Chapter 631: The Eighteenth Hell
Chapter 631: The Eighteenth Hell
Tick!
Tick!
The clouds dispersed, and the rain ceased. Droplets of fresh blood fell, mixing with the rain and soaking into the parched earth, instantly absorbed by the land.
The once formidable Temple Warrior, Lu Zhong, was now on his knees, his greatsword broken in half, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Around him, layers upon layers of paper men seemed to stretch endlessly...
"Evil demon!"
Lu Zhong glared at Fang Xing, his eyes almost bursting with rage. "Even if I die here today, justice will prevail! One day, my teammates will take your head in the sight of the divine!"
"Oh? You won't live to see that day."
Fang Xing seemed intrigued and stood before Lu Zhong. "Temple Warrior... I haven't even asked your name, yet you attack me without hesitation... I've decided. I'll take your soul and bind it to a paper man, letting you suffer eternal torment."
This was, of course, a lie. An enemy of this caliber wasn't worth such treatment.
Fang Xing's interest piqued because he sensed a hidden trump card on Lu Zhong.
Furthermore, he was curious enough to test it out.
"Never! Even if my soul falls into the underworld, I will hold fast to my faith... And my deity will ultimately redeem me!"
Lu Zhong's face shone with devotion and belief.
Suddenly, he looked at Fang Xing's true form, and a hint of triumph flashed in his eyes. "You and I will be exiled together!"
In an instant, Lu Zhong tore a talisman from his neck.
It was a high-tier talisman given by the Redemption God—an Exile Talisman! Within it, a one-time exile spell was stored, blessed by a deity, making it a high-priority item. In a flash, a spiritual light enveloped both Fang Xing and Lu Zhong.
Almost instantly, the two disappeared from the mortal realm, their forms vanishing without a trace.
...
The Underworld.
The surroundings were bathed in crimson, radiating heat and high temperatures.
The land was arid and cracked...
Occasionally, one could see restless souls lying on the ground, wailing, their forms becoming increasingly ethereal...
Some ghosts seemed unable to bear the agony, directly turning into nothingness, their souls dispersing.
This was the first layer of the Eighteenth Hell—the Scorching Hell!
As there was no need to consider reincarnation or other factors, the only requirement was to torment souls, so the hell had almost no divine spirits, only various forms of torture.
Hiss!
A flash of spiritual light.
Fang Xing and Lu Zhong's forms appeared almost simultaneously in a corner of the Scorching Hell.
"So hot..."
Fang Xing fanned himself with his hand.
He could imagine the torment those souls were enduring.
Not far away, Lu Zhong, on the verge of death, had bright eyes, as if he had caught a glimpse of the divine kingdom he yearned for.
But the next moment!
—Advanced Nature Cure!
A flash of emerald light fell upon him, rapidly healing his injuries.
Lu Zhong, incredulous, turned and stood, staring at Fang Xing.
This was undoubtedly a Yang Shen Realm demon, yet for some reason, he was healing him.
It was clear that the demon was considering what torment to inflict upon him.
With this thought, Lu Zhong's face immediately showed a look of defiance, even in the face of death.
If not for the teachings of the Redemption God prohibiting suicide, the moment he fell into the underworld, he would have ended his own life, and his soul would have journeyed to the divine kingdom.
However, it wasn't too late. With his rank in the church, a divine messenger would soon descend and rescue him from this sea of suffering.
But not long after, a hint of uncertainty appeared on Lu Zhong's face.
He quickly knelt and prayed aloud, "Lord of Redemption, you are the embodiment of salvation, the arbiter of earthly justice... I implore for your blessing, for your listening ear, for a glimmer of your divine gaze..."
Half a day passed, and still, there was no response.
Lu Zhong turned abruptly, his eyes fixed on Fang Xing with a hungry gaze. "Evil demon, is it you?"
"Haha... You're merely affected by my talent unintentionally."
Fang Xing laughed.
He hadn't expected the effect of 'Divine Insight' to be so powerful, like lifting the fog of war.
Not only was he affected, but those with intertwined destinies or those too close to divine officials were also influenced by the signal.
However, this situation was indeed of his own making.
After all, Fang Xing had long wanted to witness the Eighteenth Hell in the underworld.
Previously, through his perception, he had sensed the 'ticket' on Lu Zhong, so he didn't hesitate to 'hitch a ride'—or rather, Lu Zhong had forcefully 'dragged' him to school.
Everyone knew, but they were aware of the situation.
Fang Xing couldn't be bothered to pay attention, focusing on his perception.
"Hmm, the Eighteenth Hell is indeed a lower-tier plane structure. This is the first layer, the Scorching Hell, and the second layer is the Frozen Hell... Only in this dual-layered hell of fire and ice will the tormented souls, still clinging to life, fall into the even more brutal layers of hell..."
"The third layer is the Lightning Hell, followed by the Poisonous Mist Hell, the Bone-Crushing Hell, and so on, all the way to the final layer, the Avici Hell!"
"In summary, the souls of the faithless who fall here, even if they don't die, will endure eternal torture and torment in the Avici Hell, serving as a warning to those without faith."
"Huh? That's odd... The structure of these eighteen hells is strange... The main body is like an inverted pyramid... But the spirituality flows within it... Is this an array that torments souls and extracts their essence?"
