Netherworld.

An unknowable land.

The gray sky is devoid of any starlight, with a faint mist shrouding the vision, that pale gray mist rendering the road completely invisible beyond ten meters. In the haziness, some ethereal figures seem to emerge in the mist, forming vague silhouettes—perhaps Knights in broken armor or sinister-faced monsters, perhaps emperors high upon their thrones or Fallen Angels with broken wings.

The space before him ripples like a wave.

Following that, the pitch-black, unfathomable void appears, the ripped space resembling a broken mirror, seemingly containing terrifying space-time storms that could easily grind everything into nothingness. Then a humanoid figure gradually appears within the mirror-like projection, as a somewhat lazy-looking young man steps out. He holds nothing in his hands, walking slowly along the gray stone-tiled path, ignoring the emerging ethereal imagery around him.

From the distance comes the gradually growing sound of ocean waves.

In front of the young man, an unremarkable small pavilion emerges. It’s suspended in a void, incongruent with everything around it, as if tearing apart the surrounding space, erasing the ground and ocean below, melding them into a void that forcibly joins this world.

An endless blood-red ocean flows slowly.

It seems to harbor an exceedingly dreadful power, desperate to erupt but suppressed here, occasionally throwing up a wave accidentally. The waves’ expansions cause the space above the sea to ripple, spreading like water waves to the end of this plane.

Inside the pavilion sit two indistinct figures, facing each other over a square chessboard covered with various chess pieces.

They seem to be playing chess.

But neither side makes any moves; they just quietly watch the chessboard’s changes, the pieces fighting as though they were alive. The layout of the board slightly resembles an ancient Myriad Phenomena Chessboard, a game akin to international chess, but with more pieces, once popular during the ancient mithril era. The initial Great Arcanists were quite fond of this intriguing pastime.

Although their appearances remain unclear, the outlines of the two players gradually appear.

The figure on the left is slender and tall, his indistinct features carrying an air of lethality, his eyes dark as an unfathomable vortex, imbued with endless annihilation. His presence seems to reside within the pavilion, yet also everywhere at once, an ethereal shadow suppressing this entire realm.

The figure on the right is much easier to distinguish. He doesn’t project a human-like form but appears as a tall shadow with dark skin, a small pair of dark red horns extending from his forehead. His slender form is cloaked in an incredibly ornate red-and-black robe, resembling a graceful noble, yet also akin to a lofty deity. He holds a three-foot-long Ruby Scepter, a codebook of indistinct cover resting in his palm, and despite the sudden arrival of the young man, his gaze remains fixed on the Myriad Phenomena Chessboard before him.

On the Myriad Phenomena Chessboard.

A deep red Giant Dragon chess piece suddenly rises into the air, emitting a waft of Divinity’s aura, roaring skyward, and then unleashing a wave of scorching dragon breath onto the board.

The terrifying dragon breath sweeps across the battlefield.

A piece representing a Fallen Angel and another crimson devil piece on the opposing side instantly melt like wax.

Two fragmented souls shoot forth.

The shadow on the chessboard’s right suddenly opens his palm, capturing the two souls and holding them, as a subtle Law Power emerges, allowing these two souls to gradually merge into that unknown codebook.

The dragon piece continues to rampage across the board, summoning a shadow of an Abyssal Demon Dragon that surges toward the enemy’s stronghold like towering waves.

Piece after piece shatters, whether they’re grotesque monsters, undead kings, Fallen Angels, or cunning devils—each piece turning to dust releases streaks of spectral soul forms that flee into the right-hand man’s black codebook in the palm of his hand.

Soon.

The war on the Myriad Phenomena Chessboard ends, virtually wiping out the right-hand side’s pieces, though the left-hand pieces also suffered heavy losses. Yet the rampaging Abyssal Demon Dragon still roars over the board.

“You lost.” A calm male voice arises.

The slender figure on the left slowly stands up; as he rises, a surge of evil qi like a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood bursts forth, like seeing a throne formed of countless skeletons towering high, upon which sits a shadow shrouded in black, coldly gazing over all living things.

“You won.” The man on the right also rises, turns to glance at the young man not far away, and says in a deep voice, “That Chaos Plane is yours.”

A wisp of deep red flame emerges.

The figure adorned in the opposing luxurious red-and-black robe gradually dissipates, as if he never existed in this realm.

“Why are you here?” The slender figure in the pavilion stands, with a wave of his hand, the Myriad Phenomena Chessboard disappears.

The young man not far away approaches with a smiling face, sitting cross-legged directly opposite him, sheepishly saying, “Fishing for compliments again?”

The slender figure does not respond, merely looking at the other person calmly, whispering, “What is it?”

The young man, seemingly a bit awkward, pauses momentarily before saying, “I wanted to ask for a favor. To bring someone back.”

“Who?” An unperturbed voice sounds.

“A Space-Time Inspector.” The young man contemplates for a moment before saying, “It seems he’s in a bit of trouble, trapped in the void.”

The slender figure slightly frowns, slowly saying, “You should be able to handle this yourself.”

“It’s a double precaution.” The young man laughs, “The Space-Time Hub has been searching for him for three thousand years. If anything goes wrong, I don’t want to wait another three thousand years.”

“The Hourglass of Time is on him.”

The slender figure slightly narrows his eyes, an invisible pressure making the young man slightly tense. The killing intent from this person is overwhelming, capable of deciding the fate of countless beings with a word, making even him feel uncomfortable.

“You’re just trying to slack off.” The slender figure turns to gaze at the boundless blood sea below, calmly saying, “Okay.”

The young man sighs with relief at his words, gleefully standing up, saying, “Then it’s foolproof.”

“Even if something happens, bringing his soul back shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Saying this, the young man glances around and, with some intent, comments, “Why are you still inveigling with him? With your current power, you should be able to crush Hell, right?”

“The deepest part of Hell is not so simple.” The slender figure doesn’t turn back, only calmly says, “The blood wars cannot cease.”

“Since you’re here, help me with something.”

The young man immediately puts on a bitter face, saying, “I knew it.”

“Speak then.”

“What do you need?”

The slender figure flicked his fingers, dropping a wisp of Divinity into the other’s hand, then continued, “That Chaos Plane seals a group of Hundred-Arm Giants from the Ancient God Era.”

“The Abyssal Demon Dragon alone can’t handle them.”

“You go and capture them for me.”

The young man can’t help but twitch his mouth, suddenly regretting coming here, sighing, getting up, saying, “Are you really planning to shatter the realm?”

“Yes.” The slender figure answers calmly.

The young man takes a deep breath, asking, “How do you plan to do it?”

The slender figure gradually fades, as though his presence is dispersing from this projection, leaving behind only a faint sentence.

“To be reborn through death.”

The young man silently ponders the words, suddenly exclaims, “Reborn through death? Even after smashing the Wall of the Unbelievers, no one dared to utter a word!”

The space before him ripples like water, then the torn space forms chaotic currents, directly locking onto a location of chaos.

“Just clashed with Heavenly Mountain, now wanting to cut into Hell.”

“Great one.”

“Can’t you calm down a bit? We Space-Time Guardians have it hard too!…”

“Show a bit of face, for heaven’s sake!”

The young man grumbles, his figure flashing into that space’s chaotic currents.

………

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep