Chapter 1231 Apologize
When Lin Xun stepped onto the small black boat, he immediately handed over a divine herb.
Next, he took a spot at the stern of the boat and looked out over the vast blood-colored Underworld River.
Long before entering the Underworld River Forbidden Zone, Lin Xun had tried to scan it using his spirit sense, which caused him to see a horrifying vision.
He saw a raging river of blood with strange and unsettling corpses floating within it.
There was a Buddha wearing an enraged expression with a hole between his brows.
There was a cracked, ancient dragon-like body that was over a hundred thousand feet long.
There was a dead Saint wearing a crown and long, flowing robes...
There was a strange beast with runes on its head...
The only common point they shared was that they were corpses floating in a river of blood.
At the same time, Lin Xun’s ears were overwhelmed by the wails of gods, demons, and Saints that mixed into a maddening cacophony that incited thoughts of calamity and terror.
Back then, he suspected that this ghastly scene was the legendary Underworld River.
Back in the present on the small black boat, he gazed at the churning blood river that seemed to have no beginning or end as if it had been present since the start of time and would continue existing into eternity.
Lin Xun fell into a daze as those horrifying and bizarre scenes seemed to flash before his eyes again...
Was this really the legendary Underworld River?
Tuoba Hun, Xue Baoji, and Dongyang Ting boarded the boat one after another. Each of them handed over a divine herb and took a spot on the boat.
It was clear that they also understood the rules.
The sight of Lin Xun looking out over the blood river like an uninvolved passerby caused Tuoba Hun, Xue Baoji, and Dongyang Ting to exchange a look before withdrawing their eyes.
None of them went forward to interact with Lin Xun.
The brocade-robed youth's death earlier had made them realize that the young man before them was a formidable individual who wasn’t inferior to any of them.
On the shore, the experts continued to fight over the remaining spots.
Soon, two people emerged from the scuffle and rushed onto the boat. One was a thin man while the other was a sweet-looking woman wearing purple garments.
However, both of them were somewhat bloodied and battered. When they arrived on the boat, they paid their toll of a divine herb before cupping their hands together toward Tuoba Hun and the others, displaying very respectful attitudes.
Whoosh!
Yet another expert rushed over in an attempt to board the boat. Before he could approach, however, he was knocked away by a layer of dusky yellow lamp light, causing blood to spray from his mouth and nose.
Meanwhile, the skeleton boatman lifted the oar as the small black boat slowly left the shore and headed into the blood-colored Underworld River.
"No!"
"Abominable!"
Loud cries of discontent rang out from the shore. The experts who had failed to board the ship were filled with disappointment and frustration.
On the boat, Tuoba Hun and the others breathed a long sigh of relief.
They had obtained the qualifications to be ferried to the other side of the river and would naturally have a chance to vie for the rumored heaven-defying blessing!
"Slow down, old boatman, take me along as well!"
A shout suddenly rang out from the shore. The passengers could vaguely make out a green-robed youth frantically waving and shouting.
At the stern of the ship, Lin Xun’s eyes lit up at the sight of the green-robed youth. It was Toady!
However, he soon felt speechless at Toady’s terrible timing.
Lin Xun voice transmitted, "Just wait Toady, I will definitely seek justice for you if I meet Wang Xuanyu!"
"Sigh, it will have to do."
Toady was clearly dejected.
Lin Xun then asked about Ji Xingyao and Mo Tianhe, but the Toady shook his head, indicating that he hadn’t heard anything about them either.
It turned out that they had been separated amidst the attack of the Underworld Army.
Lin Xun instructed, "Try to find out where they are and wait here for me to return. If I succeed in seizing the blessing, there will naturally be a share for you."
Only then did the Toady grin and nod repeatedly in approval. ''Don't worry, there are other opportunities in the Divine Underworld Palace. I’ll go look around elsewhere for now."
Lin Xun watched Toady depart before withdrawing his gaze.
Someone suddenly chuckled in a seemingly mocking manner, "That green-robed youth is quite lucky that he arrived late and wasn’t caught up in the fighting. Otherwise, he would already be dead and have no chance to shout like that."
It was Dongyang Ting. However, he felt a chilling intent lock onto him as soon as the words left his mouth, causing him to stiffen.
He looked up and found that Lin Xun was staring directly at him with deep, black eyes that were filled with nothing but iciness.
Tuoba Hun and the others also noticed that something was amiss, and their expressions subtly changed.
Lin Xun said, "Apologize."
It was brief and concise, but also carried an undeniable authority.
Dongyang Ting raised an eyebrow, pointed at himself, and asked, ''You're giving me an order?"
From his tone, it was clear that he was already disgruntled.
Although he knew that Lin Xun wasn’t to be underestimated, being ordered to do something by him in such a public setting made Dongyang Ting feel disrespected.
"We’re all on the same boat now, and it will affect everyone if any dispute occurs. I hope that both of you will take a step back."
Xue Baoji suddenly spoke out, "Of course, if you guys can’t do that, you can always go at it after we disembark."
It appeared to be a fair suggestion, but the truth was that she just didn’t wish to be implicated.
The black boat was too small. No one would be able to escape unscathed if a scuffle broke out.
