Mu Jinyu was unsure whether the words of the Black Bone Demon could be trusted, but he felt that there was some credibility to them.
However, due to caution, he couldn't rashly enter the Mirror World; the risk was too great, so he decided to make contact with Xiang Mantang.
After all, whether the Demon's words were true or not, he needed to contact Xiang Mantang to suppress the consciousness-bearing Demon.
If he could also resolve the Tide of Chaos along the way, that would naturally be for the best.
Mu Jinyu no longer listened to the Demon, he signaled to Sheng Rulai and Reinhardt with his eyes, and then led the group to retreat for now.
"Dragon King, what happened?"
Sheng Rulai had noticed Mu Jinyu's changed expression earlier and was unsure what he had discovered, but it wasn't appropriate to disturb him. Only after Mu Jinyu signaled to gather everyone did he finally ask.
Mu Jinyu then shared what he had just heard from the Black Bone Demon with everyone and asked if they had also heard the Ghost Voice?
The group exchanged glances and then shook their heads, indicating they had heard no Ghost Voice.
Sheng Rulai frowned and said, "Can we trust what this Demon says? Could it be trying to trick us into entering the Mirror World?"
"There is that possibility," Mu Jinyu replied. "However, look at its current state; it doesn't pose much of a threat. It could be worth a try…"
"Moreover, it hasn't told me how to enter the Mirror World. Clearly, it's using that information as a bargaining chip in a trade, promising to tell us how to get in only after I bring it the flesh and blood of a Level Four Demon…"
"So, what we should worry about is what changes might occur after it obtains the flesh and blood of a Level Four Demon!"
"That's true." When Sheng Rulai heard this from Mu Jinyu, he too felt that the Black Bone Demon, in its current form, wasn't really frightening. What needed to be guarded against was the potential transformation it could undergo after obtaining demon flesh and blood.
"Right now, it's just a finger bone. It seems that even if it obtains demon flesh and blood, it may not cause much trouble. I guess it plans to have us help it retrieve its full skeleton after completing this trade," Reinhardt said.
"Yes, that's right. Its consciousness only resides in this finger bone and not in that complete skeleton. Hence, it doesn't know about what happened that day. That is our advantage," Mu Jinyu stated.
"Then, let's contact Hall Master Xiang," Sheng Rulai decided and said so.
Reinhardt also nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I'll contact Ah-Xiang." Seeing their agreement, Mu Jinyu took out his phone and called Xiang Mantang.
Xiang Mantang, who was still eliminating Demons somewhere in Europe, had his expression change upon receiving Mu Jinyu's call and warned him, "Don't make a deal with these Demons. Stay away from that Shrine for now; I'm on my way!"
Making a deal with Devils, there's absolutely no good outcome, Xiang Mantang had learned this the hard way.
The reason he ended up in such a sorry state recently, nearly losing his life, wasn't it because of a deal with a Ghost Shadow lurking behind him?
If it weren't for his unique bloodline and Jian Ruyan's timely arrival, he likely wouldn't have been able to return to society and would have had to live in seclusion.
Therefore, he wouldn't allow Mu Jinyu to trade with the conscious Demon. Who knew what kind of trap lay behind that deal?
He would rather slowly search for clues than deal with the Devil again.
After hanging up, Xiang Mantang said to Jian Ruyan, "Let's head to Dongying first."
"Okay," Jian Ruyan obediently nodded, with no objections.
Holding her hand, Xiang Mantang rose into the air and flew towards Dongying, disappearing in a flash like a streak of dark cloth.
...
After hanging up, Mu Jinyu relayed the words of caution from Xiang Mantang to Sheng Rulai and others and then decided to back away from Zuoxu Shrine for the time being.
Even without Xiang Mantang's warning, he actually couldn't have made any deal with the Black Bone Demon.
After all, it was asking for the flesh and blood of a Rank Four Demon, a creature that could potentially destroy an entire province or city. How could they easily capture one?
They stayed 300 meters away from Zuoxu Shrine, quietly watching to prevent any unexpected developments during this time.
After more than an hour of waiting,
Xiang Mantang finally arrived with Jian Ruyan, crossing the void to stand before them.
"How is the situation? Nothing unexpected happened, right?"
Xiang Mantang, along with Jian Ruyan, landed on the ground, looked at Mu Jinyu, and then glanced over everyone before asking.
"No, the shrine has been very quiet, and the Black Bone Demon confined within the shrine should not be able to escape," Mu Jinyu shook his head and said.
"Let's go, let's go in and see."
Xiang Mantang's brow furrowed slightly, then, taking Jian Ruyan's hand, he stepped forward, leading the way into the shrine.
Upon entering the shrine, he immediately spotted the black finger bone placed within the shrine.
Before Xiang Mantang could react,
the finger bone, upon seeing Xiang Mantang, burst into a violent reaction, writhing in the shrine like a leech, trying to distance itself from Xiang Mantang, or rather, from the ghostly shadow behind Xiang Mantang!
Unfortunately, the shrine seemed to be bound by some sort of restrictions; it simply couldn't escape.
"Hmph!"
Seeing the reaction of the black finger bone, Xiang Mantang realized it must be hiding something sinister, and the deal he had just contemplated with Mu Jinyu was likely fraught with many traps.
"This..."
Mu Jinyu and Sheng Rulai and the others followed inside and saw the reaction of the finger bone within the shrine, and also found it very strange.
At the same time, they felt a chill of fear.
Xiang Mantang turned to Sheng Rulai and the others and asked, "Do you have a Golden Container?"
"Yes," Sheng Rulai quickly nodded.
Xiang Mantang said, "Bring a container that can hold this shrine."
"Alright," Sheng Rulai turned and instructed the disciples behind him to go fetch it.
Soon, several monks came in, carrying a golden box the size of a safe.
Xiang Mantang went over, picked up the shrine, and didn't remove the black finger bone from it, but enclosed the shrine together with the bone inside the Golden Container, then sealed the container completely.
He did this as a multiple precaution because he wasn't sure what change might occur if the conscious demon was removed from the shrine; it might be better to seal it together.
During this process, the black finger bone desperately struggled within the shrine, but to no avail.
Xiang Mantang also heard many unintelligible voices in his mind, but he paid them no attention.
After securing the shrine, Sheng Rulai said, "What should we do now? How do we enter the Mirror World?"
He felt that although the finger bone demon had been evasive and calculating in its words, there must be some truth among the lies. To imprison the demons of the Tide of Chaos, they would need to enter the Mirror World.
"I'll give it a try,"
Xiang Mantang did not dismiss the speculation about the Mirror World, but he felt that he might also be able to enter, considering the ghostly figure behind him was the source of all evil.
The demons of the Tide of Chaos were brought about by it, and since they were able to wander outside by means of the Mirror World, it should presumably be possible for it as well.
Thinking in this way, Xiang Mantang surveyed the layout of the shrine and soon found a bronze mirror, then attempted to stretch the ghostly shadow from behind him toward the mirror.
Instantly, a bizarre scene unfolded.
When the ghostly figure touched the bronze mirror, under the control of Xiang Mantang, it didn't corrode the mirror directly but instead slowly seeped into the mirror.