Chapter 151 — Purgatory

Ming Li nodded slowly, taking it as agreement. The Underworld King looked once more at his daughter, and after a moment he let out a sigh, turned, and walked out.

Just as he was about to reach the door, Ming Li's voice suddenly came from behind him: "Sect Master..."

The Underworld King paused, somewhat surprised. Ming Li rarely spoke to him of his own accord; this sudden address left him wondering what it was about. "What is it?"

Ming Li was silent a moment, then suddenly said, "Do you hate me in your heart?"

The Underworld King stood with his back to him, motionless, saying nothing, his expression hidden.

Ming Li said slowly, "Bi Li became like this because of me. In your heart, do you not hate me bitterly?"

His face was blank, as though he were speaking of something that had nothing to do with himself, but the Underworld King did not speak. In the stone chamber the two men stood back to back, and the air between them seemed to stiffen.

Thin wisps of cold mist rose gently from the Cold Ice Stone Platform beneath Bi Li and drifted into the air. How long passed, none could say, when the sound of the stone door sliding open came from behind; the Underworld King said nothing, and quietly walked out.

"Rumble!..." With a low, deep sound, the stone door closed once more, and in the Cold Ice Stone Chamber only Ming Li remained, keeping watch at Bi Li's side. His face was wooden, and he stared blankly at the woman before him.

In the ancient, dense primeval forest, a foul, scorched stench came drifting on the wind. Like ugly scars, the marks of the beast demons' havoc lay everywhere across the once-green woods: giant trees fallen this way and that upon the ground, the bones of countless forest creatures strewn everywhere, and the peaceful air of the whole forest utterly gone.

On the second day after finding that maddened Demonic Cult disciple, Xiao Yichen, Fa Cheng, and their party of seven orthodox disciples followed the ever more obvious traces of the beast demons and gradually drew near the valley hidden deep in the mountains. The forests along the way showed everywhere the same sight they had just seen. Though they came upon no human bones, the spectacle was still enough to make the heart quail.

In many hearts the same thought rose unbidden: could these beast demons truly have been born into this world for no purpose but to kill?

At midday on this day, the party appeared upon the broken old road outside Viper Valley. The marks of ravaging by the beast demons and their monsters were so plain here that the group scarcely had to exert themselves to see them. That old road had been trampled by countless beasts and monsters until it had been widened several times over. Everywhere were the huge footprints and sharp claw marks the creatures had left, and a rank stench still hung in the air. Beyond that there seemed another odor, fainter yet more unendurable still, though no one could tell what it was.

Looking toward the valley mouth ahead, they saw the same ruin within as without; the land and forest ravaged by that dreadful flood were plainly visible. The old road curved and wound onward, and no one knew what still awaited them inside that valley.

For some reason, everyone's expression was tense, and an awkward silence fell. At last Xiao Yichen coughed, but after making the sound he quietly discovered that his throat was dry to the point of pain. He steadied himself and said, "Everyone, it seems that Demonic Cult disciple was not lying. This must be the place where the beast demons and the Demonic Cult fought their great battle."

He looked around, hesitated a moment, then asked, "Shall we go in and take a look?"

No one spoke. Even Li Xun's face looked very grim now. After a moment, Fa Cheng, who stood beside Xiao Yichen, softly chanted a Buddha's name and said, "Since we have come this far, there is no use in speaking of turning back. Let us go in."

In truth, everyone present understood this well enough; it was only that, for some unknown reason, something eerie in that valley seemed to work quietly upon each person's spirit and fill them with dread. Fa Jing, the junior brother who had followed Fa Cheng all along, answered in a muffled voice and stepped to his senior brother's side.

"Let's go," said Lin Jinghong—not Xiao Yichen. He gripped the Slaying Dragon Sword tighter in his hand, his face grave, and was the first to stride into Viper Valley. Lu Xueling followed behind him, and Li Xun came after. Xiao Yichen and Fa Cheng exchanged a glance, each seeing the faint worry in the other's eyes, but after a moment the whole party went in.

The valley was vast, its forest stretching out of sight. As the party walked through Viper Valley, all around them was a dead stillness. Not a creature did they see; even the usual birdsong was absent. The land around this valley seemed to have become a lifeless realm of ghosts.

The rank stench of the beast demons and their monsters hung as heavy as ever, but as the party pressed deeper, every brow drew tighter and tighter. Now another breath came on the valley wind—a dreadful stench that made one want to retch at a single whiff—and it too grew stronger and stronger.

The mountain path twisted and turned, and the party advanced slowly, every sense fixed on the watch around them. Ahead lay a bend, a hollow in the hillside, and by the time they reached it the stench in the air had grown too foul to bear. Suddenly Yan Fei, walking in the middle of the group, rushed to the roadside. The others were badly startled, and Li Xun cried, "Shimei, what's wrong—" He broke off halfway, for he and the others all saw Yan Fei standing in the roadside weeds, vomiting with all her might.

No one laughed at her, for no one knew how much longer they themselves could hold out. The valley had not yet shown its true face, yet already it seemed more terrible than almost any place on earth. Yan Fei stopped, gasping, her face ashen, and walked back to the others. In a low voice she said, "I'm sorry, I—I really couldn't..."

Fa Cheng managed a smile. "Yan-shimei, it's all right."

Xiao Yichen said as well, "Indeed. No one can stand this stench. Think nothing of it. If you can't go on, perhaps wait for us outside the valley."

Yan Fei hesitated, then shook her head. "Let's go."

Li Xun came over and nodded to Yan Fei, comfort in his eyes. In a low voice he said, "Be careful, and don't push yourself too hard."

Yan Fei nodded in assent. Xiao Yichen turned and said, "Good. Let us go on. We don't know what monsters or dangers lie ahead, so everyone must be careful."

The others nodded one after another and set off again. Lin Jinghong still walked at the front, and as the bend in the hollow drew nearer and nearer, cold sweat began to seep into the palm that gripped the Slaying Dragon Sword. By now the stench in the air was so foul it was hard to breathe. Lin Jinghong's face had gone slightly pale; he set his jaw, sprang forward in a single stride, rounded the bend, and saw what lay within the valley.

In an instant his whole body went rigid.

The others behind him at once noticed Lin Jinghong's strange state and could not help growing tense. Xiao Yichen called his name twice in a low voice, but he made no response at all; his eyes were fixed, staring straight ahead. Lu Xueling went up next, and then Li Xun, Yan Fei, Xiao Yichen, Fa Cheng, and Fa Jing, one after another, rounded the bend and saw the sight within Viper Valley.

And then every one of them stood frozen.

This must be that legendary Asura hell of misery—so frightful a scene, revealed stark beneath a clear blue sky in broad day. Countless skeletons lay within and without the houses of Viper Valley: human bones, and bones of every kind of beast and monster. Some were whole, but more were shattered limbs and torn trunks, split apart beyond recognition, packed so densely across the ground that scarcely a patch of empty earth could be seen.