At the end of the Underworld River hand print, millions of meters away, was a towering mountain peak. At the top of the mountain was a majestic statue of a middle-aged man, whose face was impossible to see.
His head was bowed, as if he were looking into a deep abyss. A thick aura of death emanated from him, as if he were the source of the Underworld River.
Beneath the statue, outside of the black temple, Wang Baole pushed open the wooden door and walked in, filled with determination.
It didn't matter what had happened to the people who had entered the temple, or whether or not there were dangers beyond his control, Wang Baole was going to enter. He wasn't doing this for himself, he was doing it for his Elder Brother.
He was doing it for the sake of their former friendship, and for the sake of clearing his debt.
Whether or not it was dangerous was no longer important. What was important was that Wang Baole felt that he had to enter, and that he had to do what he had to do.
Therefore, his footsteps were resolute. As soon as his foot touched the ground, he crossed the threshold and entered the temple. As soon as he did … he felt as if he were walking into another world.
Although the Inner Sect and the Outer Sect didn't seem very different, only those who had actually entered would know that the Inner Sect and the Outer Sect were different. The Outer Sect was at the bottom of the Underworld River, filled with an aura of death. Inside the temple … was a different universe.
It was a very large world, but also very small. The reason it was large was because it was impossible to see the ends of it, and divine sense couldn't cover the entire area. The reason it was small was because there was nothing else in the boundless world other than a single body. It was a woman in a red robe, and in front of her was a row of wooden puppets arranged in neat rows.
Most of the puppets were dim, with only three or five of them glowing brightly.
There was also the song that spread through the void from the woman's mouth.
"One mouth, one eye, one body, one soul, one flesh, one bone ….
"The Glittering Jewel Illusion, the only thing missing is the Underworld Wood ….
"The mouth, one eye, one body, one soul, one flesh, one bone ….
"The only thing missing is the Underworld Wood, the only thing missing is the Underworld Wood …."
The song floated toward him, filled with a strange calling, almost like a requiem for the soul. As soon as it reached Wang Baole's ears, he stopped in place, and a look of confusion appeared in his eyes. However, that confusion was quickly suppressed, and his heart filled with shock at the song.
The content of the ballad was a little … scary.
When he looked over, he saw the gigantic red-robed woman singing a ballad as she took out some of the glowing wooden puppets. She seemed to be working on them.
As for the materials … Wang Baole was familiar with them. They were the corpses of the Underworld Sect Cultivators who had entered before. Although not all of them were present, at least seventy percent were. Furthermore, all of them seemed to be in a deep slumber, allowing the woman to do as she pleased.
Her features were also shocking. She had no nose, only a single eye, and a gaping, blood-colored mouth. As the song continued, Wang Baole's pupils constricted, and he rotated his cultivation base. He could sense an intense threat from the woman.
That threat had nothing to do with the Heavenly Dao, but rather, it came from his soul. It was as if his soul was trembling uncontrollably, as if it were reminding him that this place … was extremely dangerous!
That was especially true when Wang Baole saw that the red-robed woman was working on one of the puppets. The materials used to make the puppets … came from one of the great circle Stellar Realm Cultivators who had entered before him.
Wang Baole watched with his own eyes as the red-robed woman held the glowing cultivator in her hand. With a casual twist of her wrist, the cultivator's head was ripped off from his body. At the same time, illusory images appeared on the cultivator's body.
There were cultivators, mortals, beasts, and plants among the illusory images. If Wang Baole hadn't experienced life on the Planet of Destiny, he wouldn't have been able to see through them. However, as he looked at them now, his heart trembled, and he immediately understood that the illusory images were the cultivator's previous incarnations.
"What kind of existence is this? How can it work directly on the Soul Origin? The head that was ripped off isn't from this life, but from the true Soul Origin!"
There was no blood. It was as if the cultivator's body had been pieced together by some strange magical technique. His head was then pressed onto another puppet by the red-robed woman.
At the same time, the cultivator's body quickly disintegrated. His arms, legs, and body seemed to have turned into spare parts that were mounted on other puppets.
