Chapter 285: The Loneliness Deep Within the Earth's Core

Something beneath the soil began to breathe. That was the source detected by the seismograph.

The rock strata surged upwards then violently plunged, shattering large patches of gallows-like bone trees. The flying bone fragments instantly killed the scale-less human-dragons.

This 'breathing' seemed to have occurred many times, as many surrounding peaks were already warped and appeared ready to tilt and collapse at any moment.

Though the Valley of Divine Fissure was on the verge of collapse, it hadn't completely caved in.

"Is there something alive down there?" Ning Changjiu asked, looking at the cracked rocks beneath his feet.

Li He said, "Is Tianzang still alive? Were they not completely killed?"

Ning Changjiu replied, "Gods should not die..."

Li He recalled Zhang Heng's words and said, "Perhaps their stars must be destroyed to truly kill them."

Ning Changjiu asked, "But the stars are far beyond the heavens; how can they be destroyed?"

Li He shook his head without speaking.

"Let's go inside and see first," Ning Changjiu said.

Li He casually gestured, and the shattered white bones on the ground assembled into a sword-boat.

The two stepped onto the sword-boat.

The sword-boat sailed into the path opened by prospectors many years ago. The path was initially wide, with umbrella-like bone mushrooms growing on the rock walls. Rat-like creatures scurried across the walls, gnawing on the bones and emitting crisp crunching sounds.

As their figures passed, the rat-like imps scattered.

From the cavern leading to the earth's core, a dark, netherworld aura slowly drifted out.

"This doesn't look like Tianzang's domain; it's more like the Underworld Monarch's," Ning Changjiu remarked, observing the emanating aura of death.

The bone boat dispersed the Styx-like aura of death, moving deeper inside.

Li He held two fingers upright before him, and his sword domain expanded around them.

The deep cavern plunged almost like a sheer cliff.

The wooden ladders hanging on the rock walls were still decayed, and at the base of the cliff, bones were piled into small mountains.

The bone boat carried them down to the bottom of the cliff.

Above the cavern, beams of light leaked down through the crevices.

They continued forward.

From the gloomy depths ahead, the sound of water could be heard.

Beneath the sword-boat, a massive rock fault appeared, from which murky river water surged.

The river water resembled molten gold, semi-solid and semi-liquid. Above it, an aura of death rose like a black mist, bubbling and producing foam in the seemingly heavy water. This gas was extremely corrosive; even a slight touch could rot skin to the bone.

"Someone's ahead," Li He said.

After crossing another cliff-like fault, the river water cascaded down beside them.

Below, faint dark figures scurried like ants.

Ning Changjiu looked down.

They were the human-dragon monsters from outside, still clad in human-like clothes. Their exposed bodies were putrid, silver-black. Their faces were devoid of flesh, their skull-like eyes hollow. Long, horse-like neck ribs jutted out, and their dangling hands, from within their sleeves, resembled tree roots.

They hunched over, crawling along the river, their movements slow and aimless.

Along the way, some monsters stumbled and fell into the river, swallowed by the murky water. They wailed in the water, instantly dragged into the depths, but the other monsters were accustomed to it and paid them no mind.

"What exactly happened here?" Ning Changjiu's voice grew cold.

Li He, being of a higher realm, could peer into the deepest parts of the darkness.

"It looks like a village inside," Li He said. "That must be the village built by the gold prospectors who came here."

As the bone sword-boat passed overhead, the creatures below seemed to sense it. They all raised and stretched their necks, letting out a synchronized cry: "Save... save... save..."

They waved their emaciated arms, their utterances sharp and monotonous.

The sword-boat shattered, and Li He and Ning Changjiu landed.

"How did you become like this?" Li He seemed to be trying to communicate with them.

Their minds were not completely extinguished, as they understood Li He's words. They all extended their hands, pointing towards the depths of the great river.

Ning Changjiu looked at their backs.

