Chapter 151 — Purgatory

Just as he was about to reach the door, Ming Li's voice suddenly came from behind him: "Sect Master..."

The Nether King started, somewhat caught off guard. Ming Li rarely spoke to him of his own accord; this sudden address left him wondering what it was about. "What is it?"

Ming Li was silent a moment, then suddenly said, "Do you hate me in your heart?"

The Nether King stood with his back to him, motionless, saying nothing; his expression could not be seen.

Ming Li said slowly, "It's because of me that Bi Li has come to this. In your heart—do you hate me?"

His face was blank, as though he were speaking of matters that had nothing to do with himself, but the Nether King said not a word all the while. In the stone chamber the two men stood thus, back to back, and the air between them seemed to stiffen.

Thin wisps of mist rose lightly from the cold jade platform beneath Bi Li and drifted into the air. How long passed, no one could say, before the sound of the stone door sliding open came from behind; the Nether King said nothing, and quietly stepped out.

"Rumble!..." With a low, deep sound the stone door closed once more, and in the Cold Ice Stone Chamber only Ming Li remained, keeping watch at Bi Li's side. His face was wooden as he stared blankly at the woman before him.

In the ancient, dense primeval forest, gusts of a dreadful, scorched stench came on the wind, like ugly scars. Everywhere in the once-green woods were the marks of the beast-demons' ravages: giant trees lay strewn this way and that upon the ground, the bones of countless forest creatures were scattered all about, and the forest's former air of tranquility was utterly gone.

On the second day after they found the Devil Sect disciple who had gone mad, Xiao Yichen, Fa Cheng, and the rest of their party of seven righteous-path disciples, following the ever more obvious traces of the beast-demons, gradually drew near the valley hidden deep in the mountains. The forests they passed along the way showed everywhere the same scene they had just witnessed; though no human bones were seen, the sight was still enough to move anyone.

In many hearts the same thought arose unbidden: were these beast-demons truly born into this world for no purpose but slaughter?

Around noon that day, the party appeared upon the broken old road outside Serpent Valley. The marks of the beast-demons' destruction here were so plain that they had hardly to exert themselves to see them: the old road had been stamped and trodden by countless beast-demons until it was several times its former width, giant footprints and sharp claw marks left everywhere by the creatures, and a rank stench still hung in the air. Beyond that there seemed also a fainter yet even more unbearable foulness, though no one could tell what it was.

Looking toward the valley entrance ahead, they saw the same desolation within as without: the land and forest laid waste by that dreadful torrent were plainly visible. The old road wound and curved, and no one knew what yet remained inside that valley.

For some reason everyone's expression was tense, and an awkward silence fell. At last Xiao Yichen coughed, but having made the sound he quietly discovered his throat was dry and aching. Steadying himself, he said, "Everyone, it seems that Devil Sect disciple was not lying. This must be the place where the beast-demons and the Devil Sect fought their great battle."

He looked around, hesitated a moment, then asked, "Shall we go in and take a look?"

No one spoke. Even Li Xun's face looked grim now. After a moment Fa Cheng, standing beside Xiao Yichen, softly intoned a line of Buddha's name and said, "Now that we've come this far, there's no point in speaking of turning back. Let us go in."

In truth everyone present understood that reasoning well enough; it was only that, for some unknown reason, something eerie in that valley seemed to work silently upon each person's mood, filling them with dread. Fa Jing, the junior brother who had followed Fa Cheng all along, answered in a muffled voice and stepped to his senior brother's side.

"Let's go." It was not Xiao Yichen who spoke, but Lin Jinghong. He tightened his grip on the Slaying Dragon Sword, his face grave, and took the lead into the Viper Valley. Lu Xueling followed behind him, and Li Xun fell in as well. Xiao Yichen and Fa Cheng exchanged a glance, each seeing the faint worry in the other's eyes, but after a moment everyone stepped inside.

The vast valley, the endless forest—as the group walked through Viper Valley, all around them was a dead silence. Not a single animal was to be seen; even the customary birdsong was nowhere to be heard. The land surrounding this valley seemed to have become a lifeless realm of ghosts.

The stench of beasts and demons hung in the air, thick as ever, but as the group pressed deeper, every brow knitted tighter and tighter. Now another breath drifted toward them on the valley wind—a foulness so dreadful that it was enough to make one retch at a single whiff—and it too grew ever stronger.

The mountain path twisted and turned, and the group advanced slowly, wholly focused on guarding their surroundings. Ahead lay a bend, a hollow in the hillside, and by the time they reached it the stench in the air had grown unbearable. Suddenly Yan Fei, walking in the middle of the group, rushed to the roadside. The others were all startled. Li Xun cried out in alarm, "Junior Sister, what's wrong—" He stopped halfway through, for he and the others had all seen Yan Fei standing in the weeds by the path, retching with all her might.

No one spoke a word of mockery, for none of them knew how much longer they themselves could hold out. Though this valley had yet to reveal its true face, it already seemed more terrible than almost any place in the world. Yan Fei stopped, gasping, her face pale, and walked back to the others. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I—I just couldn't..."

Fa Cheng forced a smile. "Junior Sister Yan, it's all right."

Xiao Yichen said as well, "Indeed. No one could stomach this stench. Think nothing of it. If you truly cannot go on, why not wait for us outside the valley?"

Yan Fei hesitated, then shook her head. "Let's go."

Li Xun came over and nodded to Yan Fei, a look of comfort in his eyes. "Be careful," he said softly. "Don't push yourself too hard."

Yan Fei nodded in assent. Xiao Yichen turned and said, "Good, let us continue. We do not know what monsters or dangers lie ahead—everyone must be on guard."

The others nodded one after another and pressed forward once more. Lin Jinghong still led the way, and as they drew closer and closer to the bend in the hollow, cold sweat began to seep into the palm that gripped the Slaying Dragon Sword. By now the air was so foul it was hard to breathe. Lin Jinghong's face paled slightly; he gritted his teeth, sprang forward in a single stride, rounded the bend—and saw what lay within the valley.

In an instant his whole body went rigid.

Those behind him immediately noticed Lin Jinghong's strange state and could not help but grow tense. Xiao Yichen called his name softly twice, but there was no response at all—his eyes were fixed dead ahead. Lu Xueling was the second to step up, and then Li Xun, Yan Fei, Xiao Yichen, Fa Cheng, and Fa Jing, one after another, rounded the bend in the hollow and saw what lay in Viper Valley.

And then every one of them stood frozen.

This must be that fabled realm of sorrow, the Asura Hell—such a horrifying scene, stark beneath the clear blue sky and bright sun. Countless bones lay strewn inside and outside the cluster of houses in Viper Valley: human bones, and the bones of every kind of beast and demon. Some were whole, but far more were mangled limbs and shattered trunks, torn apart beyond recognition, spread so densely across the ground that scarcely a patch of empty earth could be seen.