Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 503 The Eighteen Levels of Hell

After a long period of cold war, Ren Yuan said many kind words and promised never to mock him again, before Ying Long continued:
"I'm not like those small fry. I'm the real ace! Because I can see where the dragon veins are and foresee the rise and fall of dynasties, the Heavenly Emperor specially kept me here so that I could guide a wise ruler to the world during times of chaos! It's not that he looks down on me, understand?"

"Oh, oh." Ren Yuan indeed stopped making sarcastic remarks. He was just about to continue asking about the background of the Ten Witches to see if he could find Wu Yang's weakness when his eyes suddenly lit up!
It was a literal, eye-opening moment. In that eternal darkness where there was no concept of time or even space, a purple-gold flame suddenly shone!
"It looks just like my divine fire!" Ren Yuan stared wide-eyed at the flame.

"Nonsense, that's your divine fire!" Yinglong laughed loudly, "Someone has resurrected us, so hurry up and get out of here!"

"Okay, let's go!" Ren Yuan didn't hesitate and jumped into the ball of fire!
In the chaos, a silent explosion erupted, then darkness returned...

~~
The next moment, Ren Yuan awoke amidst the piercingly cold iron chains.

He looked around blankly, before him a scene of carnage illuminated by eerie green phosphorescent flames. A dome made of countless white bones hung down, with thousands of chains, each carrying a wailing soul.

He himself was also hung on the same chains.

Looking down, the ground was a vast, boiling pool of blood. Countless swollen, ghostly hands floated in the crimson waves, trying to crawl out of this terrifying blood hell. But a ghostly general, clad in Netherworld Armor and wielding a three-zhang-long ghost-headed blade, led his ghostly soldiers to patrol the edge of the pool. Whenever he saw one trying to climb out, he would chop off its hand with a single stroke and kick it back into the pool.

Ren Yuan had imagined many times who he would see when he opened his eyes. A Yao, Chen Lingzhi, Zu Chongzhi, even Wu Yang... but he never expected it to be such a terrifying situation.

"Mortal, this is a cage from which you will never be reincarnated!" The ghost general had clearly noticed his presence long ago, and his voice was like a muffled thunder from the deepest abyss, causing the ghosts on the chains to fall into the blood pool hell like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

"Those who are arrogant, disrespectful, disloyal, and unfilial will be thrown into this blood-soaked hell after death, where they will suffer eternal torment!"

"Then how do we get out?" Ren Yuan asked politely.

"Give up on that idea. This hell only has a downward path; once you fall, there will be no escape! You will suffer endless torment in these eighteen levels of hell for all eternity!" After the ghost general finished speaking, seeing that Ren Yuan showed no fear, he snorted coldly, and the cold iron chains suddenly tightened, with sharp barbs sprouting from them! Dark purple demonic patterns spread wildly along the chains, as if to completely devour his soul.

Ren Yuan's forehead veins bulged, and he let out a beast-like growl as he finally sensed his own Heart Lamp. Overjoyed, he ignited the Heart Lamp to its fullest potential, and divine fire erupted like a volcano! A purple-gold light emanated from his body, extinguishing the dark purple demonic patterns as if boiling water had been poured over them.

"Open for me!" With a roar, the cold iron chains shattered inch by inch, and the flying fragments blasted blood and souls flying everywhere in the blood pool.

Seeing the fragments flying towards him, the ghost general hurriedly swung his three-zhang-long ghost-headed saber to block them.

With a clang, sparks flew as the ghost-headed blade snapped in two. The upper half flew through the air, felling a large group of ghost soldiers!

Ren Yuan slowly descended from the heights, hovering above the blood pool. With a thought, his muscular, naked body was covered in a shimmering golden dragon scale armor. Even his black eyes transformed into golden vertical pupils, and instantly, dragon energy erupted, enveloping the entire layer of hell.

He turned his eyes and locked onto the ghost general.

"Boy, the underworld is not a place for you to run wild!" The ghost general was also fierce. He roared, leaped up, raised his ghost head sword, which was only half its original length, and slashed at Ren Yuan!

