Chapter 112: Beasts of the Otherworld

Auburn Flame Altar.

Despite being a wooden door, it felt heavy to the touch. Under the force of Ghost Li, the heavy and solid door of the Auburn Flame Altar creaked and slowly opened inward.

A faint red light shone out from within, and the surrounding air seemed to grow hotter, almost unbearably so. [For more exciting stories, visit 517Z.com]

Ghost Li frowned, his forehead already damp with sweat. He couldn’t help but think of the elder named Shangguan, who had been guarding this sweltering place for nearly a century. How he managed to endure was beyond comprehension.

Inside the Auburn Flame Altar, it wasn’t as brightly lit as one might expect. Apart from a faint red glow, the interior was largely shadowed, which didn’t quite match the intense heat outside. After a moment’s hesitation, Ghost Li finally stepped in.

With another creak, the wooden door gently closed behind him.

Taking a deep breath, Ghost Li steadied his mind and began to look around. As he had suspected when he first saw the altar from the outside, the interior was a vast, circular hall, about five zhang high. The walls were made of the same blood-red rock, unadorned and plain, yet against the backdrop of such a grand space, they exuded an inexplicable magnificence. It seemed that only this kind of simplicity could achieve the highest level of architectural grandeur.

Soon, Ghost Li noticed that the red glow throughout the hall emanated from its center. The closer he got to the center, the brighter the light became. In the distance, the hall appeared to be engulfed in a fiery blaze.

Staring at the “flame,” the red light gently illuminated his eyes, and also the small gray monkey on his shoulder.

In the eyes of both man and monkey, a reddish flame seemed to ignite, giving them a menacing, fiery gaze.

The little gray monkey’s tail twitched slightly, a sign of unease, and it let out a low cry.

Ghost Li took a step, heading toward the “flame” at the center, walking deeper into the red light.

As he approached the “flame,” the air grew even hotter, feeling almost like being near a molten lava pit. Suddenly, memories long forgotten flashed through his mind— the Fire Dragon Cave, the boiling lake of magma, and the pair of fox demons who had jumped to their deaths…

This thought quickly faded. When he was just a few feet away from the center, he suddenly stopped. The little gray monkey turned to look at its master.

Ghost Li frowned, his gaze moving from the “flame” to the ground.

On the floor, made of smooth, red stone, there was a pattern.

Right beneath Ghost Li, there were finger-width engravings extending in a curving line. A similar pattern, also finger-width, was carved into the red stone, forming a one-foot-long image.

It was a deity!

A deity Ghost Li had never seen or heard of before.

The robust engravings slowly extended, with traces of wear showing the age of these patterns, adding a sense of desolation.

The deity’s head was hairless but had slightly curved horns like those of a ram. Its face resembled a human’s, but beneath its dark, empty eyes were sharp fangs. The carver even etched tiny holes beside the fangs, as if dripping with blood, adding to the ferocity and menace.

The deity’s body was vastly different from a human’s. Its muscular, tiger-like torso had four arms: one holding a sword, one a shield, another tightly gripping a twisted, screaming human, and the last one gently holding a blood-drenched object—a human heart.

The originally rough and ancient engravings suddenly became furious and wild, with a force and a deep-seated hatred that seemed to burst forth. Ghost Li could feel the madness in these engravings, rising up like a wave.

The smooth engravings suddenly became fierce, cascading down the body, and merging into a raging inferno at the lower part. The red light flickered, and the deity’s mouth seemed to form a sinister smile, as if it were about to come back to life!

Ghost Li took a deep, deep breath, subconsciously linking the carver and the builder of the altar in his mind. He could not believe there was such a master in the world, capable of such a genius and godlike creation!

A single engraving seemed to capture the very essence of the world!

The engravings continued, and Ghost Li found himself moving to the side, discovering a second, third, and eventually eight divine images on the ground. All different, but Ghost Li was certain that they were all deities of destruction.

