The shadow was none other than an imperial nether devil from the Imperial Nether Clan. His name was Ming Helian, a Devil Saint. He had an ordinary status in the clan. However, he had successfully found the person the Nether Monarch was looking for. This would render him a great merit in the clan.

Ming Helian might be a devil, but he did not kill Devil Concubine, Yu Caidie, and Yu Ziyang the moment he arrived. That was because, in his eyes, they weren't even worth the effort. He also didn't want to court unnecessary trouble. He only had one goal—capture Xiang Shaoyun.

Xiang Shaoyun was fully focused on expelling the poison from his body. He was completely unaware that danger was approaching. But when Ming Helian approached, he sensed the devil blood in his veins stirring. He then spread his Nether Soul Domain's senses out and instantly detected Ming Helian.

The imperial nether devils greatly resembled humans and had some unique characteristics. Although Xiang Shaoyun had never seen one before, he was still sure that Ming Helian was one.

When Ming Helian noticed that he had been detected, he transmitted to Xiang Shaoyun, "If you don't want your companions to die, say nothing and come with me."

The talent of invisibility might be able to hide from others, but not members of the Imperial Nether Clan who shared the same bloodline.

Xiang Shaoyun thought, Sigh, what's coming will indeed come.

He wanted to resist, but he could sense the other party's unmeasurable strength. If he really resisted, the others would die because of him. And so he decided to not struggle, and he let the imperial nether devil take him captive.

Xiang Shaoyun couldn't even speak anymore. All he could do before he was taken away was to look at Devil Concubine and Yu Caidie longingly as he thought, Hopefully, we'll meet again in the future.

Only when Xiang Shaoyun was taken far away did the two women and Yu Ziyang realize he was gone. They couldn't feel his presence anymore. They rushed over to where he was standing guard earlier. When they saw nobody there, they panicked.

"Overlord, are you hiding somewhere?" Devil Concubine shouted.

Xiang Shaoyun had stopped hiding after returning to them. She did not think that he would disappear for no reason. When she saw that her shouts remained unanswered, she continued shouting.

Yu Caidie said, "Overlord, stop messing around. You're making us worried!"

Alas, no matter how they shouted, no reply came. They sank into panic.

Yu Ziyang also felt like something wasn't right. He joined in as well and shouted, "Xiang Shaoyun, show yourself if you have the guts. Let's have a spar, you and me. But can a coward like you be my match?"

However, Xiang Shaoyun was no longer there. He wouldn't be able to hear any of their words.

"Something must have happened to him! We need to look for him!" said Devil Concubine with a frown as she started searching the area.

As for Yu Caidie, she sent Yu Ziyang to go searching for Xiang Shaoyun while she herself searched in a different direction. After searching everywhere, they finally confirmed that Xiang Shaoyun had gone missing. The two women were so worried they felt like crying. However, there wasn't anything they could do.

Only an incredibly powerful individual could take Xiang Shaoyun away undetected. They even crushed their respective jade slips to summon their guardians over so the guardians could help them search. Unfortunately, they would never be able to find him.

...

Xiang Shaoyun was long gone from the third layer. He was brought to the fourth layer. Even there, Ming Helian didn't show any signs of stopping. They were moving so fast that Xiang Shaoyun couldn't even get a good look at his surroundings. After an indeterminate amount of time, Xiang Shaoyun suddenly felt his devil blood boil. The devilish energy in the air around him felt incredibly intimate.

He also found that he could move again. His surroundings were completely unlike what he had seen before. Although he was still in the Devil Domain, he couldn't sense too many devils. He was surrounded by mountains, rivers, trees, and grasses. The entire area was tranquil yet shrouded in thick devilish energy. If it wasn't for the devilish energy, he would have thought that he had arrived at the surface world.

"Which layer is this?" he asked after a momentary stun.

"Seventh. Imperial Nether Clan's territory," said Ming Helian.

"This is the seventh layer?" Xiang Shaoyun was in disbelief.

It was rumored that of the seven layers of the Devil Domain, each layer was more dangerous than the previous layer. He had actually come to the seventh layer? It didn't seem dangerous at all.

"Of course. Only the Imperial Nether Clan, Undying Devil Clan, and Diabolic Dragon Clan are qualified to occupy this layer. No other races are allowed here," said Ming Helian proudly.

"How about the Dark Devourer Clan?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.

The Undying Devil Clan, Imperial Nether Clan, Dark Devourer Clan, and Diabolic Dragon Clan were the four paramount devil clans, the rulers of all devils. However, Ming Helian had only mentioned three clans. Thus, Xiang Shaoyun had asked about the fourth clan out of curiosity.

"Those filthy bastards have gone extinct," said Ming Helian. He didn't seem comfortable even mentioning that clan. "Enough questions. Come with me. The Nether Monarch is looking for you. I wonder how he'll react after seeing you. You are obviously a human, yet you have the primordial blood flowing in you. This is madness."

"Nether Monarch!" Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed in shock.

From the memories in his bloodline, he learned that the so-called Nether Monarch was a supreme existence, the true ruler of the Imperial Nether Clan, the person who wielded power over the lives of countless individuals. Such a person was actually asking to see him. He found this unbelievable.

He had known about the Imperial Nether Clan since his previous life. In fact, he had even battled an expert from the clan. At the time, the expert's cultivation level was lower than his, yet he still nearly suffered defeat. And according to that person, he was merely an unimportant individual in the clan.

At the time, Xiang Dingtian believed that the person was talking nonsense, but that person's strength was still enough proof as to how strong the Imperial Nether Clan was. For some reason, Xiang Shaoyun, who had always feared nothing, felt slightly timid.

Nether Monarch, a paramount existence far beyond even him during his previous life. He was actually getting to meet such an individual. He might be less timid if he had his previous life's strength, but with his current strength, he didn't even believe he could leave this place alive. He could only hope for a miracle.