Chapter 1: The Haunted Forest of Demons (Part 1)

  The master of the square meter transformed into an ancient and mysterious bronze gate standing in front of the two.

  Ding Lingxiu took out the key to the underworld, still a little hesitant, after all, inserting such a key into someone's body. From a feeling point of view, it was still a bit strange.

  He gently inserted the key into the lock, a bit worried that he might hurt Master Fang.

  The bronze key slowly sank into the lock hole of the black cave, Ding Lingxiu gently twisted the key, and a series of stone mechanism clicking sounds came.

  Immediately afterwards, an even more powerful evil energy poured out from the slightly opened door gap. When it was fully open, the surroundings became extremely dark and terrifying, with a dreadful spiritual pressure enveloping the entire hall.

  The door creaked open, and inside was a profound and distant darkness that was difficult to describe. It seemed to have a texture, as if it were moving, like a large cluster of black cotton.

  Ding Lingshu and Zhang Shanyi stared blankly at the open gate of the underworld, a low, cold voice came from inside the door:

  "Hurry up and come in, this door can only hold for two minutes."

  Although this voice sounds like Master Fangzhang, the tone and intonation are completely different.

  Ding Lingxiu no longer hesitated, and stepped inside. The surroundings fell silent. This silence was suffocating, as if trapped in a nightmare, every move restricted by the thick darkness.

  Zhang Shanyi also followed, and just as he fully entered this darkness, the gates of the underworld closed completely. This time they couldn't even tell which direction to go in, every step seemed to be still on the spot, stagnant and unable to move forward.

  "Ding brother, it's so dark here, which direction should we head in?" Zhang Shanyi asked.

  Ding Lingxiu shook his head and didn't answer, but instead pulled out a cigarette from his pocket.

  But he didn't realize that in such darkness, how could Zhang Shanyi see him shaking his head?

  "Bang!"

  The lighter clicked shut, emitting a crisp sound that seemed somewhat jarring and earsplitting in this extremely quiet space.

  But contrary to Ding Lingxiu's expectations, the lighter did not react at all. Although he could still hear the hissing sound coming from inside, there was no light visible. Then, no matter how many times he lit the lighter, he only saw a spark flash and the flame went out instantly. It seemed that this dead silence of darkness would not allow any light to appear.

  Is smoking also prohibited in the underworld? Ding Ling's words were amusing, but he shook his head and said:

  "It's really strange, there is no wind here and it's not humid either, yet the lighter can't be lit."

  Zhang Shanyi looked around and found himself in a dizzying darkness, where there was nothing, not even a sound.

  Even if the two people keep walking forward, it's like treading on a sandy beach, without feeling any footsteps, not even the soft rustling sound of the sand, as if they were floating in mid-air.

  "Brother Ding, does your flashlight still have power?"

  Ding Lingxiu replied in a low voice:

  "I put one flashlight in the cave of that monster, and the other one is out of battery."

  Zhang Shanyi pursed his lips, feeling a sense of unease in his heart. This strange feeling was not like fear, but more like an inexplicable sense of unfamiliarity.

  He sighed and said:

  "I had originally put a few candles in my backpack to bring to Master Fangzhong, but now it seems they won't be needed after all."

  Ding Lingxiu looked around and tried to recall everything her father had mentioned about the underworld before his death, but she couldn't remember anything about this endless darkness.

  Why didn't Father mention it? Did he forget? But that's impossible, such an important thing, he experiences it every time he comes to the land office, how could he forget?

  Endless darkness, inexplicable extinguishing of fire, and footsteps with no sound.

  All of this is too unbelievable. Although Ding Lingxiu had never been to the underworld, he imagined that the underworld should be similar to the ancient human world, with many buildings like the Forbidden City, and then there were lonely souls and ghosts everywhere, as well as the yin messengers of the underworld.

  Not to mention ghosts, he can't even see Zhang Shanyi who is right next to him.

  "Ding brother, didn't your father tell you about the darkness before entering the underworld?" Zhang Shanyi asked.

