337: Chapter 337 You call this the Underworld?

Chen You looked at the vortex churning with black mist; the Big Yellow Duck had already flapped its wings and dived headfirst into it.

Old Mo stood on the dry bank of the moat, rubbing his hands and chuckling dryly.

"Master, these Yellow Springs are a forbidden zone for the living. This old man's brittle bones won't be accompanying you down there."

"I wish you great martial fortune and an early Foundation Establishment!"

Chen You ignored him, leaped forward, and jumped into the vortex.

Passing through a weightless tunnel of flickering light and shadow, Chen You landed steadily on his feet.

He had expected to see an underworld scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, with Equinox Flowers in bloom; he even had his yuhuang sword in hand, ready to strike at any moment.

Instead, he caught a scent.

It wasn't the smell of blood, nor was it the stench of rotting corpses.

It was an extremely pungent, incredibly familiar smell... the scent of sodium hypochlorite disinfectant.

There were no howling ghostly winds, no blood moon in the sky.

Above him were rows of neat, cool-toned LED anti-glare ceiling lights, illuminating the entire space as bright as day.

Beneath his feet was a non-slip floor covered in light blue mosaic tiles, even featuring several plastic grate grooves for drainage.

Directly ahead was a massive, fifty-meter-long standard indoor heated swimming pool.

The pool water appeared a deep black, with red and white plastic lane ropes floating on the surface, precisely dividing the entire pool into eight lanes.

At both ends of the pool, starting blocks equipped with touch-pad timers were installed.

Chen You stood frozen in place, not moving for a full minute.

The Big Yellow Duck let out a "Quack," seemingly very satisfied with the environment here.

It waddled with heavy steps to the edge of the pool, extended its large serrated webbed feet, and paddled them in the black water a few times, as if testing the temperature.

"What the hell..." Chen You held it in for a long time before spitting out a curse.

He looked up at the wall on the opposite side of the pool.

A huge red banner hung there, with bold white sans-serif characters that read:

[Life lies in movement; the Yellow Springs lie in making a splash.]

Below the banner, several laminated "Pool Regulations" were posted:

1. Spitting, urinating, or defecating in the Yellow Springs is strictly prohibited.

2. Those suffering from pink eye, heart disease, or Soul-Dissipation Syndrome are strictly forbidden from entering the water.

3. Please be sure to warm up before entering the water to prevent drowning caused by cramps (even though you are already dead).

"What kind of Yellow Springs is this!" Chen You covered his face, feeling his Cultivator worldviews being trampled like never before.

"Beep—!"

A sharp whistle broke Chen You's breakdown.

Chen You followed the sound and saw a person sitting on a high platform on the side of the pool.

No, to be precise, it was a skeleton wearing a red and yellow lifeguard vest and reflective aviator sunglasses.

A shiny silver whistle hung around the skeleton's neck, and it held a long-handled net used for scooping up leaves.

A line of green NPC text floated above its head: [Yellow Springs Lifeguard · Referee Aguda].

"You with the duck!" Referee Aguda pointed the net at Chen You, his jawbone clicking open and shut, making a leaky, whistling sound.

"I'm talking to you! Didn't you see the regulations? Pets must wear specialized swimming diapers to enter the water! Otherwise, who's going to take responsibility if it poops in the pool?"

Hearing this, the Big Yellow Duck turned its head and let out a roar filled with mythological-grade pressure toward Referee Aguda: "Quack—!"

Dark golden sound waves caused ripples to spread across the water's surface.

Referee Aguda's aviators slid down to his nose bridge; he adjusted his glasses, completely unaffected by the pressure, and gave a cold laugh.

"What are you squawking for? So what if you're a mythological-grade mutant? Does being a mythological-grade mutant give you the right to relieve yourself anywhere in the pool?"

"Let me tell you, last month an ice dragon spat in here, and I punished it by making it scrub the pool for three months!"

Chen You stepped forward, suppressing the sense of absurdity in his heart, and asked tentatively, "Are you the one in charge here? I need to cross the Yellow Springs to reach Foundation Establishment."

"Cross the Yellow Springs?" Referee Aguda jumped down from the high platform, his bones making a clicking and grinding sound.

He walked up to Chen You and looked him up and down. "A Cultivator? Here for the Foundation Establishment quest?"

"Yes."

"Know the rules?" Referee Aguda extended a bony hand and rubbed two finger bones together.

Chen You breathed a sigh of relief.

If it was about money, that was easy.

He was currently so poor that all he had left was money.

He casually pulled out a bag of gold coins, about a thousand of them, and handed it over.

Referee Aguda took the money bag, weighed it, nodded with satisfaction, and then stuffed the bag into his empty ribcage.

The gold coins fell through the gaps in the ribs and hit the ground with a crisp clinking sound, rolling everywhere.

Referee Aguda wasn't embarrassed; he bent down to pick up the coins while pulling a laminated form from his vest pocket and slapping it onto Chen You's chest.

"Registration fee paid. Go over there, fill out the form, and get ready for check-in."

Chen You picked up the form to take a look.

[8th Huangquan Games — 4x100m Medley Relay Registration Form]

Chen You: ???

"What does this mean?" Chen You pointed at the form. "To cross the Yellow Springs, I have to participate in a sports meet?"

"Nonsense."

"You think the Yellow Springs is your backyard, where you can come and go as you please?"

"See this pool water? This is Weak Water! Not even a goose feather can float, and reed catkins sink straight to the bottom!"

"Only by winning the championship in the 4x100m medley relay can you obtain the passage permit!"

Chen You took a deep breath and pointed at himself: "Look at me, do I look like I can complete the race?"

"Your physique is alright, good muscle definition, explosive power should be fine," Referee Aguda commented professionally.

"That's not the point!" Chen You slammed the form onto the folding table nearby.

"A 4x100m relay needs four people! I'm just one person! Who am I supposed to relay with? A ghost?!"

Referee Aguda nodded as if it were a matter of course. "Exactly, you relay with ghosts. This is the Yellow Springs; did you expect to relay with living people?"

Chen You was left speechless.

[Ding! Exclusive Foundation Establishment Quest updated.]

[Quest Objective: Form a team and take first place in the Yellow Springs 4x100m Medley Relay.]

[Quest Reward: Yellow Springs passage reward, Foundation Establishment breakthrough opportunity.]

[Failure Penalty: Cultivation cleared, remain in the Yellow Springs permanently as a janitor.]

Looking at the blood-red failure penalty on the system panel, the corners of Chen You's eyes twitched violently.

He looked at Referee Aguda, attempting one last struggle: "Can I just fly across?"

"You can try." Referee Aguda pointed to the bottom of the pool. "The last sword Cultivator who tried to fly his sword over the Yellow Springs is still at the bottom of the pool, picking moss out of the tile cracks."

"Then I'll drain the water!" Chen You gripped his yuhuang sword.

"Damaging the competition venue results in immediate disqualification, confiscation of tools, and a fine of one hundred thousand gold coins." Referee Aguda blew his whistle.

Chen You fell silent.

He glanced at the Big Yellow Duck, which was doing chest expansions by the poolside.

"Fine, I give in," Chen You said through gritted teeth.

"But I'm only one person. Counting this duck, that's two at most. What about the other two spots?"

"Don't you worry about that." Referee Aguda walked to the folding table.

"Our Yellow Springs Bathing... ahem, Huangquan Sports Center is very user-friendly. For solo players like you, we provide a 'random matchmaking' service."

"Random matchmaking?"

"Yes, the system will randomly select two from the resident unemployed wandering souls of the Yellow Springs to be your temporary teammates." Referee Aguda gave a weird smile.