Chapter 508
Eight Levels of Hell
Chapter 508 The Eighteen Levels of Hell
In another dimension, isolated from the present world.
There is no sky, no earth, only an endless void, in which countless black cubes called "Great Box Heaven" float.
Otsutsuki Isshiki's figure appeared out of thin air, stepping on one of the "Ookata Ten" (a type of ancient Chinese structure), staggering forward a few steps and almost falling. He looked extremely disheveled at that moment.
His upper body was naked, covered with charred whip marks and lightning strikes, as well as deep fist and footprint marks. Blood remained at the corner of his mouth, and he was weak and listless.
"Cough cough..."
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki coughed, clutching his chest, and reached into his robes to take out the 'pill'. Without hesitation, he stuffed the 'pill' into his mouth and swallowed it.
The pill melted instantly upon entering his mouth, transforming into a warm and powerful chakra that surged into his limbs, bones, and internal organs, causing his injuries to heal at a visible speed.
Within this time-frozen alternate dimension, no one but himself can move, and no external attacks or changes can affect this place.
Even if someone breaks in, their movements will be instantly frozen.
Therefore, this is his safest and most hidden haven, and also his greatest asset in turning the tide of the battle.
As he felt the rapidly recovering power and vitality within his body, a chill gradually rose in Isshiki Otsutsuki's eyes.
"Once I've recovered..." he said calmly, "I will tear you to pieces once we get out of here!"
After saying that, he sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to fully guide the medicinal power to accelerate his recovery.
But in the next moment, Otsutsuki Isshiki's body suddenly trembled, and he abruptly opened his eyes, his pupils shrinking.
Before our eyes, the space of "Great Black Heaven" was rapidly being soaked and covered by darkness that was invading from the outside.
In just a few breaths, his entire field of vision was swallowed up by the darkness; his sight, hearing, smell, touch... all his senses of the outside world were completely stripped away.
"This is impossible!" Yi Shi thought with utter shock.
Click!
Just then, beneath Yi Shi's seated figure, a gigantic gate appeared out of thin air. The face of a ferocious demon with a blue face, fangs, and bulging eyes almost filled the entire gate, its mouth suddenly wide open.
Before he could even react, his consciousness, or rather his soul, detached from his body and fell into the gaping maw of the demonic face, the feeling of weightlessness incredibly clear.
The last thing I saw was myself, still sitting cross-legged above the Ghost Face Prison Gate, and the slowly closing maw of the Ghost Face Prison Gate.
The next moment, feeling the terrifying temperature that seemed to melt him, Yishiki suddenly opened his eyes and saw the scene before him as he fell.
This is a space where crimson and darkness intertwine.
There were no sun, moon, or stars, only clouds of molten lava flowing downwards, with endless, churning lava below, splashing fire waves several meters high.
In the center of this sea of lava stands a dark red copper pillar, its diameter unknown, towering into the ever-flowing fiery clouds of lava, its top invisible.
At that moment, Isshiki Otsutsuki, who had just regained consciousness, found himself falling.
He lost his Ōtsutsuki body, which had been tempered and refined over countless trials, lost "Shona Bikkūna", lost "Daikokuten", and lost all the power he was proud of.
At this moment, he seemed to be nothing more than a pure consciousness, a naked soul stripped of all its outer garments and possessions, falling towards the surging, boiling sea of lava below.
"what is this?"
Feeling the terrifying heat emanating from the magma below, even from a distance, Otsutsuki Isshiki already felt a burning pain.
Almost instinctively, he reached out and grabbed the huge bronze pillar beside him...
scoff!
A sound like flesh burning rang out, as if his hand was being roasted on a red-hot iron plate, and excruciating pain instantly shot through his hand that had touched the bronze pillar!
"Uh!"
Yishi couldn't help but let out a muffled groan; the intense pain made him subconsciously loosen his grip.
However, once he let go, he began to fall into the lava below again, and the temperature coming from below was even more terrifyingly hot than the copper pillar he had just touched!
I'm pretty sure that if I fell, it wouldn't just be a scalding burn.
Instead, his entire body was burned to ashes.
Damn it!
Anger and shock flashed in Yishi's eyes. He could only endure the burning pain in his hands and hug the dark red copper pillar that was so close to him again.
Zizizi!
The searing, soul-crushing pain emanated from the parts of his arms and chest that were in contact with the bronze pillar.
"what!"
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki finally couldn't help but let out a scream that echoed in this hellish place where only magma surged.
But he did not let go, nor could he let go. If he did, he would fall into the magma below that could incinerate his soul, and be annihilated, body and soul.
However, this bronze pillar, whose surface is covered with human figures in relief depicting painful, ferocious, and distorted expressions, is itself emitting an astonishingly high temperature.
