Ling Chen took out the map of the Forgotten Continent and flipped it over, but couldn't find any signs of the Underworld. He could only give up, and after looking around once again, he walked towards the dilapidated houses in the distance.
This place was like a village that had just been ransacked under the night sky. Not a single one of the tens of houses wasn't dilapidated and couldn't be moved in. The walls were pitch black, and most of the walls had fallen off. The roof was made up of piles of messy grass, and most of the windows and doors had rotted. The entire village was quiet, and from afar, there were only 3 or 4 houses that had extremely dim light coming from the cracks in the doors or windows.
Tap … tap … tap …
Because it was too quiet, the sound of footsteps was especially clear. After Ling Chen slowly walked a few steps, he suddenly stopped because he suddenly found that his own footsteps weren't the only ones ringing in his ears.
Tap … tap … tap …
In front of him, a black shadow finally entered his line of sight. It was the shadow of a person. The light was too dim, so he couldn't see his appearance and clothes clearly. He could only faintly see that his back was bent, his head was tilted, and he was slowly walking towards him. Every step was heavy, as if he was carrying the weight of his entire body. Ling Chen frowned. He quietly grabbed the short and light [Chilling Star] in his hand, and then continued to walk towards this figure.
When he was within 10 metres, Ling Chen finally saw this figure clearly … it was indeed a person. His figure wasn't short, but his back was greatly bent, as if he was seriously ill and couldn't straighten his back. His footsteps were heavy and slow, and every step seemed to use up all the strength in his body. His posture was like an old man who could barely walk. The clothes on his body were even more tattered than a beggar's, and there wasn't a single place that was completely clean … they couldn't even be called clothes anymore, they were simply pieces of cloth that were barely held together. His face was frighteningly green, and his entire face was wrinkled like the bark of a hundred year old tree. His eyes were wide open, but there was no spirit in them. He stared straight ahead, and didn't even look at Ling Chen who was walking in front of him.
Even when he brushed past him, this person didn't even look at Ling Chen. Ling Chen stopped walking, and turned around to look at this person, thinking.
This was someone from the Underworld? Or … undead? It was not much different from the zombies in the Ghastly Grounds.
Furthermore, the undead should be extremely sensitive to the aura of life, but this person did not react to him at all … Could it be that the aura of death released by Leng'Er's appearance had completely covered up his aura of life?
That was the only explanation.
In front of Ling Chen, there was a small house overflowing with dim light. In front of the house, there was a rotten wooden sign that had been broken in half. On it, there were two crooked words that could barely be made out: "Dark Goods".
Hmm? Goods of the Underworld? Could this be …
After thinking about it, Ling Chen made up his mind. He walked to the door and carefully pushed it open.
Entering the small house from the outside, not only did he not feel warm, but a cold aura that made his whole body feel slightly cold. The small house was less than ten square meters in size, and the inside was as messy as the outside. In the middle of the house, there was a table made of rotten wood. On the table, there was a candlestick, and the candlestick was swaying with a flame the size of a soybean. The undead were also unable to see in absolute darkness, but they also rejected and feared light. Therefore, they only needed a little light that was enough for them to see things clearly.
Behind the table sat an old man with a dark complexion and as skinny as a skeleton.
"What … do … you … want … to … buy …?"
Seeing Ling Chen enter, the old man's dead fish-like eyes moved slightly, and his mouth made an extremely unpleasant sound, like sandpaper rubbing against each other.
After speaking, the old man suddenly raised his lowered head, presenting his horrifying zombie-like face to Ling Chen's line of sight. "What a strong aura of death. Such an aura of death must have gone through at least a thousand years … or even thousands of years of precipitation. You should be a high-level undead, right? As a high-level undead, why are you not in King City, but in this lowly place? "
The old undead looked terrifying, and his voice was extremely unpleasant to the ears. However, his words were clear and orderly, showing that he had the consciousness of a human. His mind raced as he walked to the table and said, "Hello, old man. I have just arrived here and don't understand what you are talking about. May I ask where this place is?"
"Just arrived? So that's how it is. "The old undead man's hoarse voice sounded." No wonder you are dressed so strangely. This is the Netherworld, a place where the dead gather. Your current location is a low-level village in the Netherworld, a place so low that it has no name. "
"A place where the dead gather? So, after people die, they will all come here? "Ling Chen asked.
"No!" The old undead man's body did not move, and only his withered lips were slightly humming. "After a living creature dies, it will leave behind a corpse. If the corpse, for some reason, gathers a large amount of aura of death, it may regain the ability to move under the influence of the aura of death. This is the undead. The lowest-level undead are zombies that are produced in a dark and cold environment where the aura of death easily accumulates. They only have the ability to move and the lowest level of consciousness, so they are not qualified to enter the Netherworld. The Gates of the Netherworld will not open for them.
