After walking for a while, Lin Yu sighed, "Our speed is still too slow."
Lin Rong suggested, "Big Brother, why don't I merge with you? Our speed will increase by an unimaginable amount after merging."
Lin Yu nodded upon hearing this.
He had misjudged the distance, not expecting it to be so far.
He silently chanted, "Clone!"
*Buzz~*
A billion clones appeared beside him.
Lin Yu said, "Let's merge!"
Lin Rong nodded.
The next moment.
A white light appeared and quickly vanished.
An enlarged version of Lin Rong appeared beside him. Lin Yu transformed into a beam of light and landed on Lin Rong's shoulder.
"Let's go!"
*Boom!*
Lin Rong's speed exploded, and he disappeared in an instant.
The distance they would have taken a hundred years to travel was covered in just a few days.
"Big Brother, we've arrived!"
Lin Yu exclaimed, "You're truly amazing!"
"Big Brother is too kind," he replied with a smile.
Lin Yu said, "Let's go in and take a look."
At this moment, an area filled with deathly energy appeared before them.
The previously void space was enveloped by this cloud of deathly energy, a gray expanse as far as the eye could see.
"Big Brother, this gray mist contains dense deathly energy. Even I, without merging, would have to be careful. You wait outside, I'll go in and check."
As a permanent clone, Lin Rong naturally did not wish for his main body to be in danger.
He had asked Lin Yu to come and investigate not for Lin Yu to take risks, but so that Lin Yu could use the merging technique and he could personally explore.
After all, this was a powerful amplification of strength.
He was unsure how powerful a Hunyuan realm expert was, but after merging, he was confident he could rival one.
"Alright, you go in!" Lin Yu said.
Lin Rong nodded and stepped into the gray mist.
Lin Yu, meanwhile, used a series of stealth skills to conceal himself before attaching his consciousness to Lin Rong.
All he could see were gray mists all around.
This was condensed deathly energy, imbued with the power of death.
Before merging, Lin Rong would have needed to cover himself entirely in energy to isolate himself from the power of death, but now he didn't need to.
His physical body alone could resist all the power of death.
Suddenly!
A foul stench rushed towards him.
Lin Yu exclaimed, "Something's attacking!"
Lin Rong nodded, without even looking, and reached out, grabbing into the mist.
*"Squeak squeak~"*
Lin Rong found himself holding a three-meter-tall rat.
The rat was not large, but its gray eyes contained dense deathly energy. The deathly energy emanating from it alone was enough to kill a Da Luo realm expert.
"Big Brother, this thing is very powerful! Should we kill it or keep it?"
"Let me see what this thing is!"
Lin Yu silently chanted, "System, scan!"
*Buzz!*
A golden light swept over him, and then a line of luminous white text appeared before his eyes.
Life-Death Underworld Rat: A monster from the River of Life and Death in the Underworld. It gained the power of life and death by drinking from the River of Life and Death. This is the death form of the Life-Death Underworld Rat, possessing powerful death energy. It can also transform into its life form, possessing potent healing abilities.
River of Life and Death?
Lin Yu's heart stirred.
"Big Brother, what did you think of?" Lin Rong asked.
Lin Yu said, "Yes, I learned from the Underworld Emperor that there is now a river in the Underworld called the River of Life and Death. It is guarded in turns by the Lord of the Underworld and another peak Da Luo realm expert. Its purpose is to prevent beings from the realms of life and death from crossing over."
He was certainly aware of the River of Life and Death, as the Underworld Emperor had read nearly all the books collected by the Lord of the Underworld.
He was familiar with every region of the Underworld.
The River of Life and Death was a protective river encircling the Underworld.
It contained dense vital and death energies.
The half of the River of Life and Death closest to the Underworld contained death energy, while the half closest to the mortal realm contained vital energy.
Its duty, much like the current Lord of the Underworld's, was to prevent beings from the realms of life and death from crossing over, so as to avoid disrupting the balance of Yin and Yang.
However, the current River of Life and Death in the Underworld was a fake; the real River of Life and Death did not require any guards.
"It seems we've found the River of Life and Death!"
"The River of Life and Death in the Underworld was indeed lost, and now we've found it."
"Let's not worry about anything else for now. As far as I know, the River of Life and Death is managed by the Hall of Life and Death, one of the twelve halls of the Underworld. Let's find the Hall of Life and Death. By controlling it, we should be able to reclaim the River of Life and Death."
As soon as Lin Yu finished speaking.
Another group of Life-Death Underworld Rats surged forward.
And this time, there were quite a few of them.
Lin Yu, instead of being alarmed, rejoiced.
"Excellent!" Lin Yu smiled. "You hold them off for now, don't let them escape. I'll have my clones come to help. Let's see who has more, them or us!"
The next moment, from Lin Yu's hidden location, a staggering fifty trillion clones poured out.
Their numbers were so vast, they seemed endless.
They plunged into the deathly mist and soon discovered countless Life-Death Underworld Rats swarming towards them.
He chuckled, "Kill!"
*Boom!*
Fifty trillion clones engaged countless Life-Death Underworld Rats.
The two sides clashed. The Life-Death Underworld Rats were not weak, each possessing at least the strength of a Golden Immortal.
Despite their overwhelming numbers, Lin Yu was exhilarated.
There were quite a few fierce beasts at the Da Luo realm here, each of immense value.
Kill!
*Rumble!*
The stench of blood filled the air, turning the gray mist blood-red.
System notifications continuously sounded in Lin Yu's mind.
"Ding, you have killed a Life-Death Underworld Rat (Da Luo realm), upgrade points..."
"Ding, you have killed a Life-Death Underworld Rat..."
"..."
One Life-Death Underworld Rat after another fell to Lin Yu, providing him with a massive amount of upgrade points.
Currently, his clone talent level was 8s, with fifty trillion clones.
To continue improving, he needed an astronomical amount of upgrade points. He wondered if killing all these Life-Death Underworld Rats would be enough to accumulate the necessary points.
Time flew by.
A day passed in the blink of an eye, and the battle finally concluded.
Because Lin Yu's clones were so ferocious, even the continuously reinforcing Life-Death Underworld Rats could not hold on.
*"Squeak squeak squeak~"*
One Life-Death Underworld Rat after another scattered and fled.
They disappeared into the gray mist, vanishing from sight. No matter how hard Lin Yu searched, he couldn't find them.
"Where did those damn rats run off to? My upgrade points!" Lin Yu exclaimed in frustration.
"If only I had feigned weakness earlier, let them see a glimmer of hope for victory, and then wiped them out in one go."
At this moment.
Lin Rong had finished clearing the battlefield.
The corpses of countless Golden Immortal and Da Luo realm fierce beasts were valuable and could not be left behind. He collected them all.
Then, Lin Rong continued to move forward.
*Roar!*
A massive fish lunged at them.
Lin Rong casually killed the attacker. Lin Yu investigated and discovered that these creatures possessed abilities similar to the Life-Death Underworld Rats.
It seemed they were all monsters from the River of Life and Death, their abilities largely the same.