"When you have the chance to make a choice, don't let yourself regret it. As heroes, you can't just turn a blind eye to the Bloodsin Wraiths of today!"
"So why are you bunch of good-for-nothings still standing around? Get in there, now! Can't you see the pond is already filthy?"
Chen Li cracked a long whip woven from golden threads, lashing it fiercely against a sin-burdened demon.
Thanks to the effect of [An Arrow That Once Slew a Million Demons], Chen Li held a powerful deterrent effect over all manner of demons, ghosts, ghouls, and goblins. This was especially true for the deceased demonic souls that belonged to the Longbow of Peace.
The whip itself was woven from the merits of The Cleaner. Tough and durable!
Under Chen Li's command, dozens of demons were once again driven into the now-turbid Pond of Rebirth, which had become murky after cleansing the filth from the Bloodsin Wraiths and returning them to their human forms.
The moment the demons stepped into the pond, they erupted in blood-curdling screams. A core characteristic of the Pond of Rebirth was that the more grievous an evil soul's sins, the greater their suffering upon contact with its waters. This very suffering was then used to purify the pond. Only after the pond was purified to a certain degree could it continue to cleanse the Bloodsin Wraiths.
In short, all the hellish wonders within the Longbow of Peace were powered by the pain-energy generated from evil souls.
Once Chen Li stepped out of the Underworld's entrance, whip in hand, the piercing shrieks of the evil souls were instantly silenced. Though separated by a single gate, it was as if heaven and hell had been divided.
Although… the true nature of the Sea of Death on the other side was far more monstrous, far more hellish.
"Those evil souls probably don't need to be whipped. They should enter the Pond of Rebirth in an orderly fashion on their own, shouldn't they?" Acheron said without turning her head, holding a red umbrella to shield herself from the drizzling black rain.
"I was bored, so I'm whipping them for fun," Chen Li replied.
"...It's only been three days," Acheron said, looking at Chen Li with a sense of helplessness.
"It's already been three days!" Chen Li corrected.
"It seems you're the type who can't stay idle. You should pause to appreciate the scenery along the journey, or you'll miss many beautiful things," Acheron said.
"But this Sea of Death is so boring to look at." Chen Li sat on a reef, propping his chin up as he stared at the vast, unchanging Sea of Death.
"This is Nihility."
"Well, Nihility is truly boring," Chen Li said, shaking his head.
"Do you feel the weight of Nihility now? Even so, do you still wish to venture to the other side of Nihility?" Acheron asked.
"Of course."
"When?"
"After lunch. Alright, it's time for lunch." As he spoke, Chen Li expanded the range of his Friends Circle until it formed a five-meter-radius shield around him, protecting them from the corrosive black rain. Only then did he take out a table and summon [Mom's Tablecloth].
Thanks to the black sun in the sky, the rain in this godforsaken place was corrosive to living beings and was thus considered an attack, turning the Friends Circle into a convenient rain shelter.
"You or me?" Though it was a question, Chen Li had already handed the tablecloth to Acheron.
Acheron watched as Chen Li's "Friendship and Bonds" shielded them from the black rain. She closed her red umbrella, took the tablecloth, and after a moment's hesitation, gave it a gentle shake.
"Is this… snow?" Chen Li was taken aback by the food that appeared on the table.
Although he had grown accustomed to Acheron summoning all sorts of strange things with [Mom's Tablecloth], they were at least always food. But this time…
"This purplish-red snow is the snow of the Oerke Dragon. It's said to have the sweet and sour taste of raspberries. Do you remember the young girl I mentioned, the one who intended to journey into the depths of IX? Her name was Fribas. She used to make Oerke Dragon snow dumplings. But by then, I could no longer taste much of anything. Before I left, she made me one last batch of roasted marshmallows. This is it." As she spoke, Acheron picked up a slightly charred roasted marshmallow.
"[Mom's Tablecloth] summons food with a pseudo-randomness, but to summon a desired dish with such precision… you have something heavy on your mind." Chen Li had remained quiet while Acheron introduced the food, only speaking now.
"Because I am about to watch a friend step into the depths of IX once more. But I hope that you and I will meet again in the near future." Acheron picked up one of the two cups of hot tea before her and placed it in front of Chen Li.
"..." by Chen Li.
"What is it? What are you thinking about? You can tell me whatever is on your mind," Acheron asked, finding it rare to see Chen Li so silent.
"I was just thinking, hot tea with snow dumplings… It's a good thing I can eat anything without getting sick, otherwise I'd be stuck here for good today. You're not trying to use this method to stop me from going into IX's depths, are you?" Chen Li eyed Acheron suspiciously.
It wasn't that he was overthinking it. He had already been here for three days, and every time he was about to venture into IX, his "assistant" Acheron would come up with some strange method to make him stay.
Acheron remained silent, merely shaking her head before turning to gaze at the distant Sea of Death.
"No guts, no glory! Let's go! Lose some skin, lose some flesh, but don't you dare fall behind!"
At the far end of Acheron's line of sight, Tielnan was walking toward them, holding a loudspeaker that blared a strange voice recording. Behind him trailed a group of Bloodsin Wraiths.
This was Acheron's excuse from the first day. She had asked Chen Li if he wanted to try guiding the Bloodsin Wraiths. Chen Li gave it a try and decided that dragging them by force into the gates of hell was too undignified. But if he let them go, they would scatter everywhere and be impossible to manage. So, he took out the Ghost-Attracting Device.
Bloodsin Wraiths were, in a way, a type of ghost, so from the moment this Curio appeared, Tielnan and Acheron's work became much easier.
