Ahead of them, the underground space opened up vast and wide. A mountain peak blocked their way, but it looked like the upper half of a giant's statue—immense and imposing, its entire body carved from pitch-black stone, yet sculpted with a nose, eyes, mouth, and ears.
Only the upper body to the chest was exposed; the rest was either buried underground or had never been sculpted at all.
Behind this statue, an ancient multi-story ship hovered motionless in midair. One side of the ship was embedded underground, while the other pierced through a colossal portal. Within the portal, a honeycomb-like seal could be seen; the ship's prow had rammed through the seal, jutting into another world.
That seal must be the Netherworld seal the White Bats had mentioned.
In ancient times, the gods opened a passage here between the mortal world and the Netherworld, which led to an invasion of Netherworld creatures and forced them to seal this place. The White Bat clan was ordered to guard this site, and all remained peaceful—until the arrival of this ship, which smashed the seal.
Now, the seal had loosened, especially where the ship connected with it—there, the honeycomb barrier was riddled with cracks.
Worse, Netherworld creatures could now enter the Great Ruins through this ship!
Every so often, grotesque creatures would crawl down from the ship. Some unfurled wings and took flight, others leaped down, but before they could get far, the beehive seal would flash with light—and in an instant, those creatures were silently decapitated.
A colossal divine statue, a portal, an ancient ship, the beehive seal, and Netherworld creatures—this underground world was truly bizarre and surreal.
“This portal looks familiar...”
Quinn Shepherd scrutinized the massive portal, feeling he’d seen it somewhere before, but couldn’t recall exactly where.
“How did those two high monks die?”
He frowned slightly. Those two old monks’ abilities far exceeded the White Bats, and they’d kept this place secure under the World-Honored One’s orders—so how could they suddenly die?
The White Bats claimed they died of exhaustion, but judging from the scene, even after death their bodies could still resist the invasion of Netherworld demonic qi with their own Buddhist power. Clearly, their cultivation was extremely high—if not in the Divine Bridge Realm, then at least very close.
For experts of that level, it shouldn’t be easy to die from sheer exhaustion when facing an incursion of demonic qi.
Could it be that some terrifying Netherworld entity entered the mortal world through this ship and killed the monks? Or perhaps something kept attacking the seal, forcing the monks to fight it off until they died of exhaustion?
Whatever the case, this place was anything but safe. Approaching the ship rashly could be extremely dangerous.
“The Netherworld—Tu Bo’s domain, where all souls eventually go. Tu Bo’s envoys guide the souls of the dead into Youdu, and these envoys are called Underworld Couriers. I’ve met one before: a strange old man folding paper boats in the Great Ruins’ darkness. Eerie, but not hostile—so long as you don’t interfere with their work, they won’t trouble the living.”
Quinn looked around. Tu Bo’s Netherworld clearly had its own unique rules and order; as long as you followed them, Tu Bo wouldn’t meddle in the mortal world.
So what was with all these Netherworld creatures in Nethergloom Ravine?
These Netherworld beings were powerful, grotesque, and exuded a wicked, sinister charm—even more bizarre and evil than the Skyfiends Quinn had encountered before!
Compared to the denizens of the Netherworld, the Skyfiends almost seemed kind by contrast.
These Netherworld creatures and the Underworld Couriers were polar opposites—two extremes with nothing in common.
He looked up at the ship suspended in midair, neither touching the sky nor the ground. The honeycomb seal locked it in place—layer upon layer of hexagonal pillars embedded in space, each half-translucent like glass. This was the sealing array left behind by the ancient gods.
From within the ship, waves of demonic qi and other strange auras seeped out, and faintly, unsettling noises could be heard—like the twisted screams of countless tormented souls suffering in the Netherworld.
Quinn steadied himself, then suddenly let his body shudder—transforming into the Earth Star Lord: human head, serpent body, a scroll cradled in his hands, with the Gate of Bearing Heaven manifesting behind him. His tail rippled as he floated into the air, circling around the giant stone god toward the ship.
The two White Bat Demons jumped in shock, flapping their wings as they rose, gawking at Quinn in amazement. "He changed again! He changed again! First he was an ox, then a man, now he's turned into a snake!"
"This gate looks interesting—I'm going in for a peek!" Ethan Fu said curiously, ready to push open the Gate of Bearing Heaven to see what's inside.
"That's the Netherworld beyond. If you want your souls to enter Youdu right now, go ahead and open the gate," Quinn said in a low voice.
As he spoke, Quinn suddenly froze midair, his heart pounding as he stared blankly at the massive portal ahead.