Once the Soul Imprint was planted, Nine Nether wasn't satisfied. He still needed to draw out Zhao Li's Desire and nurture the Soul Imprint, so he continued dropping bombs!
"Ten Thousand Years ago, I thought the same way you do now."
Hearing Nine Nether's words, Zhao Li remained silent. He had long understood the principle of speaking to people like people and to ghosts like ghosts. Even his current demeanor was mostly an act; how could he just accept whatever the other party said without question?
Seeing that Zhao Li wasn't as curious as he'd expected, Nine Nether didn't bother Building Suspense and continued:
"After I broke through to Dou Di, I searched the Continent far and wide, eventually following clues to find this place. I discovered that this place was the core of that Grand Formation. At that time, I had the same idea as you—to shatter this place and let the Dou Qi Continent regain Origin Qi. Unfortunately..."
He stopped there, seemingly regretting his ignorance back then.
Is he crazy? He brought up the topic himself and now he's stopping halfway. If I didn't need to get information from him, I'd definitely hit him a couple of times.
Zhao Li found his overly obvious and clumsy acting rather annoying, but he still played along and pressed on:
"What happened later? Did something unexpected occur?"
Hearing Zhao Li's question, Nine Nether put on a look of unbearable memories and sighed:
"I thought I was invincible on the Continent after breaking through to Dou Di and could go anywhere. I had no reverence for this Grand Formation. But it wasn't until I entered this place that I realized this was where the Emperors had slain the Evil Demons. Although the external enemies were destroyed, their Physical Bodies and Souls still transformed into this endless Nether Wind. The Grand Formation was set up here to prevent them from spreading outwards."
Perhaps to gain Zhao Li's trust, he stopped here, looked at Zhao Li, and said:
"You should have experienced the power of this Nether Wind. If it were to sweep across the Continent, only a few people would likely survive. Unfortunately, by the time I discovered this, it was already too late. I had already shattered a corner of the Grand Formation. To remedy it, I could only confine myself here to prevent the Nether Wind from sweeping across the Continent and causing a catastrophe."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Li recalled the Nether Wind that had just been howling around him and analyzed how much of what Nine Nether said was true. That Nether Wind indeed possessed a strange corrosive power, which did resemble the methods of Evil Demons.
He didn't doubt the power of the Nether Wind, but he was skeptical about whether this person of unknown identity was truly so selfless.
However, he couldn't tell if Nine Nether was telling the truth or not. After all, Tuoshe Ancient Emperor was too mysterious. Even with God's Perspective, he couldn't be certain that the Ancient Emperor's Cave Dwelling was the only thing he left behind.
Moreover, if it was truly as this person said, it could also explain why Tuoshe Ancient Emperor, as the only Dou Di in Ten Thousand Years, left nothing behind.
He Probed:
"Senior, do you mean that you haven't perished as the rumors say?"
What Nine Nether wanted was for Zhao Li to think in this direction. A living Dou Di was always more tempting to the world than a Phantom, especially when this Dou Di knew all the secrets of breaking through to Dou Di. If he were outside, he might even attract countless people eager to break through, willing to take risks to obtain those secrets from him.
He first nodded, then gave a vague answer:
"Yes and no. As you've seen, this Space has almost no Dou Qi, and the Nether Wind rages constantly. Even as a Dou Di, I can't last much longer. Before my energy was depleted, I abandoned my Physical Body and used it to complete the Grand Formation. Now, only my Soul remains."
Hearing this, Zhao Li vaguely understood Nine Nether's plan. Everything he had said from the beginning seemed to be paving the way for this matter – he wanted to leave here!
As for why he didn't say it directly, it wasn't hard to guess. After being eroded by the Nether Wind for Ten Thousand Years here, his own condition was probably very poor, right?
Tsk, these people... they really suffer for the sake of appearances. Even at a time like this, they still care about their image.
As soon as he thought of this, Zhao Li felt a sense of sudden enlightenment, and even some previous Doubts were resolved.
He expressed understanding. After all, as the last Dou Di on the Continent, if he appeared too pathetic, he might not only fail to control himself but also find it difficult to gain trust.
Having understood Nine Nether's concerns, Zhao Li no longer hid anything and asked:
"Senior, do you want me to help you leave this place?"
Seeing that everything was developing as he had planned, Nine Nether was in a very good mood. However, he also knew that this was a critical moment and didn't show it too obviously. He gave an awkward smile and said:
"Hahaha, that's the idea. You also know the power of this Astral Wind. I really don't want to stay here anymore. As long as you help me leave this place, even if we don't break this Formation, I can help you break through to Dou Di!"
Even at this point, he didn't forget to play tricks, mentioning Dou Di from time to time, just to make Zhao Li yearn for this Realm even more.
Zhao Li saw the forced suppressed joy on Nine Nether's face and felt a pang of sympathy.
Even a Dou Di was just a person with powerful Strength. Under normal circumstances, they would naturally be revered like gods, and they wouldn't care much, appearing aloof and detached from the Mortal world.
But when they faced matters involving their own interests, they would scheme and plot like Mortals, going to great lengths just to achieve their goals, just like himself and Nine Nether at this moment.
As for the method to break through to Dou Di, he didn't need Nine Nether to tell him. Zhao Li knew that within the Ancient Emperor's Cave Dwelling, there was Origin Qi left by him.
But even so, when Nine Nether said that he could help him break through to Dou Di after he helped him leave here, it sounded to him like he was just painting a picture of a grand future. It was merely a bargaining chip added out of fear that he wouldn't help him.
Of course, he didn't care, but he also knew that now wasn't the time to appear more indifferent than a Dou Di. Thus, his breathing began to quicken, even though his heart was calm and he felt like laughing. He asked:
"I am merely a Dou Sheng. How can I help Senior?"
At this moment, people like Hun Tiandi and Gu Yuan would probably be as eager as I am, right?
Thinking this, Zhao Li stared at Nine Nether, anticipating his answer.
Seeing that everything was going as he expected, Nine Nether felt no sense of accomplishment. He could Control Zhao Li with these old tricks he had long since abandoned. He even felt a bit bored. After breaking through to Heavenly Supreme, he rarely used these manipulative and scheming methods anymore.
If he can help me escape from this place right now, then I will be merciful and let him live a little longer.
Seeing Zhao Li take the bait so easily, he changed his plan. He no longer wanted to wait until the Soul Imprint controlled Zhao Li before breaking the cage with combined internal and external force. He wanted Zhao Li to willingly release him, the Demon Race who had coveted the Dou Qi Continent for tens of thousands of years!
With a thought, the Grand Hall began to twist, then everything disappeared, plunging back into darkness.
Only this time, before Zhao Li's eyes, it was no longer an empty area with only the Nether Wind howling. A Mountain Range emitting a dense Death Qi appeared before him!
Immediately after, Nine Nether's voice echoed in The Void:
"This is the Mountain Range where countless Demon Race members are buried. As long as you can block the Death Qi on this Mountain Range for just a moment, I can escape."
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