With that, the Harken sighed softly and began to mouth a mantra. The words that it was speaking appeared from its lips one by one, while countless runic symbols of Yin Talismans began to spread out from beneath its feet, transforming into countless butterflies that scattered into the surroundings. Within moments, and to Qin Yeâs great surprise, the ground began to tremble like a low-level earthquake.
Meanwhile, the Harkenâs voice only grew louder and louder like crackling thunder, â... Objects of origin, before Heaven and the Earth came into being. Silent and lonesome, independent and immutable, around and uninhibitedâŠâ
Yin Talismans poured out like the flowing waters from a spring, vanishing into the surroundings and causing the entire mountain range to tremble with ever greater intensity. A few minutes later, the light tremors escalated into a thunderous roar. And then, the Harken bellowed, âBreak!â At once, Qin Ye felt something different about the environment around him.
âThe door to the sundered world has now opened.â The Harken walked ahead, âFollow closely, because Ghost King Zhao lies right within this place.â
âŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ..
It was an ordinary countryside.
If one had to find something unique about it, then it would most certainly be with its location.
Because the village was located at a mountaintop.
If one peered down from the mountaintop, they would only be greeted by a sea of fog below. It was the only mountaintop in the region.
And there appeared to be no way down into the depths.
The village was incredibly old, and it was filled with wooden houses that appeared to have been built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The houses were dilapidated, and several houses had even collapsed eons ago. The ground was covered with dust and dirt, while knee-height weed appeared to be everywhere around. There were even abandoned carts, furniture and other kinds of farm equipment located everywhere around. All in all, the entire village sported a dead and desolate atmosphere.
It was supposed to be devoid of any living persons. But, right now, there appeared to be seven people gathered in the center of the village. They appeared jaundiced and thin, with ragged clothes and shoulder-length hair. Every single one of them looked like an exile or a vagabond that had been wandering the wilderness for countless years on end.
That said, each and everyone of them also exuded trace amounts of true energy from their body. The weaker ones couldnât be properly classified with the current system of cultivation, while the stronger one among them was well in the ranks of a Soul Hunter.
It was 4.55 p.m. Nobody said a word as they all glanced nervously around their surroundings, trembling slightly as their teeth chattered.
âItâs comingâŠâ One of the middle-aged men among their midst spoke with a drifty voice, âHeâs⊠heâs almost hereâŠâ
He didnât say much more than he needed to, almost as though he felt the need to conserve as much of his energy as he could. Beside him, a teenager who appeared to be in his early twenties gritted his teeth and responded, âHe⊠looks less human with every day that passes⊠I-I donât want to dieâŠâ
His voice choked up, and yet not a single other person responded to these sobs.
After all, how could anyone respond when they could barely even take care of themselves?
Dong!
Right then, the entire mountain peak shook, and an earth-shattering war drum sounded in succession, almost as though a divine army had gathered under the dense fog of the mountain peak!
âCHARGE!!!â With a loud cry, the sea of fog around the mountain peak stirred wildly, and the sound of clashing iron echoed all around them. The air was instantly filled with murderous intent. The raging winds around them scattered the hair of the seven men everywhere, and caused their hearts to skip a beat. Then, a second later, the thunderous rumble of trampling hooves roared from all around them!
Rumble! It was deafening, and it sounded almost as though it was all stirring from beneath the mountain peak and rushing straight up the path leading to the village. The grass and trees around them rustled and swayed wildly. Meanwhile, a lady among the seven gasped in horror, âTheyâre coming⊠Theyâve advanced by another half a meter!!â
She bit down hard on her dry, parched lips, âTwo months⊠Theyâll probably break into the Martyrâs Shrine here in no more than two monthsâ time! We⊠weâll be dead by then!â
âThen so be itâŠâ An old man responded placidly, staring at the distant skies with a numb expression on his face, âWe shouldâve been dead a long time ago anyway. Besides, can you really say that weâre still living right now? Hahaha⊠Itâs been so long, so what difference does it make if this misery finally comes to an end? Had we had the courage to commit suicide, would we still be standing here in this place right now?â
Some were courageous optimists, but there were naturally some who were also pessimists as well.
The old man glanced around with an ashen heart. He was astonished when he first discovered this place. But now, the only thing that lingered on in his heart was endless terror.
