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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 1: [Nether Realm of the Dead]
Chapter 11: [As the Dark Clouds Disperses, The Ghost Realm Appears]
(11th of Volume 1)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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The six members of Laboratory 705, excluding Han Qin, who carried a shotgun, and the middle-aged woman with glasses, were all somewhat older.
They were still in the same spot as before.
Seeing Qi Shanshan, Li Weiyi, and Gao Huan return from the Nine-Tiered Ship Tower, Director Yang hurried over to greet them, his face apologetic.
"Thank goodness you're back! I forgot to warn you earlier - there's an unfathomable danger at the stern. Don't let curiosity get the better of you and wander over there."
"This could very well be a funeral ship!"
"The ancient-style garden at the stern might not be the ship owner's residence, but rather their tomb."
"How could you forget something like that?"
Li Weiyi and Gao Huan had completely lost any respect for Director Yang and responded with perfunctory pleasantries.
Qi Shanshan, however, adopted a different demeanor in front of the director, smiling warmly.
"Thank you for the reminder, Director! These two young men wouldn't dare to go even if they wanted to. Those rows of human effigies in the Nine-Tiered Ship Tower are terrifying just to look at. By the way, haven't all the immortal artifacts from those skeletal humans been taken by everyone? What are you still researching, Director?"
Director Yang said, "Investigate their cause of death! And I believe the most valuable treasures they possessed aren't those immortal artifacts at all, but these armor and weapons. Unfortunately, they're too heavy for anyone to lift."
"They're probably the legendary Heavenly Soldiers and Generals," Qi Shanshan said, "These armor and weapons are all divine artifacts. How could mere mortals like us wield them?"
Li Weiyi glanced at the ten-foot-long ancient spear on the ground. It was pitch-black like ink, and though the shaft was covered in rust, the spearhead remained razor-sharp, gleaming with a chilling light.
If not for the crowd of people watching, he would have loved to pick it up and test his strength after cultivating Transcendent power.
He should be able to lift it.
After exchanging pleasantries with Director Yang, the three of them headed back toward the medical tent at the ship's bow.
Li Weiyi couldn't help but ask, "Doctor Qi, what exactly are these immortal artifacts you mentioned earlier?"
Qi Shanshan kept her hands in her pockets and didn't turn around.
"They're the accessories and clothing found on those skeletal humans - dragon-patterned rings, three-headed serpent bracelets, cross pendants, scripture-inscribed belts, silver-threaded gloves, and so on. They've remained perfectly preserved for a thousand years, so they're clearly no ordinary objects."
"The moment the white-boned humans were discovered, everyone scrambled to snatch up everything they could. Afterward, everyone hid their treasures carefully, and no one knew how many valuable items they truly possessed."
"What I just mentioned were only the most talked-about items from the past few days, things many people had actually seen."
"Rumor has it that when Xie Tianshu removed the dragon-patterned ring, a faint dragon's roar echoed, a truly mystical phenomenon. Others say that after Kong Fan obtained the silver-threaded gloves, his arm strength increased dramatically, allowing him to lift objects weighing three or four hundred pounds."
Li Weiyi asked, "Kong Fan? Master Kong, the head chef? With his physique, could he really lift something that heavy?"
Qi Shanshan nodded slightly, envy gleaming in her beautiful eyes. She sighed softly, "Now you understand why everyone is so desperate to find the Buddha's Relic and why they're so hostile toward you, right? No matter how precious these other treasures are, they pale in comparison to the Buddha's Relic."
"Slap!"
Gao Huan slapped his thigh, groaning, "Damn it! What have I missed? So many treasures that have endured for a thousand years, and I didn't get a single one! Li Zi, we shouldn't have been injured!"
Li Weiyi remained calm, saying, "A man without fault is punished for possessing a treasure. Who can say whether it's a blessing or a curse?"
....
The Ghost Bear Emperor was still alive, and could return at any moment.
On the Bronze Ship, human nature had decayed. People worried about the dwindling food and water supplies, while simultaneously coveting each other's treasures.
Tensions grew increasingly sharp.
Moreover, many believed Li Weiyi had swallowed the Buddha's Relic, and they eyed him with predatory intent.
This was the fifth day since they had crashed onto the Bronze Ship!
With each passing day, the likelihood of conflict and danger increased by another degree.
Driven by survival, greed, envy, and desire, many were secretly plotting and gathering strength. Li Weiyi had only taken a brief stroll outside, but he could already sense the palpable atmosphere of danger.
All it would take was a single spark to ignite everything.
While maintaining heightened vigilance, Li Weiyi channeled the Scorching Qi Flow to its fullest extent, pouring all his energy into healing his left arm injury.
Two days later.
The seventh day since they had crashed onto the Bronze Ship.
At nine in the morning, a chorus of gasps and shouts erupted outside the medical tent, accompanied by the sound of running footsteps.
"Daybreak! The Nethercloud is gradually dissipating!"
"Great! Are we finally approaching land?"
....
The commotion in the medical tent woke everyone.
Li Weiyi was overjoyed.
After quickly tidying up, he hurried out of bed and onto the deck.
The deck was already packed.
The thick, inky Nethercloud had indeed thinned, now drifting like gauze, allowing glimpses of starlight above.
"The sea! I see the sea!"
A young research team member leaned over the railing, pointing at the ship's hull and shouting with unrestrained joy.
The others gathered around and saw the waves, layered one upon another, a hundred meters below.
Though the Nethercloud hadn't completely dissipated, the view was still hazy.
Yet it was enough to stir their excitement.
It was like a blind man regaining his sight, or like the eternal night finally giving way to dawn, filling them with boundless hope and anticipation.
