Chapter 817: The Second Corpse River
The moment she burst into the Scroll World, Blood Moon Ghost King sensed something was wrong. She realized she had entered a completely foreign world, no longer in the Underworld.
"Not good."
Blood Moon Ghost King quickly retreated, trying to exit this unknown world.
Unfortunately, the spatial door had already closed.
Blood Moon Ghost King halted in midair, her eyes becoming vigilant as she observed her surroundings. Only after sensing no danger did she pursue Zhang Ruochen again.
With her Ghost King level cultivation, even if that Fish-Dragon Realm human boy had some scheme, how could he possibly deal with her?
Unexpectedly, upon arriving in this strange world, Zhang Ruochen didn't continue fleeing. Instead, he stopped, turned around, and stared at Blood Moon Ghost King.
"What? Not running anymore?"
Blood Moon Ghost King descended from the air, landing opposite Zhang Ruochen. Her ghostly aura released, forming a powerful corrosive force that caused the surrounding vegetation to wither rapidly before their eyes.
Even the soil turned black, covered in a thick layer of frost.
With just a glare from Blood Moon Ghost King, the frost on the ground split into two streams, sending out sharp ice spikes that spread toward Zhang Ruochen and Hanxue.
However, before those rows of ice spikes could get within ten zhang of Zhang Ruochen and Hanxue, they were blocked by an invisible force, collapsing into ice particles.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "No need to run anymore."
"What do you mean?" Blood Moon Ghost King asked.
Blood Moon Ghost King was naturally quite confident in her own strength. Even if Zhang Ruochen tried some trick, she had full confidence she could suppress him.
But when she saw the crushed ice beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet, she was somewhat moved and became wary.
A warm smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face. "Don't you want to know where this place is?"
"No need to know."
Blood Moon Ghost King's gaze fixed on Hanxue, and she said impatiently, "Hand over the Void Sword, and this king will spare your lives."
"Entering the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and still daring to speak such arrogant words? You'll make this emperor die laughing. Haha!"
Xiao Hei laughed so hard he bent over, clutching his stomach and rolling on the ground.
Blood Moon Ghost King had long found Zhang Ruochen's cat unpleasant to look at, and hearing these words made her even more furious. She extended a slender finger and pointed into the void.
The ghostly aura flying from her fingertip condensed into a solid form, becoming an arm-thick chain.
The chain clattered, flying out like a dragon or snake.
Xiao Hei snorted coldly, extending a sharp claw and striking forward.
A black flame erupted from his claw, expanding as it burned, turning into a blazing fire cloud. It struck the chain, shattering it and refining it into wisps of ghostly mist.
Even Blood Moon Ghost King was sent flying backward by the powerful force, completely unable to contend with Xiao Hei.
"How is this possible?"
Blood Moon Ghost King looked at her right arm. Her palm, wrist, and arm were covered in dense cracks. Just a little more, and her ghostly body would have shattered.
In the Underworld, that cat's power was at most enough to contend with a Third-Rank Half-Saint. How had it become so powerful here?
Had it been hiding its strength before?
Blood Moon Ghost King considered this thought for only a moment before immediately dismissing it. If that cat were truly a supreme powerhouse, why would it submit to a Fish-Dragon Realm human?
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward, speaking calmly. "Blood Moon Ghost King, your powerful cultivation holds no advantage within the Cosmic Divine Wood Map. If you weren't still of some value, that strike just now would have been enough for Xiao Hei to scatter your soul."
"Is that so?" Blood Moon Ghost King said coldly.
Clearly, she wasn't convinced.
"What? Not convinced? Fine, this emperor specializes in curing all kinds of stubbornness."
Xiao Hei revealed a sinister smile, rubbing his paws together. He mobilized the spiritual energy of the Scroll World, gathering it onto himself.
In an instant, a powerful aura erupted. Behind him manifested a beastly shadow as massive as a mountain.
Just that aura alone forced Blood Moon Ghost King to retreat continuously.
She could clearly feel her ghostly aura being drained away. She wanted to counterattack but couldn't even muster the strength to fight back.
"Damn it, how is this happening?"
Blood Moon Ghost King's ghostly body grew increasingly fragile, her power dropping to an extremely low point, even weaker than a First-Rank Half-Saint.
Finally, Xiao Hei stopped. He handed a ghost pearl to Zhang Ruochen. "This is a pearl condensed from the ghostly aura I extracted from her."
That ghost pearl was only the size of a pigeon egg but was extremely heavy, radiating bone-chilling cold power.
Zhang Ruochen took the ghost pearl and looked at Blood Moon Ghost King. "I think we can sit down and talk properly now, can't we?"
Blood Moon Ghost King seemed quite dejected, her spirit low. She slowly dispersed the remaining ghostly aura from her hands, looked up, and laughed bitterly. "The victor is king, the loser a bandit. What else is there to talk about?"
