Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

A three-meter-tall fatty!

Made entirely of stitched-together skins!

This thing would give you nightmares if you saw it at night!

"May I ask your identity?"

Shen Ye took a wary step back and inquired.

"I am the Demon of Nightmare, having been slain by the King of Ghouls, Miket Tikaxiwa, I have slumbered in death for countless eons," the massive fatty buzzed.

"Miket Tikaxiwa divided your skin into many pieces, why did she do that?" Shen Ye asked.

"Ha ha," the fatty's eyes showed a trace of disdain, "She is my enemy, and one among you has inherited her bloodline—do you think I would tell you?"

Shen Ye snapped his fingers, "Take it for a warm-up."

A look of confusion surfaced on the fatty's face, but the next second, a mob of black skeletons burst forth and grabbed it, dragging it off into the depths of darkness.

"Hey, what the heck are you doing?" the fatty couldn't help but ask.

But nobody answered.

The second hand ticked once.

A black skeleton popped up and said to Shen Ye, "That was boring, it ended before it even began."

"That quick? Bring it back," Shen Ye ordered.

"Okay," the black skeleton responded and then vanished.

The next instant.

The gray and black fatty reappeared, bowing and scraping, "Big brother, actually, I don't even know what Miket Tikaxiwa used my skin to sew, after all, I was already dead at that time."

"If you really want to know, you must travel through time and ask her yourself."

Shen Ye and the Skeleton Monarch exchanged a glance.

—Who can travel through time!

If we could travel through time, why would we need to ask you?

"Is there no other way?" Shen Ye queried.

"Actually, there is another method—I can feel a certain seal of hers on this skin of mine."

"If you search painstakingly, piece by piece, one day you'll figure out just what that sealing art is, then find a specific method to undo the seal."

"Of course, that requires patience and a bit of luck, as well as the strength to lift the seal," the fatty explained.

Shen Ye and the Skeleton Monarch were speechless again.

If we had that kind of strength why would we need you?

"Off you go," Shen Ye commanded.

The fatty's form instantly disintegrated, reverting into pieces of "parchment" that fell to the ground.

"It seems we need a long time to unravel the secrets here," the Skeleton Monarch sighed.

Just as Shen Ye was about to respond, a sudden burst of inspiration flashed through his mind.

No!

There was another way!

Although it was not truly travelling through time, he could see what had transpired in this object's past.

The condition was—

The object had to be of the Dharma Realm.

Could these "parchments" crafted by Miket Tikaxiwa be considered objects of the Dharma Realm?

Time to test it!

Shen Ye stepped back, fixating his gaze once more on the "parchment."

Meanwhile.

Two faint dragon patterns quietly emerged behind him, and a Dharma Eye manifested above his head.

The First Layer of the Law Domain's "Moonlight Divine Illumination," activate!

The dim light gathered into small characters, appearing in mid-air:

"You have activated the Dharma Eye: Moonlight Divine Illumination."

"With this, you can resonate with objects of the Dharma Realm; under the scrutiny of the divine gaze, the past of the current object of the Dharma Realm becomes clearly visible, but will considerably consume your spiritual power."

Almost in an instant.

He saw endless light and shadows rising from the "parchment," like the fast-reversing frames of a movie, flowing upstream along the river of time, tracing back to a distant bygone era.

After seven or eight breaths.

The lengthy, frenziedly reversing images finally slowed.

Shen Ye saw a petite figure emanating gray-white light, floating in mid-air.

The figure was wielding a Bone Blade, dissecting the Demon of Nightmare.

Indeed, she had nearly completed the dissection, now meticulously sewing the Demon Skin.

—Without a doubt, this was the legendary Mother of Dark Skeletons, the King of Ghouls, the Underworld Lord Miket Tikaxiwa.

She was also the Bloodline Mother of the great Skeleton Monarch, Fei Lun.

As Shen Ye was about to observe more closely, something he had never considered happened.

The Underworld Lord Miket Tikaxiwa suddenly ceased her actions.

She slowly lifted her head, looking in Shen Ye's direction.

"Who?"

"Across the long expanse of time, who is it that observes my current actions with the Dharma Realm's Divine Pupil Art?" the Underworld Lord Miket Tikaxiwa asked aloud.

Shen Ye's pupils shrank sharply.

How could this be!

It was history from countless years ago—

How could the Underworld Lord sense his watch through such a distant span of time?

The Underworld Lord Miket Tikaxiwa pondered for a moment and then spoke:

"The time between us is too long, so much that even I cannot see the future."

"But if you can observe my current situation, you must possess an extraordinarily special Dharma Eye."

"My only way of communicating with you is like this—"

Miket Tikaxiwa brandished her Bone Blade, cutting off a piece of Demon Skin, upon which she made a diamond-shaped mark.

"Find this piece of Demon Skin. I will leave a special Curse Seal on it, and only my bloodline descendants can unlock it."

