Chapter 2277 Entering the Netherworld
Long Chen reached out and pressed his hands against the back of Meng Qi and Chu Yao’s heads. The two of them then spread their hands to touch Tang Wan-er, Ye Zhiqiu, Liu Ruyan, and Dong Mingyu’s heads.
The four of them then touched Gu Yang, Xia Chen, Guo Ran, and the other’s heads. Like this, everyone was connected.
Even Cloud and Liu Ruyan were within their link. This advancement required sending their Yuan Spirits into the Netherworld.
All their cultivation bases were at the same level. However, they couldn’t enter the Netherworld the same way the old man had brought Long Chen with him.
Other than Wilde, everyone in the Dragonblood Legion had come. As for Wilde, his path couldn’t even be called cultivation. His advancements didn’t have any realms.
Moreover, even Liu Ruyan had to make this advancement before reaching higher realms. This indicated that Wilde was truly different.
Everyone’s foreheads lit up as miniature versions of them came out. Those were their Yuan Spirits.
All their Yuan Spirits were shining. Spiritual links tied them together, with all their Yuan Spirit energy pouring toward Long Chen.
Long Chen’s Yuan Spirit rumbled and boomed. Even with how powerful his Yuan Spirit was, joining with so many Yuan Spirits was extremely taxing.
This action would definitely be considered fantasy to the outside world. With so many people linked, if any one of them wanted Long Chen’s life, they could kill him and everyone else.
There were cases where people would make their breakthrough together. But it required absolute trust, as well as a certain agreeability between their Yuan Spirits. Even then, such a collective breakthrough could not possibly have more than five people together.
Long Chen had underestimated the difficulty of what he was doing. Even though the spiritual agreement between the Dragonblood warriors was very high, linking with so many Yuan Spirits was extremely difficult. If his Yuan Spirit wasn’t extremely powerful, he would have been crushed.
“The preparations are complete. Let’s go.”
Long Chen’s Yuan Spirit formed hand seals. After that, space shuddered and all the Dragonblood warriors’ Yuan Spirits became engulfed in death energy.
To attack the Netherpassage realm required having the Yuan Spirit go through death. This was a kind of suicide. If you hadn’t comprehended life and death before going through with this step, there would be no rebirth, only death.
Only upon touching the barrier and comprehending life and death was it possible to grasp the slightest chance of life upon dying to enter the Netherworld.
Long Chen and everyone’s Yuan Spirits vanished. Their bodies slowly collapsed to the ground like lifeless, empty husks.
Darkness. Endless darkness. Within that endless darkness, there was no sense of time or space. There was only an icy coldness.
Eventually, they saw a gate within the endless darkness. Only when they saw the gate did Long Chen and the others sense their own existence.
“Did we end up actually dying?” Guo Ran looked at his body strangely. He clenched and unclenched his fists.
His body had clearly been left in the Skyscraping World. However, he felt this body to be his. Even his clothes were the same; every mark on his skin was the same. But then he clearly remembered his Yuan Spirit leaving his body.
“Then why don’t you try looking for your astral space? If you do end up finding it, that would mean that we really died,” said Long Chen, his expression changing.
Everyone checked their astral spaces. Upon finding that they were still there, they were horrified.
“Hahahaha…” Long Chen suddenly laughed, causing everyone to realize he was just scaring them.
Tang Wan-er angrily grabbed his neck. “How is this the time for jokes?”
“Hehe, isn’t it because everyone’s too serious? A joke can adjust the mood,” said Long Chen.
Everyone walked through the gate. The world ahead was a world of mist, and the path beneath them was made of ancient bricks. It stretched off into the void.
They curiously examined this world. Gu Yang asked, “Boss, is this the Netherworld? It’s not as frightening as I thought it would be.”
Through the mist, they vaguely saw what seemed to be buildings. It wasn’t a land of death as they had imagined.
“This is just the entrance. The terror comes later…”
BOOM!