This temperature directly affected his consciousness and soul, leaving him with no way to avoid it or block it. Even though his soul was stronger than that of an ordinary person, it was still far inferior to his physical body.
"Damn it!" Otsutsuki Isshiki's expression was pained, and he could even clearly feel his hands and chest, which were holding the bronze pillar, being scalded and carbonized.
He looked down and saw surging magma below. The copper pillar immersed in the magma was incandescent white, gradually turning yellow and orange as it went up, and then red, with the color becoming darker as it went higher.
Obviously, the closer to the magma, the higher the temperature.
Ichishi tried to climb to a cooler spot, but he only moved slightly...
Hiss!
"Ah!!" Yishi let out a shrill scream as the flesh and skin that were stuck to the scalding copper pillar were torn off, and the exposed flesh and blood were quickly carbonized and stuck back together by the copper pillar.
He dared not move again, enduring the burning pain, he raised his head and roared ferociously, "Otsutsuki Kumo-shiki!"
"Where exactly is this place!?"
The roar echoed through the space, and the thick cloud of fire above, which was constantly flowing with magma, began to sink downwards, gradually outlining an enormous face.
The outline of that face was unmistakably that of Ōtsutsuki Kumoshiki.
"Welcome to the Eighteen Hells Realm."
The giant mouth of the face opened and closed, emitting a sound like thunder: "Ichishi, as the first guest to visit here, I will make sure you receive the treatment you deserve."
The Eighteen Hell Realms?
Unheard-of divine magic?
"Although I don't know exactly how you did it, but..."
Otsutsuki Isshiki was filled with shock and anger, but his arrogance and resentment as a member of the Otsutsuki family became even more pronounced: "Do you think you can break my consciousness with such methods?"
"Our strengths are evenly matched. You can't force my consciousness out of my body and bind me to this godforsaken place for long. You can't hold me here!"
Yunshi did not deny it; Yishi was right.
Although Otsutsuki Isshiki specializes in physical and black eye techniques rather than spiritual and soul techniques, his powerful, well-forged body is like a strong magnet.
It is constantly absorbing his own soul.
Forcibly binding Yishi's soul within the Eighteen Hells was not an easy task.
Moreover, Yun Shi could not possibly break into the time-frozen "Daikokuten" to directly destroy Yi Shi's physical body; otherwise, he himself would be the one in a passive position.
“You’re right.” Yun’s voice carried a hint of amusement. “Then let’s see if you’ll have a mental breakdown first, or if I’ll give in first.”
The fiery clouds returned to their original churning state, and the giant face of the cloud-like creature disappeared.
A trace of fear surfaced in Yi Shi's heart, but soon, the ferocity and madness in his bones overwhelmed the fear.
"You can't kill me!" Isshiki gritted his teeth. "I'm not some pampered pampered guy like Momoshiki Otsutsuki. At this level, you can't kill me!"
Having said that, he forcibly suppressed the excruciating pain that was constantly burning his soul, and loosened his arms that were tightly embracing the bronze pillar, which was yet another tearing pain.
But he suppressed his screams, only letting out muffled groans from his throat.
We must climb up!
You need to climb to a cooler place to last longer!
With a single stroke, he stretched out his bloodied and mangled hands, using his five fingers, which were almost entirely bone, to dig into the sharp edges of the bronze pillar. *Swoosh!*
An even more intense burning pain came from his fingertips, but he ignored it and used the leverage point to drag his body upwards a short distance.
Then, with the other hand, it digs into the higher, sharper edges.
Climb upwards, upwards, towards areas with lower temperatures!
The entire process was comparable to torture.
Each movement meant re-contact and adhesion to the scorching copper pillar surface, meaning the charred flesh was torn off again, and the exposed flesh was instantly scorched and carbonized.
His hands, which were initially charred and deformed, quickly became blackened and deformed. The skin and flesh of his ten fingers completely disappeared, leaving only the charred finger bones digging into the edges. Each exertion brought excruciating pain that went deep into his soul.
After climbing only a short distance, Yishi was forced to change his posture, having to use both his hands and feet, using his feet and knees to grip the copper pillar, bringing more of his body into contact with the scorching hot copper pillar.
"Otsutsuki Kumoshiki!" Itsuki gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, his expression twisted and ferocious, as he climbed higher and higher.
The sea of lava beneath them gradually receded, but the intense, pervasive heat barely diminished.
wrong.
Yi Shi suddenly stopped, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the ceiling.
The low-hanging fiery cloud above him seemed no closer, remaining as unreachable as ever.
"..."
Seemingly realizing something, he turned his neck with difficulty and looked down. He only glanced at it before his body froze.
Below, the section of bronze pillar he had just left, which was originally a cooler orange-red, had now turned into a warmer bright yellow.