"What's that? A sheer mountain peak rising from the sea?"
Someone rushed to the ship's bow and pointed into the distance.
"It's not a mountain peak. It looks like a stone pillar... more like a stone stele, and there are inscriptions on it."
"Good heavens! How could such a colossal, rectangular stone stele be standing in the sea? Just the portion above the surface must be over two thousand meters tall!"
"What's the difference between that and a stone peak?"
Li Weiyi followed the crowd toward the bow of the Bronze Ship.
The Nethercloud above was almost completely dispersed.
The ocean was a deep, somber black.
Dozens of kilometers ahead, a stone monument stood like a towering mountain peak, piercing the sky.
Even from this distance, its imposing presence was palpable.
Amidst the vast, endless ocean, it appeared utterly solitary and incongruous, yet this only enhanced its grandeur and majesty.
Four ancient, powerful, and bizarre characters were carved deep into the stone, as if carved by a celestial blade, their lines sharp and clear.
"What strange characters... they look like some kind of symbols."
"Is this still Earth? I've never heard of any ocean on Earth with a stone pillar monument like this."
Many had clung to the hope that once the Nethercloud dispersed, they would see the familiar sea, allowing them to return to their homeland, families, and schools.
With their illusions shattered, some research team members, consumed by longing for their loved ones, began to sob uncontrollably.
Cai Yutong stood at the edge of the crowd, gazing up at the completely clear sky.
"Don't you think the stars seem too low? And... it doesn't look like the Milky Way. It's not the familiar night sky we know."
As her words fell, a bizarre phenomenon occurred.
"Whoosh!"
From the sky, countless light orbs rained down like a dense shower, scattering across the vast ocean.
The light orb nearby was now clear enough to make out - it seemed to be... humanoid.
Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events, utterly bewildered and chilled to the bone.
The starry sky was raining down people!
"Look over here! What's in the sea?" Gao Huan waved frantically, calling out to the others.
As the Nethercloud dissipated, the sea finally came into view.
In the inky black ocean, a terrifying scene unfolded: a dense mass of people swimming within it.
This wasn't just in the immediate vicinity; it stretched as far as the eye could see.
Countless figures, their bodies semi-transparent and radiating a faint glow, filled the water. Men, women, young, and old - mostly the elderly - floated on the surface or sank beneath the waves.
They weren't flesh-and-blood humans, but more like wandering spirits.
Most of these souls had vacant, lifeless eyes, drifting aimlessly. But a few were fiercely active, darting through the water like predators.
"Jie jie!"
"Roar!"
One fierce soul, an elderly man with long, disheveled hair and a gaunt face, sensed the gazes from the ship.
He tilted his head back and let out a shrill, bloodthirsty cry. Leaping from the water, he lunged toward the deck, over a hundred meters above.
None of the crew had ever encountered such a bizarre phenomenon.
Panic erupted.
People stumbled backward in terror. Some, paralyzed with fear, were trampled underfoot.
"Shatter!"
Just as the fierce soul neared the Bronze Ship, about ten meters from the deck, a shimmering rune materialized out of thin air, tearing him apart in an explosion of light particles.
It was as if a crack had appeared in the fabric of space itself.
Appearing suddenly, then vanishing just as quickly.
The other fierce souls, who had been eagerly circling, now displayed expressions of terror, emitting eerie cries as they fled from the Bronze Ship.
"An unknown force is protecting the Bronze Ship. They can't board," Li Weiyi urged everyone to remain calm, and together with Cai Yutong, they helped the two elderly professors who had been trampled.
When the fierce soul elder exploded into particles of light that scattered into the sea, they immediately triggered a frenzy among the countless wandering souls who had been drifting aimlessly.
They fought to devour the light particles, sending water splashing everywhere.
Not everyone could maintain their composure.
Panic gripped the crowd, and many were still reeling from the shock.
Unfamiliar, bizarre, terrifying - what kind of world was this?
The joy they had felt when the Nethercloud dissipated had completely vanished.
Director Yang couldn't help but sigh to the heavens: "In the boundless Black Sea, the souls of countless beings swim. Beneath the starry sky, a ship sets sail, its mystery spanning millennia. Where is the end? Where can we land?"
Someone twisted their arm hard, feeling the pain to confirm that what they were witnessing was real.
"We are no longer in the Arctic, not even on Earth. We have arrived in the legendary Netherworld, the realm of the dead, or perhaps the Ghost.Wild World," Xie Tianshu said, his eyes devoid of despair or sorrow, instead gleaming with excitement.
He exchanged glances with several others in the crowd, sensing the moment was ripe.
They no longer needed to hold back; it was time to act!
The Soul Sea stretched endlessly, its destination unknown, its origin equally mysterious.
Li Weiyi's emotions were complex.
"Is this where the souls of Earth's dead return?" he asked, "But the sea is filled with countless souls, far more than the number of dead who have ever lived on Earth."
"The vast universe, the endless starry sea... perhaps the souls of the dead from all planets converge here," someone speculated, gazing intently at the starry sky above.
Whether in the scientific community or among religious believers, most firmly believed that Earth was not the only planet in the universe capable of supporting life.
The sky was densely packed with stars, appearing even more brilliant and dazzling when viewed through the rain of luminous souls.
Yet they hung close to the sea's surface, not as distant and unreachable as the stars of deep space.
They didn't resemble stars at all, but rather "Gates of Light," "Soul Passages," or "Starsea Wormholes."
The dense rain of luminous souls poured forth from these "stars," cascading down onto the dark, brooding sea and transforming into human souls - all visible to the naked eye.
It was this sight that gave rise to the bold speculation: "The souls of the deceased in the universe all return here."
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END OF CHAPTER
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