Five Declines of Heaven and Man: A Flower for Zhi

Sinful Alley was called an alley, but it looked more like a small city.

Most of the Nine Netherworlds were enclosed by mountains like cold iron—for instance, the mountain path Su Che had taken from Nostalgia Terrace to get here, and the peaks surrounding Sinful Alley.

All of them bore restrictive formations, making them impossible to climb or cross, as if Lord of Mount Tai, who had opened this place in the beginning, had clearly drawn a boundary.

This road led no farther.

Looking down from the mountain path, one could roughly make out Sinful Alley's layout. It formed a curious character-shaped pattern, with covered corridors and walls everywhere, artificially dividing the space into countless different alleys.

Su Che did not understand why Lord of Mount Tai had established such a place, but now his feet had already stepped into Sinful Alley.

Nothing changed.

The wind was still, and the air seemed to carry a faint scent of smoke and fire.

If Shikshananda and Xue Baizhi had not looked so terribly grim, Su Che would have cast that ghost general's warning to the back of his mind.

"Pah."

Xue Baizhi suddenly bent over and spat out a mouthful of blood. Amid that dripping crimson was a white speck—one of her pearly teeth.

Shikshananda's figure had also become slightly stooped. His eyes were dry, and he blinked incessantly.

"This is..."

Su Che looked at the changes overtaking the two of them.

"The Five Declines of Heaven and Man."

Shikshananda gazed toward Sinful Alley ahead, now wanting only to turn back.

With every step a cultivator took forward, they drew one step closer to transcendence. Even without deliberate effort, they naturally gained traits such as eternal youth, freedom from food, and a body untouched by filth.

Yet these innate peculiarities would all