"I agree, Dao Friend Dongyang was just making a joke, why is this friend making a fuss over it?"
Tuoba Hun nodded in agreement.
On the other hand, the thin man and the purple-robed woman remained silent and waited to see what would happen next.
Upon seeing this, the corners of Dongyang Ting's lips rose in a playful arc as he said, ''Friend, are you still going to ask me to apologize?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lin Xun appeared in front of him in a flash and grabbed at him!
Dongyang Ting's expression abruptly changed. He never imagined that Lin Xun would dare to take action.
Meanwhile, Xue Baoji and Tuoba Hun inwardly shook with anger at the blatant disrespect Lin Xun was showing toward them!
He knew that they would be affected if a battle occurred, but he clearly didn’t care!
However, their pupils shrank a split second later as all of their anger evaporated into nothingness and was replaced by a deep chill.
The battle they anticipated didn’t break out because Dongyang Ting was immediately grabbed by the neck and lifted into the air!
In other words, Dongyang Ting, a top-class expert and ancient-era talent from the Dongyang Clan, was captured without being able to resist even a single move!
Chills immediately spread in Xue Baoji's and the others’ hearts.
As peers, they knew that even with the suddenness of a sneak attack, it was impossible for them to subdue Dongyang Ting in a single move!
Hence, the fact that he had been so easily captured without resistance was frightening to even think about.
Lin Xun spoke again, "Apologize."
No one dared to say anything this time!
Dongyang Ting's face was flushed red while eyes were filled with reluctance and rage. In the end, he lowered his head and bitterly said, "I apologize, I shouldn't have been so rude. I hope that you can be magnanimous and forgive me."
The drama of preferring to die rather than give in didn’t occur. Dongyang Ting directly admitted defeat, causing Xue Baoji and the others’ expressions to change again.
Thud!
Lin Xun let go, and Dongyang Ting fell onto the boat and coughed violently. Five deep finger imprints were clearly visible on his throat.
"Your turn."
Lin Xun gazed at Xue Baoji.
Xue Baoji was taken aback before her expression rapidly turned ice-cold. "You’re...also ordering me to apologize?"
Lin Xun replied, ''He made a rude remark about my friend and apologized while you were rude toward me. Did you think it would end like that?"
Everyone was inwardly shocked. It was only then that they realized that he did have a temper but was merely restraining himself!
All of them knew about how Xue Baoji had reprimanded and taunted Lin Xun on the shore.
Xue Baoji frostily asked, "Aren't you worried that everyone on the boat will suffer if you try to take action?"
She was poised and alert. She would not allow herself to repeat Dongyang Ting's mistake. In fact, she was even prepared to drag the others down with her the moment Lin Xun tried anything!
When that happened, he would definitely become everyone’s target.
"I'm giving you a chance to apologize. If you don't cherish it, I guarantee that you will die on the Underworld River today."
Lin Xun's expression was calm, and his eyes brimmed with a deep and cold darkness.
The fact that Xue Baoji was a person of extreme beauty with high status didn’t make it the least bit difficult for him.
After all, he had never been the type to go easy on someone from the fairer sex.
The atmosphere on the boat turned stiflingly silent as everyone prepared themselves.
They knew that no one would be spared once a battle broke out. At the same time, all of them felt a trace of dissatisfaction toward Lin Xun.
Wasn’t he showing complete disregard for them by fearlessly doing whatever he pleased and creating conflict despite knowing they were all on the same boat?
The look in their eyes changed when they looked at Lin Xun again.
To their surprise, however, Xue Baoji's expression fluctuated for a long time before she ultimately caved in and squeezed the words out from between her teeth, ''I apologize. I shouldn't have been so rude. I hope that Dao Friend can forgive me."
Everyone could hear that there was no sincerity in her voice, only hatred.
However, it was still an apology!
This proved that even Xue Baoji did not wish to antagonize Lin Xun at this juncture no matter how much she hated it.
"I hope there won’t be a next time."
Lin Xun withdrew his gaze and returned to the stern of the ship, paying no further attention to any of them.
However, the atmosphere had already begun to change and everyone was feeling a mix of wariness and dislike toward Lin Xun.
From start to end, the skeleton boatman ignored everything as it steered the boat through the blood-colored Underworld River with its white bone oar.
A dim oil lamp swayed at the head of the boat, sprinkling dusky light.
The Underworld River continued to churn incessantly.
The shore gradually faded from sight as blood-colored clouds drifted in the sky above.
A blood-colored altar rose into the nine heavens, appearing mysterious amidst the clouds.
The Divine Underworld Altar!
It was rumored that a heaven-defying blessing had been sealed and hidden within it for thousands of years!
Everyone displayed varying expressions as they peered at it from afar.
When they finally arrived on the opposite shore, Dongyang Ting disembarked first, followed by Xue Baoji, and then Tuoba Hun...
"Dao Friend, please go ahead!"
The thin man and the purple-robed woman hurriedly said as they stepped aside, allowing Lin Xun to go first.
Lin Xun glanced at the two and did not reject.
However, the situation immediately changed the moment he stepped off the boat!
Dongyang Ting, Xue Baoji, and Tuoba Hun simultaneously struck from different positions. From their immaculate timing, the attack was clearly planned!
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