"If the aura of death is extremely strong, or if it has been under the aura of death for a long enough time, or if the dead body still has a large amount of power, then after becoming an undead, it may develop a higher level of consciousness and have a certain level of intelligence like a living creature. As for the highest-level undead, their consciousness may be as complete as when they were alive. "If they are extremely strong, then it is even possible to awaken some of the consciousness left in their body before they died, allowing them to retain their memories before becoming an undead. Just like you … the aura of death on your body can only be possessed by high-level undead. Therefore, after you enter the Netherworld, you will also have a higher level of consciousness. The way you walk, the way you talk, they all prove it. "
The old undead man's words stunned Ling Chen. He naturally knew about zombies. They were the representative creatures of the undead attribute. The Ghastly Grounds in front of the Gates of the Netherworld were filled with zombies. Because the aura of death there was extremely strong, it was very easy for undead creatures to appear. And some of the old man's words moved him. He thought for a while and asked, "According to what you said, a high-level undead can have the wisdom and consciousness of a living creature. Isn't that the same as not dying? Some can even awaken their memories from when they were alive … Isn't that equivalent to resurrection? Is it equivalent to having a second life? "
The old undead man rolled his eyes and looked at him listlessly. He said in an obscure voice, "You are too naive. What I meant by consciousness is only limited to the Netherworld. Because the Netherworld is the place with the most aura of death in the world, it is a paradise for the undead. Here, the aura of death in the undead's body can reach its highest level of activity, and the undead can also have the clearest and most complete consciousness … However, once they leave the Netherworld, other than a few top-level undead, even high-level undead, once they leave the Netherworld, their consciousness will collapse due to the lack of the aura of death supporting them. They will become zombies that only obey orders and destroy. As for those who can awaken their memories after becoming undead, in the past 10,000 years, there have not been more than 10 Undead in the Netherworld who have done this … there has only been 1 in 1,000 years. "
"… So it's like that." Ling Chen nodded, feeling that this was quite reasonable. If they could still remember their memories after becoming Undead, it would be equivalent to resurrection. This was simply too heaven-defying.
"You're a high-level undead, but you weren't sent to the royal capital and instead appeared here. It seems that your body was attracted by the aura of death from the Gates of the Netherworld and moved to the Gates of the Netherworld, then came here. After entering here, you gradually gained your consciousness, "the old undead man said with a stiff expression.
"That's right. I can faintly remember that I unknowingly passed through a place called the Gates of the Netherworld. When I regained consciousness, I was already nearby. "Ling Chen said in a serious tone.
"Half of the new Undead in the Netherworld are attracted by the 900 Gates of the Netherworld. If they're of a high enough level, they'll be sent to the Netherworld. The other half are searched by the 900 Underworld King's Emissaries in the Forgotten Continent. If they find low-grade or higher Undead, they can bring them back to the Netherworld. If they find high-grade Undead, they can bring them back to the royal capital. "
"What kind of place is the royal capital?" Ling Chen asked.
"The Underworld Royal City. It's a place where high-grade Undead gather, and where the mighty Lord Underworld King resides. With your aura of death, you definitely have the qualifications to enter the Underworld Royal City. If you want to go to the Underworld Royal City, this map will be able to help you. "
The old undead man stretched out his skinny arm and took out a charred piece of paper, throwing it to Ling Chen.
[Underworld Map]: A map that depicts the general layout of the Underworld, and is for reference purposes only.
Although it was a 'map', it was incredibly crude, and there were some crooked lines that were tangled together, making it look like a main road. Small, crooked words were scattered all over the map, indicating the names of some important places.
However, no matter what, this was still a map. When he had first arrived in the Underworld and was completely clueless, to be able to obtain a map that was for reference purposes already made Ling Chen overjoyed. What made him even more delighted was that this map had a positioning function. Using the positioning function, Ling Chen found that he was in the northeasternmost corner of the Underworld, while the Underworld Royal City was in the centre, about 500 kilometres away.
The Underworld naturally couldn't compare to the Forgotten Continent's size, but it was still bigger than Ling Chen had expected.
The Underworld Royal City was the centre of the Underworld, and it was where the high-grade Undead gathered. Ling Chen's gaze paused on the Underworld Royal City for a moment before his eyes widened …
On the map, above the Underworld Royal City, there were 4 words that were so small that they were almost indecipherable. Ling Chen pulled the map closer and confirmed those 4 words …
Blood …
Underworld …
Heavens …
Pool …
"Underworld Blood Lake!" Ling Chen subconsciously yelled out … the Underworld Blood Lake was his final destination in the Underworld!
"That's an incredibly terrifying place to us Undead," the old undead expressionlessly said, "It's one of the Underworld's 3 Forbidden Areas. Over the past 10,000 years, countless high-grade Undead have fused with their bodies, leaving their power there. As such, it's the place where the Underworld's aura of death is the most active, and the power is the most terrifying. Only those with the Lord Underworld King's permission can enter, and those who enter without permission will be killed and fused with the Underworld Blood Lake. This is because the entrance is guarded by at least 3 of the Underworld King's 8 Generals. Even if you pass through the entrance, if you want to reach the Underworld Blood Lake, you'll have to pass through the Fire Purgatory and the Ice Purgatory. It's said that the powerful Undead god beast that the Lord Underworld King brought over countless years ago resides there … in any case, forget about this place and never go near it. "
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