Chapter 578: Jiutian s.h.i.+di
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The ghosts filled the sky and flew in all directions. Gao Peng and his entourage remained at Horse Face’s feet and didn’t dare to stray far.
Horse Face’s strong and rough hoof was right before Gao Peng’s eyes. Gray armor was wrapped around its legs, and only its black hooves were exposed. Its strong body possessed a terrifying amount of strength, as though its strong muscles could breathe!
Gao Peng saw Horse Face’s back when he lifted his head. Its black mane was like hair falling behind its head, like a waterfall. It seemed to feel Gao Peng’s gaze and turned its head to sweep its eyes over Gao Peng. Its blue pupils appeared to be able to see through Gao Peng and read his thoughts.
Gao Peng didn’t speak. The others didn’t dare speak either. Da Zi… gazed cautiously at Horse Face. It rubbed the ground lightly with its paw and then took two steps forward, subtly s.h.i.+elding Gao Peng.
Gao Peng’s heart felt warm. This stupid guy is very dependable during crucial times.
Under the guidance of countless ghosts, all the people who had entered with Gao Peng were found. The body of a ghost could penetrate objects that lacked high energy elemental control, including stones and tree branches. Additionally, they were extremely sensitive to the living.
“Are there others here?” Horse Face asked hoa.r.s.ely.
Li An stepped out and did a headcount—not a single one of them was missing.
“Let’s go then.” Horse Face led the group down the path alongside Ox Head. Not once did it turn back throughout the entire journey, as though it wasn’t afraid that anyone would sneak off. Gao Peng and his entourage were like a group of misbehaving kids who had been caught by the adults. They merely followed behind quietly.
“What tier are these two monsters?” someone asked in a low voice.
“I don’t know, but looking at them… They have to be at least Saint-tier,” someone said.
“I’m afraid it’s higher than that.” An astute individual shook his head. He had never seen Gao Peng, who owned Saint-tier familiars, so “well-behaved.”
“It’s not like we don’t have Saint-tier monster trainers here…”
“All right. Let’s not talk about it anymore.” There was a strange look on this individual’s face as he jabbed the person next to him with his elbow. “They’re not even looking at us. Should we find an opportunity and secretly…?”
Horse Face didn’t turn around and continued walking without a care in the world. However, its huge physique allowed its voice to easily reach everybody’s ears. “We warmly welcome anyone who wishes to remain in h.e.l.l.”
“Hahaha, welcome to h.e.l.l! Stay in h.e.l.l with us if you have the courage to wait here like a coward.” The h.e.l.l Ox Head laughed maniacally.
“Ox Head,” said the h.e.l.l Horse Face sternly.
Ox Head’s laughter stopped abruptly as though it had been reminded of something. It shut its mouth and hurried on with its journey, slightly depressed.
After three hours of walking, Horse Face and Ox Head had led the group to the Spatial Rift. “Leave h.e.l.l,” said Ox Head with a sullen face after turning around. From Ox Head’s irritable expression, it looked like there had been a disagreement.
How on earth could these people possibly dare to linger? They instantly left through the Spatial Rift. At the very last moment, Gao Peng turned around and waved at Ox Head. “I look forward to our next meeting.”
The h.e.l.l Ox Head snorted. “Brat.”
Horse Face calmly swept its eyes over Ox Head and waved the lantern in its hand. Instantly, a dark green domain with Horse Face in the middle started extending outwards and enveloped the Spatial Rift’s tunnel as well.
Rumble— Intense friction was produced between the domain and the tunnel, like they were the gears of two giant steel monsters rubbing against each other. This caused sparks to burst forth.
It was like a door that had been accidentally opened was being closed by another force. The tunnel grew increasingly narrow until only a faint light was visible. With a low groan, the tunnel shut completely.
When the h.e.l.l Horse Face saw that things had gone back to normal, and the ground was just empty s.p.a.ce again, it stretched its body lazily. “Idiot. I really don’t know why you were arranged to be my partner,” said Horse Face as it contemplated its own situation.
“Back then when the Great One chose two species out of twelve to supervise h.e.l.l, the ox and horse species were chosen. However, after being partners with you for such a long time, I think that your intelligence isn’t even on par with the pig species. Pigs actually possess great intelligence even though they appear stupid, but you truly are a stupid ox.”
Ox Head stared at its feet and smiled but dared not rebut.
“It seems that the human just now has realized something,” Horse Face pointed out.
Ox Head didn’t care. “So what if he knows the truth? The Great One didn’t lay down any orders saying that we couldn’t reveal that…”
Horse Face nodded indifferently and turned around to leave the area…
There were no big changes in Bei Qingyan’s expression, though she was standing beside Gao Peng. She had behaved like this even in the presence of Ox Head and Horse Face earlier on.
Gao Peng knew this wasn’t the place to talk. He bid farewell to Li An and the rest of the researchers, who looked very pleased, as they had gained quite a lot on this trip.
After they had left the group far behind, Gao Peng vocalized the question that had been brewing deep in his heart. “Do you know what place that was?”
“I know.” Bei Qingyan nodded.
“No wonder you didn’t seem very surprised when you saw Ox Head and Horse Face…” Gao Peng rubbed his temples.
When Bei Qingyan saw Gao Peng in this state, she only said helplessly, “I just know their ident.i.ties. They wouldn’t usually initiate an attack toward us.”
“Who are they?” asked Xiao Yan curiously. Ox Head and Horse Face had felt like a great threat to her.
“They’re the law enforcers of h.e.l.l.” Bei Qingyan seemed to have recalled something. “However, we have a very close relations.h.i.+p with h.e.l.l… Honestly speaking, I didn’t know that it was the pa.s.sage to h.e.l.l at first.”
“What other places are there besides h.e.l.l?” Gao Peng was momentarily taken aback.
“Hm.” Bei Qinyan knitted her brows slightly. A gust of wind ruffled her hair and brushed it behind her ears. “Actually, what you guys have seen on Earth Star is just a very small fraction of this universe. There are many other worlds hidden on the other side,” said Bei Qinyan in a tranquil voice.
Gao Peng was listening to her intently.
Bei Qingyan continued to say, “If Earth Star was the only domain, how could it have possibly attracted so many ancient tribes to return?”
Gao Peng nodded. This was logical—even though Earth Star had grown bigger after the disaster, there were so many ancient tribes, so many familiars of Emperor-tier, Overlord-tier, Saint-tier, and above. To them, Earth Star was still considered too small.
“This world used to be called Jiutian s.h.i.+di.” Bei Qingyan lifted her head to gaze at the sky, her eyelashes trembling slightly. “The sky was Yang, and the earth was Yin. The Huangquan h.e.l.l was the legendary tenth land. I thought that the tunnel was connected to the ninth heaven… I didn’t expect it to be connected to the tenth land.
“Horse Face and Ox Head are the regulators of h.e.l.l. In order to take on Ox Head’s position, you have to be at least Saint-tier.”
“Do the worlds that the ancient tribes live in not belong to Jiutian s.h.i.+di?” Gao Peng was puzzled.
“No, those worlds are separate from Jiutian s.h.i.+di. They’re referred to as the sea of planes of existence as they are comprised of independent worlds… I’m not very clear about things there. I heard the term ‘sea of planes of existence’ from my father in the past and all I know is that it’s huge—and so is Jiutian s.h.i.+di.” Bei Qingyan shook her head.