Chapter 17: Netherfruit
Linley and Bebe couldn’t help but feel a jolt of shock.
“If I had actually flown in like that just now, I probably would have died!” Linley felt a lingering fear. He hadn’t even Dragonized yet, having planned to do so upon entering the Nether Mountains. Who would have thought that this seemingly safe ‘gap’ would be so dangerous? Without Dragonizing, he definitely couldn’t withstand it. However…
Bebe had been flying ahead. If Bebe got close and triggered a change in the lightning chains, Linley would have reacted in advance.
Linley turned to look at the green-robed youth. Still grateful, he said, “Thank you very much. By the way, let me ask—how is it that you’re around the Nether Mountains?”
Linley’s confusion was understandable. This green-robed youth was only a mid-level god.
The danger level in the Netherworld wasn’t lower than in the Infernal Realm. A mid-level god wandering around outside was basically asking for death.
“I live nearby.” The green-robed youth smiled, pointing into the distance.
Linley followed his gaze. Several thousand meters away, there were rows of standard courtyards. In front of these courtyards stood a three-story building, on which were written four large characters—Nether Hotel!
“Opening a hotel here?” Linley was somewhat surprised.
“Nether Hotel?” Bebe asked, puzzled. “Who runs this hotel? Opening a hotel in the wild like this—pretty impressive.” In such a desolate place, a hotel was just asking to be robbed by bandits. Unless they had extraordinary backing, no one would dare open a hotel in the wilderness outside a city.
The green-robed youth said proudly, “Our hotel belongs to the Emerald Castle. Who would dare cause trouble here?”
“What is the Emerald Castle?” Bebe pressed further. Linley also looked at the green-robed youth with the same confusion.
The green-robed youth paused, staring at Linley and Bebe as if they were monsters. “You’ve never even heard of the Emerald Castle? You’re both high-level gods. After all these years in the Netherworld, haven’t you had any contact with the outside world?” He couldn’t believe they didn’t know about the Emerald Castle.
“We came from the Infernal Realm,” Linley said.
“Oh, I see. So you two came from the Infernal Realm.” The green-robed youth suddenly understood.
“Let me tell you!” he continued with a smile. “Our hotel is run by the Emerald Castle. And the Emerald Castle is famous throughout the Netherworld! Our Emerald Castle has three lords, and all three lords are… great Sovereign’s Messengers!”
Linley and Bebe couldn’t help but be startled.
Three lords, all Sovereign’s Messengers? No wonder the Emerald Castle was so powerful.
“Where is the Emerald Castle?” Linley pressed further. He had read a book describing the general geography of the Netherworld. If the Emerald Castle was truly this famous, the book should have mentioned it.
“I don’t know.”
The green-robed youth shook his head. “Where the Emerald Castle actually is—that’s a secret in the Netherworld.”
Linley smiled and dropped the subject, getting straight to the point: “Could you tell me… how to enter the Nether Mountains?”
“Enter the Nether Mountains? Oh… at the northern foot of the Nether Mountains, about a thousand miles from here, there’s a mountain gate. Everyone who wants to enter the Nether Mountains goes through that gate.” The green-robed youth smiled. Since he lived nearby, he knew it well.
“Oh, thank you.” Linley smiled, preparing to fly there with Bebe.
“Hey, wait a moment.” Seeing them about to leave, the green-robed youth quickly called out.
“Hmm?” Linley and Bebe both turned to look at him.
The green-robed youth hurriedly said, “You’re too impatient. It seems you know very little about the Nether Mountains. The Nether Mountains are extremely dangerous…”
“We know it’s dangerous,” Bebe said with a grin. “What’s there to fear about danger?”
The green-robed youth sighed helplessly. “I know you two are powerful, but… the clouds covering the surface of the Nether Mountains are also very strange. However… every full moon night, the clouds become thinner, and their power greatly diminishes. Most people who enter the Nether Mountains go in at that time!”
“Full moon night?” Linley calculated. “Five days from now.”
