Chapter 260: The World of the Undead
The dark purple portal swirled like a vortex, pulling both of them inside in an instant.
Dai Yao came to with a groggy, hazy feeling clouding his mind. He rubbed his temples, trying to shake off the muddled sensation. As his senses returned, he looked around warily, and his eyes widened. This was his own room, yet an eerie black fog covered his vision, filling the air with a sense of desolation, decay, and overwhelming despair.
He blinked, but the scene remained the same, pressing down on his heart with a foreboding heaviness. Glancing to his side, he noticed Lei Prison Vine, still in her human form, lying unconscious. Gently, he lifted her up, carefully checking his surroundings as he shook her shoulder.
"Lei Prison Vine, wake up!"
The purple-clad woman stirred, slowly opening her eyes to see Dai Yao's face. She scanned the familiar-yet-strange room, quickly realizing that something was wrong. Frowning, she asked, "Where are we?"
"I was hoping you'd know," Dai Yao replied, still on edge. "That vortex swallowed us up, and now we're here."
Just then, Lei Prison Vine's expression changed drastically. She stared at her hands in disbelief, her voice trembling. "My spirit power… it's gone!"
"Quiet!" Dai Yao hissed, his voice low. They were in completely unfamiliar territory, and if he'd learned anything in the palace, it was that staying hidden was the safest choice.
He took a moment to examine his own body and was shocked to discover that his spirit power felt as though it were locked away. Only a sliver of his usual strength was accessible, barely enough to rival a spirit apprentice's power. Even his four spirit rings had turned gray, rendering all his spirit abilities useless.
Despite this unsettling discovery, he kept his calm. Sensing Lei Prison Vine's gaze, he replied quietly, "I still have some spirit power, but it's barely anything—practically useless."
Lei Prison Vine was momentarily stunned by his stern tone. As a descendant of the Thunder God's bloodline, she'd never been reprimanded, and for a moment, she felt a strange sense of unfamiliar humility. But her mind quickly returned to the mystery of their missing powers, searching her memories for clues.
A few moments later, she watched as Dai Yao crouched down, cautiously peeking out the window. An idea seemed to strike her, and her eyes widened in horror. "Dai Yao, I think we're in serious trouble."
Peering down from the window, Dai Yao took in the familiar street below. His heart dropped as he saw figures stumbling through the gray fog—a street full of rotting, decaying creatures, each skin deathly pale and bodies covered in ghastly wounds. Every few steps, one would let out a ghastly moan.
Lowering his head from the window, he looked at Lei Prison Vine's grave expression. "What is it?"
She took a deep breath, visibly struggling to suppress her shock. After a few moments, she replied, "According to the memories I inherited, we've likely been dragged into a god's trial realm. When a god's chosen inheritor begins their divine trial, those nearby may sometimes be drawn into it. I think your Chaos Lotus activated just as a god was initiating a trial, pulling us inside."
"Because of this, our spirit powers are locked. The Lotus has protected you enough to keep a small fraction of your power," she continued, her tone darkening. "Given the malevolent energy here, it's clear this god isn't benevolent. If we're discovered, we won't survive."
Dai Yao's heart sank, but her explanation confirmed his suspicion. From his knowledge of the story, he knew only two people capable of triggering a divine trial at this time: Tang Chen and Bibi Dong. Tang Chen was far away in the Slaughter City, making Bibi Dong the likely candidate. And if so, then this realm belonged to the Rakshasa God, the sworn enemy of the Asura God—a deity of darkness and corruption.
The decaying corpses wandering the streets matched the undead army Bibi Dong had summoned in the story's climactic battle. He wondered if it was premature for Bibi Dong to start her inheritance at this point, but the text had implied she'd spent many years modifying her training to prepare for the trial.
Given her double spirit inheritance, her journey to godhood was always destined to be arduous. In contrast, Tang San's journey as the Sea God only took a fraction of the time. The lengthy preparation time had led some fans to speculate that perhaps the Rakshasa God was no longer even alive, which would explain Bibi Dong's difficulties with her godhood.
The Lotus' sudden activation now confirmed his suspicions: the Rakshasa God, much like the Ice God and Thunder God before, was indeed dead, and his Chaos Lotus had safely drawn him into this realm.
He reached out to his Chaos Lotus and felt an immediate response, confirming that he could leave the trial at any time, which put his mind at ease. Peeking through the window again at the shambling undead below, he felt a thrill of excitement. Since this was a divine trial, there had to be some reward, however modest. If he could safely explore, why not take a few risks?
"We can leave anytime we want, so let's explore and see what we can find."
Dai Yao's calm voice seemed to lift Lei Prison Vine's spirits. She, too, quickly recognized the opportunity to search for a few rare relics. Gathering his minimal spirit power, Dai Yao drew two daggers from his Hundred Treasure Pouch—simple weapons he'd once kept on hand in the Star Luo Empire for self-defense but had long since stopped using.
