Chapter 1265: The Underworld

This was a world of profound darkness and bone-chilling cold, an endless expanse of scorched earth with no trace of light anywhere.

Ming Jie was truly like hell itself, with fierce yin winds howling and malevolent ghosts wailing. Rivers of blood snaked across the landscape, and amid the blackened soil lay countless half-buried skeletons, weathered by the ages.

Was this really Ming Jie?

Ye Chen stood quietly, observing his surroundings. His Yuan Shen body flickered like a fragile flame, and even someone as powerful as he struggled against the biting yin winds of Ming Jie. The cold was overwhelming, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

Ming Jie was similar to the myriad realms of the heavens, with mountains, rivers, trees, and forests, but everything was shrouded in blackness.

Looking closer, he could make out the forms of one or two wandering wild ghosts drifting about, their expressions dull and their eyes vacant. Occasionally, they would lift their heads, revealing grotesque, demon-like features.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Chen set off, choosing a direction.

In his hand, he held a strand of Lin Shi Hua's soul, which allowed him to sense her one soul and three spirits.

In his Yuan Shen state, he soared over mountain ranges and crossed rivers of blood.

Ming Jie was vast and teeming with wild ghosts. Beyond them, there were many terrifying presences, such as the headless figure he saw chopping wood in a forest, or the infant crying in an ancient mountain, or the stone coffin floating on a river of blood.

Everything was so eerie that it made him frown. This Ming Jie was even more dreadful than a spatial black hole.

Another river of blood lay ahead, silent and stagnant, flowing from west to east.

Ye Chen stepped forward and crossed it.

But at that moment, the dormant river erupted, suddenly churning up bloody waves.

Ghostly wails followed, revealing blood-red souls in the river, clawing at Ye Chen with ferocious faces. Other souls struggled desperately to escape the river but failed, only to be dragged back into torment.

Ye Chen furrowed his brow and quickly crossed to the other side.

Ahead stood an enormous peak, eight thousand zhang high, entirely black and bound by thick iron chains. The chains were cold and dark, etched with ancient runes that Ye Chen couldn't decipher.

As he flew past, the chains rattled loudly, and the entire mountain trembled.

From within the mountain came a piercing roar, like thunder from ancient times, filled with resentment, anger, and sorrow.

Ye Chen was shaken, his sea of consciousness rumbling as he nearly lost control. His face paled as he gazed at the massive mountain, sensing a fearsome entity sealed inside, though he dared not use his Xian Lun eyes to peer within.

"Release me!"

The roar continued, as if the being trapped in the mountain was trying to break free but couldn't.

Ye Chen's heart trembled. He hurried away, fearing his Yuan Shen would be scattered by the roar.

For a long time afterward, Ye Chen traveled across the blackened, scorched earth.

Lin Shi Hua's one soul and three spirits still seemed far away; he hadn't found them yet.

Time was running short, so Ye Chen didn't dare to slacken his pace. He pressed on, his destination clear.

After some time, he instinctively stopped.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The heavens and earth of Ming Jie trembled with slow, rhythmic booms. Listening carefully, it was the sound of footsteps, as if the walker were as heavy as a mountain, causing the ground to rumble.

Ye Chen looked up, gazing into the distance.

There stood a colossal giant, towering like a pillar of heaven, over ten thousand zhang tall. Barefoot and bare-armed, its left arm was marked with ancient Ming patterns. It had three eyes and horns on its head, its enormous eyes as deep as abysses. Even its breath rolled out like misty clouds, making the void hum.

Ye Chen involuntarily stepped back, his face ashen. His Yuan Shen body trembled uncontrollably.

The figure was too immense and too powerful. Even from afar, Ye Chen felt an urge to prostrate himself. At its feet, he probably wasn't even worthy of being an ant.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The giant strode onward, holding a black iron chain in its hand. At the chain's end was a bronze ancient coffin as large as a mountain, covered in runes and emanating yin Ming energy.

Ye Chen didn't dare move a muscle until the giant had gone far away. Only then did he dart off like a streak of immortal light.

What on earth was that?

