Chapter 1556
1556 Xia Di in Trouble!
After a long voyage of seventeen days, the two warships turned onto a quiet path. At the end of this branch was an extremely small path, so small that warships couldn’t enter. Xia Fan and the others had no choice but to leave their warships. Even with their astonishing speed, they had to race along for another four days and four nights, traveling through the maze-like ant tunnels before finally catching sight of a mystical continent.
During this process, the Demonic Ant’s avatars would constantly appear to guide them. When they arrived at the continent, the Demonic Ant’s avatar said, “You’ve arrived. This is the River of the Underworld. Many, many years ago, I was just a puny ant on the other side. But thanks to a lucky chance, I was able to cross the Underworld River and reach the Middle Realm. Now you may take the path I used to get here to reach the other side. If you’re lucky enough, you will find other members of the Skywings there.”
Xia Fan was stunned. This river seemed boundless, like a transparent belt floating atop the land. The river’s waters were very shallow, not even reaching the knees of an adult human. In the center of the river, a wall of light divided it in two.
Their side was the dark Celestial Path, with rocky shores and steep cliffs. The thin crack in the cliff was the path the Skywings had taken to get here.
!!
But on the other side of the river was an endless plain illuminated by sunlight and caressed by gentle breezes. There were goldfish in the water, and numerous scallops and frogs on the shore. Butterflies and dragonflies paused atop the wildflowers growing along the shore. Suddenly, a gray sparrow dove from the sky, causing the red dragonflies to scatter. But one unlucky dragonfly moved a little too slow and became a meal for the sparrow.
Everyone walked into the water. The waters of the river beneath their feet were black and cold, feeling like run-off from a snowy mountain, but the river on the other side flowed with sunlight and was full of little fish and turtles.
Traveling Buddha remarked, “Could we be wrong? Why do I feel like our side is Hell?”
The others were also confused. According to the division of the Three Realms, they should have resided in the Human Realm, and the place on the other side was the Nether Realm. But in reality, the Human Realm was pitch-black and utterly devoid of life, while the Nether Realm that was called Hell was brimming over with vitality and awash in sunlight. The massive contrast couldn’t help but make one suspect that one had been living their entire life in Hell, unaware of the truth.
The Demonic Ant didn’t go down into the water. Standing on the shore, he said sternly, “There is no mistake. No matter what you can see, that continent on the other side is the place known as Hell.”
Dubious, everyone nevertheless prepared to cross the Underworld River. However, they were quickly stopped by the wall of light in the middle. The transparent wall seemed to be insubstantial, but it was actually tough and impenetrable. A supreme force that transcended all other powers in the universe completely divided the two worlds.
—
Xia Di grew abnormally excited. He could sense someone calling his name, could sense a power like an invisible hand giving him a gentle push on the back. His body instantly lost its balance, and when he regained his balance, he discovered that he was already on the other side of the river. His father, Xia Fan, and Uncle Xia Yu were all on the other side. They were in darkness, and they seemed to be saying something, but Xia Di couldn’t hear them.
Was he the only one who had managed the incredible feat of crossing into the Nether Realm?
Xia Di felt a fear deep in his bones. He wanted to return to his father’s side, but the invisible wall stopped him. Xia Di ran at it with all his strength, but he was fiercely bounced back.
Xia Di began to realize the gravity of the situation. He could not return, and his father and Xia Fan couldn’t come through. This transparent wall had put him and his family in two separate worlds. Although they were right in front of him, he was incapable of holding his father’s hands. A deep sense of loneliness engulfed him, the croaks of the frogs on the shores giving him goosebumps.
—
“Xia Di!” Xia Geng screamed. He created some distance and then propelled himself forward with his legs, moving at maximum speed in the hope of breaching the wall, but the invisible wall pushed him back again and again.
Everyone tried. The Skywings used their speed, Pearl and Flame Swallow used their ice and flames, the Water Elementals turned into small water molecules to try and travel through any cracks in the wall, and the giant warrior Jammu used his six-meter-long alloy hammer to pound away. As for Prophet Snow, he closed his eyes and attempted to hear the voices on the side, and Tamu released his guardian God of Light, but even his Light could not penetrate through the wall.
