Old Liu tidied everything up and strode out confidently. By this time, the barrier had been completely smashed by his Wind Pouch. He walked with utter impunity, making a gesture of contempt towards Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu let out a long sigh and followed behind. This was the arrogance of a petty person who had achieved a minor success, he reminded himself he couldn't afford to get into a spat with him.

Thus, the two walked one in front of the other until they were directly beneath the Eternal Lotus Dream Palace. When Ye Xiu looked up, the palace seemed to hang suspended as if dropped from the sky onto the sheer cliff behind the village. Its exterior walls were adorned entirely with silvery-white crystal; one side was firmly embedded into the mountainside, while the other faced a massive metal door.

“It seems this Soul Tomb was constructed relying on the mountain behind us. We’re heading into a cave again,” Old Liu said, carefully stepping onto the stairs while cradling the essence blood.

Ye Xiu knew he wasn't a tomb robber in the traditional sense. A Death God robbing a tomb sounded truly bizarre? Yet, the place they were heading was precisely the palace that Mo Shu had built for Xia Jie. He had absolutely no concept of what a Soul Tomb meant. It wasn't until he looked down at the snow-white, polished stone staircase beneath his feet that he asked Old Liu, “Can a person’s soul truly be buried?”

Old Liu pursed his lips and retorted, “When the people around you die, what do you Death Gods gain from watching? What use is a soul to you? Does it boost your cultivation?”

Watching people die around them, what did Death Gods gain? This question completely stumped Ye Xiu. Images of everyone who had perished before his eyes flashed through his mind. Indeed, what benefit was their death to a low-level Death God like him, or even to his master, the High God? It only made Ye Xiu feel as if he had completed a mere task.

“I don't know much about the history of your Death Realm either; that history seems unknown to everyone,” Old Liu admitted, having no intention to deceive Ye Xiu. He pointed to the iron door before them. “I only know that after people die, they go somewhere. The Styx River is their passage. However, for ages, the Asura Clan has been causing trouble in the Styx, making it an unknown whether those souls can reach the Underworld. I've always thought your existence as Death Gods is connected to the chaos in the Styx River's tributaries, but judging by your look, you probably don't even know what a Death God is, let alone the Death Realm.”

Ye Xiu patted his head, deciding to stop dwelling on the Death God or the Death Realm. He pointed at the metal door and asked, “Look at the carvings on it. How exactly are you supposed to use that drop of essence blood in your hand?”

Old Liu also shifted his attention back, bending over slightly to observe closely. “The metal door looks brand new, and I believe no one has managed to approach it for all these years. However, the carvings here are quite simple—there's only one shaped like an hourglass. Could it be that I have to place this drop of essence blood into this funnel shape?”

Ye Xiu leaned closer, focusing on the funnel-shaped illustration on the door. The opening at the top was wide, but the bottom opening was tiny. This small aperture was situated right in the middle of the door seam. Whether by guesswork or deduction, the drop of essence blood should be poured in from the wide opening.

Seeing that Ye Xiu raised no objection, Old Liu slowly brought the essence blood he held close to the wall. Strangely enough, the drop of essence blood, originally solid, suddenly transformed from a solid into a viscous liquid the moment it touched the metal door. That single drop of crimson blood instantly pierced the outer crystal shell and dissolved into the upper part of the funnel, vanishing.

Ye Xiu and Old Liu stared intently at the opaque funnel. Logically, that drop of blood should have flowed out of the small opening by now, but no matter how long they waited, nothing emerged. Ye Xiu grew anxious and asked, “Old Liu, did you use the essence blood incorrectly? Why is there no reaction?”

Old Liu was utterly bewildered. He reached out to smack the metal door and cursed, “This son of a bitch door won't admit to taking Lady Mo Shu’s essence blood, will it?”

“What do we do now?” Ye Xiu paced back and forth without any plan. He had thought that with this essence blood, they could smoothly enter the so-called Eternal Lotus Dream Palace; instead, they were still left in a cloud of confusion.

“Bang bang bang!” Old Liu also angrily hammered the metal door. He used immense force, and the door rang out with a remarkably crisp sound, as if the entire Eternal Lotus Dream Palace were nothing but empty space.

“Ouch!” At that moment, Old Liu suddenly cried out and clutched his hand.

Ye Xiu stepped closer and noticed tiny spikes on the metal door. They were minuscule but incredibly sharp. Old Liu had been severely pricked while striking the door panel. Ye Xiu coldly watched the blood Old Liu left on the door. There shouldn't have been much, but it seemed alive, slowly flowing into the funnel. After a moment, a viscous liquid, even deeper crimson than Old Liu’s blood, seeped from the bottom of the funnel. That liquid slowly trickled down into the door seam, and Ye Xiu felt the metal door shift open just a fraction.

“What are you looking at…” Old Liu was in pain, clutching his hand. Seeing Ye Xiu unresponsive, he leaned over too, and at that moment, he too exclaimed in shock, “Could it be that a drop of human blood is needed as a catalyst for that bit of essence blood to work?”

Ye Xiu cast a knowing, slightly malicious glance at him. Ye Xiu chuckled, “Old Liu, you should know that the blood of us Death Gods is black; it shouldn't have any effect on this drop of essence blood.”

“You…” Old Liu tried to explain but didn't know where to begin. He tilted his head in thought. “I once heard that a drop of essence blood left behind when Nüwa mended the sky could extend life and grant rebirth. That essence blood required the blood of a Nüwa descendant as a catalyst. Why would Lady Mo Shu’s drop of essence blood react with my blood? We descendants of the Ancient Strange Path aren't related to the Black Lotus; maybe any blood can activate this thing. Why don’t you try it?”

“Don’t joke, why would I dare fight you for such an opportunity!” Before Old Liu could react, Ye Xiu snatched his hand and forcefully pressed it against the metal door panel. The small spikes instantly sank into Old Liu’s palm, and streams of blood flowed down from the top of the funnel like small creeks.

“Aaargh! Damn it…” Old Liu cursed loudly but lacked the strength to pull away. The puncture wounds weren't major injuries, but the impact of the spikes entering his skin must have been agonizing.

At this moment, the bright crimson blood on the metal door slowly flowed into the funnel, then dripped out of the lower opening after a short distance. It carefully seeped along the door seam, filling the entire edge of the metal door with blood threads. Once both sides of the seams were saturated, the door instantly emitted a brilliant golden glow, accompanied by a tremor that shook the entire mountainside.

“Rumble…” Within the radiance, the appearance of the metal door changed from before. As the seams slowly widened, ornate carvings of dragons and phoenixes emerged on the door's body—it could truly rival the main gates of any imperial palace depicted in the moving pictures.

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