Chapter 65 Netherworld Sect III

　　—The black night will cover everything; the God of Death will rule the earth; the world will become a wasteland.

　　Several days later at night Teng Hao followed Zhang Jian to the stronghold of the Netherworld Sect in Wangqiu City—a remote, privatecompound treehouse in the eastern part of the city. Teng Hao came as a newly developed believer of Zhang Jian to attend the assembly of the Netherworld Sect.

　　Beside the treehouse stood a stonebuilt structure; the surroundings were brightly illuminated by NightBright Flowers.

　　At the entrance of the stone building two people clad in black robes stood guard. Only after Teng Hao, Zhang Jian and the other believers put on black robes were they permitted to enter this stone building.

　　Upon the walls inside the stone building a few NightBright Flowers were inserted; the lamplight was dim; a thin layer of mist floated within, like a fairyland.

　　The moment Teng Hao entered the stone building he could not help shivering. Although it was already summer, here one felt chilly—forming a great difference in temperature from outside.

　　Strangely, although this stone building did not appear very large from the outside, the interior was another world: a long, deep alley filled with thin mist.

　　Teng Hao, Zhang Jian and two or three hundred other believers walked along this dim, deep alley, turning this way and that. The alley was terrifyingly long and deep; the farther one walked the heavier the clouds and mist, the colder the damp that soaked into one’s clothing. Only after walking a long stretch of road did they arrive at a great hall.

　　Upon the walls of the great hall hung the heads of living beings of every description; some of the heads seemed only recently cut off, still retaining some flesh upon the cheeks.

　　The place looked like a slaughterhouse, yet upon these heads not the least bloodstain could be seen. Throughout the entire great hall there was not the least smell of blood.

　　Teng Hao felt extremely strange: these heads upon the walls emitted not the least foul odor; on the contrary a fragrance filled the air.

　　At the innermost part of the great hall stood an earthen platform; there too the lamplight was dim. Upon the grand master’s chair of the earthen platform sat a person also clad in a black robe; the head was covered by a cloak and the face could not be clearly seen in the darkness.

　　In the person’s hand was a scepter; the shaft of the scepter was a statue of two snakes intertwined; the snakes’ bodies were covered with gold leaf; at the top of the scepter was a crystal skull that emitted a faint, eerie radiance.

　　Such a strange person holding such a strange scepter filled the scene with a gloomy and terrifying atmosphere.

　　“We pay our respects to the Necromancer!” Everyone knelt on both knees and shouted in unison.

　　“Rise!” A gloomy voice entered Teng Hao’s eardrums. At the same time Teng Hao felt a current of energy rising from the ground that lifted him up; the people kneeling around him, like Teng Hao, involuntarily stood.

　　Teng Hao raised his head and looked: the crystal skull at the top of that scepter was opening and closing its jaws; the words just spoken had actually been uttered by this crystal skull. His heart could not help pounding; his scalp tingled; waves of cold ran down his spine.

　　Master had ordered him to come disguised as a believer to investigate undercover. He had originally thought the Netherworld Sect was merely an ordinary evil sect, yet little had he expected it to be so uncanny.

　　Thereafter the person called the Necromancer stood and organized the believers to pray together to the Holy God of Death. Teng Hao saw that the prayer was likewise uttered by that crystal skull.

　　He listened carefully to the prayer and discovered that it was filled with vocabulary praising the God of Death; the general meaning was to proclaim that through slaughter one offers sacrifice to the God of Death by purifying society; only by clearing away all that is filthy, ugly and evil in the world can one obtain eternal life.

　　For reasons unknown the voice uttered by this crystal skull seemed to possess magical power. Before coming, Teng Hao had regarded with contempt Zhang Jian’s talk of offering sacrifice to the God of Death and was filled with disdain. Yet after hearing the prayer Teng Hao seemed to have fallen under a spell; together with the other believers he became impassioned and, shaking his head, began to pray.

　　After the prayer ended a human sacrifice to be offered to the God of Death was brought forward. It was a person of beggar appearance; both hands were bound behind the back and he was forced to kneel upon the ground.

　　The beggar stared in terror with wide eyes; a rope was tightly bound about his neck; he wished to cry for help yet could utter no sound.

　　A believer clad in a black robe drew a curved blade from his waist, came before the kneeling beggar, raised the blade, and struck at the beggar’s neck.

