Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

What's unusual is that although the trees here are all exceptionally tall, they only have branches and no leaves. The branches grow wildly and are strangely shaped, which looks quite eerie.

As the four figures flew over the forest, they could see many creatures below. The underworld was not the place of death described in various legends. On the contrary, there were many lives here, but their power attributes were biased towards death and darkness.

Perhaps due to the influence of negative energy, the creatures in the underworld have a strong desire to attack, and various beings can be seen killing each other everywhere, with bloody scenes everywhere.

Lucifer explained from the side, “The Celestial Realm and the Underworld are two completely opposite worlds. The Celestial Realm is orderly, seemingly a collection of all good things, while our Underworld is chaotic, seemingly revealing all its ugliness. But in reality, some things cannot be judged by appearances alone. The orderly Celestial Realm will also actively declare war on the Underworld, and there are despicable villains like Gabriel. And the seemingly chaotic Underworld actually has its own order. I was also very uncomfortable when I first came here, but you will get used to it. The reason why the Underworld can confront and fight against the Celestial Realm under many disadvantages is largely due to the strong vitality and resilience of these Underworld creatures. Moreover, although the Underworld is terrifying, from some perspectives, everyone is more straightforward and speaks with strength, which is less like the scheming and intrigue of the Celestial Realm. I have seen through it all long ago… Hmm? You're asking for death!” Just as Lucifer was speaking, a large foliage suddenly stretched out from the forest and swept towards them.

This sudden change made Lucifer's eyes turn cold. He waved his left hand and released a burst of black light that blasted the trees away, leaving only a deep crater.

Some creatures in the forest were inevitably affected, and blurry patches of blood splattered everywhere. Many ferocious beasts that had been locked in battle fled for their lives, leaving the area behind.

Lucifer then said, "Brother, you must remember this in the Underworld: there is no room for sentimentality here. Strength gives you authority, and death traps are everywhere. A moment of mercy will bring disaster upon yourself, understand? Those trees..." He was mainly looking at Lei Xiang as he spoke. Brahma Dragon and Yan were clearly experienced and didn't need him to say much. Lei Xiang, on the other hand, was really inexperienced and needed some guidance.

After hearing Lucifer's words, Lei Xiang realized that he had been too relaxed. He quickly looked around to raise his vigilance and kept a close eye on his surroundings.

Brahma Heavenly Dragon laughed heartily at this moment.

“Lei Xiang, you don’t need to be too nervous. Lucifer is right, but creatures as reckless as Yao Sen are rare.” Lei Xiang, Lucifer, and Brahma Dragon exchanged ideas as they flew forward at high speed, while Yan followed behind them, occasionally landing to collect unique life forms or resources.

Lucifer, Lei Xiang, and Fan Ri Tianlong initially tried to remind Yan, but after noticing that Yan was keeping up easily, they stopped talking. The four gods traveled quickly and soon approached the center of the Underworld.

The underworld is largely similar to the human world, except for the different environmental attributes. Other features such as mountains and rivers, as well as a wide variety of creatures, are present, although most of the creatures look more sinister.

"Look, that's the Holy Land of the Underworld, Hades City. It's the only place in the entire Underworld with any semblance of order and a regular army guarding it. Hades City is also the only city in the Underworld," Lucifer said, pointing ahead. Yan and Lei Xiang looked up at the distance, and what came into view was a massive castle, almost the size of an ordinary city. The highest point in the center was over a hundred feet high. The entire castle was pitch black, giving it a terrifying appearance.

Lucifer said, "All the great figures in the Underworld, including myself and Hades, reside within Hades' Castle. Hades lives in the highest Hades Palace. Hades' City is built around this castle, and all creatures of the Underworld consider it the greatest honor to reside in Hades' Castle..." As Lucifer spoke, he quickened his pace, and under the leadership of this great demon god, the four figures swept directly over Hades' City and arrived before its gates.

Hundreds of underworld soldiers guarded the front of Hades' castle. They wore simple armor, each with only one eye on their head, and were about 2.5 meters tall. Otherwise, they looked very human, except that their skin was green.

The soldiers knelt down upon seeing Lucifer, bowing respectfully in greeting. Lucifer merely gave a curt "hmm" and led the dragon and his companion into the castle.

Brahma Dragon, now twice the size of two people, followed behind Yan and Lei Xiang. After entering the castle, they didn't find anything particularly special.

There were neither luxurious decorations nor a powerful aura, but the castle seemed to be carved from a single block of stone.

"My Lord Demon God, you've made things difficult for my subordinates again, haven't you?" A deep voice rang out, and a cyclops over three meters tall appeared. He and the soldiers guarding outside were probably of the same race, but his strength and status were not low. At least he dared to give Lucifer a hard time, which showed he had some guts.

