Lord of Prayer

’Something’s wrong!’

The two were instantly on alert and whipped around. In the next second, a cold glint flashed by, and two heads went flying.

—Luring them with the Emotion Avatar while circling around for a sneak attack from behind. The trick had clearly worked wonders.

But mere decapitation was no problem at all for these two Corrupters.

A powerful blizzard suddenly erupted from the Snow Woman, blasting Zhou Chen away. Ice crystals spread across her neck, visibly forming a new head made of ice. Meanwhile, Lang Xing’s headless body snatched its own flying head out of the air, placed it back on its neck, and reattached it with a couple of twists.

"How devious." The Snow Woman’s head transformed from solid ice into flesh and blood. Her gaze was filled with resentment as she sighed and looked at Zhou Chen. "Don’t you have a heart? To be so cruel to a woman... You remind me of the heartless man who broke mine. You two have a lot in common."

"That we’re both men?" Zhou Chen retorted, using flames to melt the ice on his body.

"That you’re both scumbags."

The Snow Woman seemed lost in her memories, her voice mournful. "I was once so deeply in love with him, but he betrayed me. To buy a car for another woman, he drugged me and sold me to a slave trader... Later, I dug out his heart, wanting to see if I was truly inside it."

"I’m guessing you weren’t."

The ice on Zhou Chen’s body melted into water and then evaporated into steam. Suddenly, his movements grew sluggish and stiff. A deep chill seeped into his limbs, making his hands and feet icy and difficult to control.

’Restore me to peak condition,’ he wished internally.

[Wish Value -50]

A cold, white mist sprayed from his pores. His frostbitten body and depleted Essence instantly returned to their peak condition.

"After that, I stopped believing in love. So whenever I meet a loving couple, I make them play a game. They have to willingly choose one person for me to see inside their heart. If they truly have the other person inside, the partner gets to live. If not, they both have to die." The Snow Woman spoke these utterly cruel and insane words with a smile. "To this day, I’ve yet to find a couple who truly had each other in their hearts. I wonder if your loved one is in yours... I guess I’ll just have to carve it out and take a look..."

His condition restored, Zhou Chen had no desire to speak with the madwoman any longer. He forcefully threw the Dream Light and Shadow, simultaneously pulling out a copper whistle, putting it to his lips, and blowing hard.

’Double the power of the Soul-Shocking Copper Whistle’s Skill,’ he wished.

[Wish Value -100]

The shrill sound of the Soul-Shocking Copper Whistle rang throughout the cemetery. The entire cemetery began to tremble violently, and countless tombstones shook as if letting out silent, agonized screams.

The whistle’s blast affected the Snow Woman and Lang Xing. Their vision went black, and they were momentarily stunned.

The Dream Light and Shadow shot through the air, piercing the Snow Woman’s heart. The Cyan Flame it carried erupted violently, shattering her into a cloud of ice shards.

Lang Xing recovered from the psychic assault a moment later. It howled, and a deep curtain of darkness materialized around its body once more. It shot forward, bringing a surging black tide with it, and was upon him in an instant.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

He raised his Chainsaw Sword to block the sharp Wolf Claw. Zhou Chen’s left hand shot out like lightning, plunging the pitch-black Cursed Blade into Lang Xing’s body. He followed with a kick that generated a violent sonic boom, causing the Bailan to spread. Lang Xing was sent flying backward even faster, its body wracked by a series of explosions in mid-air. By the time it hit the ground, it was a mangled wreck.

Meanwhile, the shattered remains of the Snow Woman transformed into a piercing blizzard, freezing everything in its path. Even before the frosty gales fully struck, they were already slicing bloody gashes into Zhou Chen’s skin. The frigid air became an invisible force, invading his body and seeping into his very bones.

In the next moment, Zhou Chen activated his Body of Steel Melting. He was like a divine statue stepping out of a Blazing Divine Furnace, radiating pure, fiery power. The glow on his body grew brighter and brighter until it was as dazzling as daylight.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion thundered through the cemetery. A wave of explosive fire instantly scattered the fierce blizzard and dealt a fatal blow to Lang Xing, who was barely clinging to life on the ground. The blast launched the creature into the air, tossing it into the last vestiges of the snowstorm.

Even scattered, the icy winds still possessed terrifying destructive power. In an instant, they froze Lang Xing’s mangled body and soul solid.

The remnants of the blizzard quickly coalesced back into the Snow Woman’s form. Realizing she was outmatched, she immediately turned to flee.

PFFT!