Even after flying a great distance, Ye Chen couldn't help glancing back at the towering silhouette.

It seemed neither human nor beast, neither immortal nor demon, as if it transcended the three realms and six paths. Ye Chen couldn't find words to describe it, only that its power inspired deep dread in his soul.

Turning his gaze away, Ye Chen continued his journey at top speed.

Ming Jie was full of dangers; who knew when something might emerge to trouble him.

Finally, after half a shichen, he found Lin Shi Hua's soul in a cluster of black mountains.

From afar, her translucent soul floated beneath a dark tree, just like the wild ghosts he had encountered, with a dull expression and vacant eyes, devoid of any emotion.

"There you are!"

Without hesitation, Ye Chen crossed over in a few strides.

His speed was so fast that it stirred the yin winds, making Lin Shi Hua's soul sway back and forth.

Reaching her, Ye Chen hurriedly pulled out the Dao Fu given by Yan Lao Dao and sealed Lin Shi Hua's soul inside.

"Mission accomplished!"

Ye Chen let out a deep sigh of relief. He then took out the divine lamp given by Long Yi. Once lit, it would connect to the myriad realms of the heavens, allowing him to return via the lamp.

But just as he was about to light it, he heard the clinking of iron chains striking the ground from one side.

Instinctively, he looked over.

In the distance was a figure—more precisely, a woman in soul form. Her hair was disheveled, and shackles bound her feet, clanking against the dark ground as she walked.

Like Lin Shi Hua's soul, her expression was dull, her eyes vacant, lacking any human emotion.

A gust of yin wind blew, stirring her hair and revealing her face.

How... how is that possible?

Seeing the female soul's features, Ye Chen's body shuddered, his eyes widening in shock.

"Hurry and go!"

Ye Chen's thoughts were interrupted by a strange voice, human-like but with a bovine tone. Behind the woman, two figures followed.

They were odd beings: one with a Niu Tou and the other with a Ma Mian, like yamen officers escorting a prisoner, urging her to walk faster.

Ye Chen lunged forward in a single step, reaching for the female soul.

"How dare you!"

The Niu Tou suddenly turned, its face fiercely menacing, its shout sending Ye Chen flying back.

"Release her!"

Ye Chen roared and charged again, frenzied, his distorted Yuan Shen igniting in flames. He unleashed his cultivation, gripping a sword forged from Yuan Shen power.

"Get lost!"

The Ma Mian spoke, its voice carrying a horse-like tone but resounding like a great bell, shaking the soul. Ye Chen, who had just rushed forward, was flung back, his entire Yuan Shen nearly dissipating.

"Release her!"

With another furious shout, Ye Chen attacked for the third time, his face twisted in rage, his words colder than the yin winds of Ming Jie.

Buzz!

Ming Jie shook from his roar, as if triggering its supreme laws. The entire realm trembled, and a pressure that made heaven and earth quake suddenly manifested.

"Come back!"

From Ye Chen's divine lamp, Long Yi's urgent voice rang out, and the lamp's flame ignited on its own.

Immediately, a divine rainbow shot from the lamp into the void, opening a vortex leading to the myriad realms. An immortal light wrapped around Ye Chen, pulling him toward the vortex.

"No!"

Ye Chen struggled, his eyes bloodshot as he roared. He clawed desperately toward the female soul, but he was already being dragged into the distance, too far to reach anything, and the immortal light made escape impossible.

Boom!

Ming Jie shook once more.

Just as Ye Chen was about to be pulled back to the myriad realms, a massive black hand reached out from afar, over ten thousand zhang in size and covered in ancient seal scripts.

It was a supreme being of Ming Jie making a move, seemingly intent on keeping Ye Chen trapped here.

Ugh!

Still roaring, Ye Chen couldn't withstand the pressure and fell into a stupor.

"Ming Di, grant me this small favor and let him go."

In the depths of Ming Jie, a faint voice echoed, as if from ancient times, laden with endless weariness.

Remarkably, the hand reaching for Ye Chen retracted. Then, an icy, authoritative voice resounded through Ming Jie: "Di Huang, I have repaid your favor."