Chapter 482: Chapter 446: Sixth Level
That night, Sang Que did not return to her modern home, but instead, she took Xia Chan to a wasteland far from the Dawn Base, preparing to officially enter the Sixth Floor.
Sang Que brought the painting and released the Red Ghost, who was already at the fifth layer of the Flying Corpse Realm, to guard by her side. She recalled the Paper Macher back into the painting, leaving only the Yin Child inside her body.
After checking her watch, realizing the time was near, Sang Que sat on a large rock, closed her eyes, and entered a meditative state, visualizing the existence of the Nine Netherworld.
Xia Chan was carrying Sang Que’s painting and raised a finger to her lips to shush Xuan Yu at her feet. The two of them, one human and one cat, retreated quietly, careful not to disturb Sang Que.
The place was once supposed to be a wheat field, now only a field of uneven wheat stubble remained, turning charred and hard within the blood mist, like countless pitch-black steel thorns, sharp and dangerous.
The shadows of Xia Chan and Xuan Yu were drawn long by the light of the blood moon, the field filled with the foul scent of rotting straw and a faint metallic smell of blood.
Occasionally, a few crows flew by, cawing hoarsely. The moment Xia Chan heard the noise, she turned her head sharply, glaring. As flocks of crows took flight in alarm, Xia Chan finally showed a satisfied expression, fulfilling her duty to protect Sang Que.
Xia Chan also found a stone to sit on, her red hair cascading down her back, leisurely growing, extending through the crevices between the wheat stubble, rising and falling like breath as it gradually absorbed the surrounding blood mist to ensure it would not affect Sang Que.
Xuan Yu sat beside Xia Chan, licking its paws. Xia Chan propped her chin, watched as Sang Que’s brows furrowed deeper and her face showed a painful expression as the Yin Child, dressed in Miao clothing, slowly appeared behind Sang Que.
The two, one large and one small, leaned back-to-back, their movements and expressions becoming increasingly synchronized.
In the silent dark night, it seemed Xia Chan heard the sound of a heartbeat.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
No one knew what Sang Que’s soul was experiencing in the Nine Netherworld.
...
Modern time, one hour earlier.
Jiang Zao returned home after evening study, ate a little, washed up, and went back to her room. Seeing the backpack on the table, she decisively chose rest over continuing with exercises and assignments.
Laying on the bed, Jiang Zao picked up her phone to scroll through short videos, swiping through a few, when a military account’s news about recognizing meritorious service personnel caught her eye. Jiang Zao had no interest, swiping past it immediately.
But after swiping through, Jiang Zao paused, wondering if she had just seen a photo of Sang Que.
Swiping back to take a closer look at the photo and contents, Jiang Zao sprang up from the bed, eyes wide as she stared at the impressive and valiant Sang Que in the picture.
"Sang Sang, you didn’t lie to me, did you? You really went to do something big? But what did you do that led to a national commendation?"
The news featured not only the recognition of Sang Que, but also others, including Zheng Xuan, Jia Liang, all being honored for enhancing the accumulation of incense.
But undoubtedly, Sang Que was the youngest, just eighteen this year.
These were news hot topics, and although the news only mentioned the recognition of merit, without explaining the reason, it led to countless speculations, sparking a firestorm across the internet.
Jiang Zao’s phone started buzzing with messages, with news screenshots being sent to the class group chat, everyone was stunned, all @Jiang Zao to inquire about the situation.
Jiang Zao was just as perplexed, completely unaware of what had happened, but she felt very proud, for this was Sang Sang, who grew up with her. Her glory was Jiang Zao’s glory.
However, alongside her pride, Jiang Zao felt some loss and envy.
She looked at the endless stream of math, physics, and chemistry papers on the desk, the puppet Sang Que gave her, and the woodworking tools piled in the corner, untouched for a long time, wondering what the meaning of life was.
In a daze, Jiang Zao let the phone ring continuously, not even answering when Xu Yichao called.
...
Deceit Dynasty.
