novelraw Chapter 558 - 497: Why Should I Help You?
Chapter 558 - 497: Why Should I Help You?
The gorgeous Ghost Concubine from before was so jealous her eyes were red. She clutched her embroidered handkerchief and sneered, "Hmph! Let’s hope she doesn’t die in his bed!"
The Ghost Concubine had once been the Rakshasa King’s favorite, but she hadn’t received Sha’s favor again since the last time she’d warmed his bed. Yue Ji, who was always at odds with her, was eager to rub salt in the wound. Covering her mouth, she giggled. "The Venerable King has lived for hundreds of thousands of years without a single child. What he wants most is an heir!"
"Don’t even think about stealing him away, Ghost Concubine. During Rou Ji’s fertile period, the King is sure to keep her in his chambers."
"If Rou Ji truly conceives the King’s heir, her rise to Queen Ghost will be meteoric. Then, she couldn’t die even if she wanted to!"
In the past, whenever the Rakshasa King summoned his concubines, he would have at least five or six beauties attend to him at once. No matter how insatiable his desires, he would never favor a single woman for days on end, even one in her fertile period... It seemed he truly just wanted a child.
Hearing this, the Ghost Concubine’s face flushed with anger. She gritted her teeth and snorted. "That woman’s fertility is nothing compared to mine! There’s no way she’ll conceive the King’s heir!"
’If it were that easy, the Rakshasa King would have had an heir ages ago!’
Despite her words, the Ghost Concubine felt awful. After returning to her palace, she summoned an Imperial Physician to brew a potion that would increase both lust and fertility. ’I must win back the King’s heart!’
"..." Sang Luo happened to overhear the concubines’ conversation as she arrived.
’She was a little surprised. The Rakshasa King had lived for hundreds of thousands of years without any children. Could there be something wrong with him?’
’From what these women were saying, he was quite vigorous in that department. Who would have thought he couldn’t sire an heir!’
...
The Ninefold Palace stood tall and imposing. A man in black robes was seated on the high throne, his collar slightly askew, revealing one side of a firm, alluring chest. Faint traces of rouge could be seen, utterly shattering his air of stern authority and lending him a rakish, unrestrained charm.
Sang Luo’s arrival could not be hidden from Sha; he had probably known the moment she set foot in the Ghost Domain.
Of course, she hadn’t intended to hide her presence. ’But judging by his appearance,’ she thought, ’he must have just rolled out of some beauty’s bed.’
"...It seems I’ve disturbed the Rakshasa King’s pleasure again. What a shame."
"And what brings you here this time?" Sha asked, resting his chin on his hand and gazing down at her. His voice was flat, betraying no emotion.
"I do have an urgent matter to ask of you, Rakshasa King. I want to know where my two Beast Husbands and my children are," Sang Luo said, not wasting any words and getting straight to the point.
’In the Ghost Domain, there was probably nothing this man couldn’t do.’
’Asking for his help was perhaps the simplest solution.’
Of course, Sang Luo was prepared for refusal. The Rakshasa King owed her nothing and was under no obligation to help her.
If he was unwilling to help, she wouldn’t hold it against him. She would simply have to find another way.
Sha stared down at her in silence. Just as his gaze was making Sang Luo’s skin crawl and she was wondering if she should say something to break the tension, the man finally spoke.
"Very well."
He produced a cyan crystal ball. With a wave of his hand, it hovered in the air as countless images flickered across its surface.
Sang Luo held her breath, staring intently at the crystal ball until the image settled on a brilliant, sapphire-blue lake.
The lake was pure and beautiful, a rare sight in the Ghost Domain. From a distance, it resembled a dazzling, star-like gem, but a closer look revealed a secret hidden within its waters.
The reflection on the water’s surface didn’t match the surroundings. ’Is there another world hidden inside?!’
"This lake connects to the Ghost Domain’s Illusion Sea," Sha explained. "It was once a sealed, forbidden place, but your two Beast Husbands broke the seal. They used this lake to enter the Illusion Sea."
As Sha spoke, the image in the crystal ball wavered once more.
