The Corpse River's Secret

A dull, grating rumble echoed from the depths of the earth—as if a colossus were pacing far below, or a myriad of demons and gods, imprisoned in an underground dungeon, roared in unison through a sealed vault.

With a thunderous crash, a flood of rat-demons surged from the distance like a living tide, their countless eyes gleaming with ferocity, all fixed on a single spot.

Xiao Chen's heart clenched. He knew the true terror buried deep beneath the earth was about to reveal itself.

Hundreds of thousands—over a million—of the rat-demons shrieked and hurled themselves at him, heedless of death. Their loathsome forms churned his skin with revulsion.

In this dim thousand-zhang-deep underground palace, had he not worn the Ancestral God War Armor, he would have suffered grievously.

With a heavy thud, dozens of black rat-demons slammed into him; the clang of their fangs against the dark-iron war suit rang clear as tempered steel.

Another crash, and scores of blood-red rats piled upon him, surging over, burying him in a writhing mound.

Xiao Chen paid them no heed. He vibrated with the Origin Heavenly Sound, pulverizing wave after wave of the creatures, but his mind remained fixed on the Ancestral God's white bones and the bestial presence that had yet to show itself.

The War Swords blazed forth, clashing against divine iron. The Ancestral God's skeleton was incredibly powerful—it could meet the War Swords on equal footing, moving like lightning, its divine might roaring like a mountain landslide.

Eight bone spears thrust and parried, their penetrative force unmatched, holding the War Swords at bay.

Xiao Chen frowned. In an instant, he recalled thirteen War Swords to guard his person, wary of the hidden beast. He left fourteen swords to continue besieging the Ancestral God's bones.

A roar erupted from deep underground, far more intense and clear than before.

The sound was deafening, but it put Xiao Chen somewhat at ease: the terrifying monster was at the Half-Ancestor level, not a freak like the Great Might Nether King, and perhaps stronger than the Asura Half-Ancestor or the Skeleton King, but not overwhelmingly so.

He charged forward with thirteen War Swords as his vanguard, thirteen rainbow beams swirling around him, cleaving through the million rat-demons and turning their flesh to bloody mist. Though many of the black rats could regenerate, such devastating force briefly cowed them.

Xiao Chen cut a bloody path and plunged deeper into the earth. The Ancestral God's bones pursued, but fourteen War Swords entangled it, halting its advance.

How vast this cavern was! Xiao Chen raced onward, then began descending along a vast tunnel. He faintly heard the roar of a flood, and waves of oppressive deathly Yin energy washed over him.

Even at his current strength, he felt a bone-deep chill. The evil lurking below exceeded his imagination—a true, utter domain of dread.

Tens of thousands of rat-demons were slashed to bloody spray by the War Swords. At last, Xiao Chen reached the deepest part of the cavern.

By the light of the luminescent crystals embedded in the walls, he beheld a horrific sight.

A great yellow river surged and rolled, its stench of corpses and deathly aura filling heaven and earth. This place was even more terrifying than the Death World. Murderous intent and baleful energy flooded the space.

Even Xiao Chen, at his level, was forced back a dozen paces by the ocean of death qi—an invisible, irresistible pressure that pushed him involuntarily away.

"What cursed land is this? How can there be such a corpse river?"

Xiao Chen was astonished. The yellow river was shrouded in yin wind and corpse mist; it looked exactly like the legendary Yellow Springs of the underworld.

He was certain—it was a corpse river, formed entirely from the liquids of rotting dead!

"How can such an evil river exist?" He was truly shaken. It was hard to imagine what kind of place could be its source.

What lay before him surpassed even the Death World in horror.

A roar, chilling to the soul, came from upstream, not far away.

Near this yellow plague river, even the rat-demons dared not approach too closely.

Clad in the Ancestral God War Armor and bearing War Swords, Xiao Chen did not fear greatly. Even if he could not win, he could protect himself.

He strode along the bank, heading upstream to see what malignant beast lurked there.

Suddenly, a thousand-zhang wave erupted from the corpse river. The yellow corpse water rose like an endless wall of decay, crashing down upon Xiao Chen.

The stench of decay and suffocating deathly aura chilled his very soul.

The Seven-Colored Sacred Tree above his head blazed with light—seven beams of divine radiance pierced the sky like rainbows, shielding him completely and blocking the deluge of corpse water.

Around him, a torrent of putrid yellow rain fell. Many black rat-demons that had stubbornly followed were corroded into nothing, their very remains erased. He could imagine how terrible the corpse water was.

"How is this possible? Even the black rats that had gnawed on an Ancestral God's flesh and blood were annihilated in an instant…" Horrified, Xiao Chen felt an ill premonition—the end of this corpse river must lead to an unimaginable place.

The roar shook the heavens. The deep earth trembled violently. The corpse river churned, surging with colossal waves, a sight that chilled the heart.

