novelraw Chapter 71 : Nether Kingdom
Chapter 71 : Nether Kingdom
Chapter 71: Nether Kingdom
Wind and rain intertwined.
Amidst the wails of thousands of ghosts, someone walked forward calmly.
It was a road that led to nowhere, surrounded by dark, viscous shadows — as if it were the path connecting the Avici Hell to the human world, or perhaps the path descending into the darkness of time itself.
Pa-da.
A pair of hands stretched out from the darkness, pressing against the black road, as though searching for something.
Soon after—
Pa-da, pa-da.
More hands reached out from the shadows, waving about, as if trying to touch the figure walking along the road.
It was a young man, his face calm, holding a long sword. His coldness seemed almost inhuman.
“I want to leave. Whoever dares stop me—dies.”
He spoke so.
A flame rose in the darkness, its light reflecting off the young man’s eyes — tranquil as an ancient well.
The youth continued, “I will not be your monarch. Your monarch will return on his own. So, I must go out.”
Day broke.
Lu Changyuan opened his eyes.
It felt as though he had dreamed of the past.
So soft.
Hmm?
A girl’s ethereal voice came gently, “If you’re awake, then get up.”
Only then did Lu Changyuan realize that what his head had been resting on was not a pillow, but the soft, springy thighs of a silver-haired girl.
He had actually slept with his head on the silver-haired girl’s lap the entire night?
Lu Changyuan was the first to speak, “What’s going on?”
“You turned over in your sleep during the night and ended up lying on my lap. You seemed to be sleeping soundly, so I didn’t wake you.”
The silver-haired girl’s tone was utterly calm, as though she cared little about the matter.
“Really?”
Lu Changyuan remembered himself to be a disciplined sleeper — whatever posture he closed his eyes in, he usually woke up in the same one.
Su Youwan’s eyes were covered, and Lu Changyuan couldn’t see them. Yet, he inexplicably sensed a trace of amusement behind that white cloth.
The girl said, “Could it be that I took advantage of your sleep to place your head on my lap instead?”
Lu Changyuan decided not to argue further. “Let’s get back on the road, Third Royal Highness.”
He brushed his cheek, finding it slightly damp, but he didn’t think much of it.
After a night of meditation, he could now move freely again, no longer needing anyone’s support.
His left eye suddenly trembled.
【The Nether Kingdom is about to resurface.】
I know.
No need to tell me — I can count the days myself.
That damned place, I stayed there for nearly a hundred years — familiar with it as though it were home.
Lu Changyuan had already planned to go to the Nether Kingdom; his eye’s reminder was unnecessary.
It was said that within the Nether Kingdom flowed a Nether River — its source unknown, its end unseen.
Gazing upon it, one could perceive their own path.
【The Sun-Moon Sundial is lost within the Nether Kingdom.】
That made Lu Changyuan pause.
The Sun-Moon Sundial had once been the supreme treasure of the Sun-Moon Palace.
After the palace’s destruction, that artifact had somehow returned to the Nether Kingdom.
Now he had yet another reason to go there.
“Master Lu?”
Lu Changyuan came back to his senses. “Let’s go.”
Clang, clang!
Before the two reached the lower floor, they saw an old man chasing something down the stairs.
Lu Changyuan almost couldn’t keep his composure.
Because what the old man was chasing… was a memorial tablet.
The wooden spirit tablet was jumping and hopping all over the floor like a living creature.
What in the world?
The old man suddenly dove forward, hugging the tablet tightly.
Strangely, the tablet actually lifted him off the ground, bouncing like a frog.
The old man yelped several times as he hit the floor, muttering, “Ancestor, don’t jump around anymore, ancestor!”
Amusing indeed. Lu Changyuan watched for a while but couldn’t discern what was causing the phenomenon.
Likely, some remnant thought had attached itself to the tablet, making mischief.
The old man carefully wiped the tablet clean, then smiled awkwardly at Lu Changyuan and stepped aside.
“Pardon me, young sirs. My ancestor’s tablet’s been acting up lately—no idea what’s gotten into it, always jumping about.”
The cultivation world had no shortage of bizarre events; this was hardly the strangest.
The old man sighed again. “Ah, the descendants are unfilial, so the ancestor’s spirit had to appear.”
Lu Changyuan paid it little mind, but Su Youwan remarked, “Master Lu nearly became a spirit tablet himself. If I had brought that to Miss Xia, what kind of expression do you think she’d have?”
“Your Highness’s imagination seems a little too vivid, doesn’t it?”
Though he said so, Lu Changyuan couldn’t help but imagine the scene — the silver-haired, blindfolded girl cradling a memorial tablet. Somehow, the image resembled that of a widow.
The two left the inn and soon summoned the Lotus Platform.
Su Youwan shifted slightly. “You sit behind me. I’ll sit on your lap.”
Previously, Lu Changyuan had been the one resting in her arms; now, their positions had reversed — the girl leaning into his embrace.
The silver-haired girl didn’t seem to think anything of it, perhaps simply indifferent, and continued steering the Lotus Platform.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable, she twisted her body a little, nestling deeper into Lu Changyuan’s chest before saying, “The name on that old man’s tablet was Xiao Qingfeng.”
Lu Changyuan shook his head. “Never heard of him.”
“Hmm, neither have I.”
In the cultivation world, talents were as numerous as the scales of a carp crossing the river — generation after generation rising and dying.
Those who never entered Yao Guang to light their own star would forever live in fear of the Desire Demon.
The old man still hugged the tablet, smiling awkwardly as he left the inn.
No one paid him much attention.
He slowly stepped outside, walking westward — but after only a few steps, someone blocked his way.
A voice, sweet and seductive, drifted over. “This old gentleman, I have a few questions to ask. Could you spare me a moment of your time?”
The old man trembled and looked up, only to see a graceful, delicate woman smiling at him.
In the cultivation world, power decided everything.
He was barely in the First Realm, while the woman before him exuded the aura of the Third Realm.
What could someone like her possibly want from him?
“May I ask who you are?”
The woman giggled softly.
She extended her hand and gently brushed his cheek.
At that touch, the old man felt as if his very soul was about to drift away.
“The Pleasure Sect — Wang Lian.”
The Pleasure Sect? What business could they have with him?
“I heard, old sir, that you hail from the Sect of Transformation. If I recall, centuries ago, one of your seniors attained enlightenment and entered the Dawning Sun Stage. He once journeyed to the Nether Kingdom and left behind a travel journal. Could you let me borrow it for a look?”
Her voice dripped with sweetness, as though refusing her would be a grave sin.
“There is such a thing. If Miss desires that journal, please take it. My unworthy descendants can’t make sense of it anyway.”
He pulled a small booklet from his robes and respectfully offered it to Wang Lian.
Wang Lian didn’t take it. Instead, she smiled and leaned her head against his chest. “I don’t snatch what’s freely given. Besides, you seem quite strong for your age. What might your name be, old sir?”
The old man exhaled in relief. “Xiao Hai.”
Wang Lian giggled again. “How about this — I have some matters to attend to. Why don’t you come with me, Elder Xiao? I won’t treat you unfairly. I possess certain… skills that could show you what a true paradise feels like.”
Xiao Hai couldn’t tear his eyes away from her soft, alluring form. Without realizing it, he nodded. “Alright, I’ll go with you.”