The Furious Lord of the Underworld

"What in the world is going on!?"

The Prefect of the Netherworld stood towering in the sky, his body radiating divine brilliance akin to a deity as he gazed down upon the mortal realm.

At that moment, a Celestial Supreme hurried over and bowed respectfully. "Prefect, an intruder has infiltrated the Netherworld and abducted the young princess."

Hearing this, the Prefect subconsciously sighed in relief—at least the treasury hadn’t been plundered.

Since the Great Contention Era had arrived ahead of schedule, he had long ceased to value Luo Li.

Originally, Luo Li had been groomed as the next Prefect, a strong contender for the Celestial Emperor’s throne.

But now, with time cut short, Luo Li hadn’t fully matured, rendering her potential useless.

What use was an immortal physique if she couldn’t become the Celestial Emperor? The Netherworld’s hundreds of thousands of years of accumulated resources wouldn’t see a qualitative leap just by adding one more immortal physique.

Still, though the early arrival of the Great Contention Era had wasted centuries of effort in nurturing Luo Li, the Prefect was secretly pleased.

After all, he was a Nine-Star Supreme, the pinnacle of Celestial Supremes, just one step away from the Quasi-Emperor realm. The only reason he hadn’t broken through was that the Heavenly Dao’s principles remained obscured, barring his ascension.

He had once believed he wouldn’t live to see the Great Contention Era—or if he did, he’d be too old, his vitality withered, forever barred from the Quasi-Emperor realm. That was why he had focused on grooming the next generation.

But now, he had lived to see it!

With a chance to become the Celestial Emperor himself, why would he care about the next generation?

Thus, in the Prefect’s mind, Luo Li paled in comparison to the treasury. The treasures within could accelerate his rise to Quasi-Emperor, while Luo Li could not.

"Gu Qingfeng must have gone to another imperial court or immortal sect," the Prefect thought with relief.

Of course, Luo Li was still a Reincarnation Immortal Physique and his daughter, representing the Netherworld’s dignity. He couldn’t just ignore her abduction.

"Who took Luo Li?" the Prefect demanded.

"Prefect, we have yet to locate the intruder. But judging from the traces of his battle with the young princess, this man can wield Chaos Qi and carries an Emperor’s Weapon."

"What did you say!?" The Prefect’s expression twisted into fury at those sensitive words.

The Celestial Supreme flinched and hastily clarified, "The intruder likely possesses an Emperor’s Weapon."

"Not that—the line before!"

"The intruder can wield Chaos Qi."

BOOM!

A world-shaking aura erupted from the Prefect, instantly suffocating the entire Netherworld as if the heavens had collapsed.

WHOOSH!

Without another word, the Prefect tore through space, heading straight for the River of Forgetfulness.

The next moment, he appeared above the river.

Its waters remained eerily calm, undisturbed by any signs of intrusion.

Yet the Prefect’s expression only darkened further.

He knew Gu Qingfeng possessed the Heavenly Delivery Array, which harnessed the Heavenly Dao’s power. No barrier, seal, or vault could stop him.

With that array, there was no need to break formations—he could slip directly inside.

Frantically, the Prefect formed hand seals, his divine power surging like a tempest.

With the final seal, the river’s waters split apart, revealing a narrow passage to the riverbed.

......

"Keh keh keh... Mine, all mine... Damn it! That old dog is back!"

Gu Qingfeng, who had been reveling in his spoils, suddenly paled.

He activated his Golden Eye of Truth and saw the Prefect furiously unraveling the seals outside.

No longer caring about stealth, he unleashed his Chaos Qi, sending it surging toward the remaining treasures.

Less than a tenth of the vault’s contents remained.

But even a tenth of the Netherworld’s treasury was an astronomical haul—enough to dwarf the entire reserves of most major factions.

It was a race against time.

Gu Qingfeng cursed the sheer volume of treasures—no matter how fast he worked, he couldn’t take it all.

The Prefect cursed himself for setting up so many intricate seals—why did unlocking them take an incense stick’s worth of time?

And when Gu Qingfeng abandoned subtlety, letting his Chaos Qi run rampant, the Prefect sensed it and nearly lost his mind.

Those were the resources meant for his ascension to Quasi-Emperor!!

"Gu Qingfeng! I know you’re in there! Stop now, or when I break in, I’ll extract your soul, refine it, and cast you into the Eighteen Hells for eternal torment!"

He roared through layers of formations and the vault’s divine iron doors.

But would Gu Qingfeng listen?

If anything, he worked faster, even summoning the Banner of Ten Billion Souls to unleash countless wraiths and help him loot.

"Keh keh keh... Old dog, you should’ve thought twice before crossing me! Now you’ll pay the price!"

The Prefect’s hands trembled with rage, causing him to misalign a seal and forcing him to start over.

"Gu Qingfeng! Search your conscience—who wronged whom? You were the one who insulted us first!"

"Bullshit! I’ve always been a man of peace! If you old mutts hadn’t pushed me, I’d never have cursed you!

"Besides, you’re all esteemed elders—what’s wrong with cursing you? Can’t you just take it?"

The Prefect nearly exploded on the spot, his fury causing him to botch another seal.

"So we’re supposed to just endure being cursed because we’re ‘esteemed’?"

"Damn right!"

"You little bastard, I’ll kill you!!"

Beyond reason, the Prefect abandoned the last few seals and struck out with a palm radiating divine brilliance, smashing through the formations by brute force.

Seeing the old dog had snapped, Gu Qingfeng—still one room short of looting—had no choice but to activate the Heavenly Delivery Array.

BOOM!

The vault doors shattered under the Prefect’s assault, and he charged in like a furious lion.

His eyes landed on the emptied treasury and Gu Qingfeng’s fleeing figure.

They instantly turned bloodshot.

"DIE!!"

A Supreme’s wrath shook heaven and earth!

But before he could strike, a flash of light—and Gu Qingfeng vanished.

"AAAAAH!!"

"GU! QING! FENG!"

The Prefect’s fury split his pupils, his divine light erupting in a cataclysmic surge that made the Netherworld tremble.

Then, he paused.

A faint trace of spiritual treasures lingered in the air.

Following it, he found one last room Gu Qingfeng hadn’t ransacked.

A small consolation.

But before he could step forward—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A storm of heavenly thunderbolts detonated within the vault.

The remaining treasures were reduced to ash, the air thick with the stench of scorched relics.

Gu Qingfeng had left behind Sky Thunder Orbs on his way out.

If he couldn’t have them, no one would.