Only then did he realize they were carrying something on their backs. At first, he thought they were tumors, but now he saw they were dark golden stones, one after another.

"Are you slaves?" Ning Changjiu asked.

A human-dragon monster stretched its neck and nodded forcefully.

Ning Changjiu continued, "Who is enslaving you?"

The human-dragon monsters seemed to be afraid; they trembled and dared not respond, but their eyes involuntarily turned towards the depths.

"Save... save..."

They could only make such sounds, as if these were their last words before dying as humans.

Ning Changjiu pointed behind them and said, "The barrier outside has been lifted; you can leave."

The monsters remained motionless, unresponsive, either not understanding or fearing the entity at the end of the murky river.

Li He gently shook his head, looking at their pathetic state.

Tens of thousands of people had been transformed into this state. Who was it that seduced them? Could it be that Tianzang was not only still alive but had also become a ferocious demon?

"If you want to live, go back," Li He said.

After all, they were once of the same kind, and he still didn't want them to die, neither human nor ghost, at the hands of demons.

As he spoke, Li He thrust his sword behind him.

The terrifying momentum of a peak-level sword strike carved a huge incline into the cliff-like mountain body, and through the end of this incline, the cavern's light shone through.

After delivering that sword strike, Li He no longer concerned himself with their choice and walked deeper with Ning Changjiu.

Along the way, they witnessed countless tragic scenes.

Some human-dragon monsters writhed like worms, rushing into the river water, uttering prayer-like syllables, then were submerged by the golden liquid, their bones and flesh decaying. Other monsters, seemingly injured, lay on the ground, licking each other's wounds until their tongues also rotted. Some even tore open their own skin and stuffed in broken stones as if they were flesh. None of them were intact; they didn't resemble humans, or even monsters.

"Help... help..."

As Ning Changjiu passed a bone house, its door suddenly opened, and a monster rushed out, calling out to them loudly.

Ning Changjiu stopped.

He looked at the monster. Its body was relatively intact and didn't seem too severely corroded, still retaining its sanity. Its twisted expression was extremely painful, and it let out a sound like an old woman on her deathbed.

"Save me..." the monster cried out urgently.

Ning Changjiu asked, "What exactly happened to you?"

The monster replied, "The water in this river... the sacred water... we were deceived. Everyone who drank it turned into monsters... We can't get out."

Ning Changjiu asked, "Where does this river lead? Who is enslaving you?"

The monster pondered for a long time before understanding his question, then replied, "A god... a god deceived us."

"Which god?" Ning Changjiu asked.

The monster opened its mouth wide and said, "Dragon... dragon..."

Ning Changjiu and Li He exchanged glances.

"Could we be in the wrong place?" Li He said. "Luoshu, after all, is a sacred artifact that created the world; it couldn't possibly be hidden in a place like this, could it?"

"Let's go take a look first," Ning Changjiu said.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Li He said. "I know you're not afraid of death, but I am."

"I'm also afraid of death," Ning Changjiu said.

"Is there someone you don't want to forget?" Li He asked.

Ning Changjiu didn't answer, merely saying, "Sir, you have done more than enough by bringing me here. I will walk the rest of the path myself."

Li He smiled and said, "Never mind. I've been dead for a long time anyway, so there's no harm in going in to see. To behold an ancient deity would be to die without regrets."

The nearby monster listened to their conversation, its face full of pain. It stretched out its scale-less claw, repeating, "Save me, save me..."

"The path outside is open; you can leave," Li He said.

The monster paused for a moment, then, profusely grateful, crawled out towards the exit.

Ning Changjiu sighed, "In this world, they'll be hard-pressed to escape death no matter where they go."

Li He nodded, "Even if they die, they should at least die in the light."

Ning Changjiu remained noncommittal.

Ahead, the contamination grew more severe. Weeds growing on the rocky ground resembled black human hair.

They seemed to be standing on a giant skull.

"Watch out above," Li He warned.

