Only I Walk Alone

To avoid the Underworld’s gates being closed during the day, Wu Ge specifically waited until midnight, on a night of a full moon. The moon in the sky was exceptionally bright, altered by Xiao Chao’s constructions on its surface, making it look different from how it was two hundred years ago.

As Wu Ge prepared to descend, he saw a lonely white shadow under the moonlight. The shadow walked alone, and regardless of whether Wu Ge approached or distanced himself, the shadow remained the same size, defying the principle of perspective as if it existed in a fourth dimension.

Wu Ge watched the white shadow for a long time until it slowly disappeared. Puzzled, he paused momentarily before entering the elevator.

Surrounded by countless robots, Xiao Chao spoke, “The sounds heard by the werewolves occurred at 11,444 meters deep, and the elevator was built to reach just this depth.”

Wu Ge nodded, “Understood.”

He knew how to breach the barrier. Taking out a talisman and writing a spell on it with his blood, Wu Ge began chanting softly.

His spiritual power gradually emanated and concentrated on the talisman, which started to glow—a glow only visible to Wu Ge. To Xiao Chao, the talisman remained unchanged.

The elevator rapidly descended, and after about thirty minutes, they arrived at the depth of 11,444 meters. As the elevator door opened, a hot cave appeared before them. The temperature was extremely high, and the talisman in Wu Ge’s hand immediately ignited upon exposure.

Wu Ge protected himself with his spiritual power against the intense heat, which could instantly ignite an ordinary person without protective gear.

Stepping out of the elevator, the talisman had turned to ash, but a golden spell symbol still hovered in the air and flew into a wall emitting intense heat.

“Did you see that?” Wu Ge asked.

Xiao Chao replied, “I see nothing, my current technology cannot detect such entities.”

Wu Ge nodded, “I see a gate right in front of me, but my physical body might not be able to pass through it.”

He pointed at a wall of red-hot rocks, seemingly heated by the underground temperature.

Wu Ge seemed to plan to enter the Underworld through spiritual projection. Returning to the elevator, he sat down cross-legged. His body, tempered by years of spiritual cultivation, was naturally resistant to the high temperature. Closing the elevator door insulated it from the heat.

Wu Ge declared, “Guard my body. I’ll enter the Underworld through spiritual projection.”

Xiao Chao asked, “What about the pumpkins?”

Wu Ge paused, indeed, what about the pumpkins?

After some thought, he said, “Throw them out, burn them!”

The pumpkins, stored in protective cases, would dehydrate and turn into black ash under the extreme heat once removed from their protection.

Following Wu Ge’s command, robots threw the pumpkins out of the elevator, where they immediately began to char, emitting an unpleasant burnt smell.

The elevator door closed, and Wu Ge closed his eyes. His spirit left his body and passed through the elevator door, where he saw the ashes of the pumpkins.

He mused, “It seems this method won’t work to bring pumpkins to the Underworld.”

Shaking his head, Wu Ge flew forward, passing through one thick wall after another, until he saw a majestic giant iron gate adorned with a Buddha at the top, followed by ten Yama Kings, and below were countless suffering souls, with little demons whipping them.

As Wu Ge approached, the gate slightly opened, and he slipped through the crack.

Wu Ge had entered the Underworld.

First, there was a blinding light, then his body felt heavy as he landed, feeling as though he had acquired a new physical form.

“Transformation between the spiritual and the physical?” Wu Ge was astonished.

This was a rule the Fox Immortal had told him about. She mentioned that small worlds, including their flora, fauna, and soil, were brought from Earth, relying on Earth to exist, with rules identical to the real world.

But in some major worlds, it is not like this. These worlds also have sun, moon, stars, soil, flowers, and trees formed naturally, while the rules are different from the real world. For example, the flow of time is different, such as the world being spherical with a flat earth, the earth being stationary, and the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, etc.

Wu Ge was not overly panicked, as his mental strength cultivation was still present, making no difference here from the real world.

He observed his surroundings and found himself in an utterly desolate place, with nothing around him, only a desert as far as the eye could see.

Desolate and barren, this was the first impression the Underworld gave Wu Ge.

He started to walk forward, seeing many bare mountains, numerous ravines, and several dried-up riverbeds.

There was nothing, no Ox-headed Horse-faced Guardians, no little ghosts, and certainly no human souls.

Wu Ge turned around and then saw the giant gate standing between heaven and earth. The gate just stood there, looking nothing special, but it separated life from death.

Wu Ge continued forward, not knowing how long he had walked because he didn’t feel hungry, and the red sun in the sky always shone on the earth as if time had stopped.

Walking, Wu Ge suddenly heard a “rumbling” sound in this silent place where time seemed to have stopped, guiding Wu Ge in the direction of the sound, and he immediately rushed towards it.

Then, Wu Ge saw a range of volcanoes, countless volcanoes erupting with lava, flowing down from the mountains.

Wu Ge knew he had found the right direction, rushing over and then seeing a path of magma, with black stones floating on this road, stepping on these stones should allow one to advance.

Wu Ge strode forward, stepping on the floating stones and advancing. Along the way, Wu Ge saw dilapidated man-made structures, which uplifted his spirits, thinking he had finally found the right direction.

But not long after, Wu Ge suddenly saw an immensely huge but equally dilapidated palace. The palace had turned into ruins, with only two broken walls and a few fractured stone pillars visible.

Upon seeing this ruined palace, Wu Ge suddenly realized what had happened to the Underworld.

“So that’s it, so that’s it, how could I not have thought of it? I should have thought of it earlier! The Underworld… is empty!”