After one batch of Bloodsin Wraiths was cleansed in the Pond of Rebirth, one person would be responsible for driving the evil souls into the pond to purify it, while the other would head out to attract a new batch of Bloodsin Wraiths with the device.
This method was highly efficient. However, they were bottlenecked by the slow pace at which the evil souls could purify the pond, so the overall efficiency couldn't be increased.
The speed of "cooking" was too slow, and the number of people in line was growing too fast… But thankfully, aside from Chen Li, both Tielnan and Acheron were very patient.
This was the process of purifying the Bloodsin Wraiths. The evil souls only needed to stay in the Pond of Rebirth for a while to handle the purification. Meanwhile, those of them in charge of coordination had much more to consider.
Miko, whose Ghost-Attracting Device had been taken, had nothing to worry about. Chen Li discovered that the space-time he had arrived in was a very special period. Perhaps because he had gotten lost and ended up in the "past," everything in the "present" was frozen—unless Chen Li specifically activated the communication functions of the Friends Circle or The Guide.
This was why he could relax and stay here for three days.
Although no one was forcing him to do anything in the "present" world either, Chen Li always felt that he could only truly relax during this "extra time."
Besides having some leisure time, Chen Li was also waiting for the cooldown of the [Then I Ask You] Miracle Card.
After guiding another batch of Bloodsin Wraiths to queue up at the entrance to the Underworld, Tielnan walked over.
"This loudspeaker has certainly made things much more convenient," Tielnan said, casually sitting down on a reef.
"Curios change lives," Chen Li nodded.
"Speaking of Curios… why is this one belching black smoke? Nothing strange has happened to my companions, has it?" Tielnan looked with some concern at a long banner planted in front of the Underworld's gate.
This was Acheron's excuse from the second day. After purifying the Bloodsin Wraiths with the Pond of Rebirth, the three discovered that if they weren't guided to peace, they would eventually revert to that ominous, red-haired form if left to wander this space. But they couldn't let them roam freely in hell either, as it was filled with torturous wonders.
Therefore, Chen Li spent ten Crystals to forge a soul-summoning Curio—the Myriad Soul Banner.
However, Chen Li didn't like the name, so he changed it to the Human Emperor Banner.
It was forged from three Entries: [Soul], [Absorption], and [Space]. It had no other functions and couldn't even forcibly control the souls within it. Its only advantages were its massive internal space and its ability to provide departed souls with a home-like warmth, complete with a preservation effect that ensured the souls' spiritual essence wouldn't diminish over time.
Of the three Entries, the hardest to obtain, [Soul], was ironically the easiest to find… weren't evil souls perfect for it?
But somewhere along the line, something went wrong. The resulting Myriad Soul Banner was just too… Myriad Soul Banner-y.
Chen Li suspected it was because he had given the right to use it to Acheron. Acheron was an Emanator of Nihility, so it was only logical that a banner in her hands would emit black smoke. That was perfectly reasonable.
The Aeon of Nihility was black, after all! At least, before he handed it to Acheron, the banner had been radiating brilliant light in his own hands.
The reason he gave the banner to Acheron was that giving it to Tielnan only yielded a reward of 20 Crystals, whereas Acheron gave him 50.
Who knew what Acheron might do with the banner? All Chen Li needed to know was that she wouldn't do anything evil with it. He had only intended to help, but he ended up making a huge profit, which put him in a great mood.
"Don't worry, it's absolutely fine," Chen Li guaranteed.
"Alright…" Having witnessed Chen Li's miraculous abilities as a Curio Forger, Tielnan easily believed him. Chen Li's words were filled with sincerity.
"By the way, Brother Tielnan, care to join us for some lunch?"
"I'll pass," Tielnan said, shaking his head.
"Alright, let's dig in. But before that… Acheron, you know the drill." Chen Li gave Acheron a meaningful look.
Acheron hesitated for a moment, then stood up and leaned toward Chen Li until his hand could easily rest on her head. Only then did she stop.
"Fictionalize."
Chen Li softly uttered the word. As he gently patted Acheron's head, she began to glow faintly.
"Thank you. I'm sorry to have put you to the expense," Acheron said, sitting back down only after Chen Li's hand had left.
"It's nothing. I just temporarily fictionalized your former sense of taste onto your present self. It barely costs any Fiction Value. Come on, try the snow dumplings and roasted marshmallows," Chen Li said.
"Renting" things fictionalized with Fiction Value didn't cost much, but "buying" them was extremely expensive.
Although the person sitting across from him was no longer his old friend, this friend was about to undertake the same journey as the one before—exploring the depths of IX.
"The snow of the Oerke Dragon… it really does taste sweet and sour like raspberries."
After finishing the snow dumpling, Acheron felt only a trace of coldness slide down her throat. She brushed a hand across her cheek and found that a tear had fallen without her realizing it. She didn't know if it was for her old friend, or for the moving feeling of regaining her sense of taste.
Now this is a literal case of 'I Weep for the Departed,' Chen Li quipped internally while eating his marshmallow.
And beside them, the "evening rain" continued to fall…
"I'm craving a roasted sheep's head," Chen Li suddenly said. He wondered what the flames of the Lord of the Netherflame would taste like to chew on.
"Hm?"
"Oh, it's nothing, don't mind me," Chen Li said, shaking his head.
"I have one last question," Acheron suddenly spoke up.
"Mm, go ahead."
"Is touching my head necessary to perform the [Fictionalization]?"
"Not really. Usually, I touch wherever I need to fictionalize, but I can't very well go and touch your tongue, can I? So I just fictionalized the senses of your entire head. Speaking of which… Acheron, your hair feels really nice." Chen Li gave her a thumbs-up.
"...Thanks for the compliment?"
---o---