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.
“Are you saying we’re here?”
“Koo-chee! Koo-chee!” The beast nodded hard. It then ran over to a large boulder on the left but stopped right behind it.
Xiao Chen carefully chased after it. He hid most of his body behind the boulder, poking out only his head and shoulder, and peered ahead. He saw a person chained on all limbs in the middle of four pillars. Every pillar was plastered with golden talismans. The prisoner had his hair draped over his shoulders, covering even his face. He had a sturdy body and was significantly taller than most people.
Even after losing his cultivation, Xiao Chen could tell that the man was very, very powerful. He would be a powerhouse in the wild if he weren’t trapped under the tower. Could the fleeting formidable aura that he felt at the entrance of the Barrier have come from him?
“Brother Koo-chee, do you know him?”
“Koo-chee, Koo-chee!” The beast shook its head, blinking its wide eyes nonstop.
Xiao Chen placed his hand next to his mouth and lowered his voice. “Then why did you bring me here?”
“Koo-chee!” the Koo-chee beast cried softly and then pointed to the man in the distance. Xiao Chen followed its line of sight and found a shrub growing near the man. A dozen or so of golden fruits hung on the scrub, all of the nearly similar sizes.
“You want those fruits?”
“Koo-chee! Koo-chee, Koo-chee, Koo-chee!” The Koo-chee beast kept nodding.
Xiao Chen pinched his palm. The devil over there was too formidable of an opponent. He might be asleep now, but once he wakes, he might be able to kill Xiao Chen with just a glance. However, being imprisoned in this dark Devil Repressing Tower, Brother Koo-chee was the only one willing to keep him company…
Considering this, he nodded firmly. “Very well! If you want it, Brother Koo-chee, I’ll get it for you even if it means going through mountains of daggers and seas of flames!”
“Koo-chee, Koo-chee!”
Xiao Chen nodded and handed his Unsullied Sword to the beast. He whispered, “Stay here and wait.” He then cautiously walked in the direction of the Great Devil.
He walked with light steps out of fear that he would wake the devil by stepping on a pebble. After all, devils imprisoned under the tower weren’t like those imprisoned above. The ones would never be allowed to leave this place, so killing one or two more people didn’t matter to them.
When he was about ten feet away from the shrub next to the devil, Xiao Chen could feel his sweat soaking the cloth on his back. Beads of sweat covered his cheeks as well. This Great Devil’s aura was an absolute terror.
Suddenly, a bead of sweat slid down his chin and fell to the floor. Alarmed, Xiao Chen swiftly caught the drop of sweat with his hand. However, it was at this moment that he felt a strong breeze hitting his face and making a mess out of his hair. The Great Devil had abruptly turned his head to stare fixedly at him.
It wasn’t until now that Xiao Chen got a clear look at the devil’s face. The sight shocked him. The devil’s right pupil was gleaming red while his left pupil was pierced with a small, cyan-colored flying sword. Black Qi swirled between his eyebrows. His face and neck were covered with terrifying scars.
“What insignificant ant dares to enter this hell of suffering!”
“I…” Before Xiao Chen could get even a word out, a tremendous force hit him on the face and sent him flying. He crashed hard against the large boulder and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Get lost!”
“Koo-chee! Koo-chee!” The Koo-chee beast immediately lay down beside him. Xiao Chen shook his head, indicating that he was alright. He swiftly got to his feet while holding the beast and hid behind the boulder.
Two hours passed, and then four, six…
Xiao Chen could feel the Great Devil falling asleep by the time the eighth hour rolled around. He gestured the beast to keep quiet and then carefully walked toward the shrub. This time, he chose to make a detour and walk up to it from behind.
When he was ten feet away from the shrub, the Great Devil suddenly barked, “I said to get lost! Didn’t you hear me?”
Xiao Chen was startled. Then, the cries of “Koo-chee” resounded. The Koo-chee beast ran up to the devil and kept pulling shadow-punches in an attempt to provoke the man.
The Great Devil bellowed, “You’re seeking death!” A formidable force hit the beast. “Koo-chee!” the creature cried as it was sent flying like it was as light as cotton candy. When it fell to the floor, it even bounced several times.
“Brother Koo-chee!” Xiao Chen yelled. Throwing all caution to the wind, he threw itself at the shrub and forcefully pulled it up by the roots. Then, he was knocked away by the Great Devil’s breath.
Back on the floor, Xiao Chen felt a stinging pain on his palms, all thanks to the many thorns on the shrub. He couldn’t worry about that now. He pulled the Koo-chee beast to his embrace and started running until he reached the stairs. Only then did he let down the beast.
Xiao Chen looked at the shrub in his hands and laughed. “Well, we got it now. Let’s go back.” Just as he was about to walk up the stairs, he suddenly felt the familiar aura from before. This time, it didn’t come from the Great Devil on the same floor, but from deep below the ground—the ninth floor, the Avici level!