Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

"That's right, next time we must be cautious, and we definitely can't make a big scene. We need to blend into the crowd and slowly look for clues," Shen Ye said.

"Not only that, I suddenly feel a bit weak..." the big skeleton said.

Shen Ye nodded in agreement.

"Can I eat Qu Ru's skeleton?" the big skeleton asked.

"You can, but you'd better wait for me to finish using it first," Shen Ye said.

He glanced at his cellphone.

It was just after 2 a.m.

There was plenty of time!

Shen Ye pondered for a moment before gently pushing the window open and looking out at the pitch-black streets.

"What are you doing?" the big skeleton asked.

"The room is too small. Let's go out and release Qu Ru's skeleton. I want to ask it some questions."

"What are we waiting for then, let's go!"

Shen Ye jumped onto the windowsill and carefully closed the window before unfolding his flying technique.

He flew straight up along the wall of the apartment building until he reached the rooftop, where he crouched on a pillar of the twenty-first floor and looked around.

The west side was closer to the suburbs, with vast farmlands.

There shouldn't be anyone around at this time.

He moved his physique and flew forward, swiftly crossing the vast urban area until he reached the farmland.

Crash!

A large pile of skeletons was released, forming a small hill on the ground.

Qu Ru's corpse!

Suddenly, Shen Ye thought of a question.

"Hey, big skeleton."

"What?"

"If Qu Ru appeared in Hell, it means it was already dead, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Then, if I killed it again in Hell—doesn't that mean it's completely gone?"

"Not necessarily. Generally speaking, only when the soul is consumed is one considered completely gone. Otherwise, if you kill it in Hell, its soul will leave behind a corpse and then move to the deeper Netherworld," said the big skeleton.

"A deeper Netherworld... does that mean a lower level of Hell?"

"The souls that die in Hell will appear in Purgatory."

When it came to Purgatory, the voice of the big skeleton tensed up:

"Believe me, no one wants to go to Purgatory."

Shen Ye nodded thoughtfully.

No wonder.

After advancing, Whispers of the Dark could let all beings or divine spirits "climb up from Hell or Purgatory."

That way—

Even if one dies in Hell, it's still possible to bring them back to ask some questions.

"Hey, speak up."

Shen Ye said.

The pile of skeletons trembled slightly and automatically assembled into the form of Qu Ru. Three heads let out painful groans:

"Whispers of the Dark? I haven't seen this technique in a very long time—what do you want to ask, make it quick."

Shen Ye raised an eyebrow.

—He had encountered a knowledgeable one!

"Shen Ye, don't inquire about Purgatory," the big skeleton secretly communicated.

"Why not?" Shen Ye asked.

There was a hint of unease in the big skeleton's tone:

"It's a kind of taboo—the more one talks about Purgatory, the closer they get to it. It's an eternal prison of suffering, best not to mention it, think about it, or talk about it."

Shen Ye nodded slightly before asking,

"Do you know where the Underworld Lord Miket Tikaxiwa is?"

"I do not know—I only know that divine spirits hide their identities in Hell and will not reveal themselves easily," the other responded.

"Alright then, I want to ask, why is Wind and Fire Hell so crowded?"

Indeed!

It was unbearably crowded!

This was Shen Ye's first impression of Hell!

Qu Ru "harrumphed" and said:

"Wind and Fire Hell is the first layer of Hell; all the deceased must first report there, so naturally, it's very crowded."

"But most importantly—"

"The path to the second layer of Hell has been blocked."

"Every being and divine spirit is forced to stay on the first layer; they can't go to the second layer, and they can't leave after serving their sentences."

"That's why it's so crowded."

"Blocked? How can it be blocked?" Shen Ye asked, surprised.

"There's a tree—its roots come from the world of the living and stretch all the way to Hell, blocking all paths to the second layer of Hell as well as all paths out of Hell," Qu Ru explained.

A tree?

Shen Ye was taken aback, not expecting such an answer.

"Can't you just cut off its roots?" the big skeleton couldn't help but interject.

"Yeah, hasn't anyone tried to cut it down?" Shen Ye asked.

"Anyone who tried to cut it had their soul drained by it and ceased to exist, including even divine spirits and historical heroes," fear flickered in Qu Ru's eyes.

Shen Ye and the big skeleton fell silent together.

...So, it was like that.

A flash of understanding came to Shen Ye's mind.

"Forget it, go ahead, we can talk more later," he said.

Crumble—

The skeleton that made up Qu Ru's body slowly collapsed and fell apart.

Standing amongst the night shadows, Shen Ye was deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

The big skeleton asked.

"A very serious question," Shen Ye said.

"Like what?" the big skeleton inquired.

"Look, the Hell corresponding to your Nightmare World has been sealed, right?"

"Right."

"Then, what's the situation with the Hell that corresponds to my world?"

"...Indeed, that is a question to consider."

"Are Hells interconnected, or does one living world correspond to one specific Hell?" Shen Ye pushed further.

The big skeleton's eyes sparked with wise Soulfire as it explained:

"Typically, Hell is a reflection of a living world's death, and the Hells corresponding to each world of living beings are not interconnected."

"I want to verify this," Shen Ye said.

"There's no need—this has already been verified. Each world's Hell is different, just like every life has its own shadow."

