The Nine Abyss Platform

Looking up, demon clouds hung low. The Nine Abyss Platform rose like a mountain of great height, its aura majestic. In this dark hell, such towering peaks and giant mountains were not uncommon—some Bone Mountains reached a thousand zhang—but few could compare to the thousand-zhang Nine Abyss Platform in presence and oppressive might.

Like a volcano standing there, it seemed to possess a soul, and one could even feel its pulse. Its body was a dark red, as if condensed with the blood of millions of souls, giving off an indescribable ferocity and suffocation.

"I feel like this is a living great demon!" Niu Ren couldn't help but shudder.

"This is no auspicious place. We must be careful." Xiao Chen and his party had already reached the foot of the Nine Abyss Platform, unable to see why it was called 'Platform'—it looked more like a giant mountain severed by a heaven-reaching divine power.

With a flash, Xiao Chen spread his Undying Wings and was about to shoot upward.

"Wait, take us up too." Niu Ren also wanted to see the top of the platform.

Xiao Chen brought Niu Ren and the Black Dragon King, rising through the baleful aura, crossing the ribbon-like demon mists, and appearing at the summit shrouded in black clouds.

Upon reaching the top, Xiao Chen and Niu Ren gasped. The giant mountain was hollow, like a volcano's crater, but far more sinister. Rolling black clouds were pouring out from within.

"Does this connect to the gates of hell? No, this is hell itself," the fat Niu Ren felt an icy, deathly chill surround him and involuntarily stepped back.

Xiao Chen frowned deeply. King Chu Jiang had sent him here; what revelation could there be? He stared into the bottomless black abyss, from which a mournful wailing rose, like demons weeping and howling.

"Wheeze... wheeze..."

An old, sinister coughing sound suddenly rang out behind Xiao Chen and the others, on this mist-wreathed summit of the ring-shaped mountain—utterly ghastly and terrifying.

"Holy crap..." The chubby Niu Ren jumped in fright, turning around and stepping back several paces, nearly falling into the bottomless black prison.

"Clang!"

The Black Dragon King's dragon clan sacred sword leaped from its back, its blazing holy light illuminating the mist-shrouded peak.

Xiao Chen also readied himself in caution. His keen spiritual sense had repeatedly failed him in this hell, indicating that the expert hiding here was extremely powerful.

A decrepit old woman, as thin as a strand of straw, appeared. She wore a tattered burial shroud, her skin a sickly yellow, bloodless, like an old corpse fresh from a grave. Her sparse gray-white hair scattered like weeds in the wind. Her eyes were like two ghostly flames, emitting a ghastly green glow from deep sunken sockets. Her nose was nearly collapsed, her lips withered, and the wrinkles on her face were like the bark of a thousand-year-old pine—dry, cracked, and utterly drained of moisture.

She looked exactly like a dried corpse!

To see such an old woman in hell made it impossible to think of anything auspicious. What was most frightening was a mourning staff in her hand, around which coiled several dark souls, emitting faint wails.

"You... who are you?" The chubby Niu Ren felt a chill, his courage wavering.

"Gagaga... I am your ancestor!"

Though Niu Ren was timid, he was not lacking in courage. He cursed angrily, "Screw you! I am your grandfather!"

"Woo..." The mourning staff swept through the dim space, leaving a pale white afterimage and striking the chubby Niu Ren hard, sending him flying backward, nearly falling into the bottomless abyss. Strong as Niu Ren was, he had not even time to dodge.

The Black Dragon King roared, the sacred sword floating above its head turning into a beam of light, slashing forward with a sound. The sword's edge was so sharp it made hearts tremble.

Although the young dragon king could not fully unleash the power of this sacred sword, it was still a holy relic of the dragon clan. The old crone did not face its edge; she vanished, leaving only an afterimage. The sacred sword struck empty air and instantly returned to hover above the Black Dragon King's head, sprinkling down auspicious rays of light that enveloped Niu Ren and the others.

"Ow, you dead old hag, you dared to ambush me!" The chubby Niu Ren grimaced in pain, struggling to his feet. Fortunately, he was not truly injured.

"Gagaga..." The old woman's laughter was as harsh as an owl's cry.

Xiao Chen stopped the Black Dragon King and held back the chubby Niu Ren. He could see that the old woman had no killing intent, or else Niu Ren would have been in danger.

"Child, do not be upset. I am not taking advantage of you. Although you are not a true Barbarian, you are a descendant of their bloodline. I sense in your body the same blood as mine. You must be a descendant of my lineage."

"I..." The chubby Niu Ren wanted to curse but swallowed the words. Sullenly, he asked, "Who are you? Don't try to take advantage of me."

"I am now but a ghost crone, assisting King Chu Jiang in managing some affairs. In life, I was once a Barbarian."

"Oh." The chubby Niu Ren nodded grudgingly; perhaps this old woman truly was his ancestor.

"I am in charge of guarding the Nine Abyss Platform. Whatever happens here, I report to King Chu Jiang. Naturally, I already know your story from him."

Xiao Chen stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Please, elder, tell me the details of the Purple-Vein Shadowwood message."

"Do you know why this place is called the Nine Abyss Platform?" the old crone asked.

"I do not."

"In the past, this place once connected to the Dark Domain, leading to the Eighteen Hells of the Nine Abyss. Although the passage was long since sealed, there are still small gaps unblocked. Powerful evil souls cannot pass through, but some messages can be transmitted. If you jump down from here, as if falling from a ten-thousand-zhang platform, into the bottomless Nine Abyss, you will see a sealed gate. The ideal underworld of the Ancestral God Suiren never truly came to pass, but the Ten Courts of Hell still managed the underworld for a time. Even the Dark Domain once had officials of the underworld. The Purple-Vein Shadowwood last time was sent back by them. They hope you will take away a little beast whose soul imprint cannot be erased."