Ning Changjiu looked up, and eight eerie red eyes stared back at him.

It was a giant spider. As Ning Changjiu looked at it, the spider suddenly lunged, its two massive fangs falling like guillotine blades from beneath its raised body.

Sword light, like a white river, swept before them.

Ning Changjiu and Li He simultaneously drew their swords, instantly slaying the spider.

Countless liquids exploded forth, splattering onto the walls. The viscous fluid corroded the rocks, and spider silk, bursting like fireworks, stretched before them like steel. From its abdomen, countless small spiders rained down densely, like a hair-raising downpour.

At the same time, the skull-like ground beneath their feet cracked open, and numerous tentacles coiled upwards. These soft tentacles were covered with skulls, each emitting a sharp wail.

The ground beneath their feet transformed into an abyss.

Ning Changjiu and Li He were instantly flung down, plummeting into the depths of the abyss.

Li He instantly drew his sword, severing all the spider silk before him. Ning Changjiu likewise ignited his sword-fire, concealing himself within the interwoven sword energy of reality and illusion. The falling spiders exploded into pulp upon contact with the sword domain, and the surrounding area sounded like popping beans.

They both looked back and discovered that the path they had taken was beginning to collapse.

Someone had blocked their retreat, seemingly wanting them to proceed deeper.

Li He didn't hesitate, immediately transforming his sword energy into chains and, at the same time, setting an anchor point in the void to pull himself violently forward.

But it was too late.

The void they were in acted like a crystal, encasing them as they violently sank downwards.

In their ears, countless wails and screams echoed shrilly.

"There's really a river... these gold pieces, just a little bit could last a lifetime, couldn't they?"

"Fools! What use is gold now? Only power can truly let us live..."

"Power? Where would that power come from?"

"This is holy water. Washing your body with it can heal any wounds and defects. Drinking it can transform you into an ancient dragon, granting eternal life... begin your prayers."

"Don't mind the fools outside; since they refuse to believe us, let's claim this power for ourselves!"

"The prophecy has come true; we've really turned into dragons..."

"But why are there no scales or claws? Ah... it hurts, it hurts!"

"Ahhhhh..."

"Help... help me..."

Wails and screams rose and fell around them, like black waves that could engulf the sky at any moment.

Ning Changjiu's realm was still too shallow; he felt countless hands grasping at his soul, each like a drowning person, trying to tear his soul into countless fragments.

Ning Changjiu closed his eyes, his powerful mind finding a point in his sea of consciousness, firmly anchoring himself there.

It was a red sun, encircled by black crows.

The red sun dispersed the wails near its center, stabilizing his spirit.

The two figures crashed down.

Li He enveloped himself in sword energy, while Ning Changjiu used golden light to dispel some of the darkness.

Falling from a great height, they didn't shatter but landed on a massive platform. The platform was surprisingly soft, like partially decayed flesh.

Ning Changjiu pressed his fingers to his forehead, calming his still-rattled mind.

He slowly stood up and exhaled.

"Are you alright?" Li He asked.

Ning Changjiu gently shook his head: "I'm fine."

Despite his words, his steps were noticeably unsteady.

"Where are we?" Ning Changjiu opened his eyes and looked upwards; his sword-gaze could no longer reach the top.

"This should be the deepest part of the Valley of Divine Fissure... that thing just breathed again," Li He said.

Ning Changjiu recalled the sudden cataclysm and asked, "Was that Tianzang's 'Collapse'?"

"Possibly," Li He replied.

Ning Changjiu said with slight anger, "What is it doing? Does it want to bury itself alive?"

"Perhaps," Li He said. "It's something that has been dead for over two thousand years; even if it were alive, it would probably be insane by now."

Ning Changjiu raised his hand, and a flame ignited between his fingers.

Holding it like a lamp, he looked around, his face pale.

"It seems there's only one path left," Ning Changjiu said, looking at the jagged stone path ahead.

