# 1137
Chapter 1138: Hell's Origin
In the silence, a flash of black light emanated from Shen Qingzhu's chest.
A faint aura of the Dao rippled out from his body, and an arcane, supreme presence filled the cavern. Lin Qiye and An Qingyu both froze, instinctively stepping back several paces.
Thump—
Thump—!!
In the quiet cave, the heavy sound of a heartbeat rang out once more. The Dao aura spread from Shen Qingzhu's chest across his entire body, and the nearly dried-up blood began to flow again. The cold, severed half-palm began to regenerate at a visible rate.
His vitality was returning.
"What's going on?" Lin Qiye's eyes were still red, though his confusion was evident.
"That jade pendant is reconstructing Brother Zhai's body." An Qingyu's eyes brightened. "He's going to come back to life!"
As the Dao aura surged, Shen Qingzhu's body was finally restored to completeness. His pale skin regained its color, the closed lashes trembled, and his eyes slowly opened.
The resurrected Shen Qingzhu stared at the two people before him in a daze for a moment before coming to his senses.
"It's you?"
"Brother Zhai!" Lin Qiye rushed forward, gripping Shen Qingzhu's shoulders with both hands. His spiritual power swept across Shen Qingzhu's body, confirming there were no longer any wounds. His face was filled with excitement and joy. "You're okay?"
Shen Qingzhu looked down茫然ly at his healed hand.
"I just..."
"You just died." An Qingyu interjected. "I checked—your body should have had no vitality left at all."
Shen Qingzhu seemed to remember something. He reached into his chest and pulled out a black jade pendant, holding it in his palm with an extremely complex expression.
"Before we left Heavenly Court, Fatty gave me a jade pendant that can bring people back from the dead... Thanks to this thing, I was able to come back to life."
"A treasure that can resurrect the dead?" Lin Qiye asked疑惑ly. "When did he have something like this?"
"I don't know." Shen Qingzhu looked at the jade pendant, giving a bitter smile. "Looks like I owe that little fatty another life."
Shen Qingzhu stood up from the ground, casually stretched his body—all his injuries had vanished, indistinguishable from before he was injured, and his movements were light and agile.
"Brother Zhai, what happened after we left?"
Lin Qiye asked.
Shen Qingzhu沉默片刻, letting out a long sigh. "After you left, the exploration boat drifted on the sea. Later, I heard two deafening booms from the sky, and then the ocean current patterns changed. By the time I reacted, the boat had sailed into a narrow river channel.
I was originally planning to find a place to turn around and leave. I didn't expect a giant python to suddenly emerge from the blood-colored water. It broke the ship's keel with its head, then bit through my body, carrying me through the mountains.
After a desperate fight, I killed that python, but my injuries were too severe. Plus, there were those monsters with black wings circling in the sky, so I could only find a cave to hide temporarily. After I leaned against the wall, I gradually lost consciousness... When I woke up, I saw you."
So he came here through the gap to Hell... Lin Qiye nodded.
"Brother Zhai, where did the ship sink?" An Qingyu asked郑重ly.
Shen Qingzhu thought for a moment, pointing in a direction. "The python carried me through many mountains, so I don't remember the exact location clearly, but it's roughly in this direction—should be about a dozen kilometers away."
"And that gap?"
"It's nearby too."
Lin Qiye nodded. "Alright, then let's go rescue Jiang Er first, then leave through the gap."
Lin Qiye stood at the edge of the cave, glancing outside.
"There are many demons out there. I'll take the front. Brother Zhai..."
Lin Qiye paused. "Brother Zhai in the middle. Qingyu guards the rear. If anything is discovered, notify me immediately."
For this single-file formation of three people, the person at the very front bore the greatest risk, followed by the person trailing at the end. The middle position was the safest.
Previously, the one always at the rear had been Shen Qingzhu, but the situation was special now. An Qingyu's presence here was merely a分身, so having him guard the rear meant that even if something unexpected happened, it wouldn't threaten his life. He was the most suitable choice for the rearguard position.
Relatively speaking, Shen Qingzhu was more vulnerable to injury, so having him in the middle was also perfectly reasonable. Lin Qiye knew this arrangement might increase Shen Qingzhu's sense of powerlessness, but this wasn't the time to worry about such things.
He had just witnessed Shen Qingzhu's death with his own eyes. As captain, he absolutely could not let Shen Qingzhu take any more risks.
The feeling of losing a teammate—he didn't want to experience it a second time.
Hearing Lin Qiye's arrangement, Shen Qingzhu's body微微一僵. After a moment of silence, he nodded obediently and quietly walked to the middle, following Lin Qiye out.
"Do you guys feel like the ash falling has decreased?" An Qingyu observed the sky through the air barrier Shen Qingzhu had created, speaking thoughtfully.
"Maybe it's ending. After all, this ash can't be infinite. Otherwise, if it fell like this everywhere, probably the entire Earth would be doomed."
"Probably..."
Since three people made a larger target, Lin Qiye moved even more carefully this time. It took nearly half an hour to cover half the distance.
However, as they ventured deeper, the mysterious red-glowing region deep within Hell gradually came into their view.
Through the gaps between the mountain peaks, the three looked toward the core area. A blood pool the size of a lake lay quietly among the surrounding connected mountains. The ash falling into the blood pool was quickly swallowed, as if it had never existed.
At the center of the blood pool, a black crystal-like fragment was floating and sinking.
Countless blood threads extended from the pool, clinging to the black crystal's surface, pulsating like blood vessels. Hundreds upon hundreds of demons盘旋above the blood pool, like a dark mass of clouds.
The moment Shen Qingzhu and An Qingyu saw that black crystal, their gazes were attracted as if by a magnet, unable to look away.
An unprecedented longing surged in their hearts.
A pair of palms simultaneously slapped the backs of their necks. Only then did they snap back to reality like people waking from a dream. Unbeknownst to them, their backs were already soaked with cold sweat.
"What is that thing?" An Qingyu deliberately fixed his gaze on the edge of the black crystal, observing it with peripheral vision, asking不解ly.
"That's the origin." Lin Qiye gazed at that black crystal, slowly speaking.
"The origin of Hell."