116: Chapter 116 Tracing the Origins of Bloodlines and Whispers of the Past

The dark-gold-robed Altar Master's self-destruct sequence was triggered, only to be forcibly annihilated by a single finger from Lin Chen, leaving not even a speck of ash behind. A bizarre silence fell over the main hall of the temple. Only the weak wandering souls that had been rescued, drifting aimlessly, bore witness to everything that had just occurred.

Zhang Hao's earth-shattering words—"They are searching for souls possessing the special 'Nether Lord Bloodline' mark"—echoed in everyone's minds like a curse.

Su Qingyu looked at Lin Chen with a complex gaze filled with shock and a trace of imperceptible worry. Little Red Clothes held her doll, her pale eyes also full of curiosity. Zhang Hao just floated there, his expression a tangled mess of "I've discovered a massive secret but I'm terrified."

"Nether Lord Bloodline..." Lin Chen repeated the four words in a low voice. His face remained expressionless, but deep within his eyes, thoughts were surging. Without the slightest hesitation, he directly ordered Zhang Hao: "Speak! Tell me everything you heard, every relevant piece of information. Do not leave out a single word!"

"Yes, Boss!" Zhang Hao jolted and quickly poured out the information he had dug from the depths of the Altar Master's soul using mind-reading, like beans spilling from a bag:

"That Altar Master didn't know the core secrets, but he had received the highest-level divine oracle! The primary mission of the Thousand Faces Cult in the Underworld isn't to spread faith or collect ordinary soul energy; it's to sift through every wandering soul they can catch, like sifting sand, searching for a special 'mark'!"

"According to their divine oracle, that mark is an extremely ancient and noble brand of 'authority' hidden deep within the soul's origin, known as the 'Nether Lord Mark' or 'Nether Lord Bloodline'! To the 'God of a Thousand Faces' they worship, a soul with this mark is the ultimate 'tonic' and a certain key 'key'!"

"Once a soul with this mark is discovered, it must be captured at all costs and then subjected to the most thorough 'sacrifice' and 'devouring' through a specific flesh-and-blood altar like the one just now! Supposedly, this pertains to whether the 'God of a Thousand Faces' can truly seize or interfere with... uh, that word was a bit blurry, something like the ownership of the 'Underworld's Supreme Authority'?"

Zhang Hao swallowed non-existent saliva and continued, "Furthermore, from the Altar Master's memory fragments, this operation to hunt the 'Nether Lord Bloodline' has been going on for a very, very long time—so long that many high-ranking members of the Thousand Faces Cult have forgotten the original reason, only knowing it is the supreme mission that must be completed. They have established strongholds like this one in various regions of the Underworld, laying out an inescapable net..."

The information was basically clear now.

A hidden organization of an evil god had the core objective of systematically hunting souls in the Underworld that might be related to the "Nether Lord"!

Lin Chen remained silent, raising his hand to look at his palm. He thought of the [nether domain asset system] he had awakened—the ability to grow stronger through spending money, as if he naturally possessed a portion of the Underworld's authority. He thought of the ease with which he could mobilize nether talismans, suppress the rules of Bizarre Monsters, and even "bribe" the Judges. He thought of the [Underworld Development Zone] and the title of "Nether Lord" unlocked by the system after the Final Battle...

Could all of this... not be a coincidence?

Was he the very "Nether Lord Bloodline" the Thousand Faces Cult had been searching for?

Or perhaps, one of them?

"Boss... you... you couldn't be..." Zhang Hao looked at Lin Chen cautiously, not daring to speak the second half of the sentence.

Su Qingyu also looked at Lin Chen nervously.

Lin Chen didn't answer, but his eyes already said everything. He closed his eyes directly, his consciousness sinking into his body. He was no longer just operating through the system interface, but attempting to use his own will to communicate with and perceive the origin hidden in the deepest part of his soul!

Boom—!

It was as if a door sealed for endless ages had been pushed open!

A vast, ancient, and noble flow of information, carrying the intent of governing the netherworld and presiding over the cycle of life and death, surged into Lin Chen's consciousness like a river bursting its banks!

It was no longer the mechanical prompt of the system, but an inherited memory originating from his bloodline and the very essence of his soul beginning to awaken!

Countless fragments of images flashed by:

A vast, boundless, dark void dotted with stars—that was the true face of the Underworld, far beyond what the Barren Bone Plain could compare to...

Ancient palaces towering majestically, each radiating the fluctuations of different laws—those were the symbols of authority for the Ten Yama Kings...

A turbid river traversing the void, flowing with the power of oblivion and rebirth—that was the River of Forgetfulness...

And... a terrifying war that swept through the entire Underworld, causing countless palaces to collapse, laws to become chaotic, and the River of Forgetfulness to flow backward! The figures of the warring parties were blurred, but the aura radiated by one side gave Lin Chen a sense of blood-connected familiarity and sorrow, while the other side was full of distortion, greed, and a nauseating, ever-changing "Thousand-Faced" quality!

At the conclusion of this great war, that familiar figure seemed to make a resolute decision, shattering a portion of their own origin along with certain important "permissions" into countless pieces and scattering them into the endless void. One of those pieces fell toward... Earth?

