Chapter 38: Turmoil Rises Again (Part 2)

“Ah!” The sharp cry of Nüluo echoed piercingly in this empty and mysterious space.

She could hardly believe her eyes. Though she had endured countless ordeals and bizarre events, what she now witnessed strained her already frayed nerves to the breaking point.

The path before her was vanishing, step by step. It was as if some force in the darkness—overwhelming and devouring—was consuming the way forward, swallowing it as if it were food.

Nüluo felt that this force was slowly closing in on her. The only thing left beneath her feet was the narrow stair she stood on, and even that was fading away.

With the last of her strength, her entire body hung suspended in the void. She could see nothing in any direction, and the surrounding light dimmed further in an instant.

All she heard was the wind, growing stronger, a wind that seemed to devour everything.

A strange aura drifted toward her—a laugh. She could not see what creature could emit such an eerie sound, but the laughter grew clearer, drawing ever nearer, until it finally surrounded and enveloped her.

At the same time, the stair beneath her feet disappeared. Her last support was gone.

In a heartbeat, she was stepping into emptiness.

Nüluo’s figure plunged rapidly downward, falling into the fathomless depths below.

It felt as though a thousand pounds weighed her down, the speed of her descent so swift it was utterly uncontrollable.

Events had slipped far beyond her grasp, and that terrible laughter continued to swirl around her, as if falling with her, as if pulling her further down.

Suddenly, Nüluo thought of falling stars streaking across the night sky—bright, dazzling, heading irreversibly toward oblivion, their radiant colors the final bloom of life.

Suspended in midair, she tried everything to slow her descent. With a simultaneous surge of icy and fiery spiritual energy, she at last halted her fall. But she could not control her direction, drifting aimlessly like a feather on the wind.

In the dim light, she saw countless shadowy forms drifting around her—phantoms. The sight reminded her of the resentful spirits she’d encountered at the River of Three Crossings.

When she stopped falling, the laughter abruptly ceased.

Countless dark shapes encircled her, innumerable eyes fixed upon her—their fresh prey.

Nüluo gathered her strongest spiritual power, but drifting in midair, she was unable to wield her full strength. Of all the perils she’d faced, this was the most dangerous yet. It was as though some intangible force bound her fast.

Gradually, the shadows took shape, and Nüluo could finally see them clearly—almost retching at what she beheld. What on earth were these things?

Huge heads, with bulging, bell-like eyes that seemed ready to pop from their sockets at any moment. Their long tongues extended, and Nüluo could even see the viscous slime dripping from them, bead by bead.

Their bodies shriveled behind their massive heads, so tiny as to be almost negligible, and the whole form was nearly transparent.

What were these creatures?

Could it have been these monsters that had been laughing just now?

They surrounded her densely, countless in number. Without the protective barrier’s power, she would already be their meal.

The thought of being devoured by such abominations sent cold sweat running down her spine. It was too horrible; she would rather see her soul annihilated than be eaten by such things.

The monsters stared at Nüluo, the two sides locked in a standoff in midair.

The monsters’ tongues kept darting toward her barrier, as if tasting the freshness of new prey.

Nüluo forced herself to suppress her disgust—she had to remain at her best.

Suddenly, a voice echoed out, freezing her heart. She heard a dreadful word: “Familiar.”

“What a familiar scent!”

“A familiar aura!”

The monsters babbled over each other, but their main topic was “familiarity.”

Nüluo stared at them in terror, her mind echoing with a single word—familiar. They actually recognized her scent—the aura of the Earth God’s lineage.

From the look in their eyes, they even seemed to savor that taste, as if they had enjoyed it before.

A horrifying thought took root in Nüluo’s mind. What had happened the last time the Underworld Fire was claimed? As she gazed at the monsters before her, her fighting spirit flared anew. Whatever had happened, no matter how cruel the truth, she would face it.