He then pulled out two black robes and handed one of the daggers to Lei Prison Vine, who looked on in puzzlement. Dai Yao slipped into the black robe, then donned the mask he'd used during his training in the Great Arena in Heaven Dou City. He handed her Zhu Zhuqing's old mask, which she had once left with him for safekeeping.
Through the narrow eye slits, he looked at her curiously and said,
"The dagger is for self-defense, and the mask and cloak will help us stay concealed. We're intruders in this godly trial—if the real participant finds us, we're finished."
The woman in purple held the cloak and mask with a look of distaste. Frowning, she scoffed, "I am a descendant of the gods. I act openly, not with stealth and deception!"
Dai Yao was momentarily stunned by Lei Prison Vine's prideful stubbornness, but then his gaze hardened. He fixed her with a fierce stare, his tone sharp. "If you refuse to wear it, then stay in my spiritual world and keep out of my way. Don't bother me if you don't want a part of this trial's rewards!"
Although he was only helping her because she had warned him earlier, her naivety was testing his patience. Lei Prison Vine trembled at his severe tone. Irritated that he would dare speak to her this way, she felt an unexpected and strange emotion, yet she gritted her teeth and donned the cloak and mask without another word.
Watching her, Dai Yao let out a quiet scoff and cautiously opened the door. As soon as he stepped into the corridor, he realized something startling: his connection to the Chaos Lotus had disappeared.
Pulling his foot back inside, he felt the link reestablish. It was clear now that this room was some kind of safe zone.
"Is something wrong?" Lei Prison Vine's voice was tinged with suspicion.
"Nothing," Dai Yao replied. "But it seems that if you want to return to my spiritual world, you'll have to do it from here."
In this world of lurking danger, where he and Lei Prison Vine were nearly powerless, clear communication and trust were crucial. Misalignment could put them in even graver peril.
"So, are you still coming with me?" Dai Yao asked, casting a glance her way.
She scoffed, gripping her dagger. "Of course. If there's a reward, I won't let you take it all."
Behind his mask, Dai Yao smiled. In this desolate world, an ally who understood the situation would be invaluable.
He opened the door again, with Lei Prison Vine following. The two crept quietly down the corridor toward the stairs. As they rounded a corner, they suddenly came face to face with a zombie, its skin rotten and eyes blank with hunger.
Without hesitation, Dai Yao gripped his dagger, launched himself forward, and with a single step against the wall for leverage, twisted in midair. His dagger found its mark, slicing cleanly through the creature's neck. With a sickening squelch, the head separated from the body.
Though most of his spirit power was sealed, his training in combat techniques had not left him. These slower zombies posed little threat, and he reserved his remaining spirit power as a last line of defense.
More shrieks echoed from down the hall as more zombies shuffled toward them. Just as Dai Yao was preparing to strike, Lei Prison Vine darted forward, her dagger flashing. Moving with the fluid grace of a warrior, she stabbed the zombie multiple times, yet the creature didn't fall.
"What are you doing? Aim for the head!" Dai Yao called out, noticing that the zombie he had decapitated lay still.
Spurred on by his words, she dodged another clumsy strike from the zombie, then drove her blade cleanly through its neck, ending its movement.
Suddenly, the sounds of approaching zombies grew louder as the creatures downstairs were drawn to the noise. Dai Yao grabbed the head of the zombie he had killed and shouted, "Back to the room, now!"
Lei Prison Vine hesitated at his strange action but followed his lead. Once inside, they shut the door, and the noise outside gradually faded as the creatures lost interest.
Back in the relative safety of the room, Lei Prison Vine regarded Dai Yao with a puzzled expression. "You seem to know a lot. How did you figure out their weakness so quickly?"
Dai Yao smirked, examining the severed zombie head with an eager glint in his eye. "If I'm right, these zombies might just hold the key to this trial's rewards."
Before she could question him further, he drove his blade into the zombie's skull and extracted a small, red crystalline shard, ignoring the filth. In his previous life, he'd read many apocalyptic stories where zombies could be killed only by severing the head, often leaving energy crystals behind that allowed survivors to grow stronger.
As he held the crystal, he felt the latent energy within it. This trial seemed akin to the Sea God's "Trial of the Sea God's Light," designed to increase the power of the inheritor. Perhaps this was how Bibi Dong had attained her strength.
In the tournament, she had been forced to retreat from a single blow by Tang Hao, implying she hadn't yet reached her full power. According to his knowledge, Tang Hao had reached level 95 despite neglecting his training. By the time Tang San returned from Sea God Island, Bibi Dong had yet to gather all the spirit rings for her second spirit.
It all added up: her struggles to fully power her twin spirits, her later overwhelming force at the end of the story—these weren't achieved through sheer willpower alone. Instead, they were fueled by this world of the undead, allowing her to surpass the limits of her spirit rank.
Gripping the crimson crystal tightly, Dai Yao smirked. This trial realm was a chance he couldn't pass up.
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