Chapter 47: The Rules of the Nether Realm

He Lu swallowed hard, turned his head, and said to Ye You, "Little Ye, we must absolutely not let these people get their hands on the Divine Profound Artifact."

"Indeed, Sister Ye, the Divine Profound Artifact cannot fall into the hands of these Awakened ones!" Zheng Kang chimed in hurriedly.

"We can go in, but our primary objective upon entering is to stop the Awakened ones from acquiring the Divine Profound Artifact, understood?" Ye You said in a deep voice.

"Understood. I will put my own selfish desires last."

"Me too."

The two of them nodded excitedly in agreement.

After assigning tasks to Gong Ran, Ye You led the two of them toward the blood-red portal.

At the same time, Awakened ones on the mountain peak with any bit of discernment and strength were all rushing toward the blood-red portal. After all, who wouldn't want to take a gamble on a rare chance to transform one's destiny?

The commotion at North Yellow Mountain was so great that even the people at the foot of the mountain noticed the blood-red sky.

"What is going on with the sky? Why has it turned blood-red?"

"I have no idea. Look at the entrance of the trail leading up North Yellow Mountain, there are so many soldiers standing there!"

"Holy crap, is something major about to happen?"

"Ah... then what are we standing around here for? Let's get out of here!"

"Don't rush, don't rush. Let me record a video and post it on Moments first."

...

A glaring red moon hung high above the gloomy clouds. Twisted, misshapen trees formed sprawling patches of dark woodland. A faint, foul stench permeated the damp, cold air, drifting through the forest on the night breeze.

The pale red moonlight acted like a thin layer of gauze, casting a grotesque veil over the serene mountain forest.

Li Chenqiu stood beneath a large tree, looking around in bewilderment: "Where is the Profound Artifact?"

The moment Li Chenqiu rushed through the blood-red portal, his vision blurred. When his sight cleared again, he had inexplicably appeared in this place.

After a fruitless deliberation, Li Chenqiu began to wander cautiously through the forest.

When he reached the bank of a small stream, Li Chenqiu's pupils dilated and he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Clenching his fists and holding them up in front of his eyes, he muttered to himself, "Why has my restriction suddenly dropped to the First Rank?"

Rumble, rumble...

Before Li Chenqiu could ponder this, a sound resembling churning intestines echoed right in front of him.

He looked up and saw dozens of neatly arranged, blood-red characters materialize in mid-air before his eyes.

[All personnel have arrived. The master-binding trial is about to begin. The rules and precautions are as follows:
1. Within the Underworld Realm, everyone's restriction rank will be suppressed to the First Rank, and Awakened ones cannot self-heal.
2. Upon entering the Underworld Realm, no one can exit midway.
3. Upon entering the Underworld Realm, a corresponding doppelgänger will manifest for every individual. The doppelgänger possesses all the abilities of the original body, shares the exact same strength, and is undying and indestructible.
4. The doppelgänger's objective is to kill the trial-taker. Please exercise extreme caution.
5. Five keys are scattered throughout the Underworld Realm. Once a trial-taker gathers all five keys and inserts them simultaneously into the altar at the center of the Underworld Realm, the final trial will commence. The final trial permits five participants.
Wishing you all good luck.]

As Li Chenqiu finished reading the last character, the color of the blood-red text gradually faded until it vanished without a trace.

"A master-binding trial? Do Profound Artifacts even require masters to bind with?"

A question arose in Li Chenqiu's mind, but he quickly cast it aside because a much thornier problem was at hand.

The personnel had arrived, which meant others had entered besides him. Although the addition of others introduced more variables to the outcome, Li Chenqiu did not find that troublesome. What truly troubled him was the doppelgänger.

According to the rules, everyone had a doppelgänger, and this doppelgänger possessed all the abilities of the original body. This meant his own doppelgänger mastered Extreme Water and Absolute Control.

Wasn't this completely screwed!

If his doppelgänger used Extreme Water in front of others, wouldn't his identity as the Calamity Water become blatantly obvious?

"Hah..." Li Chenqiu let out a long breath, his brow clouded with gloom.

What should he do now? Kill everyone, or find his doppelgänger and figure out a way to trap them?

"Oh well, I'll take it one step at a time." Li Chenqiu stood up, shifted his thoughts to directly alter his appearance, and walked deeper into the forest.

In some unfathomable way, he felt a mysterious force guiding him onward.

Along the way, Li Chenqiu did not encounter his doppelgänger. After walking for more than ten minutes, a tall palace appeared at the edge of his vision.

This was a palace styled similarly to a church, though it merely resembled one and was entirely distinct from a real church. The white walls were covered in long claw marks, and faint, faded bloodstains were vaguely visible.

The shattered arched windows made creaking sounds under the blowing of the night breeze, exuding an eerie and terrifying aura under the illumination of the red moon.

At this very moment, two groups of people stood before the main entrance of the palace—one group of three, and another of four—as if waiting for something.

"They won't let us in until there are eight people. What kind of ridiculous rules does this broken palace have!"

"Lower your voice. Divine Profound Artifacts are conscious, be careful they hear you."

Upon hearing this, that person curled their lip and fell silent.

"Hey, people are coming! People are coming, it's Big Brother Liu Qiang!" someone shouted in pleasant surprise, pointing in Li Chenqiu's direction.

To facilitate his actions, Li Chenqiu had altered his appearance to match that of a Third-Rank Awakened one he had previously killed—namely, the Liu Qiang these people spoke of.

"It really is Big Brother Liu Qiang!"

"Now we're great, our Underworld faction has four people too, haha!"

The members of the Underworld faction beamed with joy, whereas the people from the New World wore gloomy expressions.

Soon, Li Chenqiu arrived at the palace entrance. Before he could even speak, the three members of the Underworld faction crowded around him.

"Big Brother Liu Qiang, I didn't expect you to be in this area too. This is simply wonderful!"

"I was worried that the three of us against four would be bullied by the New World people, but with you here, everything is easy to handle."

"Hmph, weren't the four of you laughing merrily just a moment ago? Why aren't you laughing now?" a young man provoked.

"I was just giving you a friendly smile, but in your eyes, it turns into provocation? Sure enough, people with dirty hearts see dirt in everything!"

"You..."

"Enough. Why are you waiting here for me?" Li Chenqiu interrupted them with a hint of displeasure.

The young man glanced sideways at the other person, then smiled and explained to Li Chenqiu, "Big Brother Liu Qiang, come take a look."

The young man led Li Chenqiu to the gates of the main hall and pressed his palm against the door.

Rumble, rumble...

The familiar churning sound of intestines rang out once more, and a line of blood-red characters materialized out of thin air.

[Palace of Doubt: A palace housing the Key of Doubt. It requires eight people to push the doors open simultaneously to unlock the gates. Upon completing the trials within the palace, the Key of Doubt will be acquired.]

"The Palace of Doubt?" Li Chenqiu muttered to himself, then asked, "What did you mean by three against four just now?"

"Ah?" The young man was momentarily stunned, then said uncertainly, "Can't eight people be evenly divided into two teams? Shouldn't it be four against four?"

Li Chenqiu: "..."