Chapter 135: The Netherworld Realm

The Gate of Earthly Dimensions was no stranger to Qingxu.

Between heaven and earth, there exist six Gates of Heavenly Dimensions and six Gates of Earthly Dimensions, all located within the Primordial World. Through these gates, one can freely travel between the celestial heavens and the netherworld. It is said that any living being who can refine all twelve gates will unlock a profound secret from the dawn of time. However, the refinement technique left behind by Pangu at the creation of the world has remained undiscovered, leaving even the likes of the Dao-integrated Hongjun and the six Sages of the Heavens without a clue.

While the thirty-three celestial palaces of the Heavenly Realm have yet to open, rendering the Gates of Heavenly Dimensions effectively useless, the Gates of Earthly Dimensions are different. The nineteen layers of the Netherworld have existed since the primordial era, and thus, the Gates of Earthly Dimensions remain functional.

Under normal circumstances, only a Great Golden Immortal could traverse from the Primordial World to the Netherworld, and even then, it is a perilous, life-threatening journey. Only the strongest Quasi-Sages can move between the two realms with true ease. However, this restriction is bypassed by the Gates of Earthly Dimensions.

Whether immortal or mortal, one can enter the Netherworld through these gates. Yet, controlling one's arrival to a specific layer of hell requires, at minimum, the cultivation level of an early-stage Profound Immortal. Below that, one is entirely at the mercy of the gate's random selection.

"Could my Profound-Yellow avatar have accidentally fallen into the Netherworld through one of these gates?" The thought gave Qingxu a headache. With his current cultivation at the late stage of the Celestial Immortal realm, he could not accurately control the gate to select a specific layer of hell.

The nineteen layers of the Netherworld are increasingly treacherous from top to bottom, filled with unfathomable mysteries that even Hunyuan Sages cannot fully discern. The nineteenth layer, the Hell of Gloomy Darkness, is unexplored; save for Hongjun and the six Sages, no one in the Primordial World knows the way to it.

"What should I do? Should I go or not?" Qingxu was torn. He did not know which layer his avatar was in, and without the ability to control the gate, he risked ending up in a deep, lethal layer.

"Hmm?" Little Kunlun’s question sparked a thought. He looked at her, his voice trembling with anticipation. "Little Kunlun, can you control the Gate of Earthly Dimensions to transport us to the first layer, the Tongue-Ripping Hell?" Though she was only at the peak of the Earth Immortal realm, she was the spirit of the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Kunlun Mirror. She could not be judged by standard metrics; she possessed the rules of time and space, and traversing them was her specialty.

Facing Qingxu’s eager gaze, Little Kunlun shyly ducked her head, then gave a slight nod.

Joy! Pure, unexpected joy! When one is in despair and suddenly discovers a glimmer of hope, the feeling is beyond words.

"Do you want to eat some roasted meat?" Qingxu tempted her with food. Seeing her nod, he laid out his plan. "Good. We will use the Gate of Earthly Dimensions to travel to the first layer of the Netherworld. Once we resolve this matter, you shall eat your fill."

Upon hearing the mention of food, Little Kunlun’s eyes lit up, drool beginning to leak from her mouth as she nodded vigorously.

"It is settled. This should be foolproof. With my cultivation, the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram, and my suite of spiritual treasures, I can move through the Tongue-Ripping Hell with ease. Whether or not I find my avatar, my own safety is guaranteed—at the very least, I can always return the way I came." Qingxu had made up his mind: if the avatar was in the upper layers, he would risk it, but if it were deeper, he would abandon the search. Regrettable, yes, but survival came first.

With Little Kunlun’s assurance, Qingxu’s worries vanished. Carrying her, he cast a water-avoidance spell and entered the East Sea. Transforming his movement into a water-based technique, he bypassed the myriad creatures and descended toward the seabed. The junction between the southeast sea was millions of feet deep. As he descended, the pressure multiplied. When he reached several tens of thousands of feet, even his peak fourth-layer Moral Golden Body and his Earth Immortal cultivation began to struggle. The crushing pressure could flatten tempered steel; had his body not been a mid-grade innate spiritual treasure, he would have suffered grievous injury.

At such depths, basic water-avoidance spells and beads lost their effectiveness.

"This is not working. We are only a few tens of thousands of feet down, and it is already grueling. At this rate, I can go at most another hundred thousand feet before my physical form and soul collapse." Qingxu felt frustrated, realizing he had severely overestimated his capabilities.

"Brother Daoist, Kunlun is in pain. I cannot go on," she whimpered, her face twisted in discomfort.

"Wait! You said before there was another Gate of Earthly Dimensions here. If we cannot reach this one, let us go to the one you saw previously!" Adapting to the situation, he realized this was his only option.

"I saw one under the Kunlun Jade Mountain, but I have been cast out and can no longer find it," she said, her expression crestfallen.

"What? Cast out? You can't go back? And the Kunlun Mirror?" Qingxu’s heart sank; he realized the situation was far more complex than he had anticipated.

"The mirror is also in the mountain. I haven't been in for a long time," she sobbed.

Dumbfounded, Qingxu felt a wave of bad luck. He had assumed the treasure would be easy to obtain, but it seemed his fortunes had bottomed out. He felt like shouting to the heavens, "Is there anyone more miserable than I?"

After a long while, Little Kunlun calmed down. Looking at him strangely, she asked, "Brother Daoist, do you want to use the gate to enter the Netherworld? Why didn't you say so sooner? I can just use a space-time shift to take us there!"

Qingxu glared at her. So much for efficiency!

"Take us to the gate. And remember, the first layer—the Tongue-Ripping Hell! Do not make a mistake."

"Okay!" Realizing her error, she cast a space-time shift, opening a channel directly to the gate on the seabed.

The gate emanated a mysterious power, creating a vacuum within a ten-foot radius, shielding them from the crushing pressure of the deep sea.

As the spirit of the Kunlun Mirror, it took her mere moments to bridge the distance. Before them appeared a black hole about a meter in diameter. Without hesitation, Qingxu jumped in with her.

After a moment of descent, a light appeared. Emerging from the exit, he saw a semicircular space, ten feet in diameter, containing nothing but a gray-black, ancient stone gate suspended in the center.

It was an absolute vacuum—no spiritual energy, no air, no essence. Even the concepts of time and space seemed to have vanished.

*Whoosh!*

Before Qingxu could react, Little Kunlun pulled him into the gray-black light. The radiance rippled and then fell silent. Both were gone.

Entering the gate, Qingxu felt the world turn dark. Heaven and earth inverted, Yin and Yang became chaotic, and his mind grew hazy. It could have been an instant or a year. Finally, his feet touched solid ground. Opening his eyes, he saw a blood-red moon hanging in the sky. The horizon was a depressing, dark crimson, the ground was scorched, and the vegetation was all a pitch-black hue.

"Is this the Netherworld?"