Since Sunset Mountain, it was as if she’d been uncovering mystery after mystery, each brutal truth piercing her heart, every answer bound up with the loss of those closest to her.

Perhaps this time she would face an even more devastating truth—and a harsher trial.

Now, she was confronted with the first trial of the Underworld Fire’s barrier: the devouring spirits.

Across the ages, the Underworld had always ruled over the world of spirits. In this domain, steeped in death, an inextinguishable flame burned—the fire of the Underworld.

It grew at the heart of the Palace of the Underworld King, extending infinitely deep underground. No one knew how far below the surface it lay; it was a depth almost beyond reckoning, as if spanning countless dimensions.

There, deep beneath the earth, it burned silently. Whoever sought it would have to pass innumerable trials.

Nüluo summoned the Hexagonal Snowflake, immense icy power whirling around her. Pure white flakes drifted among the devouring spirits, their crystalline brilliance a striking contrast to the gloom.

The spirits stared at the snowflakes, at first bewildered. The power of ice was holy, a force of light. Just as night fears the coming of dawn, undead creatures were innately afraid of such purity.

The spirits shrank back, dreading these snowflakes radiating a dreadful aura.

Nüluo carefully controlled her descent; if there was truly a bottom, she needed to reach it.

“Have we seen such snowflakes before?” one spirit asked.

The others seemed to ponder, gradually dawning with realization.

“It seems there are more now. Before, they had five points.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

More spirits chimed in, as if sharing a collective memory.

While the spirits recalled their last encounter with such snowflakes, Nüluo wondered who it was that had accompanied her mother into this dreadful place.

Every secret is revealed in time, usually at the worst possible moment, not the best. Truth is precious, but more often it is cruel.

Generations of history had worn away the blood-soaked marks of the past, and when the dust was finally brushed aside, not only was the tranquil surface removed but the old wounds were exposed anew. The moment the truth came to light, all pretense vanished, like reopening a scar that had long since healed, exposing bloody flesh once more—the pain sharper than ever before.

Nüluo had never expected that her persistence and resolve would lead her to such a devastating truth. Sealed memories awakened, faded scars reappeared.

The spirits at last recalled the source of this familiar aura.

Countless voices merged into one: “You are of the Earth God’s bloodline!”

The piercing laughter rang out once more.

Nüluo calmly faced the spirits. Watching them open their mouths wide, tongues dripping with saliva, she no longer felt initial revulsion.

The best way to scorn a creature is to ignore it, to forget from the heart. If these spirits had become irrelevant, then no matter what they became, they would stir no emotion in her.

Now, Nüluo regarded them only as living secrets. Once those secrets were exposed, perhaps that would be their end. For now, she didn’t mind letting them persist a little longer.

From their expressions, Nüluo had already guessed the most terrifying truth, but she needed to be certain.

The spirits’ laughter gathered into a mighty force, roaring through the space, but now it no longer affected Nüluo at all.

The spirits seemed to sense her strange composure; the laughter faded.

“Since you’ve delivered yourself, there’s no reason for us to refuse.”

“Haha, another feast—such delicacies haven’t come to us in ages!”

“Eat her!”

Shrill, chaotic, terrifying howls filled the air. The spirits erupted in every kind of sound.

Countless eyes fixed greedily on their only prey, unable to conceal their excitement.

Those evil, bloodthirsty eyes now held an air of certainty.

Their forms pressed ever closer, leaving not a single gap.

In her heart, Nüluo sneered. “They want to eat me? Let them try!” Whatever happened in the past, the outcome must have been unbearable—if they once committed an unforgivable sin, let her be the one to end it now.

But she showed nothing on her face. She was fighting alone; any slip, any error, could spell disaster. All she could do was achieve final victory at the lowest possible cost. Thus, she must face every challenge in her best state.

Power surged at her fingertips, icy spiritual energy already in play as she secretly summoned the power of fire. She was ready. The battle was about to begin.