Scalding faces kept emerging from the cracks in the ground. The entire Sanctuary Range was shaken to its core, and waves of agonized whimpers echoed relentlessly.
I was powerless. An overwhelming force kept dragging me downward, pulling me below.
"This is Infernal Hell."
I glanced down. Hundreds of meters beneath me, lava and flames intertwined, forming Infernal Hell. Countless ghost souls wailed within, their bodies scorched by hellfire.
The pull grew stronger and stronger as I kept falling downward.
"Howard..."
Howard's voice rang out above me. A flash of black appeared, followed by the sound of a cloak sweeping through the air. A black serpent descended, carrying Howard and Sophie Sun, and they dropped toward me as well.
"It's all right now, Howard..."
I shouted, then panic set in. Falling meant entering Hell. My body was already burning, pain searing along my spine. Howard and the others looked just as miserable. I had to do something.
Instinct. Coexistence. Evil Ghost...
I roared, and suddenly, a black, translucent substance spilled from my body, gradually taking the shape of a massive Evil Ghost.
"Come quickly, Spectral Juggernaut, Ethan Zhang..."
Infernal Hell exerts a powerful attraction on spiritual entities. I saw Sophie Sun's form beginning to blur—she was reaching her limit. Howard clung tightly to her.
With a thunderous crash, we stopped. I lay quietly atop my instinct-manifested Evil Ghost, its limbs braced against the edge of the fissure. Below, flames surged upward relentlessly.
Gradually, I heard a steam whistle—it was my corpse, rapidly flying toward me.
"Cousin, climb up!"
Howard reached out his hand. I absolutely couldn't leave now, or Howard and the others would fall into Hell with me.
"Howard, you go first. I have a way—I can handle this."
I said it, but Howard clearly knew I was lying.
"Cousin, get up here. Climb up!"
Howard spoke, trying to climb down from the serpent's back. I kept shaking my head.
"Take them away."
I shouted. In an instant, my corpse arrived, grabbing Howard and Sophie Sun with both hands. I immediately released a black Specter Web, piercing my corpse's spine.
"This is the last remnant of my body's strength. Take them away."
I said firmly. With a whoosh, Howard roared, and my corpse carried them away, flying off into the distance.
A cracking sound rang out—I couldn't hold on any longer. My ghost soul was already dissipating. The Evil Ghost bracing the fissure began to dissolve into shimmering black particles, scattering away. I lowered my head and glanced at the wailing ghost souls below.
"You really didn't need to come with me."
I said lightly. The Six Ghost Souls had fully entered my body.
"Looks like this time, I'm truly falling into Hell."
I smiled, supporting our Evil Ghost as it vanished. I plunged rapidly into the lava and flames below. The scorching heat instantly set my body ablaze. I had lost all strength and sensation—before me, there was nothing but a sea of fire.
Strangely, my ghost soul didn't vanish after that overwhelming attack. Instead, it began to condense again.
Gradually, I felt my body starting to melt from the intense heat of Hell. I was getting closer and closer. Through the flames, I saw the searing magma, burning relentlessly.
With a dull thud, I fell into something viscous and screamed in agony. Strangely, my senses returned for a moment. I watched in pain as my skin burned, my flesh and bones dissolved, my whole body melting away. All around me, tormented ghost souls screamed in misery.
My consciousness began to fade. Slowly, I closed my eyes.
A chorus of ghostly wails rang in my ears. I regained consciousness and looked around, shocked to find myself lying among a heap of ghost souls in a steaming, blood-red place.
"Heh, this one's no good anymore. Let's switch to a sturdier one."
I heard a voice and looked over, startled to see several rack-like structures nearby, with many ghost souls hanging from them.
There were two ghosts—blue-faced, fang-bearing, with pointed heads and ears. Their bodies looked like shriveled tree bark, their faces unrecognizable, deeply furrowed. One had red hair, the other green.
Beside each rack where ghost souls were hung stood a workbench filled with various tools. I saw the Red Warden. Next to the racks were pools of lava, each with red-hot iron rods.
I watched as the Red Warden released a ghost soul whose body was riddled with holes, tossing it into a distant lava lake with a splash. The ghost, barely conscious, screamed in agony.
"No matter how many times I hear it, that sound really is beautiful."
The Green Warden said, then walked over to us. I shrank back in fear. At this point, I looked no different from the other ghost souls—no eyeballs, and my mouth and eyes were just empty black holes.
The Green Warden casually grabbed a ghost soul beside me, dragged it over, and hung it upside down on the rack.
[Irrelevant system message—skip translation.]
"Hurry up, it's your turn this time."
The Green Warden said. The Red Warden looked resigned, picked up a red-hot iron rod, and I watched in horror. They seemed unfazed by pain—their skin sizzled and burned, yet they didn't flinch.
The Red Warden raised the glowing rod, pried open the ghost soul's mouth, and with a hiss, blue smoke rose. He shoved the rod in, piercing through the throat and out the abdomen. Instantly, the ghost soul screamed in agony, but couldn't make a sound—the pain was etched in its face.
"Ah, passed out again. This time, I'll choose—someone more durable."
I shrank back again, goosebumps rising all over. I couldn't feel any strength, but luckily, I could sense my ghost soul. As long as I could feel it, I could recover my ghost energy.
I shrank back again. Suddenly, the Red Warden burst out laughing and rushed over, grabbing me by the throat.
"Haha, this one's good—still moving."
My heart sank. The Red Warden saw me move and dragged me to the rack. I tried to struggle, but that only made him more excited.
"This one looks like he can last a long time."
They hung me on the rack, arms and legs spread wide. I swallowed hard as I saw the Green Warden grab a spiked club, its tip pointed straight at me, aiming for my backside.
"You two."
Just then, a commanding voice rang out. The Green Warden stopped. A black-haired ghost approached, and the two hurried to greet him.
"Why so slow? The number of souls you've tortured today is clearly insufficient. Our group's rating in Scorching Hell will suffer."
With two crisp slaps, the Black Warden struck the Red and Green Wardens, then glanced at me.
"Still playing? What are you playing at?"
The two ghosts looked frightened and quickly tried to appease him.
"Boss, you know we've been around a long time. All this is routine—it's getting boring. When do we get promoted?"
The Green Warden said, and the Black Warden, furious, slapped him again.
"Promoted? Hell no! It's because you two are useless. I'll never get promoted thanks to you."
The Red and Green Wardens quickly tried to appease him again.
"Enough chatter! Our Scorching Hell was just hit by a powerful force. Did either of you see anything strange fall in?"
My heart skipped a beat. Both Green and Red Wardens said no, while Black Warden looked around.
"If you find anything suspicious that fell down here, grab it immediately and report to me. This is our only chance for promotion. I'll check elsewhere. You two, keep looking around."
After Black Warden left, Red and Green Wardens looked resigned. After some discussion, neither sensed anything unusual.
"Hurry up."
The Red Warden said, tossing newly arrived ghost souls into the lava lake, their screams echoing endlessly.
"This won't do. The sinners need to be thoroughly tormented. If we just toss them in, our performance won't improve. Follow the usual procedure—use the rod to stir them up inside, make them wish for death, then throw them in."
As he spoke, the Green Warden aimed the spiked, red-hot rod at me.
"Wait..."
I shouted. Suddenly, the Red and Green Wardens stared at me in surprise.
"Isn't this the strange thing?"
They said in unison. I smiled awkwardly as both Red and Green Wardens each raised a spiked rod.
"What are you doing?"
"Since you fell down here, you must be a sinner. If we torment you properly, our performance will definitely improve."