanted to find a way to leave or go deeper at every moment, and he knew the Restriction characteristics of every layer of purgatory like the back of his hand.
Especially the method to reach the bottom layer; that was the core Restriction personally set by the Dao Ancestor, connected to the chaos prison suppressing stele, and was so sturdy it drove people to despair.
He had tried to break through countless times to no avail. Only after stepping into the Limitless Primordial Realm did he manage to sneak in, but even then, it took a lot of effort.
But now... Han Xuanji just held a seal, gave it a gentle shake, and that damned Restriction just... just obediently cooperated with him?
"This sign-in reward is unexpectedly good."
Han Xuanji felt the power bestowed by this Dao Seal, and his confidence in the upcoming actions increased by several points.
With this Dao Seal, his journey deep into the purgatory would not only be much less dangerous, but he could also turn passive into active, transforming this forbidden land into his home field.
"Daoist Venerable... you, that seal in your hand..."
Di Jiang's voice carried an uncontrollable tremor. It wasn't just shock; many conjectures instantly formed in his mind, causing his words to carry a hint of bitterness.
In the end, he couldn't help but ask:
"Could it be... the legendary hub object that controls the Restrictions of this prison? The... key that we searched for so desperately back then but couldn't find?"
His gaze was locked onto the Dao Seal, feeling the Aura within it that resonated with the same source as the entire purgatory, and a tidal wave of emotions surged in his heart.
No wonder they had searched every inch of the ground back then, almost turning Reincarnation Purgatory upside down, yet still couldn't find it.
It turned out this thing wasn't in Reincarnation Purgatory at all.
Di Jiang couldn't help but think at this moment.
Could it be... could it be that what the Dao Ancestor said back then was a lie to us?
Thinking of the countless years he and his siblings were suppressed, struggling bitterly yet never finding that key, and even once doubting if the key truly existed.
That feeling made Di Jiang's heart fill with a complex mix of emotions.
Han Xuanji looked at the incredibly complex emotions in Di Jiang's eyes and naturally understood what he was thinking.
The appearance of this Dao Seal had indeed impacted Di Jiang's perception of the Dao Ancestor.
But he couldn't exactly say, 'The Dao Ancestor didn't lie to you; I just happened to pick up an identical item,' could he?
He could only let the Dao Ancestor's reputation take the hit.
Han Xuanji thought silently, and then still gave an answer to Di Jiang:
"This seal was indeed left by the Dao Ancestor, but I only just found it."
Explaining would be too troublesome, so it was better to be vague.
Whether you believe it or not is up to you.
In any case, it was impossible for Di Jiang to confront the Dao Ancestor now.
Hearing this, Di Jiang took a few deep breaths, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart.
He understood that dwelling on the past was meaningless now. Han Xuanji clearly didn't want to talk in depth about the specific origin of this seal.
Moreover, regardless of the Dao Ancestor's intentions back then, this Dao Seal was now in Han Xuanji's hands and was being used to deal with the Lord of Ten Thousand Voids and stabilize Reincarnation; that was enough.
"Di Jiang has lost his composure."
Di Jiang composed himself and looked again at that deep passage, his eyes filled with a bit more anticipation and determination.
"With the help of this object, our chances for this trip have greatly increased!"
Han Xuanji nodded slightly and said no more. Holding the Dao Seal, he took the first step into that stable passage.
Di Jiang followed closely behind.
The inside of the passage was surprisingly steady, without any of the chaos of the outer purgatory.
Light flowed around them, and after only a few steps, the scene before them suddenly changed!
At the end of the passage, they were already in a'space' completely different from the previous purgatory.
This was the bottommost layer of Reincarnation Purgatory, the ninth layer.
There were no more sky-covering blazing karmic fires, no churning Evil Qi, only a boundless void space that seemed capable of absorbing all light and sound.
Even Han Xuanji felt a sense of palpitation upon entering.
"As expected of an ancient existence at the Late Stage of Limitless Primordial."
Even in a suppressed state, they could not be underestimated.
Han Xuanji used the Dao Seal to sense the specific direction, and before long, they immediately noticed the chaos prison suppressing stele.
At this moment, the body of the stele still emitted an ancient and heavy dao-rhythm, but it was already covered in spiderweb-like cracks, struggling against the void power that was constantly pouring out.
And behind the giant stele, deep within that endless pallor, a terrifying will of coldness and emptiness, like a sleeping giant beast, was slowly awakening. Its pressure spread out, adding a few more hints of suffocating despair to this already deathly silent space.
"This is the place..."
Di Jiang's voice carried a trace of barely perceptible trembling. Even though he had already attained the Limitless Primordial Realm, personally stepping into this place again and facing that will still made him feel a sense of palpitation.
One could say it was an instinctive feeling of discomfort.
Han Xuanji stepped forward through the void, a dazzling light bursting from his body as the Xuantian Dharma Domain expanded, dispelling this void power.
Color and sound reappeared in this space.
"Lord of Ten Thousand Voids, won't you come out yet?"
Han Xuanji's voice resounded through the void, echoing at the bottom of this purgatory.