Chapter 527: Chapter 519: More Formidable than Imagined
Xuan Qingzi and his group didn’t know where Xiao Mang Village was. When Qin Liuxi mentioned going there in the evening, they thought it was nearby and accessible by carriage. However, they hadn’t expected it to be six or seven hours away from Qingping Temple.
"How do we get there?" Yao Feifei was dumbfounded. "Travel through the night?"
Qin Liuxi glanced at her coolly and said, "It’s only March, the night dew is heavier. Who said anything about traveling all night?"
"Then how do we go?"
Qin Liuxi looked at Xuan Qingzi strangely, "Hasn’t Jinhua Temple ever borrowed the Yin Road?"
Xuan Qingzi’s face changed.
He had heard of borrowing the Yin Road; it was a high-level magic like Shrinking Land into Inches, not something anyone could accomplish. One must tear open the mouth of the Yin Road and ensure not to stray within it, which required the caster to have a high level of cultivation.
Otherwise, if any cultivator could tear open the gates of the Yin Road and come and go as they please, wouldn’t yin and yang become chaotic?
At least Xuan Qingzi himself had never traveled such a route, and his current level of cultivation was only at Qi Refining Fifth Layer, which wasn’t enough. What about Qin Liuxi’s cultivation level?
Qin Liuxi crafted a Guide Beast, saying, "Come, junior sister, I’ll broaden the horizons of you people from Shengjing."
Who was she implying?
Yao Feifei was furious and looked at Xuan Qingzi, "See, it’s not that I’m speaking harshly; it’s just her prickly nature."
Qin Liuxi opened the Yin Road very quickly, so fast that Xuan Qingzi barely had time to observe her movements before she had already torn open a rift and stepped through.
Xuan Qingzi felt both shocked and excited by this novel magic, something he had never encountered before, yet he was continually experiencing it with Qin Liuxi, who was more formidable than he had imagined.
"Keep up, and don’t lose your way. I won’t come back to look for you," Qin Liuxi said with a half-smiling tone.
Though her words carried a hint of jest, they also held a warning. Xuan Qingzi became more alert, gripping the comparatively less experienced Yao Feifei.
However, despite their preparations, having traversed the ghost-filled, howling Yin Road, both of their faces had turned somewhat pale by the end.
"You are both from the Mystic Sect, and have seen plenty of ghosts. Why panic like this?" Qin Liuxi clicked her tongue in disapproval.
Xuan Qingzi was speechless, and Yao Feifei wanted to vomit.
They had seen plenty of ghosts, but with such a swarm of them, each with gruesome deaths, who could stand it?
Not to mention, just remembering those scenes of guts hanging out and maggots, made her want to vomit the vegetarian meal she had eaten.
Xuan Qingzi silently recited the Heart Clarity Spell, then looked around. It was pitch black, not a single light to be seen. He asked, "Is this that barren mountain?"
"This is the entrance. Go up, and you’ll see Yizhuang. Let’s go," Qin Liuxi said as she lit a torch with a flint.
Honestly, in such an environment, suddenly lighting such a fire could scare someone to death if they were passing by.
Yao Feifei also felt a bit scared and quietly clenched a talisman in her hand, silently praying for protection from their Grandmaster.
Xuan Qingzi closely followed Qin Liuxi, feeling it odd that although this was a barren mountain, she walked with certainty, as if she knew exactly where the destination was.
And the torch in her hand was merely for lighting.
By this time, it was already March, early spring had begun, and things were reviving. A few screeches from night owls in the woods added an even more terrifying atmosphere.
Qin Liuxi led the two of them not far before stopping, raising the torch, and peering ahead, "We’ve arrived."
In fact, the Soul Chasing Bell was indeed useful. As they neared the Evil Ghost, feeling the presence of the Soul Seal, it began to tremble, but Qin Liuxi had suppressed it.
Now at the destination, Qin Liuxi loosened her grip on the bell, and its ringing, like a relentless soul-chasing tune, incessantly rang out, causing Yao Feifei to scream in fright.
Xuan Qingzi was also startled by the sudden ringing of the bell but quickly calmed down, eyeing the ghostly Yizhuang ahead with a slightly somber expression.
"Its Soul Power has indeed strengthened, even more stable than when it escaped," Xuan Qingzi had a headache.
They had let that thing escape before, but now its ghost power had increased; could they still fight it?
Xuan Qingzi looked at Qin Liuxi and cupped his fists, saying, "Junior Temple Master, if later our brother and sister are not up to the task, please lend us a hand. Do not let it escape again, lest it harm more innocents."
Qin Liuxi could open the Yin Road, his cultivation was definitely above his own; he couldn’t bother with whether it was shameless or not, just to be safe, he still asked Qin Liuxi for help.
Qin Liuxi did not explicitly agree, just pursed his lips and said, "Go ahead, believe in yourselves, you can do it, after all, you are disciples of Jinhua Temple."
Xuan Qingzi: "!"
He gave a bitter smile.
Yao Feifei, however, glared at Qin Liuxi hatefully, wishing she could sew her mouth shut.
"Little sister, be careful," Xuan Qingzi reminded Yao Feifei.
The two took a deep breath and walked towards Yizhuang.
Qin Liuxi looked at the thick evil spirit enveloping the entirety of Yizhuang, his eyebrows slightly raised, the Evil Ghost indeed knew how to pick a place. Yizhuang, which was specifically used for storing corpses, was inherently full of yin energy; for it to come here to nurture its soul was like a fish finding water.
Seeing the dense black evil spirit, Xuan Qingzi and the others were likely to suffer a great loss.
Qin Liuxi extinguished the torch and followed silently.
Although Yizhuang was said to be abandoned, if another Yizhuang in Qingshui Town couldn’t accommodate unclaimed corpses, they would also bring corpses here, to be dealt with periodically.
Now, Yizhuang had no caretakers, and two battered white lanterns hanging under the eaves bore the character ’Yi’, swaying in the wind.
The front of Yizhuang was overgrown with weeds, one side of the door was broken, and with a strong wind, the broken door clattered, and the foul odor inside drifted out with the wind.
It was the smell of decaying corpses, even though there were no corpses inside anymore, the long accumulation over the years made the smell even more repulsive.
Along with the smell came a chilling and piercing yin energy.
Splash.
The already uncomfortable Yao Feifei turned her head and vomited, her condition worsening.
She didn’t want to admit it, but she was scared.
In such an environment, with such thick resentful energy, she was frightened and regretted coming.
Xuan Qingzi supported her, somewhat anxiously, "Little sister, are you alright?"
Yao Feifei shook her head, saying, "I’m alright."
She stopped short of saying more.
Xuan Qingzi bit his lip and said, "How about you wait here, and I’ll go check inside first."
Yao Feifei was somewhat touched but shook her head, "No, the resentful energy here is too thick. It would be even harder for you alone, brother. Let’s go together."
She took the Ghost-Slaying Sword she was carrying on her back into her hands.
"Then be careful."
The two exchanged glances, took their Magic Artifacts in their hands, and stepped forward together.
However, as they had just taken a few steps, a burst of white fog surged from within Yizhuang, enveloping them.
Qin Liuxi quickly stepped forward and entered the white fog too, closing and opening his eyes, looking at everything before him with some interest.
Impressive, it could even conjure illusions now.