stjorthotic Chapter 337 You call this the Underworld?
Chapter 337 You call this the Underworld?
Chen You watched as the vortex of black steam churned, and the giant rubber duck flapped its wings and plunged into it.
Old Mo stood on the dry bank of the moat, rubbing his hands together and chuckling dryly.
"Sir, the Yellow Springs is a forbidden place for the living. This old man will not accompany you down there."
"May your martial prowess flourish and your foundation be established soon!"
Chen You ignored him and leaped into the whirlpool.
After passing through a weightless passage filled with interplay of light and shadow, Chen You landed steadily on his feet.
He had expected to see a scene of carnage and bloodshed, with the flowers of the underworld blooming, and he had even gripped the Jade Emperor Sword in his hand, ready to strike at any moment.
As a result, he smelled a certain odor.
It didn't smell of blood, nor did it smell of rotting corpses.
It had an extremely pungent, yet incredibly familiar... smell of sodium hypochlorite disinfectant.
There was no howling wind, no blood moon in the sky.
Above, rows of neat, cool-toned LED anti-slip ceiling lights illuminate the entire space as bright as day.
Underfoot was a non-slip floor covered with light blue mosaic tiles, and even several grooves in the plastic grating for drainage.
Directly in front is a huge, standard indoor heated swimming pool that is fifty meters long.
The pool water was a deep black, with red and white plastic lane markings floating on the surface, precisely dividing the entire pool into eight lanes.
At both ends of the pool, starting platforms with timing boards for touching the walls were also installed.
Chen You stood there motionless for a full minute.
The giant rubber duck quacked, seemingly very satisfied with its surroundings.
It strode heavily to the edge of the pool, extended its large, serrated webbed feet, and splashed around in the dark water, seemingly testing the water temperature.
"This is fucking..." Chen You stammered after holding it in for a long time.
He looked up at the wall opposite the pool.
A huge red banner hung there, with the words written in bold white font:
Life lies in movement; death lies in struggle.
Below the banner, several laminated "Entry Instructions" sheets were also pasted on:
1. Spitting, urinating, or defecating in the underworld is strictly prohibited.
2. Individuals suffering from conjunctivitis, heart disease, or psychosis are strictly prohibited from entering the water.
3. Please be sure to warm up before entering the water to prevent cramps that could lead to drowning (even though you're already dead).
"What kind of underworld is this?!" Chen You covered his face, feeling that his worldview on cultivation was being trampled on like never before.
"Beep—!"
A sharp whistle shattered Chen You's breakdown.
Chen You looked in the direction of the sound and saw a person sitting on a high platform on the side of the pool.
No, to be precise, it was a skeleton wearing a red and yellow lifeguard vest and reflective sunglasses.
The skeleton had a gleaming silver whistle hanging around its neck and was holding a long-handled net for scooping leaves.
Above its head floated a line of green NPC names: [Yellow Springs Lifeguard - Aguda].
"The one with the duck!" Aguda pointed at Chen You with a net, his jaw opening and closing, making a whistling sound.
"I'm talking to you! Didn't you read the rules? Pets must wear special swimming diapers when taking them into the water! Otherwise, who's responsible if they poop in the pool?"
Upon hearing this, the giant rubber duck turned its head and let out a roar filled with mythical power at Aguda: "Quack—!"
The dark golden sound waves caused ripples to spread across the water's surface.
Aguda's toad-like glasses slipped onto his nose bridge. He adjusted them, completely unaffected by the oppressive aura, and let out a cold laugh.
"What are you yelling about? So what if you're a mythical mutant? Does being a mythical mutant mean you can poop and pee anywhere in the pool?"
"Let me tell you, last month an ice dragon spat here, and I punished it by making it grind the pool for three months!"
Chen You stepped forward, suppressing the absurdity in his heart, and tentatively asked, "Are you in charge here? I need to cross the Yellow Springs to reach the Foundation Establishment stage."
"Crossing the Yellow Springs?" Aguda jumped down from the high platform, his bones making a cracking sound.
It walked up to Chen You, sized him up, and said, "A cultivator, huh? Here for a Foundation Establishment quest?"
"right."
"Do you know the rules?" Aguda stretched out his bone hand and rubbed his two finger bones together.
Chen You breathed a sigh of relief.
If you need money, that's easy.
He's so poor now that all he has left is money.
He casually pulled out a bag of gold coins, about a thousand in total, and handed it over.
Aguda took the money bag, weighed it in his hand, nodded in satisfaction, and then stuffed it into his empty ribs.
The gold coins slipped through the gaps in his ribs and fell to the ground with a crisp sound, rolling all over the floor.
Aguda wasn't embarrassed at all. While bending down to pick up the gold coins, he took out a laminated form from his vest pocket and slapped it on Chen You's chest.
"I've paid the registration fee. Go over there to fill out the forms and get ready for check-in."
Chen You picked up the form and took a look.
[Registration Form for the 8th Underworld Games - 4x100m Medley Relay]
Chen You: ? ? ?
"What does that mean?" Chen You pointed at the form. "Even after passing through the underworld, I still have to participate in a sports meet?"
"Nonsense." Agu rolled its eyes (even though it didn't have eyeballs).
"Do you think the Underworld is your backyard, where you can come and go as you please?"
"See this pool of water? This is called 'Weak Water'! Even a goose feather can't float, and reeds will sink to the bottom!"
"Only by winning the 4x100m medley relay can you obtain the pass!"
Chen You took a deep breath and pointed to himself: "Look at me, can I finish the competition?"
"Your physique is alright, your muscle definition is good, and your explosive power should be decent," Aguda commented professionally.
"That's not the point!" Chen You slammed the form on the folding table next to him.
"A 4x100m relay requires four people! I'm all alone! Who am I supposed to relay with? A ghost?!"
Aguda nodded matter-of-factly: "That's right, it's like relaying the torch with ghosts. This is the Underworld, do you really think you can relay the torch with the living?"
Chen You was speechless.
[Ding! Foundation Establishment exclusive quest has been updated.]
[Mission Objective: To assemble a team and win first place in the Yellow Springs 4x100m medley relay.]
[Mission Rewards: Rewards for clearing the Underworld, and a breakthrough opportunity in the Foundation Establishment stage.]
[Failure Penalty: All cultivation points are wiped out; you will be permanently relegated to the Underworld as a cleaner.]
Seeing the blood-red failure penalty on the system panel, Chen You's eyes twitched violently twice.
He looked at Aguda, attempting a final plea: "Can't I just fly there?"
"You can give it a try." Aguda pointed to the bottom of the pool. "The last sword cultivator who tried to fly on a sword above the Yellow Springs is still picking at the moss in the grout between the tiles at the bottom of the pool."
"Then I'll drain the water!" Chen You gripped the Jade Emperor Sword tightly.
"Damaging the competition venue results in immediate disqualification, confiscation of the tools used, and a fine of 100,000 gold coins." Aguda whistled.
Chen You fell silent.
He glanced at the giant rubber duck that was doing chest-expanding exercises by the pool.
"Fine, I admit defeat," Chen You said through gritted teeth.
"But I'm only one person, plus this duck, making a total of two. What if we're still short two spots?"
"You don't need to worry about that." Aguda walked to the folding table.
"Our Huangquan Bathhouse... oops, Huangquan Sports Center is very user-friendly. For casual players like you, we offer a 'random matchmaking' service."
"Random matching?"
"Yes, the system will randomly select two unemployed wandering souls from the Yellow Springs to be your temporary teammates." Aguda revealed a strange smile.