Chapter Thirty-Two: No Way Out

The Underworld Maiden, sensing my aura, determined that I was a woman who had lost her purity, my body tainted with strong yang energy, and ordered that I be thrown out...

Trapped within the ghostly pits of the Netherworld, between life and death, I would have chosen to throw myself into the molten pool—yet even the manner of my death was not mine to choose.

Deep within the cold, shadowy Iron Enclosure Mountain, a horde of ravenous underworld wraiths waited outside the palace gates. On the damp, slick stone steps, they lingered in agitation, awaiting the opening of the palace doors and the rare reward granted once in ten thousand years—the bodies of women deemed impure and cast out for disposal.

The previous two women thrown out had failed to satisfy even a part of the hunger of these vile spirits; instead, their desires had been stoked, leaving them more depraved and greedy than before.

The wraiths, thinking the burning was over, had begun to wrap their tattered cloths around themselves and were preparing to slink away in disappointment, when suddenly another woman was tossed out. Their throats rang with gurgling, sinister laughter as they surged forward in a frenzied swarm.

With eager haste, the wraiths tore away the ragged coverings from their bodies, their swollen bellies slapping with excitement as they beat upon them, the sounds echoing in the gloom.

The eerie, wretched laughter and the feverish slapping of bellies were the cries of desperate longing.

"Don't touch me... Do you even know who I am..."

But threats and intimidation were useless now. No matter who you were, in this place, you were nothing more than meat on the block, helpless and awaiting slaughter.

"Please... I beg you... let me go... no... no..."

Begging, resistance, helpless tears—none of it could bring release. It only aroused the wraiths' frenzy and greed.

Persuasion and resistance alike were futile.

Like wild dogs upon a carcass, they descended...

With a series of ripping sounds, the last shreds of my dignity were torn away by eager, shriveled claws.

My feeble cries for help were instantly drowned in the licentious laughter of great and small wraiths alike.

"Ah... ah..."

After the devastation—a storm of agony and exhaustion—came yet another wave of insatiable madness, over and over again.

This pit of ghosts held no mercy for beauty or innocence. The lowest of wraiths were never choosy; mortal or fairy, it mattered not, so long as they could vent their desires and find satisfaction.

It is said that immortals bring blessings, but when immortals suffer, who will save them?

It is said that immortals are as pure as clear water, but if that purity is soiled, where can they go?

Silently, I endured the overwhelming assault and the shattering of my spirit...

I bit my lip until it bled, tears pouring down like rain...

I wished desperately that this was only a nightmare, that I might wake in the “storage room” my master had assigned me—punishment from my master, teasing from Elder Spring Breeze, even scorn from Brother Baize, all of it preferable to this.

But it was not a dream...

A plump underworld lord, dressed in white and fingering a string of red jade beads, squinted his oily little eyes at my suffering form.

“My, my! I return from a show and my second brother has prepared a little treat. If I hadn’t arrived in time, that would have been you out there.” He tilted my chin, scrutinizing me.

If not for this lord’s sudden arrival, I would have suffered that humiliation, not the Underworld Maiden who had examined me.

Yet even for that wicked woman, her inhuman screams tore at my already frightened heart.

Would I be next?

The lord in white closed his eyes, and at his brow a blood-red eye opened, gazing intently toward the door with a twisted, satisfied smile. It was as if he could see through the walls.

“Tch, tch. Useless fools, but when it comes to breeding, they excel,” he remarked.

Suddenly, his expression darkened and he spat in contempt. “Worthless! Dead already? Useless trash, serves them right! They couldn’t even recognize an immortal body from the heavenly yang world, ranting about yang energy—almost ruined a treasure.”

The Underworld Maiden had perished, unable to withstand the wraiths’ depravity. A moment ago, she had been arrogant, commanding the imps to torment innocent women; now, she was no different from those victims.

The lord cursed, then shut the red eye at his brow and turned to me with a leering grin. “Don’t be afraid, little beauty. I’m not rough; I’m always gentle with lovely things.” His smile was so greasy it made my skin crawl.

He leaped atop the bed...

I lay powerless, desperate. With no other option, I decided to risk it all! Though I was dressed as a woman, I’d not changed my male form. I had to get through this.

Summoning all my strength, I blurted, “I’m a male immortal... not a woman...”

The lord froze, his eyes narrowing. The blood-red eye opened again, fixing me with a stare, then with a sudden leap, he sprang away.