　　The blade was so sharp that only a single “kacha” was heard; the beggar’s head had already fallen to the ground.

　　Immediately thereafter Teng Hao saw something extremely terrifying: the blood that spurted from the beggar’s neck was entirely absorbed by the crystal skull at the top of the scepter in the strange person’s hand.

　　The two snakes at the lower end of the scepter suddenly seemed to come alive; their bodies twisted as they sucked the residual blood dripping from the corners of the crystal skull’s mouth. The crystal skull, now filled with blood, emitted a dazzling scarlet radiance.

　　The head and corpse from which the blood had been absorbed before long became dried corpses; the color of the dried corpses gradually changed from white to black. The dried corpses were dragged outside while the head was hung upon the wall.

　　Amazingly, the surrounding believers not only felt no terror but on the contrary grew ever more frenzied.

　　The believer who had captured the beggar received a reward—two gold coins.

　　The Necromancer lightly stroked the head of that believer with his hand; the believer suddenly swelled in stature as though injected with chicken blood; his eyes turned completely red.

　　At that moment the scarlet crystal skull spoke again: “Pious believer, your soul has been purified—this is the reward of the Holy God of Death to you.”

　　A blackrobed man of leaderlike appearance walked before the believers and said: “New believers remain and receive the baptism of the Master. The remaining adherents may leave.”

　　Those who had recruited new believers into the sect came beside this blackrobed man, received their rewards, and left.

　　Inside the great hall only several dozen new believers remained.

　　This blackrobed man surveyed the new believers: “Are you willing to join our Netherworld Sect?”

　　“Willing.” Everyone answered in unison.

　　“I have a question.” One person said in a loud voice.

　　Everyone looked; the speaker was precisely Teng Hao.

　　Teng Hao slightly curled the corner of his mouth: “We hunters were created by the Yellow Clan Celestial Gods and have for generations received the teachings of our clan’s celestial gods. May I ask what kind of celestial god the Holy God of Death is? Is he even greater than our Yellow Clan Celestial Gods?”

　　“Exactly, exactly—we hunters believe only in the Yellow Clan Celestial Gods.” Several people beside him agreed. These people had originally been brought by Teng Hao to disrupt the proceedings.

　　“This hunter asks well. Everything in the world will pass away; only the God of Death lives forever. The Holy God of Death is the master of all things in the world. Our Yellow Clan Celestial Gods are already dead and have fallen into the dark abyss; now they too must be governed by the Holy God of Death and submit to the administration of the Holy God of Death.”

　　“How is that possible? Even if our Yellow Clan Celestial Gods have fallen into hell they are still the great celestial gods who rule hell—how could they be subject to some Holy God of Death? Sheer nonsense.”

　　“Correct! What is the Holy God of Death? Can he appear and let us see him?” The several confidants of Teng Hao beside him continued to raise a clamor.

　　The blackrobed man started slightly and looked toward the mysterious Necromancer who had by then returned to his seat.

　　The Necromancer loosened his hand; the crystalskull scepter suddenly floated in midair, emitting a dazzling white light; its upper and lower jaws opened and closed: “Our Netherworld Sect forbids the worship of idols. The Holy God of Death dwells in the netherworld beneath the earth and in the mortal world can transform into any form; therefore there is no concrete image.”

　　Teng Hao coldly smiled: “No image? Then just now were we praying to an illusion? Fellow hunters, listen to me—this Netherworld Sect is simply a deception; it merely knows a few arts of illusion. Everyone disperse!”

　　The crystal skull floating in the air suddenly laughed loudly: “If you insist on going to the underworld to look at the true body of the Holy God of Death I can take you to see it. Remember—this journey will be very dangerous. I give you a small bell; when you encounter danger shake the bell at once and call for help.”

　　The Necromancer flicked his hand; a small bell appeared from nowhere in Teng Hao’s hand. Immediately thereafter Teng Hao suddenly felt his feet give way; the ground began to loosen; in the blink of an eye he sank into the ground and vanished.

　　Teng Hao was greatly alarmed; he discovered that he was rapidly falling toward the depths of the earth and could not help crying out tensely.

　　This was a bottomless pitchblack abyss. After an unknown length of time, in the darkness beneath his feet he saw raging flames.