Chapter 358 - The Great Devils Imprisoned Underground (1/2)

Xiao Chen composed himself and raised his guard. He had lost his powers, after all. Underneath ought to be the first floor above the surface, linked with the first underground floor. Most heinous, vicious Great Devils must be imprisoned underground, resulting in such thick Evil Qi here.

“Koo-chee! Koo-chee!” the Koo-chee beast cried softly and ran down the stairs. It seemed very familiar with this place.

Xiao Chen followed after the beast at a regular pace and found that the further down he went, the thicker the Evil Qi became. It also got much darker. He could even faintly hear a terrifying voice coming from under the ground. “Release me… Release me…”

That voice was like the howling of many Asura evil spirits. In the darkness, he couldn’t help feeling tingling on his scalp.

After walking for a long time, he finally reached the first floor. It was darker and damper here, with the pit-pattering of water drop coming from all directions. Moss and the like covered the stone walls. It was also much smaller compared to the second floor. He wondered if there were devils imprisoned here.

“Koo-chee! Koo-chee!” The Koo-chee beast cried again. It shook its head, indicating for Xiao Chen to keep following. Without giving it much thought, Xiao Chen carefully followed it while gripping his Unsullied Sword. Moments later, he found himself at the entrance of a Barrier.

The entrance of the Barrier here was the same as the one on the second floor, with stone steps leading downwards at an incline. Its destination must be the first underground floor. The Koo-chee beast, like before, spun in place twice before going to the other side of the Barrier. It brandished its claws and created a slit for Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen frowned. The devils imprisoned downstairs would be far stronger than the insignificant devils above. He could very well lose his life in a moment of carelessness. But the Koo-chee beast must have its reason for bringing him downstairs. Besides, he couldn’t run anyway. He might as well follow the creature and have a look.

Considering this, Xiao Chen put his sword behind him and cautiously passed through the Barrier. Once he passed it, he immediately detected a dense Devil Qi, and his soul couldn’t help feeling shaken. The devils imprisoned by Wuyin Monastery were no ordinary devils, indeed. He felt truly fortunate that he wasn’t locked up here with them.

The further down he went, the louder those frightening sounds became. The Devil Qi also became denser. The Koo-chee beast began to emanate a faint white glow to ward off the Devil Qi. Even though Xiao Chen had lost his powers, he still didn’t fear such Qi.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, he finally arrived at the first underground floor and what he saw shocked him to the core. There were dozens of stone monuments in the distance, all covered in golden talismans. Many of the vicious devils had their humerus tied above the monuments.

These creatures were the source of the mournful cries that Xiao Chen heard earlier. They all looked malevolent, with one having three feet-long tusks, one with bloody, wide-open mouths, one with a tiny skull growing out of their half-smashed heads, and one covered with eyes and arms all over its body. It was terrifying enough to make his scalp feel numb.

“Koo-chee! Koo-chee!” the Koo-chee beast cried, indicating him to keep following. Xiao Chen remembered the Siberian weasel saying that the deeper he went, the more terrifying the devils would be. If the first underground floor was already this frightening, must he go down even further?

“Koo-chee, Koo-chee!” the Koo-chee beast gently called out twice and continued to run ahead.

“Brother Koo-chee, wait for me!” Xiao Chen whispered, running after the beast. This time, they stopped in front of the entrance of another Barrier. After the Koo-chee beast got past the Barrier, it made an opening for him.

Xiao Chen wondered where was this beast taking him and how did it know where the entrance of every Barrier was. How could it so easily break the Barrier? But now wasn’t the time for him to ponder such questions, so he carefully passed through the Barrier.

The Devil’s Carnage Qi in the second underground floor was even thicker, but gone was the frightening scene and sounded on the level above it. It seemed that only one devil was imprisoned on this floor. The creature with disheveled hair had his humerus tied to a large pillar. His eyes were closed, looking as if he was asleep.

“Koo-chee! Koo-chee!” the Koo-chee beast cried and kept running forward. Xiao Chen followed closely behind until they arrived at the steps leading to the third underground floor. He heard a horrifying voice coming from below, “The wailing of eight thousand devils quakes the Three Realms and sends hundreds of thousands of Gods and Buddhas running for the Western Paradise! Once I, the Devil King, sees the light of the day, I swear I’ll level your Wuyin Monastery!”

Xiao Chen was alarmed. The devil’s first sentence was somewhat familiar to his ears. He immediately ran down the stairs, where he saw four stone monuments in the distance. Every monument had a golden talisman plastered on it. In the middle was a large pillar, where a person with disheveled hair was chained around it.

The person turned his head, having detected a stranger coming close, and glared at Xiao Chen. “Kid! Who are you? How did you end up on the third floor of this hopeless hell?”

This stunned Xiao Chen. He felt more at ease when he saw that the person seemed unable to break his chains and run over to him. He said, “I’m a passerby. Did you call yourself the Devil King earlier?”

In a deranged fashion, the man replied, “Correct! Since you know who I am, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and lend me a helping hand! Crush those four damned stone monuments! Hurry! When I leave this place, I’ll make you my leading general!”

“Koo-chee, Koo-chee!” The Koo-chee beast kept shaking its head, indicating for him to ignore the person.

“Sorry, I’m not free now.”

The man lost his temper. “What?! I’m the Devil King! Kid, how dare you disobey me! I’ll exterminate your body and soul…”

“Sorry. I’ll be taking my leave now.” Xiao Chen saluted ever so briefly before leaving with the Koo-chee beast.

“You despicable kid! I’m going to drown you in the sea of suffering! I curse you to eternal damnation…”

Xiao Chen ignored him and continued following the Koo-chee beast to the entrance of the fourth underground floor’s Barrier. Suddenly, he detected a formidable aura surging from below. Though fleeting, it was strong enough to shake his soul and make him take a couple of steps backward.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion stemming from his nervousness. It was very peculiar. It resembled the formidable aura coming from the ancient stone tomb imprisoning a Great Devil back when he trespassed on Xiao family’s ancient mausoleum.

“Koo-chee! Koo-chee!” The Koo-chee beast passed through the Barrier and made an opening in it. Xiao Chen hesitated for a moment before passing through it. Now that he was on the fourth underground floor, the Devil Qi here was as dense as he predicted. Even he was beginning to feel unwell. He whispered, “Brother Koo-chee, where are you taking me?”

“Koo-chee, Koo-chee!” The Koo-chee beast nodded.