  "Of course not, Father left in a hurry, it's impossible to be thorough." Ding Lingxiu said in a low voice.

  He lowered his voice because he found that although this was a boundless and fathomless darkness, the entire dark space didn't seem to be very large. In other words, it was like being in a small room. Every sentence would have an echo.

  "Huh? There seems to be a problem here." Ding Lingxiu furrowed his brow and said.

  "Of course there's a problem, it's not just that your lighter can't ignite, I tried to summon the Extreme Day Symbol earlier, but it only flashed for a moment before extinguishing." Zhang Shanyi was also full of doubts.

  But Ding Ling shook his head and said:

  "I didn't mean it that way, haven't you noticed, we've been walking for so long, but it seems like we're not moving at all?"

  Zhang Shanyi was taken aback, and Ding Lingxiu said so. At first, he didn't understand what it meant, but after a few seconds, he suddenly realized and exclaimed in surprise.

  It turned out that Ding Lingxiao and Zhang Shanyi, because they had cultivated their spiritual energy, felt relatively keenly. Even in such a dark situation, they could completely judge each other's actions based on intuition alone. However, the two of them, Ding Lingxiao kept moving forward, while Zhang Shanyi walked and stopped almost as if he was standing still.

  But somehow, through the sound of their voices, they felt as if they were still maintaining the same distance from each other as when they first started, which was simply unbelievable.

  The surroundings were still shrouded in a thick, dark mist that was impenetrable and suffocating. Zhang Shanyi's inner elixir had dropped to the second stage, and at this moment, he no longer had the same strong willpower and composure as before. Facing this extremely eerie atmosphere and darkness, he couldn't help but feel a little tense, and exclaimed in shock:

  "Brother Ding, what's going on? We're actually stuck in place."

  Ding Lingxiu's cigarette wasn't lit, but he still habitually put it in his mouth. He bit the filter and fell into deep thought, starting to sift through the various threads of this matter:

  His father had never mentioned the darkness before entering the underworld, and it was impossible that his father would have overlooked this. So if it wasn't an oversight, what other reason could there be? Although Ding Ling didn't know the reason, he suspected that it must be the difference between him and his father that allowed Ding Lin to walk out of the darkness and proceed smoothly to the underworld. But why couldn't Ding Ling do the same? What was this difference?

  Ding Lingxiu thought hard, but couldn't think of any significant differences between himself and his father except for their age and physical appearance.

  It's better to think in a quiet environment, but this place is far beyond quiet, it's desolate, making people feel uneasy.

  Just as Ding Lingxiu was at a loss for what to do, he suddenly realized something - what was the biggest difference between him and his father?

  Good heavens! That's experience for you. Although I've successfully subdued several demons, this is my first time coming to the Underworld. The difference lies in experience. Since Ding Ling's father relied on his experience to come here and didn't tell Ding Ling about it, that means...

  Just as Ding Lingxiu fell into deep thought, Zhang Shanyi suddenly became clear-headed. He said in a low voice:

  "Never mind, Brother Ding. Since we can't do anything about it even if we walk blindly, why don't we sit down and rest for a while? I see you haven't had a good rest yet. Anyway, no one is chasing to kill you now, so let's take a nap first."

  Ding Lingxiu listened and burst out laughing, excitedly responding:

  "That's right, this is the way out."

  "What?" Zhang Shanyi was stunned, thinking that Ding Lingxiu had gone crazy.

  Ding Lingxiu lay on the ground and said in a calm tone:

  "Since we can't get out of here, and neither my father nor the master has ever mentioned this matter, it means that there is no need to leave at all. We are just inexperienced because it's our first time coming here, so we feel anxious and uneasy. Now we are likely in a moving space, and this space is heading towards the underworld."

  Zhang Shanyi suddenly understood Ding Lingxiu's meaning, it turned out that from the beginning, they had entered a vicious circle of inertial thinking, and this endless dark space was not a passage, but a moving space similar to an elevator.