Chapter 1596: Black Lake
The red-haired man miserably flew back. He let out a startled scream as he was flying toward the chain-wielding monstrosity. He then slammed his palm in the air, forcibly changing his direction. He narrowly flew by it.
The red-haired man was pale. He had almost crashed into it just now. He had also seen through how terrifying this monstrosity was.
It was unknown what secret technique he had, but his injury quickly recovered. Now when he looked at the old man, he had a fearful expression.
“Brat, if you want to fight, let’s fight.” The old man pointed his staff at him threateningly.
The old man’s temper was explosive, plus it was the red-haired man who had attacked first. If this situation wasn’t special, he’d have long since started a fight.
The red-haired man snorted. He said a few garbled things that they couldn’t understand and then went in another direction.
This bridge was so wide that he quickly vanished from sight. He had clearly decided to leave so they could each walk their own paths.
“Old man, why don’t we join hands and kill him?” probed Long Chen. Long Chen had no interest in that person’s life, but he was curious about his memories. He wanted to know what race he came from.
“This place isn’t suitable for a fight. Furthermore, there’s nothing worthwhile for us to take such a risk,” said the old man.
Long Chen nodded. That was true. There were no treasures to s.n.a.t.c.h here.
Long Chen estimated that this fellow had attacked because he had seen the old man carrying a weapon from the outside world in the Netherworld. He had wanted to know the reason and so he had wanted to search Long Chen’s soul.
“Hmph, count yourself lucky,” snorted Long Chen inside at that red-haired man. If the old man wasn’t present, he really would have an urge to capture that fellow. However, now he had to be an obedient child.
Long Chen followed the old man, and they encountered the chain-wielding monstrosities dozens of times. The concept of time and s.p.a.ce was very muddled here. He could only get a general understanding of his surroundings. Based on his calculations, they had walked for a day to reach the end of the bridge. As for how long the distance was, there was no way to calculate it.
They didn’t see the red-haired man again. Based on the red-haired man’s speed, he had probably reached this place long before them.
However, once they reached the end, they saw that the lake in front of them was not blood-colored, but black. It was like ink.
“What dense death energy. This is a poison lake!” cried the old man. The lake’s death aura was absolutely terrifying. Just by smelling it, he could feel his life energy fading.
“It seems not everyone walks the same path in the Netherworld. Long Chen, you should go back. This place is very dangerous,” said the old man.
This black lake looked even more terrifying than the blood-colored lake Qu Jianying had crossed. Even being splashed by this water could be very troublesome.
“I’ll be fine. Just wait a second. I’ll prepare a set of armor for you.” A ball of mud appeared in Long Chen’s hand, and he wiped it across the old man’s face.
The old man was caught off-guard and allowed Long Chen to wipe the mud across his face. He raged, “Brat, what are you doing?”
“Don’t panic. I’m making you a mud armor to guarantee your safety against the black water.” Long Chen smiled.
This mud was no ordinary mud. It was the black soil that came from the primal chaos s.p.a.ce. Long Chen was sure that this soil of death could resist the corrosion of the black water.
The old man thought that Long Chen was messing around, but Long Chen’s expression was serious, so he allowed it to happen.
He was quickly encased in mud armor. Although it looked strange, this was definitely a good thing.
“You don’t need to be so careful now. My black soil isn’t normal soil. It’s sticky and should follow your movements. As long as you don’t tear it off, it shouldn’t fall,” said Long Chen.
Long Chen took out a sword. It was an Ancestral item, and although it was already broken, it was still very tough.
He stuck the tip inside the black water. When he pulled it out, he and the old man sucked in a cold gasp of air.
The portion that had entered the black water had vanished silently.
“Good stuff!” Long Chen gulped.
“Brat, don’t tell me you want to drink it!” raged the old man upon seeing Long Chen’s excited expression.
Long Chen smiled mischievously and didn’t reply. He got to work again and quickly wrapped his leg in black soil as well. He then stepped into the black water.
The old man let out a startled cry. It was too late to stop Long Chen, but he was dumbfounded to see Long Chen pull his leg out. His foot was still there, completely fine.
“Alright. Let’s get going.” Long Chen smiled. This black water couldn’t do anything to his black soil.