This scene caused Wang Baole's pupils to constrict again. However, before he could do anything, the red-robed woman suddenly stopped singing and a smile appeared on her face. She looked up happily at Wang Baole with her single eye.
"You have a mouth, an eye, a body, a soul, flesh, and bones." As her cheerful voice echoed out, the red-robed woman lifted her right hand and pointed at Wang Baole. Wang Baole wanted to dodge, but the finger didn't give him the slightest chance to do so. His mind filled with roaring, and he was shocked to find that his body was out of his control. Slowly, he began to walk toward the red-robed woman.
Eventually, he arrived in front of her, where he stood motionless behind the numerous puppets. His consciousness gradually fell asleep, and everything in front of him began to blur.
Time passed, and the red-robed woman's song became even more cheerful. However, she didn't pick up Wang Baole, who was now a puppet. Instead, she would occasionally look at him. Whenever a puppet emitted a glow, she would happily grab it, break it down, and then install the spare parts onto other puppets.
At that moment, Wang Baole's consciousness faded away. When his vision brightened again, he was no longer in the temple, but on a familiar battlefield.
There was no vegetation around him. As far as the eye could see, there were basins everywhere. When he looked up, the sky was filled with stars, and not too far away from him was a blue planet.
It was very familiar.
"Earth?" Wang Baole stared in shock. A moment later, someone nudged him. Wang Baole was also familiar with this person. It was … Kim Do-myung of the Federation!
Kim Do-myung winked at Wang Baole. "What do you think? Do you want to trade?"
"Trade what?" Wang Baole asked blankly. Kim Do-myung looked at Wang Baole in surprise. After muttering a few words, he ignored Wang Baole and walked away.
Wang Baole watched as Jin Duoming disappeared into the distance. He surveyed his surroundings. After a moment, his mind gradually cleared, and he recalled everything. He remembered that he had been in the Ethereal Dao College previously and had obtained the right to undergo a trial on the moon. He had wanted to reach the Foundation Establishment realm there.
"Yes, Foundation Establishment!" Wang Baole's heart skipped a beat. His eyes shone brightly as he quickly looked around. With his cultivation at the perfected Qi Condensation realm, he sped off into the distance.
Along the way, Wang Baole saw strange beasts that were unique to the moon. Whether it was the Moon Immortal or the ferocious spirits that emanated a murderous aura, they all made Wang Baole cautious. At the same time, familiar figures gradually appeared in Wang Baole's eyes.
This caused Wang Baole to be completely immersed in this world. He didn't realize that there was a problem here. He also didn't realize that his current state was very strange.
At the same time, in the Netherworld River, under the statue, in the temple, in the world where the woman in red was, Wang Baole's statue suddenly glowed from its originally dim state. It seemed to represent that it had matured. The woman in red cheered. She raised her hand and grabbed Wang Baole, who had transformed into a wooden puppet. She happily pinched his head and pulled it out …
With this pull, the shadows of Wang Baole's previous life appeared one after another. Whether it was the Protoss, the zombies, the deer, or the resentful soldiers, they were all about to be pulled apart. But at that moment, the black wooden planks in the shadows of Wang Baole's previous life were also pulled out by the other party's mystique. The woman in red's pull … didn't move!
The woman stared in shock.
At the same time, Wang Baole was immersed in the world of the moon. He was carefully working toward Foundation Establishment. Suddenly, his body trembled, and the air around him shook violently. It was as if some powerful force was pulling at him. It didn't come from the ground, but from the starry sky. It came from all directions, from all directions. Finally, it converged on his neck.
However, it seemed as if the other party was pulling at his neck with all their might. Yet, it didn't break his neck. Gradually, the world calmed down. Wang Baole's eyes flickered with a look of struggle. He shook his head and rubbed his neck, a look of suspicion in his eyes.
"Who's pulling at my neck?"
A moment later, the world shook again, this time with even more force. The pulling was even stronger!
— -
Writing, Later Chapter 2
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