136: Chapter 136 The Second Key Requires a Grand Sacrifice

The rotting dragon claw, carrying a fishy wind and the aura of death, snatched at the newly formed [key of suffering]!

"Buzz—!"

The "dragon might reverse scale" in Lin Chen's hand reacted even faster! The instant before the dragon claw touched the key, the reverse scale erupted with sky-piercing golden thunder and fire, transforming into a solid barrier that firmly blocked the dragon claw!

A piercing sound of corrosion rang out as the pus on the rotting dragon claw clashed violently with the golden thunder and fire, billowing black smoke...

"Roar—!"

From deep within the rift came more hungry and frantic dragon roars! Three more rotting dragon claws of varying sizes reached out, frantically tearing at the golden barrier! The barrier shook violently, and cracks began to appear on its surface!

"What the hell is that?!" Zhang Hao's ghostly body trembled in fear.

"Abyssal Dragon Demons." Lin Chen's eyes were cold as he stared at the vaguely discernible dragon characteristics on those rotting dragon claws. "Senior Ao Jin was right. The traitor Dragon Aspect is refining the corpses of fallen dragon warriors, polluting and modifying them with abyssal aura to create these monsters."

Su Qingyu's face turned pale: "They're trying to steal the key!"

"More than that." Lin Chen felt the extreme loathing and suppressive force toward those rotting dragon claws emanating from the reverse scale in his hand. "They want my 'Nether Lord Bloodline' even more. To their master, devouring me is more important than the key."

Before his words could even land—

"Crack!"

The golden barrier was finally torn open by the combined strength of the four dragon claws! The smallest but fastest rotting dragon claw lunged out like a venomous snake, bypassing the barrier and stabbing straight for Lin Chen's heart! The pitch-black abyssal demonic energy at the tips of its claws had solidified, emitting a foul stench that corroded the soul!

"Boss, watch out!" Zhang Hao cried out in alarm.

Lei Xiao (Original) let out a roar, the power of thunder and fire he had just obtained erupting from his body. He swung his axe to cleave the dragon claw, only to be swatted away mid-air by another claw!

Just as the dragon claw was about to strike—

Lin Chen moved.

He didn't dodge; he simply raised his left hand.

On his palm, the [Key of Suffering: Rule Credential] was burning slightly. He had instantly completed the preliminary "binding" of the key when he had collected it just now.

"Perfect, I'll use you to test the quality of this key."

With a thought, nether talisman energy surged frantically into the key of suffering!

The dark red light on the key suddenly flared brilliantly! An invisible and intangible but eerie ripple that pointed directly to the root of the deepest soul pain exploded outward with Lin Chen as the center!

This wasn't a physical attack, but... resonance and detonation!

The targets: those rotting dragon claws and the dragon souls that might be imprisoned and tortured behind them!

"Woooooo—!!!"

The movements of the four rotting dragon claws suddenly froze! Immediately after, they began to tremble and twist violently and uncontrollably! From the gaps between the rotting scales on the claws, dark gold specks of light carrying pure dragon aura actually seeped out! Those were dragon soul fragments that had been forcibly polluted and imprisoned; under the resonance of the key of suffering, their final painful memories and will to resist were awakened!

The abyssal demonic energy and dragon soul fragments clashed and exploded violently inside the dragon claws!

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

One after another, the four dragon claws exploded from the inside! Foul blood and bone fragments flew everywhere, mixed with scattering specks of dark gold dust—the final liberation of the dragon soul fragments.

From deep within the rift came an angry and pained roar, which then quickly receded as the rift began to shrink.

Obviously, the entity behind the scenes manipulating these Abyssal Dragon Demons had realized how troublesome the key of suffering was and retreated for the time being.

"The key... has this function too?" Zhang Hao watched, dumbfounded.

"A Rule Credential is essentially the manifestation of a portion of the Netherworld's authority." Lin Chen put away the key of suffering, watching the dissipating dark gold dust. "The authority of the key of suffering involves the rules of the emotion known as 'pain.' Resonating with and detonating inflicted pain, especially at the soul level, is one of its basic applications."

He looked at the shrinking rift, a cold light flashing in his eyes: "Dragon Aspect used abyssal demonic energy to torture and imprison the dragon souls of his own kin, refining them into monsters. This pain has precisely become their weakness."

"My Lord, where does this rift lead?" Lei Xiao (Original) stood up, clutching his chest, the flames of hatred burning in his eyes. He had inherited part of Ao Jin's legacy and felt a shared loathing for these monsters that defiled the dragon race.

"The Dragon Tomb Void." Lin Chen judged based on Ao Jin's final warning and the system scan. "The resting place of the dragon race has likely become the traitor's monster factory. However, now is not the time to look into that."

He looked at the other silver crystal ball in his hand—the [Memory Corridor Core], which was the carrier for the [key of memory].

"Of the three keys, the key of suffering is complete. The core of the key of memory is here, but what is needed to activate it into a full 'Rule Credential'?"

Lei Xiao recalled: "This Sinner General heard those cultists mention that the activation of the key of memory requires a 'grand sacrifice.' But it's not a slaughter; rather... a convergence of a massive amount of voluntary, intense memory or emotional energy related to the Netherworld. The purer and more massive this energy is, the stronger the key's power will be after activation, and the more precise its influence on the Well of Reincarnation."

Voluntary, intense memory or emotional energy related to the Netherworld?

Zhang Hao scratched his head: "Where are we going to find that? We can't just go around asking every ghost: 'Brother, care to sacrifice your most unforgettable Netherworld memory?'"

Su Qingyu said thoughtfully: "Perhaps... we don't need to look for it."

