Chapter 1336: Underworld

Chapter 1338: The Underworld

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Chapter 1338: The Underworld

A chilling mist permeated the air, and white bones lay scattered everywhere. Ahead, a squad of a dozen or so shadowy soldiers, clad in heavy armor and wielding long halberds and battle axes, exuded an aura of grim solemnity. They patrolled the area, emanating a chilling aura. There was no sign of life from them; they were like cold, lifeless puppets.

"So many ghosts! Have we come to the Underworld?" the little boy gasped, his face gradually regaining color from its initial pallor as he slowly adapted, his small heart growing firmer.

Ye Fan frowned. He might have just encountered a superpower that had existed for millennia, a terrifying legacy. This was undoubtedly a very serious matter.

Shadowy soldiers traversing paths, waging war in distant lands! Such legends had existed since ancient times, yet few knew their hidden truths. This was clearly the deployment of troops across star regions—how terrifying! The mere thought of it sent shivers down one's spine. He didn't believe in any tales of vengeful spirits; this had to be a supreme organization! Ye Fan opened his Celestial Eye, carefully observing the shadowy soldiers. They were all ancient corpses, dead for countless millennia, and some of their armor clearly resembled the styles of the Primeval Era.

"Uncle, we haven't really come to the Underworld, have we?" the little boy whispered, his heart filled with apprehension.

Ye Fan paused, then said, "The Underworld... are there legends about it in this starfield too?"

"Yes, it's where dead people go, also called the Netherworld. Isn't that what people say?" the little one asked innocently, blinking his large eyes.

Ye Fan was stunned by these words. Such legends existed on Earth, in Beidou, and even along this ancient starry path. After embarking on the path of cultivation, he had always scoffed at these rumors. Cultivators could fly through the sky, escape underground, and move mountains and fill seas, already considered "celestial beings" by mortals. Why would they still believe in an Underworld or ghosts? At that moment, Ye Fan realized he had overlooked a crucial fact: many ancient starry lands had legends of the Underworld, which he had selectively ignored.

"The Underworld... Under the rule of the Heavenly Court, such an organization truly existed in the mythical era and was not completely annihilated. It still governs the Netherworld!" A shiver ran down Ye Fan's spine. In an instant, many questions flooded his mind. For so many years, he had overlooked a terrifying possibility: who said everything about the Heavenly Court had turned to smoke? Through endless ages, it wasn't just a small remnant of the ancient Heavenly Court that survived; a considerable portion of its followers must have passed down their orthodox lineage. The colossal entity that was the ancient Heavenly Court had not truly turned to ashes. Traces of it remained, and it was possible that some deities still ruled over ancient star regions! The more Ye Fan thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. It wasn't merely a matter of clinging to survival or only a few descendants remaining; perhaps some of their ruled territories had never declined.

"At the very least, the Underworld still exists. So many shadowy soldiers traversing paths—what an immense force! It can deploy troops across star regions, which can only be described as an unparalleled horror!" Ye Fan had previously inquired with many guides. The Human Race's ancient starry path was a legacy of the mythical era, existing since the time of the ancient Heavenly Court, and later inherited by descendants. "On the same path, continuing straight ahead, one might encounter everything related to the ancient Heavenly Court." Ye Fan opened his Celestial Eye, carefully observing these shadowy soldiers. Through their armor, he saw their true forms: most were human, but some were from the demon race, ancient races, and others. "The Underworld, under the rule of the Heavenly Court, makes no distinction by race. It's just that this current section of the ancient path belongs to the Human Race. Eventually, the branches for the Divine Race, Human Race, Demon Race, and others will converge, leading to the ultimate ancient land."

Ye Fan bypassed the squad of shadowy soldiers and continued forward. In an open area, he saw a massive city, an immortal royal city built upon bones. Swathes of black mist swirled around. There weren't many shadowy soldiers, who calmly entered and exited the ancient city, performing patrols. "What does all this have to do with the Origin Heaven Master? How did they intersect?" Ye Fan murmured to himself. This was practically a miniature Netherworld: no living beings, only these lifeless ancient corpses, who for some unknown reason could walk and form squads of warriors. It was truly hard to imagine such a massive ancient city existing on such an inconspicuous meteor, a sight that sent shivers down one's spine, for it buried endless secrets.

"Uncle, what are you going to do? Are you going to cause a ruckus in the Underworld?" Yang Xi's eyes had gone from initial unease to composure, and now to excitement—a very rapid transformation.

"Hmm, I really need to take a look," Ye Fan nodded. He needed to thoroughly investigate all of this; too many secrets were hidden within. With a single step, he covered hundreds of miles, circling the not-so-large meteor. Chilling mist was everywhere, and skeletons were scattered promiscuously, making it remarkably similar to the Netherworld. There weren't many shadowy soldiers; they were all gathered in this ancient city, as if guarding something. This was an important stronghold of the Underworld.

Ye Fan activated the "Soldier" character secret art. A shadowy soldier in the wilderness was sent flying backwards and instantly restrained by him. The heavily armored ancient corpse opened its mouth as if to let out a shriek. He raised his golden palm and pressed down, immobilizing the shadowy soldier. He pointed a finger at the shadowy soldier to read its Xiantai memory. However, with a 'crack', its forehead bone shattered; it had long since decayed, holding no old memories, only a demonic thought echoing in its sea of consciousness: "Guard this city." How powerful Ye Fan was now! The shadowy soldier's fierce resistance was futile. Once its armor was stripped away, cracks appeared all over its body, and it then turned to dust. The armor followed suit, disintegrating with the wind. "By what means are they summoned from underground to return to the battlefield?" Ye Fan was utterly perplexed. He continued to act, capturing a dozen or so shadowy soldiers one after another. Almost all exhibited the same phenomenon: their entire bodies turned to dust, as if they had aged tens to hundreds of thousands of years in an instant.

