Yue Chenqing’s soul was practically about to leave his body. Only after Murong Lian kicked him several times did he finally let go pitifully.
Just like the legend of Li Qingqian’s female ghosts crying and summoning spirits at Mount Fu, a group of women dressed in deep red clothing and wearing golden silk embroidered shoes emerged continuously from the shadows. Their faces wore miserable smiles as blood tears flowed from their eyes.
The female corpses inside the cave gathered more and more. They appeared from the darkness, behind stone pillars, and even rose from the water pool.
Mo Xi and Murong Lian each dealt with one side. Seeing them move farther and farther away as the battle continued, Yue Chenqing could not help but feel like crying.
He trembled and said, “Lord Xi He, Brother Murong, what should I do?”
Although no new corpses were appearing in the place where he stood, the surrounding terrain was complicated. Who knew whether there were a pair of malicious, eerie bloodshot eyes secretly staring at him from somewhere in the darkness?
However, things often happened exactly this way.
The thing you feared most was usually the thing most likely to happen.
The thought had barely flashed through Yue Chenqing’s mind when he suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
Slowly turning his head, he saw that behind a hidden pile of rocks high above, half of a deathly pale face was revealed, with two streams of blood tears running down it.
A woman was lying behind the rocks, staring at him!
Yue Chenqing felt his mind explode with a loud “boom.”
Trembling, when people were at their most terrified, the person they usually called for was the one they trusted the most.
Thus, the words that rolled out from his trembling lips were:
“Fo… fourth… fourth uncle!!”
His fourth uncle was not here, so naturally, no one would save him.
Only after trembling for a while did Yue Chenqing remember this.
Even if he shouted “Fourth Uncle, save me!”, the only people in this cave were the heartless Murong Lian and Mo Xi.
He had to choose between the two.
He looked left and right, and happened to see Mo Xi on the left kicking out with his long legs, sweeping away a row of female corpses.
At that moment, Yue Chenqing felt as if a heavenly god had descended.
He hurriedly prepared to run toward him.
But at this moment, the woman hiding behind the rocks suddenly curled her lips into an exaggerated smile, revealing her pale, sharp teeth.
The first laugh brought a tragic beauty.
The second laugh caused blood tears to flow.
As she slowly crawled out from behind the rocks, she gave a miserable third laugh:
“Xi…”
Three laughs—
the traveler cannot leave!!
After the third laugh, the resentment of the female corpse instantly increased dramatically.
Her eyes rolled upward, suddenly filling with blood vessels and turning crimson. Immediately afterward, the nails on her ten fingers rapidly grew several times longer.
She raised her head and let out a piercing shriek before suddenly lunging toward Yue Chenqing!
“Ah—!”
Yue Chenqing could not even resist anymore.
He was most afraid of female ghosts wearing red clothes and embroidered shoes. Seeing her pounce toward him, he screamed miserably, almost crying:
“Fourth Uncle!!”
At this critical moment—
“Boom!”
A thunderous explosion rang out.
A bolt of lightning struck down in front of Yue Chenqing.
The ground suddenly burst open with golden-red streams of light, and raging flames ignited.
Immediately afterward, a figure leapt into the air and descended from above.
Amid the flashing light, he landed steadily in front of Yue Chenqing.
The person turned his head slightly.
The flames crackled, illuminating half of his face—handsome, heroic, and dazzling.
His pupils shimmered with a deep blue, icy glow.
Gu Mang?!
Yue Chenqing froze for a moment.
After a while, he reacted.
No, that wasn’t right.
It was the bamboo warrior.
It was his uncle’s bamboo warrior that had come to save him. Gu Mang was merely trapped inside the bamboo warrior and unable to move.
Before Yue Chenqing could think further, the bamboo warrior raised its hand.
From the weapon slot, a black iron blade suddenly extended.
Then, as fast as lightning, it charged toward the snarling female corpse.
The two sides clashed fiercely.
The battle became intense.
Yue Chenqing finally felt that he was no longer so afraid and could move again. He quickly shouted:
“Fourth Uncle, go!”
After thinking about it, he felt something was wrong and shouted again:
“Bamboo warrior, go!”
But shortly afterward, he saw the female corpse’s filthy blood splash onto Gu Mang’s face.
Gu Mang’s expression was filled with murderous intent, as if even if he were not bound at this moment, he would still fight the female corpse to the death.
Yue Chenqing shouted again:
“Gu… uh… Gu Mang, go!”
The bamboo warrior was extraordinarily brave.
After ending a fierce clash with the female corpse, it suddenly retreated, then raised its blade horizontally and leapt into the air.
A flash of wind passed.
It had already rushed toward the female corpse.
Dirty blood sprayed several feet into the air.
The female corpse froze.
With a loud thud, her body split into two and collapsed onto the ground.
Yue Chenqing:
“…Wow. That’s disgusting…”
The bamboo warrior finished cutting down the female corpse, but seemed unsatisfied.
