Chapter 0639: Crossing the Yellow Springs

"Stay here, and you'll remain forever. Board the boat, and you might die," the soul ferryman slowly said, raising his eyes to look at Yi Tianxing.

"So what you're saying is... boarding the boat means there's a chance to survive."

Yi Tianxing caught the subtle implication in his words.

Staying here, with no visible exit, meant facing the eerie threats of Devil oasis. Who knew what dangers still lurked within the oasis? It might hide even more terrifying horrors that had yet to surface.

If so, staying behind would almost certainly mean death.

But following this mysterious soul ferryman? That, too, was full of unknowns. Who could say where he would lead them—perhaps even to the underworld itself?

"It is said that heaven and earth are divided into yin and yang. The yin is the underworld, the land of the dead; the yang is the living world. Death is not the end, but a new beginning. In the underworld, soul ferrymen traverse between the two realms, guiding souls from the world of the living. That must be what you are," Jiang Ni suddenly said.

"You know quite a bit," the soul ferryman replied coldly, glancing at Jiang Ni. "You cultivate feng shui—you're a feng shui master. Cultivating feng shui... be careful not to die young."

His eyes were sharp, piercing. It seemed he saw through Jiang Ni with a single glance.

The unique aura of a feng shui master was like a beacon to powerful cultivators. While skilled feng shui masters could conceal their identities, those with far superior cultivation could still see through them. This ferryman had done just that—proof of his unfathomable strength.

"This is a forbidden zone. I cannot stay long. Decide for yourselves—board or stay."

He glanced at the sky and the oasis with a trace of unease—subtle, but not unnoticed.

"To meet a soul ferryman is rare. Sharing his boat—rarer still. I'll board," Yi Tianxing declared firmly.

"Wherever you go, my lord, I go," said Wushuang Ghost, without hesitation.

"Before we board, I must ask: what happened to those who came to this oasis before us? Any survivors?" Yi Tianxing asked.

"None. This place is... a forbidden zone of life."

The ferryman gave a cryptic, almost mocking smile.

That one phrase was enough—this oasis was the end of all life. Entering meant embracing death.

"We board," Yi Tianxing said, stepping forward and leaping onto the boat.

The vessel—more of a raft—was made of bones. Skulls and skeletal fragments formed a ghastly skeletal raft, floating eerily on the water. The hollow stares of human skulls greeted those who stepped on. Anyone with a weak heart would feel immediate dread.

Jiang Ni and the others followed quickly. They understood: staying behind meant death; stepping onto the raft might offer a sliver of hope.

All eight of them boarded.

The ferryman made no objection. With a sweep of his bamboo staff, the skeletal raft plunged back into the vortex, spinning rapidly—not rising to the surface as before, but diving into the depths of the lake.

The whirlpool was like a tunnel to a mysterious realm.

The raft spun faster and faster, descending, buffeted by a powerful force that seemed to want to fling everyone off.

"Ah! Help me!"

Suddenly, Qin Tian was hurled off the raft, legs flailing. His terrified expression said it all—falling off meant certain death.

"Grab him!"

Ye Qing, the closest, lashed out with a long whip, catching Qin Tian and pulling him back.

But the increasing centrifugal force was too much. Ye Qing, still gripping the whip, was also torn from the raft and flung into the vortex.

The moment happened too fast for even Yi Tianxing to react. He activated Thousand-Jin Anchor, anchoring himself to the raft and absorbing the force.

Rescuing them was impossible now. He could only watch as the two were dragged into the depths.

Would they survive? No one knew.

"The Road of the Yellow Springs... paved with corpses. Cross, cross!!"The ferryman sighed.

As his voice faded, two figures burst from the whirlpool and landed back on the raft.

It was Qin Tian and Ye Qing.

But their faces were bloodless, their bodies exuding a chilling aura. Their gazes were blank.

"So cold..." Wushuang Ghost murmured.

"Such intense yin energy... They're already dead. These are their souls," Yi Tianxing said. "The soul ferryman brought them back. They died when they were flung off. Surviving in that force is impossible."

Their dazed expressions confirmed it—they were trapped in a fog of instinct, not thought.

Splash!

The raft broke free from the vortex. The view widened.

Before them stretched a vast, endless river, boundless in every direction.

"Only two died. You're lucky," the ferryman remarked, glancing at the ghostly pair.

"Where are we?" Song Yuting asked quickly.

"The sky is so dark... and look! A blood moon," Zhou Qian exclaimed, pointing upward.

Yi Tianxing looked up and saw them—two blood-red moons hanging in the sky, casting crimson light and a freezing aura.

"Green river water... This is real Yellow Springs water. Is this the legendary Sacred Yellow Springs River?" Jiang Ni asked, gazing around.

The green water glowed faintly in the darkness. According to legend, the Sacred Yellow Springs River was far more terrifying than Weak Water. No life could fly above it—those who tried were dragged down and perished.

It was said that only one Sacred Yellow Springs River existed in all of heaven and earth—origin and destination unknown. Eternal and mysterious.

"Are we really... in the underworld?" Song Yuting asked, fear creeping in. "Aren't the living forbidden from entering? Won't we suffer damage just by being here?"

Already, she could feel yin energy seeping into her flesh—something even her true essence couldn't repel.

It was like being possessed—causing illness and weakness. And this was the true underworld. For the living, it was a death zone.

"This is... a branch of the Sacred Yellow Springs River," the soul ferryman said calmly, as the raft drifted along.

"Look! Corpses! So many!" Li Tianming cried out.

All eyes turned—and indeed, floating along the river were countless corpses.

Men, women, young, old. Intact and mutilated. They drifted with the current, pale and lifeless.

It was as if they were floating through a sea of the dead.