PD -Chapter 86 Pressure of the Divine Soul

At this moment, the intense consumption of the Spirit-Seeking Divine Art had already pushed both my spiritual power and energy to their absolute limits… If I didn’t withdraw now, the consequences would be unimaginable.

I sighed. Though unwilling, I had no choice but to pull back for now.

With a thought, my consciousness turned into a wisp of cyan smoke, retreating from that dark soul fire and returning to my own body.

I opened my eyes, feeling as if I had returned from another world. The dimly lit interrogation room was still before me.

The skin-shedding monster that I had pinned against the wall with my spiritual power had now rolled its eyes back. The damage inflicted on its soul by the Spirit-Seeking Divine Art was likely too severe.

I sighed again and withdrew my power. The creature immediately collapsed to the ground. At that moment, the iron door of the interrogation room was pushed open once more.

“Di Ting?” I looked at the person walking in and couldn’t help but call out.

The one who entered was indeed the divine beast Di Ting, now in human form. Behind him followed several others dressed in uniforms I had never seen before—the insignias on their sleeves and shoulders were unfamiliar… but after a brief thought, I understood. They were likely members of the Zero Investigation Group.

“We’ll handle the aftermath,” Di Ting said, glancing at the unconscious creature on the ground. “We’ll also clear the names of Liu Xiaopeng and the other two who were framed by this thing. You should go check on your friends.”

I nodded, then hesitated, intending to tell him everything I had just learned through the Spirit-Seeking Divine Art. But he waved his hand to stop me.

“We already know about it,” Di Ting said. “Now that ten thousand ghosts have broken out, this world is likely going to descend into chaos. The 507 Institute is limited in what it can do, so we very much hope more people like you will help ordinary humans deal with these matters.”

“From now on, your actions won’t need to be concealed anymore. Both the 507 Institute and the Zero Investigation Division will provide you with convenience.”

But none of that was what I wanted to hear.

“Where is that place?” I looked at Di Ting, wanting to ask where exactly the deep well was that Ghost Emperor and Lucifer had jumped into.

Di Ting fell silent for a moment.

“That is a crack formed between this world and the Underworld,” he said. “It runs through both the Eastern and Western Netherworlds. It was once sealed jointly by supreme gods from both sides… Now that the seal is broken, things far more terrifying than what you’ve seen may emerge.”

“So that place is not something you can go to. Even I cannot easily approach it.”

I still hadn’t gotten the answer I wanted. I stared at him for a long time. Seeing that I still didn’t leave, his expression darkened slightly, as if displeased.

“To put it plainly—I don’t know where it is either. If you insist on asking, there is only one path.”

Di Ting turned toward the small window.

“What path?” I pressed.

“The Yellow Springs Road,” Di Ting said word by word. “Descend into the underworld and ask Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva himself. He is one of the supreme beings who sealed that rift.”

“Then why, now that the seal is broken, are those so-called gods doing nothing?” I stared at his back and asked, gathering my courage.

In an instant, the entire space turned ice-cold. I could clearly feel the air freeze; even my breath turned into visible mist.

Di Ting suddenly turned around. His eyes shone with a deep azure light. Above him, a brilliant radiance burst forth, and a massive beastly shadow appeared—tiger-headed, single-horned, glaring down like a vajra wrath. I knew that was his true divine form.

“Bodhisattvas vow to save all beings in the six realms and relieve all suffering. How dare you slander them?” A thunderous voice roared from the beast’s mouth.

My eardrums felt like they were about to shatter. My chest felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer. A metallic taste surged up my throat—I nearly spat blood.

My face turned deathly pale, but I still forced myself to hold it in, staring blankly at that enormous divine manifestation.

Then, as quickly as it appeared, Di Ting calmed down. The blue light in his eyes faded, and the giant beast above him was withdrawn.

He sighed, turned, and walked toward the exit.

“Take care of yourself. Don’t go too far.”

With that final sentence, he signaled the members of the Zero Investigation Group to carry away the skin-shedding monster and left.

Soon, I was the only one left standing in the interrogation room.

“Pfft…”

In the end, I couldn’t hold it back. The blood I had been suppressing finally spurted out.

Sweat covered my entire body as I slumped to the ground, gasping for air. The pressure from Di Ting’s divine soul had nearly shattered me.

Is this the difference between humans and gods?

And yet Di Ting wasn’t even a true “god”—just a divine beast serving under Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva. If even he was this powerful, then with my current strength, against one of the Five Ghost Emperors or Lucifer… I probably wouldn’t even have the chance to feel fear.

I sat there for a long time before slowly regaining my senses. A heavy sense of defeat welled up inside me, and I could no longer see any path forward.

Could I really save Tang Shanshan?

Where did my blind confidence even come from? I couldn’t help questioning myself.

Exhausted from the Spirit-Seeking Divine Art and crushed by Di Ting’s divine pressure, my body and mind collapsed. Before I knew it, I fell into unconsciousness.

My consciousness sank into darkness, and once again, that nightmare invaded my mind.

Tang Shanshan was locked inside a cage, hanging over an endless dark cliff… But this time, there were black ghostly flames swirling around her, trying to squeeze through the cage bars like rabid dogs, biting at her skin.

“No… don’t hurt her! Come at me instead!” I screamed hysterically and suddenly jolted awake, drenched in sweat.

I was back in the familiar room of the office.

“Brother Han, you’re awake!”

Liu Xiaopeng was sitting beside me. Seeing me sit up, he quickly closed his laptop and called out to me.

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and took a long moment to recover before asking, “How long was I out?”

“Almost 12 hours,” Liu Xiaopeng said, glancing at the time.

“You collapsed at the police station. It seems people from the Zero Investigation Division brought you back. They’ve already cleared me and Xiao Ming of suspicion.”

He continued talking, but I wasn’t listening anymore… because the moment I saw Liu Xiaopeng, a thought suddenly arose in my mind.