Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 504 Ice and Fire

"It's useless!" Soul-Spinning didn't dodge or flinch, catching the flames with one hand. "This is fire I set, it won't burn me!"

"Who says that what you see as fire is fire?" Ren Yuan sneered and snapped his fingers!
The blazing flames instantly transformed into heavenly thunder and fire, crashing down upon the Soul-Spinning Body!

Five Elements Transformation!

Completely unprepared, the act of catching the flames with one hand turned into reaching out to attract lightning.

The crimson lightning bolt struck him squarely! With a scream, Soul-Spinning's body was shattered into pieces by the combined attack of lightning, fire, and dragon shadow.

Ren Yuan didn't even glance at him before spreading his wings and soaring toward the red-hot bronze dome!
~~
As you crash through the dome of the hell of torture, a bone-chilling cold rushes towards you.

The sixteenth level of hell resembles an ancient ice cave, with dark blue ice crystal pillars rising from the ground and piercing the sky. Beneath the ice surface, countless wailing souls of the dead are sealed away.

Upon closer inspection, one can see tiny ice crystals floating in the air, which can instantly freeze even flames into powder wherever they pass.

“Any wicked husband or wife who murders their own spouse or commits adultery will be sent to the Ice Mountain Hell after death. They will be stripped naked, placed on the ice mountain, frozen in an ice coffin for five hundred years, and then thrown into the next level of torture.”

"To be able to pass through the Soul-Squeezing Fire Prison, you do have some skill." With these chilling words, the guardian of this level, Han Po, appeared, stepping on icy mist.

He was clad in azure ice crystal armor and wielded an ice-soul spear that radiated a chilling aura. With a light tap of the spear tip, spiderweb-like ice cracks instantly spread across the ground, and wherever it passed, the air itself froze into frost.

With a swing of his Cold Soul Spear, countless ice spikes shot out from all directions at lightning speed! Ren Yuan spread his wings, and a golden gale swept up, shattering all the ice spikes. But the broken ice spikes reformed in mid-air and continued to shoot towards Ren Yuan.

Ren Yuan remained unmoved, his words flowing like a magic spell: "Fire Break!"

Countless firebirds appeared, chirping as they met the incoming ice spikes. With a deafening explosion, the ice spikes shattered into countless ice shards, which were then instantly vaporized.

Seeing this, Hanpo raised his spear high with both hands and shouted, "Eternal Ice Seal!"

In an instant, the temperature of the entire Ice Prison plummeted, and countless ice chains shot out from the ground, binding Ren Yuan tightly. A layer of frost formed on the surface of his dragon scale armor.

At the same time, a huge ice wolf leaped up from behind Ren Yuan, its icy blue eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty light.

It opened its blood-red maw, ready to bite off Ren Yuan's head!

Suddenly everything went black, and Ren Yuan's figure instantly grew to ten zhang tall.

Compared to Ren Yuan, the originally enormous ice wolf instantly became a Chihuahua.

The ice wolf was originally going to bite Ren Yuan's head, but instead bit the heel of his combat boot.

With a squeak, it lost its fangs.

Ren Yuan trampled on the wolf's head like an ant, stomping it off with a single kick...

Surprisingly, the ice chains also grew thicker and larger along with Ren Yuan.

Under the terrified gaze of the ghost general Bingpo, Ren Yuan, with the Heavenly Mandate in his mouth, said in a deep voice, "Merge."

In an instant, crimson flames erupted around him, and the temperature of his dragon scale armor rose sharply. The ice chains melted rapidly under the intense heat.

Not only the ice chains, but the entire ice prison was melting and collapsing... Ren Yuan's wings suddenly flapped, and golden light broke through the blizzard, heading straight for Han Po!

Han Po hurriedly raised his spear to defend himself, but Ren Yuan appeared in front of him in an instant.

Without wasting words, Ren Yuan swung his Demon-Slaying Blade, cleaving Han Po and his spear in two.

The moment the Demon-Slaying Blade was unleashed, countless illusory Yinglong dragons emerged from the void, tearing Han Po's remaining body to shreds, turning it into a pile of ice shards...

~~
Ren Yuan broke through the barriers one by one, and with unstoppable momentum, he killed six demon generals in succession, and arrived at the ninth level of hell!

Unlike the terrifying scenes of knives and fire, ice and blood pools that appeared before, this level was filled with thick, inky mist. The ground beneath his feet flowed like liquid mercury, reflecting his blurry figure with every step.

Ren Yuan activated his Heavenly Eye and peered through the mist. He saw that the Ninth Level of Hell was like a boundless abyss of mirrors, with hundreds of millions of bronze mirrors floating in the sky. Within these mirrors, ghostly figures were wailing silently and struggling desperately, having witnessed some terrifying scene...

"This level is the Mirror of Karma Hell, where all those who have done wrong will have their inner demons revealed and will suffer eternal torment of their conscience!"

Ren Yuan frowned slightly upon hearing this. The voice was all too familiar, because it was his own voice.

"Welcome home, my other self." His voice echoed from all directions, and countless bronze mirrors simultaneously reflected Ren Yuan's image, each one different—some showed him as he was transformed into a black goat; some showed him in his death battle with Xie Gui at the tomb of the Marquis of Donghun; and some showed him being crushed by Wu Yang...

"Trying to play tricks on me? You're just showing off your limited skills before an expert!" Ren Yuan snorted coldly and shouted, "Break!"

With a cracking sound, all the bronze mirrors shattered instantly.

The fragments reassembled, coalescing into a human form that looked exactly like Ren Yuan. However, 'he's' dragon scale armor was tattered, dried blood scabs covered his Demon-Slaying Blade, and his wings were broken, making him look extremely pitiful.

As a demigod of illusion, Ren Yuan could tell at a glance that it was not an illusion.

"You...are you really me? How could this be?!" Ren Yuan's voice trembled like never before.

"You can't even recognize us?" Another Ren Yuan slowly walked towards him, each step leaving charred footprints on the ground. "This is what we looked like before we died."

"Then how did you get here?" Ren Yuan involuntarily took a step back.

"After my soul was scattered, I returned to the Ghost Kingdom. The Ghost King saw that I was a demigod in life, so he made me guard this ninth level of hell." Another Ren Yuan sighed and said, "I thought I was completely dead. I didn't expect to see myself alive again. It seems that Lingzhi's yarrow stalks really worked."

"It should be." Ren Yuan nodded and said, "But I don't know how I ended up at the bottom of the eighteenth level of hell. I should have appeared directly in front of the person who resurrected me, right?"

“Perhaps it was a special arrangement for you to come to me.” The other Ren Yuan said calmly, “Although I am dead, I still have our six souls in me. Without the six souls, even if you were resurrected, you would only be a defective product.”

“It seems so.” Ren Yuan nodded and said, “Then let’s merge into one.”

“Okay.” The other Ren Yuan nodded.

Before the words were even finished, both figures sprang into action simultaneously. Ren Yuan spread his wings, his Demon-Slaying Blade drawing upon heavenly lightning, golden lightning slashing down on his opponent; Ghost General Ren Yuan also spread his wings, his Demon-Slaying Blade drawing upon heavenly lightning, purple nether lightning slashing down on his opponent!
Their moves were identical; with a loud boom, the lightning canceled each other out. With a clang, the Demon-Slaying Blades clashed, neither able to gain the upper hand.

"You want to kill me?!"

"You want to kill me?!" the two said in unison, their voices exactly the same.

(End of this chapter)