Shen Jingqi felt a massive force erupt within him, like volcanic lava breaking through the earth's crust, pouring instantly into his limbs and bones. He roared, his eyes red as blood, the energy around him surging and his robe flapping noisily. The ground beneath his feet cracked under this force, and rubble shot into the air.
"Die, all of you!" he bellowed, charging at the horde of monstrous entities. A giant wolf, as huge as a mountain, lunged forward with claws like blades. But as they touched the hem of his garment, he blasted the wolf's head with a punch. The giant wolf howled in agony and flew back, exploding into a mist of blood mid-air. He didn't stop, his fists acting like hammers, smashing three swooping black ravens which cracked audibly as their bones shattered.
The evil spirits emitted ear-piercing shrieks, rushing in from all directions. Yet Shen Jingqi moved as if in a deserted place, leaving blood and flesh flying wherever his fists and kicks landed. A giant lizard covered in bone spikes spewed toxic fog, but he neither dodged nor flinched, letting the fog envelop him. His inner strength vibrated, reversing the fog back to corrode the lizard until only its bones remained.
"Too weak!" he laughed heartily, kicking a massive rock into fragments like bullets aimed at the monstrous entities. A half-human, half-spider monster sneaked up from behind to attack him, but he grabbed its neck with his reverse hand, flooding it with inner strength, causing the monster to burst into a spray of blood.
The bloody battle lasted for an unknown duration, with Shen Jingqi drenched in blood yet growing more valiant with each fight. He suddenly noticed the ground beneath him trembling slightly, and in the distant mountains, he could vaguely see black fog rolling. The evil spirits suddenly emitted fearful whimpers and began retreating madly.
"Trying to escape?" Shen Jingqi sneered coldly, leaping into the air and stamping on a rock fragment, using the momentum to rush towards the black fog. Countless tentacles suddenly extended from the fog, but he was fearless, slicing through them with his hands like knives.
At this moment, he heard a shrill roar, as if coming from the Nine Netherworld Hell. A massive figure emerged slowly from the black fog, standing over ten feet tall, entwined with black chains, each chain inscribed with bizarre symbols.
"What... kind of monster is this?" Shen Jingqi's pupils shrank, his sword humming ominously. The monster suddenly opened its eyes, burning with ghostly blue flames, and the chains clattered loudly, crashing down towards him.
Shen Jingqi sidestepped swiftly as the chains smashed into the ground, creating deep grooves several feet wide. He took the opportunity to slash at the monster's neck, but the sword blade struck like hitting tough leather, leaving only a shallow white mark.
"Such tough skin!" He was taken aback, but the monster had already swung another chain, wrapping it around his ankle. Shen Jingqi felt a massive force pulling him, flinging him forcefully against the mountain wall.
"Boom!" The mountain wall burst with a person-shaped pit, stones raining down. Struggling to get up, Shen Jingqi felt his insides convulsing. He looked up to see the monster advancing step by step, each step resonating through the ground.
"Can't fight it head-on!" He shouted decisively, drawing a yin-yang fish with his sword tip on the ground. The symbols lit up instantly, causing the monster to emit a painful howl and its chains to begin breaking inch by inch.
"It works!" Shen Jingqi regained his spirit, charging towards the monster. Moving like lightning around the creature, his sword sparkled, destroying all the symbols on the monster.
The monster collapsed, dispersing into a cloud of black fog. Shen Jingqi also fell exhausted to the ground, gasping heavily. Watching the black fog slowly dissipate, an inexplicable unease rose in his heart.
"Where... does this monster come from?" He muttered, suddenly noticing a black scale left on the ground. Picking it up, a chilling sensation spread from his fingertips.
After resting for a moment, Shen Jingqi continued onward. He followed a deep path, traversing the Mist Forest. Strange noises occasionally echoed through the forest, as if countless eyes were watching from the shadows.
"Show yourself!" He suddenly shouted, pointing his sword forward. A semi-transparent ghost slowly emerged, only to dissolve instantly under his fierce glare.
"This place... keeps getting stranger." He warned himself internally, but his steps did not falter. Suddenly, the ground beneath him vanished, and he fell into an unfathomably deep cavern.
The cavern was filled with a pungent stench, its walls shimmering with eerie green phosphorescence. Shen Jingqi groped his way forward, suddenly hearing the sound of flowing water ahead. He followed the sound to find a subterranean dark river before him.
The river water was as black as ink, with an eerie glow. Just as he was about to wade through, he noticed several skeletons floating on the surface. The skeletons all seemed to retain their struggle poses from life, as if a terrible force had taken their lives in an instant.
"This water... is strange!" He was startled, about to step back when ripples began to spread from the river's center. A giant eyeball slowly emerged from the water, its pupil gleaming coldly.
"What is that?" Clutching his sword tightly, he watched the eyeball warily. The eyeball suddenly fired a beam of black light directly at him. He sidestepped, and the black light struck the cave wall, corroding the rock into a sizable hole.
"Such strong corrosiveness!" He was shocked but saw the eyeball starting to rotate slowly, seemingly searching for his position. Seizing the moment, he moved behind the eyeball and thrust his sword.
The sword's edge seemed to stab into cotton, offering no resistance. The eyeball emitted a sharp screech, causing the entire cavern to tremble. Shen Jingqi felt his eardrums ache, the darkness overwhelming him, nearly causing him to faint.
He bit his tongue hard, forcing himself awake, only to see the eyeball transforming into countless small eyes, swarming towards him. He wildly swung his sword but managed to only shatter a few small eyes while many more entered his body.
"Ah!" He screamed, feeling countless tiny tentacles rampage inside him. Desperately, he attempted to expel the small eyes with his inner strength but felt his power vanish without effect.
On the brink of despair, he suddenly remembered the black scale he obtained earlier. He retrieved the scale and pressed it against his chest. A miracle happened—the small eyes in his body scattered, vanishing into black mist as if encountering their nemesis.
The eyeball also let out a terrified screech and escaped in black light. Shen Jingqi collapsed on the ground, his body filled with excruciating pain. He gazed at the scale in his hand, filled with an inexplicable sense of reverence.
"Where does this scale... come from?" he murmured, then noticed a line of small writing appearing on the scale: "To uncover the truth, go to Netherworld Valley."
His heart stirred, resolving to investigate Netherworld Valley. He followed the dark river, passed through numerous caverns, finally reaching a vast valley. Get full chapters from NoveI(F)ire.net
The valley was shrouded in thick black mist, with countless ruins faintly visible. Just as he was about to step into the valley, he heard melodious flute music emanating from the mist. The tune was gracefully moving, yet it chilled his heart.
"Who is there?" he shouted, pointing his sword into the mist. The flute music abruptly stopped, and a woman dressed in white slowly emerged. Though her beauty was unparalleled, her face was pale as paper, resembling a lifeless puppet.
"Who... are you?" Shen Jingqi asked cautiously, staring at the woman. She merely smiled slightly and spoke softly, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."