Chapter Eleven: The Covenant of Hearts (Part One)

As Hu Hai approached, he realized with disappointment that the person coming toward him was not Shi Jun, but a young man clad in a yellow robe. He hesitated, unsure whether to greet the stranger, when the young man strode directly over, looked Hu Hai up and down in surprise, and suddenly exclaimed, “Hey, aren’t you the kid who was hiding inside the glowing sphere in the Nether River? How did you end up here?”

It was none other than Motuo.

Back in the Nether River, Motuo had been battered by the relentless assault of the Nether Yin Currents and Blue Spirits, utterly unable to fight back. Just as he was desperately praying for deliverance, he saw Shi Jun break free from Hu Hai’s grasp and leave the protective sphere on his own, which stunned Motuo— even he, inexperienced as he was, knew that leaving the sphere in such a situation could only lead to one result: death.

But at that moment, he had his own troubles and no mind for others’ affairs. Seizing the opportunity as Shi Jun drew most of the attacks away, Motuo manipulated the Stolen Heaven Cocoon to escape toward the outskirts of the Nether River. Unfortunately, his plan failed. Though most of the Blue Spirits followed Shi Jun, the Nether Yin Currents showed no intention of letting this “intruder” go. In no time, Motuo and the Stolen Heaven Cocoon were swept up by a massive current.

One misfortune followed another. Countless layers of the Nether Yin Currents enveloped him, and the Stolen Heaven Cocoon was like a lone skiff on a raging sea, struggling desperately amidst the chaos. Any other skilled denizen of the Demon Realm would, in such circumstances, have used their magic to reinforce the cocoon’s protections. But Motuo, more accustomed to mischief than cultivation, had only seen his power surge by a stroke of luck and had no combat experience. Faced with this emergency, he was at a total loss, forced to watch helplessly as the cocoon was squeezed tighter and tighter, leaving him gasping for air.

Yet fortune favored him. Just as the cocoon was about to be crushed under the pressure, all at once, without warning, every Nether Yin Current and Blue Spirit inexplicably ceased their attack.

Motuo, bleeding from every orifice and certain his fate was sealed, suddenly felt the pressure lift. He scrambled up to survey the situation and was overjoyed to find that the battered Stolen Heaven Cocoon had finally reached the end of the Nether River. The Netherworld was within sight. Without hesitation, he guided the cocoon on its last, wobbly charge out of that nightmarish place.

The moment Motuo left the Nether River and reached the Netherworld, the Stolen Heaven Cocoon finally gave out and disintegrated into dust.

At this point, Motuo had no time to mourn the destruction of his master’s treasure. Still dizzy from his ordeal, he abruptly lost the cocoon’s protection and fell headfirst to the ground, completely unbalanced.

Who knows how long it was before he managed to steady himself. Apart from lingering dizziness, he seemed otherwise unharmed. He began aimlessly wandering, searching for the Nether River Ice Crystal.

But Motuo was hopelessly clueless—he had no idea what the ice crystal looked like, where it could be found, or even where he was himself. He didn’t know that those from the Demon Realm needed to keep a low profile in the Netherworld, and so he wandered about openly and carelessly. Fortunately, he encountered no Netherworld guards along the way and, by sheer chance, ran into the equally reckless Hu Hai.

* * *

“You’ve seen me before?” Hu Hai was baffled by Motuo’s exclamation—he’d been unconscious when the Stolen Heaven Cocoon appeared in the Nether River and had never seen Motuo.

“Yes!” Motuo replied, though he didn’t actually know Hu Hai. He was naturally sociable, and having suffered alongside Hu Hai in the Nether River, he felt a certain camaraderie. “I arrived around the same time as you. Didn’t we just meet in the river? Don’t you remember?”

Hu Hai shook his head, then asked, “Did you see my friend? The one who came here with me?”

