God Emperor

The Wuchang’s information was very helpful, but he was as powerful as a Half-Saint, after all. He was definitely tricky and calculative. No one could discern if he was telling the truth or not, or if he wanted to lead them all into extreme danger.

Thus, they didn’t head to Ghost Wang Shenchu’s territory immediately.

Zhang Ruochen later released the other Wuchang from the Ruyi Treasure Bottle. Blackie took her elsewhere to continue interrogating her. They could make a decision after comparing the information from the two Wuchangs.

At the same time, Zhang Ruochen returned to the side of the river. He investigated the corpses on the bank while observing the flowing river. He seemed to be searching for something.

“Something’s amiss. It really is.”

Then he sat cross-legged on a corpse and closed his eyes. He released his Spiritual Power, searching the spatial structure here with all his power.

Half a beat later, his eyes flew open and he struck towards the river.

Boom!

An invisible wall was there, stopping his palm. Then strong power of space lifted a huge wave. It surged, forcing Zhang Ruochen hundreds of feet back.

Han Xue had been guarding him. She transformed into a blur and appeared beside Zhang Ruochen. Her thin fingers formed the sword gesture.

Clang!

The Void Sword flew out from her back like white light. It struck down with powerful Sword Qi trailing behind, forcing the river back.

Putting away the sword, Han Xue stood up. “Master, what happened?” she asked.

Sizzle!

Zhang Ruochen’s clothes had been splashed by the river and tiny holes appeared. He activated his Holy Qi and quickly refined all the water.

Without speaking, he walked forward again. Staring at the Corpse River, he pressed the air gently. This time, he was much more careful.

Whoosh—

The invisible wall appeared again. It blocked Zhang Ruochen’s hand as if the space had solidified.

“Just as I guessed, this Corpse River exists in between space. Once we cross it, we actually leave Kunlun’s Field and enter another space.”

Zhang Ruochen had suspected this because of the other Wuchang’s information. According to his descriptions, the netherworld was boundless. Even a Wuchang could fly for a decade without seeing the end.

How could such a vast land fit under the Fallen-gods Mountain Range? The only possibility was that the so-called “netherworld” wasn’t even in Kunlun’s Field. Instead, it was a separate world.

That was why Zhang Ruochen had come to the Corpse River to check.

Han Xue furrowed her slender brow, confused. “Master, what do you mean? I don’t understand.”

Zhang Ruochen chuckled. “You can imagine the Corpse River as a one-way Spatial Polar Wall. I have a feeling that it flows past many worlds in between the spaces.”

He gazed upstream at the endless stream of corpses and then followed the river downstream.

Where exactly did all the corpses come from? Where was the river going?

The netherworld must have appeared because of this Corpse River. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many tombs and dead souls.

Han Xue was silent. A moment later, she nodded. “I understand! The Tomb Forest across from the Corpse River is still in Kunlun’s Field. It belongs to the living world and you can say it’s the entrance to the netherworld. But right now, we’re in the world of the dead. Master, you’re saying that we can only enter the netherworld and we can never exit, right?”

Han Xue raised her pale face and gazed at Zhang Ruochen with clear, bright eyes.

Actually, Zhang Ruochen also wondered if this place really was a corner of the legendary “world of the dead” or Hell—if it was where all beings went after death.

If this was true, could the living still leave the netherworld after entering?

Of course, he couldn’t pass this negative emotion onto Han Xue.

He chuckled. “The others can’t return, but I definitely can. Did you forget that I’m the Descendant of Time and Space? If I can grasp the rules of space, it won’t be hard to break through a Spatial Polar Wall.”

He said this because he didn’t want Han Xue to feel despair. After all, she was just a kid. There was a limit to what she could take emotionally.

However, he clearly underestimated Han Xue. She was calm, instead of feeling scared about not being able to return to Kunlun’s Field.

“It’s okay if we can’t go back, actually,” she said. “Master, Blackie, Sister Mu, and I can go into the scroll world. It’s isolated, but it’s pretty there and we can live happily forever, right?”

“Right!” Zhang Ruochen nodded with a smile. “Even in the netherworld, we have to face things with a smile. We can’t let fear crush us.”