“If you two really must go in, I suggest waiting five days. By then, the danger will be reduced, and it won’t be too late to enter,” the green-robed youth said.
Linley and Bebe exchanged a glance and made their decision.
“Alright, we’ll wait five days. We’ll stay at your Nether Hotel for now,” Linley said with a smile.
“Great. I’ll take you two there.” The green-robed youth smiled eagerly. In fact, he had rushed over as soon as he saw Linley and Bebe flying toward the Nether Mountains… He had done this many times to attract guests.
The Nether Hotel was right next to the Nether Mountains.
In front of the hotel’s main gate was a large grassy area, with a lake at its center. When Linley and Bebe arrived under the green-robed youth’s guidance, the first thing that caught Linley’s attention was a red-haired, pretty girl sitting by the lake, fishing. She glanced at Linley and Bebe, then nonchalantly went back to fishing.
“Interesting,” Linley murmured with a smile.
“Hey, who’s that woman?” Bebe asked the green-robed youth.
The green-robed youth quickly replied, “You two should be careful. That woman is our hotel’s owner. She came from the Emerald Castle. I don’t know much about her… but I’ve heard she has a fairly close relationship with one of the three lords of the Emerald Castle. And she’s very strong herself.”
“Kewen, mind your tongue!” A sharp, cold rebuke rang out.
“Ah, boss, I was wrong.” The green-robed youth immediately bowed. Then he said to Linley and Bebe with a smile, “Our boss is cold to outsiders, but she’s good to us.”
With that, the green-robed youth led Linley and Bebe into the hotel.
The hotel lobby was very large, divided into two sections. One was for receiving guests, and the other was a dining area. The dining area had dozens of tables, and at that moment, over a dozen people were sitting there, drinking and chatting.
“How long will you be staying?” asked a green-robed woman at the counter.
“Five days,” Bebe said.
“Ten thousand netherstones a day. Five days, fifty thousand netherstones,” the green-robed woman said.
Hearing this, Linley couldn’t help but turn his head. Ten thousand netherstones a day? Netherstones in the Netherworld were equivalent in value to ‘inkstones’ in the Infernal Realm. Back in the Infernal Realm, even staying in a city hotel cost only a few hundred inkstones a year. But here at the Nether Hotel, the price was tens of thousands of times higher!
“Are you robbing us?” Bebe couldn’t help but get angry.
The green-robed woman smiled calmly. “That’s our price. Staying at our Nether Hotel guarantees your safety within the hotel. Every year, many strong individuals check in… Ordinary hotels wouldn’t dare host these experts.”
“Experts?” Linley raised an eyebrow. He noticed that the people drinking and chatting in the dining area were all high-level gods. He couldn’t tell their exact strength without a fight, but judging by the green-robed woman’s words, they were likely very powerful.
“We only have inkstones,” Linley said. This immediately drew the attention of several drinkers in the dining area. People who only had inkstones were usually from the Infernal Realm. Coming from the Infernal Realm to the Netherworld… that was enough to make them take notice.
“Our Nether Hotel welcomes guests from all planes,” the green-haired woman said without surprise. “Same price—ten thousand inkstones a day. That’s fifty thousand inkstones total. Oh, and if you want drinks or food, that’s extra.”
Linley smiled, flipped his hand, and paid.
“Why are there so many guests here?” Bebe asked the woman curiously. “The area around the Nether Mountains is so desolate. Are all these people here to die in the Nether Mountains?” This remark drew hostile glances from several people in the dining area.
“Hmph, die? Aren’t you two here to die as well?” A cold voice came from the dining area.
Linley glanced over calmly.
“Bebe, don’t cause trouble,” Linley said with a faint smile.
Though unafraid, Linley didn’t want to stir up trouble.
“Remember, no fighting inside our Nether Hotel,” the green-robed woman said.
“Don’t worry,” Linley replied with a light smile.