A Crystal Spear suddenly pierced through her chest. The Cyan Flame flared violently, setting the Snow Woman ablaze like a torch. She gradually melted into a puddle, which then completely evaporated.

[Wish Value +50]

Just then, Zhou Chen suddenly gained 50 Wish Value. He froze, completely bewildered.

"Eva, what’s going on?"

[Wish Value -1, divination complete. Before her death, the Snow Woman reflected on her life. It had its beautiful moments, but it was filled with far more pain. She suddenly felt that death might be the best end for her. In that moment, she found peace and was grateful to you, Master, for freeing her from this world of suffering.]

Zhou Chen recalled the story the Snow Woman had told him and nodded slightly. Without lingering, he headed deeper into the Soul Rest Cemetery.

The last time he was dragged into the Soul Rest Cemetery, he had used Elemental Bombs to kill a large number of Undead. This time, he had killed two of its guardians. He had essentially wiped out the security forces "Ghost" left behind to guard the place. As a result, he only encountered a few Undead trying to block his path, none of which posed any real danger.

Soon, following the intelligence provided by the Life Church, Zhou Chen arrived before a grand, ancient hall deep within the cemetery. He pushed open the great doors that led to the Netherworld.

Gusts of spectral wind howled out from beyond the doors, cold enough to freeze the very soul. Zhou Chen walked through without hesitation, following the ancient passage forward.

Time itself seemed to slow down here. He had no idea how long he walked through the passage, only that he had passed at least a thousand torches along the way.

Finally, he reached the end of the passage. He pushed open a heavy stone door and officially set foot in the Netherworld.

The sky here was a desolate twilight, and as far as the eye could see stretched an endless, rocky desert.

—The Netherworld was a real place.

In the year 99 of the New Calendar, [Restricted Area No. 015] was unsealed. Under the influence of Divine Power, the world that formed within it became what was known as the Netherworld. As soon as it was opened, it began to absorb the souls of the dead from the surrounding regions.

The internal space of the Netherworld was far larger than its physical footprint in the real world; it was its own self-contained dimension. However, the "Netherworld" lacked the power of reincarnation, so the dazed souls trapped there could only remain, becoming immortal Undead doomed to wander for eternity.

Later, the Star Association took control of Restricted Area No. 015. They severed its ability to automatically absorb the souls of the dead and carried out a series of secret modifications. However, all of that was classified, so Zhou Chen knew no further details.

But he did know that several Crowned Kings who wielded the "Death" Authority were currently ruling the Netherworld together in order to fulfill the conditions for some kind of ritual in the realm of Mysticism.

The Soul Rest Cemetery was, in fact, an Extraordinary Artifact created by the Life Church using the power of the Netherworld. That was how it was able to keep the souls of the dead from dispersing.

Its core hub was located on the far bank of the Nether River.

So, first, he had to find the Nether River.

JINGLE JINGLE JINGLE~~~

The pleasant jingle of bells rang out as a team of Christmas reindeer, pulling a sled, landed in front of Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen climbed onto the Christmas Sled and steered the reindeer in the direction the Life Church had given him.

The landscape blurred past. The Christmas Sled was incredibly fast—otherwise, Santa Claus would never be able to deliver all his presents in one night. Before long, a wide, boundless black river stretched out before Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen landed the Christmas Sled and waited on the bank. A few minutes later, a figure shrouded in a black robe rowed a small boat to the shore.

"Crossing the river?" the Nether River Ferryman, Charon, asked in a hoarse voice.

"Please take me across," Zhou Chen said, handing over a gold coin.

Charon reached out with skeletal fingers, took the gold coin, and tucked it into his robe. He then waved a hand, gesturing for Zhou Chen to board the boat.

Soon, Charon began to row, and the small boat started its slow journey across the water. In the silence, the only sound was the oars dipping into the river.

Zhou Chen looked around curiously. He remembered from the myths that Charon would ferry living passengers who paid the toll across the Nether River, but their weight would make the boat dangerously unstable.

However, the Life Church had told him not to worry. The dangers of the Nether River had long since been cleared away.

The journey was calm and uneventful.

After the boat reached the far shore, Zhou Chen offered his thanks. Charon didn’t respond, simply rowing away until he disappeared from sight.

Zhou Chen took the map of the Netherworld from his Storage Waist Bag. A red marker lit up, pinpointing his current location and indicating the direction of his destination.

’Another 120 kilometers...’

Zhou Chen put the map away, summoned his Christmas Sled, and set off toward his destination.