Li He nodded, "Then let's go forward."

"I keep feeling that something is waiting for me," Ning Changjiu said.

Li He frowned, "It's likely a demon trying to lure us in, but don't worry. I've cultivated to the peak of the Five Paths; in this world, aside from the ancient gods and the God-Lord, I should have no rivals. At the very least, I can protect our lives."

"I believe you," Ning Changjiu nodded.

Li He nodded and walked deeper along the sole path.

The path was wide.

On both sides flowed dirty, turbid water. This water was clearly formed from immensely precious mineral deposits, but after long exposure to the netherworld aura, it emitted a foul stench.

Ning Changjiu and Li He walked silently into the depths.

In the river, bubbles occasionally surfaced, with bone-dissolving pulp churning within them.

"This looks like a corpse," Ning Changjiu suddenly said.

"What?" Li He asked, puzzled.

Ning Changjiu pointed at the ground beneath their feet and said, "This, it looks like a corpse."

Li He looked down at his feet.

Beneath their feet was a path formed by arched rocks, rising abruptly from the highly corrosive water and leading to an unknown destination.

Li He bent down and touched the rock beneath his feet. Sword energy condensed at his fingertip, and he struck out with a sword.

Only a few flakes of the rock's surface peeled away.

Li He frowned.

He had already thought these rocks were hard, but he hadn't expected them to be this hard.

He immediately understood: "Is this Tianzang?"

"Yes, this could be its body," Ning Changjiu nodded.

Li He's eyes narrowed, first showing panic in his pupils, then the fear dissipated, and he said, "This actually makes me feel at ease."

"Why?" Ning Changjiu asked.

Li He said, "This indicates that Tianzang is completely dead. The one who tricked tens of thousands of villagers into becoming miners is likely a thief attempting to steal Tianzang's power. Someone who dares not fight in the outside world and comes here to steal Tianzang's power, yet has achieved no results for so many years—how formidable can such a thief be?"

Ning Changjiu looked at him for a moment, then nodded, "Perhaps."

He looked at the water in the surrounding pools and sighed, "This is the fate of ordinary people who seek power far beyond their own."

Li He nodded, "Indeed. That's why even though I entered the Five Paths, I never pursued true immortality."

"Why?" Ning Changjiu asked.

Li He said, "As I've said, no one wishes to remain forever, but for living beings, true immortality is an impossible path, even after successful ascension."

Ning Changjiu asked, "Then why do you cultivate diligently?"

Li He sighed, "I want to traverse the misty Five Sacred Mountains, see all the scenic beauty, drink wine, write poetry, until the day I die."

"How is that different from an ordinary person?" Ning Changjiu asked.

"I can live a few hundred years longer than ordinary people, see more, read more... This doesn't conflict with my disinterest in immortality, because I understand better than Qiu Ziguan that the other side of immortality is death," Li He said.

After saying this, Li He said no more and walked deeper.

Ning Changjiu watched his retreating figure, his gaze deep.

The dragon-like, serpent-like path ended in a cliff, so they had to ascend along the cliff face. Along the way, they killed many more giant spiders, severing their steel-like webs into the netherworld river.

At the end of the path was an iron-forged cage.

Li He turned his hand into a blade, cut open the cage, and walked deeper inside.

All along the way, countless things seemed to try and hinder their progress. Their initial hesitant hearts grew firmer with each obstacle.

They became increasingly convinced that whatever was hidden deep within was afraid of them, which was why it had set up so many defenses to impede their entry.

They broke through several more barriers in succession.

The netherworld aura grew heavier.

They entered the deepest part.

This seemed to be the final chamber.

Like many ancient ruins, this square chamber had smoothly polished walls adorned with colorful murals depicting history.

"That's..." Ning Changjiu's gaze was drawn to the murals. He immediately reacted, saying in an astonished voice, "Are those murals of gods?"

Li He also scrutinized them.

"These are the Four Gods," he concluded.

