“Hoo…” Her vision gradually blurred, swiftly enveloped by a sudden, dense white mist.
It billowed forth from the dark alleyways, steadily rolling until it submerged the entirety of Dangyang County.
Bracing herself, Su Mo made contact with the white mist, her breath catching for a brief moment.
No ambush materialized as she had anticipated. Instead, an intense cold permeated her skin, as though she were pressing against a block of ice, even through her garments.
Beyond this frigid embrace, her vision was the only hindrance, allowing her to discern a range of approximately ten meters.
“This white mist carries an aura quite similar to that of the Underworld,” Su Mo murmured to herself.
The medicinal essence within her, particularly the “Soul Remembrance Grass” formula, was activated by the lingering aura of Underworld spirits.
Though she herself wasn’t intimately familiar with it, her body instinctively recognized its presence.
Focusing intently, she could even vaguely perceive the indistinct forms of Underworld spirits, an effect granted by the “Soul Remembrance Grass.”
Composing her expression, she turned her gaze towards the pensive Mo Lian.
“My Lady, are you familiar with the Underworld?” Su Mo prompted.
“The Underworld?” Mo Lian started, the term itself impossibly ancient.
She recalled hearing tales of the Underworld during her time in the sect—a realm originally tasked with maintaining order among ghosts and spirits.
Through decades of cultivation, she had encountered only scattered references in ancient texts, never a single tangible sign of its existence in reality. She had long believed the Underworld had fallen into ruin, lost to the annals of history.
Her assumptions, while not entirely incorrect, were partially mistaken.
The Underworld had indeed suffered a devastating blow, forcing it into seclusion. It rarely manifested in the mortal realm, remaining largely unknown.
However, those who reached the Nascent Soul realm would understand that the Underworld persisted, and even possessed methods to access it.
Failing that, one would require specific secret techniques from ancient times.
Such a search, however, was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
Bai Yunbo, long departed, had once possessed some knowledge of these methods, but now the grass on his grave stood three feet high.
“Yes, my family has a certain connection to the Underworld, which makes me quite familiar with its aura. This white mist, then, must be a manifestation of the Underworld’s presence, wouldn’t you say?” Su Mo mused.
“Could it be that the Underworld has overlapped with reality? How is that even possible…” Mo Lian gasped in astonishment, her expression morphing dramatically.
This fiend, which had shrouded Dangyang County, had actually invoked the Underworld’s presence. Just how formidable was its power?
“Heehee…”
A strange, childish giggle, ethereal and unsettling, drifted from the distance.
Every pedestrian on the road froze in that instant, their forms having already etherealized, appearing as mere reflections of another world.
Strange. Eerie.
Moving in tandem, covering each other, they soon discovered that some of the spectral figures of the pedestrians were beginning to dissipate.
Her gaze sharpened. Su Mo concluded that those whose spectral forms vanished had surely met their absolute end.
“What exactly caused their demise?” A knot formed in Su Mo’s chest as her sharp gaze swept across their surroundings.
Stepping forward, Su Mo furrowed her delicate brows, asking gravely:
“My Lady, could there be something unseen, something actively killing them?”
“Unseen? No, that’s not it. We have been fragmented into countless small groups, scattered within identical yet mirror-like fissures between worlds.” Mo Lian’s explanation clearly surpassed Su Mo’s comprehension.
Yet, if she were to grasp at a theory, she would liken it to “parallel universes.”
She surmised that those spectral pedestrians were likely enduring a terrifying catastrophe in one of these alternate worlds.
If they perished in their respective worlds, their mirrored phantoms here would likewise vanish.
“If that’s the case, how can I possibly find them?” Su Mo’s concern for Zhang Jingmeng and the others intensified.
The Zhang family had not embarked on the path of cultivation; most were mere martial artists. In such a perilous situation, even self-preservation would prove arduous for them.
Her anxiety mounted with each passing moment, and her loathing for Xiao Yao festered further.
十三章
“Hoo…” Her vision gradually blurred, swiftly enveloped by a sudden, dense white mist.
It billowed forth from the dark alleyways, steadily rolling until it submerged the entirety of Dangyang County.
Bracing herself, Su Mo made contact with the white mist, her breath catching for a brief moment.
No ambush materialized as she had anticipated. Instead, an intense cold permeated her skin, as though she were pressing against a block of ice, even through her garments.
Beyond this frigid embrace, her vision was the only hindrance, allowing her to discern a range of approximately ten meters.
