Chapter 24: The Ghost City of Corpse

  Deep within the Black River, outside the Wang City. The Purple Sun True Person and Yun Feng, Xu Jie, and Feng Yuanyang hid together under a stone wall, quietly observing the movements of the Ghost King City. From afar, the Ghost King City showed no signs of change, still shrouded in darkness, it seemed that inside was also a green mysterious world.

  Time seems especially lonely in waiting. Lin Yunfeng is the most unbearable person, at this time, he saw that there was no movement for half a day, and he couldn't help but speak to Xu Jie in a low voice. Yunfeng said in a low voice: "Your Fenghuang Academy, apart from cultivation, what else do you have fun with? How do you spend your spare time besides cultivation?"

  She glared at him and said in a low voice, "Apart from cultivation, it's still cultivation. There's nothing to play with. The requirements are quite strict where we come from. Every single one of the sisters under our sect works hard at their cultivation, never thinking about how to have fun. I remember when my senior sister was cultivating her skills, she locked herself in for ten days straight without coming out, sitting for ten whole days. Now, she's become the third person this time around, and it's all thanks to her hard work."

  "That's it, won't that drive people crazy! Practicing day and night, what's the point of that? Don't you need to eat or sleep? I really admire your spirit, if I had to do it, I wouldn't last three days!" Yun Feng's calm voice caused Zi Yang Zhen Ren and Feng Yuan Yang to stifle a laugh.

  Xu Jie looked at him, just about to speak, but suddenly a strong and powerful aura appeared in the Ghost King City. The four of them were shocked, their eyes fixed on the Ghost King City, with extremely shocked expressions. It was seen that the originally pitch-black Ghost King City now had a blood glow, and in just a short moment, the entire city was enveloped in a bloody light. That eerie and ominous aura filled the entire Black River, causing countless vengeful spirits to fall into wailing and furious howls.

  As they exchanged a glance, the four of them were about to open their mouths to discuss what was going on when a shrill and piercing whistle suddenly echoed through the air. Looking up, they saw that Lu Yun had appeared beside them in an instant, holding Ao Xue and Cang Yue's hands, at a speed so fast it was hard for people to believe.

  "Hurry up and leave immediately, or it will be too late." He urged the four people to leave in a hurry, with Lu Yun still holding the two women's jade hands, rushing outwards.

  It seems that she sensed something, and Lu Yun turned her head slightly. She saw Ao Xue and Cang Yue, with a faint blush on their beautiful faces, making them look even more charming. Lu Yun's eyes flickered, and she smiled softly: "What's wrong? Your faces are all red, so pretty! Is it because you were seen by them earlier and feel a bit embarrassed? Actually, they've all figured out some things between us, but nobody has confronted it directly. Young ambition, proud and lofty clouds, solitary sword shining bright under the moon; holding jade hands, hearts as one, traversing three realms and seven domains at will."

  A faint smile, with a hint of arrogance, was particularly captivating. She gazed at Lu Yun faintly, neither of the two women spoke up, as if thinking about his words "two hearts beating as one". Two hearts beating as one, or perhaps three? Maybe...

  Behind them, the four Purple Yang True People hurriedly caught up, and everyone was asking what had happened and why Lu Yun's tone seemed so urgent. Lu Yun casually let go of the two women's jade hands and told the four people about everything that had happened in Gui Wang City. The four people's expressions changed greatly after hearing this. Finally, Lu Yun said: "From this incident, it can be seen that with our current strength, as long as we encounter the Ghost King, we will inevitably fall into a predicament. In the past, Ao Xue and Cang Yue had only encountered Hei He Guai's ghostly charm, but they still lost their lives in his hands. Now if we were to encounter someone of the Ghost King level, our best method would be to retreat. With the rebirth of the Blood Demon Yan Luo in this Ghost Domain, the entire domain will likely fall into a bloody storm. At that time, our mission will become even more important. No matter what, we must find the Soul-Sealing Symbol and seal off the exit of the Ghost Domain; otherwise, the human world will be in danger."

  Slowly recovering from the shock, Zi Yang Zhen Ren said: "Lu Yun's words are not wrong, our mission this time is arduous, but no matter what, we must complete the task. Once these ghost kings and ghost marshals enter the mortal world, the people of the world will face unprecedented disaster."

  "What shall we do now? Where are we going?" Yun Feng asked urgently, reminding everyone that they should think of a countermeasure.