Holding the blood-covered blade, it stepped toward Yue Chenqing.
Then, with a flash, the blade pointed directly at Yue Chenqing’s throat.
Yue Chenqing:
“…Big brother… no, wait, Fourth Uncle… or Gu Mang?”
After trying several forms of address and finding none appropriate, he simply stopped calling him anything.
Carefully, he waved his hands.
“The knife is pointed at the wrong person. I’m not a female ghost. Don’t hit me…”
Gu Mang’s blue eyes lowered and looked down at him.
After a moment, the blade turned.
The blood-covered side of the weapon lightly patted Yue Chenqing’s face, like an elder teaching a younger person a lesson.
At that moment—
A fierce gust of wind suddenly attacked from above.
A red sleeve flashed before his eyes.
Yue Chenqing was startled.
Before he could say anything, the bamboo warrior pushed him away with one hand.
“Pu!”
Yue Chenqing escaped.
But Gu Mang, who was bound to the bamboo warrior, had his face scratched by the female ghost.
“…”
Gu Mang could not move or speak.
But his eyes clearly showed that he was furious.
The snow-wolf-like gaze flashed with viciousness.
Bright red blood flowed down from the wound on his cheek.
The female corpse that had successfully launched the sneak attack remained in place, baring her teeth, seemingly extremely pleased with herself.
But her pride did not last long.
As if she sensed something, she suddenly lowered her head and stared at her blood-covered right hand.
She froze.
Not long after, her facial features began to twist.
She became terrified.
Extremely frightened.
Then she began screaming, clutching her hand, making unclear cries of:
“Ah… ah…”
toward Gu Mang.
It seemed she was actually begging Gu Mang for something?!
Before Yue Chenqing could even be shocked by this scene, something even more astonishing happened.
Seeing that Gu Mang did not react, the female corpse suddenly dropped to her knees.
With the sharp claws of her remaining hand, she actually tore off her own right hand!
“…My… heavens…”
Yue Chenqing did not know whether he should feel disgusted or shocked.
The thick smell of corpses and blood rushed over him, almost making him vomit.
But the female corpse did something even more unbelievable.
Trembling, she picked up her severed arm with her remaining hand and offered it to Gu Mang.
She looked exactly like someone punishing herself and begging for forgiveness.
Her mouth continued making:
“Ah… ah ah…”
sounds of pleading.
Gu Mang’s blue eyes moved.
He stared at the bloody severed arm for a while.
Yue Chenqing did not know if it was his imagination, but the color of Gu Mang’s pupils seemed to become increasingly pale.
“Huh? Why is there wind…”
Yue Chenqing froze.
“Is it windy?”
The wind rose from beneath the bamboo warrior’s feet.
In other words, it came from beneath Gu Mang’s feet.
Like ripples spreading outward.
Although Gu Mang’s expression was fierce, his killing intent was not particularly strong.
Therefore, the wind was not powerful.
But wherever it passed, the female corpses froze.
After they recovered, they screamed and trembled.
One after another, they knelt down, lowering their heads and becoming completely still.
In just an instant—
the entire group of corpses had already knelt before Gu Mang.
Yue Chenqing was completely unable to react.
Murong Lian widened his eyes.
Mo Xi’s expression also became terrible.
But he was not looking at the female corpses.
He was looking at Gu Mang’s face.
Mo Xi looked at Gu Mang’s face.
A group of corpses like this had an extremely strict hierarchy.
What could make them fear was usually only a corpse, vengeful spirit, or resentful soul of a higher rank than themselves.
But now, these women who had died such tragic deaths were all bowing before Gu Mang.
Not only that, they were even making low cries together, sending out the clearest possible sounds of begging for mercy…
Why?
Could it be simply because Gu Mang’s body contained a large amount of evil energy?
Gu Mang seemed extremely irritated.
His blue eyes moved.
Although he did not make a sound, the direction of the wind changed.
The female corpses let out waves of sharp cries.
One by one, black energy surged out from their bodies and gathered toward the position of Gu Mang’s heart.
He was actually absorbing their evil energy?!
As more and more evil energy was taken away by Gu Mang, the female corpses began twitching like dying fish.
Then, one after another, they collapsed.
Once the resentment and evil energy left their bodies, they became nothing more than ordinary corpses.
Among them, some had been dead for many days. After losing their resentment, their bodies quickly rotted and decayed, turning into blackened, foul-smelling corpses.
Others had only been murdered recently, and traces of their former beauty could still be seen.
Yue Chenqing endured the disgust and glanced at the nearest corpse.
It seemed to be the missing woman from the brothel…
The one called Yuniang.
Seeing this scene, Murong Lian suddenly strode forward.
He grabbed Gu Mang by the neck and gritted his teeth.
“I knew it… you’re a liar! You really were working together with that escaped Liao person! What are you plotting?!”
But after swallowing so much evil energy from the female corpses, Gu Mang seemed like a beast that had finally eaten its fill.
