Chapter 973: Gates of Hell
Qing Cheng put away the ice flower and said with a serious expression, “You are too troublesome. Since when you are in charge of making decisions? Get Elder Han to come back. Tell him to help me find Soul Returning Grass within one month.”
After getting scolded, Jiang Chengzi could not help being stunned. However, he still followed orders.
Qing Cheng hesitated for a while before saying, “Martial Uncle Feng, continue to follow them. When they reach the Gates of Hell, let me know. I should make a trip to Yellow Springs Road and the Bridge of Helplessness as well.”
After the old man left, Qing Cheng summoned out the Cycle Banner. As she looked at the flickering black Death Qi, she muttered, “With the assistance of this Death Qi, I can break through my bottleneck in one month. Xie Zixuan, when that happens, tell me again whether my spirits are worth using or not.”
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After a night passed, Xiao Chen and the others had recovered back to their peak states. Then, they followed the directions on their map and rushed towards the eighth layer of purgatory.
The group needed to travel through several layers of purgatory in the process. Although each layer of purgatory was now different from how it had been during the Immortal Epoch, the danger had not decreased at all.
Without Qing Cheng leading the way, Xiao Chen’s group slowed down significantly, occasionally ending up taking detours, even stumbling into a few forbidden lands.
Hence, the four used more than twice the time they would have. However, there were benefits too. The “coincidences” stopped happening, and they did not need to fight with any other Ghost Race experts.
After wasting close to a month, they finally arrived at the eighth layer—the Skin Flaying Hell, a dense forest filled with Black Iron Trees.
Skin hung all over the trees, looking very gloomy and sinister. The group carefully walked through the forest, heading towards the place where legend said that death would definitely follow, the land where one would breathe their last.
Nearly no other cultivator could be seen in the eighth layer of purgatory. Neither could other sounds be heard in the forest. The desolation made one feel an extreme pressure.
Furthermore, when the wind blew, the numerous complete skins swayed, looking like they were alive. This sight made everyone’s hair stand on end.
However, even though the group had been on edge the whole way walking over, nothing happened. They arrived right at the shore of Last Breath Lake.
Xiao Chen vaguely felt that something was wrong, so he became even more cautious. Last Breath Lake definitely would live up to its reputation. Otherwise, the term “last dying breath” would not have spread so widely in the world.
The group went through a daunting experience without any mishaps. As they stood at the lakeside, they did not move forward.
Along the way, every layer of purgatory contained a different kind of danger. This Skin Flaying Hell would definitely be no exception.
The water of Last Breath Lake was clear and flat like a mirror. The surface emanated visible traces of cold Qi. When standing at the lakeside, one needed to circulate their energies to resist it. Otherwise, when the cold Qi entered their body and turned into a cold poison, it would be quite problematic.
“What a dense cold Qi! Elder Brother Xiao Chen, where are the Gates of Hell? How do we get there?” Xiao Bai asked Xiao Chen as she gazed at the vast lake.
Qing Cheng had said that the Gates of Hell were in the center of the lake, yet the flat lake surface was all they saw; they could not see any sign of the Gates of Hell.
However, there was an island in the center of the lake. As it was too far, they could only see a vague outline.
Xiao Chen muttered to himself for a while. Then, he made a grabbing motion with his right hand, catching the wind. After that, he formed hand seals with his left, executing the Life Bestowal Spell.
After a while, a figure that closely resembled Xiao Chen landed on the ground.
With the tremendous growth of Xiao Chen’s Magic Energy, he could now execute the Life Bestowal Spell with a casual grab. However, as the raw material was not a spiritual item, it would not have much combat prowess.
Under Xiao Chen’s instruction, this puppet leaped into the air and moved over Last Breath Lake. However, before it landed on the surface, it froze into an ice sculpture.
Then, the ice sculpture landed in the water. At that point, Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense lost connection with it. His expression turned grave despite himself.
Kong Yuan frowned and said, “This cold Qi is extraordinarily horrifying. I believe that if we walk on it, we would only be able to bring out sixty or seventy percent of our strength. If only Qing Cheng were here! She would know what to do.”
With such strong cold Qi, when one stood within it, one would have to constantly expend Law Energy to protect themself. Naturally, they could not bring out their full combat prowess.
Xiao Chen contemplated the situation. A fierce purple fire gathered in his right eye. With a thought, the Purple Thunder True Fire shot out of his right eye, spewing at Last Breath Lake.
Sizzling sounds came continuously from the surface of the water; steam rose endlessly.
The clear lake rapidly evaporated. Soon, a huge pit appeared where the fire landed.
However, the expected whirlpool did not form. Strangely, the lakewater simply silently filled in, and the lake settled down again.
“Never mind, we will not be able to figure out anything this way. I’ll go over and take a look first. You all can come over when I’ve determined that there is no danger.”
With nothing to show for his efforts, Xiao Chen put away the Purple Thunder True Fire and prepared to head over personally.
Yuan Xu said, “Let’s go together. At least we can keep an eye out for each other. I believe that the Gates of Hell are on that island.”
Xiao Chen thought about it and agreed. Given their strength, when they worked together, they would be able to contend with a great grandmaster-level Martial Sage. There was also a possibility that the Gates of Hell were located at the bottom of the center of the lake.
Just at this moment, he casually glanced around and noticed some faint footprints on the ground. Without close scrutiny, these would be very easy to miss.
The others noticed Xiao Chen’s gaze and quickly looked as well, discovering the existence of the footprints.
Someone was here and not just one person.
Xiao Chen made a comparison. The footprints of this group were very similar to those of his group of four. Two of these people left even fainter footprints than his own.
