53: Chapter 53, Eighth Level: The Realm of Nine Rivers

Rumble—!

The massive stone door crashed down heavily. Before the resulting wave of dust could even hit their faces, a nauseatingly sweet and metallic scent that made one's scalp tingle wafted into their nostrils.

Xu Mo covered his nose and mouth, his brow furrowed.

Before them lay a river.

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Or rather, it was a massive wound forcibly stitched together from nine colorful "liquids."

Dark red plasma, sickly green venom, deep blue ice flows...

They flowed with distinct boundaries, yet remained incompatible with one another.

Although there was no wind on the river's surface, waves several meters high surged, and occasionally, massive white bones could be seen bobbing in the spray.

"This is the Nine Bends of the Styx."

Old Ghost stood at the front of the group, his expression grim: "The eighth level of hell in Aztec mythology. It's said this river connects to the Abyss. No matter how strong a spirit body is, falling in will melt it until not even dregs remain."

"Then... then how do we cross?"

The scout named A Kuan's voice trembled. He instinctively pulled a low-grade spirit stone used for detection from his backpack and threw it toward the opposite bank with all his might.

"Sizzle—"

While the spirit stone was still in mid-air, merely being brushed by the mist rising from the river caused it to instantly turn into a wisp of blue smoke and vanish without a trace.

"Hiss—"

The sound of people drawing in sharp breaths rose and fell.

Xu Mo pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, his fingertips instinctively rubbing together inside his sleeve.

A life-saving trump card should have been hidden there, but at this moment, his mind was like a blank slate; he couldn't remember for the life of him what it was.

"There's no way forward."

Lin Sa spoke coldly, the "blood kiss" dagger in her hand emitting a hum—an alarm from a divine weapon sensing extreme danger.

Old Ghost gritted his teeth and paced in a circle. Suddenly, he pressed his palms together and began to chant loudly toward the void: "Great guide dog god Xiuolotl, your believer here prays for protection..."

Xu Mo watched with a cold eye, inwardly cursing him as a charlatan.

In this kind of S-rank Divine War dungeon, if relying on worshiping gods worked, what would be the point of players? Wouldn't everyone just kowtow together and be done with it?

Just as everyone was falling into despair.

Pei Duo, who had been standing at the edge of the team "forgotten by the world," watched the scene expressionlessly.

She reached out into the void, her fingers passing through Xu Mo's shoulder. That stifling feeling of being treated like thin air by the whole world made the anger in her heart flare up.

"Old man, playing the mystic—aren't you afraid the wind will catch your tongue?"

To protect Xu Mo and Lin Sa, who were still in the team, and to allow the dungeon to continue progressing.

Pei Duo rolled her eyes, gave a cold snort, and looked down to untie the purple qiankun bag embroidered with gold-threaded cloud patterns at her waist.

"My brother said there's everything in here. Hopefully, I can find a vehicle."

She rummaged inside as if pulling from Doraemon's four-dimensional pocket.

Suddenly, her fingertips touched a cold wooden model, and a stream of information instantly flooded her mind—

[boat of oblivion: Netherworld standard flagship, ignores all erosion from Weak Water]

"You'll do!"

With a flick of her wrist, Pei Duo threw the palm-sized wooden boat toward the surging river surface.

Whoosh—!

The moment the wooden boat entered the water, the previously violent river surface seemed to have its pause button pressed.

Immediately after, a massive cloud of thick black mist exploded!

A black-awning boat, entirely pitch-black and exuding an ancient netherworld aura, actually ignored all physical rules. Like a black dragon breaking through the waves, it came to a steady stop by the shore filled with corrosive liquid.

Total silence.

Old Ghost's prayer gesture froze in mid-air, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a lightbulb.

He had just wanted to put on a show to stabilize morale; who knew he'd actually fucking summon a boat? Could I really be the Chosen One?

"This..." A Kuan stammered, pointing at the hull. "Old Ghost, this boat looks a bit familiar... why is it covered in Eastern patterns?"

Old Ghost reacted instantly. His old face flushed red before immediately returning to normal, adopting a fanatical expression:

"Superficial! This is a miracle! Do you understand what a miracle is? The god Xiuolotl is omnipotent. Manifesting in an Eastern form is to accommodate our homesickness! Quick! Everyone on the boat! The deity is watching us, don't dawdle!"

Xu Mo's mouth twitched violently.

This excuse was so far-fetched that even the punctuation marks reeked of deception.

An Aztec god specially getting a black-awning boat to accommodate Easterners? Why don't you say he can sing Peking Opera too?

Moreover, he had clearly never seen this situation before, so why did it feel so familiar?

But with no other choice at hand, the group could only steel themselves and jump onto the boat.

Pei Duo followed Xu Mo in a swaggering manner, stepping onto this "private boat" that originally belonged to her.

...

The boat set off into the river.

The first stretch was the crimson blood river, as thick as boiling tomato soup.

The metallic scent of blood in the air was so strong it practically stung the eyes.

"Is this boat... really okay? Why do I feel like it's shaking?" A team member gripped the gunwale tightly, his face whiter than paper.

Before the words had even finished.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Dense impact sounds suddenly came from the bottom of the boat, and the entire hull shook violently.

"There's something in the water! Prepare for battle!" Lin Sa shouted sharply, her dagger slashing downward.

Countless dark red leeches, as thick as wrists and covered in barbs, were densely attached to the hull. Their chrysanthemum-like mouths were wide open, crazily gnawing at the planks.

"They're Spirit-Devouring Leeches! They're sucking the boat's spiritual energy!" Old Ghost turned pale with fright. "Attack, quickly! If the boat sinks, we're all dead!"

The crowd frantically threw out various talismans and items. Fireballs and ice spikes flew everywhere, but in the face of the endless tide of leeches, these attacks were practically like scratching an itch.

Xu Mo held a scalpel between his fingers, precisely pinning a leech that had jumped onto the boat, but his expression grew increasingly grim: "There are too many, we can't kill them all!"

Seeing the cold sweat on Xu Mo's brow, the invisible Pei Duo sighed.

"I really owe you guys."

She reached into the qiankun bag again and pulled out a simple yellow gourd with a seal attached.

[Yellow Springs Gourd: Contains water from the source of the Yellow Springs; can wash away sins and dissolve evil spirits.]

"Go to hell, you disgusting things."

Pei Duo pulled out the stopper and gave a light flick toward the river.

A few drops of crystal-clear water, shimmering with a faint yellow light, fell into the surging blood river.

Sizzle—!!

It was like a pot of cold water being splashed into hot oil.

Those seemingly insignificant drops of water erupted with unimaginable purifying power the moment they touched the river.

The previously violent blood river instantly boiled, and those hideous leeches, as if encountering a natural enemy, let out shrill shrieks.

In the blink of an eye, all the leeches within a hundred meters of the boat turned into bloody water and were completely dissolved.

The river surface instantly became calm, and even that foul stench was mostly suppressed.

The people on the boat maintained their attacking postures, looking at each other in bewilderment.

"This..." A Kuan swallowed hard. "Old Ghost, is this also Xiuolotl's protection? This is way too powerful!"

Old Ghost was also completely dazed, but he quickly adjusted his expression and nodded profoundly: "Sincerity brings results. The god's protection is invisible."

Xu Mo pushed up his glasses, his gaze scanning back and forth between the river and Old Ghost, the suspicion in his eyes growing heavier.

Does this old man really have such great ability?