Chapter 379: Hell’s Descent

Dongbo Xueying felt an immense sorrow. Ever since he entered the ranks of the extraordinary, Chi Qiubai had looked after him like a brother.

But now, he was dead!

He refused to betray the Xia Clan, so he chose to betray the Great Demon God!

“Changfeng.”

One figure after another arrived in succession.

Master Heshan, Palace Master Chen, Sikong Yang, Chao Qing, Lord Bucheng, and others appeared as projections of their bodies. They gazed at Chi Qiubai, who sat cross-legged but had already lost all signs of life. Each of them was overwhelmed with grief. They had once placed boundless hopes on Chi Qiubai, and even before Dongbo Xueying’s rise, they believed Chi Qiubai would be the greatest among the Xia Clan.

“Changfeng, you, how could you…” Sikong Yang’s voice trembled, “Sigh!”

“Once one betrays the Great Demon God after pledging loyalty, the pain will be worse than death,” Chao Qing shook his head. “Changfeng’s soul has been captured; neither can he live nor die. His soul will likely suffer eternal torment!”

“All because of this war!” Palace Master Chen clenched his teeth in anguish. “If not for this war, how could the Great Demon God have gone to such lengths to seduce our Xia Clan’s extraordinary beings, even deliberately guiding Changfeng’s wife into the Abyss of Darkness… Sigh!”

“One mistake leads to endless errors…” Master Taishu murmured heavily.

“Choosing loyalty to the Great Demon God means handing over your soul to him,” Sikong Yang’s voice quivered. In his eyes, Chi Qiubai was the next Abbot of the Water Source Monastery. He had always cherished him dearly, almost like his own son.

Dongbo Xueying stood silently aside.

“Brother Changfeng did not die in vain,” Dongbo Xueying said softly.

…

Inside a hall of the Star Tower.

The Red-robed Dongbo Xueying sat cross-legged, while a figure materialized beside him—it was the phantom image of Yu Jingqiu, who had ceased manipulating the Star Tower to take a rest.

“Xueying,” Yu Jingqiu approached, her face slightly pale.

“Jingqiu, thank you for your hard work,” Dongbo Xueying stood up.

“It’s nothing. Compared to you all, it’s not much,” Yu Jingqiu said softly. “I read Brother Changfeng’s letter. I was thinking, if your soul, Senior Brother Xueying, had been lured by the Great Demon God into the Abyss of Darkness, desiring to be eternally together… I’m afraid I would have made the same choice as Brother Changfeng back then. After all, we didn’t know back then that the Great Demon God would want to destroy the entire Xia Clan.”

Dongbo Xueying nodded. “Throughout history, the Demon God Cult has existed generation after generation. Although selfish, they only sought to compete for faith, never aiming to annihilate the Xia Clan entirely.”

“Brother Changfeng took one step into ruin, never to return,” Yu Jingqiu gazed outward through the Star Tower. “I wonder now if Changfeng’s soul is undergoing torment, and whether his wife is suffering the same fate!”

Dongbo Xueying nodded slowly, his heart heavy.

He wanted to save them, but felt powerless.

Yu Jingqiu continued, “Eternal torment of one’s soul is not terrifying. What’s truly frightening is… because of your decision, your beloved’s soul also suffers eternal torment. That is the most heartbreaking and guilt-inducing.”

Dongbo Xueying was stunned.

That’s right.

He hadn’t realized this yet. Choosing to betray the Great Demon God! Chi Qiubai had also caused his beloved’s soul to suffer endlessly. Perhaps that was the greatest pain in Chi Qiubai’s heart.

“Cursed, cursed! All because of this war!” Dongbo Xueying muttered darkly. “The Demon God and the Great Demon God, for Redstone Mountain, see us Xia Clan as nothing but ants… No matter what, we absolutely cannot let them have their way. In this war, no matter the cost, we must win.”

“We will win,” Yu Jingqiu held Dongbo Xueying’s hand. “I believe you can definitely pierce through that black flower.”

…

In the distant Abyss of Darkness.

The Great Demon God Daelhaw sat on his throne, his face cold and gloomy. He knew how much Chi Qiubai cherished his wife. He thought that by holding her soul, Chi Qiubai would surely obey him faithfully. Betrayal was impossible. But reality had slapped him hard. Although their side currently held an absolute advantage in the war, Daelhaw remained calm.

Inside his body, a seemingly tiny point existed, yet that point was a vast world.

As a World God, his divine sea had long evolved into a world of its own, which was also why World Gods could summon souls.

“Ahhh~~~”

A woman in black was bound to a rack, undergoing a whipping. She was a soul entity, and the whip lashing her was inscribed with divine runes, causing her unbearable pain with every strike.

Merely a hundred meters away from her floated a crystal ball.

Inside the ball, countless flames burned, vaguely revealing a figure—Chi Qiubai’s soul.

Scorched by hellfire, Chi Qiubai trembled in agony.

“No—”

Chi Qiubai looked at the woman undergoing punishment, unable to believe what he saw, shouting, “No, please… stop…”

“Chi Qiubai! I will make you see your beloved suffer endless torment day and night. Don’t worry, she cannot see you; she will never see you. And you will never be able to speak a single word to her! I will let you endure various tortures—hahaha… Don’t worry, this is only the beginning. The real spectacle is yet to come. I can’t wait to see whether, with your loyalty to the Xia Clan, you will become a vengeful ghost under my torment, hahaha…”

The Great Demon God’s voice echoed inside the crystal ball.

Inside the ball, Chi Qiubai gazed at the woman enduring punishment in the distance, his heart breaking. How he wished he could take her place.

“Xiaoxi,” Chi Qiubai stretched out his right hand, whispering softly, “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

…

Time passed day by day.

Two years had passed in the blink of an eye.

The Star Tower, the fortress, and the obsidian bloom still stood unwavering in the endless sea of sand. Dongbo Xueying’s qi avatar had exhausted every conceivable tactic—even launching direct assaults—yet without the Bloodthirsty Spear, the ephemeral duplicate could barely muster a threat. No matter how fiercely Dongbo Xueying fought, his avatar barely endured a single cycle of seasons before dissolving into the winds. His true form remained imprisoned within the Withering Saint’s Bloom, where each dawn found him honing spear arts amidst eternal twilight.

Though the Demon God plucked his strings, the rippling sound waves shattered Dongbo Xueying’s concentration, preventing him from peacefully delving into the spear’s profound truths. Yet he trained without respite—just as he had when afflicted by the Withering Curse—pouring every fiber of his being into mastering the art of the spear!

But…

Two years had passed.

Still, he could not pierce through the black flower. He had not yet reached the Divine Mind state in any of the three spear techniques. He began to feel the same frustration that Mei Mountain Master, Sword Emperor, Chen Jiu, and others had once felt when trapped at their bottlenecks, unable to break through.

“Whoosh~” The massive semi-transparent black petals, layer upon layer, formed a colossal black flower spanning three thousand miles.

Dongbo Xueying stopped practicing, gazing at the massive flower.

This was the cage that imprisoned him.

“It’s already been two years, and I still haven’t broken through. The Star Tower won’t last much longer,” Dongbo Xueying gripped his spear tightly.

The Demon God’s musical notes echoed within the space of the black flower. Dongbo Xueying turned his head coldly toward the Demon God and the Great Demon God inside the distant Redleaf Realm before resuming his spear practice furiously. These days, he had become like a madman in his training!

Because there was far too much weighing upon him…