  Looking at the Black River not far away, Lu Yun said in a low voice: "After entering here, the time should have exceeded two days. The remaining time we have left is only thirteen days. Adding that the strong man from the demon domain arrived two days earlier than us, it can be calculated that we only have less than eleven days left. Within these eleven days, we must find out where the Soul Pool is and then talk about how to take out the Soul Seal. Now, there is a Blood Yanluo in the Wangcheng of Heihe, let's go to the Yinshi River and see if we can think of a way to enter and find the Soul Pool." Everyone heard this and felt it was reasonable, and they all nodded in agreement.

  Thus, the group of seven people led by Lu Yun flew towards the Yin Corpse City. From Heihe River to Yin Corpse City, it took Lu Yun and his six companions an hour to arrive. Stopping far away from the city walls of the Ghost King City in Yin Corpse City, the seven of them sized up this ghostly city. At a glance, they discovered that this place was different from the Ghost King City in Heihe River. The one in Heihe River appeared black on the outside and green on the inside. However, this one was enveloped by a dark green glow from the outside, but it was unknown whether it was black inside.

  They quietly gazed at the green, eerie Ghost King City, all seven of them silent as they considered how to enter. Yun Feng glanced around at everyone and couldn't help but speak up first: "Looking at this place, it's probably similar to that Black River, just with a different exterior color. For safety, I'll go try it out and see if there's anything strange about this green protective barrier."

  Watching Yun Feng walk away slowly, Xu Jie said softly: "Be careful, it's not certain that this place is different from the Black River, don't be too careless, or we might have to come and rescue you later." In her light tone, a hint of concern was inadvertently revealed. Yun Feng turned back to look at her, his eyes sparkling with an indescribable luster, his entire face filled with joy and surprise. It seemed he hadn't expected that Xu Jie would also be concerned about him.

  Gazing deeply at Xu Jie, Yun Feng nodded slightly and said: "Thank you, I understand. Don't worry, I'm a ghost-catching expert, how could I be injured by this little array? Hehe, I'll go now." After speaking, he couldn't help but let out a joyful whistle, his body shooting up like a projectile, directly towards the protective city light shield.

  Next to her, the five people looked at Xu Jie's slightly flushed face and couldn't help but reveal a hint of a knowing smile. No one spoke up, they just smiled and looked at Xu Jie with eyes that held a hint of blessing. As his gaze shifted, Zi Yang Zhen Ren's eyes fell on Lu Yun, looking at him with a hint of sigh. What was hidden in that silent sigh? Logically, he should be happy, but why did he sigh?

  Yun Feng was about to approach that mysterious light shield, with a hint of caution in his eyes. However, what Yun Feng did not expect was that as soon as he approached the light shield within three feet, a rotating force with an incredibly strong momentum instantly pulled his body into it, spinning rapidly along with the entire light shield. The surrounding area was filled with a powerful centrifugal force and the strong adhesive force on the light shield, forming a tensile force that seemed to be about to shatter Yun Feng's body.

  A loud cry, Yun Feng didn't have time to shout out anything else, his body was already spun around to the back, and he couldn't see anyone's shadow. On this side, everyone was shocked, Xu Jie shouted loudly, her body flew into the air, wanting to rescue Yun Feng. Cang Yue's figure flashed by, she grabbed Xu Jie with one hand, and lightly scolded: "Calm down a bit, if you go up like that, you'll still be pulled in, how can you save him then? Now we should calm down, and believe that Yun Feng won't have any problems for the time being."

  Xu Jie glanced at her senior sister, with a hint of anxiety on her face and an awkward expression. She looked at the light shield and said, "He really won't be in trouble, will he? If something happens, it'll be terrible." Cang Yue patted her shoulder reassuringly, looking at her with comforting eyes.

  Lu Yun stopped Ziyang True Person and Feng Yuanyang, letting the two wait aside while he went to rescue. Arriving in front of the light shield, Lu Yun stood still for a moment, just as Yun Feng's constantly struggling body had rotated a full circle and returned to its original position. His eyes slightly sunken, at this time Lu Yun's mental waves had already analyzed the speed, force, angle of the rotating force on the light shield, understanding the underlying principle.

  With a concentrated effort, Lu Yun's right hand moved swiftly as he swung it 360 times in rapid succession, skillfully grasping Cloud Feng's body and pulling him out with one swift motion. As his figure retreated, bringing Cloud Feng along, Lu Yun returned to the crowd. Releasing Cloud Feng, Lu Yun chuckled and said, "How was that? The taste of this whirlpool should be quite good, right? You were just proudly boasting about how formidable you are, but in the blink of an eye, you were wailing and crying out?"