After Lucifer argued with the commander named Bek, he led the three of them onward.

On the way, Lucifer telepathically introduced the guy's background, saying that he was the leader of the Cyclops, one of the three major races in the Underworld.

The single eye of the Cyclops species has a special function: it can confuse opponents or launch an attack.

The Cyclops Legion, the Vampire Slug Legion, and the massive Netherworld Witch Legion are the main forces of the Underworld in its fight against the Angel Legion of Heaven.

Yan was somewhat interested in the three legions of the Underworld, but it didn't seem like the right time to discuss it. He followed the others as they wandered around the winding staircases of the Underworld Castle for a long time, climbing nearly 18,000 steps before finally reaching their destination.

"Look, this is the Hades Palace." Lucifer pointed ahead, and the three of them looked up and saw two towering gates, each three zhang high. The gates were black and made of some unknown metal, with many strange patterns carved on them, some of which resembled the Demon Sun in the sky.

Just as the group was about to enter the Underworld Palace, Yan suddenly felt the surrounding atmosphere turn cold. A familiar feeling made Yan look to the side. Fan Ri Tianlong and Lei Xiang had similar reactions.

Four black figures suddenly appeared before the gate, and an old, hoarse voice rang out.

"Lord Demon God, why have you brought a divine beast to the Underworld Palace? This contradicts what you said before!" Lucifer's aura surged, and he said coldly, "Karitus, you have provoked me more than once. My patience has its limits. They are the people Lord Underworld wants to see. What, are you going to stop them?" These figures wore large black cloaks, each holding a gray wooden staff; they were clearly powerful members of the Underworld Witch Legion.

These sorcerers were surrounded by a layer of dark aura, and their bodies constantly emitted strong auras of death.

"You four, it won't be much easier for the Great Demon God to crush you than to step on ants. Why do you insist on courting death?" Yan's voice suddenly came from behind them. The four Netherworld Witches reacted violently from their calm and cold demeanor. If it weren't for the Netherworld Palace, they might have attacked directly.

Calidus said coldly and sullenly, "The Demon God's friend is truly extraordinary. Please come in, everyone. I was overthinking things earlier. However, in the future, please inform us beforehand when bringing outsiders to avoid any misunderstandings." Calidus was quite a character, able to be both yielding and assertive. Even Lucifer could only suppress his anger and snort coldly before pushing open the door of the Underworld Palace and entering.

The Hades Palace was empty and desolate. In the middle of the spacious palace were ten steps, and on the platform was only a huge chair.

This is a true reflection of Hades, a lonely king. As Yan was observing the Hades Palace, he suddenly felt an almost desperate aura of death surging wildly from all directions.

A faint, eerie light emanated from the throne at the very front, and a layer of gray aura emanated from it. An exceptionally complex and enormous symbol appeared on the throne.

Gradually, dozens of smaller gray symbols appeared around the giant symbol, constantly rotating around the central giant symbol, and the aura of death grew stronger with each rotation.

A gray figure flashed into the throne, and the aura of death suddenly subsided, all turning towards that figure.

Their vision went dark, and everything returned to the scene when they first arrived at the Underworld Palace, except that there was an extra person on the Underworld King's throne, and he slowly stood up.

Hades, the god of the underworld, wore gray armor that was exquisite but not complicated. A long gray cloak draped over his back, and his long gray hair flowed down his back. Between his eyebrows was a miniature version of the huge symbol from before.

His face was unusually handsome, with bright eyes and long eyelashes, fair skin, and a perfect appearance. If he were to dress as a woman, he would definitely be a heartthrob in both the heavens and the underworld. At least, the so-called charming angel Raphael was no match for Hades.

Chapter 680 The Mysterious Forbidden Land

"Alright, alright, Fanri, you and Lei Xiang can stay at my Hades Castle for now. But Fanri, I have something to say beforehand."

Inside Hades Castle, Hades, seeing that he couldn't win over Lei Xiang and Brahma Dragon to join the God Realm directly, could only put things on hold for now. However, he had to warn Brahma Dragon, who had a history of such behavior, and his voice became very helpless, "Brahma, it wasn't easy for my Hades Castle to reach its current scale."

It's built from the most precious dark cloud stone in the underworld. Don't let its beauty fool you and destroy it. Otherwise, even if Lucifer pleads for you, I won't be lenient."

As he said this, he chuckled wickedly and said, "But don't worry, I definitely won't imprison you like Sophia did."

