Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Brother working so hard, it turns out you were thinking about this!

"As many as you want; I'll buy more for you when we get back," Shen Ye said with a wave of his hand—

The crayfish appeared!

And they were all eaten up!

"...They're tasty, but they don't contain the bloodline power of the Dragon Clan," the large skeleton said, disappointed.

"Don't worry, maybe these are crossbreeds. When we turn back, I'll get you the purebred ones!" Shen Ye said.

—Buy some king crabs for brother to eat!

The crayfish were just a joke before!

"You're a true brother," the large skeleton said, giving a thumbs up.

"Of course!"

Gathering his spirit, the large skeleton stood up and began drawing the rune array again.

—The rune array to Hell!

This time.

He had just started drawing a few runes when the atmosphere inside the cave suddenly changed.

A blistering wind gushed from underground, whirling about the cave as if millions of whispers were talking.

"It's so hot; don't let the heat kill me," Shen Ye said while wiping off sweat.

"The first layer of Hell is Windfire Hell; you're naturally going to feel hot. But it's fine, this power only targets the spirits that enter Hell," the large skeleton explained.

Shen Ye felt something and suddenly drew the Dusk Shortsword from his waist.

—This black shortsword was vibrating continuously!

What's going on here!

"Be careful, I've opened a sliver of a crack to Hell; it will expand rapidly, forming a temporary passage," the large skeleton warned.

"We're facing the high skies of Hell!" the large skeleton shouted.

In the void, the roaring sound of wild winds suddenly erupted.

A two-meter-high spatial hole appeared!

Bracing against the winds, Shen Ye looked into the hole and saw endless flames traversing the sky with the wind.

A line of faint glowing text emerged among the flames:

"Windfire Hell, the first layer of Hell."

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The other side was Hell!

The large skeleton let out a cry of joy, and Shen Ye too showed a happy expression.

A sudden aberration occurred—

A shadow flickered in the void; something rushed out and headed straight for Shen Ye.

Shen Ye did not hesitate to raise his sword in defense.

With a "clang," the shadow hit the Dusk Shortsword and shattered into countless flakes of snow.

Shen Ye's quick eyes immediately discerned what it was.

Ice!

A clump of ice flew out from Windfire Hell?

While he was still puzzled, he saw the dispersed ice and snow reassemble and settle on the Dusk Shortsword, completely covering the blade.

"Hey, what's going on?" Shen Ye called out, turning his head.

"I don't know either," the large skeleton said, looking bewildered. "I opened a deep part of the Windfire Hell's sky, a place suitable to conceal our traces!"

As he finished speaking.

A glow leaped from the Dusk Shortsword and formed words in midair:

"A certain power hidden deep in the sky of Windfire Hell sensed 'Nightfall' and materialized as ice and snow in an instant, merging into the shortsword and raising its grade."

"This sword has completed its upgrade, transforming into a brand-new Huntian Sword:"

"Night Concealment."

"The sword artifact of Chaotic Heaven Gate."

"Deep blue grade (Outstanding)."

"Trait: Sharpness (high level)."

"Trait: Piercing (high level)."

"Trait: Bleeding (high level)."

"Shadow Fingering: The bearer of this sword automatically advances one rank in 'Heavenly Shadow'."

"White Moon: The bearer of this sword can sense the location of Chaotic Heaven Gate items through this sword."

"—This power has lurked in the high skies of Windfire Hell for countless years, finally returning to a sect-exclusive sword artifact!"

The shortsword—

Seemed to have grown slightly longer.

The lightless black of the blade had faded away, turning into a frost-like white.

Shen Ye held the shortsword still, his mind stirring, and he executed "Heavenly Shadow."

"Eh? Where are you?" the large skeleton cried out.

"Can't you see me?" Shen Ye asked.

"Indeed, I can't see you—damn it, what technique did you use?" the large skeleton asked.

Shen Ye looked at the glowing text in the void:

"Currently, 'Heavenly Shadow,' has advanced to the First Layer of the Law Realm with the sword artifact's enhancement."

"Description:

"You are like a shadow, unnoticed by anyone; unless one's power reaches the fourth layer of the Law Realm, there is a possibility they can see through your hiding place."

Both "White Moon" and "Shadow Fingering" were very useful skills.

An idea suddenly flashed through Shen Ye's mind.

The sword—

Was given to him by that voice.

"Explore the secrets of this world—your friends will help you, but first, you must help them," the voice had told him before falling asleep.

The premise is that I must help friends first—

I helped the large skeleton collect all the materials.

Ultimately, the large skeleton opened the gateway to Hell!

Once Windfire Hell was activated, the Dusk Sword received that lurking power.

In turn, the large skeleton ended up helping me.

—So, is this what "your friends will help you" truly means?

That's way too cryptic!

Why not just clarify directly?

Shen Ye thought for a moment and began to understand.

The words of the Underworld Lord Miket Tikaxiwa came back to him:

"You must figure out the truth... So come to Hell... only when you discover the truth in Hell, will you be safe."

Perhaps—

In the Nightmare World, are some things not allowed to be said explicitly?

In other words, is the Nightmare World under some sort of surveillance?

Suddenly, the large skeleton let out a strange cry.

A chill ran through Shen Ye as well, his muscles tensed up.

A giant claw suddenly pierced through the void, extending from Hell, aiming for the two of them.