The monster in the Martyrâs Shrine simply isnât a human. Heâs neither willing to release us nor kill us. Instead, he continued to give us food and water, providing for our sustenance and dragging out our misery for such a long time.
Perhaps⊠it might not be a bad thing to let those monsters outside rush into this place after allâŠ
He didnât even muster any of his true energy to resist the advance of the troops. He could only hear the cries of shouting and killing fill the air, but he didnât know what exactly was fighting with each other. Then, just as he was about to retract his gaze, the old man suddenly paused in consternation.
He rubbed his eyes violently, and then stared with great disbelief at a particular location. His jaws dropped, and his lips trembled. He raised a hand and pointed to that location, almost as though he wanted to say something, but he simply couldnât find any words, âAh⊠ah, ah!!!â
âOld Li! Whatâs the matter with you?â A younger man located right beside him turned over in astonishment. Old Liâs lips were parted, and he was gasping for air, almost as though he was suffering from a stroke. However, the younger man could see that Old Li was pointing somewhere, so he glanced over, and immediately froze as well.
Two seconds later, he screamed at the top of his voice, âLook! Over there! Over there!!!â
This time, everyone turned their eyes to a particular location in the fog, where they could vaguely make out a silhouette that was slowly approaching them.
Someone?
Someone new?
Everyone glanced at each other. Even Old Li, whose heart had grown completely numb after all this time, revealed a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Everyone watched with bated breaths as the silhouette approached them. Seconds later, a teenager emerged from the fog, holding a dog in his hands.
And as soon as he did, everyone sighed softly, and Old Li slumped back to the ground with a bitter chuckle, âI knew it⊠Itâs another one. Itâs another one of us! Thatâs right⊠why would the Special Investigations Department dispatch the strongest fighting force of the nation to rescue us few insignificant souls?â
Silence. The air was filled with despair.
Qin Ye held the Harken and walked up to everyone in the village, yet not a single other person looked at him, almost as though they were all resigned to their fates. He smiled, âYou guys are actually still alive. Iâve got to commend you for your tenacity.â
âYou know us?â A young man in his twenties let out a muffled laugh, before sighing once more and gazing deep into the skies, âThen you must be a new investigator of the Special Investigations Department. Count yourself unlucky⊠To think that youâd be buried here in this place only several months after taking on this assignment.â
The others ignored Qin Ye completely.
Naturally, Qin Ye couldn't be bothered with making small talk with the rest of them. His shard of King Yanluoâs Seal had concealed the Yin energy flowing out of his body, and the group of survivors in the village clearly didnât think that a young man of his age could possibly do anything to extricate them from this bind. He glanced around, and then raised a brow quizzically.
Whatâs in this fog?
Thereâs a lot of them. Their numbers are terrifying. Weâre easily talking about a hundred thousand or more, but none of these forces are individually strong. So how did they get so powerful as a whole unit? Furthermore, they appear to be crashing repeatedly into the barriers around this place!
But on the other hand, I can sense a terrifying presence hiding here in the innermost part of this village!
âBrother Zhao, Iâve finally found youâŠâ Qin Ye licked his lips and slowly approached the heart of the village.
âAre you courting death?â He didnât even take more than a single step before Old Li cautioned him with a hoarse voice, âCherish your life, little one. Iâm afraid that there exists a monster within the heart of the village that not even the strongest experts in the mortal realm are able to deal with. Heâs the god of the Yin Mountains⊠sigh⊠Proceed at your own risk.â
Qin Ye ignored them. From here, he could see the crumbling ruins of the buildings at the end of the road. The original shape of the building had completely faded away, and the only way he could tell what used to be in this palace was the words âMartyrâs Shrineâ dangling from a crooked signboard hanging above what remained of the doorway. The surroundings were all covered with grass and cobwebs, and an immensely suffocating source of Yin energy flowed from within.
Whoosh⊠The surface of the ground rattled softly as he slowly approached the Martyrâs Shrine. The closer he got, the more the bricks and tiles on the ground trembled. The seven who were huddled together in the center of the village turned back and stared at Qin Ye with great disbelief.
It wasnât as though none of them had tried approaching the Martyrâs Shrine before.
However, nobody had ever triggered such changes to the environment!
Thatâs right, changes.
This was a land of the dead - a prison that saw no light of the day, nor breath of the living. Change was not the norm here.
