236: Chapter 236: The Hall of the Underworld

Xiao Ran carefully crossed the Ancient Battlefield, and the scenery before him gradually began to change.

The grey mist over the wasteland had, at some point, been stained with a dark red halo, as if some giant light source was burning at the end of the horizon, yet the source itself remained unseen.

In short, it was filled with an eerie emptiness.

The air grew heavier; every step felt like walking through water.

An invisible pressure squeezed in from all directions.

Xiao Ran was somewhat surprised, feeling that this place was a bit sinister.

He glanced back at the path he had come from; those phantom images had already vanished into the mist, and the Shadow Leopard's corpse was no longer visible.

The entire wasteland was terrifyingly quiet—no sound of wind, no chirping of insects; even his own heartbeat sounded exceptionally loud.

"This place is getting more and more unusual."

Xiao Ran muttered to himself in a low voice, slowing his pace.

He activated his Guixu Body, and the greyish-black vortex in his Dantian slowly rotated, bit by bit devouring and converting the invisible pressure surrounding him.

The pressure eased slightly, but that cold, clammy feeling grew stronger.

It wasn't a physical coldness from temperature, but a coldness on the level of the Soul, as if something was watching him.

From all directions, from above, from beneath his feet, from the Void Realm...

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a clear silhouette finally emerged from the mist ahead.

It was a palace.

Or rather, it had once been a palace.

Its main structure was still intact, but the walls were covered in cracks, as dense as an old man's wrinkles.

Pillars supported the roof at crooked angles, threatening to collapse at any moment.

Most of the roof tiles had fallen off, revealing the dark, hollow beams underneath.

The doors and windows were long gone, leaving only empty rectangular frames like the eye sockets of a skull.

The palace was built entirely of a dark red stone; that color wasn't the stone's natural hue, but rather a stain left behind by something that had soaked into it.

Xiao Ran approached and touched the wall with his finger, feeling a rough texture, then brought it to his nose to sniff.

It still smelled of rust, but it was stronger and more metallic than on the Ancient Battlefield.

"This palace... it couldn't have been built with blood, could it?"

He frowned.

The palace gates stood wide open, ten feet high and twenty feet wide, with dense runes carved into the doorframe.

Most of the runes had been worn smooth by time and were illegible, but the remaining parts still emitted a faint glow.

Xiao Ran identified them for a while and recognized some ancient characters.

"Death."

"Underworld."

"Yellow Springs."

"Rebirth."

"Venerable Huangquan."

Xiao Ran remembered the President of the Wanhua Society mentioning this name.

Venerable Huangquan, a Human Race powerhouse from the great war between humans and yao ten thousand years ago.

At the Peak of the Body Integration Stage, he was just one step away from a Breakthrough to Undergoing Tribulation.

The Cultivation Technique he practiced was related to the netherworld; it was said he could communicate with the Yellow Springs and summon an army of the dead.

In the final battle, he led his Huangquan Legion in a bloody struggle against the Yao Race for three days and three nights before finally dying of exhaustion.

The place where he fell was said to be deep within this Ancient Battlefield.

And the equinox flower grew right beside the site of his fall.

"The fall site of a Peak Body Integration Stage expert—no wonder the president's people couldn't get in despite so many attempts."

"This place is indeed a bit unusual."

Xiao Ran took a deep breath and finally decided to step through the gates.

After all, the deal was made; even if it were a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, he had to brave it.

A man must have integrity.

The moment Xiao Ran stepped into the hall, the surrounding light suddenly dimmed.

It was as if it had been suddenly swallowed by something.

The dark red halo outside vanished completely, replaced by an eerie green glow.

It came from nowhere, yet it illuminated the entire hall.

The interior of the hall was much larger than it appeared from the outside, spacious enough to hold a thousand people.

The floor was paved with dark green stone slabs, each carved with different runes.

The runes connected together to form a massive formation.

At the center of the formation was a well.

The well's opening wasn't large, about three feet in diameter, and its rim was covered in runes.

Inside the well was not water, but an eerie green mist.

The mist churned slowly, as if it were alive.

Within the mist, human faces could be vaguely seen—some hideous, some sorrowful, some despairing—each face roaring silently.

The equinox flower grew right on the rim of the well.

It was a flower the size of a palm, its petals a deep red, red like congealed blood.

The edges of the petals were black, as if scorched by fire.

The stamen was golden, emitting a soft light that stood in sharp contrast to the surrounding eerie green.

It grew there in isolation, without leaves or roots, as if it had sprouted out of the stone itself.

Xiao Ran narrowed his eyes, not rushing forward.

He carefully observed his surroundings.

On the walls of the hall, an ever-burning lamp sat every ten feet, the flames inside an eerie green, burning silently.

Beneath the lamps stood rows of neat armor.

The armors were empty, with no one inside, but each set maintained a standing posture, holding Long Halberds facing the center of the hall.

They were like soldiers in formation, waiting for a general's inspection.

"Huangquan Legion..." Xiao Ran whispered to himself.

The President of the Wanhua Society had said that the Huangquan Legion led by Venerable Huangquan was a renowned elite force in the war ten thousand years ago.

This legion was composed of the undead, immortal and indestructible.

As long as Venerable Huangquan's magic power remained, they could be resurrected infinitely.

After Venerable Huangquan fell, his magic power did not fully dissipate but remained in these ruins.

The undead within these armors were likely still 'alive'.

Xiao Ran tentatively took a step forward.

As he took the first step, the eerie green lamps in the hall flickered slightly, the light fluctuating as if something had brushed past them.

As he took the second step, the leftmost set of armor in one row vibrated slightly, making a faint metallic scraping sound.

As he took the third step, "Boom!"

With a synchronized sound, all the armor in the hall turned toward him at once!

Dozens of pairs of empty eye sockets stared at him in unison, eerie green ghost fires dancing within them.

The Long Halberds were raised together, their tips pointed in his direction.

An invisible pressure surged from all sides, making it hard for him to breathe.

Xiao Ran's hand rested on his sword hilt, but he did not draw it.

He took a deep breath and activated his Guixu Body, the greyish-black vortexes swirling around him, slowly devouring that pressure.

The armors did not move.

They simply stared at Xiao Ran, as if waiting for something.

Xiao Ran thought for a moment, then took a piece of dried Yao Beast meat from his storage ring and threw it toward the group of armor.

The dried meat landed on the floor, bounced twice, and rolled to the feet of one set of armor.

The armor looked down, its empty eye sockets staring at the meat, showing no reaction.

"As expected, they only attack things with a life aura."

Xiao Ran now understood.

He looked at his palm; the Guixu Vortex rotated slowly, completely concealing his life aura. He took a deep breath and walked forward.

The armors moved.

Not to attack him, but to step back in unison, clearing a path for him.

The halberds were retracted, the armors returned to their positions, and they resumed their original poses as if they had never moved.

Xiao Ran passed through the ranks of armor and arrived at the rim of the well.