As the news gradually fermented, Sang Que’s Heart Lamp rapidly amplified, like a strong stimulant propelling her to seamlessly step over the threshold between the fifth layer and Sixth Layer.
Originally, the most challenging part for her was the issue of the Incense Heart Lamp. If it weren’t for the intervention from above, relying on herself to accumulate such incense might have taken an eternity.
Now, her Incense Heart Lamp was unprecedentedly powerful, and with the subsequent fermentation, it was bound to continue growing.
Without other restrictions, breaking straight through to the Ghost God Realm wouldn’t have been impossible.
Sang Que’s pace in descending the Nine Netherworld had been steady. Upon stepping into the Sixth Floor, she felt no sensation, so calm even she was surprised.
Physically, there was no change, though her abilities in various respects had certainly improved; this would need to be slowly verified later on.
Sang Que remembered back outside Jianshui City in Qinzhou, when she watched Qiu Wanjun lead his army, Qiu was at the Sixth Level, and the Yin Walkers around him could disregard the backlash of Evil Ghosts and utilize their powers at will.
She must be the same now; her level matched with the Yin Child, and the aura she emitted could subdue others’ ghosts without resistance.
The Ninth Floor of the Nine Netherworld in the Deceit Dynasty was the Pot of Soup Prison, an enormous cauldron of oil where people submerged slowly while being boiled, enduring immense suffering.
Upon reaching the Copper Pillar Prison of Sixth Floor, Sang Que dropped from that pot, finding that the surrounding wasn’t an endless dark pit, rather a barren hill dotted with red-hot copper pillars, like a forest.
A small path led inward, but as she moved forward, the copper pillars grew denser, demanding one to squeeze through sideways in deeper sections.
Sang Que paused at the edge of the Sixth Floor, withdrawing from the visualization state.
Upon her withdrawal, Sang Que suddenly realized she and Yin Child were ’bound’ together by something.
Looking down to inspect herself, she saw she and Yin Child were bound at the heart, or rather, her original heart was merging with the heart formed by village resentment, returning to her body, with countless blood threads linking both hearts, pulsating in sync with her emotions.
Sang Que thoroughly checked her body, attempting to employ Yin Child’s various abilities, withdrawing and then releasing Yin Child, realizing this merging hadn’t yet affected her or Yin Child adversely.
It even allowed her to continue using Yin Child’s powers when Yin Child left her body. Previously, once Yin Child departed from her body, she wouldn’t be able to use its abilities.
"Sister, did you succeed?" Xia Chan ran over, approaching Sang Que to ask.
Sang Que nodded, "Little Chan, I’m preparing to travel far, to the fishing village we once visited. It will be very dangerous. Will you come with me?"
Xia Chan nodded without hesitation, puffing out her chest, "Little Chan is powerful now, Little Chan will accompany and protect sister!"
Meow~
Xuan Yu meowed at Xia Chan’s feet, and Sang Que squatted to pick Xuan Yu up, "This time you shouldn’t go, it’s too dangerous. I’ll send you back to my mom."
The situation at the Fish Woman Village was complex. Last time Sang Que had no chance to enter the village; when she inquired the Ghost Vendor, she only obtained a perimeter map of the village.
The village was hidden within Hidden Realm, a large village. According to the Ghost Vendor, he hadn’t explored it fully before a fire broke out, forcing him to leave hastily.
That fire was set by Sang Que.
"Sister, is there anyone else we should take?" Xia Chan asked Sang Que.
Sang Que thought it over. Qiao Ling and Yao Zhen were preparing for a modern inspection, with the imperial forces nearing. It’s best for Liu Tianyou and Yu Da to stay behind to handle any issues should she be delayed.
Yu Da has strength at the fifth layer; along with Master Jing Lan and the Ghost Vendor, even if the court dispatched Yin Walkers, they could hold the fort for a while.
This journey would mainly depend on her, but she couldn’t lack support. Xia Chan was immune to blood mist, Hua Qianmian could assist with stealthy infiltration, and Qin Ze was needed, given Fish Woman Village was under the lake, requiring the Corpse Recovery Man Qin Ze controlled.