Sometimes, the things left behind by accident spoke the most truthful words.
If this was not done on purpose, the depth of the footprints could give a gauge of a person’s strength and control of their body. Using this, one could determine how powerful the owner of the footprint was.
Xiao Bai said somewhat worriedly, “These people are quite strong. Two of them seem to be great grandmaster-level Martial Sages.
“I wonder, what are they here to do? Could they be here for the Gates of Hell as well?”
Yuan Xu shook his head and replied, “That should not be the case. The Nine Layers of Purgatory births many Yin-attributed flames. This group of people should be here to obtain Yin-attributed flames.”
There were no treasures along the Yellow Springs Road. Normally, no one would head there for no reason at all.
Xiao Chen immediately thought of the Medicine God Valley’s group of people. This is going to be troublesome. I hope that the Yin-attributed flame they are seeking is not at the center of this lake.
“Let’s go!”
Taking the lead, Xiao Chen leaped forward. There was a formless pressure in the air, preventing him from flying. So, he could only walk on the lake surface.
Cold Qi spread throughout the lake surface, immediately freezing his feet.
“This is really problematic.”
Xiao Chen circulated his energies and shattered the ice. Then, he continued heading forward. Xiao Bai and the others followed after him quickly.
As the four traveled on the lake surface, they needed to constantly draw on their Law Energy. Otherwise, the cold Qi would turn them into ice sculptures in mere moments.
Suddenly, Xiao Chen felt like something grabbed his foot. At first, he thought that the cold Qi became denser.
However, a strong pull tugged at him. Only then did Xiao Chen discover that he was wrong. It was actually a skeleton’s hand.
However, how strong was Xiao Chen? A casual move from him could bring out three Dragon Force. How could he be pulled down? He forcefully kicked with his right leg.
There was a splash, and Xiao Chen flung out a Skeleton Phantom made entirely of bones.
“Gagaga! My skin…My skin…”
The skeleton kept crying out, its words unclear. Then, it spun around in the air and headed for Xiao Chen.
“Crack…! Crack…!”
Before Xiao Chen could make a move, Xiao Bai, who was at his side, drew her Snow Feather Sword. Then, she sent out a few strands of sword Qi and chopped the Skeleton Phantom into pieces.
“Elder Brother Xiao Chen, are you alright?!” Xiao Bai asked out of concern.
Xiao Chen waved his hand and said, “I’m fine. Hey, be careful!”
He saw the shattered skeleton reform itself the moment it landed on the water. Then, it charged at Xiao Bai’s back.
Xiao Chen moved forward quickly and shot a beam of light from his fingertip to shatter the skeleton into powder again.
“Go, fast. These things can’t seem to die!”
Right after Xiao Chen spoke, Skeleton Phantoms rose one after another from the lake surface. They blocked the group from leaving, eerily repeating “my skin…my skin…”
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Xiao Chen worked on opening a path in front. He had to deal with the overwhelming cold Qi from the lake as well as the skeletons flying in front—which made advancing very arduous.
The Skeleton Phantoms did not seem to die; more continuously appeared. The more they “killed,” the more appeared. After four hours, they had managed to travel no more than five kilometers. There was still a long distance to go to the island at the center.
If they exhausted their energy before they reached the island, they would really be taking their last breath.
The Skeleton Phantoms were not very strong. At best, they equaled peak Martial Monarchs. However, they would not die and came in large numbers. An Inferior Grade Martial Sage who came here would get worn down very quickly.
Kong Yuan said with a somewhat tremorous voice, “Could it be that the skeletons of the people whose skins were flayed in the Skin Flaying Hell were all thrown into this lake?”
The group thought about the densely packed skins in the forest. There was a horrifying number of them, at least a million.
The formless pressure in the air remained constant. The Last Breath Lake below Xiao Chen felt like a prison with the sky as the roof and the water as the floor.
Before these undying creatures, it felt like all Martial Techniques, no matter how strong, were useless.
Earlier, Yuan Xu and the others executed Heaven Ranked Martial Techniques that had a large area of effect. However, the Phantoms came back to life in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, their Law Energy drained significantly.
The group frowned after that and no longer dared to use Law Energy unnecessarily.
Just as the group thought about retreating, Xiao Chen suddenly recalled that he still had in his Universe Ring a Reincarnation Lamp, which was specially used to kill spirits and Phantoms.
“Protect me. I will knock back these Phantoms!”
The eyes of Xiao Bai and the other two lit up. Then, they stood guard at different sides, surrounding Xiao Chen and not letting the Skeleton Phantoms interrupt him.
The Reincarnation Lamp appeared in Xiao Chen’s palm. Then, he gently flicked his finger, sending a drop of essence blood onto the lamp wick.
A swaying lantern flame lit up. Rings of light appeared behind the ancient lamp. As Xiao Chen used his Magic Energy, the illusory figure in the light slowly became distinct.
“The immortal Dao brings life, cleansing the sins of countless people; when reading the scriptures once, the sages of the world praise it for being benevolent; when reading the scriptures twice, withered bones come to life; when reading the scriptures thrice, sin is cleansed, and one undergoes reincarnation…”
The illusory figure exuded an immortal atmosphere. He opened his mouth and read the mysterious scripture, which contained the Dao of reincarnating ghosts and the power to cleanse the masses of sin.
The thousands of Skeleton Phantoms suddenly stopped moving and shattered. Clumps of gentle spiritual light soared into the sky.
These spiritual lights took human form. Some looked like scholars, some merchants, some chivalrous people, and many others, showing the mortal world under heaven.