Such a fast move!

Can't dodge it!

Shen Ye instinctively wanted to activate the ability of the "gate," but at the last moment, he changed his mind.

——The giant claw was too big, placing the gate in front of him might not block it; placing it behind, the claw had already circled to his back, a motion of reaching back.

There might not be enough time to dodge into the gate!

Then——

He gripped his sword in both hands as several afterimages like flowing water suddenly flashed over his body.

——Body Technique: Flowing Moon!

The giant claw barely grazed the hem of his real body's garments, grasping the large skeleton and retracting back into the passage.

As the large skeleton left, the technique began to dissipate.

The dimensional hole visibly shrank at a rapid pace, soon to be too small to pass through——

"Let go of it!"

Shen Ye bellowed, his physique flashed, and he surged through the shrinking portal.

High in the sky!

This was the ten-thousand-meter high sky of Windfire Hell!

The flames shone like daylight.

A skeletal eagle, over a dozen meters long, spread its wings, soaring in the sky.

It clutched tightly to the large skeleton in its talons.

Shen Ye instantly drew his bone bow, with the Twin Dragon Dharma Form unfolding behind him, and in an instant, he emptied his quiver of arrows.

Night Wanderer Archery: Sudden Rain!

——Diva Skill "Brilliant Opening" activated!

All the arrows suddenly arranged themselves in midair, forming into one massive arrow that struck fiercely onto the talons of the skeletal eagle.

Whir——

Bone fragments flew through the air.

With one talon broken by the impact, the large skeleton began to plummet downward.

The giant eagle let out a cry of panic and confusion.

The next moment.

Seven or eight sharp talons flew in, all piercing into its body.

This was followed by sharp beaks.

——The giant eagle was torn apart!

At this moment, Shen Ye suddenly burst out in a furious roar:

"Who dares to battle!"

From his hands came the "zzz" of lightning, his Dharma Form behind him grew clearer, and even his Frost Magic Pupil began to slowly open.

With the might of lightning that vanquishes evil, the surrounding monsters scattered instantly.

Shen Ye watched the surroundings warily.

——He really had to be on guard.

The entire sky was filled with skeletons of flying creatures fighting one another.

Looking beyond the dense swarm of flying undead, toward the vast and boundless land——

Heads crowded together, a massive, dark mass as far as the eye could see.

Everywhere he looked there were undead!

In some places, there wasn't even space to set foot on the ground!

What is going on.

How could Hell be so crowded?

Shen Ye pondered for a second, then suddenly spun and delivered a flying kick, sending a directly charging skeleton bird flying away.

——Frost Bite!

The bird froze solid with ice upon being kicked, its movements becoming extremely slow.

Many birds swooped in to cleanly devour it.

"Fei Lun!"

Shen Ye called out and rushed toward where the large skeleton was falling.

The large skeleton was also cunning.

——After all, the sky was the birds' domain; it didn't struggle too much, just took out a set of Battle Armor to wear, curled up into a ball, shielded its vital points with its hands and kept plummeting downwards.

Birds came to peck at it along the way, but they could do nothing to it.

Shen Ye danced through the air, employing the "Flowing Moon" movement technique several times, confusing the surrounding birds; with some difficulty, he managed to approach the large skeleton.

"Hide yourself," he shouted.

"Okay!"

The large skeleton immediately hid inside the ring.

It left Shen Ye alone.

He reached into the void with his hand, activating the "Stellar Shift."

A faint light gradually gathered, forming small words:

"You can set two new coordinates, do you want to set one now?"

"Set it!" Shen Ye commanded in his mind.

"——Setting successful."

Seeing this line of small print, Shen Ye finally relaxed.

The materials used to open the portal to Hell were extremely expensive.

It cost a fortune.

If he didn't set up a teleportation coordinate quickly, he'd have to spend a lot of materials, which meant a lot of money, for each subsequent opening.

Waste is shameful.

As for now——

Land first, then worry about the rest!

He swung his Thunder Shock Palm, pulverizing several skeleton birds that charged at him into bone dust.

The next second.

All the skeletal birds scattered in panic, leaving a large void in the space around him.

What's happening?

Shen Ye looked up, only to see a flaming creature with three human heads and three legs, covered in ferocious bone spines from head to tip, with wings dozens of meters wide when spread, and its body shrouded in flames, flying from the depths of the sky.

"It's Qu Ru! Run!!!"

The large skeleton shouted in alarm.

Shen Ye's eyes narrowed.

Ahead were the Nine Infants, behind was Qu Ru.

All these were monsters from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, but why were they appearing in Hell?

"You know it?"

Shen Ye couldn't help but ask.

"Of course, the Undead Race still knows a bit about Hell—it's ferocious, you better run!" the large skeleton said.

Shen Ye looked again at Qu Ru.

It had a towering physique like a mountain, yet also nimble and agile, gliding through the skies with an elegant and swift posture, incinerating all the skeletal birds in its path.

This created a spectacular scene——

As each skeletal bird died, it turned into tiny points of light flying towards Qu Ru.

And because Qu Ru had slain too many skeletal birds, the journey was marked by dense, milky-way-like points of light, closely trailing behind it.

——It looked like a divine spirit, utterly astonishing.

"So strong..."

Shen Ye murmured and immediately sped up his descent.