  Cloud Maple glanced at Xu Jie, seeing her staring at him, his face slightly embarrassed, not daring to face her. He secretly took a look around and saw the smile in everyone's eyes, Cloud Maple's face suddenly turned red, and he quickly turned his back on them.

  Aoxue glanced at Xu Jie and changed the subject, saying: "Now that we've encountered this rotating light shield, how should we get through it? Does anyone have a solution?"

  Silence, all around was silent, apparently everyone couldn't think of a solution for the time being. Lu Yun glanced at everyone and said softly: "Actually, it's very simple to get in, as long as everyone enters with a rotational speed faster than that of the light shield, they won't be affected by it and can easily go in."

  Looking at Lu Yun, everyone's eyes were filled with a few parts of shock. It seemed that every time they encountered something difficult, he could always solve it. His body gave people a vague feeling, making it impossible to see through him. No one could guess how many secrets he still hid on his body.

  Cang Yue said softly, "Since that's the case, let's take action then, so as not to waste time. I'll try this method first to see if it works, everyone else wait for a bit before coming." After finishing speaking, she prepared to act, but was stopped by Lu Yun.

  "We've been rushing around for a while now, consuming a lot of true yuan. For everyone's safety, let's take a break and recover here first. Later when we enter, we'll have more energy to deal with unexpected events. Let's rest for now, and we'll go in later." With a gentle smile, Lu Yun gazed at Cang Yue with affectionate eyes that revealed a hint of adoration.

  She quietly looked at Lu Yun for a moment, then Cang Yue turned around and walked to her junior sister's side, sitting cross-legged to cultivate. With a faint smile, she glanced at Ao Xue several times, while Lu Yun alone walked towards the protective city light shield, lightly sitting down one zhang away. Turning back, he saw that everyone was cultivating to recover their true yuan, so Lu Yun also sat cross-legged and began to examine his internal situation. His eyes slightly closed, Lu Yun employed his inner vision technique, carefully observing his internal situation, discovering that a stream of Blood Evil energy was being tightly suppressed in the meridians throughout his body. Lu Yun understood the origin of this Blood Evil energy, and couldn't help but want to refine it away. It just so happened that he had some free time now, so Lu Yun thought of it and began to do so.

  To refine the evil blood aura, the best way is to use the clear heart and quiet desire mantra, bit by bit to dissolve it. Among the things Lu Yun had learned in his life, only the Buddhist Heart Zen Destruction Mantra was most suitable, unfortunately, now was not the right time to use it. Although it was inconvenient to display the Heart Zen Destruction Mantra in front of everyone at this time, Lu Yun would not waste his time, so he chose to try the Easy Garden's Twelve Easy Sky Mantras to see if he could refine that evil blood aura.

  Time passed in the midst of the seven people's adjustments. Lu Yun had been operating for three hours, but unfortunately, the effect was minimal, and he only refined a tiny bit, which didn't work at all. At this time, seeing that everyone was already refreshed and full of energy, Lu Yun couldn't help but smile: "Alright, let's set off! Everyone remembers to maximize their rotation speed, so it will be easier."

  This time, with Lu Yun's guidance, the seven people passed through the protective light shield and entered the Ghost King City. As soon as they entered the city, the expressions of the seven people changed slightly. This was not what they had expected before - a pitch black place. All they saw was a vast expanse of gray mist, like a thick fog that obscured their view of the distance. In the gray mist, some figures were faintly visible, but unfortunately, they couldn't be seen clearly.

  "Be careful, it's all foggy here and we can't see anything around us. For safety, we mustn't disperse. Now, let's head towards the city center, hoping to find some useful information." Lu Yun said as he led the way forward. Although he couldn't see clearly what was happening around him, his mind possessed a mysterious aura that allowed him to sense everything nearby, nothing could escape his perception.

  Not long after they set out, the seven of them encountered a group of ghostly zombie soldiers and began to fight. As Lu Yun watched those jumping zombie soldiers up close, he suddenly understood why this place was called the Zombie Interval. Because these ghost soldiers were just like zombies in the mortal world, constantly jumping up and down with each movement. This appearance looked strange, but the defensive strength of these zombie soldiers was extremely strong, and they were generally not easy to kill. This made up for their disadvantage in speed.