There was only one exception: one shadowy soldier's body erupted with dark light, then rapidly shrank, transforming into a thumb-sized black jade figurine. It fell to the ground with a 'ding', glowing with an eerie light. Ye Fan picked it up, examining it closely. Something similar had happened in the Primeval Purgatory, where Duan De had captured a shadowy soldier which eventually turned into a dark figurine. Many years later, Duan De had roughly figured it out, saying it was a "Yin Talisman," shadowy soldiers created by a supreme being to summon true ancient corpses as servants.

There wasn't much to gain outside the mighty stronghold. Ye Fan stealthily approached the city wall, employing the "Movement" character secret art to pass through. Although array patterns tried to obstruct him, they couldn't hold him back. Inside the city, there was complete silence, without a trace of life. Only sparse shadowy soldiers walked along the ancient streets, with no apparent abnormalities. Suddenly, the entire ancient city surged with chilling energy, erupting violently, and all sorts of icy auras converged towards him. This was a dead city, and Ye Fan, a living being, was sensed by the powerful and eerie ancient array patterns, drawing all the shadowy soldiers in the city to attack him.

"Who... dares to trespass into my Underworld?" A hoarse, low, and menacing voice echoed. Its owner arrived in an instant, bringing with him a surge of overwhelming chilling mist. This was a general among the shadowy soldiers, clad in black armor, with a pair of cold, eerie eyes that flickered like ghost flames, exuding astonishing saintly might. Behind him, a dense throng of hundreds of shadowy soldiers, each wielding a weapon, converged on Ye Fan.

"Finally, one with spiritual consciousness fluctuations," Ye Fan murmured to himself, pleased rather than surprised. Soon, he was greatly astonished. The shadowy general's Xiantai was black, unlike the purity of a cultivator's; it was filled with layers of chilling energy, like a ghost den.

"What exactly is this place? What are you beings, and why do you guard this area?" Ye Fan asked.

"On the Underworld path... a pass. Why did you... break in?" His voice was hoarse and unclear, his spiritual consciousness scattered.

"Where is the Underworld?" Ye Fan asked again.

"I don't know. You... must join us." He suddenly let out a long roar, shaking the entire mighty stronghold. In the distance, dense masses of shadowy soldiers rushed towards them. At the same time, another long roar sounded, and a second shadowy general appeared, transforming into a streak of black demonic light and charging forth to attack Ye Fan.

This was an unavoidable battle. The shadowy generals' thoughts were simple: they wanted to transform Ye Fan into one of them, a corpse, to enter the Underworld.

"A hundred ghosts parade, a multitude of corpses dance! Uncle, quickly break through the Underworld cycle! If we succeed, we'll be gods!" the little boy excitedly yelled.

What was this nonsense? Ye Fan ignored it and began to fight. With a single strike of his Six Paths Reincarnation Fist, golden blood energy surged, and many shadowy soldiers turned into wisps of black smoke. A very small number transformed into black jade figurines, falling to the ground. Ye Fan, now so powerful, could completely command respect wherever he went. Even within an ancient pass of the Underworld, he remained fearless and could suppress an entire region.

*Thud, thud...* With each punch, Ye Fan's power could easily shatter mountains and everything else, crushing them to dust. Swathes of shadowy soldiers turned to ashes. Ye Fan's golden hand descended like an Emperor descending from Heaven, and the two generals were instantly immobilized. They were completely suppressed, their desperate roars proving useless. Ye Fan searched their black Xiantai. Inside was utter chaos; they had only simple consciousnesses, tasked with guarding this place, devoid of other thoughts. This was an important part of the Netherworld required when shadowy soldiers passed through.

"Uncle, you're truly too powerful! You defeated the Underworld, have we become gods?" Yang Xi exclaimed.

Ye Fan felt a headache coming on, sensing something amiss. He had stumbled upon an astonishing secret from ancient times: the Heavenly Court had fallen, yet the Netherworld's rule had not collapsed. For such a long time, it had been deploying troops—where exactly were they warring? "Can I enter the Underworld of the mythical era from this place?" he murmured to himself, pressing the two generals forward as he searched through the ancient city.

Suddenly, Ye Fan's heart tightened. His whole body began to glow, his golden blood boiled, and dense red hairs sprouted from his skin, causing him a piercing pain and a sense of unease. In the center of the ancient city, intricate Origin Heaven patterns crisscrossed, emitting dazzling light, all of them activated. Wisps of blood spread along these array patterns, making the place appear incredibly sinister and filled with a strange, powerful energy fluctuation. Right in the center of that bloody array pattern, a tall figure stood, covered entirely in red hair, its back to him, like a demon.

"Perish!" Ye Fan roared. A golden blood mist emerged, isolating the ominous aura from his body. All the red hairs on his body were incinerated, and wisps of chilling energy were expelled from his flesh. "Are you the X-th generation Origin Heaven Ancestor, or an existence from the starry sky?"

"Unknown. The end is unknown. The cycle's end. All shall conclude." The tall, red-haired figure suddenly turned around, even its eyes glowing blood-red.