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Chapter 935 - 907 Netherworld

Chapter 935: Chapter 907 Netherworld

"Huff!"

Startled awake from his slumber, Li Chen forced his eyes open and looked around.

The cave was dimly lit, with only faint rays of light refracted from outside.

Not far from him lay a massive beast.

This colossal beast was the very brown bear that Li Chen had knocked unconscious upon entering.

Now, the brown bear was dead.

A massive wound marred its neck.

And the one who inflicted this wound... Li Chen slowly lifted his head, and his gaze landed on the small silhouette standing atop the brown bear’s corpse.

"Thank you, little one," he said.

"Squeak—"

The little mantis, of course, couldn’t speak, but it seemed to perceive Li Chen’s gratitude. It chirped softly before leaping onto Li Chen’s shoulder, affectionately nuzzling his face.

Feeling his condition stabilize slightly, Li Chen exhaled a long breath.

Before losing consciousness, he had gathered the last of his True Qi and directed it to the location of the Blood of Heaven’s energy to seal it off.

He knew all too well that if the Blood of Heaven remained unsealed, he wouldn’t have survived.

Thankfully, after sealing the Blood of Heaven, all he had to deal with now were his own injuries.

With some difficulty, he lowered his head. From within his body came an insatiable, desperate craving.

Leaning closer to the brown bear’s neck, Li Chen barely hesitated before biting into its wound, hungrily drinking its blood.

He could feel his body reaching a state of extreme weakness.

Devoid of True Qi and having lost significant amounts of blood, his internal organs were also severely damaged. Even though he had successfully sealed the Blood of Heaven, he was still teetering on the edge of death.

"But how can I die here?!" Li Chen bit down hard on the brown bear’s neck, the warm, metallic taste of blood flooding his stomach.

Yet Li Chen knew that, given his current state, the bear’s blood was the fastest and most accessible source of energy—far quicker than absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy.

Although this was deep in the mountains, it was still part of the outside world, completely different from an Enchanted World. Healing here was much more challenging.

Reaching into his pocket, Li Chen found a small metal canister. The canister was lined with beeswax, as its contents couldn’t come into contact with the metal itself.

However, the canister was already somewhat deformed.

When he tipped it, a few fragmented and peculiar pills fell into his palm.

Gazing at the near-ruined Healing Pills, Li Chen couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.

These were his life-saving measures, which he had gone out of his way to protect with a metal casing. Yet, even so, they hadn’t survived the earlier ordeal unscathed.

Chuckling bitterly twice, he tossed the pill fragments into his mouth and resumed meditating.

After an hour or two, the pallor of Li Chen’s face—once white as paper—finally showed slight signs of recovery.

He was now barely able to move again.

Just then, a sudden shout erupted from outside.

"Brother Cheen!!!"

"Hmm?"

Li Chen’s brows twitched slightly. "That voice... Was it that brat Ji Changfeng?"

Then his expression darkened into a frown as he cursed, "Just escaped and already yelling at the top of his lungs—does this kid have a death wish?"

Using the wall of the cave for support, Li Chen painstakingly began making his way out.

"Little one, can you understand what I’m saying?" Li Chen asked, glancing at the small mantis perched on his shoulder as he moved.

The little mantis waved its scythe-like arms and struck a peculiar pose.

"Uh..."

Li Chen was slightly embarrassed to realize that while the little mantis could clearly understand him, he couldn’t quite fathom what it was trying to convey.

"Fine. Can you scout the surroundings for me? Um... Check for any enemies?" Li Chen requested.

"Swish—"

As soon as Li Chen finished speaking, the little mantis transformed into a black shadow and disappeared from his sight in an instant.

"What the..."

Li Chen looked at the vanished mantis with a wry smile. At such a speed, even he couldn’t hope to match it.

Though gravely injured, the current Li Chen was no longer the same as before. His sheer physical resilience alone far surpassed his previous self.

Dragging his battered body, Li Chen painstakingly climbed to the top of the small hill.

His gaze turned toward the direction of the earlier shout.

In his line of sight, a tiny silhouette appeared.

With his current level of cultivation, his eyesight far exceeded that of ordinary people. In merely a glance, Li Chen recognized the figure—it was indeed Ji Changfeng.

"What’s that kid up to?"

Moments later, he saw the small silhouette hefting something several times its size as it approached the highway.

To his astonishment, Li Chen realized that Ji Changfeng was carrying a compact car.

"Looks like that’s the vehicle he used to get here," Li Chen murmured to himself with a nod.

Then, Li Chen observed Ji Changfeng come to a stop.

The young man leaned against the car and stood motionless.

Li Chen neither spoke nor acted, silently watching Ji Changfeng.

He knew what Ji Changfeng was doing and understood what he wanted, but Li Chen couldn’t appear or speak up.

The Marketplace members might be hiding nearby, lying in wait for him to appear.

Going to Ji Changfeng now could only endanger the boy further.

From dawn to dusk and then to the next dawn.

Ji Changfeng kept his eyes on the mountains, while Li Chen kept his eyes on him.

It wasn’t until the second day, nearing nightfall, that Ji Changfeng stiffly climbed into the car and drove away.

Watching Ji Changfeng leave, Li Chen said nothing, but a faint smile played on his lips.

"Safe travels, kid," he muttered softly.

Silently, Li Chen slowly rose to his feet.

The day hadn’t been spent in vain; his injuries had improved further. He could now manage some movement.

Despite knowing the forest remained perilous, he also understood that if he stayed longer, the Marketplace members might eventually find him.

Descending from the hill, a shadow suddenly darted onto his shoulder.

"Little one, thank you for your hard work. Let’s leave this place now," Li Chen said with a smile, gently stroking the mantis on his shoulder.

"Squeak—"

The little mantis chirped affectionately in response.

"Oh, right." As if suddenly remembering something, Li Chen exclaimed, "You’ve saved me twice now, but I’ve yet to give you a name."

"Squeak squeak—"

Looking at the little mantis’s sleek black bone armor, Li Chen pondered for a moment before grinning. "I’ll call you... Netherworld! How about it?"

"Squeak squeak!"

"Netherworld?"

"Squeak!"