Li He floated forward to the first painting above. The first depiction was of a giant turtle. Its head was like a rocky mountain, with backward-curving horns, a mouth like a crocodile's, and seaweed-like whiskers dangling from its jaw. Its four elephantine legs plunged into the seawater like pillars of heaven, supporting it on the earth. Its back resembled an entire island, covered with sky-piercing peaks, and from its very center, thick smoke billowed like a volcanic eruption.

"This is Xuanze," Li He said.

The second painting depicted a massive city tower.

The city tower stretched out infinitely, with wooden burls as steps and a floating colossal city as its arms. Its open gates resembled a mouth, and it took Ning Changjiu a long time to find its eyes, which were hidden within two coiled horns, silently closed.

"This is Sui Puti," Li He said.

The third painting was relatively simple: an entire desert, from which a gigantic divine bird soared. The turbulent, rushing Arid River formed its tail feathers. Though simple, its lines were full of extreme tension, carrying a haughty beauty.

Needless to say, this was the Arid River Dragon Sparrow, which later underwent nirvana to become the Vermillion Bird God.

The fourth depicted a coiled divine dragon, holding a candle flame in its mouth.

That colossal dragon exhausted all human imagination for powerful dragon symbols. Its scales and sharp claws were perfectly rendered, surpassing all later sculptures, and its ancient, profound, and divine sword-like horns seemed like an eternal totem.

This was Zhulong (Torch Dragon).

"Why are Tianzang and the Underworld Monarch not here?" Li He voiced their shared confusion.

Ning Changjiu looked deeper into the chamber and said, "There."

Li He shifted his position, peering into the depths from Ning Changjiu's vantage point.

In the deepest and highest part, there was another mural.

It depicted two entwined figures.

The golden colossal dragon's back was covered with dense, blade-like protrusions. These blades lay neatly against its skin, as if careful not to harm its companion.

The other was a feathered serpent, its body entirely black. On its back, covered in dark scales, were beautiful, ethereal white wings gently embracing the other figure.

These were Tianzang and the Underworld Monarch!

They seemed to be copulating, but gods cannot procreate; this looked more like an outpouring of affection.

"Weren't Tianzang and the Underworld Monarch ancient deities locked in an endless struggle? How can this be?" Li He felt his common sense challenged. In the past, his poetry had even referenced these adversaries to demonstrate his resolve.

But they were actually a pair of divine lovers?

Ning Changjiu also showed a slightly astonished expression.

"Perhaps someone tampered with the myth," Ning Changjiu said.

"Who?" Li He asked.

Ning Changjiu replied, "It should be the god who truly fought them to the death back then."

Li He frowned, unable to grasp that period of history.

Ning Changjiu voiced his intuition: "Something is waiting for us ahead."

"Are you sure you still want to go on?" Li He asked.

He looked at the divine paintings on the wall, guessing that the entity awaiting them was far from simple, possibly connected to these primordial deities.

"Let's go," Ning Changjiu said.

Li He closed his eyes, calmed his sword heart, and chuckled freely, "My young friend is indeed magnanimous. Alas, my temperament isn't like Qiu Ziguan's; no matter what realm I cultivate to, I always have some fear of death."

Ning Changjiu placed his hand on the door.

He put all his strength into it.

It wouldn't open.

"Let me help you," Li He said.

Together, they pushed the door open.

Ning Changjiu stopped.

It was a purgatory, and the end of the murky river's flow.

From the central magma, a sleeping head emerged. Even though it was dead, the head still possessed the majestic beauty unique to a deity.

It was Tianzang's head.

On the head, a blurry figure stood with its back to them.

"I've been waiting for you for so long; you're finally here." The figure became clearer. She turned her head, holding a scroll, and smiled sweetly, "Daddy, you almost lost me."

The childish, smiling face was so familiar.

It was Qiu Yue.

Without any hesitation, Ning Changjiu drew his sword.

