Tsubasa stood with his hands behind his back in front of the high tower.
The black tower gate was tightly shut, and the demon mask on it seemed to be breathing, the black flames in its eyes flickering. He could sense a familiar aura stirring behind the gate— the Chakra of the Sage of Six Paths, only now it had become even more powerful.
"My lord, are we truly going to open the gates and explore Hell?" Empress Tian Flying Swallow's voice came from behind. As the queen of Yan Nation, she naturally came to witness this momentous event of exploring the three great otherworlds. "It is said that even you are wary of the Ghost Emperor within."
Tsubasa glanced back. " The Shinobi World needs absolute powerhouses. Eagles can't be raised in a greenhouse, and without experiencing Hell, how can one become a super-strong person? Fear of challenges is the biggest obstacle to becoming strong." He raised his hand and pressed it against Guimian's forehead, black flames climbing up his arm from his fingertips. "Moreover, some resources are unique to Hell, and as the strongest human, I naturally have to guard the gates of Hell to prevent any accidents from happening to my human race's strongmen."
The portal slowly opened, releasing an aura mingled with death and malevolence. Beyond the portal lay not the expected darkness, but a burning plain. In the distance, a volcano was erupting, black ash falling like snowflakes. Countless figures could be vaguely seen fighting on the plain: ghost generals clad in ancient armor, ghost commanders riding skeletal horses, and on the distant mountain peak, several figures wearing crowns sat atop the peak.
One figure stood out. He wore a white robe, leaned on a cane with the Rinnegan inlaid at the top, and stared blankly at the sky. The moment the portal opened, he seemed to sense it and slowly turned his head.
That was a face that once resounded throughout the Shinobi World, now filled with murderous intent, only his Rinnegan retaining the aura of a powerful warrior. He looked at Tsubasa, his lips moved, but no sound came out, only a mental message: "Everything is normal."
" The Sage of Six Paths..." Tsubasa said in a low voice, his eyes filled with complex emotions, "What happened?"
Tian Flying Swallow, standing nearby, gasped, "He... he's the newly appointed Ghost Emperor, the Sage of Six Paths, in Hell?"
"That's right," Tsubasa withdrew his gaze, "The fighting at the Gate of Hell is so fierce. Even though he's become the Ghost Emperor, the Oni Clan is still attacking this place. The waters of Hell are deeper than we imagined." He looked at Tian Muyan and the other girls behind him and asked, "Are you sure you want to go in and explore?"
Tian Mai stepped forward. She was the current sect leader of the Mount Myōboku Limitless Sect, and was now at the peak of the High Immortal Realm: "You set up this Trial Tower precisely so that we could break through our bottlenecks, right? Even if we die inside, it's better than dying of old age in the Shinobi World without making any progress."
Tsubasa nodded and stepped aside to make way. "Remember, you can kill all the other Oni Clan except the Ghost Emperor. Hell ore is most abundant in the magma layer, Senjutsu can suppress ghost energy, and the Ten Family's secret medicine can replenish your body's energy... If you come back alive, I will guard the Gate of Hell."
Tian Mai was the first to step into Hell and fly into the distance. As his figure disappeared over the fiery plains, Tsubasa suddenly looked up at the sky. Deep within the clouds, it seemed as if several pairs of eyes were watching everything here.
A smile played at the corners of his lips, and the Immortal Power at his fingertips flickered uncertainly.
"Is this the Ghost Emperor of Hell, spying on me?"
Tsubasa stood with his hands behind his back at the entrance of the high tower. The black, ghostly doors slowly closed behind him, leaving only a half-foot-wide gap, just wide enough to see the burning plain inside. As Tian Flying Swallow was the last to step into the spatial portal, she glanced back at him, the ruby on her phoenix hairpin gleaming in the Kakkō: "Don't just focus on guarding the gate, be careful yourself too."
"Don't worry." Tsubasa raised his hand to rub his temples, the coldness of the Ghost Mask door still lingering on his fingertips. "If anything goes wrong here, even if the six of you obtain countless opportunities, you won't be able to return."
Tian Flying Swallow chuckled softly, her figure disappearing into the flames. Tsubasa then turned around, his gaze sweeping across the void around the tower gate. The probing gaze he had just received came from the northeast, carrying a dense aura of ghostly malevolence, yet also concealing a faint sense of familiarity—like the aura of an old acquaintance, but tainted by the turbid air of Hell.
"Want to watch a show?" He beckoned to the empty clouds, a short golden flame igniting at his fingertip. "Then watch closely and see how a woman of my human race braves her way through your Ten Directions of Hell."
After Tian Mai stepped into Hell, she arrived in a world of lava, her armor scorching from the intense heat. She cast a fire-avoidance spell, and pale green Senjutsu Chakra formed a protective membrane around her. Only then did she have the leisure to open her eyes and survey her surroundings—the ground beneath her feet was scorching obsidian, and with each step she could hear the sizzling sound of her shoes burning. The distant volcano spewed not lava, but clusters of ghostly fire, and everywhere there were demon soldiers wielding weapons.
Tian Mai scattered the Oni Clan soldiers, but in Hell, the Oni Clan' souls would reassemble after a few days, so the Oni Clan were as fearless as cats seeing fish when they saw living people.
" The Senjutsu of Mount Myōboku is indeed effective against these ghostly things." She took out a jade hairpin from her sleeve and stuck it into the ground. The Setsuna the tip of the hairpin sank into the rock, patches of green vines suddenly sprouted around her, and the flower buds on the vines instantly bloomed, spraying out fragrant white mist. The ghostly soldiers that rushed at her were frozen as if water had met a cold wind when they touched the white mist, leaving only some black smoke to dissipate.
She remembered Tsubasa's warning: Hell ores were mostly found in the magma layer. Following the vines deeper into the Molten Flame Hell, the closer she got, the more intense the lava eruptions became, the stronger the smell of sulfur in the air, and the obsidian beneath her feet gradually turned dark red. Suddenly, a giant wave surged from the lava lake ahead, and a demon general covered in lava armor emerged from the lake, his long sword blazing with flames as he slashed down. "Human who trespasses into the Molten Fire Hell, die!"
Instead of retreating, Tian Mai advanced, her hands Hand Seals so fast they became afterimages. " Senjutsu - Ten Thousand Vines Prison!" Countless vines sprouted from the ground, wrapping around the ghost general's limbs like giant pythons. The ghost general's flames burned off many vines, but new vines kept growing until they bound him like a dumpling.
"Shut up." She flicked a petal from her fingertip, the petal piercing through the ghost general's armor and sinking into his heart. The ghost general let out a shrill scream, turning into a ball of black ash, leaving behind only a fist-sized red ore, its surface still steaming.
Tian Mai picked up the ore and weighed it in her hand—it was " Molten Hell Crystal," used to forge ninja tools that could enhance fire attribute; in the Shinobi World, it could probably be exchanged for half a city. Just as she stuffed the ore into her spatial storage, she heard a muffled roar coming from the lava lake. This time, it wasn't just one ghost general, but more than a dozen ghost generals poking their heads out of the lake, their spears gleaming coldly in the Kakkō.
"Looks like I've stirred up a hornet's nest." She laughed and leaped into the air, landing on a vine growing from the lava. "Perfect, let's try out my newly learned Senjutsu— "
The vines, as if controlling her own arms, carried her deeper into the Molten Flame Hell. The ghostly soldiers behind her roared in pursuit, unaware that they were leading her to the heart of the Molten Flame Hell, the richest in minerals. Tian Mai looked down at the increasingly dense red dots at her feet, a smile playing on her lips—these ghostly things were even more useful than guides.