In these images, humans were the sacrifices, mere food. The entire hall now exuded a killing aura, as if something sinister was growling in the darkness.

Around the perimeter of these images, there was a line that wrapped around them, sometimes bending inward, sometimes outward, leaving Ghost Li puzzled.

He returned to the first image, staring at the evil deity. Lifting his head, he once again saw the “flame.”

Suddenly, a surge in his mind brought a familiar, bloodthirsty desire. The images of the deities seemed to come alive, flickering in his vision.

The soul-devouring rod, hidden in his sleeve, began to glow.

Ghost Li’s breathing grew heavy. He shook his head, trying to regain composure, and slowly walked toward the “flame.”

But he forgot to look at the little gray monkey on his shoulder.

The monkey’s eyes, once golden, now glowed with a red light, matching the madness in Ghost Li’s eyes, growing brighter and more intense.

The short distance to the center was soon crossed. Ghost Li realized the eight deities were all facing the source of the red light. The temperature was now unbearably hot, and a normal person would have suffocated.

Ghost Li suppressed the bloodthirsty urges, looking at the source of the light.

A stone well, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, stood in the center. Three feet tall and two feet in diameter, it was made of the same red rock. On top of the well, a transparent, crystal-like stone, seemingly a sphere, but with countless facets, radiated a brilliant light.

Red light from the well, passing through the crystal, was refracted, creating a red, blood-like flow. The light converged three feet above the crystal, forming a red orb, the “flame” Ghost Li had seen earlier.

Approaching the well, Ghost Li looked down.

A familiar scene greeted him. Boiling magma surged below, like a raging ocean, splashing against the hard rock, hissing and steaming.

The Auburn Flame Altar was built over an active volcano.

Ghost Li’s agitation grew, his fists tightening and his breathing becoming labored. Since seeing the engraved deities, a deep, violent rage had been building inside him, as if these were malevolent gods. His bloodthirsty intent grew, but strangely, his mind remained clear, unlike usual when he would fall into a crazed state.

However, the physical torment was more intense. If someone were nearby, they would see his eyes glowing red, like those of a demon.

As Ghost Li struggled, the little gray monkey suddenly chirped and jumped down, landing on the crystal.

Shocked, Ghost Li reached out, “Little Gray, be careful!”

But the monkey had already landed, and the red light, blocked by its body, caused the red orb to vanish. Suddenly, the world fell silent.

Darkness enveloped the hall, and Ghost Li stared at the monkey.

It lay on the crystal, seemingly fine. The red light reflected off its belly, flowing like blood. Strange sounds, like bones grinding, came from its body.

Kakaka, kakaka…

Ghost Li took a step forward, sensing a foreboding.

The monkey’s eyes, now fully red, glowed in the darkness.

A haunting wail filled the hall. The deities on the ground lit up, one by one, and the air grew filled with a harsh, howling wind.

Ghost Li grabbed the monkey, just as a loud rumble echoed, and the red light from the deities rose, forming a giant, rotating ring of fire.

The ring, with the deities inside, slowly rose, and the entire hall was bathed in an intense, red glow.

The ring, now at the ceiling, began to spin faster, and the air whirled around them. Ghost Li, standing in the eye of the storm, saw his clothes flap violently, his face pale.

In the ring, the deities, now alive, laughed maniacally. The red light, now a blinding torrent, showered down like rain.

A loud roar came from the ring, and the massive, burning creature, surrounded by flames, leaped down, claws raking the stone.

Ghost Li’s pupils contracted, and he launched the soul-devouring rod, the Eight Trigrams Pattern emerging, blocking the creature.

The attack, powerful enough to stop the creature, sent a shockwave back, jolting Ghost Li. The creature, undeterred, roared and lunged again, its eyes blazing with fury.

Suddenly, the little gray monkey, now glowing with a divine light, transformed. The marking between its brows split, revealing a third eye, and it roared, transforming into a divine, three-eyed monkey, the legendary spirit beast of the universe, born in the fiery altar.