His sword was not aimed at Qiu Yue, but at Li He beside him.

His sword pierced through Li He's body, while Li He's sword only managed to embed a small tip into Ning Changjiu's chest.

Both wanted to kill the other.

Li He looked up, his face full of shock and confusion. He saw a golden Asura manifestation behind Ning Changjiu and said, "This is Asura? You're an Asura? So you've been hiding it all along."

This was a world of the mind.

The Asura Divine Record was one of the pinnacles of mental power. Its concentrated power was enough to pierce through most illusory beings in the Luoshu world.

Including Li He, who was at the peak of the Five Paths.

Yet, even during the life-or-death moment of falling into the abyss earlier, he hadn't used it.

He had always been wary of Li He.

"When did you start suspecting me?" Li He sighed.

"From the very beginning," Ning Changjiu said. "When I asked you how you knew I was an outsider, you said the world had cycled five times, and many people had discovered its secrets. But that's not right."

"How is that not right?" Li He asked.

"If the world had cycled five times, it would mean the flow of time here is equivalent to that outside. But so many days have passed; if the time were equivalent, then those outside would have already decided the victor, and Luoshu's barrier would have long been lifted," Ning Changjiu explained. "So you were lying to me, and the original dragon feeder was lying to me too."

"I see. Something I just made up, and you took it to heart... sigh, I did all this, but I still couldn't earn your trust. You're too cold, you know." Li He laughed.

"I've always known my luck isn't very good," Ning Changjiu continued. "But everything that happened here was too smooth... You were always guiding me here, and that idea became more certain the deeper we went."

Li He didn't want to ask further. He sighed deeply, "I said it before: no one wants to live forever..."

But he knew better than anyone that those who desperately sought immortality rarely ended well.

He laughed self-deprecatingly, then turned to Qiu Yue, asking in a questioning tone, "My Lady?"

Qiu Yue smiled faintly, "Don't worry, you've done very well. I will grant you the body of the dragon feeder."

Li He loosened his grip on his sword, recited a line of his own poetry aloud, then knelt on the ground, scooped up the minerals, and frantically stuffed them into his mouth.

Consuming gold, swallowing white jade.

Then he transformed into a streak of light and vanished.

The Asura manifestation behind Ning Changjiu illuminated his figure as if it were cast in gold, utterly devoid of emotion.

"As expected of Daddy, truly clever," Qiu Yue giggled. "But you can't leave now, you know."

The large door behind them had closed shut at some unknown point.

It was a confined cage.

"Who exactly are you?" Ning Changjiu asked.

Qiu Yue tilted her innocent face and said, "I told you, my mommy was buried alive, and my daddy was locked up... I'm just a poor orphan."

Ning Changjiu's golden pupils narrowed to a slit.

When she first said this, they hadn't paid it much mind, simply thinking she was a pitiful girl with a sad past.

But now, her words carried an entirely different meaning.

"Tianzang... Underworld Monarch?!" Ning Changjiu realized with horror.

The one buried alive was Tianzang! The one imprisoned was the Underworld Monarch!

Qiu Yue chuckled, "Daddy is too smart; I really didn't misjudge you!"

After speaking, she became sad again: "Mommy and Daddy died as soon as they gave birth to me. Alas, I was born with a destiny to bring harm to my parents."

"Gods cannot procreate; how can you be their daughter?" Ning Changjiu asked.

Qiu Yue raised her hands high, waving them erratically, "Anyway, I was born from Daddy and Mommy!"

Ning Changjiu looked at the scroll she was waving in her hand. A flash of insight ignited in his mind: "You are Luoshu? Luoshu was created by Tianzang and the Underworld Monarch?"

Qiu Yue gave a thumbs-up, praising, "Correct again! Daddy is amazing!"

Her transitions between joy and sadness were seamless: "Alas, I am... Mommy and Daddy's final masterpiece."

As she spoke, she rubbed her eyes and began to sob.