Chapter 796: The Netherworld of Life and Death
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The two took a break outside the pyramid and enjoyed the pre-war food. As a ‘birthday feast,’ cola and ham sausage were definitely a must, and of course, the chatterbox Simba and the other, Ham Sausage, had to be present as well. The appearance of Ham Sausage eating a ham sausage was as adorable as ever; it was just that Simba grew a little depressed when he saw Mu Zi’s bracelet. This kiddo, w.a.n.g Zhong, had never celebrated his birthday for him, the Great Simba!
The Great Simba was jealous, and the consequences were dire!
He had to remind this heartless little guy! But then again, when was his birthday? As he thought of this, Simba — who was originally fuming — suddenly felt sad. Frankly, he really did not know and did not have any impression of it at all. Even the name Simba was just a random name that had flashed through his mind; thus, nothing could be learned from it at all.
In the end, Simba could only accept it as it was. d.a.m.n, it was really unfavorable for those who didn’t have birthdays!
When they were done with their break, the group of four immediately set off. Mu Zi had already set the detailed coordinates for the so-called Life and Death Boundary. Opening the Life and Death Coffin was just an effortless matter.
Regarding the various magical functions of the Life and Death Coffin, even though he had already seen it several times, w.a.n.g Zhong still couldn’t help but marvel at it. In the Holy City’s legends, there were actually mentions of some magical artifacts similar to it. Some of their functions had even exceeded those of the Life and Death Coffin, but most of them were only heard of and never sighted. They belonged only in legends. Other than his Golden Stone Slab and Fate Stone, w.a.n.g Zhong had never seen anything more magical than the Life and Death Coffin.
Coming out from the Life and Death Coffin, a gray sky came into view. It was unlike most of the secret realms w.a.n.g Zhong had been to. It was rather vast and seemed to be endless. Although the sky was filled with a dense haze, the atmosphere seemed rather calm. The teleportation abilities of the Life and Death Coffin were not unlimited; therefore, it could only transport them here, and there was still a long way to go.
“Life and Death Boundary is just what I named this place. This is also the world I often travel to.” As they headed to their destination, Mu Zi was also giving w.a.n.g Zhong some information about the so-called Life and Death Boundary. “It’s not the same as a secret realm. The place itself is a part of the Fifth Dimension. Thus, it’s not considered a secret realm.”
The worlds in the Fifth Dimension were divided into two types. One was stable, similar to the Life and Death Boundary as well as the vast plains situated outside the gates of the blessed lands. These were all part of the Fifth Dimension. The other type was unstable and would change due to human influence. That would be a secret realm, most of which were projections of other worlds or a world created by the extension of human minds.
“There are a lot of similar Life and Death Boundaries in the Fifth Dimension. These are very strange places. There is no way to enter if you don’t have a special method. The Life and Death Coffin can take me in and out freely. By the way, I found Ham Sausage in one of them as well.”
“Life and death are connected here. Half of the world represents life, and the other half represents death, but there is no obvious boundary between the two. The surroundings may change at any time. Don’t be fooled by the peace now. This current world of life may change into a world of death in the next moment. The dead and the living can coexist in this very special place, and there are many channels leading to other wonderful worlds.” Coming here was like visiting Mu Zi’s home. He was very familiar with it and appeared very relaxed.
“Nothing feels special about this place!” Simba was extremely aggressive towards Mu Zi today and would grasp at any chance to make sarcastic remarks.
Mu Zi laughed. “We are the living. As for the dead, you will see them soon.”
It could be seen that Mu Zi was very familiar with this place. The entire terrain looked exactly the same, yet w.a.n.g Zhong could feel that they were heading deeper into the realm, with Mu Zi leading the way through extremely winding paths. Mu Zi’s pace was rather strange. It was like there was no sound at all for every step he took; it was as if he was drifting or teleporting. This was by no means showing off. He was actually avoiding some sensitive areas as there were too many unknown things in the Life and Death Boundary. It was possible to awaken the resting dead if he had stepped into certain areas.
w.a.n.g Zhong followed his rhythm closely and stepped wherever he stepped. Following this pace of life and death, the strange rhythm seemed to have an ability to make people dazed.
The sky ahead gradually became dimmer, and the excessive tranquility gave the area a sense of oppression, until Simba saw the first so-called dead.
It was a strange dimensional creature with more than a dozen legs, but it was not an arthropod. It had a soft body and looked like a sh.e.l.l-less cricket; it was numbly moving toward a hill in front of it. It crawled extremely slowly and directly ignored w.a.n.g Zhong and the others. It could be seen that its body was scarred and battered, as though it had been eaten by some carnivorous creature. There was only half of its head left, and there was still rotting flesh hanging from its wound. However, no blood was flowing out, as though there was none left.
Normally, Simba would be the most fearful of ghosts, but this kind of silly-looking and slow-moving creature was not the type it feared. He continued riding on Ham Sausage and ran up the hill at top speed. He was about to take a closer look when he suddenly stopped in his tracks, as though he had seen something incredible.
w.a.n.g Zhong quickly followed him and eventually saw that huge world behind the hill. There was a huge vortex cloud slowly rotating in the air, and under it was a kilometer-wide bottomless pit acting as a boundary between the two worlds. There were all kinds of strangely shaped creatures converging toward the bottomless pit from this direction. Some of them were like that soft-bodied centipede and still had flesh left on their bodies, while the others were completely in soul form, floating in the air.
This was an undead army! They lined up and gathered, quietly and neatly, from all directions until they reached the huge bottomless pit. After which, they would fall into the pit like how dumplings were placed in a pot. The queue was endless, and it was apparent that they did not fear death.
“Is this the Netherworld?” w.a.n.g Zhong was absolutely stunned. This was recorded in some ancient books, but he had a.s.sumed that it was only human imagination.
“Netherworld? It’s a rather interesting name,” said Mu Zi. “I call it the Life and Death Boundary though.”
“Human dead souls will also come here?” asked w.a.n.g Zhong as he looked around. He could occasionally spot humanoid creatures wandering among these countless souls, but when he took a closer look, he realized that they were not human.
Legend had it that the Netherworld was the ultimate destination for human souls. Humans entering the Netherworld successively and re-entering the six great divisions in the wheel of karma to reincarnate were merely legends.
Speaking of this, a flash of sorrow appeared in Mu Zi’s eyes. “I used to think so too, but it isn’t true. The extent of truth in the Fifth Dimension is relative. What we see may not necessarily be true. Reality and illusion have zero significance here.”
“Don’t tell me we are going into the hole.” A chill went down Simba’s spine. His sixth sense had always been accurate. The bottomless abyss made him feel uneasy just from looking at it.