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Heir of the White Lotus (Web Novel) - Chapter 1798 Sights of the Underworld
Chapter 1798 Sights of the Underworld
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As the small boat drifted across the Screaming River, the scenery around felt less like a place and more like a corpse of a forgotten world.The black waters stretched endlessly in every direction, thick and still like a liquid shadow. The sheer scale of it would make one question whether it was a river or an ocean.
Beneath the surface, pale faces sometimes drifted into view before rapidly vanishing into the depths. At times, skeletal hands would briefly emerge from the river as though countless dead souls were trying to claw their way upward.
The only reason these poor things dared to come so close to the boat was that the lich had withdrawn his aura. So the moment they caught a glimpse of him, they turned and fled in terror.
He continued to sing in a slow, lazy tune as he paddled the boat through the cold gray mist. The fog moved unnaturally, twisting around the boat like living breath. Sometimes shapes appeared inside it, figures standing motionlessly, only to disappear when looked at directly.
Far away, the occasional sights of ruined structures rising from the darkness became visible. Broken towers, shattered temples, and giant stone statues half-submerged in the black waters stood like the remnants of civilizations long consumed by death. Some were so massive they disappeared into the clouds above.
The sky itself looked wrong. There was no sun, no moon, no stars, only endless dark and gray clouds slowly churning overhead. And everywhere, there were sounds. They were enough to drive anyone mad.
Distant screams echoed endlessly across the river. Some sounded human. Others did not. At times, one might hear whispers near their ears despite nobody being there, or faint laughter drifting through the fog before fading away.
It was a good thing that Adam was unconscious. Or the sights of the Underworld would have driven him crazy. Again.
Far away, beyond the endless mist, a colossal pillar stretched into the skies. It was so enormous that it looked as though it held the heavens themselves in place. Ancient cracks covered its dark surface. And clinging to its impossible structure was a terrifying creature…
Its body was vast enough to rival the pillar itself. Its limbs gripped the surface as it slowly gnawed at the massive structure with jagged teeth the size of mountains. Every bite sent faint tremors through the Underworld, while chunks of darkened wood fell endlessly into the darkness below. Its distant growls echoed across the river like thunder.
Yet the ferryman continued rowing calmly, as though such a sight was completely ordinary.
Suddenly, he felt an ancient gaze fall upon him. The lich slowly turned toward the colossal pillar in the far distance, his gaze settling on the terrifying creature gnawing at it.
Then, as if greeting an old neighbor, he lazily raised a hand and gave it a small wave.
The creature's massive gaze lingered on the lich for only a brief moment. Then it resumed gnawing at the pillar, just as it had done for countless years without end.
The lich continued to sing as the boat traveled farther. Then, another impossible scene appeared in the distance.
A giant ship rested upon a sea of black fog far beyond the riverbanks. It was so unimaginably massive that entire cities could have fit upon its deck. The vessel looked less like a ship and more like a floating world drifting through the Underworld.
Countless undead creatures swarmed across its surface like ants. Some carried enormous chains and slabs of strange materials, while others hammered at the vessel without rest. Fires burned across the massive shipyard surrounding it, illuminating endless armies of the dead working in silence beneath the dark skies.
If one looked close enough, they would find something horrifying about the ship…
It was made entirely from the fingernails and toenails of corpses!
The ferryman casually glanced at it from afar and gave a slight nod at the progress being made.
Soon, or perhaps a long time later, a faint golden light slowly appeared in the far distance. At first, it looked like a thin line cutting across the mist. But as the boat moved closer, the line slowly became visible.
And it was in that moment that Adam's eyelids suddenly twitched. A second later, he finally gained consciousness. As he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the ashen sky. Slowly, memories of what happened flooded his mind, and he woke up with a jolt.
When his gaze landed on the lich sitting across from him, lazily rowing the boat, his heart sank. The river of the dead… the ferryman… it all felt painfully familiar from the stories he had once read.
He gulped subconsciously and asked the question he dreaded the most:
"Am I… dead?"
The lich silently observed him for a while. With every second that passed, the foreboding feeling in Adam's heart grew deeper and deeper.
At last, the lich said, "We're here."
Here? Adam's heart was gripped by terror.
Here where?
He turned around, and the sight that greeted him took his breath away.
A vast golden bridge stretched across the Screaming River!
The bridge was enormous, so large that it disappeared into the fog on both ends. Ancient pillars rose along its sides, while countless glowing runes were carved into its surface, shining faintly beneath the dark skies of the Underworld.
Even surrounded by endless death and black waters, the bridge remained untouched, standing like an eternal boundary between worlds.
The pale golden light it emitted reflected across the river below, briefly pushing back the darkness wherever it touched. Beneath it, the screaming souls hidden within the black waters seemed to recoil and sink deeper into the depths.
And upon the bridge, countless shadowy figures slowly walked in silence.
The small boat slowly drifted toward the riverbank before coming to a gentle stop against the dark shore. Without a word, the lich stepped out of the boat. Adam hesitated briefly before following the ancient being.
The two began walking through the cold mist of the Underworld. They climbed around a mountain, and after descending around its winding paths, finally reached their destination.
Far ahead stood a pair of towering gates built directly into the stone mountain. Countless dead souls silently passed through the entrance in an endless procession.
As Adam stared at the colossal entrance from ancient myths, one name surfaced in his mind.
The Death Gate!
