Chapter 511: Netherworld Lu Li
Xing Han opened his eyes and looked around. His body was still covered in various limbs, and not only that, but a huge demonic creature, like an octopus, was clinging to his back. The creature's limbs were powerful and strong, slowly constricting his body, tightening continuously.
It was this demonic creature that had strangled him unconscious.
"Who's speaking?" he asked weakly.
"A person from the mortal realm, an interesting life. Xing Han, having fallen to such a state, do you still wish to return alive to the mortal realm?"
A voice circled around him, winding back and forth, now left, now right, now above, now below, like a fish swimming in the darkness: "You are a sage born once every five hundred years, yet you have ended up like this. Truly lamentable. With this form of yours, what face do you have to meet the world?"
The branching bodies on Xing Han were bound by the demonic creature, unable to move, which instead allowed him to catch his breath. This half-day had been an immense torment for him. In his entire life, he had never suffered so much hardship, endured so much pain. He had never been so humiliated, so helpless.
Yet now, he did not feel relieved, because this was the Netherworld.
When he jumped into the river, he realized this was the Netherworld, the place where the dead sink.
He had already been in despair. The Netherworld, the domain ruled by Tu Bo, the Earth Lord. He had never heard of anyone entering the Netherworld and surviving.
He had first broken into Fengdu, the City of the Dead, and now he had broken into the Netherworld. Why was heaven so cruel and malicious to him?
"Who exactly are you? Why do you come to mock me?"
Xing Han exhaled a turbid breath, trying to break free from the demonic creature's grip, but he couldn't muster any power. And even if he could break free, the other people's bodies on him would rebel, beating and cursing him.
He had no ability now to get rid of the demonic creature or the limbs on his body. His lifespan was running out. If his life force was exhausted, he would die in the Netherworld.
"My name is Lu Li."
The voice stopped moving and laughed: "To the left is Xuan Ming, to the right is Han Lei; ahead is Lu Li, behind is Yu Huang."
Xing Han panted heavily and said, "Lu Li? You asked me earlier if I wanted to return to the mortal realm. I want to return to the mortal realm!"
"You don't know the meaning of that verse?"
The voice's tone carried some disappointment, sighing: "Even the top experts of the mortal realm are so ignorant, not knowing Xuan Ming, Han Lei, Lu Li, and Yu Huang. Have you degenerated to this level? Never mind, I won't bully you for your ignorance. I can let you return to the mortal realm, resolve the problem with your physical body, and even erase your name from the death register, freeing you from the worry of dying of old age."
Xing Han's expression shifted slightly. "What do I need to do?"
"Speaking with an intelligent person is refreshing."
Lu Li's voice laughed: "More than ten years ago, a child was born in the Netherworld, absorbing the Netherworld's energy, and then was taken away, sent out of the Netherworld. I need you to find him and send him back after you return to the mortal realm. My physical body is too strong; I cannot cross the barrier between the Netherworld and the mortal realm. So I need you to walk in the mortal realm for me and handle my affairs!"
"How am I supposed to find this child?" Xing Han asked.
"Very simple. He has a jade pendant on his chest, with a unique symbol on it, and a character 'Qin'. When you see the pendant, you will recognize it."
Lu Li's voice continued: "He is seventeen years old, about to turn eighteen. I have drawn his birth date and the shape of the jade pendant. He was born on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, in the year of Jiazi, the month of Chou, the hour of Zi."
A picture flew over. Suddenly, the octopus-like demonic creature on Xing Han's back detached itself and flew away, disappearing silently into the darkness.
At that moment, the human limbs on Xing Han's body began to rot and disintegrate. Countless heads, hands, feet, and bodies fell off one after another. Xing Han's heart shook violently. He felt his body was his own again and quickly grabbed the picture.
Lu Li's voice sounded in his ear: "When you find this child, you can kill him or capture him, but you absolutely must not let his soul scatter. I need you to deliver his soul intact to the Netherworld! If even a single hair is missing, you will die a miserable death!"
As the word "miserable" fell, suddenly, Xing Han's body burst forth with limbs again, popping and growing all over.
Lu Li's sneering laughter drifted around him. Xing Han's body returned to normal, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"I will give you a mirror. After you find him, you can use this mirror to verify his identity."
A mirror suddenly appeared from the darkness, floating down into Xing Han's hands. Lu Li's voice laughed: "This mirror can reveal his identity. However, you must not shine it directly on him, understand?"
"Not shine it directly on him?" Xing Han was slightly stunned, puzzled.
"Correct. You must face away from him and use the mirror to observe him!"
Lu Li's tone suddenly became stern, and he said harshly: "Remember, when facing him directly, you must never, ever use this mirror to shine on him! Only when your back is to him!"
Xing Han said, "I understand. You don't need to repeat it many times. Such a trivial matter..."
"This is no trivial matter!"
Lu Li's voice sneered: "If you shine it on him directly, you will cause big trouble, very big trouble! I can extend your life by thirty years. You have thirty years to accomplish this task for me. You may go!"
"Wait!"
Xing Han revealed a smile and said leisurely: "We haven't met yet. This mirror can shine on that person; it should also be able to shine on you, right?" He flipped the mirror and shone it behind himself.
"You..."
He stared blankly at the mirror's surface. The mirror reflected a peerless beauty. He heard Lu Li's voice, clearly a man's voice, but what the mirror showed was a woman!
The beauty flicked her finger, and Xing Han felt the world spin, as if falling into a huge whirlpool. When he came to his senses, he found himself lying on a long stone under an ancient pine tree, as if he had fallen asleep and camped there overnight.