And at that moment, Xiao Chen saw a behemoth floating and sinking in the river. A wave of savage brutality emanated from it.

"What vile thing is that? Get out here!" Xiao Chen shouted from the bank.

"A lowly, weak creature dares to invade my cave and disturb my cultivation? You seek death!" The voice was like muffled thunder, shaking the river into frenzy.

A colossal form emerged from the yellow corpse water—dozens of meters high, hideous and terrifying.

It had a human body and a rat's head, towering like a small hill in the middle of the corpse river.

Chains clanked as it surfaced. Huge blood-red iron chains were bound around its body, restraining its flesh.

Was it imprisoned here by someone? Xiao Chen wondered. Who could have locked a Half-Ancestor-level monster in a corpse river?

"You… seem to be a powerhouse. It has been a long time since I tasted the hot blood of a strong one. You delivered yourself today. I will grant you a quick death." The behemoth in the corpse river looked down on Xiao Chen, as if everything was in its grasp. Its rat's head was particularly hideous.

"Big talk. I thought you were some primeval beast, but you're still just a rat. Your vision is as short as they say."

"What? What did you say?!" The behemoth roared from the river, its voice shaking the very earth above. The power contained in that cry was terrifying.

"I said, rat, your eyes are too short." Xiao Chen's reply was as calm as floating clouds, which only enraged the creature further.

It spat out a stream of yellow light, foul and nauseating. Even Xiao Chen, strong as he was, felt dizzy for a moment, but he quickly cleared his mind.

Light radiated from him, and he bellowed the Origin Heavenly Sound, shattering the yellow light in midair. A sheet of corpse water splashed down, corroding even the rock floor.

"You think size makes you great?" Xiao Chen sneered. "You've been chained here and still won't behave. Are you forcing me to kill you?"

"Chained?" The monster laughed wildly, a cruel light flashing in its rodent eyes. "I bound myself here to refine my body with the corpse river. You disappoint me."

With a crash, a dozen-meter wave burst from the river as a massive blood-red chain snapped and swept toward Xiao Chen like a dragon—thick as a water barrel, wailing like ghosts, shattering the void and leaving black holes in its wake.

Xiao Chen dodged a hundred zhang in a flash of light, evading the strike.

Then, earth-shaking sounds erupted as a dozen giant blood-red chains all snapped at once, each whipping through the air like venomous dragons, all stabbing toward Xiao Chen.

The thirteen War Swords around Xiao Chen soared into the sky, turning into dazzling rainbows that slashed and hacked.

The clang of metal was deafening. The dozen chains, thick as water barrels, shattered inch by inch and fell to the ground.

"Good swords! They're mine!"

The giant monster's eyes blazed with greed as it stirred up monstrous waves and stepped out of the corpse river.

Its true form was enough to make anyone shrink back. Four bone spears, pale and terrible, jutted from each side of its humanoid body, like the legs of a spider. Its rat tail curved upward like a scorpion's, ending in a sharp bone stinger.

"It seems you not only ate the corpse of the Otherworld Ancestral God, but also learned some of his techniques. You gained quite a bit." Xiao Chen stared calmly at the behemoth.

"You have no idea what I've gained. Do you know the source of this corpse river? No need to tell a dead man. Now that you know, it's too late. Your sharp swords are mine, and your flesh is mine!" The monster lowered its head, sneering coldly, then shrank its body to human size.

"I called you a rat, and you didn't like it. Should I call you a toad instead?" Xiao Chen continued to taunt mercilessly. "You sit at the bottom of a well and think you're an Ancestral God? You think you can eat me whenever you want?"

Despite his words, Xiao Chen was fully alert. This monster was definitely a formidable Half-Ancestor, seemingly in possession of Otherworld Ancestral God techniques, and likely very dangerous.

"You seek death!"

The monster spat two cold words and vanished from its place. Xiao Chen immediately felt a strong danger signal behind him.

Without turning, he kicked backward, and at the same time thirteen War Swords dove down to slash at the rear.

A wave of deadly danger brushed past Xiao Chen, vanishing into the distance.

The monster reappeared where it had stood.

Xiao Chen was startled. This monster was truly fast—its speed rivaled his Eight Aspect Extreme.

"You really are a powerhouse. I love this kind of flesh and blood." With those words, the monster vanished again.

Clang! A dozen War Swords stabbed upward into the air, emitting a metallic hum.

As the sound of tearing space continued, the monster materialized. It was using its four bone spears and tail stinger to clash with the War Swords head-on. Though the bone spears and stinger cracked and nearly broke, every time blood-red light flashed, they instantly healed.

