Chapter 614: Hell and the Blooming of Red Spider Lilies

As Chu Feng approached the exit, his heart swelled with joy. He was finally free. After being trapped in purgatory for so long, solitary, it had been a place of profound desolation, coldness, and deathly silence.

"I'm back!" he shouted, rushing towards the bright place.

At the last moment, he didn't forget to be cautious, fearing that joy might turn to sorrow. He had experienced this profoundly not long ago when he heard someone sighing by his ear, which was truly terrifying.

Then, he saw a stone tablet standing in the bright area, with the words "Kunlun" inscribed on it.

Boom! The air exploded. Chu Feng burst out at top speed, the air currents he generated turning into white mist, like boiling immortal fog. He was finally outside.

Stepping onto the muddy ground, he was incredibly excited. He had completely escaped and couldn't help but want to shout in triumph.

However, just behind him, something seemed to be staring. He suddenly turned his head to look back.

The deep, dark path, with its entrance shrouded in darkness, seemed to swallow light, emitting an eerie, chilling aura.

Chu Feng saw a pair of eyes, large yet timid, gazing at him.

It was a... small figure in the darkness, seemingly a little girl of four or five years old, leaning against the stone wall, watching him.

Her true face was invisible. The eerie cave, as Chu Feng had learned, rendered even his Fiery Golden Eyes useless.

Those eyes were actually timid? Chu Feng was stunned. Then, he shivered, shaking his head vigorously. He wouldn't forget the chilling sensation of something blowing cold air on his back and touching his scalp. It was unsettling.

Ultimately, Chu Feng chose to back away, receding step by step.

Then, in the darkness, from the strange cave, another pair of eyes appeared. They had no whites or pupils, were entirely green, as large as lanterns, and radiated a cold, ruthless, and eerily chilling light.

What kind of creature was that?

Chu Feng was awestruck and gasped. He had seen nothing while inside the eerie place, but now, outside the cave, he had encountered two pairs of eyes consecutively, which was unsettling!

He turned away, no longer looking back, and strode towards the distant stone tablet.

This was a small dimensional space. A tablet stood here, mentioning Kunlun and also referencing "the Other Shore." Behind it were two small paths leading to different locations, each with a gate of light.

This was just a small space, connected to the outside world.

Chu Feng decisively chose the path marked as leading to Kunlun. He had fallen into purgatory from Kunlun originally and now wished to escape from there again.

The other path was marked "the Other Shore"; God knew where it led. He certainly didn't want to accidentally stumble into the end of some reincarnation path again; that would be a huge problem.

He reached the end of the path and, with a whoosh, rushed through the gate of light, which was constructed of energy, thus truly escaping the eerie place.

"I'm free! Goodbye forever, purgatory! I, Chu Feng, am back! Let all my enemies tremble!"

Chu Feng burst into laughter, for he smelled fresh air—a familiar scent, carrying the essence of Kunlun, where he had once lived for a period.

But why was it a bit dim?

Chu Feng felt suspicious. Where had he arrived? This was... underground!

Then, he saw another tablet, which indicated this was underground Kunlun, and that one could enter the human world from here after exiting purgatory.

Chu Feng followed the underground path upward. Through the layers of earth, he could already feel a vibrant life force surging from the surface, along with an overwhelming, intensely yang energy, completely opposite to the cold yin of the eerie place.

He loved this kind of energy!

"Even purgatory couldn't trap me! No need for help, I escaped with my own power!"

"I truly admire myself more and more. I meditated in the Dead City, walked the path of reincarnation, left my mark in the land of rebirth, and even the eerie pit couldn't stop me. It's like I'm impossible to destroy by heaven or bury by earth!"

Chu Feng was like a chatterbox. He hadn't spoken much for over a month, and now that he was free, he couldn't stop showing off and was utterly narcissistic.

However, tragedy struck.

While he was boasting that even heaven couldn't take him and his name was etched on the path of reincarnation, with a loud *boom*, a bolt of lightning struck him, making white smoke billow from his body.

"Ouch, what the hell?! Who the *heck* just struck me with lightning? Are you... tired of living? I just came back from hell!"

Then, with another *boom*, an even thicker bolt of lightning hit him, causing him to convulse and tremble. The current was so intense that it left him bloody, skin torn, and then charred.

"What's going on? Is there any justice?! I'm actually being struck by divine lightning?!" Chu Feng was furious.

At the same time, he was awestruck. This lightning was terrifying, powerful enough to kill evolutionaries at the Contemplation level. He was struck inexplicably, but anyone else would have surely died.

This lightning could blast people of his same cultivation level into fragments!

Boom! Boom! Boom... Next, lightning bolts intertwined and fell in sheets, savagely bombarding Chu Feng deep underground, leaving him covered in blood, his hair disheveled, and his face blackened.

"Damn it! Was I showing off? Why are you striking me?! It seems... I said a few too many words. Is there really some bastard in the netherworld? But... what business is it of yours?!" Chu Feng was indignant and defiant.

He had just escaped and was in a great mood, but as soon as he returned, he was instantly subjected to a barrage of lightning strikes. It was truly unreasonable.

Chu Feng refused to believe in bad omens and was highly defiant. He forcefully pushed upward, wanting to see what was truly happening.

Then, his eyes widened. As he followed the underground path, he saw several thick copper pillars above, emitting dazzling light even more intense than the sun. Lightning was descending from them.

Sheets of lightning danced, striking him almost to death. The bolts were incredibly thick, and many ball lightning spheres flew together, forming a divine, starlike river, crashing into his body.

