Chapter 771: The Incomplete Corpse

Unlike the barren wasteland with exposed gray-white rocks that Lu Mi and the others had previously crossed, this side of the River Styx had deep black soil, no withered blood-red flowers, no bleached bones, and no decaying corpses.

The sky above was no longer lit by the pale, dim, and temperatureless "sunlight"; thick darkness ruled this boundless world.

Deep within the darkness, clusters of pale-greenish flames floated silently in midair, spaced far apart, as if serving as streetlamps.

With the illumination of the nearest pale flame, Lu Mi leapt swiftly from the gloomy boat onto the shore.

Once his feet touched solid ground, his heart settled somewhat, and he felt that, now that he had crossed the River Styx, his undead-transformed body emitted an even stronger, more pronounced aura of death; his spirit and consciousness, tightly protected by the Aegis family's golden mask, also felt a faint chill.

Immediately after, a cold, sinister presence took root within him, while the highly decayed "boatman," his eyes hollow, reinserted his long oar into the River Styx's current.

It did not attack Lu Mi again.

It seemed incapable of attacking targets on land.

Watching the gloomy boat drift farther from shore and the "boatman" standing with his back turned, Lu Mi paused and said:

"Don't we kill it?"

"As a decayed human skin of considerable rank, it suits your messenger perfectly."

This referred to the "Knight of the Sword"'s messenger, "One-Half Fairy," a spirit-world entity missing half its outer body—meaning she lacked a human skin, and the "boatman" was a human skin peeled off by a demi-god of the "Death" Path.

The "Knight of the Sword" fell silent for several seconds, his voice echoing in Lu Mi's ears:

"She only lacks her own human skin."

The reply was restrained and concise, yet Lu Mi felt as if the "Knight of the Sword" was roaring:

Don't just slap any skin onto my messenger!

The "Knight of the Sword" paused for a second, then continued:

"We may need to return to the other side of the River Styx later, and we don't know how many 'ferries' remain above the River Styx."

Return to the other side of the River Styx? Lu Mi finally considered a serious and vital question:

"After we deal with Oseto's child, how do we leave the Underworld?"

This clearly couldn't be solved by "teleportation."

"Our companions in the outside world should seek help from a Sequence 5 'Gatekeeper' of the 'Death' Path or a corresponding demi-god, which may require us to return to the outer region of the Underworld we came from, so we can see that bronze-colored gate."

Lu Mi nodded and, guided by the faint sensation from the black mark on his right shoulder, took his first step forward.

He did not ask the "Knight of the Sword" or the Temperance demi-god whether their direction deviated from the path to Oseto's child.

If they were wrong, they would warn him.

When he reached the nearest pale flame, Lu Mi realized it truly was a streetlamp.

It was crafted from gold, shaped like a kneeling human figure with hands bound behind its back, head tilted upward, chest and abdomen arched backward.

A pitch-black, sinister wick extended from the statue's mouth, coated in a pale yellow translucent grease; the pale flame burned silently, as if it had burned for millennia without any sign of extinguishing.

From this human-shaped lamp onward, the ground was paved with blocks of deep black, shattered stone slabs.

Lu Mi could already imagine how solemn and dignified the road leading to the "Death" God's palace must have once been.

Following the cracked and shattered stone path, beneath the distant, golden human-shaped lamps, Lu Mi moved quickly but cautiously into the depths of darkness, toward the place suspected to hold the "Pus-Swollen Severed Hand"'s missing body part.

The road also sloped downward at an angle.

This reminded Lu Mi of the Aurela Hotel he had once stayed in, and the words spoken by the "Death" God's descendant, Ivelista—many believed the true Hell and origin of death lay deep beneath the earth, so one must descend ever deeper.

This is also reflected in the Underworld… After walking a while, Lu Mi suddenly raised his hand and conjured a massive, blazing white flame.

The bright light swiftly dispelled the darkness farther out, revealing the surroundings:

Tombs and mausoleums, either completely collapsed or half-caved in, stood silent and lifeless, devoid of bones or corpses.

These structures varied in color—not just black, but also pale, golden, dark red, and gloomy green.

"Did the 'Death' God's followers once live in these houses?" Lu Mi asked the "Knight of the Sword," who knew much about the history of the Southern Continent and Underworld legends.

The "Knight of the Sword" replied succinctly:

"I don't know."

He added immediately:

"Only a being that entered or exited the Underworld before the 'Death' God's fall can confirm."

"Alright…" Lu Mi asked no further and walked faster.

Because he felt the "Pus-Swollen Severed Hand"'s missing body part was just ahead!

His right hand slipped into the "Traveler's Satchel," ready to draw the "Sword of Courage."

