Chapter 511: 幽都陆离

Xing'an opened his eyes and looked around. His body was covered in various limbs. Moreover, a giant monster, like an octopus, lay on his back, its powerful limbs slowly tightening around his body.

This monster had strangled him unconscious.

"Who's speaking?" he asked weakly.

"A human from the living world, an interesting life. Xing'an, now that you've fallen to this state, do you still wish to return to the living world?" A voice circled him, moving left, right, up, and down, like a fish swimming in the dark. "You are a saint born once every five hundred years, yet you've met such a fate. It truly is a pity. In this form, how could you ever face the world again?"

Xing'an's multi-limbed body was bound by the monster, rendering him immobile, yet this immobility allowed him to breathe. The greater part of the day had been sheer torment for him. Never in his life had he endured such suffering or hardship; never had he been so disgraced or helpless.

Even now, he found no peace, for this was Youdu.

Only when he plunged into the river did he realize this was Youdu, the abyss where the dead sink.

He had already despaired. Youdu, the domain of Tu Bo, was a place no one was known to enter and survive. First he had blundered into Fengdu, and now Youdu. Why was fate so cruel and treacherous to him?

"Who are you? Why do you mock me?"

Xing'an exhaled a turbid breath, attempting to break free from the monster's grasp, but he couldn't exert any strength. Even if he could escape, the other bodies attached to him would rebel, beating and cursing him.

He was utterly incapable of ridding himself of the monster or these attached limbs. His lifespan was dwindling; if his life force ran out, he would die in Youdu.

"My name is Lu Li." The voice stopped moving and chuckled, "To the left, Xuanming; to the right, Hanlei; in front, Lu Li; and behind, Yuhuang."

Xing'an gasped, "Lu Li? You just asked if I wanted to return to the living world? I do!"

"You don't know the meaning of that verse?" The voice sounded a little disappointed as it sighed, "Are even the top experts in the living world so ignorant now? You don't know Xuanming, Hanlei, Lu Li, and Yuhuang? Have you truly become this dim-witted? Very well, I won't take advantage of your ignorance. I can let you return to the living world, resolve your physical ailments, and even erase your death registry, freeing you from the worry of dying of old age."

Xing'an's expression shifted slightly. "What do I need to do?" he asked.

"It's refreshing to speak with someone intelligent." Lu Li's voice chuckled, "More than ten years ago, a child was born from Youdu, absorbing its essence. He was then taken away and sent out of Youdu. I need you to bring him to me once you return to the living world. My physical body is too powerful to pass through the barrier between Youdu and the living world, so I need you to act on my behalf there, to do my bidding!"

"How will I find this child?" Xing'an asked.

"It's simple. He wears a jade pendant on his chest with a unique symbol and the character 'Qin' on it. You'll recognize it when you see it." Lu Li's voice continued, "He is seventeen, nearly eighteen. I've already drawn his birth characters and the shape of the pendant for you. He was born on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, in the hour of Zi, during the month of Chou, in the Jiazi year."

A drawing flew towards him. Suddenly, the octopus-like monster detached itself from Xing'an's back and silently vanished into the darkness. At that moment, the human limbs attached to Xing'an's body began to rot and disintegrate. Many heads, hands, feet, and torsos fell away. Xing'an's heart pounded. Feeling his body once again belonged to him, he quickly snatched the drawing.

Lu Li's voice echoed in his ear, "When you find this child, you may kill him or capture him, but you absolutely must not let his soul scatter. I need you to deliver his soul to Youdu completely intact! If even a single hair is missing, you will die a horrific death!"

As the word "horrific" faded, limbs suddenly popped up all over Xing'an's body again.

Lu Li's cackling laughter drifted around him, and Xing'an's body returned to normal. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"I'll give you a mirror. Once you find him, you can use it to verify his identity." A mirror suddenly appeared from the darkness, floating into Xing'an's hand. Lu Li's voice chuckled, "This mirror can reveal his identity, but you must not face him directly when you use it, understand?"

"Not face him directly?" Xing'an was slightly puzzled, not understanding the meaning.

"Correct. You must turn your back to him and then observe him with the mirror!" Lu Li's tone suddenly became severe. "Remember," he stressed, "when you are facing him, you absolutely must not use this mirror to reflect him! Only when your back is to him!"

Xing'an said, "I understand, you don't need to repeat it so many times. It's just a small matter..."

"This is absolutely not a small matter!" Lu Li's voice scoffed, "If you reflect him directly, you will cause big trouble, very big trouble! I can extend your life by thirty years; you have thirty years to complete this task for me. You may leave!"

"Wait!" Xing'an smiled, then slowly said, "We haven't met yet. This mirror can reflect that person, so it should be able to reflect you too, right?" He flipped the mirror, aiming it behind himself.

"You..." He stared blankly at the mirror. The reflection showed a peerless beauty, yet he had clearly heard Lu Li's voice as a man's. In the mirror, though, was a woman!

The beauty snapped her fingers, and Xing'an's world spun, as if he had fallen into a great whirlpool. When he regained consciousness, he found himself lying on a long stone beneath an ancient pine tree, seemingly having fallen asleep and camped out there.

Birds chirped and flowers bloomed around him, and a cascading waterfall flowed nearby. Several monkeys darted through the mountain forest, occasionally stopping to pick bananas from trees, peel them, and eat them with relish, all while cautiously watching him.

