Chapter 797: Headless World
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Fortunately, Mu Zi shook his head. The Life and Death Boundary was too dangerous. Even if he visited this place all year round, he dared not say that he could go anywhere. Some things were only meant to be looked at. If one were to get closer, even if one was a Heavenly Soul, one would soon learn the feeling of despair. Humans were too insignificant in the universe. The more powerful or knowledgeable one became, the more insignificant one would feel.
w.a.n.g Zhong also grew very emotional. Probably only Holy Saint Teachers had the ability to explore such a place.
They went around the bottomless abyss while they kept a fair distance. Following Mu Zi’s lead, they continued on their journey. It had to be noted that after they crossed the boundary, more and more dead souls appeared around them, but the souls didn’t seem to notice their presence. Simba had originally thought that they had no consciousness and stretched out his hand to touch one of them. However, he was stopped by Mu Zi.
“Don’t think that they have no consciousness. The dead are quite easily provoked. Once the army of the dead is alarmed, even we will have a lot of trouble on our hands. My aura can conceal w.a.n.g Zhong’s aura while yours is concealed by Ham Sausage. After all, it came from this world originally.”
w.a.n.g Zhong was rather amazed by what Mu Zi said.
After walking for a while, they noticed that there were fewer undead around them, and a narrow bridge surface appeared in front of them, as though it was connected to some secret place. There was dense fog over there, and the area was exuding a strange aura. That seemed to be Mu Zi’s destination, and Simba began to ramble on once again. Although the fear he got from this fog was not as strong as compared to the bottomless abyss, that was because there was something to compare to. He sensed that there was something wrong with the fog, making him dislike the place.
When walking near, w.a.n.g Zhong saw that the narrow bridge was broken and that the bridge was rather ancient. Huge square-shaped blue stones paved the bridge, and it was covered in all kinds of moss, exuding an aura of primitive simplicity.
“After we cross the bridge, we will reach the altar. I call it the Headless World. I have seen it once before. It is similar to the stone slab altar we saw in the pyramid last time, but it doesn’t seem to have an energy core, unlike the one we saw previously. It’s rather strange.”
“What the heck do you mean by headless?” Simba widened his eyes. From the name, it was obvious that it would be a scary place.
“It’s a world purely for the dead. Also, I presume all decapitated creatures have gone there. This broken bridge is the place that connects life and death. Follow me.”
As Mu Zi spoke, he also stepped on the broken bridge. No one saw him release any form of strange energy; he merely walked straight toward the broken bridge. The dark abyss was directly below, but he continued to walk. Surprisingly, he didn’t fall and appeared as though he was hovering in mid-air. He smiled and said, “Is it strange that only the living can step on the dead’s broken bridge?”
w.a.n.g Zhong also followed suit and tried to step on the empty s.p.a.ce. Except for the visual discomfort, his footing was quite stable. There was some sort of cus.h.i.+oning material, as though he was stepping on cotton. For every step he took, there was a feeling of s.p.a.ce conversion from under his feet. When he looked back, even though he had only taken a few steps, the broken bridge behind him was already out of sight. He was surrounded by dense fog, and the scope of his sight was not more than three meters. Walking forward for about a dozen steps, the view suddenly became clear, and they walked out of the fog into an empty canyon. It seemed like an ancient battlefield, and the sky was a dark blood-red color. On the ground, there were some broken weapons or battle flags scattered around, and black flames were burning on some remnants.
“The altar is just behind this canyon. We just walk through it.”
Most prominent were the broken carca.s.ses of those creatures on the ground; they were densely scattered throughout the entire canyon. These creatures were strangely shaped, but surprisingly most of them had armor and were of different sizes. Some were more than 10 meters long, while some were merely the size of an ordinary puppy. However, they all had one thing in common: they were headless.
“No wonder it’s called the Headless World.” Simba finally understood. There was the stench of rotting flesh permeating the air here, and it was disgusting. Fortunately, these headless corpses were even ‘stupider’ than the army of the dead outside. Or rather, these guys were already dead and were merely carca.s.ses, lying quietly in this canyon.
Although the air was not very fresh, Simba was still happy as long as the place was not dangerous. He jumped on Ham Sausage’s back and clamped his legs. “Well then, let the Great Simba guide you. Ham Sausage, charge!”
The order was issued, but Ham Sausage, which had always been rather cooperative, did not move this time. Instead, it revealed a wary look and waited for Mu Zi’s orders, making it rather awkward for Simba. w.a.n.g Zhong was also speechless. How could a place extending from the Life and Death Boundary not be dangerous? Maybe there was, but it definitely would not be here. He could feel that the whole canyon was shrouded in a dense atmosphere and was rather certain that there was a ward surrounding the area.
“I can conceal our living aura, and we will walk through the canyon just like wind or stones, but the dead here are too dense and too close. I haven’t tried to do so with two people, so try to stay close to me when I walk and match my breathing. Also, be prepared to fight at any time.”
Mu Zi’s expression was neither too serious, nor too relaxed. He had countless experiences with Life and Death Boundaries all year round. He knew all too well about the horrors of the dead. Even if he was merely slightly negligent in this world, he might not be able to leave the place alive.
Seeing Mu Zi being on the alert and combat-ready, Simba, who had already relaxed his vigilance, became nervous again. He rode on Ham Sausage and followed them slowly in the canyon battlefield. In the beginning, Simba was so nervous that he could not even breathe. He was extremely careful when he dismounted, for fear of touching the so-called terrible dead people and waking them up. However, after walking for a fair distance, he realized that it was rather safe. He even found that the occasional accidental physical contact did not seem to alarm these dead guys. They had no response at all.
“The world of the dead is different from the living. Physical contact is meaningless and will not cause them to be awakened. What they’re sensitive to is aura.” At this time, they had already reached the center of the canyon. The first half of the journey was smooth-sailing, but Mu Zi had yet to let down his guard. His frown only grew deeper and deeper. It seemed that he had been overly optimistic: he was not strong enough to conceal the aura of two people at once. Mu Zi began to feel a little powerless, especially when they arrived at the center of the canyon. The aura of death grew stronger. It became increasingly difficult to conceal their living aura, and he felt like he couldn’t defend w.a.n.g Zhong any longer.
Mu Zi stopped in his tracks, looked up into the sky, and noticed that the dark red sky had become dimmer and dimmer and that a slight breeze had formed in the originally deathly still valley for no reason.
He smiled helplessly. “w.a.n.g Zhong, I guess it’s time to fight.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a sound could be heard.
Rumble rumble.
It was as though a small pebble had rolled down from above the canyon, breaking the silence.
“w.a.n.g—w.a.n.g Zhong…” stuttered Simba, as he s.h.i.+vered.