She looked at Lin Chen: "What is the greatest 'collective memory' and 'emotion' in the Netherworld right now?"

Lin Chen instantly understood what she meant.

The Well of Reincarnation collapsing, the countdown to the Netherworld's doomsday!

The panic and despair of billions of wandering souls, their desire for life, their fear of their souls being scattered, their prayers for order... Aren't these the most intense and massive "emotional energies" closely tied to the fate of the Netherworld?

But the problem was—how to make these emotions converge "voluntarily" and "orderly"?

"There's a way." A look of determination flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. "The Netherworld does not lack heroic spirits and remnant souls who died on the battlefield and whose soul thoughts have not dissipated. Their loyalty and attachment to the Netherworld are the purest emotions. If I can summon them and have them voluntarily offer their final soul power and memories..."

"The Heroic Spirit Summoning Ritual!" Lei Xiao blurted out. "That is a forbidden ritual from the Netherworld's ancient wars. It can awaken the remnant souls of some fallen warriors to assist in battle, but the cost is immense, and it requires a massive amount of soul power as a 'sacrifice' to guide it."

"Soul power?" Lin Chen smiled. "The thing we lack the least is 'money'."

He no longer hesitated and took action immediately.

Using the bank of the Jingyuan Tributary as a base point, Lin Chen used his temporary administrator permissions to mobilize the golden specks of light transformed from Ao Jin's final soul power in the river, drawing a massive and complex ancient summoning array on the ground.

At the same time, he opened the system interface.

[Netherworld Asset System], [Resource Allocation] permissions fully open!

[Target: Allocate Soul Crystal reserves, convert into pure soul power to serve as the 'guiding sacrifice' and 'resonance anchor' for the Heroic Spirit Summoning Ritual.]

[Amount required: Equivalent to the total soul power of ten thousand Ghost General-level entities.]

[Confirm allocation? Soul Crystal reserves can meet the demand, but it will consume approximately 30 billion nether talisman equivalent in resources.]

"Confirm."

[Executing command... Soul Crystals decomposing and converting...]

Boom!

Mountains of Soul Crystals silently melted away in Lin Chen's storage space, transforming into a sea of pure golden soul power that poured into the ground array like a waterfall!

The array was instantly lit up, and golden light soared into the sky, even thinning the gloomy sky of the Netherworld!

An ancient, desolate rhythm carrying the aura of war and sacrifice echoed from the array, spreading in all directions of the Netherworld, deep into the earth, communicating with those long-dormant heroic spirits!

"In the name of the current ruler of the Netherworld, using the orthodox Nether Lord Bloodline as a lead, and a massive amount of soul power as a sacrifice!"

Lin Chen's voice rang out like a rule-based decree, echoing throughout heaven and earth:

"The Netherworld is in peril, and reincarnation is about to collapse! Today, I require the power of heroic spirits to help me reshape order and turn the tide before it's too late!"

"This is not a forced conscription, but—a voluntary request for aid!"

"Those willing to help me, please offer a wisp of soul thought, a wisp of memory, and a wisp of your unextinguished attachment to the Netherworld!"

"I promise—if we win this battle, the names of the heroic spirits will be forever carved upon the monument! Your will to sacrifice shall be made known to heaven and earth! As long as the Netherworld exists, you shall be immortal!"

As his voice fell, the entire Netherworld as ifseemed to fall into silence for a moment.

Immediately after—

"Buzz..."

The ground began to vibrate slightly.

At first, there were scattered specks of light, floating out from various battlefield ruins, ancient tombs, and even from within some wandering souls throughout the Netherworld. Those were the remnant soul fragments of the fallen who had heard the call.

Then, the specks of light grew more numerous, like trickling streams merging into a river.

Countless blurry soul shadows wearing armor from different eras appeared within the specks of light. They had some incomplete parts, and some were just a single lingering thought, but in their eyes burned the will of loyalty and protection for the Netherworld.

They felt the orthodoxy of Lin Chen's bloodline, the sincerity of that massive soul power, and the crisis of the Netherworld's survival.

There was no coercion, only voluntary will.

"Willing... to help the Netherworld..."

"Protect... my home..."

"Battle... souls... immortal..."

Intermittent thoughts, carrying their final soul power, their deepest combat memories, and their most profound emotions for the Netherworld, surged actively toward the summoning array above the Jingyuan Tributary like a hundred rivers returning to the sea!

The golden light grew brighter and more massive!

Finally, it transformed into a golden pillar of light that pierced through heaven and earth!

Within the pillar of light, a crystal-clear silver key phantom, condensed from the memories and emotions of countless heroic spirits, slowly took shape—the [Key of Memory: Rule Credential] activation ritual was mostly complete!

However, at this most critical moment—

"Crack!"

The ground beneath everyone's feet split open without warning, revealing a huge fissure! It didn't lead to the Dragon Tomb Void, but to a gloomier, filthier depth of the Netherworld!

A massive ghostly hand, twisted from countless broken torture devices, chains, and soul fragments wailing in pain, suddenly reached out from the fissure, clawing fiercely at the phantom of the key of memory in the pillar of light!

A hoarse voice full of resentment and greed came from deep within the fissure:

"Such pure heroic spirit power... What a great tonic! A great tonic indeed! If I offer this to the Magistrate... he will surely be able to completely refine the core of the Well of Reincarnation! Hahaha!"

(Hook: Wrapped around the ghostly hand was a filthy rule aura belonging to the "traitor Magistrate," originating from the same source as the previous [Soul Beacon]! This culprit, who had been lurking in the depths of the Netherworld and had backstabbed the Lord of the Underworld back then, had actually personally stepped in to snatch it at this moment!)