The azure sea transformed into a surging, scalding torrent of lava. The sky itself was a burning, crimson red. Countless fiery meteors plummeted from miles above, crashing into the ground. Flames from deep within the planet’s core erupted like a boiling furnace. Tens of thousands of long, thick, black chains pierced through the sky, the earth, and the mountainsides. The shrieking wails of innumerable ghosts echoed across the entire landscape, making it look like the legendary Purgatory of divine punishment!
Sha’s voice was devoid of any emotion. "Beneath the Illusion Sea lies the molten core of the world. This Purgatory Land is where souls go for rebirth, the very boundary between life and death... They should never have gone there."
"Where are Yan and Quan Jin now?" Sang Luo’s throat felt dry, and her heart clenched painfully as she asked with desperation in her voice.
Sha gave her an indifferent glance, but his deep, magnetic voice held a trace of emotion for the first time. "The situation is not good."
With a wave of his hand, the scene in the crystal ball shifted again.
The view zoomed out to a vast, boundless landscape. Where the sky met the ground, an ancient, colossal tower hung suspended, upside down!
This bizarre tower was the very nexus where all the chains piercing the heavens and the earth converged.
The perspective shifted once more.
This time, the view was of a sealed space. Though the perspective was distant, Sang Luo instantly spotted Yan and Quan Jin, whom she hadn’t seen for so long. Both were grievously wounded.
’The children... where were they?’
Sang Luo subconsciously reached out with her senses for Nuonuo and Little Treasure’s location. She found them back in the Beast World. ’Yan sent the children back!’
But before she could rejoice, another possibility occurred to her, and her heart sank once more.
’The fact that Yan and Quan Jin chose to send the children away meant the danger they faced was far greater than they had ever anticipated. In that case, their enemy was...’
BOOM!
A world-shattering crash!
The low growl of a primordial behemoth echoed, a sound that seemed powerful enough to rip the sky asunder and shatter the very earth!
And that was merely a wisp of its aura emanating from the crystal ball, yet it filled Sang Luo with a terror so profound it felt as if her Divine Soul was being shattered!
Yan and Quan Jin...
The image in the crystal ball suddenly went black. BANG! It shattered!
Sang Luo stood frozen on the spot.
Sha swept his hand, and the fragments of the crystal ball vanished.
"They went to the Guardian Tower in the Purgatory Land," he said. "The tower has eighteen levels. Each level is a world unto itself, and each is protected by a Guardian Ghost General."
"Each Guardian Ghost General is a being condensed from millions of years of malevolent thoughts and remnant souls. Their power is immense. Anyone who dares trespass in the tower and disrupt its order will have their soul scattered to the winds."
"The two of them joined forces and slayed seventeen Guardian Ghost Generals. They then broke into the eighteenth level—the Land of Supreme Evil—where they encountered the Primordial Ghost Divine Beast, which is suppressed deep within the Earth Core Fire."
Sha said no more.
But both of them knew all too well.
This journey for Yan and Quan Jin was likely a one-way trip.
Sang Luo’s face was ashen.
Sha looked at her. "I have told you what you wished to know. Is there anything else?"
"...Thank you, Rakshasa King." Sang Luo shook her head, offered a bow of gratitude, and turned to leave.
But then Sha seemed to think of something. He called out to her, frowning. "The Purgatory Land is no place for you. You would be reduced to dust and ashes before you even got close."
Sang Luo stopped in her tracks. She turned back to face him, swallowed hard, and asked with desperate sincerity, "...Can you please tell me, Rakshasa King, how I can save them?"
Her voice was choked with a suppressed sob. Sha was momentarily stunned to see the glint of tears in her eyes.
Then, his voice grew even colder. "Those two trespassed on the Ghost Clan’s forbidden ground. That is an act of invasion. I have already shown considerable restraint by not intervening. It is out of the question for me to save them."
He knew what she wanted.
’Using this opportunity to eliminate the Divine Venerable and the Demon Lord would only benefit me,’ he thought. ’Why would I interfere?’
Sang Luo bit her lip. "What if I were to beg you?"
The mockery in Sha’s eyes deepened.
"And why should I help you?"
Sang Luo knew how absurd her request was. She closed her eyes and said softly, "Lan Cang once told me he owed me his life. I wonder... does the Rakshasa King still recognize that debt?"