—
More than an hour passed, but despite all their efforts, nothing worked. The powerful Skywings had joined together in the Wolf Pack Formation, charging at the wall again and again with frenzied speed, but the Barrier still bounced them back.
Xia Geng’s world collapsed. He grabbed the Demonic Ant standing on the shore, his eyes red. He wanted to tear the ant apart, but the Demonic Ant said calmly, “I said before that not everyone has the right to enter the Nether Realm. Xia Fei and the others must have been led to the Nether Realm. Someone opened a door for the Skywing main force. But your group lacks the special ability needed to cross the Realm Barrier.”
Crack!
Xia Geng was like a crazed beast, tearing the Demonic Ant apart. But it was only an avatar of the Demonic Ant. Not even Xia Geng killing all of the Demonic Ants in the universe could move him.
“A special ability?” Xia Fan muttered. He suddenly remembered something. He seemed to have an ability that he had never used before, the Law of Gold. Saiga had been very interested in the Law of Gold, threatening the lives of the Disasters to force Xia Fan to hand it over.
At this moment, there was a shout of alarm.
Xia Di, all alone on the other side of the Underworld River, had run into a problem. The chaos had drawn the attention of the Nether Realm, and a group of warriors mounted on strange birds was approaching.
They wore black armor, wielded spears, and sat upon eagles with cat heads. The black cathead eagles flapped their wings, easily crossing thirty thousand meters per second and reaching Xia Di in the blink of an eye.
“Run!” Xia Geng shouted hoarsely. His son could see his father’s mouth move, but he couldn’t hear his voice.
Before Xia Geng could react, a net made of light descended. It appeared to have some ability to track prey, and as Xia Di began to flee, the net of light lunged at him and closed over his small body before swiftly flying back into the sky.
It wasn’t like every Skywing could be like Xia Fan and his father, possessing the ability to accelerate on a curved trajectory. The vast majority of Skywings were skilled in traveling in straight lines, and Xia Fan’s straight trajectory had brought him straight into the net rather than letting him escape. The six warriors flew off into the horizon, vanishing without a trace.
“Aaaaagggh!!!” Xia Geng screamed and then fainted, his body going stiff as it dropped into the cold river water. With a thud, water splashed everywhere.
Everyone quickly carried him to the shore. Xia Geng was a powerful Law War God, so his body would never die. But there was a huge problem with his mind. His consciousness was confused, as if he had returned to that painful night where Mei Mei had seemingly turned into a different person and left him, taking all of Xia Geng’s hopes with her.
The warriors erupted in unprecedented fury!
Just when they were about to rush at the wall, prepared to break it down or die, they suddenly saw Xia Fan enclosed in goldenight. This was a completely different power from the Battle Buddha’s Golden Light. The Law of Gold was very dim, but Xia Fan had a transcendent aura about him, and his face seemed particularly clear and distinct.
Xia Fan pushed with his legs, looking to see if his body enclosed in the Law of Gold could pass through the Realm Barrier. He wasn’t sure this would work at all, for the Law of Gold didn’t seem to be that powerful. It had only increased all of Xia Fan’s attributes by five percent, far from a divine level.
But as his body slightly trembled, Xia Fan discovered that he really had crossed through the Barrier. The light dazzled his eyes while the water under his feet grew warmer, and he could hear the croaking of frogs in his ear.
“I got through!?”
Xia Fan looked at his hands in disbelief. A dragonfly flew past Xia Fan, and he grabbed it. The dragonfly struggled in his hand a few times before finally ceasing to move. He threw the corpse into the river, where it was carried away by the current.
Xia Fan looked at the other side. Although he couldn’t hear their voices, he could tell from their worried expressions and movements that they hoped that he would go and save Xia Di. The Skywings had always been few in number, and the seven-year-old child was a junior that all of them liked. Moreover, the Skywing had never abandoned anyone. Since Xia Fan had somehow managed to get through the realm barrier, it was now his mission to save Xia Di.
“Understood,” Xia Fan whispered with a nod.
His eyes resolved, he firmly nodded at everyone and then closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath, letting the air of the Nether Realm fill his lungs as he used his Scent ability to find Xia Di’s trail!