However, he sighed inwardly. If only the world was as simple as she thinks. But all of us carry some duty. How can we only try to benefit ourselves?

Then he took out the Universe Spiritual Map and released Mu Lingxi from the scroll world. After resting, her wounds had all healed. She’d recovered to her peak state.

She stared at the Corpse River. “Are you going to send me back still?”

Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “We can’t return anymore.”

He then told her everything that he’d discovered and figured out. Mu Lingxi didn’t feel fear or despair at all this. Instead, she felt ineffable joy. She actually wished she never had to return to Kunlun’s Field and face the reality that she couldn’t accept.

Blackie rode on the demon rat’s back and came over. It held an electrically charged metal rope in its claws. The other end was tied to the female Wuchang’s back as Blackie brought her over.

“Did you get anything?” Zhang Ruochen asked.

“Hehe! I can get answers out of anyone if I try personally,” Blackie said. “She’s already provided the location where the god died. It mostly matches the other Wuchang’s answer. We can trust them.”

“Where’s Shi Ren?” Zhang Ruochen continued asking.

“That guy probably doesn’t trust us. He already took the other Wuchang and left.” Blackie huffed.

“I don’t blame him,” Zhang Ruochen said. “After all, we’ve just met and don’t have a deep relationship. He probably saw Captain Rat and Senior Sister Duanmu and thought that we’re from the Demonic Sect, so he left first.”

Anyone would be more careful than usual in a place like the netherworld. Leaving alone was a smart choice on Shi Ren’s part.

“In that case, let’s go too,” Zhang Ruochen said. “Have her lead us to Ghost King Shenchu’s territory.”

This woman was called Wuchang Xinkong. Her cultivation was equal to a human Monk in the beginning of the second level Half-Saint Realm. If she hadn’t underestimated the Ruyi Treasure Bottle’s power, Zhang Ruochen wouldn’t have been able to arrest her alone.

Eyes cold, Wuchang Xinkong said, “Ghost King Shenchu is the ruler of the netherworld’s outer region. All Ghost Kings report to him. It’s suicide to go to his territory.”

“I don’t care if he’s the ruler of the netherworld’s outer region,” Blackie said. “I’m going even if he’s the ruler of the entire netherworld. If you say anything else, I’ll hit you.”

Blackie shook the rope. Dozens of lightning bolts flashed on the chain and whipped down on Wuchang Xinkong.

Crack!

Wuchang Xinkong cried out without stop. Blackie didn’t pull its power back until smoke rose up from Wuchang Xinkong and her body was about to shatter.

As expected, she became much more obedient and didn’t dare to complain again. She walked at the front, leading them to Ghost King Shenchu’s territory.

Zhang Ruochen took a ball of Half-Saint Light out and handed it to Mu Lingxi. “Senior Sister Duanmu, your cultivation hasn’t reached the Ninth Level of the Fish-Dragon Realm, right? This is Half-Saint Light from a Vampire. If you refine it, it should help you improve.”

Mu Lingxi reached out and pushed the box with the Half-Saint Light back. “No need,” she said. “You should keep something so valuable for yourself. I have a Liuli Treasure Pill and can transform into the Liuli Treasure Body at any time to reach the Ninth Change. I won’t be a burden.”

Then she took the Liuli Treasure Pill out and put it in her mouth. During this, her eyes never met Zhang Ruochen’s. She kept a distance from him too.

Zhang Ruochen was silent for a bit before putting the Half-Saint Light away.

He only felt how vast this blood-red land was after entering the netherworld. The tombs seemed to stretch to the end of the world, one after another.

According to Wuchang Xinkong, they were in Ghost King Xinji’s territory. It was 180,000 miles wide and deep.

Ghost King Xinji had already led most of the dead souls across the Corpse River and into the living world. Thus, this dangerous place was now relatively safe.

Yes, “relatively” safe.

The next day, Zhang Ruochen’s group accidentally ran into a ghost cavern. They were surrounded by a large group of shadow soldiers and ghost generals. A very powerful Wuchang had also come out of the cavern. One mere strike gravely injured the demon rat and Mu Lingxi.

They fought bitterly for one whole night before escaping.