NOVPUBChapter 129: 121 The so-called netherworld
Chapter 129: 121 The so-called netherworld
What does it feel like to shove two eyeballs into their sockets?
Lin An had felt it!
Yes, he had felt it!
At the moment the eyeballs were inserted, he so clearly felt what it meant when they say ‘he is also me’.
At that moment, he seemed to feel an odd sensation coming from his eye sockets, first sourness and tingling, then the feeling of a foreign object, followed by a rising tide of countless terrifying emotional wildfires, frantically scorching that thing in his eye sockets.
He already understood this synesthesia when he was hurting Mr. Liu’s Grey Wolf Spirituality, causing Mr. Liu himself to feel pain.
But he had never imagined that when it happened to himself, it would be so marvelous.
A feeling of ‘I’ being in different dimensions.
As if the entire world was no longer simply sitting on the floor, feeling the pure reality of the skin sensing the cool air from the air conditioner.
He felt as if his entire being had been vertically sliced into innumerable layers, each residing in different dimensions.
—He was at home in the real world, sitting cross-legged on the floor, stuffing eyeballs into the eye sockets of his spiritual head.
—He was looking up at a flesh-and-blood version of himself, feeling that other self insert eyeballs into his eye sockets.
—He was in a world swirling with dark golden mist, sitting on the ground, unable to touch his head.
—He was in the World of Fissures between the Spirit Realm and the real world; his murky, grey-white inner world was gradually being filled by lively emotions, becoming more real, also birthing powers capable of affecting the Super Dimensional forces of witchcraft in the Spirit Realm.
—He was amid dark golden chunks of flesh in the Purgatory World, nourishing himself off others, incarnated as a black cat with mouthfuls of dark golden blood-stained crimson teeth, feasting merrily.
—He was among dark gold and black mist, transformed into a young deer filled with raging emotional turmoil inside, yet motionless on the surface, like an ultra-stable washing machine in operation.
This feeling was so unique.
As though he was present in different places at once.
But it seemed as if he was doing the same thing!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~
—The wildfire of emotions boiled, burning through Chen Xinmi’s ‘Dullness Potion’ that had clogged the heart, churning into the brain, and fiercely burning in the eye sockets.
Finally, the eyeball melted, turning into an indescribable mix that gradually became his own eyes under his own influence.
—The wildfire of emotions seethed, melting the chunks of flesh from the Dark Gold Statue ingested by the black cat, turning into an indiscernible mix that gradually became a part of him under his own influence.
—The wildfire of emotions boiled, the black smoke produced by the burning rose swiftly, merging into the flame-shaped mist, making the deer within the mist appear even more lively.
Lin An felt as if he had split into countless selves, doing similar things.
Lin An also sensed countless versions of himself converging into one true self, driven by the singular idea deep within his heart, making every self perform similar actions.
These two feelings were too complex.
And so wonderfully strange.
Suddenly!
Lin An suddenly felt an uncomfortable sensation as if touching his eye, and quickly retracted his hand.
In an instant, that layered feeling of numerous dimensions vanished.
All that remained was an Ugly Head in front of him twisting its cheeks, eyelids rolling rapidly, and after a while, slowly opening.
“!!!”
Honestly, Lin An had gotten used to the sight of the Ugly Head with its blurry flesh in the eye sockets, occasionally oozing blood.
Seeing a normal eye for a moment truly gave him a chill.
Especially since…
These eyes were identical to his own!
“Ha~”
The head seemed exceptionally excited, “Lin An, Lin An, I see you, you’re so handsome!”
Lin An smiled slightly, “Congratulations!
The head rolled on the ground, taking it as a nod, while blabbering to Lin An, “Haha, I have eyes now, Lin An, your spirituality has eyes!”
Hmm…
That phrase sounded strange.
“Lin An, do you know?” the head said, looking steadily at Lin An with a slight smirk, “You don’t really know how to use my eyes.”
Lin An was taken aback, “Don’t know how to use them?”
“Hmm!” The head clicked its tongue twice, “The Eye of Spirituality, ‘Sky Drifting Eyes,’ Eyeball Witch Monster… all these abilities that extend from my eyes are just too ordinary, too common.”
It paused for a moment and looked at Lin An, “Come, pick me up, and I will let you experience what the Eye of Spirituality is like.”
Lin An watched the excited little one with a smile, nodded, and gently reached out his hands to support it.
But at that moment, countless overlaying images once again appeared before his eyes.