Xing'an was stunned. He looked around. Was this still the Great Ruins' cliff? In front of him was a vast ocean!

"Where is this place?" he couldn't help but wonder.

"This is the South Sea," the monkey said, throwing a banana peel that landed on his head.

"The South Sea?" Xing'an quickly got up, his mind a blank. He was now in the southernmost part of the Great Ruins, tens of thousands of miles away from where he had entered Fengdu!

"You're a strange beast from the Great Ruins, and you can speak. It seems you're a unique species, endowed with intelligence." Xing'an plucked off the banana peel and flicked it with his finger. "Since you told me the location, I won't kill you, but some suffering is unavoidable."

The monkey leaped up. Before it could land, a banana peel suddenly appeared under its feet, sending it tumbling on its backside. Enraged, the monkey got up to seek revenge on Xing'an, but Xing'an had already vanished without a trace.

"Squeak, how stingy!" The monkey raged, leaping onto a tree, but unexpectedly grabbed another banana peel, falling down from the tree once more.

The banana peel seemed to have targeted him; whenever he jumped, it would automatically appear under his hands or feet, causing him to fall half-dead.

Enraged, the monkey picked up a stone and smashed the banana peel. Meanwhile, Xing'an had already departed, muttering, "That Lu Li may be skilled, but she cannot enter the living world. Am I, Xing'an, someone to be manipulated? She gave me thirty years of life to control me, but it won't be that easy! Divine Physician Qin said he has established the Divine Bridge Spatial Divination Model and disseminated it. I'll go to Yankang; with my aptitude and comprehension, I can become a god in one or two years and break free from her control!"

Suddenly, Lu Li's voice reached his ear, chuckling, "Naughty, naughty. Fifteen years off your lifespan."

Xing'an was greatly alarmed. He quickly looked around but saw no sign of Lu Li.

"This is the living world; she can't come here! I must be hallucinating!"

As soon as he thought this, he suddenly realized, and quickly activated his Life-Death Divine Treasure. He saw that the Life-Death Divine Treasure was connected to Youdu, which was dim, dark, and vast. A single eye glowed eerily in the darkness, watching him.

A chill ran through Xing'an's heart. He knew he could never escape her; even if he became a god, he would barely be able to escape her control!

"Who exactly is this person born from Youdu?" Xing'an frowned. There were many people aged seventeen or eighteen; where was he supposed to find such a person?

"Fatty Dragon, hurry! It's getting dark!" Qin Mu urged, "We need to find a ruin or a village before nightfall!"

Darkness descended, surging from the west. Qin Mu led the Dragon Qilin and the chest to a ruin. Inside the ruin, strange beasts of the Great Ruins coexisted peacefully. The chest dug up a broken stone tablet from the ground, intending to stuff it into its belly, but the tablet was too large to fit.

Qin Mu stepped closer and brushed off the dust from the tablet. He saw words like "Beidou Xuanming True Pure Heaven, Doumu Yuanjun" written on it. He thought, "Is this the Heavenly Court from the Kaihuang era, the abode of Beidou Doumu Yuanjun? This Doumu Yuanjun must have been a powerful goddess. What a pity that this place has also become ruins..."

He stood up and went to the entrance of Doumu Palace, looking out at the darkness.

The darkness was like a curtain, precisely blocked by the luminous barrier of the Doumu Palace entrance, clearly separating dark and light.

Qin Mu hesitated, then slowly extended his little finger, using his fingernail to reach into the darkness.

"Sect Master, don't die—" The Dragon Qilin pounced, biting his leg and dragging him back. Qin Mu was pulled face-first into the dirt, getting covered in dust and grime. He rolled over, pinned the Dragon Qilin down, and started hitting it.

Roar— Chaos erupted in the ruin. Numerous strange beasts of the Great Ruins and immensely powerful beast lords grew furious, roaring continuously as they advanced on Qin Mu.

Cold sweat beaded on Qin Mu's forehead. He slowly retreated, cautiously watching the thousands of approaching strange beasts. "Gentlemen, allow me to explain," he said, "I didn't intend to break the rules of the Great Ruins; it was this Fatty Dragon who started it..."

He backed up to the portal, bumping into a stone pillar. Some of the colossal beasts beat their chests, some bared their fangs, some sharpened their claws, and some began to manifest their divine abilities, all ready to blast this rule-breaker of the Great Ruins to death!

Qin Mu gritted his teeth, suddenly turned, and forcefully thrust his head forward. His head immediately disappeared into the darkness.

The numerous strange beasts were instantly dumbfounded. The Dragon Qilin quickly ran over, wailing, and tugged at Qin Mu's trousers, trying to pull him back. The other strange beasts quickly covered their faces, thinking that such a pull would surely result in a bloodless skull or perhaps a clean, bloody severance at the neck!

"Fatty Dragon, get away," Qin Mu said, wiggling his leg, startling the beasts so much that their hairs and scales stood on end in horror!

"Zom-zom-zombie..." A beast lord stammered, then suddenly roared, "He's back from the dead!"

Just then, with a "pop," Qin Mu's entire body slipped into the darkness. Before the numerous strange beasts could sigh in relief, a head suddenly poked out from the darkness, looking around.

One strange beast fell straight over, having fainted from fright.