Fang Xing couldn't help but exclaim.
The gods truly played with faith, even using the souls of non-believers to serve a dual purpose, making a significant contribution even after death.
However, the souls of non-believers were typically used to plaster walls, and now they were merely being utilized as waste, which didn't seem to matter much.
"Hungry... I'm so hungry..."
As Lu Zhong was on the verge of collapse, Fang Xing pondered, and a wandering soul drifted towards him.
The soul appeared as a middle-aged man, weathered and worn, with bandages wrapped around his hands, suggesting he was an experienced warrior in his youth.
But at this moment, the soul's lower body was insubstantial, indicating it had been tormented to a certain extent, and even its thoughts were somewhat blurred.
"In these eighteen hells, it's naturally impossible to find food."
Fang Xing sighed.
Beyond these eighteen hells, there was also an invisible hell of starving ghosts.
Fortunately, a Druid never starves wherever they go.
With this thought, he took out a few seeds from his pocket and planted them in the ground.
Strangely enough, the scorching hell's ground was extremely hot, and the seeds should have been cooked upon landing.
But at this moment, the seeds only had their shells turn slightly red, and they began to take root and sprout...
Before long, bright red bamboo shoots resembling flames, grew taller and taller.
This 'Fire Jade Bamboo' was a byproduct of Fang Xing's cultivation of the Green Spirit Bamboo, a mutated spiritual plant that required an abundance of fire essence.
Oddly enough, in the scorching hell, there was nothing but heat, which was more than enough.
The Fire Jade Bamboo continued to grow and thrive... and then suddenly, it emitted a bursting sound.
Snap!
A bamboo segment split open and fell into Fang Xing's hand.
Fang Xing split it open, revealing red jade-like rice grains inside, now fully cooked.
The red jade rice grains were crystal clear like jade and exuded a rich, fragrant aroma.
Even Lu Zhong, who was on the verge of collapse, unconsciously turned his neck.
"Here, you can have it."
Fang Xing, not feeling hungry, directly handed the bamboo tube filled with bamboo rice to the wandering soul.
The wandering soul reached out and was able to grab the bamboo tube and immediately began to feast.
"Don't rush... There's plenty here."
Fang Xing smiled and planted a strange vine.
As the vine bore blue gourds, a cool breeze burst forth.
Fang Xing plucked a blue-skinned gourd, opened its mouth, and instantly, a gush of sweet spring water rushed out.
As a legendary Druid, with a thought, given enough time, he could fill these eighteen hells with various plants, turning hell into paradise with ease.
At this moment, the warrior's soul, like a starving ghost, had already devoured over ten bamboo rice segments, and his expression seemed to become clearer.
"Alright, after eating my food, it's time for you to work."
Fang Xing grabbed the soul, and his eyes flashed with the Soul-Bewildering Technique.
After obtaining the orthodoxy of the top ten righteous and evil sects and perfecting the Soul-Bewildering Technique, his Soul-Searching Technique had surpassed that of his masters.
Soon, the middle-aged warrior's entire life flashed before Fang Xing's eyes.
This veteran soldier, named Wu Yong, was a devout believer in the God of War. For the cause of the deity, he once abandoned everything, even joining the elite battalion of the God of War, escaping death numerous times, before retiring to the countryside, marrying and starting a family.
Speaking of which, this should have been a very ordinary story, but his wife was exceptionally beautiful, and not every member of the clergy in the Church of the God of War was a saintly figure of chastity and purity...
When the incident occurred, Wu Yong lost his wife and child. Driven mad, he sharpened the rusty battle sword he had brought back from the battlefield to an incredibly sharp edge and took the life of that priest.
Subsequently, he was branded as a 'Non-Believer,' sentenced to death, and after death, he was sent to hell, awaiting the dispersal of his soul and spirit.
"He still had faith, but the Church of the God of War abandoned him."
Fang Xing shook his head and tossed the soul aside.
Lu Zhong's body trembled as the soul possessed him, seemingly experiencing the soul's entire life: "No..."
Two lines of bloody tears flowed from his eyes, for as a temple warrior, he had to uphold justice: "Why did this happen?"
"It's simple. The procedure was wrong. Even if Wu Yong's actions were just, he had to die!"
Fang Xing gave a cold laugh: "In the Da Zhou Divine Dynasty, even if you suffer injustice, you can appeal to the officials for justice. But you can't take justice into your own hands."
"But that's not the key point. The critical issue is that this man killed the priest of the God of War, yet he still believed in the God of War... The deity abandoned him, leaving him to suffer in the school, but everyone knew about it.
"It's because the procedure was wrong. Even if Wu Yong's actions were just, he had to die!"
Fang Xing shook his head: "In the Da Zhou Divine Dynasty, even if you suffer injustice, you can appeal to the officials for justice. But you can't take justice into your own hands."
"But that's not the key point. The critical issue is that this man killed the priest of the God of War, yet he still believed in the God of War... The deity abandoned him, leaving him to suffer here until his soul and spirit dispersed..."
Fang Xing's eyes lit up, as if grasping something: "This violated the covenant between humans and gods. Humans offer faith, expecting salvation after death, and this should not be broken!"
(End of Chapter)
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