Even before he finished speaking, the void not far from them split open. A giant gate appeared there as well.
A giant figure came crawling out. It was a bestial figure, hundreds of meters tall, with strong arms and legs. A burst of Blood Qi blasted them in the face.
“What kind of creature is that?!”
BOOM!
When that thing looked around and saw Long Chen’s group, it snorted and bounced away, quickly vanishing from sight.
Everyone looked at each other. Was that someone else attacking the Netherpassage realm?
Suddenly, the void split open again. A tiny gate appeared, and from it came a rabbit.
“A… rabbit…?” Everyone stared oddly.
The rabbit was only a foot tall. Its body was snow-white, and its ears were raised in high alert. When it saw Long Chen and the others, it instantly vanished.
The Dragonblood warriors jumped in alarm. That rabbit was so fast that they didn’t even see in which direction it went.
The void split open once more. A giant gate appeared, and from it came out a thirty-meter-tall Earthen Dragon. It was covered in spikes that gave off a cold glint, and there was a blood-colored horn on its head that looked especially powerful.
The Earthen Dragon didn’t even look at Long Chen’s group. It just walked off.
After that, another figure appeared. It was a slender woman in emerald robes. She was very beautiful, but she had two antennas coming out of her forehead which was odd.
“Miss beautiful lady, may I ask-” Guo Ran stepped forward to greet her, only for those antennas to flash. Then a strange force sent him flying back. It was like he had been struck by a wall, and he almost coughed up blood.
When he furiously got up to demand what her problem was, she had already vanished.
“You shouldn’t get angry. She was pretty merciful. This is the Netherworld, and creatures from all kinds of worlds must pass through here. Other than ourselves, we can’t trust anyone. For you to suddenly get closer to her, she was naturally wary. To not kill you shows that she’s pretty kind,” said Long Chen.
“I was clearly talking to her nicely! Does her conscience not hurt to respond like that?” Guo Ran was still irritated.
“First of all, although she looks similar to us, that doesn’t mean that she’s from the same race. She might not understand what you’re saying. Second of all…” Long Chen suddenly paused.
“Second of all, what? Boss, tell me.”
Meng Qi looked from Long Chen and Guo Ran. She covered her smile. “Long Chen doesn’t feel good saying it, so I’ll do it. Second of all, your smile is too, how should I put it… wretched. She definitely thought you had some bad intentions toward her. As for why she only knocked you back instead of killing you, one reason is due to her own kindness, while another is because of her wariness of our numbers.”
“What? I don’t feel like I’m that bad. Gu Yang, tell me the truth. Is my smile really that of a bad person?” demanded Guo Ran.
Gu Yang seriously looked at Guo Ran closely, making him smile with teeth. He shook his head. “No, not at all. This smile makes you look far worse than an ordinary bad person.”
Everyone laughed. Long Chen waved his hand, knowing that Guo Ran had done this on purpose to lighten the mood.
Although everyone looked calm on the surface, they couldn’t help being nervous. This was the Netherworld. Only half the people who entered could leave alive. That was an iron law of the Netherworld.
“Let’s get to the important matters. I’ve come here before, so I can tell you that while the Netherworld is terrifying, it’s not as exaggerated as rumors say. As long as everyone listens to my directions, we’ll be fine.” Long Chen led the Dragonblood warriors through the path, and they quickly reached a bridge.
The bridge had figures in strange robes patrolling. They held chains, and one of them suddenly stabbed their chain through the air, causing a piercing wail. A figure was pierced by the chain and vanished into the mist.
The Dragonblood warriors jumped in shock. That figure had been hiding in midair, and none of them had sensed it.
“That was a spiritual entity, and these monsters guard this place, not letting spiritual bodies enter our world. As long as we don’t attack them, they won’t attack us,” said Long Chen.
Last time when he had entered with the old man, he had seen how terrifying these monsters were. He also had a strange feeling that they were much stronger than the last time he had been here.
Everyone carefully walked forward. Just that moment, a snarl came from behind them.