Zhang Ruochen toyed with the ghost pearl. "I said before, as long as you honestly answer my questions, I'll spare your life."
"Is that so?" Blood Moon Ghost King said.
Just then, Hanxue took out a white robe and walked toward Blood Moon Ghost King, handing it to her. "Ghost sister, here you go."
Blood Moon Ghost King's gaze fixed on Hanxue's face, her eyes narrowing slightly.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally took the robe and draped it over herself, covering her flawless body beneath it. Only half of her snow-white calves and a pair of delicate jade feet remained exposed outside the robe.
"Hanxue, come back here."
Zhang Ruochen signaled Hanxue to return immediately, guarding against Blood Moon Ghost King launching a desperate counterattack.
Then he said, "Killing you would do me no good. But what I want to learn from your mouth is quite important, so you need not doubt my words. Of course, if you truly wish to die, I can grant that wish as well."
Blood Moon Ghost King's slender hands clutched at the collar of her robe, her posture straight as she glanced sideways at Zhang Ruochen. "Ask away. If I truly know, I might tell you."
Zhang Ruochen showed a pleased expression. As long as she was willing to speak, that was a good thing. "Tell me, do you know where Qiangu Nüdi is?"
Blood Moon Ghost King pondered for a moment before speaking slowly. "Actually, this king knows very little about Qiangu Nüdi."
Xiao Hei was very eager to learn about Qiangu Nüdi and immediately urged, "Speak quickly."
Blood Moon Ghost King glanced at Xiao Hei with displeasure. "Legends of Qiangu Nüdi do circulate in the Underworld. Even the various Ghost Kings revere her as a deity. It's said that in a very distant era, Qiangu Nüdi once suppressed and killed a god. That god's corpse fell into the Ghost God Valley."
"But after killing the god, she left the outer regions of the Underworld, crossed the Second Corpse River, and disappeared into the depths of the Underworld."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by the Second Corpse River?"
"If you keep traveling deeper into the Underworld, all the way to the end of heaven and earth, you'll encounter the Second Corpse River. The area we're in now is actually the region between the First Corpse River and the Second Corpse River, also called the outer Underworld."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "How many Corpse Rivers are there in the Underworld?"
Blood Moon Ghost King shook her head. "I'm not sure. I once crossed the Second Corpse River, but I retreated not long after. That realm is far too dangerous, inhabited by many ancient Ghost Kings and some extremely terrifying unknown creatures. If I continued forward, I would likely die there."
One had to understand that Blood Moon Ghost King's cultivation was already quite formidable, comparable to a Saint.
Yet the depths of the Underworld filled her with such fear. It was hard to imagine what kind of place it truly was.
Zhang Ruochen's expression shifted. "Unknown creatures? You mean, after crossing the Second Corpse River, you encountered living beings?"
There was naturally an essential difference between the undead and living beings.
For example, humans and savage beasts were all living beings.
Although there were some living beings in the outer Underworld, most had broken in from the Kunlun Realm and were not native.
Blood Moon Ghost King fell into recollection. After a long while, she said, "They were indeed living beings, and quite powerful at that. However, those living beings were very different from those in the Yang Realm... or what you call the Kunlun Realm. Or rather, they should be somewhere between the undead and living beings—a very peculiar type of creature."
"Living beings that can survive in the Underworld certainly can't be simple living creatures." Zhang Ruochen's brow furrowed deeply, a strong sense of crisis rising within him.
He could tell that Blood Moon Ghost King wasn't lying. This meant the depths of the Underworld were truly an extraordinary place.
Zhang Ruochen asked again, "This time, the Yang Realm Gate opened. What exactly happened?"
Blood Moon Ghost King shook her head. "I don't know."
"You don't even know that?" Zhang Ruochen found it hard to believe her words.
Blood Moon Ghost King glanced at Zhang Ruochen and added, "Perhaps it has something to do with the Void Sword. In the outer regions of the Underworld, a legend circulates. After Qiangu Nüdi killed the god, she used the Void Sword and the god's corpse to seal the passage between the Underworld and the Yang Realm. That's why, throughout endless ages, no one has been able to take a single step out of the Underworld."
"About a year ago, someone spread a message claiming the Void Sword was no longer in the Underworld and that the passage between the Underworld and the Yang Realm would soon open."
"Such news was too unbelievable, so I didn't take it seriously at the time. It wasn't until recently that Shenchu Ghost King issued a decree, commanding the Underworld's Ghost Kings to lead ghost soldiers and ghost generals to attack the Yang Realm. Only then did I realize the passage between the Underworld and the Yang Realm had truly opened."
After hearing this, Zhang Ruochen fell silent, beginning to ponder.