“This white mist carries an aura quite similar to that of the Underworld,” Su Mo murmured to herself.
The medicinal essence within her, particularly the “Soul Remembrance Grass” formula, was activated by the lingering aura of Underworld spirits.
Though she herself wasn’t intimately familiar with it, her body instinctively recognized its presence.
Focusing intently, she could even vaguely perceive the indistinct forms of Underworld spirits, an effect granted by the “Soul Remembrance Grass.”
Composing her expression, she turned her gaze towards the pensive Mo Lian.
“My Lady, are you familiar with the Underworld?” Su Mo prompted.
“The Underworld?” Mo Lian started, the term itself impossibly ancient.
She recalled hearing tales of the Underworld during her time in the sect—a realm originally tasked with maintaining order among ghosts and spirits.
Through decades of cultivation, she had encountered only scattered references in ancient texts, never a single tangible sign of its existence in reality. She had long believed the Underworld had fallen into ruin, lost to the annals of history.
Her assumptions, while not entirely incorrect, were partially mistaken.
The Underworld had indeed suffered a devastating blow, forcing it into seclusion. It rarely manifested in the mortal realm, remaining largely unknown.
However, those who reached the Nascent Soul realm would understand that the Underworld persisted, and even possessed methods to access it.
Failing that, one would require specific secret techniques from ancient times.
Such a search, however, was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
Bai Yunbo, long departed, had once possessed some knowledge of these methods, but now the grass on his grave stood three feet high.
“Yes, my family has a certain connection to the Underworld, which makes me quite familiar with its aura. This white mist, then, must be a manifestation of the Underworld’s presence, wouldn’t you say?” Su Mo mused.
“Could it be that the Underworld has overlapped with reality? How is that even possible…” Mo Lian gasped in astonishment, her expression morphing dramatically.
This fiend, which had shrouded Dangyang County, had actually invoked the Underworld’s presence. Just how formidable was its power?
“Heehee…”
A strange, childish giggle, ethereal and unsettling, drifted from the distance.
Every pedestrian on the road froze in that instant, their forms having already etherealized, appearing as mere reflections of another world.
Strange. Eerie.
Moving in tandem, covering each other, they soon discovered that some of the spectral figures of the pedestrians were beginning to dissipate.
Her gaze sharpened. Su Mo concluded that those whose spectral forms vanished had surely met their absolute end.
“What exactly caused their demise?” A knot formed in Su Mo’s chest as her sharp gaze swept across their surroundings.
Stepping forward, Su Mo furrowed her delicate brows, asking gravely:
“My Lady, could there be something unseen, something actively killing them?”
“Unseen? No, that’s not it. We have been fragmented into countless small groups, scattered within identical yet mirror-like fissures between worlds.” Mo Lian’s explanation clearly surpassed Su Mo’s comprehension.
Yet, if she were to grasp at a theory, she would liken it to “parallel universes.”
She surmised that those spectral pedestrians were likely enduring a terrifying catastrophe in one of these alternate worlds.
If they perished in their respective worlds, their mirrored phantoms here would likewise vanish.
“If that’s the case, how can I possibly find them?” Su Mo’s concern for Zhang Jingmeng and the others intensified.
The Zhang family had not embarked on the path of cultivation; most were mere martial artists. In such a perilous situation, even self-preservation would prove arduous for them.
Her anxiety mounted with each passing moment, and her loathing for Xiao Yao festered further.
Gazazing at the cluster of buildings discernible beneath the white mist, she traced the winding paths, realizing she was nearing the Zhang Estate.
At a certain fork in the road, she paused, then inquired:
“My Lady, do you intend to head outside the city?”
This particular route led directly towards one of Dangyang County’s city gates—perhaps even the very one Su Mo had passed through upon her arrival.
“I wish to ascertain the fiend’s limitations, to discover if its influence is confined solely to Dangyang County, and whether people might escape the city to evade this crisis,” Mo Lian spoke with urgent haste, as if every wasted second were a grave sin.
The lives of over a hundred thousand citizens in Dangyang County weighed heavily upon her. She bore this immense burden without a second thought, pressing forward under its crushing weight.
Watching their spectral forms anxiously dissipate, her heart was pierced with anguish.
“…Miss Su, why aren’t you following?” Mo Lian turned, her voice solemn.
At this juncture, their paths diverged.
“…” Su Mo fell silent, hesitating for a moment before ultimately deciding to venture to the Zhang Estate to investigate.
Should Zhang Jingmeng and the others happen to be trapped within this “parallel world,” she might still be able to offer assistance.