“Him?” Motuo shrugged. “No idea. I only saw him leave the glowing sphere. As for where he went, I couldn’t say.” He’d wanted to tell Hu Hai that Shi Jun was likely doomed, but remembering how he’d taken advantage of Shi Jun’s distraction to escape, he decided to play dumb.

“Hey, do you know where we are?” Hu Hai was worried about his friend, but being an incurable optimist, he figured that since Shi Jun was an official in the Netherworld, nothing too serious could happen to him here, so he let the matter drop.

“Don’t call me ‘kid,’” Motuo protested. “Hey, I’m a demon, you know! Don’t call me ‘kid’!” Seeing Hu Hai looking so full of energy, he couldn’t help but ask, “Weren’t you both in pretty bad shape just now? How come you look perfectly fine now? Who are you in the Netherworld?”

“Oh, right!” Hu Hai realized that, after his mad dash, he wasn’t even out of breath—he actually felt invigorated, as if he had endless energy. It struck him as odd, and he answered absentmindedly, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t even know who you are?” Motuo was bewildered.

“Ahem, I mean… never mind, it’s complicated. Let’s just say I’m a friend of the Underworld Inspector. I’m here sightseeing. What about you? Didn’t you say you’re some kind of demon?”

Motuo didn’t understand what “sightseeing” meant, and though the term “Underworld Inspector” sounded familiar, he couldn’t quite place it. Still, he was glad to meet someone who was friendly, harmless, and not entirely unpleasant, so he began to boast extravagantly, describing himself as an unmatched genius of the Demon Realm’s new generation, here in the Netherworld to seek the Nether River Ice Crystal and survive his tribulation.

“The Nether River Ice Crystal, tribulation…” These were all new terms to Hu Hai. He hadn’t realized there were so many intriguing places besides the Netherworld—immortal, demon, and monster realms! He listened with excitement, his worries about Shi Jun temporarily forgotten.

And so, the two struck up an instant friendship, chatting animatedly as they walked along.

* * *

In the whirlwind of Nether Yin Currents and Blue Spirits, Shi Jun let go of the life-saving Netherworld token and left the protective sphere, exposing himself to the raging torrents of the Nether River. He understood that if he stayed within the sphere, both he and Hu Hai would die. Since he had been the one to bring Hu Hai here, Shi Jun clung to a desperate hope that by leaving, the sphere might protect Hu Hai.

With no other option, he made the decision to sacrifice himself.

His fate should have been the same as Hu Hai’s camera, crushed to dust by the overwhelming force. Flesh and blood alone could not survive such destruction. The moment he let go, Shi Jun closed his eyes and braced himself for the end, feeling his body grow light and numb, barely aware of anything except the rapid, powerful beating of his heart…

The Blue Spirits, seeing someone emerge from the sphere, abandoned their attack on it and swarmed after Shi Jun as he fell, binding him in countless blue threads until he resembled a mummy freshly unearthed from an Egyptian tomb.

Soon, the largest Blue Spirit among the swirling Nether Yin Currents transformed into an oval-shaped spindle, and billions of Blue Spirits became threads that wrapped themselves around it. In the blink of an eye, they merged into a gigantic jellyfish-like monster, whose myriad tendrils whipped through the air, all converging on Shi Jun.

The Nether Yin Currents circled hungrily, forming vortices of all sizes that roiled and surged in readiness.

By then, Shi Jun had lost all consciousness, his eyes closed, body limp, completely unaware as the Blue Spirits’ tentacles wrapped him tighter, seemingly about to feed him to the gaping maw that opened slowly before him.

At the brink of death, Shi Jun’s inner power awakened once more.

Even in his unconsciousness, his body suddenly arched, something at his heart straining to burst free. With a violent surge, a dazzling white light erupted from his chest, instantly forming a sphere of light that enveloped him and incinerated the Blue Spirit threads binding him.

The massive, fused Blue Spirit immediately changed shape, becoming a bottomless, cocoon-like mass with a yawning black mouth. It unleashed a tremendous suction, trying to engulf Shi Jun in one swift motion.