Although Hades spoke with a smile, his words sent chills down everyone's spines. His words clearly indicated he was not joking. The fact that he would threaten Brahma Dragon so blatantly speaks volumes about Brahma Dragon's infamous destructive power.

Brahma Dragon's expression was somewhat unnatural, and he muttered, "Pluto, is this really necessary? I only said the castle was beautiful, I didn't say I wanted to take it apart to see what it was like, why are you so nervous!"

Hades had no interest in arguing with him, and turned to Yan, "Young Master Yan, I am very happy that you have come to the Underworld. I hope you can stay here for a while longer."

Yan bowed slightly to Hades. "Thank you for your kindness, King of the Underworld. I will. There is something I hope you can grant me. I want to go to the vicinity of the Soul Devouring Cave, a forbidden area in the Underworld, to find some things."

A look of curiosity appeared in Hades' eyes. "The Cave of Soul Devouring? You know anything about that place? What are you going there for?"

Yan continued, "Please forgive me, King of the Underworld, but I am interested in all things unknown, including the various races and regions of the Heavenly Realm and the Underworld. My true intention in making this request is to travel throughout the Underworld. I just don't know if the King of the Underworld is willing to grant my wish?"

Hades suddenly changed the subject, "Why not? In fact, as long as you are willing to join my Underworld, your status there will be second only to me and Lucifer."

Yan chuckled again and said, "The King of the Underworld should know that the day I can communicate with the human world, if I were to completely join the Underworld, it wouldn't be the best outcome for you, would it?"

Hades and Yan exchanged a glance, then nodded and smiled. "This matter can be discussed at length. I look forward to the results of your investigation into the Soul Devouring Cave. See you next time..."

“Lucifer, these are all your guests, so just arrange for them to stay with you. I'll contact you if I need anything…”

Hades' voice became ethereal, and a gray aura of death rose from him. Suddenly, everything went dark before their eyes, and Hades vanished.

At this moment, Lucifer hurriedly said to Lucifer, "Brother Lucifer, I..."

He seemed to have something to say, to explain what had just happened, but Lucifer glared at him, shook his head, and then transmitted his voice.

A moment later, the group left the Hades Palace and descended more than a thousand steps. Lucifer led them onto a side path, turned several corners, and arrived at two large doors that were only slightly shorter than the Hades Palace. The doors were engraved with Lucifer's own image.

"This is my place. Come on, let's go inside."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and pushed open the temple door. The interior of the Great Demon God's Temple was almost identical to that of the Hades' Palace. Lucifer waved his hand, and the door closed.

"Master, you've finally come to see Mo Yue!"

A charming voice reached their ears, and a bewitching, fallen four-winged angel rushed in front of Yan and pounced on him, then her fiery red lips rained down on his face.

"This……"

Looking at Yan, who was entangled with Mo Yue, Lei Xiang felt a pang of regret for believing someone's lies and leaving Xing Bing on the Western Continent. Now, he was the one being fed dog food and suffering tons of damage.

The two singles, Brahma Dragon and Lucifer, are even more miserable, especially Brahma Dragon. During the time that he brought Mo Yue to the Underworld to guide her cultivation, he grew to love this junior more and more, and even felt like he was treating her like a daughter. Then, watching the cabbage in his own vegetable garden willingly go into the pig's mouth, he couldn't have been more upset.

Lucifer silently recited a few incantations, and a purple six-pointed star rose from the ground in the center of the Demon God Temple, flashing with light.

After the barrier appeared, Lucifer was clearly relieved. This was mainly because his subsequent conversation with Lei Xiang was somewhat taboo and even suspected of betraying Hades. Although it was indeed good for Lei Xiang, it did not serve the interests of the Underworld.

"Little Yue'er, you said you learned a lot in the underworld, right? Tonight I'm going to give you a good test and see if you've forgotten anything in your studies!"

Lei Xiang, Lucifer, and Fan Ri Tianlong were talking non-stop about serious matters, while Yan, carrying Mo Yue, hid in a corner of the hall to sit and talk. Just as they were discussing how to enrich their nightlife, that clueless Lei Xiang came to ruin things again.

Lei Xiang said with a compassionate expression, "Yan, tell me, how should we break this deadlock? Although the wingless gods and divine beasts of the Heavenly Realm are also very powerful, I don't want to drag them into the war between gods and demons. That would be too unfair to them."

“Lei Xiang, you need to know that they are members of the God Clan. There is no escaping the War of Gods and the Underworld. At most, the force fields and choices will be different. After all, their numbers cannot be ignored. If you want revenge, besides surpassing Gabriel in strength, you also need to have enough strength.”