As for the "Demon's Whisper" ring, he had no intention of wearing it yet—he didn't believe becoming undead would grant immunity to the item's negative effect of amplifying malice.

Undead beings can harbor malice too!

Remember, wraiths and malevolent spirits form around their own obsessions and lingering malice.

Moreover, Lu Mi's spirit and consciousness were still protected by the Aegis family's golden mask, remaining in a living state.

After a brief jog, illuminated by the pale flames of the human lamps and the blazing white orb above, Lu Mi spotted a grand structure beside the broken stone slabs.

It resembled a church, entirely black, standing fifty to sixty meters tall, but its upper half had collapsed inward, crushing the lower section.

Lu Mi focused his spirit and listened closely, hearing faint, strange sounds emanating from the grand yet ruined church.

It sounded like someone slicing through flesh with a dull blade, sawing through bone—making listeners feel a phantom ache, their teeth tingling.

"I have another matter to resolve inside this church," Lu Mi finally informed the "Knight of the Sword" and the Temperance demi-god.

He added firmly:

"It should be quick."

He remembered the "Magician" lady saying the "Pus-Swollen Severed Hand"'s danger only manifested once all its body parts were reunited; currently, two parts remained in the Exile City of Morola, so there was no need to worry.

The enemy he might face next was likely the undead creature responsible for the earlier sound.

"Fine." The "Knight of the Sword" did not ask what it was.

"Thank you," Lu Mi replied sincerely.

The fact that the "Knight of the Sword" and the Temperance demi-god neither objected nor left his body meant they tacitly agreed to offer necessary aid.

Lu Mi extinguished the blazing white flame hovering above his head, to avoid provoking the undead within the ruined church.

He transformed into shadow, merging into the unlit areas, slipping soundlessly into the structure whose upper half had collapsed inward.

Through the shadow, Lu Mi saw stone pillars driven into the ground, shattered domes, and the half-destroyed statue of a bird.

After circling the ruins for a while, Lu Mi's vision suddenly brightened.

Ten meters ahead, on a broken wall still standing ten meters high, several bone torches burned with pale-greenish flames; the thick darkness above poured through the massive hole in the collapsed dome, held back by the dim light.

Beneath the bone torches sat a long table made of gray-white stone, upon which lay a half-body—decapitated and vertically split open.

The corpse wore no clothing; its skin was bluish-black, swollen with decay, oozing yellowish-red pus from every surface.

It appeared much larger than a normal human—perhaps it had been a half-giant in life, or its corpse had simply bloated from postmortem gases.

Lu Mi recognized it at once: this was the body of the "Pus-Swollen Severed Hand"!

It was the left half, bearing one arm and one leg.

Before the corpse of the "Pus-Swollen Severed Hand," a towering figure stood sideways to Lu Mi.

The figure stood four meters tall, its skin pitch-black, etched with countless sinister patterns—most of which had rotted away, exposing gleaming white bones or appearing as half-melted, viscous sludge.

At this moment, the figure bent over, wielding a much larger, unidentifiable pale leg bone, slowly slicing into the half-body of the "Pus-Swollen Severed Hand."

Lu Mi saw two curved, tattered black goat horns growing from its head; its profile resembled a fusion of human and goat features, growing more horrifying the longer he stared.

Was this an undead creature born from a follower of the "Demon" Path? Lu Mi had just Shanguo this thought when he saw the goat-faced giant cut off a chunk of bluish-black rotting flesh and shove it into its mouth, gnawing it, yellow pus spraying outward.

On the severed half-body of the "Pus-Swollen Severed Hand," the rotting flesh writhed and regrew, filling the wounds created by the cuts.

One eats, one grows? Lu Mi was pondering how to retrieve the corpse when the demon-like undead suddenly turned toward the shadow where he hid, speaking in a hollow, decaying voice—a language Lu Mi did not understand.

Though he couldn't comprehend the words, Lu Mi felt his flesh twitch strangely, forced out of his shadow-being state, reverting to his golden-masked undead form.

Yet the goat-faced, rotting demon did not seize the chance to attack.

Two seconds later, the "Knight of the Sword"'s voice entered Lu Mi's ears:

"It asks:

'Do you need flesh?'"

Need flesh? Lu Mi froze, then felt relieved he had a translator.

Gazing at the towering undead demon, bent over and carving flesh, Lu Mi suddenly had a strange thought:

Is this a deal with a demon?

Has the aftereffect of using the "Power Broker's Black Box" finally caught up with me?

ps: Recommend a book, "Brilliant Years 1991," by Dao Yi Geng

A time-travel story: a programmer returns to 1991 and, due to a debt of gratitude from his predecessor, is forced into a blind date—only to be rejected, beginning his story…

(End of Chapter)