Meanwhile, that distorted figure full of "Thousand-Faced" traits was frantically searching for and capturing those scattered fragments...

The inherited memory became blurred and intermittent at this point.

Lin Chen snapped his eyes open. In the depths of his pupils, ancient nether stars seemed to be born and extinguished. At this moment, his aura underwent a subtle change, gaining an indescribable weight and majesty.

"So... that's how it is," he whispered to himself, the many doubts in his heart suddenly clearing.

His cheat wasn't something that appeared out of thin air. That [nether domain asset system] was likely the manifestation of that familiar figure's shattered origin and permissions combined with him, a descendant (or reincarnation?) of the "Nether Lord Bloodline" stranded on Earth!

And the Thousand Faces Cult and the "God of a Thousand Faces" behind it were among the culprits who caused the war that broke the Underworld! They hunted the "Nether Lord Bloodline" to completely devour and seize the remaining authority to achieve some ultimate goal!

"Boss, are... are you okay?" Su Qingyu asked worriedly.

Lin Chen shook his head, his gaze becoming sharp and cold once more. A dangerous and excited curve even hooked at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm fine, I just figured some things out." He looked at the purified bone altars, with only a few remaining, then at the filth-ridden temple. "It seems that from the very beginning, the Thousand Faces Cult and I have been mortal enemies who cannot coexist."

Previously, he had only viewed the Thousand Faces Cult as an eyesore and a stumbling block. Now he understood they were an arch-enemy involving his own origins and survival!

"Then... what do we do?" Zhang Hao asked.

"What do we do?" Lin Chen sneered. "Naturally, we take the initiative to attack!"

He brought up the system interface again, but this time, he no longer relied solely on the system's own functions. Instead, he attempted to integrate the trace of the "Nether Lord Bloodline" aura that had just awakened within him into it!

[Ding! High-level authority fluctuation detected... Verifying authority... Verification passed! Welcome, noble bloodline successor!]

The system's prompt actually carried a hint of human-like awe!

The interface changed accordingly, becoming deeper, and more hidden, grayed-out options were lit up!

[Underworld Territory Map (Incomplete) unlocked!]

[Bloodline Tracking Function (Targeting same-source or hostile bloodlines) unlocked!]

[Ancient Underworld Secret Database (Partial) unlocked!]

Lin Chen directly opened the [Bloodline Tracking Function], setting it to track the distorted and filthy bloodline aura unique to the "God of a Thousand Faces" and its followers, as well as... tracking the faint signals of the "Nether Lord Bloodline" that shared his origin!

Buzz—!

The Underworld map on the system interface flashed violently. Countless light points, some bright and some dim, began to emerge and be labeled!

Among them, the light points representing the "Thousand-Faced" filthy bloodline were spread across the Underworld like malignant tumors, appearing in significant numbers and clustering into thick red patches in several areas! In contrast, the same-source signals representing the "Nether Lord Bloodline" were much weaker, scattered like candles in the wind, and the vast majority were located near or surrounded by those "Thousand-Faced" red patches! They were clearly in a dangerous situation, being hunted or imprisoned!

But there was one signal that was very special!

It wasn't located in those "Thousand-Faced" red patch areas, but was on the edge of a region marked as an "Unknown Chaotic Zone" on the map. This signal was extremely weak, as if it could be extinguished at any moment, yet it carried an indescribable "Nether Lord" aura that was older and purer than Lin Chen's own! Furthermore, it seemed to be... actively and extremely covertly emitting a faint fluctuation, like a call, or perhaps a warning?

"This is..." Lin Chen's gaze instantly locked onto that weak and special signal.

Just as he concentrated his spirit, attempting to further perceive that signal—

Thump...

An extremely faint sound, as if coming from an eternity ago and crossing endless barriers of time and space... a heartbeat? Or perhaps the whisper of some existence, abruptly and directly rang out deep within his soul!

The whisper's specific language was indistinguishable, yet it carried an indescribable greed and... sense of hunger that made one's soul freeze!

It was aimed precisely at Lin Chen's newly awakened "Nether Lord Bloodline"!

Simultaneously, on Lin Chen's system map, all the light points representing the "Thousand-Faced" filthy bloodline seemed to receive some invisible stimulation, flashing and becoming restless all at once!

[Warning! Detected the sweep of an unknown high-level existence's intent!]

[Warning! Hostile faith network activity is rising sharply!]

[Warning! You may have been specifically targeted by the 'God of a Thousand Faces' (or its avatar)!]

(Hook: That whisper of the old days echoed in Lin Chen's soul, like a hungry behemoth that had finally caught the scent of its most desired prey. Every Thousand-Faced Cultist in the Underworld looked up at this moment, turning their gaze toward the direction of the Barren Bone Plain.)

Lin Chen snapped his head up, his gaze sharp as a blade. Far from being afraid, he revealed a smile full of battle intent, bordering on arrogance.

"Finally... noticed me?"

"Good, it saves me the trouble of finding you one by one."

"Come then, let me see if you, this so-called 'deity' who hides its head but shows its tail, can chew through a... tough bone like me!"