Chapter 1013: You... Know My Grandfather?

The Underworld... that was his mother’s domain.

He had wanted to go there for a long time after hearing she had been gravely wounded. If there was any way to reach the Underworld, he would take it without hesitation.

’Could this strange little monk actually know how?’

Ethan followed behind Vasuki, quickly realizing the child moved at an unbelievable speed. Even so, he had no trouble keeping up without using his full strength. The little monk headed due north as the scenery rushed past beneath them, the climate shifting almost instantly from the warmth of spring to a frozen world of endless snow and ice.

’Are we heading for the Arctic?’

He had already visited Earth’s southernmost point before, but the Arctic was completely new to him. The South Pole had concealed that mysterious place. Maybe the North Pole hid something similar. Maybe this was where the entrance to the Underworld truly lay.

The questions piled up in his mind, but he kept them to himself. Before long, Vasuki slowed to a stop near the outer edge of the Arctic. The little monk landed barefoot on untouched snow, still wearing nothing but his thin robes.

"We’re walking the rest of the way?" Ethan asked, remembering that flight had become impossible near the peak of the South Pole.

"Bullshit. I’m freezing. Got any clothes? Give me something."

The completely unexpected response made Ethan fight back a laugh.

He himself was dressed no better than the monk, wearing only shorts, a sleeveless shirt, and sandals. His cultivation had long since made ordinary temperatures meaningless to him.

Judging by Vasuki’s strength, the little monk should have been at least his equal, if not stronger, yet here he was, shivering and asking for a coat.

Suppressing a smile, Ethan reached into his spatial storage and pulled out a military greatcoat before handing it over.

Vasuki looked no older than eight or nine. The oversized coat practically swallowed him whole, its hem dragging across the snow. When he raised the collar, even his head disappeared inside, making it impossible to see his face.

The little monk didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. He simply floated back into the air. The sight was absurd; from a distance, it looked like an empty military coat drifting across the frozen wasteland by itself. Anyone who saw it would probably think they were looking at a ghost.

This time, however, Vasuki flew much lower and noticeably slower. He was still moving as fast as an aircraft, but it was obvious he was searching for something rather than simply traveling.

The pair ventured deeper into the Arctic Circle.

After a while, Ethan noticed the monk’s route wasn’t even remotely direct. He zigzagged through the icy wilderness, sometimes doubling back over places they had already crossed.

Ethan spread his own senses throughout the region while they traveled.

Compared to Antarctica, the Arctic was teeming with life. Countless creatures hid beneath the endless snow, and among them were even legendary Yetis.

He would have liked to examine them more closely, but Vasuki never stopped moving long enough to give him the chance.

The white-furred giants resembled enormous gorillas, buried deep beneath the ice. Every single one remained perfectly motionless, almost like they were hibernating. Their life force was astonishingly faint, their hearts beating only once every long while, like giant turtles conserving energy through the endless winter.

"Found you. Get out here." At last, Vasuki came to a halt, and without warning, he lifted one bare foot and stomped down. A gigantic footprint materialized in the sky before crashing into the snowfield below; the frozen ground shattered under the immense force and collapsed inward.

"Damn it! You old bald bastard! What are you doing here again?"

Ethan blinked in surprise. The spot Vasuki had attacked was the exact place where Ethan had been quietly observing one of the Yetis, so this was what the little monk had been searching for all along. He couldn’t help feeling a little speechless. ’You could’ve just told me. Why spend all that time flying in circles?’

The buried Yeti burst out of the collapsing snow, having apparently been hiding its presence from Vasuki all this time. It planted one hand on its waist, pointed furiously at the monk with the other, and immediately launched into a stream of curses.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, it condensed a snowball overflowing with frost energy and hurled it straight at him.

WHAM!

The snowball struck Vasuki square in the chest and blasted him backward through the air.

"Haha! Little White, don’t be so grumpy!" Vasuki laughed cheerfully, completely unconcerned.

"Hmph." After throwing that single snowball, the Yeti didn’t attack again.

Vasuki leisurely floated back down while Ethan landed beside the creature, studying it with open curiosity.

The Yeti looked directly at Ethan, but its words were aimed at Vasuki.

"What do you want? Spit it out, then get lost."

If Ethan hadn’t known better, he would have assumed the remark was directed at him. The Yeti kept stealing glances at him while speaking, its attention clearly divided between the two of them.

"Can’t I come visit an old friend?" Vasuki replied with a grin.

"Visit my ass. Five hundred years ago, who was it that said, ’You’re a Buddha, I’m a demon. We walk different paths. We never need to meet again’?"

As the Yeti finished speaking, its snowy white fur gradually darkened into a rich violet-black. Even the snow beneath its feet slowly turned the same ominous color.

"Hehe... I was young and stupid back then. Buddha, demon... it’s all meaningless anyway."

"Enough. Shut up."

The Yeti clearly had no patience for Vasuki’s nonsense and cut him off before he could continue, then shifted its full attention to Ethan.

"Kid, let me ask you something. What’s your relationship with Overlord Caelum?"

Ethan stared blankly for a moment, caught completely off guard by the question.

"Overlord Caelum? Uh... he’s my grandfather."

The name still felt unfamiliar on his tongue; he had never actually met the man. Everything he knew came from Starfall and Blackie, the Black Qilin.

"I thought so. You look just like him."

The Yeti nodded to itself before turning around.

"Come with me."

Ethan stood there for a second, completely bewildered. ’Come with you? Where?’ Instinctively, he looked toward Vasuki.

The little monk had suddenly adopted the serene expression of an enlightened sage, his eyes half-closed as though he had entered meditation on the spot. He didn’t even spare Ethan a glance.

Ethan’s eyelid twitched. ’...This little brat definitely planned this.’

With no better option, he followed after the Yeti.

Vasuki quietly trailed behind them.

Ethan glanced back once more, hoping for some sort of explanation, but got nothing. The monk still wore that peaceful, detached expression, acting as though the entire situation had nothing to do with him.

Shaking his head, Ethan continued after the Yeti into a cave hidden beneath the ice.

The tunnel wound downward in a long spiral.

Halfway through the descent, Vasuki casually pulled off the oversized military coat and tossed it onto the ground without a word. Ethan could only stare. ’Seriously? You couldn’t hand it back? You had to throw it away?’

As they continued downward, the temperature rose higher and higher until the icy air gave way to waves of scorching heat. A crimson glow flickered deeper within the cavern.

Ethan never would have guessed an active volcano lay hidden beneath the Arctic ice.

Eventually, they reached a ledge overlooking a vast sea of molten magma. The tunnel ended there, leaving nowhere else to go. The Yeti finally stopped. Silence had accompanied them for the entire journey, but Ethan’s curiosity had reached its limit.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"The Twilight Pass," Vasuki answered as he stepped up beside him.

"The Twilight Pass?" Ethan repeated.

"It’s the buffer zone between our world and the Underworld," Vasuki explained calmly. "A separate realm that exists between the two. Many extraordinarily powerful beings reside there."

He paused before adding one final sentence.

"Your grandfather is there."

"What?"

Ethan’s eyes widened, and he turned to stare at both of them, unable to hide his shock. "You... you know my grandfather?"