"Father..."
The familiar aura emanating from the newcomer, and the warm embrace that made one unwilling to leave, all revealed the other's identity.
The one embracing her now, giving her divine guidance, was her father, or rather, her future father—the one above all things, the Lord of Spirit.
Butterfly tried to observe her father through her spiritual power, but only saw a warm and vast light, within which she could vaguely see a majestic figure.
That figure should have instilled fear in all living beings, but Butterfly felt it was even more refreshing than the morning sun of spring.
That warmth did not last long, and that majestic will gradually faded.
Diebao vaguely seemed to see that the majestic figure was carrying an unknown figure in his hand.
The unknown figure was somewhat indescribable; perhaps what could be called a face revealed an expression that could only be perfectly cosplayed after being brutally elbowed by the Great Mamba for twenty-four hours.
After everything vanished, the divine oracle was etched upon Xia Die's spiritual sea, and anyone who dared to peer into it would face the majesty of life and death.
This oracle was originally a curse, a curse from the universe against life with the potential for dimensional ascension.
Like the Dragon God of yesteryear, he was only one step away from dimensional ascension, yet he could never take that step; the universe would never allow life to ascend.
Xia Die was the same; the universe wished to bind her firmly to the Underworld, making her obediently become the ruler of the Underworld, reforging reincarnation.
It would not allow her to return to the mortal world, to ascend to a higher dimensional throne through death and life.
Of course, the Spiritual Lord would never allow a mere cosmic will, retaining only instinct, to interfere with the future of its child.
The Spiritual Lord is here now, was here then, and will always be here.
To issue such a divine oracle to Xia Die, it would be better to have the fully realized Creator God and the God of Divine Retribution, Austin Griffin, this ill-fated couple, do it together.
Consciousness returned to the outside world, and the once cold and dark river was like a gilded hot spring, its warm breath dispelling the wear and tear and exhaustion of all souls.
Laughter erupted in the land of death.
The Netherworld Butterfly was stunned, peeking out from its soul ring, bewildered at the drastically changed boundary between life and death.
"Is...is this still the boundary?"
"It's so warm."
Countless specks of soul light, flowing from reality, drifted here, eagerly plunging into the warm river, shedding the cruelty of reality in its boundless warmth, embracing the gentleness of death.
The Netherworld Butterfly watched this scene, a faint smile appearing on her ethereal face.
She seemed to indeed be able to do something for these wandering souls.
"Next, we'll head to the Underworld."
"Your Excellency, may I now step into this river?
The Netherworld Butterfly nodded blankly.
"Yes."
There was no need to think twice; in the eyes of those souls, Xia Die was the only sun in the underworld, helping them shed their coldness and embrace warmth.
There could be no more souls disrespecting Xia Die in this long river.
Even if there were, before they could even get close to Xia Die, countless souls would tear them to shreds.
"Sister!"
"Leave the rest to me!"
"I'll take you to the underworld."
Polycia's voice echoed in Xia Die's mind. Xia Die nodded and summoned her martial soul.
A pair of enormous purple dragon claws tore open an unknown purple spatial rift, and a majestic, enormous dragon body stretched freely above the long river, then flew to Xia Die's side and affectionately nuzzled her cheek with its dragon head.
Xia Die hugged Polycia's dragon head, smiling and gently stroking it.
The Netherworld Butterfly was no longer concerned about this giant dragon.
It was now a butterfly that had seen its share of grand occasions; even if its boss suddenly ascended to godhood the next moment, it wouldn't be surprised at all.
Anyway, she had already gotten on board and gone all in; this round was like Qin Shi Huang dancing while touching an electric wire—winning by spinning around.
"Sister, get on."
"Let's go!"
Polycia lowered her head, letting Xia Die climb onto the dragon's head.
After confirming that her sister was seated, she flapped her wings, and the entire dragon began to move along the long river towards the deepest depths.
The air currents generated by the flight disturbed the surface of the golden river below, leaving ripples.
Countless souls dyed golden by the river watched the giant dragon flying overhead, closing their eyes to offer the purest blessings to this future ruler of the underworld.
At the end of the golden river was a huge whirlpool, into which countless points of light were drawn.
Xia Die and the others knew without guessing that this was the entrance to the underworld.
Passing through here meant truly bidding farewell to reality and heading towards the end.
Polycia turned to look at Xia Die, who nodded slightly to her. Polycia immediately swooped down, taking Xia Die directly into the magnificent golden whirlpool.
Guided by countless souls, Polycia clearly saw the path beneath the river, like a purple arrow slicing through the warm water, hurtling towards the underworld.
"Splash!"
A crisp sound of water breaking rang in Xia Die's ears. The golden river, after entering the underworld, transformed into a massive waterfall, stretching endlessly to its boundless end.
The human and dragon began to survey this place, untouched by any living being.
The dominant color was purple, and the sky was filled with an extremely high concentration of death energy.
The land was desolate, and countless souls crawling out of the River Styx marched towards the boundless end like walking corpses.