His head tilted to the side.
Then, while still inside the bamboo warrior, he simply closed his eyes and fell asleep.
He completely failed to notice what Murong Lian was angry about.
“You—!”
Murong Lian became even more furious.
The strength in his hand was about to increase when suddenly, someone stopped him.
He abruptly turned his head.
In the dim cave shadows, he saw Mo Xi’s face.
Mo Xi held Murong Lian’s hand.
Without saying anything, he slowly lowered it.
He looked polite.
He did not say anything he shouldn’t.
But only Murong Lian knew how much strength he had used.
It was almost as if he was crushing his bones through his flesh.
Murong Lian’s expression became dark.
“What are you doing?”
“Let him go.”
Murong Lian’s brows tightened.
“He’s an accomplice!”
Mo Xi said:
“He isn’t.”
“Isn’t he?!”
Murong Lian’s voice rose.
“Didn’t you see that he only needed to shed one drop of blood for the female corpse to cut off her own hand? Didn’t you see that with just one look, he made them all kneel? Didn’t you see that with one movement, he absorbed all their corpse energy for himself?!”
Mo Xi angrily said:
“If he truly understood how to control them, and if he was really working together with that Liao person, do you think you would still be standing here perfectly fine?!”
“…”
Murong Lian was speechless after being blocked by those words.
But he still wanted to argue.
His pale, resentful face slowly turned red from holding back his anger.
After a while, he said:
“Fine… hehe. You’re right. You’re defending him.”
He laughed coldly.
“I think you have already forgotten what he did before. Forgotten how cunning he was, how good he was at…”
The last two words were spat out harshly.
“…lying!”
Mo Xi said:
“What kind of person he is, you don’t need to remind me.”
“You don’t need me to remind you?”
Murong Lian suddenly burst into laughter.
By the end, the expression on his face had almost become twisted.
“Even if I remind you, you still can’t hear it anymore!”
He stared at Mo Xi.
“And you dare say you don’t have selfish motives?”
“What a great Lord Xi He. Just keep protecting him…”
Murong Lian’s voice became colder.
“I think you’ve already forgotten how your father died!”
Mo Xi’s beautiful, pale face instantly lost all color.
His gaze stabbed toward Murong Lian with terrifying intensity.
But Murong Lian felt incredibly satisfied.
No one dared touch this wound of Mo Xi’s.
No one dared bring up the specific reason behind his father’s death.
But he dared.
He could.
He knew that Mo Xi was usually hot-tempered, but when it came to important matters, he was clearer-headed than anyone.
So Murong Lian laughed softly.
Like a snow fox, his narrow eyes swept over Gu Mang before returning to Mo Xi’s handsome face.
He raised his chin slightly and spoke softly.
“Lord Xi He is truly righteous, and your brotherly affection runs deep.”
“I wish you…”
“May you soon follow in your father’s footsteps.”
Mo Xi’s anger seemed to reach its peak in an instant.
But just as Murong Lian expected, he was not someone who would lose control and forget priorities.
He stared into Murong Lian’s eyes for a long moment.
Then he raised his hand and pushed him away.
With the sound of military boots and a sword striking together, Mo Xi turned around and walked deeper into the cave without looking back.
“……Brother Murong, you… you…”
Yue Chenqing watched this scene from the side, completely speechless.
He no longer wanted to say anything to Murong Lian.
Carrying the bamboo warrior, he hurriedly chased after Mo Xi.
“Lord Xi He, wait for me! It’s dangerous for you to go alone…”
Footsteps echoed through the cave.
Murong Lian remained where he was.
He raised his head and looked into the endless darkness of the cave.
Closing his eyes briefly, the corner of his mouth revealed a cruel and mocking smile.
Then, he slowly followed.
They arrived at the place where green light appeared and stopped.
This was the final large cavern in the cave.
It was hidden behind a forest of stone pillars.
The green light flickered on and off.
Only then did they realize it was a protective barrier placed at the entrance of the cavern.
Mo Xi only glanced at it once before saying:
“Reject-God Formation.”
The proper countries of the Nine Provinces cultivated orthodox immortal arts.
Their formations were usually named things like “Reject Demon,” “Reject Ghost,” or “Reject Evil.”
A defensive formation called “Reject God”…
Needless to say, it was most likely from the Liao Kingdom.
“Can it be broken?”
“It isn’t difficult.” Mo Xi said. “But it will take time.”
The incantation for breaking the Reject-God Formation was indeed extremely long and complicated.
Mo Xi raised his left hand wrapped in a protective bracer.
Closing his eyes, he silently recited the spell in his heart.
The green light took a long time before slowly weakening beneath his palm.
The formation gradually faded away…
As the last trace of light disappeared, a soft laugh came from inside the cavern.
The voice of that ghostly figure echoed from the deepest part.
“Since you have broken the final barrier…”
After a pause, the voice turned cold and sinister.
“Then the three Divine Lords…”
“Please come in.”