“Where is Ming Zhong? Second Brother! Where are you? Why bring me a fake woman? I have no taste for men!” he roared, kicking the bed over. I crashed to the ground, my leg trapped beneath the frame, my hands scraped and bleeding.

He stormed out without another glance. My transformation spell had fooled even his eyes!

“Do my senior brothers know Ming Zhong has captured me? Will they come to rescue me?” I clung to a sliver of hope, struggling to shove the bed off my leg, but it wouldn’t budge.

Outside, the lord in white thundered angrily. He met a woman dressed in seductive finery, who handed a medicine jar to a plain-clad maid beside her. The maid bowed her head in meek obedience.

“Oh? Who’s made dear Bo’er so angry?” the bewitching woman teased.

“Greetings, Lady Mei!” the lord replied with a smirk.

“Your father’s only been in seclusion a few days, and already you’re up to trouble again. Did you tamper with one of the women Ming Zhong found for me?” she chided, half-mockingly.

“Bo’er wouldn’t dare. But Second Brother’s blind this time—brought back a fake woman, a male immortal in disguise. Pretty as a picture, but wasted on me. I have no taste for men. Perhaps you’d like to take a look? You don’t need a male immortal for your elixir, do you?” He shot her an insinuating glance.

Catching his meaning, the woman’s eyes brightened with interest. “Oh? Is that so? I was just about to check on the progress of my elixir.”

Inside the molten pool palace, I struggled to free my leg, but my body was weak and limp; I couldn’t break free. Lying there, gasping in despair, I saw the alluring woman and her maid approach.

The mistress was flamboyantly dressed, her walk every bit the “swaying and preening” my eleventh brother had described. But I had no time to care about her manner; I only feared what she intended.

The maid set down the medicine jar, lifted me up, and freed my leg from the bed. My dress was torn badly in the process, but I couldn’t care for my tattered clothes.

Tears of shame blurred my vision; I saw only vaguely that the maid’s face was gentle and kind, a mature woman.

The bewitching woman’s face twisted with anger as she barked at her maid, “Get out! Clumsy fool! Who told you to come in with me?” The maid bowed and withdrew silently. The mistress sealed the doors with a spell.

She moved close, studying my face with rapt fascination.

I leaned back against the medicine cabinet, terrified, tears streaming down my cheeks.

Suddenly, she straddled me, tearing my outer robe, baring my undergarments.

Her eyes grew hazy with desire as she leaned close, her breath sweet and intoxicating.

I nearly fainted as she blew upon me.

She hooked her arms around my neck, her eyes brimming with affection, her lips curled in a coquettish smile. “Ming Bo said you were a little male immortal in disguise. How handsome you are! Your skin so smooth and soft... One could break it with a breath... Your tearful look makes my heart ache!”

Her slender fingers traced from my cheek to my shoulder, pinching gently—yet those were no slender fingers, but claws! No different from the imps’ shriveled talons!

How had I escaped a lecher only to fall into the hands of a seductress? I cursed my fate.

“Let sister break your seal, darling...” she murmured, tearing eagerly at my clothes, ripping them open, even pulling at my underpants.

In desperation, I used the last of my strength and magic to revert to my female form, crying out in a woman’s voice, “He lied... I’m a celestial maiden!”

Hearing my voice, she stared fixedly at my chest. My garments, already in tatters, offered little concealment; though a single layer of underclothing remained, my feminine form was unmistakable.

With a shriek of disgust, she slapped me hard across the face, then kicked me viciously. I crashed into the cabinet, knocking over several jars. Enraged, she stormed out. “Ming Bo! How dare you trick me! Get back here!”

Wracked with pain, blood dripped from my mouth where she’d struck me.

I slumped against the cabinet, limp as mud... Though I’d narrowly escaped two dangers, what storms still awaited me? Those two were sure to return, and I was out of options.

My senior brothers would not arrive in time. Escape was impossible. Death awaited either way. Rather than be defiled and bring shame to the Pure Jade Realm, I would cast myself into the molten pool. At least then, their accursed elixir would not be completed!

Resolved, I seized a fallen medicine jar, gritting my teeth as I dragged myself toward the pool...

At the edge, I looked down—boiling heat rose in waves, the erupting lava swirling like a sea of clouds. It was as if I stood atop a cloud terrace...

Far below, in Memory Immortal Valley, a figure danced gracefully...

Longing welled up in my heart. I yearned to return to my true form, to seek him once more, and so I cast myself into that “sea of clouds”...