234: Netherworld

Nearly two thousand people.

Swarming in.

"Let's go too."

Xiao Weiqing followed the crowd and stepped into the teleportation channel.

"Xiao Weiqing, you guys be careful. Be mindful in ruins like this; generally, there shouldn't be any life-threatening danger."

"Understood, Brother Bai."

...A desolate street.

It was somewhat similar to the cities on Blue Star; the facilities looked more advanced, but they were currently in ruins.

Xiao Weiqing wandered around alone.

"It really is a dilapidated ruin. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was the apocalypse."

"Whoosh..."

Clang~ Clang~~~

Xiao Weiqing whipped his head around.

A metal can rolled gently across the ground. Eerily, it became visibly covered in rust.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly.

A white shadow lunged forward fiercely.

"Shit!"

"What is that thing?"

It flew to within two meters of Xiao Weiqing and condensed into a human figure with blurred features. It looked extremely similar to a human as it reached out its palm to grab Xiao Weiqing's throat.

"Illusionary Light!"

Xiao Weiqing executed his Movement Technique, leaving a trail of light and shadow in his place.

The white shadow grabbed nothing but air.

"Die!"

The thousand flame blade appeared in his hand, and he slashed out violently.

Boom~~

The white shadow dispersed, and the flaming blade passed through it, cleaving the building behind it apart without causing any damage to the white shadow.

"What the hell is that?"

Xiao Weiqing suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough.

The white shadow condensed and attacked again.

"Fire Domain!"

Instantly.

A sea of fire formed. The white shadow didn't have time to dodge and crashed into the Fire Domain.

At that moment.

Xiao Weiqing could clearly perceive this ghost-like unknown object.

Failing its strike, the white shadow flew back in a flash.

"Want to run?"

"Too late!"

Xiao Weiqing's figure flashed, appearing beside the white shadow.

Without holding back, he wrapped the Samadhi True Fire around the thousand flame blade and slashed down fiercely.

"Sever!"

A shrill scream rang out.

The white shadow kept dispersing and re-condensing, but the Samadhi True Fire followed it relentlessly. Gradually, the white shadow dissipated, leaving behind only a ball of light, one inch in diameter and about the size of a ping-pong ball.

"divine charm substance?"

Xiao Weiqing knew this feeling all too well; it was clearly divine charm, and quite a lot of it, roughly 3 to 4 units.

Xiao Weiqing reached out and took the ball of light in his hand; it felt like a warm, soft energy ball.

"What kind of existence was that white shadow?"

Just then.

Rumble~

Ahead.

A dilapidated two-story building grew visibly more decayed, as if enduring thousands of years of wind and frost, before collapsing for no reason. A chilling aura rushed toward him.

Xiao Weiqing sucked in a cold breath.

In his spiritual perception, a four-meter-tall white shadow drifted along the buildings. Wherever it passed, the originally old structures began to crack, and the walls even started to weather away.

"Holy crap!"

As a firm materialist, Xiao Weiqing lifted his feet, turned around, and beat a hasty retreat.

He ran for several streets in one breath.

He only felt relieved after looking back and seeing that the white shadow hadn't followed him.

"What kind of world is this?"

Xiao Weiqing hid in a grocery store to see if there was anything that could help him understand this world.

Night fell.

The city was deathly silent.

!@¥#!

!@¥#!

...

The sudden sound of an alarm gave Xiao Weiqing a start.

On the street.

A one-meter-tall, yellow, trash-can-shaped robot was wandering about, a yellow light on its body flashing.

Xiao Weiqing glanced at it and then paid no more attention.

But with just that one glance.

The robot, which had been moving straight, turned and headed directly toward the grocery store.

Xiao Weiqing manifested the thousand flame blade, prepared to cleave it in two.

Unexpectedly, the robot projected a penguin, then continuously shifted through Spirit Beasts, animals, Yao Race, and humanoid races, finally turning into a small child whose appearance was identical to those on Blue Star.

"Hello, Blue Star person."

Hearing this.

Xiao Weiqing was a bit surprised.

"Hello, Blue Star person."

The projection spoke again.

"Hello."

Xiao Weiqing replied, but did not show himself.

After receiving a response, the projection passed directly through the glass and floated in.

"Hello, handsome!"

The projection shifted again, turning into a sexy lady.

Xiao Weiqing was shocked, "What the hell?"

"My name is stidy. I am a public service Artificial Intelligence; this function is currently not supported."

...

"Then change back to how you were just now."

"Okay."

The projection shifted, returning to the child's appearance.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Xiao Weiqing asked, "Where is this?"

stidy said, "Siphon Star Domain, Silent Galaxy Cluster, Sea of Memories Galaxy, Denier Civilization, Nanga Planet, Ga'as Empire, Sorsa Province, Ede City..."

"Fine, fine... that's enough, that's enough."

Xiao Weiqing interrupted stidy's self-introduction.

"I haven't finished yet. There's also the district, the street..."

"No need, thank you. Pretend I didn't ask."

"What's the deal with that white shadow outside?"

stidy said, "Netherworld. Soldiers who died in battle, special life forms created from intense obsession, will kill all organisms that invade the city."

"Your civilization was destroyed?"

"Yes."

"Was it also the Yao Race's doing?"

"No, it was the Yueji People."

Xiao Weiqing was a bit dazed, "Who are the Yueji People?"

stidy said, "The Yueji People come from the Atticus Civilization. They are in the Siphon Star Domain, Silent Galaxy Cluster, Shuigeng Galaxy..."

"Fine, I get it. Stop reciting..."

"I haven't finished yet. There are also the planets their civilization controls, as well as their sphere of influence..."

"No need for an introduction, thank you."

Xiao Weiqing's head hurt from listening.

"Does your civilization have a temple?"

"Yes."

"Where is it?" Xiao Weiqing's eyes lit up.

"In the Siphon Star Domain..."

"Stop, I'm begging you. Just tell me directly, is it far from here? If it's more than 100 kilometers away, don't say another word."

"It is 960,000 light-years from here."

"What?"

Xiao Weiqing was completely dumbfounded. What did he just hear? Light-years?

"Was your civilization's strength that great, and your sphere of influence that large?"

"No, the temple was stolen. It's in the Siphon Star Domain..."

Xiao Weiqing stared at stidy with drooping eyelids.

"Alright, I'll stop talking."

After saying that, stidy walked over and sat down beside Xiao Weiqing; the two were like old friends.

"stidy, does your civilization have anything valuable left?"

"No, everything on this planet has been plundered clean."

"Then is there any advanced technology, like spaceships, teleportation channels, psionic cannons, or something like that? Preferably the kind that can take out a planet in one shot."

stidy said irritably, "If we had those, would our civilization have been destroyed?"

"What about treasures that help with cultivation?"

stidy still shook its head.

"What about you?"

stidy tilted its head, not quite understanding.

"What do you mean?"

Xiao Weiqing narrowed his eyes and said, "I see you're quite advanced. Your civilization is gone; have you considered changing your place of work?"

stidy's pupils constricted. It scrambled up, floated outside, and dove straight into the trash can. Before it could even start moving...

Xiao Weiqing took a step, ran out to the street, picked up the trash can, and returned to the grocery store.

"What are you running for?"

stidy floated out with a look of grievance.

"Bad person!"