The Three Kings of the Nether

Guluo’s heart surged with joy. The flags on the two ships belonged to his family, and they had just narrowly avoided the ferocious beast. But his happiness did not last long. From the depths of the sea, a tremendous roar erupted, shaking the very water as if it were boiling. A waterway parted across the ocean, white waves surging to either side as a colossal monster charged forward, riding the wind and breaking the waves!

The two great ships had clearly sensed the danger and picked up speed, rushing toward the beach. But though the ancient beast was far away, its speed was terrifying. By the time the two ships were still a hundred meters from the shore, it had already closed in.

“Boom!”

Its massive body slammed into the two ships in an instant. A sharp single horn, a ferocious giant head, jagged sword-like teeth, and a body gleaming with silver light—like an unstoppable behemoth, it tore the two ships apart.

Everyone’s heart and courage chilled to the bone!

Guluo’s face turned ashen to the extreme.

The Eight-Armed Malignant Dragon stirred up towering waves. The two ships were soon shattered, and over a hundred people were cast into the open sea. Guluo’s family’s ambitions to conquer the island were about to be annihilated.

Yet the ancient evil dragon seemed to regard the ant-like creatures beneath it with utter contempt. After destroying the two ships, it did not continue to slaughter those in the sea; it merely thrashed about, raising massive swells.

Many were pulled into the abyss by the great whirlpools, sinking forever to the ocean floor. But forty or fifty still managed to escape to the shore, survivors of a narrow brush with death.

In the end, forty-three people stumbled onto the beach, while many more had perished forever in the sea. The losses were devastating. Those who lived could be considered the elite among them. Guluo had already been in despair, but seeing that less than half had survived, he finally let out a breath of relief.

After they had rested enough to recover their strength, Guluo and Zhao Lin’er began their siege against Xiao Chen.

At first, just as Xiao Chen had anticipated, these people followed the “clues” he had left behind.

When they chased into a dark, damp, rocky hill, a silver giant centipede as thick as a bowl and three to four meters long shot out like lightning. It tore the two foremost men apart in an instant, and three more were corroded down to white bones by its lethal venom in the blink of an eye!

Swords and blades struck the silver centipede’s body, showering sparks but failing to wound it in the slightest. Even the “Light-Blade Attack Scroll” Guluo unfurled could not harm it. Only when a fearsome scroll wreathed in blazing flames was unrolled did the silver giant centipede retreat, allowing the group to escape.

By this point, Zhao Lin’er and Guluo knew they had been tricked. They began to carefully calculate Xiao Chen’s likely escape route.

The sun blazed fiercely, but within the endless primeval forest, a murderous aura hung thick!

Now, in the Death Swamp, darkness still reigned. Giant trees blocked the sunlight, and a dense Yin energy coiled around. When Xiao Chen awoke atop an ancient tree, he was truly startled. Three skeletons hung upside down before him like bats, dangling from the branches!

What would anyone think, waking from a dream to see three upside-down skeletons right in their face?

Fortunately, he came to his senses in an instant and did not react rashly.

The foot bones of the three skeletons were deeply embedded in the tree trunk. Sensing he had awoken, faint lights flickered in their eye sockets, as if they too had been resting.

“Click-clack, click-clack!” Their joints turned with a rattling sound. The three skeletons landed on the trunk, moving their various joints.

Xiao Chen felt an indescribable sensation. His own kind in the distance wanted to kill him, yet here, three skeletons coexisted with him in peace… How absurd it all was!

He wanted to give them names, and without thinking, the Ten Kings of the Underworld came to mind.

“You shall be King Qin Guang!”

“You shall be King Yan Luo!”

“You shall be King Reincarnation!”

King Qin Guang, King Yan Luo, and King Reincarnation were three of the Ten Kings of the Underworld. Now they had become the names of these three skeletons. Xiao Chen did this deliberately—perhaps he was harboring some expectation.

At noon, the sun blazed brightly, and Xiao Chen walked out of the swamp. But the three skeletons were unwilling to leave this deathly place thick with Yin energy. Still, at his signal, they followed.

The burning sunlight was blocked by the tall trees. Only in sparse areas did occasional beams fall. The three skeletons hated the sunlight intensely, always walking in the shadows—it seemed to be their innate nature.

They rarely left the swamp, it appeared, and faced the outside world with unending curiosity. When Xiao Chen charged at a five-meter-long giant leopard, the three skeletons did not hesitate to follow. Their six indestructible bone claws viciously pierced the leopard’s skull, killing it on the spot!

Their combat strength made even Xiao Chen’s heart tremble!

“Ting.”

A gleaming, transparent yellow crystal was dug out from the leopard’s corpse by Xiao Chen. He flicked it with his finger, and a resonant sound rang out. The eye sockets of the three skeletons immediately lit up. Xiao Chen smiled and handed the crystal to them.

King Qin Guang, King Yan Luo, and King Reincarnation took an interest in the outside world for the first time—though it was driven by the temptation of crystals. Led by Xiao Chen, they roamed the dense forests around the Death Swamp, tracking beast trails that they could handle.

But crystals were not so easy to come by. In half a day, they had only hunted four or five. Xiao Chen, meanwhile, had thoroughly surveyed the surrounding terrain, preparing to use it against his powerful enemies.

Back in the swamp, Xiao Chen sat quietly in cultivation while the three skeletons busied themselves absorbing the crystal energy.

Before the red sun set, Zhao Lin’er and Guluo finally found this place, earlier than Xiao Chen had expected.

The brown-haired Guluo’s gaze was dark and sinister. They had lost five good fighters to the silver giant centipede. Though they had seen through Xiao Chen’s trick in time, their large group had unavoidably stirred up some savage beasts along the way, costing them another eight men. Now, counting himself and Zhao Lin’er, only thirty-two remained.

Xiao Chen opened his eyes in the swamp. He sensed a killing intent—someone was approaching!

Seeing Xiao Chen preparing for battle, the three skeletons gathered around him. Their spiritual perceptions were also sharp; they had already sensed people encircling them.

Xiao Chen did not want to clash head-on. His wounds had not yet healed. He needed to drag the time out until sunset, when the corpse miasma would rise and deal a devastating blow to his pursuers. He signaled for the three skeletons to hide.

The skeletons’ performance exceeded Xiao Chen’s expectations. King Qin Guang, King Yan Luo, and King Reincarnation all lay back flat on the swamp ground, surrounded by scattered bones.

Xiao Chen was stunned. Those three were far cleverer than he had imagined. He even sensed a hint of cunning in their behavior.