In other words, the temperature of this copper pillar is not constant, but rather increases over time.
Moreover, this bronze pillar has no end...
"You bastard! You tricked me!!"
Otsutsuki Isshiki's body trembled with rage, and a wave of despair surged within him, almost overwhelming him.
Even so, he could only crawl; he dared not stop, nor could he stop.
Stopping means enduring even more terrifying pain.
But soon, his climbing speed could no longer keep up with the rising temperature of the copper pillar. The scorching heat that he could still bear before gradually turned into a high temperature that could ignite his soul.
"what!!"
The surface of the bronze pillar he was standing on turned incandescent in color. The burning pain was no longer just affecting the surface; it began to seep into and erode his soul, causing him to let out a shrill scream.
Click...click...
A chilling, subtle sound came from the arm that was holding the bronze pillar.
His arm flesh had long since carbonized, and the remaining bones began to brittle under the high temperature, emitting bluish smoke...
No! No, no!
Yishi tried to hold on again, but his hands could no longer bear the weight and slipped off the hot copper pillar, falling into the churning, boiling sea of lava below.
At that moment, a sense of relief unexpectedly welled up in Yishi's heart.
It's like finally being able to die.
But the next moment, that thought vanished completely.
"Ah ah ah ah ah!!"
The magma that was gradually engulfing him began to melt him, and the pain, hundreds or thousands of times stronger than before, acted on his soul, causing Isshiki Otsutsuki to let out a heart-wrenching scream.
His screams gradually faded, and along with his struggling figure, he slowly sank into the lava, leaving only a few bubbles to emerge and burst.
But soon, the scorching heat and excruciating pain, which seemed to have burned away even the existence itself, were gradually replaced by something colder and more lifeless.
Otsutsuki Isshiki suddenly opened his eyes, but there was no emptiness as he had expected, nor the relief of waking up from "Daikokuten".
A chill that seemed to freeze even his thoughts replaced the previous heat and enveloped him.
He found himself standing on an ice field, with only an endless expanse of white stretching to the horizon. The sky was also a vast expanse of white, making it impossible to distinguish between heaven and earth.
Only endless, biting winds howled and swirled, whipping up ice crystals from the ground and forming patches of pale white snow mist.
The whole world was nothing but white, an even colder white, and the endless howling of the wind that seemed to penetrate the very soul.
cold.
A chill that reaches the very essence of the soul.
In stark contrast to the scorching heat of the Scorching Hell, thoughts, emotions, and even the pain itself become sluggish and stagnant under the chill.
"Where is this place?" he asked hoarsely.
Yi Shi instinctively wanted to move, so he lifted one foot and took a step forward...
Click.
As a crisp sound suddenly reached his ears, Yi Shi knelt down on the cold, icy ground, turning his head to look with a hint of bewilderment.
He saw a foot.
A crystal-clear ice sculpture.
He was standing just a step away on the ice behind him.
His lower leg was severed, and the cut was as smooth as a mirror, revealing even the frozen muscle texture inside.
Those were his feet.
In just a moment of distraction, his foot was frozen solid by the incomprehensible, terrifying cold. As he took a step, the frozen part broke off and remained in place.
"Congratulations on leaving the first level of the Eighteen Hells, the Scorching Hell."
Yunshi's voice rang out again, causing Yishi to suddenly raise his head, trying to find the source of the voice amidst the swirling snow, but all he could see was a vast expanse of white.
"You have now arrived at the second level, the Frozen Prison."
The sound, carried on the relentless, biting wind, chilled Otsutsuki Isshiki to the bone even more than the snowstorm itself.
“Thank me,” Yun said with a smile. “Others who enter here will only experience the same pain repeatedly in a certain layer corresponding to their sins, until the punishment ends.”
"But I've decided to let you, this special guest, experience all eighteen levels of hell here, one by one."
No, don't...
"Don't worry." Yun's voice rang out again, carrying an almost cruel malice, "Here, your soul will not truly die or dissipate."
"You will only be protected by the rules of these eighteen hell realms, and before you leave here, you will endlessly experience the pain, despair and fear of each level."
Otsutsuki Cloud Style!
Yishi wanted to shout it out, but he only opened his mouth.
Click...
He felt his jaw suddenly go empty, and stiffly lowered his head little by little, only to see a piece of ice sculpture chin, still in an open position, fall off his face and shatter into several pieces on the ground.
He did not bleed because the blood froze the moment it flowed out.
He didn't even feel pain, only a horrifying absurdity that made him tremble.
Looking at the ice block on the ground that was part of his body, he tried to make an expression, but the muscles in his cheeks were frozen, and he could only maintain a blank and dazed look.
An unprecedented fear welled up in his eyes.
(End of this chapter)