If he didn’t think it would be too troublesome, he could even make a small boat out of the black soil. However, that would be too time-consuming.
The two of them jumped onto the floating logs. All of a sudden, they sensed some mysterious energy sealing their energy, so they couldn’t use magical arts here and could only walk obediently.
The two of them were now very slow. Black mist surrounded them, making it so they couldn’t see the path forward or back. They could only see the floating log beneath their feet.
“The Yellow Springs Path really is interesting. This path is just like a person’s life. Looking at the path forward and back will both bewilder people. The path back is just as covered with mist as the path forward. If you try to retreat, one wrong step will lead to death. Rather than retreating with your eyes closed, continuing to advance with your eyes open is better. You can’t see your goal or hope, but you can see your next step. As long as you persevere, no matter how long the path is, you’ll reach the end eventually. However, countless people die during the process because they can’t see any hope. Sometimes they might just be one step from the sh.o.r.e, but their despair causes them to fall,” said the old man emotionally.
In truth, the old man did not know that this was the Yellow Springs Path. He just felt that this situation was very similar to the Yellow Springs Path in stories, so he was moved to say this.
Long Chen nodded. “Saying to just keep going sounds simple, but it really is difficult, especially during those days when it’s impossible to see any hope. Despair is inevitable. However, true experts will also persevere whether or not they can see any hope, because they have some reason why they must persevere.”
He looked at the boundless Yellow Springs Path. The way in front was shrouded, the way back was covered in mist. Wasn’t this an exact portrayal of his current situation?
He had no way back. He had to find his biological parents and solve the riddle of his origins. However, before he could solve this riddle, he was tossed into a world filled with enemies.
He also had a family of his hot-blooded brothers and beautiful women following him. He couldn"t go back. He not only had to achieve his dreams, but he also had to achieve the dreams of everyone who followed him. No matter how dangerous it was, he had to continue forward.
“Little fellow, don’t say the words of someone old and world-weary,” said the old man with a smile. He hadn’t expected Long Chen to also say such a thing. In his eyes, Long Chen was still a child.
Long Chen bitterly smiled. He also felt like he was old. There were many things he was seeing clearer, which only made him more tired. He thought back to when he and Little Snow had first left the Phoenix Cry Empire. At that time, he had been filled with hope, and he had wanted to live a carefree life. He had thought that the higher his cultivation base, the fewer restrictions he would have.
His frame of mind had changed. The greatest change had occurred when Little Snow died. Although Little Snow’s crystal core was still being nourished by Meng Qi’s Myriad Spirit Diagram, Long Chen felt like his heart was being stabbed every time he thought of how Little Snow had died to protect him.
Whether or not a person matured didn’t depend on their age. The main thing was what they experienced. Although he was only in his twenties, he had a weather-beaten heart.
Fortunately, he still had some immature fellows to play around with. That was the only time Long Chen could feel young.
“Long Chen, something’s off. Those fish monsters still haven’t appeared. Did we take a wrong turn somewhere?” cried out the old man suddenly
Even after walking for a long time, there wasn’t the slightest change. That was too strange. It was completely different from what Qu Jianying had experienced.
“Don’t be so suspicious. Senior Qu walked on a red path, while we’re on a black path. It’s normal for it to be different. Stop trying to shake my confidence,” said Long Chen.
This truly was a bit strange, but they were still following the wooden logs. They couldn’t have gone in the wrong direction.
The two of them were still continuing forward when Long Chen’s eyes brightened. He saw a red light in the distance and quickened his footsteps.
He quickly saw what that red light was. It was the red-haired man.
At this time, the red-haired man was enveloped by a red light that protected himself from the black mist. The black mist was continuously striking his barrier like black vipers.
The red-haired man’s expression was extremely ugly. His aura had weakened a great deal already, and he was adjusting his condition while standing on a floating log.
Long Chen instantly realized what was going on. This mist was the attacker here. However, with the black soil protecting them, the mist couldn’t do a single thing to them.
Seeing that the red-robed man was extremely tired from blocking the mist, Long Chen had a thought. He stealthily approached.
Just as he was preparing to attack, the red-haired man turned back to see them. He let out a startled and cry and fled into the distance, disappearing from sight.
“d.a.m.n, he actually ran.” Long Chen clapped himself in the leg. He had almost caught him.