  He sprang up, and Lu Yun stopped in mid-air, carefully probing the terrain around him. Soon, Lu Yun discovered that this place was different from Heihe Ghost King City. Heihe Ghost King City was obviously higher on the outside and lower on the inside, while this place was just the opposite, with the outside being lower and the inside being higher, in a gradual increasing trend. His spiritual wave locked onto the tallest building in the city, and Lu Yun's expression became somewhat heavy. From the results of his spiritual wave probing, it seemed that the highest point in the middle was a very strange altar, which appeared to be hiding some kind of eerie aura on top of it, causing Lu Yun's spiritual wave to be repelled by a mysterious force whenever he approached.

  Taking a glance at the companions fighting below, Lu Yun said in a low voice: "Everyone speed up a bit, I've already sensed three powerful auras rushing over, they'll be here soon. It's best if we settle everything here before those three experts arrive."

  With a slight response, the six people suddenly increased their strength, and the offensive became much fiercer. In just a moment, they eliminated this group of dark corpses. However, just as the six people finished eliminating all the dark corpses, three ghostly shadows suddenly appeared in mid-air, accompanied by an eerie and evil aura, hovering above everyone. A chilling scream echoed through the air, and a faint voice said: "Who are you, why did you intrude into my domain of dark corpses? Don't you know that this place is exclusively for collecting the souls of the dead?"

  Yun Feng smiled and said: "Who we are, won't tell you for now. We came here to collect these things that can't be seen by others. Also, there's something else we need to find."

  "Presumptuous and ignorant cultivators, do you know where this is? You can't afford to be so arrogant here. Come on, let's take them down and swallow them up!" Amidst the fierce roar, dozens of ghostly shadows flashed around, forming a large encirclement that trapped the six people on the ground.

  With a cold sneer, Yun Feng said: "It's just a small trick, let me see how I can break this broken toy!" A silver light flashed, and the Wind Slashing Sword with its dazzling sword edge formed a silver eight trigrams in front of him, flying towards the front. A dark energy surged forth, and a black air mass transformed into a ghostly face, spewing out a black flame to meet Yun Feng's silver eight trigrams. The silver light and the black flame clashed, emitting intense thunderous sounds, making the battle seem extremely fierce.

  A flash of light, a muffled sound echoed, and a strong air current rapidly shook the enclosed space. Yun Feng cried out in surprise, his body swaying slightly as he retreated two steps. Beside him, Ao Xue and Cang Yue both had solemn expressions, understanding that this was a perilous place, where their enemy's strength was exceptionally powerful. At this moment, the two simultaneously drew their swords, revealing a purple and yellow glow, which suddenly launched an attack.

  In mid-air, Lu Yun looked down, with a hint of strange light flickering in his eyes. Suddenly, he raised his head and looked at the city, where a familiar aura appeared silently, making him feel extremely surprised. Gazing slightly at the horizon, Lu Yun pondered for a moment, and then a silver light flashed around him, and he disappeared silently.

  In the city, on a tall altar, there was now a figure standing proudly on it. Silently watching Xiang Wujin who was gazing up at the sky, Lu Yun stopped below the altar, hiding his breath and carefully observing him. Lu Yun couldn't understand how Xiang Wujin had arrived here, could he also know that in this Ghost Domain there were three Ghost King Cities? Since he had come, had Liu Xinghun and the other four also arrived? Where were they hiding now?

  Unable to think of a solution, Lu Yun's gaze shifted to the tall altar. After carefully examining it for a while, a hint of strangeness appeared in his eyes. He found that the stone walls around the altar were all carved with strange talismans, which seemed to be the talismans of the Soul Transformation Great Technique, but with some slight differences. As he watched closely, Lu Yun gradually began to walk around the altar, and a hint of excitement appeared in his eyes.

  When he finished reading the mantra carved on the four walls, Lu Yun's gaze involuntarily lingered on the top of the altar above. There, a smooth jade-like stone wall had a faintly flowing light flashing, very mysterious. After glancing at Jian Wucheng, Lu Yun was thinking about how to avoid him and go up to take a look at that jade pendant. Because in Lu Yun's heart, he vaguely felt that the jade pendant was engraved with something very important to himself. But what exactly it was, he couldn't say clearly.

  In the quiet royal city, a sudden and terrifying scream pierced the air, attracting the attention of Swordless Dust and Lu Yun. As soon as Swordless Dust withdrew his gaze, his body shot towards the left side. The moment he left, Lu Yun's body appeared at the top of the altar, his eyes fixed on the jade pendant. Lu Yun's eyes changed slightly because he discovered that on the four sides of the jade pendant, there was a strange pattern painted - a picture of a bloody Yanluo wielding a blood axe and battling an eight-eyed monster. The jade pendant was embedded in the center of this painting, and its surface seemed to have held something in the past, but unfortunately, it was gone now.

