Mysterious Blood Cocoon

The once-dim Second Soul Ring was now surrounded by familiar yet strange energy.

This energy was not Soul Power. More precisely, it was far more than just Soul Power.

"What is this?"

He tried to pour his Soul Power into the Second Soul Ring, but it vanished without a trace, like a mud cow sinking into the sea.

Could it be that, just like when I obtained the Second Soul Ring before, I have to enter those Gates of Hell?

Recalling the opportunity he had encountered when obtaining the Second Soul Ring, Su Chen guessed.

"Then I'll try it again."

After a long time, Su Chen began cultivating once more, recalling that day at Spirit Hall.

Su Chen gradually emptied his mind, just as he had when entering the Gates of Hell for the first time.

Gradually, the scene before him darkened as well.

But this time, it was not two black-and-white Soul Power spheres circling around him.

Little Black and Little White had transformed into two egg-shaped oval spheres, quietly floating beside Su Chen.

They looked like insect cocoons or the eggs of mammalian soul beasts.

"This really does seem the same as last time."

Looking around, there was still nothing in the surroundings. As far as the eye could see, there was only lifeless silence.

The Heterogeneous Soul Power that had troubled Su Chen all this time finally revealed its true nature.

They were the resentful spirits here, a special power combining spiritual power and Soul Power.

"Every time I come here, my Soul Power feels especially abundant."

Feeling his body brimming with Soul Power, Su Chen immediately felt refreshed and invigorated.

With the experience of his previous visit, he no longer needed Little Black and Little White to lead the way this time.

Just as before, he walked straight ahead toward the Gates of Hell.

"If I remember correctly, there should be quite a few wronged souls here."

With his previous experience, Su Chen was prepared this time.

Yet along this road, the wronged souls from before were nowhere to be seen.

After an unknown amount of time, a towering city gate appeared amid the chaos before him.

"The Gates of Hell."

Having arrived before the Gates of Hell once again, Su Chen was already familiar with the route.

Stepping onto the Road to the Underworld, he found that nothing much had changed here either.

On both sides of the road, the seedlings that had only just broken through the soil had grown vivid red flower buds.

However, Su Chen still could not determine their exact species.

This flower was unlike any kind he had ever seen or heard of.

"I'll pick one and take a look this time."

The first time he came here, Su Chen had wanted to pick one and bring it back.

But the resentful spirit aura surrounding the flowers had prevented him from getting close.

"My cultivation has improved greatly. I might as well try again."

He directed his Soul Power into both palms, coating them in Soul Power for protection.

Su Chen boldly reached out his hand.

But this time, the power of the resentful energy seemed even stronger.

Several resentful spirits instantly launched an attack at Su Chen. Fortunately, he had been prepared and was unaffected.

"Hiss, I still can't get close?"

After trying again, the result was the same.

Su Chen understood that, with his current strength, he still could not break through this place.

So he stopped entangling himself with the flower patch and continued onward.

After traveling more than ten li, the number of red flowers had not decreased. Instead, they became increasingly numerous.

At last, the scene before him changed again.

Before him lay a river running from west to south. It was only a few feet wide, yet it radiated an eerie and terrifying aura.

What flowed through the river was not water, but a thick, dark-red liquid.

"No, that's not right."

The waves churned, and a pungent stench rushed toward him.

"This isn't merely something that looks like blood. It is blood."

Feeling the bloody wind wash over him, Su Chen confirmed without a doubt that the river was filled with blood.

"If the previous stretch was the Road to the Underworld, then this side should be the Bridge of Helplessness."

As he spoke, Su Chen tentatively extended one foot.

A path unexpectedly appeared out of thin air beneath his foot.

"So it really is the Bridge of Helplessness?"

Circulating Soul Power to envelop himself, Su Chen stepped forward.

The path beneath his feet continued extending as Su Chen advanced.

Three paths—upper, middle, and lower—appeared before Su Chen in succession, after which the upper and lower paths vanished.

The path beneath his feet connected with the middle path, forming a complete passage that spanned the river.

"Looks like I'm no good person after all."

Su Chen laughed at himself and continued forward along the middle path.

A towering wave surged up, and blood splashed against the side of the bridge.

"Hm? What is that?"

Only then did Su Chen notice that something seemed unusual within the river.

Directly beneath where he stood now, at the very center of the river.

The current there spun rapidly, forming a whirlpool.

At the center of the whirlpool seemed to be a translucent blood-red cocoon, similar to Little Black and Little White in their current state.

The difference was that this cocoon was more transparent.

He could vaguely see a humanoid creature within it.

"How am I supposed to bring this thing up?"

Looking at the blood cocoon in the middle of the river, Su Chen considered it carefully.

The blood water emanated a strange aura, so there was no way he could simply go down and retrieve it himself.

Under normal circumstances, he could have had Little Black and Little White go down to pick it up. But in their current state, he had no idea what was happening to them.

Clearly, they were no help again.

"Whatever. I'll try first."

Unable to think of a better method, Su Chen attempted to inject his Soul Power into the blood cocoon.

In an instant, the Second Soul Ring, which had always been incomparably dim, blazed with light.

Combined with the blood water's overpowering stench, it made the surrounding environment even more terrifying and strange.

Hundreds of resentful spirits attached to it rushed toward the blood cocoon at once, circling around it as if they wanted to charge inside.

"This is bad. I have to control these things."

Having suffered at their hands before, Su Chen naturally knew how formidable these resentful souls were. He did his utmost to control them.

But his efforts were futile.

Not only did the resentful spirits not slow down, they surged into the blood cocoon even faster.

"Wait, something's wrong."

Just as he was about to intervene again, Su Chen quickly noticed the anomaly.

These resentful spirits were not acting of their own accord as they rushed toward the blood cocoon. Rather, it was as if the blood cocoon itself was actively devouring them.

"This blood cocoon is more terrifying than I imagined."

Su Chen keenly sensed that even his own Soul Power was being drawn away bit by bit.

The amount was small, but it was indeed slowly draining away.

"No, this can't continue."

The familiar sensation reminded Su Chen of his first soul skill.

Sensing that something was wrong, he immediately used his Soul Power to begin fighting the blood cocoon for control.

The moment the two streams of Soul Power came into contact, the blood cocoon collapsed completely.

Such a display was undoubtedly the suppression of lower-ranked Soul Power by higher-ranked Soul Power.

"Sure enough, my Soul Power has a very high level of suppression over this kind of thing."

What Chrysanthemum Douluo had said on the road before was proven once again.