That glow was not still. It flowed and churned slowly, as though some enormous creature deep underground was breathing.
It was magma.
The farther he went, the brighter and clearer the dark red below the narrow path became.
Scorching air rose from the abyss, carrying a pungent sulfurous stench that mingled with the bloody reek left by the Blood Bats, forming a nauseatingly strange smell.
The temperature rose again.
Even with the resistance granted by his Martial Soul, fine beads of sweat seeped from Lin Wan's temples, only to be evaporated by the heat at once.
He adjusted his breathing. Soul Power circulated slowly within him, forming an extremely thin ice-blue glow over the surface of his body to fend off heat waves that could roast an ordinary person alive.
He continued onward like this for about a quarter of an hour.
Suddenly—
Rustle... rustle, rustle...
A faint yet dense scraping sound came from the darkness ahead on the narrow path.
It sounded like rough scales scraping against rock, and like some viscous liquid flowing slowly.
Every scrape carried a teeth-grating quality.
Lin Wan halted, his pupils narrowing slightly.
It was here.
The final trial of Hell Road.
He focused his gaze ahead and saw a massive dark-red figure lying across the narrow path some thirty zhang away.
The figure writhed slowly, each movement bringing another rustling scrape.
As the distance closed, the monster's full form gradually became clear.
It was a snake.
A colossal dark-red snake more than ten zhang long.
Its body was as thick as a water barrel, rising along the narrow path. Its belly was especially bloated, occupying nearly half the path's width. Under the glow of the magma below, its dark-red scales gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen.
Yet the most eye-catching parts were its