"Humor my curiosity—let's try just once, and I'll give you all the skeletons of Qu Ru to eat."

"Fine, fine, you win!" the big skeleton said somewhat helplessly. It quickly gathered Qu Ru's skeletons and squatted on the ground, beginning to arrange the spellcasting materials.

Sometime later.

The spatial portal to Hell was opened.

"Let's go, take a look inside!"

Shen Ye said with excitement.

"Okay!" The giant skeleton replied.

Both of them passed through the spatial rift at the same time.

Flap flap flap—

High up in the sky.

Gale-force winds.

Countless flying and battling skeleton birds.

Wind and Fire Hell!

"..." Shen Ye.

"..." The giant skeleton.

Both of them plummeted downwards together.

Even though they were two different worlds, why was Hell the same one?

"Let's go!" Shen Ye said.

As soon as the door opened.

The two of them returned to the Main World.

"Something's not right," the giant skeleton said in a deep voice.

"Is your technique specifically targeting your Hell?" Shen Ye asked.

"Even so, it's not right—I'm not in our world, so the techniques I use here can't possibly create a link between the 'Nightmare World' and the 'Hell of the Nightmare World.'"

The giant skeleton said.

A foreboding feeling flitted through Shen Ye's heart as he whispered, "It does seem very odd indeed..."

"Do you want to go over there and find out what's going on?" the giant skeleton asked.

"Definitely have to check it out."

"Then wait for me, I'll consume Qu Ru's corpse before we go over."

"Is that necessary?"

"Absolutely necessary—it was very powerful, and eating it can restore a lot of my strength, maybe even more."

Shen Ye suddenly remembered, this lonesome skeleton was a Technique Spirit.

But isn't it supposed to be that one cannot summon a Technique Spirit for battle until reaching the Fourth Layer of the Law Realm?

...Right.

The contract between himself and it was a fair trade, not some battle partnership.

But that didn't matter.

As long as the skeleton was good in a fight, it could be called upon anytime.

"Hey, what kind of strength do you actually possess?" Shen Ye asked.

"Triple Layers of the Law Realm!"

"Eh? You? That totally didn't show."

"That's because you lack insight."

"—it's because you've been smashed to pieces too many times."

"I'm simply concealing my brilliance!"

"You call hiding in a fishbowl concealing your brilliance? Cool to death!"

The giant skeleton fell silent, bowed its head, and earnestly devoured Qu Ru's corpse.

It ate quickly.

As it fed, its whole skeletal body began to emit a different kind of energy fluctuation.

Shen Ye watched in amazement.

Jokes aside, there was indeed something formidable about this skeleton.

—it strengthened whatever it ate.

Having consumed a Qu Ru, would it now turn into a Qu Ru?

"Hey, will you turn into a Qu Ru?" Shen Ye asked.

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"Because I did not eat these two heads," the giant skeleton pointed at two skeletal skulls on the ground, "because the daily life of a multi-headed monster is very painful. For instance, after you grow two heads, life would become a mess."

"How would it become a mess?"

"Take the simplest example—when you want to sleep, the other two heads want to sing, and you can't imagine how excruciating that would be."

"Then just kill them off," Shen Ye said.

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"Naive! They want to kill you too!" the giant skeleton scoffed coldly.

"Alright... Can we go now?"

"Let's go!"

...

The door opened.

Shen Ye jumped in and just as he fell for a bit, suddenly got a shock.

He drew the Night Hidden Sword and shouted:

"Hide in the ring!"

The giant skeleton instantly complied and hid with great proficiency.

Right after that—

Shen Ye turned into a shadow, faintly vanishing into the void.

Heavenly Shadow!

With the "Shadow Fingering" on the longsword, this Strange Technique reached the First Layer of the Law Realm.

"You're like a shadow, unnoticed by all, unless the opponent has reached the Fourth Layer of the Law Realm, and only then might they see through your presence."

—But that wasn't the end of it!

The faint light flickered in Shen Ye's eyes.

Moonlight Divine Illumination!

Under the effect of "Moonlight Divine Illumination," the Secret Lunar Method's combat power was forcibly tripled during battle!

That was quite high already.

The next moment.

A chilling voice rang in Shen Ye's ear:

"Strange, it was definitely here, where did it go?"

Without turning back, Shen Ye silently flew forward for a while, until there was a sufficient distance, and then descended towards the ground.

He didn't need to look to know: it must be that eerie presence of Douge.

Since it couldn't see him, he needn't bother with it.

—What was the point of killing it?

If it attracted a higher-level being who could see through him, wouldn't he be in greater trouble?

This time Shen Ye played it smart.

Despite the protection of Heavenly Shadow, he still dove into the lively crowd, moving forward with the many Undead Souls.

"Hey, giant skeleton, I want to ask you something,"

Shen Ye whispered while navigating through the crowd.

"What is it?" the giant skeleton responded.

"Is there something like a Shared Hell nowadays? Like shared bicycles?"

—That was the most reasonable explanation.

Otherwise, why would two worlds share one Hell?

"... I've never heard of that, stop talking nonsense," the giant skeleton immediately said.

"Then that's troublesome. There must be a secret to this."

Shen Ye sighed.