Chapter 12: Entering the Underworld Palace

“This is the spot.” Upon arriving at Golden Scissors Street, Ralph personally led Liu Zhi to take a look at the area where the twenty workers had vanished.

Just as Ralph had said, he had seen it with his own eyes. Had it not been for his guidance, Liu Zhi would have been completely unaware that the terrain here had changed.

The place where the twenty workers had fallen was not beneath the Golden Scissors Pathway, nor near the house assigned to Liu Zhi, but about fifteen meters ahead from the intersection of Golden Scissors Street and the pathway. From Liu Zhi’s house, one could see the changes here immediately.

“What’s going on beneath?” Liu Zhi asked earnestly as he gazed at the relatively calm sludge.

“No one knows,” Ralph replied. “But a few ship captains I know say there’s an invisible whirlpool down there now. Their beast ships don’t dare come near.”

Liu Zhi nodded and lifted his Death Staff, tossing out a Bonecrawler. The upper half of the skeleton crawled two steps on the swamp before being forcibly dragged under.

At the moment the Bonecrawler was pulled down, Liu Zhi nodded. “I have a general idea of what’s going on.”

“Oh? You know?” Ralph looked at him in disbelief. Many skilled supernaturals in the area knew something was wrong here but couldn’t pinpoint the cause. How could Liu Zhi understand it right away? Could the difference between players and non-players really be that vast?

Seeing Ralph’s expression, Liu Zhi smiled faintly. “It’s a matter of expertise. I roughly understand the mindset of the predecessor who dealt with this place. It’s actually quite simple. The spot where my house stands is the rift to the Glimmering Netherworld. That predecessor was probably stationed there to prevent accidents at the construction site.

“But by focusing on the rift, he neglected other areas. The first worker likely died there, and his resentment before death attracted some of the Glimmering Netherworld’s energy, causing him to mutate. Since he was trapped in the swamp sludge, no one could find him, and in the end, he pulled down over a dozen workers.

“At that point, the situation was beyond the predecessor’s control. I believe he resorted to some measures—perhaps explosives or poison.”

Hearing this, Ralph nodded in agreement. He had been on the scene and recalled the undertaker who had used every means—fireballs, lightning, even summoning undead servants.

“But he miscalculated one thing: the sludge’s depth. Those workers likely fused into a massive undead entity after the final measures were applied. Ultimately, the predecessor severed their corpses’ connection to the Glimmering Netherworld and sealed the area, probably with those nearby street lamps, right?”

“Yes, exactly like that.” Ralph now respected Liu Zhi. “Lord Sandrew, do you have a way to deal with this?”

“No. I’m only level one, without the strength. Maybe when I grow stronger, I’ll have the ability. But by then, the workers’ bodies would have grown too.”

Liu Zhi sighed. “It’s a ticking time bomb. It needs to be dealt with properly someday. But for now, I must take over this district. Director Ralph, I won’t accompany you further.”

“Suit yourself.”

Liu Zhi nodded at Ralph and headed toward the house assigned to him.

The location was decent, near the upper right side pathway of Golden Scissors Street—a two-story house with a small courtyard. The rooftop had a terrace with a canopy, offering a clear view of where the workers had died.

Opening the courtyard gate, he saw a forty-square-meter yard with a wooden floor like the external boardwalk. Near the wall, flower beds planted with plants unique to the Southern Swamp dimension thrived.

Inside the house, Liu Zhi noticed the Southern Swamp dimension’s distinctive style. From outside, the house appeared to cover no more than forty square meters, but inside, each floor spanned nearly one hundred and fifty square meters.

The first floor held the living room, kitchen, dining room, guest room, and storage, as well as a downward passage—likely leading to the Glimmering Netherworld rift.

The second floor contained the master bedroom, dressing room, study, and laboratory, with access to the outdoor terrace.

The furnishings were of good quality, and paintings adorned the walls. Although Liu Zhi lacked artistic sense, he could tell these were fine pieces.

After putting down his luggage in the living room, Liu Zhi swiftly headed underground to settle the Nether Palace.

This was not because he was eager to complete his guarding duty, but because some matters had been postponed for too long.

Following the winding passage, he descended about five or six meters and found a separate room made entirely of stone and ceramics.

The room’s exterior was etched with various runes, and a bucket of red liquid—apparently for painting the runes—stood by the door.

Liu Zhi pushed open the door and found an entirely transformed space. A one-person-high black crack ran through the room. Because of this rift, countless star-like lights resembling fireflies filled the chamber.

“No wonder it’s called the Glimmering Netherworld. They certainly lacked imagination in naming it,” Liu Zhi muttered. Following the instructions in “The Undertaker’s Path,” he took out his Nether Palace Altar and pressed it against the rift.

[Beep! Netherworld entrance detected with absorbable Netherworld energy. Do you wish to permanently anchor the Nether Palace here?]

[Note: Permanently anchoring the Netherworld entrance allows the Nether Palace to absorb energy at 100%. Temporarily stationing here absorbs energy at 75%.]

Liu Zhi was no fool. How could he permanently anchor his Nether Palace here? Seeing the note, he chose to temporarily station it. He also presented the commission letter obtained from the Hedland Mercenary Guild as proof of his legal standing here.

[Beep! Nether Palace temporarily stationed; Netherworld entrance temporarily sealed!]

[Beep! Other Netherworld cities detected. Open Nether Palace access permissions to connect with nearby Netherworld cities?]

[Beep! Enemy detected near Nether Palace perimeter. Strengthen Nether Palace defenses!]

Liu Zhi ignored these prompts. Closing and reopening the door, he found himself at the gate of his Nether Palace, Nazmir, just beyond the room’s threshold.