"Was it not a distress call from Keke?" Xiao Chen asked suspiciously.

"Jump down from here. At the sealed gate, communicate with the spirits over there, and you will know everything."

For the sake of the pure white little beast, he would not hesitate even to enter hell or descend into the Nine Abyss. After careful thought, he felt the old crone had no reason to deceive him.

"Very well, I will descend into the Nine Abyss now."

"Wait. I must first warn you: going down is easy, but coming up is hard. This Nine Abyss is full of endless evil spirits. You had better think it over."

"No matter." Xiao Chen had already entered hell; what did he care for evil spirits? He had encountered countless ghosts along the way.

"I'll go with you," Niu Ren stepped forward.

"No need. I can manage alone." Xiao Chen knew this might be dangerous and did not want Niu Ren to take the risk.

"You cannot go," the old crone said, her laughter still sinister, her body wreathed in ghostly mist. "You came to the Barbarian Sacred Mountain to find a primal beast soul, did you not? I am your ancestor; how could I let you return empty-handed? He is going down to the Nine Abyss, while you will stay here. Your ancestor I very much like you, chubby boy. I intend to lead you to draw the strongest beast soul into your body and perfect your potential."

With that, the old crone soundlessly drifted to the chubby boy's side and pinched his plump cheeks with a doting touch.

Niu Ren's hairs stood on end under her ghostly claws. He gloomily wondered: Is she truly my ancestor?

Xiao Chen jumped without hesitation. The endless darkness soon swallowed his figure.

"Hey, wait for me!" Niu Ren tried to follow, but the old crone blocked him. "It would be useless for you to go. Come with me to temper your soul."

Niu Ren was forcibly dragged down from the platform by the old crone. After hearing the situation regarding the ancient Beast King Soul, he immediately grew anxious, jumping in anger.

"Ox-Head and Horse-Face, I can choose? Are you kidding me?!"

"What, that is the strongest Beast King Soul?"

"Don't lie to me! I would never choose Ox-Head or Horse-Face!"

"What, Ox-Head is best for me?!"

Seeing the irate chubby boy, the old crone sneered, "Legends are always just legends, sometimes a million miles from the truth. Do you know the might of this Ox-Head in its prime? It was one of our Barbarian clan's strongest war souls! Several Barbarian sages have refined and merged with this Ox King Soul. It is nothing like the tales—Ox-Head was never a petty underworld clerk. If you were not my descendant, I would not bother with you, let alone guide this sleeping heroic soul into your body."

In a deep ancient cavern, there came a soul-stirring fluctuation of power, so intense that the chubby boy felt suffocated.

"All those miscellaneous beast souls you carry can be fed to the Ox King Soul," the old crone laughed coldly. "If you cultivate to success one day, you will surely worship me from the mortal world every day."

The Ox-Head and Horse-Face soul of the Ox chief... The chubby boy could only weep silently.

Fearful ghostly winds howled as Xiao Chen descended toward the Eighteen Hells of the Nine Abyss. In the pitch-black abyss, countless souls wailed. If not for the light of the Seven-Colored Sacred Tree wreathed around him, Xiao Chen would have been drowned and torn apart by the numbing sea of countless spirits.

He did not know how deep the Nine Abyss was. He fell for a full two hours before landing on the ground. The yin energy was extremely heavy at the bottom, causing a suffocating dread. Even the myriad souls did not pursue him.

The ground inside the mountain was covered with white bones—how they had accumulated, no one knew. The stench of death was the only presence; there was no other fluctuation.

Using his spiritual sense to "see" in the endless darkness, Xiao Chen observed carefully and then walked along a bone path.

An hour later, a sealed gate appeared ahead, radiating a bloody light, the vivid red especially ghastly and terrifying.

A faint shadow emerged before the sinister blood gate, and an old voice echoed in the dreadful underground: "You have come..."

"Who are you?" Xiao Chen halted, watching the blurred ghostly figure ahead calmly.

"I... am just an old ghost who has sunk into the Nine Abyss for endless ages. Who I am matters not. You arrive just in time... the little beast with the indelible soul was just speaking behind the sealed gate."

"What? You mean Keke is right behind that door?"

"She was just here. Wait a moment; I will communicate with the spirits on the other side." A bloody mist spread, and the old ghost was wreathed in blood light. The sinister blood gate even had red blood flowing down, making the scene both strange and horrific.

A full hour passed before the old ghost let out a long breath. "The spirits have found her."

In that instant, Xiao Chen sensed the familiar aura through the blood gate, and in his daze, he heard the little beast's voice.

His concern clouded his judgment; he wished he could see the little beast immediately. His spiritual fluctuations spread out, transmitting his thoughts through the gaps in the sealed gate.

"They are lying to you... I am doing well here." This was the first time Xiao Chen had sensed the little beast's spiritual fluctuation, as if it were truly speaking. The fluctuation was soft, lazy, and very childish, as if gently breathing by his ear, making his ears itch.

He felt a pang of sadness and also wanted to laugh. This little thing was certainly lying around lazily, probably just waking from a daze.

"Keke, come back quickly."

"I want to eat Purple-Vein Shadowwood Fruits. They searched for months and only found eight. I haven't had my fill yet." The tender voice carried regret and dissatisfaction.

Xiao Chen was truly stunned, not knowing what to say. It seemed... entirely unlike what he had imagined! The little beast was not only safe over there but seemed to be living quite comfortably.

There were not many Purple-Vein Shadowwood trees in the underworld, and those that bore fruit were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns—no ordinary find. The Purple-Vein Shadowwood Fruit was probably even rarer than the Fruit of the Celestial God.