NOVEL WEB Chapter 388 - 21: On the Bank of the River of Forgetfulness, the Vine Behemoth
Chapter 388: Chapter 21: On the Bank of the River of Forgetfulness, the Vine Behemoth
On the way to Ghost Gate, Wei Mojun looked at the expression of Feitian Yecha with a cold gaze.
However, Feitian Yecha merely bore a rigid zombie face, which utterly lacked any trace of subtle emotion.
The zombie obviously had ill intentions, which everyone could see, and it could also guess that everyone had noticed.
So, on that basis, what did it plan to do?
If its scheme were revealed, it would surely be punished by oneself, who wielded the Hiltless Locust Wood Sword—maybe even be directly wiped out.
In other words, a pointless scheme held no value unless that scheme could directly kill oneself with a one-hundred-percent certainty, enabling it to seize back the Hiltless Locust Wood Sword.
Given the intelligence of Feitian Yecha, it wouldn’t engage in futile efforts—if it struck, the attack would certainly be the most ferocious one possible.
Yet, Ah Jing had once said that she couldn’t constantly watch one’s future, but if one were to die at some future point, breaking the future timeline, Ah Jing would definitely notice it.
That meant, if Feitian Yecha planned to kill oneself, then it was doomed to fail since Ah Jing would warn one in advance—just like the ironclad rule for protagonists in novels, how could the plot progress if the protagonist died?
“Brother Wei.” Jiang the Witch said beside him, “I also have some items in this Storage Bag, maybe they can be used to bribe the underworld guards.”
“If Brother Wen were here, that would be great,” Wei Dongliu said indifferently, “His understanding of this place would presumably be much more than the average person’s.”
“Brother Wei,” Jiang the Witch showed a somewhat irritated smile, “Given Wen Yang’s cautious nature, there’s no way he would bribe underworld guards… It’s more likely he’d turn tail and dash back upon seeing Ghost Gate.”
“…Indeed.”
After inspecting the Storage Bag handed over by Jiang the Witch, Wei Dongliu found indeed many items inside, most of which were loot from the White Bone Divine Palace.
As for whether they could deal with the guards at the gate, that was hard to say; they could only play it by ear.
When they arrived at Ghost Gate, they saw it towering about thirty meters high, with two fierce demons showing blue faces and sharp fangs leaning against the city wall napping.
If Wen Yang were here, he would surely have taken the initiative to explain the origins of these underworld guards, but Feitian Yecha belonged to the type that was extremely crafty, with nine truths mixed with one lie in every ten sentences. Wei Dongliu didn’t want to bother discerning truth from falsehood in such trivial matters and therefore simply didn’t ask.
As the group approached within five steps, the two underworld guards suddenly woke up with a start, shouting:
“Who are these petty intruders daring to invade Ghost Gate!”
“Gentlemen…” Wei Mojun had just begun speaking when he saw the originally ferocious faces of the two underworld guards suddenly reveal incredibly lively and unbelievable expressions, and then they hurriedly said in a humble tone, “Ah, isn’t this the Abi Devil Lord? What brings you to Ghost Gate?”
Everyone: ???
Wei Mojun suddenly realized; during the battle with the Heavenly Demon on Golden Turtle Island, those Heavenly Demons had referred to his appearance as the “Abi Devil Lord.”
The so-called Abi Devil Lord was a roaming Demon Lord from the deepest depths of Hell… It seemed that in the entire Netherworld, he also strangely held a formidable reputation.
“I want to pass through.” Abiding by the principle that more talk meant more mistakes and less talk meant fewer, Wei Mojun said coldly.
“Of course, right this way,” the two underworld guards immediately stepped aside respectfully.
Jiang the Witch: ………
Feitian Yecha: ………
It was only after they had passed through Ghost Gate that Jiang the Witch snapped out of her daze and exclaimed,
“Abi Devil Lord?”
The Flying Asura’s expression didn’t change, but her mind was both shocked and angered:
Abi Devil Lord? I recall that old man mentioning him a few times… Enemies that even he fears are few and far between.
No, it can’t be possible that this child is the Abi Devil Lord! Since there’s an ability to switch at will, it must only be his Dharma Body.
But what kind of Dharma Body would be identical to the Abi Devil Lord?
Or could there be another possibility, that this red-haired, double-pupiled form is his true nature, while the form of that human child from before was just a disguise…
This thought alone sent a shiver through the Flying Asura!
Damn it! What am I even thinking? If this child really is a disguise of the Abi Devil Lord, where would I find the slightest hope of escape?
No, it can’t be! This cannot be the truth! I must find a way to test him!
That’s it!
The Flying Asura decided to abandon her original plan and switch to another one with a smaller risk that would also make it easier for her to extricate herself from the situation.
After crossing the Ghost Gate, the Yin energy was undoubtedly denser by a level.
Neither Wei the Demon Lord nor the Flying Asura felt any discomfort, but Jiang the Witch began to feel slightly unwell due to her shallow mastery of the Secret Technique.
The path ahead was the Netherworld Road, just like what they experienced in the Pavilion Secret Realm, only greatly elongated in scale. The two, along with the corpse, walked for nearly half a day and still hadn’t reached the end.
Until up ahead came the faint sound of rushing, roaring water.
The River of Forgetfulness lies at the end of the Netherworld Road. Legend has it that those who enter the underworld while their lives are not yet over can find a chance to turn back on the Netherworld Road. But once they cross the Naihe Bridge, a return to the Mortal World is impossible.
On both sides of the River of Forgetfulness, large patches of spider lilies bloomed, with most of the petals featuring eight segments, primarily in alternating red and white, exceptionally enchanting.
Wei Dongliu and Jiang Liyan were no cultivation novices, and naturally wouldn’t rush towards the spider lilies. Instead, they cast their gazes toward the Flying Asura.
“I don’t know either.” This time, the Flying Asura refused to spill any information, cunningly saying, “Regarding the spider lilies, I only heard about them from others and have never experienced it firsthand.”
Wei the Demon Lord neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply drew his Myriad Demons Evil Spirit Sword and fired it towards the vast sea of flowers ahead.
Before the Sword Light even reached, countless vines shot out from the ground trying to intercept it. However, with a slight hook of his finger, Wei the Demon Lord employed an exquisitely delicate swordsmanship maneuver to dodge and retract the Sword Light back to the group.
When they looked again, they saw a huge monster emerging from the soil ahead, with countless writhing vine-tentacles on the outside, while the inside was composed of vast stretches of dark earth and roots, the true form indecipherable.
The spider lilies grew in dense, overlapping layers on the surface of the monster, resembling meticulous scales.
Undoubtedly, had they approached directly just now, they would have been grabbed by the monster’s tentacles and hardly had any chance of escape—the sheer number of tentacles on the monster hardly allowed any time for retaliation.
Wei the Demon Lord swiftly decided on a course of action, flicking his sleeve and spitting out three points of golden light from within: three Golden Poisoned Silkworm Gu, which avoided the chaotically dancing tentacles and burrowed straight toward the entrails of the beast.
Not to be outdone, Jiang the Witch also threw out a dozen Demon Heads, which transformed into giant warriors riding dark clouds, grasping the beast’s tentacles from all directions and pulling fiercely.
Seeing the others engage, the Flying Asura didn’t dare to slack off blatantly. She charged straight toward the beast, clawing away the layers of soil on its surface and tearing at the entangled roots within.