He let out a strange cry and turned to run. This level of lightning could probably kill evolutionaries of even higher realms; it was astonishingly powerful.

"Damn it, what rotten luck! This is actually Kunlun's Gate of Hell!"

Chu Feng now knew where he was and realized he had truly blamed the ethereal entity unjustly. He had been struck like this by lightning attracted by a terrifying energy field.

Back when he first came to Kunlun to find the two oxen, he had been tricked by the Woodpecker King into a forbidden area where many lightning strikes could be drawn.

This place was known as the Gate of Hell. Furthermore, the great demons of Kunlun had discovered a deep well near the Gate of Hell, containing copper pillars that could control the strength of the lightning by raising or lowering them.

Chu Feng had run to this spot, close to the deepest core of the Gate of Hell underground, so it was natural for him to be struck by lightning.

He was incredibly unlucky. In this area, being struck by lightning was perfectly normal, leaving him utterly distraught.

Although he retreated again and again, once the lightning burst forth, it was unstoppable, engulfing him, sending him flying sideways, and splattering his blood everywhere.

It seemed unending. Only after a long time did the area grow quiet. Chu Feng was completely blackened, almost turned into a piece of charcoal.

Chu Feng was certain that anyone a major realm above him would die under such lightning, unless they were among the very few geniuses who could withstand it. This lightning was too terrifying; it was meant to take lives.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him: Was this lightning field placed here to purify malevolent entities?

The ancients must have discovered the dark cave in the underground dimensional space and realized there was an indescribable eeriness within, far too horrifying.

Therefore, they sealed this place and applied the lightning field to purify the strangeness.

"Good thing I didn't touch the core area, or I'd have been blasted to smithereens!"

Even so, Chu Feng was still displeased. Being inexplicably struck by lightning was incredibly unlucky.

However, he had no choice but to console himself, saying, "I just came out of purgatory. Using the intensely strong and yang energy of lightning to cleanse my body... well, it's a way to remove bad luck, just in case any malevolent entities followed me out."

Chu Feng collected various spatial bracelets and numerous secret treasures from a distance. He had thrown them all out earlier, fearing they would be damaged by the lightning, which was like a heavenly tribulation.

Inside the stone box, the six-colored flame continued to burn, without root or source. It actually wouldn't extinguish!

Chu Feng showed a surprised expression. He closed the stone box, thus containing the flame, thinking it might be greatly useful later!

Then, he heard clamoring sounds from above ground. They weren't very clear, but he could hear them vaguely.

"Strange, is someone undergoing tribulation? Why is the lightning at the Gate of Hell so intense? The scene is terrifying!"

"Could some demonic creature have emerged, only for heaven to reclaim it, striking it into ashes?!"

Hearing this, Chu Feng secretly gnashed his teeth. *Your whole family are demonic creatures! I've returned against all odds; I'll scare a whole lot of you to death then!*

But in the end, he held back and didn't go out. If he revealed himself like this, even a group of saints would likely be shocked, and they'd surely cause trouble for him.

This time, he absolutely wouldn't let himself be put in a passive position. He needed to plan carefully!

There were many people above ground, discussing the strange events here, and then moving on to other topics.

"Hmm, who cares if there's a demonic creature? Can it compare to the Primordial Magnetic Saint Body, which suppresses all enemies? If there really is a demonic creature lurking here, it will surely be subdued!"

"The Destiny Immortal Body is truly extraordinary, like a reincarnated true immortal. With just one easy strike, it can annihilate geniuses of the same realm. Who can contend with that?!"

Chu Feng heard discussions about various powerful physiques from outside. He generally understood what had happened: Earth had become a battleground for peerless prodigies.

The Primordial Magnetic Saint Body, Divine Glass Golden Body, Destiny Immortal Body, Calamity-Free Divine Body, and others had all appeared, poised to compete against figures like Ying Wudi, successor of the Demi-Immortal race; Yuan Shicheng, Crown Prince of the Demon race; and the Dao Child of the Daoist race.

Chu Feng's expression changed, and his heart was far from calm.

He spent a long time studying the area, finding that the lightning field was extraordinary and couldn't be deciphered quickly. Moreover, the people above ground never dispersed.

He didn't want to be struck by lightning again, so he retreated first, returning to the dimensional space, and then looked at the other path, marked "the Other Shore."

"I'll just take a look; I won't go all the way," Chu Feng muttered to himself.

Then, he set off, passing through a gate of light. Instantly, it felt as if the starry sky was rotating, which startled him. This was a spatial teleportation array.

Where was this going? He was a little worried. Having just returned to Earth, he didn't want any more accidents!

"Hmm?" The next moment, he was somewhat stunned because he had arrived. It was a desert, desolate under the setting sun, yet it looked somewhat familiar to him.

It greatly resembled the desert in the western regions of Earth.

The next moment, he heard a rustling sound, and then a faint blue light began to emerge everywhere. One by one, blue 'Other Shore Flowers' grew out of the desert.

This scene was all too familiar!

Chu Feng was certain that he had escaped directly back to Earth, to a desert he had once traveled.

Before the world's great changes, he had once traveled alone to the western regions to clear his mind. Before heading to Kunlun Mountain, he had been to this very place and seen 'Other Shore Flowers' blooming everywhere.

Now, he was experiencing this scene again!

"These pollen..."

In the setting sun, one 'Other Shore Flower' after another, crystal clear like blue diamonds, continuously bloomed. Blue pollen floated up, transforming into a faint blue mist, ethereal and dreamlike.