The souls that emerged from the golden river, however, maintained their reason, performing the different rituals performed by various regions of Douluo Star before following their instincts and moving towards the end.
"Polysia, please slow down and proceed along the River Styx."
The purple dragon nodded slightly, flapped its wings, and began to descend until its claws touched the purple River Styx.
The River Styx in the Underworld was still icy cold, its death power almost tangible, and beneath it lay countless slumbering souls.
Most of the souls of the gods who died in the Dragon God War were here.
The unclaimed Underworld could not support their reincarnation, and leaving it would cause them to decay without the nourishment of celestial energy.
Having no other choice, these souls could only choose to slumber here, relying on the power of the Underworld to preserve their souls and await future changes.
If things proceeded as expected according to the normal timeline, the Underworld would be thrown out of the world by the little planet spirits, autonomously evolving in the universe until it became a completely independent plane.
Xia Die turned slightly and gently touched the River Styx with her fingertips.
The golden bone claw on her forehead bloomed again, and Xia Die's death power began to permeate the death power of the Underworld.
Gold began to spread along her fingertips, and warmth appeared for the first time in the Underworld, the lowest level of the world's operation.
Polycia carried the Butterfly along the River Styx. The Butterfly's fingertips left a trail in the river, and gold began to spread rapidly.
The underlying logic of the underworld's death power began to change, like dominoes falling, unstoppable.
Where the Butterfly passed, the River Styx transformed into warm, gilded hot springs.
The life-giving death power, like a spring breeze after a harsh winter, gently caressed the barren land of the underworld.
The souls on the land, like walking corpses, felt the long-lost warmth.
The death power kissed their three souls and seven spirits, melting the ice that bound their reason. Countless souls stared blankly at their hands.
New shoots of life sprouted from the barren land; purple lawns and flowers radiating blue light bloomed on the earth.
Strange floral fragrances permeated the underworld, their aroma carrying a peculiar power that nourished every wandering soul, invigorating their spirits and soothing their wounds.
"At the end of the sea of flowers, the souls of the living will warm your fingertips..."
"I really want Father to see this place too."
"It seems we can't connect to the magic network from here."
Xia Die smiled as she looked at the sea of flowers on both sides.
Countless souls stood on both sides of the River Styx, all looking at Xia Die above the river with gratitude and reverence.
Having regained their senses, they naturally received information from the Underworld: the one before them was the Crown Prince of the Underworld, who gave warmth to the dead and awakened their reason, the future Lord of the Underworld.
Looking down from the sky above the Underworld, life, divided by the golden and purple River Styx, was gradually covering the entire Underworld.
The silence of the Underworld was broken by the conversations of the dead; for the first time, the concept of liveliness arrived.
Among the countless souls of the dead, a black-haired girl, regaining her senses, stared blankly at her father, mother, and numerous brothers beside her, murmuring,
"Am I dead?"
"Is this the legendary underworld?"
"Caw! I...I'm dead?!"
"No, how could this be! I haven't even enjoyed the splendor of the mortal world, I...I can't die!"
"Who killed me?! Who dared to ambush the Douling royal family! Could it be the Sun and Moon Empire?"
The Douling royals beside Xue Qing, after recovering from their shock, burst into tears, utterly abandoning their royal dignity.
They felt they had died unjustly!
They, the Douling royal family, were enjoying hotpot and singing in a luxurious banquet hall when suddenly they were all blown into the sky!
Until their deaths, they didn't know who had killed them.
"What's all this noise about?! We're all dead, can't we just go and reincarnate in peace?"
"Hey, I think I recognize you, you dog emperor! You've been withholding my military pay for half a year, our border troops are practically eating tree bark!"
A soul in the form of a middle-aged man glared angrily at the Douling royal family.
Everyone around reacted, gathering around with hostile expressions.
They were mostly citizens of the Douling Empire.
"We are the Douling royal family, how dare you be so insolent!"
"What kind of royal family? The Underworld doesn't recognize that!"
Upon regaining consciousness, all the souls learned about the Underworld and the equality of death.
Moreover, unless they were divine souls, they would be bound by the rules of the Underworld upon entering, unable to use their former powers.
Of course, even divine souls would be greatly suppressed; once Xia Die ascended to godhood, divine souls would also have to abide by the rules.
A large number of souls surrounded the royal family. Due to the Douling royal family's inhumanity, those who hated them were countless.
Fortunately, at the last moment, the rules of the Underworld restrained them, preventing them from taking action.
Originally, this rule didn't exist in the Underworld; it was a rule the Underworld created based on Xia Die's personality.
But it's for the best. If the Underworld allowed killing, the entire Underworld would probably be in chaos, with grudges being settled and enemies being punished.
Just then, Xue Qing, caught in the middle of the crowd, suddenly saw Xia Die on the River Styx.
Not yet fully processing the information from the Underworld, she immediately cried out,
"Caw! Butterfly! How did you die too?"
(End of Chapter)
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