âMartial brotherâŠâ A middle-aged man stood up abruptly and spoke with a quiver on his lips, âWhat are you--...â
BOOM!!!
But before he could even finish speaking, the Yin energy around Qin Ye and the Harken exploded at once, just like an avalanche falling from the mountaintops, or a rushing river breaking its banks! The surrounding houses were unable to withstand the sheer force of the violent rush of Yin energy, and everything was smashed to smithereens in an instant!
âWhat the hell?!!â âMy god!! What in the world is his cultivation level?!â âH-how old is this kid! H-heâs not even a Judge! Iâve seen Judges before! They donât even possess a tenth of such strength!!â âEvil spirit⊠H-heâs an evil spirit! An incarnate revenant!â
Buzz⊠The seven jaded cultivators immediately shot right up to their feet, and stared at Qin Yeâs back with great trembling. The eruption of Prefect-class Yin energy and Yama-class Yin energy at the exact same time caused the Yin energy around them to swirl madly, so much so that even the ground was starting to grow blurry. Qin Ye stared intently into the shrine. And as soon as the Yin energy erupted from their bodies, two spots of golden netherflame also ignited from the heart of the Martyrâs Shrine!
âGhost King Zhao.â Qin Ye bowed deeply, âIâve come to bring you home.â
Rumble⊠Majestic Yin energy swept around them, causing their hair to flutter wildly in the winds. The tall weed growing out of the ground were practically lying horizontal due to the strength of the gale. Meanwhile, the expressions of the seven cultivators went from that of hopelessness to shock, to joy, and then to great disbelief.
Abyssal Prefect⊠and⊠the mythical existence that lies even beyond thatâŠ
To think that I would one day witness such an incredible spectacle!
But⊠doesnât the fact that these two men-- No, doesnât the fact that these two ghosts are personally making a move mean that weâve been living together with a legendary Yama-class existence all this while?
No, no, no! Whatâs most important right now is the fact that⊠This is all coming to an end!
The long years of waiting, starting from our moments of eager anticipation to the long days of hopelessness, are all coming to an end! Ghost King Zhao? Whoâs that? No, no, thatâs not important at all! Whatâs most important is that weâll finally be able to leave this place! Weâre talking about an Abyssal Prefect and a Yama-King after all! They wouldnât even care about us! An incarnate revenant and an existence even more powerful than that are acting together! Perhaps they might leave us a way out after their business here has been resolved!
After Qin Ye called out to the Martyrâs Shrine, he waited for a response. But three minutes passed, and yet there was still no response.
He raised his chin to the Harken, who immediately opened its lips and spat out the speartip of the Courage of Dragons Silver Spear. At once, it shot out and landed on the ground with a soft clang.
âDo you still remember it?â Qin Ye called out into the Martyrâs Shrine, âThis is your weapon, the Courage of Dragons Silver Spear. How can one of the Sixfold Ghost Kings be languishing in a place like this?â
âYou may not be thinking straight right now, but that doesnât matters. Thereâs plenty of time for you to adjust back to the norm in the safety of Hellâs four walls. Come back with meâŠâ
Just then, the entire mountaintop trembled slightly. With a ferocious roar, a figure immediately bolted out of the Martyrâs Shrine and appeared in front of Qin Ye, where he promptly bent over and picked up the speartip on the ground, âCourage of Dragons Silver SpearâŠâ
âWhat a familiar nameâŠâ
âWhy⊠canât I remember it? Where have I seen this before?â
Qin Ye fervently suppressed the intense elation in his heart as he stared intently at him.
It was a man.
He was dressed in a modern camouflage uniform, standing at 1.85 meters tall. He had a deep and abstruse gaze in his eyes, replete with striking brows. His nose was sharp, and his cheeks as chiseled as it gets. His entire body was bulging with muscles, and he exuded the charms of sheer masculinity laced with a trace of haughtiness and aggression.
How striking⊠Qin Yeâs jaws dropped, and he gasped in horror, âLook at his waist, and those thighs of his⊠Holy shit⊠I canât even keep my legs closed right nowâŠâ
âCan you please be more serious?!â The Harken glared at him, âGhost King Zhao⊠as expected, it really is him. And look closely between his brows.â
âSomeone is trying to seize his body right now! What nerve!â
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