PD -Chapter 171 Stitching the Rift Closed

The originally black chains had now turned black and crimson, as if they had been heated red-hot by blazing flames.

Enduring the excruciating pain, I refused to let go. At this point, I existed only as a spiritual consciousness. My spiritual power had long been exhausted when I used the Spirit Exploration Divine Art.

To break the chains and rescue Tang Shanshan, I had no choice but to burn the power of my primordial spirit directly.

With a roar, golden light erupted from my body at once, and finally, I tore apart one of the chains.

Then the second.

The third.

The fourth!

Every chain binding Tang Shanshan was ripped apart by my hands, but my spiritual form had already begun to fall apart.

I pulled her into my arms. Vaguely, I felt as though she was embracing me as well.

Rumble…

The entire world seemed to transform into a gigantic vortex of raging currents, and above those currents, thunder echoed through the heavens.

Wrapped in golden light, Tang Shanshan and I shot rapidly toward the surface.

As soon as I emerged from the water, I saw dark-red clouds overhead crackling with lightning. On the surface of the black water, a massive whirlpool had appeared, radiating multicolored light.

The black water began pouring into the vortex. The water level slowly dropped, showing signs of drying up.

As the surface continued to sink lower and lower, black mist suddenly rose from the water. The mist condensed into a human figure, only to be instantly drawn into the dark-red force in the sky and merged with it.

Shentu’s figure appeared among the dark-red clouds.

She glanced at me.

In the next instant, everything in the entire space rapidly faded away, leaving behind only endless whiteness—like a snow-covered plain after a winter snowfall, silent and pure.

I looked down at Tang Shanshan in my arms and gently laid her on the ground.

At the same time, my own form began to flicker.

A tremendous pulling force came from outside the world, as though it were trying to drag my soul away.

“We’ll meet outside…” I said with the last of my strength.

Then a beam of white light pulled me away.

My spiritual consciousness returned to my body.

I opened my eyes, immediately feeling dizzy and disoriented as my awareness began to blur.

I knew why.

It was almost certainly due to excessively burning the power of my primordial spirit.

At that moment, the hand gripping my throat finally loosened.

Through my blurred vision, I felt my body falling from the air.

In front of me, Tang Shanshan was falling as well.

No. No!

I desperately fought to stay conscious.

With great difficulty, I raised my arms and pulled Tang Shanshan into an embrace. Silently reciting the Wind-Control Talisman, I activated it at the very instant before we plunged into the infernal rift.

A current of air lifted us upward.

At that moment, Liu Xiaopeng flew over as well.

Blood was pouring from all seven of his facial orifices.

Once again, he raised the Immortal-Slaying Sword.

A gigantic beast emerged from the sword. Its enormous claw seized both Tang Shanshan and me, carrying us upward through the air.

Looking below, I saw several figures.

Shentu.

Di Ting.

And Liu Xiaopeng.

The three of them had actually joined forces on the same front.

Above their heads, three colors—gold, azure, and dark red—merged together to form an enormous barrier.

The Ghost Emperor Seal, the Nine Sons of the Dragon, and the primordial spirit of the divine beast Di Ting continuously resisted the monsters escaping from the cave.

The divine beast carried Tang Shanshan and me out of the glacial rift and gently placed us at the bottom of a cliff before vanishing.

I looked at Tang Shanshan and slowly leaned her against a tree.

Then I touched the Black Jade Gun in my hand and glanced once more toward the chaotic rift below, where countless lights overlapped and clashed.

“Wait for me. I’ll come back.”

I gently stroked Tang Shanshan’s cheek as I spoke.

Then I picked up the Black Jade Gun.

Click.

I cocked the firing pin and aimed it at my own left shoulder.

I wasn’t trying to kill myself.

This was the final bullet in the gun.

It was also the trump card I had prepared all along.

The amount of gunpowder in the bullet was minimal—just enough to embed it into flesh.

More importantly, it was the secret art inscribed upon it.

“Profound weapons contend through mystic arts. Formations uphold the laws. Infinite are the myriad techniques. Mind and method become one.”

My lips moved slightly.

As I recited the Infinity of Myriad Arts Incantation, my right index finger pulled the trigger.

The bullet instantly drilled into the muscles of my left shoulder.

“AAAAAHHHHH!!”

I shot to my feet and threw my arms wide, unable to stop myself from screaming.

Not because of pain.

But because the moment the bullet embedded itself in my flesh, I felt my entire body enveloped by a scorching force.

Even more astonishingly, I could clearly sense the power of heaven and earth being drawn in by the bullet lodged in my shoulder.

It flowed into my muscles.

Into my blood.

And finally into my qi sea.

There, it became spiritual power.

After taking one last look at Tang Shanshan, I leapt into the rift once more.

Soon, I arrived beside Liu Xiaopeng, Shentu, and Di Ting.

They looked at me in surprise but said nothing.

Circulating my spiritual power, I began merging it with theirs.

Our energies gathered together into a colossal pillar of light.

Like a giant thread, it began stitching the infernal rift shut.

The rift to Hell was forcibly pulled closed by that thread of spiritual power.

Rumble…

The moment the rift sealed, the entire space shook violently.

Then, immediately afterward, the white rift leading to the Divine Realm began healing on its own, like a wound closing naturally, even without our support.

Some of the creatures that had escaped from the Underworld tried to dive into it.

But as the crack sealed, their bodies were sliced in half and fell to the ground.

At this point, the entire battlefield resembled a living hell.

Blood flowed in rivers.

The demonic army led by Lucifer and the spiritually empowered forces of Bureau 507 led by Di Ting had suffered devastating losses.

The dead lay everywhere.

The wounded groaned amidst the carnage.

The cave was filled with mutilated corpses and scattered chunks of flesh.

Everywhere one looked was a horrifying scene.

With the very last of our strength, we completely sealed the infernal rift leading to the Netherworld.

Then I looked up toward the sky.

I knew that although we had stitched the rift closed, a large number of strange beings had undoubtedly already escaped into the human world.

And Lucifer had been the first to flee.

By now, who knew where in the world he was hiding?

“Kids, until we meet again—I’m leaving first!”

Shentu’s voice suddenly rang out.

Before I could even react, she transformed into a streak of dark-red light and shot into the sky, fleeing toward the human world.

“Stop! You must come back with me!”

Di Ting withdrew his true-form primordial spirit, shouted upward, and immediately gave chase.

Meanwhile, Liu Xiaopeng was already swaying on his feet.

Blood flowed from all seven of his facial orifices, and his face was frighteningly pale.

I coughed up a mouthful of blood.

My chest ached terribly, and the spot where the bullet was embedded in my left shoulder throbbed with pain.

Even so, I gritted my teeth, reached out, and caught Liu Xiaopeng before he collapsed.

Then I brought him out of the rift and back to Tang Shanshan’s side.