Wherever the blade's wind passed, space itself twisted and deformed! He was none other than the demon general Ferocious Fang, who guarded the eighteen levels of hell!
Ren Yuan neither dodged nor evaded, his crimson-gold fist unleashing a thunderous force! The fist and blade collided, unleashing a deafening roar, the aftershocks creating a giant wave in the blood pool, countless evil spirits being shredded into dust by this power.

Ferocious Fang's eyes widened in shock as he watched his remaining half of the Ghost Head Blade turn to dust... Immediately afterward, his Nine Nether Armor cracked with spiderweb-like patterns, and black blood gushed from his body...

"Since there's no way up, I'll carve out my own path!" Ren Yuan kicked the ghost general into the sea of ​​blood.

His body erupted with golden light, and he unfurled a massive pair of azure dragon wings. "Starting from these eighteen levels, I will smash through this damned hell, layer by layer!"

His voice echoed through the depths of hell, startling countless evil spirits into fleeing, and also making the ghost generals and soldiers on the upper levels feel an unprecedented sense of crisis...

Ren Yuan's eyes were like torches as he looked up at the top of hell. He spread his wings with all his might, and his figure transformed into a golden stream of light, rushing towards the dome composed of countless white bones!
An earth-shattering battle to break out of prison has officially begun!

~~
A golden beam of light shattered the hundred-foot-thick white bone dome, and Ren Yuan's vision suddenly opened up, followed by the stench of burnt flesh.

He crashed to the ground, where the bronze floor beneath his feet was glowing red-hot. Countless souls who had embezzled public funds, engaged in bribery and robbery, lay naked on the floor, enduring the torture of branding with hot irons, their flesh sizzling but never finding release.

"Who dares to break into my Torture Hell?" The guardian of this level, Soul-Spinning, appeared, enveloped in a massive vortex of flames. His flaming armor was wrapped in crimson fire pythons, and in his hand burned a three-zhang-long crimson whip! Wherever the tip of the whip swept, the air instantly exploded, leaving behind streaks of charred marks.

"Let even your soul be burned to ashes!"

As the long whip transformed into a fiery python, roaring and lunging at him, Ren Yuan sneered. His wings suddenly unfurled, and golden gale-force winds cleaved the fiery python like sharp blades!

The Soul-Spinning One's strength far surpassed that of the Ferocious Fang, who was on the previous level. Upon seeing this, he immediately flicked his long whip, and the crimson whip instantly transformed into thousands of firebirds, which, carrying blazing flames, swept towards Ren Yuan.

Ren Yuan neither dodged nor avoided, and shouted: "Water Control!"

A celestial river appeared out of nowhere and cascaded down, colliding violently with the firebird. In an instant, steam shot into the sky, filling the entire hell of torture.

The tormented ghosts, however, felt as if they had received a refreshing rain. They raised their hands, tilted their heads back, and opened their mouths, wanting to receive some of the rain to nourish their long-parched internal organs.

"Words become law?!" Soul-Spinning's eyes narrowed, realizing he had met a tough opponent.

But there are no cowards in hell. A mad glint flashed in his eyes as he formed hand seals and roared, "Netherworld Fire Hell, burn the world!"

The flames on the entire floor suddenly flared up dozens of times, reaching temperatures so high that even the air began to burn, turning large numbers of ghosts to ashes.

Ren Yuan was at the forefront, feeling as if he were standing on the surface of the sun. The purplish-blue flames continuously scorched the dragon scales, as if trying to melt them.

He remained calm and composed, conjuring the Demon-Slaying Blade in his hand and drawing it in a circle around himself. A gigantic phantom of an Yinglong roared forth from the blade, its gaping maw devouring the terrifying flames!

Gradually, the Yinglong phantom turned purplish-blue. Suddenly, it stopped circling and rushed straight at the Soul-Spinning Dragon, opening its mouth to return the raging flames!
(End of this chapter)