Then Linley led Bebe to a corner table in the dining area. A server immediately came over with a menu. “The prices are ridiculously high,” Bebe muttered. But Linley and Bebe had already mentally prepared themselves. They casually ordered a few dishes and two bottles of fine wine, which cost nearly ten thousand inkstones.
“Boss, what do you think these people are here for? Are they like us, trying to meet a Sovereign?” Bebe sent a mental message. He couldn’t understand why so many strong individuals would come here.
“Sovereign? Not many people know there’s a Sovereign in the Nether Mountains,” Linley replied mentally.
Since arriving in the Netherworld, he had met three prefecture lords. One of them didn’t even know about the Sovereign in the Nether Mountains. Saint had only known because the Sovereign had mentioned it. Clearly, the Sovereign’s presence in the Nether Mountains was a secret.
“Don’t meddle,” Linley said with a faint smile.
He was in a good mood being here. So Linley and Bebe just drank their wine, ate their food, and chatted casually.
“Damn, even people from the Infernal Realm are coming to snatch the Netherfruit!” An indignant voice came from another part of the dining area, catching Linley and Bebe’s attention.
“Netherfruit?” Bebe looked at Linley. “Boss, do you know what the Netherfruit is?”
“No, I’ve never heard of it.” Linley shook his head, full of confusion.
Since there was no need for secrecy, Linley and Bebe spoke openly.
“Friends from the Infernal Realm, coming here for the Netherfruit and still denying it? Isn’t that a bit ridiculous? You’ve traveled all the way from the Infernal Realm to our Netherworld, to the Nether Mountains. If not for the Netherfruit, then why?” A faint voice came from nearby.
Linley turned to look. The speaker was a young man with flowing silver hair, giving him a somewhat feminine appearance.
“Hey, what’s so special about the Netherfruit? Tell me about it,” Bebe said, raising an eyebrow.
Several other guests in the dining area shot Bebe unfriendly glances but said nothing.
“The Netherfruit is a legendary treasure,” a sharp voice rang out. The red-haired girl who had been fishing earlier walked in, carrying her fishing rod in one hand and a small bucket in the other. “It’s priceless. It only appears in the Nether Mountains. Anyone who obtains a Netherfruit and eats it becomes a super-strong expert in the Netherworld and is also received by a Sovereign, becoming a Sovereign’s Messenger!”
Linley’s eyes widened in shock.
Obtain a Netherfruit, eat it, and become a Sovereign’s Messenger?
“Really?” Bebe couldn’t believe it either.
“Of course it’s true.”
The red-haired girl cast a cold glance at Linley and Bebe. “Over countless years, three Netherfruits have already appeared in the Nether Mountains. If it were false, why would groups of people keep coming here to try their luck?” She glanced at the other guests in the dining area, then walked up the stairs with a clatter.
Linley and Bebe exchanged a look, still in disbelief.
“Friends from the Infernal Realm, don’t you know that the three lords of the Emerald Castle were the three lucky ones who obtained the Netherfruit? Obtaining the Netherfruit allows one’s strength to skyrocket, becoming a super-strong expert comparable to a prefecture lord, and receiving a Sovereign artifact from a Sovereign to become a Sovereign’s Messenger!” The feminine young man sneered at them. “If you’re looking for the Netherfruit, there’s no need to pretend you don’t know.”
Bebe felt a surge of anger.
“Bebe, drink up,” Linley said with a faint smile, while sending a mental message: “Bebe, don’t waste time on these people.”
Linley and Bebe had indeed never heard of the Netherfruit. But they weren’t particularly interested in it either. Only three Netherfruits had appeared in countless years… that was far too rare. Of course, the promise of skyrocketing strength and becoming a Sovereign’s Messenger made the Netherfruit extremely tempting.
Suddenly—
Footsteps sounded, and someone walked in through the door.
Linley turned to look. “It’s him?”
The newcomer wore a black robe and had purple hair. It was the one who had been gaining the upper hand in the high-altitude battle between two super-strong experts that Linley and Bebe had witnessed on their way to the Nether Mountains.