Yan continued speaking for a couple more minutes, and Lei Xiang said thoughtfully, "You mean I should go into the Heavenly Realm to recruit Brother Theomandis's old subordinates, but the gateway to the Heavenly Realm is not easy to open."

"So, are you planning to ask me about everything and not make any decisions for yourself?"

Although Yan said Lei Xiang had to listen to him, he had no interest in being Lei Xiang's babysitter. On many important matters, they still needed to make their own decisions.

"I understand, Yan."

Lei Xiang suddenly said this solemnly, which made Yan's heart skip a beat. Was this kid going to cause trouble again? But thinking about Lei Xiang's current strength, Yan felt a little relieved.

"Little Yue'er, your master has missed you so much! Let me see if you've become even more beautiful."

Having dealt with the two uninvited guests, Lei Xiang and Fan Ri Tianlong, Yan set his sights on Mo Yue. These past few days, he hadn't even had a proper meal while recuperating, and he had to endure Lei Xiang and Xing Bing's daily displays of affection. He was already extremely frustrated, so naturally, he didn't need to hold back anymore.

"Master, it's still daytime... Ah..."

After letting out a startled cry, Mo Yue gave up resisting and cooperated willingly. Even that startled cry was more of a flirtation.

The two of them went off to have sex, leaving Lei Xiang and Fan Ri Tianlong feeling terrible, especially Lei Xiang. The thought of being tricked by Yan again, leaving Xing Bing behind in the human realm, was truly infuriating. Although Yan's words did make sense—Xing Bing's strength was indeed insufficient.

……

"What! You're planning to go to the Soul Devouring Cave right now? What are you thinking?"

When Yan suggested visiting the Soul Devouring Cave, Lucifer unsurprisingly reacted strongly, perhaps because the place had left such a deep impression on him.

Lei Xiang, who was also nearby, became interested. "Brother Lucifer, what kind of place is the Soul Devouring Cave? Why do you seem a little afraid of it?"

“Lei Xiang, do you remember when I told you that there are a few dangerous places in the Underworld that you can’t just wander into? The Soul Devouring Cave is the most dangerous and terrifying of them all. Once you enter, it’s very difficult to come out.”

Lucifer shook his head, a hazy look in his eyes, and slowly said, "That's a place that shouldn't exist at all. He suddenly appeared in a corner of the underworld one day."

How it was formed is probably only known to the Father God. There is no life within a hundred miles there. Most creatures that stray into it will eventually die from exhaustion, and only a very few will be able to escape.

I encountered considerable difficulties when I arrived in the Underworld. Although the King of the Underworld wanted to take me in, all the races of the Underworld opposed it. After all, I had killed far too many creatures of the Underworld in the previous war between the two realms.

Later, they unanimously agreed that if I could emerge alive from the Soul-Eating Cave, they would accept me into the Underworld. I was new to the Underworld then, and in a fit of anger, I agreed.

A flicker of fear crossed Lucifer's eyes. After a long pause, he continued, "Those who haven't been there can't even imagine how terrifying it is. I used my divine power to protect my body when I entered the Soul Devouring Cave, but do you know what I saw there?"

Lei Xiang asked tentatively, "Is it the aura of vengeful spirits and death?"

Lucifer shook his head. "No, I've seen plenty of vengeful spirits. I've fought with the Twelve Witches of the Underworld before, and I've seen all sorts of strange phenomena in the Underworld. That experience is too real, and to be honest, I really don't want to talk about it."

I entered and encountered the Father God, Theomandis, and Princess Philyun. For a time, I suspected it was the Land of the Dead, but in the end, I realized it was all an illusion, an incredibly real illusion.

Much later, I finally understood the meaning of the Devouring Cave. To be inside it, one must overcome oneself. If one stays there for too long, one will be completely melted by the dark power within, lose consciousness, and become part of the Devouring Cave.

After I emerged from there, for a long time I treated everything as an illusion, and during that time I killed many creatures. It wasn't until Lord Hades defeated me that I escaped from the nightmare, but it took another hundred years for me to return to normal..."

Lei Xiang felt a chill run down his spine after hearing these words. What Lucifer said was truly terrifying. He couldn't help but advise Yan, "Yan, since that place is so dangerous, why don't you consider giving up? There's no need to rush to improve your strength."

"What are you thinking? I have no intention of entering it now. I just want to go to the outer edge of this forbidden area to try to draw out some of the power inside for research. Maybe I will make a discovery."

Yan rolled his eyes at Lei Xiang. Unlike Lei Xiang, who acted without thinking, Yan used his brain. "By the way, Lei Xiang, can I borrow your Mo Ming sword? If the records are correct, it comes from the Soul Devouring Cave."