"In fact, if the future has nothing to do with my bloodline, then I am not interested in saying much to you."

As she spoke, she cast a curse on the Demon Skin.

Shen Ye immediately looked down and sure enough, he found a piece of demon skin with a diamond-shaped mark.

"Skeleton, come here, this piece of demon skin is for a routine blood check. Test your body's condition."

"How do you know that?" the Skeleton asked curiously.

——It couldn't see any anomalies at all.

"Don't ask so many questions, I just do." Shen Ye said.

The Skeleton then placed its palm on that piece of demon skin.

In an instant.

All the demon skin floated in the air, forming a wall.

"What's happening?"

The Skeleton asked in surprise.

Shen Ye took a few steps back, examining the wall while also glancing at the historical apparition.

He saw that Miket Tikaxiwa had already cast cursing spells on each piece of demon skin, and only then did he look back at Shen Ye.

"I have hidden the secrets of this world within the demon skin. If you are an heir to my bloodline, you can activate the demon skin. At this point, you have two choices."

"One is to directly absorb the strength I left behind, immediately ascend to the fifth level of the Law Realm in strength, become unrivaled, and forge a monarchy anew."

"The other is to seek out the real enemy of our Undead Race, that being is definitely the one who will kill me in the future—you must discover the truth of the matter and then find a way to kill it."

"This is the only thing I can do for you, child."

Shen Ye withdrew his gaze and looked at the demon skin.

He saw all the demon skin divided into two piles, one forming the number "1" of the Undead Race, and the other coalescing into the number "2."

"What's happening?" the Skeleton asked.

"I want to ask, what kind of being was your mother back in her day?" Shen Ye said.

"Her? Well... she killed all my lazy brothers and sisters," it answered.

"Were you the most diligent?"

"No, I was the last one, and when I was born, she was already seriously injured."

Shen Ye pondered for a moment and then said:

"Listen to me, touch the '2'."

"Why?" The Skeleton didn't understand.

"To survive."

"Muttering nonsense..."

The Skeleton reached out and touched the number "2."

In an instant.

All shadows of the past epochs vanished.

All the demon skin unfolded again, releasing endless undead runes, piercing through the void and condensing into the likeness of Miket Tikaxiwa.

"Mother!"

The Skeleton knelt down.

Shen Ye looked at Miket Tikaxiwa, then at the undead runes that were releasing power, and immediately understood.

This was just a pre-set light and technique, not Miket Tikaxiwa resurrected.

Could it be...

Miket Tikaxiwa floated in the air, looking down, and said softly:

"A wise choice."

"——My descendant must not be a wastrel who lives aimlessly, unwilling to strive for betterment, merely thinking of inheriting strength."

"Had you chosen 1, the technique hidden within the demon skin would have activated and immediately killed you."

"But since you chose 2..."

"Then come to Hell."

"——Only in Hell, when you learn the truth, will you be safe."

"My child of bloodline, since you have chosen revenge, then come to the depths of Hell, seek the truth and our enemy's weakness, and let its head crown you—"

"Only then will you truly be the Skeleton King!"

As the voice ceased.

This godlike being disappeared from sight.

All the demon skin pieced itself back together, writhing frantically, then suddenly spread out.

There, on the demon skin, lay a gemstone that glowed with a brilliant golden light, seemingly with streams of liquid constantly flowing within.

The Nightmare Crystal!

A line of faint luminescent text quietly emerged, clustering beside the Nightmare Crystal:

"???"

"Descendant Crystal of the Undead Race."

"Upon use, receive the special technique left by the God of the Undead."

"Please be cautious, this crystal is for use by the Undead only because only the Undead can construct a relatively safe path straight to the depths of Hell."

Shen Ye and the Skeleton stared at the glowing Nightmare Crystal, both somewhat at a loss for words.

After a long time.

"Hey, are you really going?" Shen Ye asked.

"I'm not sure... even though I am Undead, heading to Hell while I am alive still poses a great risk... unless you can help me," the Skeleton said.

"How can I help you?" Shen Ye asked.

"We should retreat at the first sign of trouble, bro. It's times like these that only your Two Realms Gate Technique can give me a hand," the Skeleton said.

Shen Ye was about to speak when suddenly a scene from not long ago flashed in his mind.

"Seek the secrets of this world—your friends will help you, but you must first help them."

"If you learn the true secrets of this world, there might still be a glimmer of hope!"

"...whether it's to save me or to save your world."

So.

Had that voice already known everything?

Curse it, why not just tell me directly?

"Hell... does it have to be Hell..."

Shen Ye whispered to himself.

He had come to a realization.

Perhaps that voice also didn't dare to speak the "secret" outright.

The Underworld Lord Miket Tikaxiwa had said that only in Hell was it safe.

It seemed...

If he wanted to know the secret of this world, he really had to take a trip to Hell!