Birds were singing, flowers were fragrant all around, and a waterfall cascaded nearby. A few monkeys were darting through the forest, occasionally stopping to break off some bananas from a tree, peeling them and eating them with relish, all while cautiously watching him.
Xing Han was dazed. He looked around. Where was this? Was this still the cliff of the Great Wasteland? Ahead of him was a vast ocean!
"What place is this?" he couldn't help but wonder.
"This is the South Sea." The monkey threw away the banana peel, hitting him on the head, and spoke.
"The South Sea?"
Xing Han quickly got up, his mind blank. He was now in the southernmost part of the Great Wasteland, a full thirty to forty thousand li from where he had entered Fengdu!
"You are a strange beast from the Great Wasteland, and you can talk. You must be a special breed, having opened your spiritual wisdom."
Xing Han picked up the banana peel, flicked it away, and said: "Since you pointed out the location for me, I won't kill you. But you can't escape a little suffering."
The monkey leaped up, but before it could land, a banana peel suddenly appeared under its feet, causing it to fall flat on its back. The monkey was furious. It got up to seek revenge on Xing Han, but Xing Han had already vanished without a trace.
"Squeak, how petty!" The monkey was enraged. It jumped onto a tree, but its hand grabbed another banana peel, and it tumbled down from the tree again.
That banana peel seemed to have a grudge against it. Whenever it jumped, the peel would automatically appear under its hands or feet, nearly beating it to death.
The monkey was furious. It picked up a stone and smashed the banana peel to pieces.
Meanwhile, Xing Han had already gone far away, muttering under his breath: "Although that Lu Li is incredibly skilled, she cannot enter the mortal realm. Am I, Xing Han, someone who can be manipulated? She gave me thirty years of life, trying to control me with that. Not so easy! Doctor Qin said he has established the mathematical model for the Divine Bridge Space and has spread it. I will go to the Yan Kang Empire. With my talent and comprehension, I can become a god in a year or two and break free from her control!"
Suddenly, Lu Li's voice sounded in his ear, laughing: "Naughty boy. I'll deduct fifteen years of your lifespan."
Xing Han's heart shook violently. He quickly looked around but saw no trace of Lu Li.
"This is the mortal realm. She cannot come here! I must be hallucinating!"
Just as he thought this, he suddenly realized something and quickly opened his Life and Death Divine Treasury. The Life and Death Divine Treasury connected to the Netherworld. There, in the dim, hazy, and vast darkness, an eye was emitting a faint light, staring at him.
Xing Han's heart turned cold. He knew he could never escape her, not even if he became a god!
"Who exactly is this person born in the Netherworld?"
Xing Han frowned deeply. There were many people aged seventeen or eighteen. Where was he supposed to find such a person?
"Fatty Dragon, hurry up! It's getting dark!"
Qin Mu urged. "We need to find a ruin or a village before dark!"
Darkness descended, surging from the west. Qin Mu led Long Qilin and the box to a ruin. Inside the ruin were various strange beasts from the Great Wasteland, all minding their own business. The box dug up a broken stone tablet from the ground and was about to stuff it into its belly, but the tablet was too big to fit.
Qin Mu stepped forward, brushed the dust off the tablet, and saw it inscribed with words like "Big Dipper Xuan Ming Zhen Jing Tian Dou Mu Yuan Jun." He thought to himself, "This is the Heavenly Court of the Kai Huang Era, the residence of the Big Dipper Dou Mu Yuan Jun? This Dou Mu Yuan Jun must have been a powerful goddess, but unfortunately, this place has also become ruins..."
He stood up, walked to the entrance of the Dou Mu Palace, and looked out at the darkness.
The darkness was like a curtain, precisely blocked by the light barrier of the Dou Mu Palace entrance. Light and darkness were sharply divided.
Qin Mu hesitated. He extended his little finger and slowly reached his fingernail toward the darkness.
"Don't die, Sect Leader!"
Long Qilin rushed over, bit his leg, and dragged him back. Qin Mu was pulled face-first into the ground, getting covered in dust. He flipped over, pinned Long Qilin down, and started beating him.
Roar!
The ruin fell into chaos. Many strange beasts and powerful beast lords from the Great Wasteland were furious, roaring continuously, and closing in on Qin Mu.
Cold sweat broke out on Qin Mu's forehead. He slowly backed away, carefully watching the thousands of beasts pressing in, and explained, "Gentlemen, listen to me. I didn't mean to break the rules of the Great Wasteland. It was this Fatty Dragon who started it..."
He retreated to the entrance, bumping into a stone pillar. The giant beasts, some beating their chests, some baring their teeth, some sharpening their claws, some brewing their divine arts, were all ready to kill this guy who had broken the rules of the Great Wasteland!
Qin Mu gritted his teeth. He suddenly turned around and slammed his head forward, his head plunging into the darkness.
The beasts were all stunned. Long Qilin quickly ran over, wailing loudly, biting Qin Mu's pant leg and dragging him back. The other beasts covered their faces. Dragging him like that would surely pull out a skull with no flesh, or maybe a clean break at the neck, bloody and gory!
"Fatty Dragon, get off." Qin Mu kicked his leg, scaring the beasts so much that their fur and scales stood on end!
"Gh-gh-ghost..."
A beast lord stammered, then suddenly roared: "A zombie!"
Just then, with a pop, Qin Mu's entire body burrowed into the darkness. Before the beasts could breathe a sigh of relief, suddenly a head popped out of the darkness, looking around.
Thud!
A beast fell straight down, scared unconscious.