Chapter 29 Netherworld
Chapter 29: Netherworld
“Young Mistress, are you alright?”
“Senior Sister Gu, where is this…”
The light from the Lulan Sword and Autumn Lady Sword was like fireflies in the night amid this intimidating darkness.
Surrounded and engulfed, they seemed likely to be extinguished at any moment.
By now, they were no longer at Star Moon Pavilion. What they stepped on was a hard surface with a slightly damp feeling.
This space seemed like a huge cavity. The sword light could not penetrate the iron-heavy dark curtain at all. Looking around, there was only emptiness.
“This place is likely not the mortal world… it should be another space like the Black Bronze Gate that you and Luohe visited before, Young Mistress.”
Gu Jing said while looking around.
If they couldn’t see above, they would look below…
Gu Jing placed the Autumn Lady Sword beneath her, and saw that under their feet was a vast bronze road of unknown destination.
On this bronze road flowed crimson blood.
The sword in her hand, compared to Luo Hongyu’s Lulan Sword, was significantly dimmer.
Gu Jing brought it to her chest and softly said to it:
“I know you think I’m unworthy to be your master, but at this moment… I need you, and the Young Mistress needs you too.”
“Please.”
“…”
“Thank you.”
Gu Jing silently thanked the Autumn Lady Sword, then mobilized all her spiritual energy, infused it into the sword, and thrust it forcefully toward the sky.
The pure spiritual energy exploded above their heads, like countless star fragments scattering to the earth.
Luo Hongyu looked up and saw this sky-piercing sword strike from Gu Jing.
She also saw on the dome constructed of bronze coffins, countless evil ghosts—too many to count—obscuring the sky, with limbs in their mouths, silently watching them.
Gu Jing’s skyward sword light quickly dispersed in the darkness, and this coffin world returned to silence.
As if everything just seen did not exist, as if nothing had happened.
“Living people?”
Suddenly, a hoarse, rough voice, distorted as if pieced together from multiple people, rang out.
“Gak gak gak gak…”
Then, mixed and sharp teeth-grinding laughter came from all directions.
“Where is this, and what are you creatures?”
Luo Hongyu asked toward the source of the voice, her expression unchanged, gripping her Lulan Sword tightly.
“Me? I am the master of this netherworld…”
“As for this place, it’s a dining table, and you’ll soon become our main course!!”
“Living human blood food, it’s been hundreds of years since I’ve tasted it! Hahahahaha!”
Along with this frenzied shout, terrifying sounds of ghost wails and wolf howls came from all directions.
The ghosts that had been crouching on top now jumped down, and heavy death energy instantly surrounded Gu Jing and Luo Hongyu.
“Young Mistress, stand behind me.”
Facing these evil ghosts that seemed to have congealed into mist, Gu Jing fully displayed her Enlightenment Realm cultivation.
She released a cage of sharp sword energy around her body, destroying all approaching evil ghosts.
But how could dead souls be killed by the swords of the living? Those ghosts that were cut into smoke reformed shortly after, and again pounced forward with strange cries.
In less than a moment, Gu Jing and Luo Hongyu were completely surrounded by dense shadows of evil ghosts, and even her sword light could not penetrate this ghost wall.
“Eat them for me!!”
The voice of the Netherworld Master still echoed here.
“Senior Sister Gu, our sword techniques can’t kill them. We can’t waste spiritual energy here.”
In the area cleared by Gu Jing, Luo Hongyu carefully examined the ground, then turned to Gu Jing and said:
“There’s a path here that leads downward. Senior Sister Gu, follow me.”
Hearing this, Gu Jing quickly withdrew the Autumn Lady Sword, not forgetting to send a silent, sharp sword strike toward the voice of the Netherworld Master.
“Ah!! Haha, well struck, well struck!”
A pained voice came from that direction. Gu Jing’s eyes flashed with doubt, then she followed Luo Hongyu into the deep darkness.
…
Gu Jing and Luo Hongyu fought and retreated, forcibly using spiritual energy to almost completely disperse some ghosts, and only now had they barely gained a moment to catch their breath.
During this journey, they also discovered that seriously injured ghosts would mercilessly pounce on their companions, tearing their souls and swallowing them to reform their bodies.
This place full of evil ghosts could not possibly be the Underworld belonging to the Three Realms.
Ghosts eating humans, ghosts eating ghosts—what exactly was this “netherworld” the Netherworld Master spoke of…
“Young Mistress, please regulate your breath first. I’ll keep watch.”
“Mm.”
At this moment, the two were inside a small thatched cottage.
Obviously, in this coffin world, no evil ghost would have the leisure to build a thatched cottage, so the two deduced this must belong to some unfortunate living person who, like them, had been drawn into this place.
There was a still-effective concealment array around the cottage. If Gu Jing hadn’t been well-versed in such things, they might have missed this place.
Luo Hongyu sat cross-legged in the center of the cottage, adjusting her state.
Of course, where they were wasn’t important right now; what mattered was how to get out.
On this point, both were still completely in the dark.
The Netherworld Master seemed able to speak human language, but getting information from him… he wasn’t as reasonable as Su Huanhuan.
And staying here would be tantamount to seeking death.
Though those small ghosts were individually weak, with a sword strike’s residual power able to disperse their bodies, no matter how strong the women were, there would eventually come a time when their spiritual energy was completely exhausted.
What should they do…
“Young Mistress, I believe those people who came today were manipulated by Huoxin to set up the array.”
“Mm.”
“When I killed the first one, I sensed that the array wasn’t meant to transfer us here, but rather served as a passage to temporarily bring us here.”
“If we can hold out until the array caster can no longer maintain it, we can naturally leave this place.”
“But that would be too late.”
Luo Hongyu opened her eyes and slowly answered.
By now, Huoxin’s purpose was clear.
She hadn’t used the demonic seed to kill her before, and now she likely wanted to delay, making her miss the Ascension Meeting and remain at the Golden Core stage.
Then, follow up with other killing moves.
So, she needed to get out quickly.
Luo Hongyu stood up and looked at Gu Jing.
“Senior Sister Gu’s Autumn Lady Sword seems more powerful than usual.”
“…Because I asked for its help.”
“Is that so?”
Luo Hongyu looked at the Lulan Sword in her hand, and it brightened for a moment with her thoughts.
“…Young Mistress, we can’t stay here long, quick…”
Gu Jing suddenly froze, quickly turning to grab Luo Hongyu’s hand.
At the same time, the ground beneath their feet began to shake, and a huge silhouette, visible even in the darkness, appeared in the distance.
“Gak gak, don’t run, you two. Living people entering the land of the dead… hahaha, just accept your fate.”
The mocking, hoarse voice of the Netherworld Master came again, and at the same time, that silhouette revealed its true appearance.
It was a giant flesh mountain composed of countless evil ghost bodies, carrying the wailing wind.
“Before, there were cultivators stronger than you who came to my netherworld.”
“Hehe, not just Golden Core, not just Enlightenment…”
“But their bones are buried here now.”
“You, you, will be no exception…”
The intermittent voice of the Netherworld Master came through. Gu Jing looked at the monstrous entity before her, with countless distorted faces of suffering twisted together, and took a deep breath.
“Young Mistress, what he says might be true. The skeleton of this monster… seems indeed to be forged from the remains of a Nascent Soul cultivator.”
“Does Senior Sister Gu have confidence?”
“…As one of the Seven Swords of Tianzhen, though I may be unworthy of my position, I cannot tarnish its name.”
“Such an evil entity must not be allowed to touch the Young Mistress in the slightest.”
The Autumn Lady Sword in Gu Jing’s hand surged with great momentum as she walked toward the flesh mountain.