  Looking at the picture, Lu Yun was extremely shocked, because he had already understood that this place was where Yan Wang's order was stored. At first, Yan Wang's order should have been inlaid on the jade pendant, but unfortunately it was later taken away by Zhao Hun Gui. His gaze shifted slightly, and he glanced to the left, where a dazzling five-colored light flashed, like a divine dragon descending from heaven, slashing and killing, causing the ghosts around him to scream incessantly.

  He withdrew his gaze and Lu Yun carefully examined the painting again. In his heart, he was guessing what the eight-eyed monster was and why it could counter the Blood Demon King. After thinking for a while, Lu Yun suddenly realized that time was pressing and retrieving the object was crucial. His right hand grasped at the air, and a powerful force firmly absorbed the jade pendant, wanting to take it into his hands. However, upon trying, Lu Yun's heart was shocked - unexpectedly, a very clever force emerged from the jade pendant, dissolving his palm strength without a trace.

  His eyes spinning rapidly, Lu Yun was considering how to cleverly obtain the object. Suddenly, Lu Yun's gaze fixed, and he slowly extended his left hand. In the end, Lu Yun could only resort to using the Soul-Calming Seal to retrieve the object. This time was strange; the jade pendant didn't reflect at all and was easily taken by Lu Yun. However, when Lu Yun's right hand grasped the jade pendant that was less than three inches in size, a very refreshing stream of air suddenly spread throughout his entire body, causing the Blood Fiend energy within him to weaken significantly.

  A faint feeling arose, and a hint of joy appeared in Lu Yun's eyes. As he gazed at the gleaming jade pendant in his hand, the faint characters gradually became clear, and Lu Yun was completely shocked. After reading the inscription on the jade pendant, Lu Yun's enchanting eyes couldn't help but reveal a mysterious smile, with a few meaningful smiles hanging from the corners of his mouth. With a glance at Swordless Dust, who was fighting fiercely, Lu Yun smiled proudly, and a layer of black light flashed around his body, instantly disappearing.

  Returning to the location of the six-person battle against the proud snow, Lu Yun discovered that the fight was nearing its end. The three ghostly apparitions had all been eliminated by Ao Xue and the others, leaving only some scattered soldiers. With a light laugh, Lu Yun floated down beside Ao Xue and helped her quickly annihilate the remaining ghostly soldiers.

  "Just now, you left for a while, did you go into town?" asked Ao Xue softly.

  Lu Yun's heart was slightly stunned, how did she know that he had left? His gaze swept across everyone, except for Cang Yue who was quietly looking at him, the others were all panting and taking the opportunity to recover their true yuan. Lu Yun lightly nodded and said: "I indeed left for a bit earlier and went to take a look in the city. What surprised me was that Jian Wu Chen also appeared in the city, but at that time I didn't see Bi Tian and the other four."

  "Oh, they've also arrived, so quickly. Is it that they've discovered the Soul Transformation Pool is within this Ghost King City, and thus hastened here?" Zi Yang True Person spoke out his own conjecture.

  Everyone was stunned by the words and felt that this speculation made some sense. Yun Feng nodded in agreement, "I think Shibo's words make a lot of sense, otherwise why wouldn't he go to the Ghost King City in Wuhun Interval, but instead came here? Maybe the Huayuan Pool is right here in the city, we have to hurry up, can't let Jian Wucheng get ahead of us."

  Cang Yue and Xu Jie didn't speak, it seemed like they both didn't know what to say, so they chose to remain silent. Ao Xue just gazed in the direction of the city, lost in thought. Feng Yuanyang saw that no one was speaking up, and softly said: "I think Swordless' arrival here is a coincidence. Because this place is closer to Heihe River than Wuyin River, they might have also thought of coming here to search for the Huanhun Pool when they escaped from Heihe River back then, so they chose this place first. Moreover, Master Uncle's guess has some basis, and we can't judge it for now."

  Lu Yun smiled calmly and said, "Now saying these things won't yield any results. Let's hurry up and search around the royal city to see if we can find anything. Regardless of which guess was correct earlier, for us, we must find the Soul Pool and take out the Soul Seal. Everyone set off now, our target is the surroundings of the royal city!" With a smile, Lu Yun led everyone in starting their search for the second Ghost King City in the Ghost Domain.

  Will they encounter endless dangers like the first city? What secrets and masters are hidden in this second Ghost King City? For now, no one can say for sure!