Moreover, she harbored a persistent premonition.
No matter Xu Qingzhu’s current whereabouts, she felt certain he would eventually return to the Zhang Estate.
Perhaps, she mused, the two of them might reunite there?
“Miss Su, you are treating your life with such disregard,” Mo Lian cautioned, turning back and stepping forward, ready to pull her away.
“Hoo…” The wind surged abruptly, scraping coldly against their skin, imbued with a palpable malice.
Amidst the swirling white mist, a heavy, guttural breathing resounded like a monstrous bellows, stirring a vast swathe of mist into turbulent motion.
Calmly, Su Mo tightened her grip on the Yin Lightning Bow. She raised her hand, drawing the string taut as her long hair swayed in the fierce wind.
“Rumble…”
Heavy footsteps crushed the ground, stirring up the fine gravel beneath.
From the mist-shrouded, indiscernible alley, a colossal, greenish-black hand emerged, gripping the alley wall and crushing it with a resounding “crack,” leaving deep fissures in its wake.
Propelled by that colossal limb, the creature’s enormous frame suddenly materialized, sweeping forth with the churning white mist.
“Sizzle! Whoosh!” A lightning arrow condensed in her hand, and Su Mo instantly loosed a shot.
The arrow flew true, carving out shimmering purple-blue electric arcs as it pierced into the upper layer of the white mist.
Su Mo clenched her hand, judging by its trajectory, she estimated the arrow would strike its head.
“Boom…”
A brilliant flash of lightning erupted, scattering the thick white mist and illuminating their surroundings.
Finally, Su Mo and Mo Lian could see everything with perfect clarity.
Before them stood a ghoulish monstrosity, roughly ten meters tall, adorned with eight colossal hands haphazardly stitched to its torso. It currently gripped the surrounding houses, its gaze cast downwards.
Its head, undeniably female, was grotesquely swollen, displaying signs of advanced decomposition. Its eyeballs bulged, stark white and sightless. This enormous head, over a meter in diameter, dangled precariously from a slender neck, swaying with every grotesque movement of its body, as if threatening to detach itself entirely.
Yet, aside from these bizarre deformities, its central torso appeared eerily normal, undeniably feminine, complete with two prominent mounds.
Naked, its skin possessed a strange, almost unnatural smoothness and suppleness, exuding a truly unsettling aura.
Any man who gazed upon it would likely be ‘bewitched,’ paralyzed and unable to move.
Fortunately, everyone present at this moment was a woman.
“What in the world is that grotesque abomination?!” Su Mo’s eyes widened, and she sharply recoiled several steps.
She fired several arrows with an impassive face, yet they merely bounced off its skin, which was as soft and yielding as jelly.
“Miss Su, this is not a ghoul that Qi Refinement can handle,” Mo Lian spoke, extending a hand.
The lightning spell in her hand transformed into a sphere of light, slowly floating towards the eight-armed female ghoul.
“Your humble servant… Your humble servant…” The eight-armed female ghoul’s voice was exceedingly bizarre, repeating the phrase “Your humble servant” over and over.
Shaking her body and head, the head that had been revolving around her neck suddenly fixed, her eyes locking onto the sphere of lightning.
Her posture was wary, like a cat’s—body still, muscles tensed, yet she made no move.
Su Mo surmised that little intelligence remained within her, only instinct.
The moment the lightning sphere made contact, a resounding “boom” erupted, and as electric arcs spread throughout her entire body, the eight-armed female ghoul immediately bristled, suddenly pushing off with her hands and leaping high into the air.
The white mist surged upwards with her movement. In the turbulent air currents, Su Mo pressed down her willow skirt, gazing up at the sky.
“My Lady, is it dealt with?”
“No, her resentment is formidable, and her strength is no less than that of a great Foundation Establishment cultivator,” Mo Lian stated, clearly aware of the situation.
Upon hearing this, Su Mo instantly felt a surge of confidence.
The advantage was hers: Golden Core versus Foundation Establishment!
The next instant, Su Mo heard several booming sounds around them, shaking the ground and sending loose stones skittering beneath her feet.
Swallowing, Su Mo surveyed her surroundings, seeing a ring of eight-armed female ghouls. They clung to rooftops and walls, swaying, their heads dangling.
“Your humble servant… Your humble servant… Your humble servant…” The demonic chorus of “Your humble servant” echoed everywhere, like an oppressive sound invading her mind.
In such a situation, how could Su Mo possibly find Zhang Jingmeng and the others?
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