The delighted voice of the head rang in front of him, “Eyes, they are the windows to the soul, you see? Outwards, we look at the world through our eyes. Inwards, we gaze into our souls through our eyes.”
“Lin An, all humans have extremely complex spirits, and ordinary flesh and blood can only accommodate and manifest one such spirit.”
“Much more, like your subconscious, operates in other different dimensions.”
“But you can look inward through your eyes and see it, see this soul.”
“Then, through the soul, look outward to see the world beyond.”
“And so…”
World after world began to appear in front of Lin An’s eyes.
In the way of ‘Sky-Scanning Eyes’!
That was the real world, where he sat on the ground, hugging the head that served as a medium for casting spells.
That was the Spirit Realm; although he no longer had eyes to see, he could only sense a haze of dark gold mist and see his own headless body standing tall like a mountain.
That was the World of Fissures between the Spirit Realm and reality, representing the edge between personal and collective consciousness—a grey and dim version of himself dwelling within.
The place he had perceived in the past, his inner world, situated both inside and outside that grey and murky figure. At this moment, a black cat sprawled atop the pedestal of the ‘Clown Masked Wizard’s spirituality, tearing and biting, ready to give birth at any moment.
That was the Purgatory World, where he had become a small deer, enduring the surges of his inner emotions and the smog of changes brought about by interacting with the outside world, embracing everything.
Lin An slowly got up off the ground, still holding the head.
After listening to the head’s introduction, he looked around in amazement at the four different worlds surrounding him.
For a moment, his spirit was filled with a sense of absurdity, a spine-chilling sensation, a surprise leaping with excitement.
A whirlwind of emotions engulfed him.
Then, slowly calming down, the view of the Spirit Realm disappeared, the Purgatory World vanished.
Eventually, only the real world and the World of Fissures between the Spirit Realm and reality remained.
“You’re so weak!” the Ugly Head complained, “Your spiritual power isn’t nearly enough to bear the truth of observing the Spirit Realm and the Purgatory World. Your body has triggered its self-protective capabilities, forcing you to be blind to these two worlds.”
“No…”
Lin An shook his head in astonishment, “I already feel so good, so good!”
He stared at that World of Fissures, then slowly walked to the window, gazing down at the city from his twenty-something-story home.
The ‘real world’ before his eyes was so different from the ‘real world’ he used to see with his mortal eyes.
Away at the subway station, a huge lizard seemed to notice him and looked up.
On the streets was a small hospital, atop which lay a giant Snake-tailed Cerberus.
All kinds of houses and buildings each had their own spirituality.
As Lin An’s view followed the ‘Sky-Scanning Eyes’ into the sky, the entire city was so lively, looking like a monster’s paradise.
In the far distance, atop the Yunlu Mountain Range, was a giant gate of what seemed like bronze or obsidian, with streams of dark gold aura seeping out from the cracks.
Below the gate, there was a huge throne, with a vague figure nestled within.
A massive banyan tree occupied a lake halfway up the Yunlu Mountains, with a small multi-story house hanging from its branches.
…
…
There was too much, too overwhelming to take in.
“This is what the ‘Eye of Spirituality’ can see!” the head boasted, “Lin An, you took my eyes and can only glimpse some things based on others’ views and your feelings towards the world. You’re so weak!”
“Hmm…”
Lin An murmured in response, greedily beholding this magical world.
This is…
The fantastical world behind the real world.
How intriguing, after all these years living in this city, never knowing that behind this urban life, there was such vibrant marvel.
“Head…”
“Yes, what is it?”
“I want to see more, experience more. This world is so wondrous, so captivating.”
“Oh, you better just take care of your own little life first. I see those three Demon Hunters and other Antler Witch Hunter Knights are rushing out from every corner of the city.”
“???” Lin An gaped at the head in his hands, “What did you say?”
The head chuckled, “I see more than you do, and I’m proud of it!”
“No, what did you just say?”
“Oh, it’s that you’ve become the Eyeball Witch Monster everyone’s talking about. Now everybody wants to come kill you, what’s so strange about that?”
“!!!” Lin An took a deep breath and looked over with the view of the ‘Sky-Scanning Eyes’—indeed, a white-gold eye with wings floated above the city.
As his view flipped back, streaks of red light spread, threatening to engulf the entire city.
Whoosh~
Lin An was frightened, his vision swiftly retracting to the window.
He swallowed hard and looked down at the head in his hand, “I think I’ve caused some trouble!”
“No worries!” The head was surprisingly calm, “They can’t find out it’s you.”