"Undying body!" Xiao Chen frowned. This thing had eaten Ancestral God flesh and gained an undying body; even its bone spears and scorpion tail had gained that monstrous ability. This was a serious problem.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The monster, though surrounded by the sword formation, charged in a desperate gambit. Three War Swords struck its body, but it still rushed to Xiao Chen's side, its four bone spears stabbing through.

Four white beams shot like venomous snakes—ten million times more deadly! These were bone spears that could pierce even a Half-Ancestor's body!

The monster's wounds, though they bled freely at first, healed in the instant the swords passed. Not a single drop of the gleaming blood was wasted—it all returned to its body.

It laughed coldly. With its undying body, it was already invincible. It ignored Xiao Chen's attacks and charged straight in.

But at that moment, Xiao Chen's action surprised it. Like the monster itself, he did not dodge. He let the four bone spears strike him, his hands turning crystalline and translucent as he suddenly thrust them out.

Clang! The four spears that could pierce any body all struck Xiao Chen, producing a tremendous noise—but there were no bloody holes as the monster had expected.

The dark light of the war suit had fully blocked them.

The monster cried out in alarm and tried to retreat, but it was already too late. Xiao Chen's jade-like palms struck out, and the phantom images of four heavenly steles roared down, all slamming into its chest.

The monster was indeed powerful. Though blood sprayed from its mouth, its chest bones did not shatter completely—only two ribs broke. It was sent tumbling backward.

"That war suit you're wearing…" When the monster landed on the corpse river bank, it wiped the blood from its lips and stared at the dark-iron war armor on Xiao Chen, a flicker of surprise in its eyes.

"Want to eat my meat? Come on." Xiao Chen held one War Sword and directed the other twelve at the hideous monster.

The monster's eyes blazed with murderous light. Without another word, it pounced forward, leaving afterimages across the sky. Xiao Chen slashed with the War Swords.

This monster was truly formidable. Its four bone spears, had they not encountered the Ancestral God War Armor, would have been invincible weapons. Even when cut by War Swords, they healed instantly.

And its scorpion-tail stinger was lethally venomous, attacking from unimaginable angles, several times grazing Xiao Chen's throat.

The two fought in a brutal, savage style—one protected by the Ancestral God War Armor, the other having an undying body. Often they ignored each other's attacks and went straight for the vital points.

When the monster tried to pierce Xiao Chen's head with its tail stinger, the Seven-Colored Sacred Tree swept it aside. The monster grew uneasy. It had an undying body and could recover from many wounds, but the enemy had a turtle-shell war suit that left it with no good options. This was not going well.

Plop! It jumped back into the corpse river. But Xiao Chen was undaunted; he pursued, walking on the river's surface, the war suit blocking the fierce deathly aura.

The corpse river erupted in thousand-zhang waves, the stench of decay surging, yin wind howling, corpse qi filling the sky.

The two mighty beings fought amidst the river.

The monster's eyes gleamed with a terrifying light. It was waiting for an opportunity. The enemy had a fearsome war suit, but if it could break through once, that would be fatal. And it itself had an undying body; even if continually wounded, it would only weaken for a time.

"Heh heh… The corpse water grants me infinite power!" The monster churned up endless waves.

"I'll wait and see what you can do." Xiao Chen laughed coldly. But soon he was astonished to find that the monster was indeed growing stronger, its power increasing by a notch.

"Did you think I chained myself in the corpse river for show? The corpse river has endless demonic power. As long as it flows, my battle strength never runs dry." The monster licked its lips, revealing its snow-white fangs. "I love the taste of a powerhouse's flesh…"

At that moment, from the far, far upstream of the corpse river came a mournful wail—so piercing that even Xiao Chen felt his scalp tingle.

The monster's expression changed instantly, terror flickering in its eyes. "The great one is waking again… If I offer your flesh and blood to him, he will surely be pleased."

Xiao Chen was alarmed. That wailing sound was truly terrifying—it seemed to vibrate directly in his heart, sending chills through his entire body.

At his current combat power, which rivaled a Half-Ancestor, to feel such a chill meant the source of that corpse river must be an unspeakably cursed place.

"What lies upstream of the corpse river?" Xiao Chen pressed.

"Naturally, the great one above."

"What demon is he?"

"Demon? The great one is the supreme powerhouse of the ages! The entire corpse river exists because of him!"

Xiao Chen was shaken. This corpse river could corrode even the black rat-demons that had devoured Ancestral God flesh and blood! And the entire raging, thundering corpse river was caused by that 'great one' alone!

"Even your human Ancestral Gods are nothing before him!"

From the monster's words, one could imagine the terror of the existence at the river's end.

Even if the monster was exaggerating, it was enough to make Xiao Chen extremely wary.

A feeling of profound unease welled up in him. This underground cavern was utterly cursed—first the Otherworld Ancestral God's skeleton, then this monster that had devoured Ancestral God flesh, and at the unknown end of the corpse river, an existence beyond imagination.