Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

"Don't be in such a rush, follow me." Chen Lingyun said with a smile.

She led Yan Yu deeper into the palace. As they ventured further, the surrounding chill grew more piercing. Although a cultivator's body was immune to cold and heat, Yan Yu could feel a slight chill, as if fine steel needles were piercing his body.

"Up ahead is the Yin Division's ley line, hence the increasingly heavy Nine Netherworld Yin Qi." Chen Lingyun formed a spell with her hands, causing a Yin Demon Divine Seal to float out from the Soul Summoning Banner and land on Yan Yu's head. He immediately felt the cold sensation vanish. "Without my secret technique's protection, any mortal exposed to even a bit of this Yin Qi would fall gravely ill and die. As for cultivators, before reaching Core Formation, forcibly enduring this would damage their innate bones and lower their cultivation."

"When did you learn this secret technique?" Yan Yu asked with a frown.

"I couldn't possibly notify you every time I learn something, right?" Chen Lingyun deflected the topic with a laugh. "Besides, you never asked."

"I don't need to ask to know that you comprehended this secret technique while studying the Nine Heavens Yin Demon Divine Seal," Yan Yu said.

"This Nine Heavens Yin Demon Divine Seal is truly profound." Chen Lingyun sighed wistfully, her fingers lightly brushing over the wooden rod of the Prison Banner. "If I could gather all the runes and complete The Arcane Secrets of the Nine Heavens Yin Demon, securing my position as the Lord of the Underworld would be a breeze."

"With your father assisting you, as long as the series of Nine Heavens Yin Demon magic treasures come to light, you'll get your hands on them sooner or later." Yan Yu sighed.

I've worked so hard to maintain the current order of the Lu Country, only to let Chen Lingyun, the minister's daughter, ride on the power she inherited. It's truly infuriating!

I must charge her more for the ride.

"If they never emerge, there's nothing I can do." Chen Lingyun smiled again. "Let's do what we can and leave the rest to fate."

They finally reached the depths of the palace. Ahead, there was a fissure in the ground, about a meter and a half wide and over ten meters long, deep, silent, and pitch-black, from which endless Nine Netherworld Yin Qi flowed. Just looking at it made one feel a soul-piercing chill.

Chen Lingyun once again formed a spell to protect them from the Yin Qi, then she jumped down first.

Yan Yu followed suit, jumping into the abyss. As they fell, the howling wind gradually diminished... Strange, the gravity seemed to be decreasing?

After a while, they finally landed on the ground.

Rather than the ground, it was more of a conceptual "bottom," as gravity had completely disappeared here, and there were no distinctions of up, down, front, or back.

With a slight thought, Yan Yu willed himself forward, and his body floated forward; a thought for going backward, and he floated backward.

"Isn't it marvelous?" Chen Lingyun smiled. "The Nine Netherworld is likely a different dimensional world compared to Earth. Many of the physical laws here are completely different."

"Fortunately, we can still use Sword Control. Let's go."

They released their Flying Swords, transformed into radiant sword lights, and wrapped themselves in them, flying forward.

As Yan Yu scanned below with his Divine Sense, he saw that the boundless land was dotted with many wandering ghosts, sometimes in groups of three or five, drifting aimlessly in various directions.

"Without guiding Yinchai, these deceased souls have to rely entirely on luck to reach the Reincarnation Platform." Chen Lingyun sighed. "Luckily, this dimension has no concept of time, otherwise it would be the most brutal torment for them."

Yan Yu didn't understand what "no concept of time" meant, but he knew that asking would equate to admitting ignorance to Chen Lingyun, lowering himself in her eyes. So he chose to stay silent.

As they flew, they saw an endless stretch of ruins below, looking somewhat like an ancient Great Wall.

"This is the ruins of the Gates of Hell." Chen Lingyun explained. "Gates and walls stretch endlessly. When wandering souls reach the walls, they naturally progress toward the entry point, serving as a guide. Another important function of the Gates of Hell is to prevent the living, whether mortals or cultivators, from venturing further into the Underworld."

"So it requires heavy defense," Yan Yu nodded.

"Yin Soldiers and Ghost Generals are easy to come by. The crucial part is setting up a large-scale space compression formation, ensuring that cultivators approach the entry point no matter the direction." Chen Lingyun said seriously. "As for formations, I'm clueless, so I plan to ask Mr. Mei for help."

"Mr. Mei is currently researching large-scale national barriers, leaving the smaller formation tasks to Ye Jun." Yan Yu said offhandedly, then quickly realized something.

But he was still a beat too slow, as Chen Lingyun immediately seized the opportunity, smiling sweetly:

"Then could you please ask dear Ye Jun? Since we both serve one husband, we're like sisters. Ye Jun should be willing to help me, right?"

Yan Yu pondered for a moment, and suddenly, a thought struck him, as if he had a moment of enlightenment.

Wait, if Ye Jun is my wife, and Chen Lingyun is also my wife, she can leverage this relationship to get Ye Jun to help her. Even if Ye Jun dislikes her, she would have to give me face, so all Chen Lingyun needs to do is win me over.

After all, Chen Lingyun always wore a perfectly crafted smile and exuded an aura of superiority as the minister's daughter, making few cultivators willing to deeply engage with her. Yun Jin and Ningning were acquainted with others, Zhao Jie and Ruoxi were friends, but Ling Yun was accustomed to acting alone within the team, proving her isolative nature.

She now needed to reconstruct the Yin Division, requiring vast amounts of resources and manpower. Resources could be managed, but where would she get high-level Golden Core Cultivators?

Of course, she would recruit from my harem!

The more wives I have, the more people Chen Lingyun can command. She doesn't need to lower herself to please everyone, only me, and then leverage me to get my other wives to assist her. This was why she had suggested I build a harem long ago!

Damn you, Chen Lingyun! Your schemes run deep, and I, despite living two lifetimes, failed to see through your machinations! This time, I've fallen for your trick!

Now that the harem is formed, Yan Yu knew he couldn't just say "we're disbanding because it was all Chen Lingyun's ploy." Instead, feeling quite vexed, he said:

"If you need Ye Jun's help, why don't you ask her yourself? Don't you have a mouth?"

"My mouth can't seem to speak." Chen Lingyun said, smiling.

"How so?"

"Of course, because..." Before she could finish, Yan Yu, having shared a bed with her for two lifetimes and knowing what suggestive words she'd say, quickly interrupted:

"Stop, don't say another word!"

"Fine, I won't say it." Chen Lingyun leaped forward and hugged him, her smile charming. "How about I show you through actions?"

"Come, let's land over there."