Bone-Eating Black Mist

At last, he had found a place connected to the map, yet Qin Yang felt little joy...

This sprawling complex exuded a grim, chilling grandeur. Merely approaching it made him feel as though the blood and Qi throughout his body were about to freeze. A casual glance revealed sentries standing everywhere, while in the four directions stood four enormous ghosts, each thirty zhang tall, broad and brawny, Ghost Qi soaring to the heavens. Their eyes were like two enormous lanterns, illuminating all around as they constantly patrolled...

Qin Yang's heart abruptly turned cold...

He suddenly felt that his plan to snatch chestnuts from the fire and fish in muddy waters seemed to have run into a slight snag...

He had forgotten that his strength was merely at Qi Nourishing...

"What are you standing around for? Move." The Ghost Soldier who had escorted him here wore a trace of contempt in his eyes, but his face was full of pride. He was quite pleased by Qin Yang's shocked expression.

Qin Yang remained silent and followed him forward. He merely glanced back once, muttering inwardly, My Cheap Junior Brother, you'd better pull your weight. Screw me over as hard as you can—don't hold back...

Escorted by the Ghost Soldier, he entered a remote corner of this Ghost City. There stood a stone building that looked no different from the others. Yet there was no door visible on any side, only a layer of black mist shrouding it.

When Qin Yang was brought here, the black mist split open, and a Ghost Soldier wearing a Clerk Uniform emerged from within.

"This is?"

"He came to sell information."

A look of realization flashed across the minor official's face. He sized Qin Yang up and down, said nothing more, and led him toward the black mist. Only when they reached it did Qin Yang see him activate the token in his hand. The black mist then tore open a gap wide enough for someone to pass through.

After they entered, the minor official saw Qin Yang staring at his token and immediately sneered. "This black mist is Soul-Eating Bone-Corroding. Within it are countless poison insects too tiny to see. Only by combining the token with a secret art can one drive it back. Once you enter this Black Prison, escaping is simply impossible. And even if you do escape, you'll only die faster outside."

Qin Yang nodded. Naturally, he knew that if he appeared alone in the Ghost City now, he would certainly die a miserable death...

Once they entered the Black Prison, Qin Yang's expression became rather unsightly...

The Black Prison was quite large. There were no bars, nor were there any pillars. Every separate cell was divided by thin black mist.

Most of the cells were empty. Yet among those holding prisoners, more than half contained living cultivators. There were only two ghost prisoners, and their Ghost Bodies were so insubstantial that even their deathly appearance could not be concealed. They looked half-dead...

"Heh, stay here and behave. They all came to sell information." The jailer smiled strangely as he sent Qin Yang into one of the cells...

At that moment, Qin Yang finally understood why the handover between those two Ghost Soldiers earlier had been so brief. It turned out that there had already been audaciously daring bastards who came to sell fake information...

"Ah..."

Without warning, a scream echoed through the prison.

Qin Yang looked over and saw a cultivator in one cell thrust a hand through the thin black mist...

Unfortunately, that hand rapidly turned to white bone at a speed visible to the naked eye. Thin black mist enveloped it, and the bones swiftly crumbled and vanished, leaving not even dregs behind.

The cultivator pulled his hand back, but the thin layer of black mist on the wound surged upward at once. In merely one or two breaths, half his forearm had vanished.

Suddenly, the cultivator gritted his teeth, drew a long blade, and slashed at his own shoulder. His arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder.

After the severed arm fell to the ground, it vanished even faster. Within two or three breaths, it had disappeared without a trace. The blood spurting from his wound also vanished the instant it landed upon the thin mist.

The Warden, who had just reached the entrance in the distance, looked back and gave a mocking snort before turning away. He could not be bothered to care.

Inside the prison, everyone was as silent as cicadas in winter. Their body hair stood on end, and their faces were filled with terror.

Qin Yang stood in his cell, staring at the walls formed from thin black mist on all sides. His heart pounded wildly. This was not Soul-Eating Bone-Corroding at all—it devoured everything clean...

No wonder there was not a single warden in this prison. Those locked inside were neither searched nor shackled...

With this black mist here, why would they need to go through all that trouble?

There was no expected prison cell, and naturally no such thing as locks on doors. If he wanted to escape, he could only find another way.

Qin Yang touched the pouch at his waist and muttered inwardly, I hope the things I heard about are true.

In the blink of an eye, a day passed...

At noon the next day, beneath the blazing sun, a large group from Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce charged into the Mass Burial Ground and headed straight for the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb.

Several dozen cultivators rushed into the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb and confronted the ghosts guarding the entrance.

"Little Fatty, where is your Senior Brother?" Steward Qiu's face was gloomy, malice rising in his eyes as he glared fixedly at Zhang Zhengyi.

"Maybe... something delayed him..." Cold sweat dripped from Little Fatty's temples as a deeply ominous feeling rose in his heart. Could that cheap senior brother have realized that he had tricked him? Just then, the ghost crowd parted to make way, and the Tusked Ghost Soldier strode over. His tiger eyes swept across them, Killing Intent pressing down upon them. Only when he saw Little Fatty behind Steward Qiu did he take a careful look.

"Are you Zhang Zhengyi?"

"Huh?" Little Fatty answered, even more puzzled inside. How did this guy know him? And what did that look mean? Disdain?

Before Little Fatty could react, the Tusked Ghost Soldier cupped his hands toward Steward Qiu. "Steward Qiu truly keeps his word. Since you have brought the person Miss wants, Lord Ghost King will naturally keep his promise as well. Once I take this person to confirm matters with Miss, we will give you an answer."

Steward Qiu froze slightly. He glanced at Zhang Zhengyi, who was restless and looked ready to flee at any moment, and fury surged within him. So this was the fellow. He was that Heartless Man! No wonder he knew so much and had even come knocking himself! A thief crying thief!

"There's been a misunderstanding!" Zhang Zhengyi took a step back, bitterness filling his mouth. Thinking it over slightly, how could he not understand? That cheap senior brother had actually turned around and screwed him over! At this point, how could Steward Qiu be bothered to explain anything to Little Fatty? He reached out, grabbed Little Fatty by the neck, and shook his True Essence. Little Fatty immediately went limp, as though all the bones had been removed from his body.

Whether he was truly Little Fatty no longer mattered much. The other side had named Little Fatty, after all.

Without further discussion, Steward Qiu directly tossed him to the Tusked Ghost Soldier opposite him.

After the other party left with Little Fatty, Steward Qiu turned to the middle-aged man beside him with a dark expression. "Have the people from Boundless Dao Academy not arrived yet?"

"They should be here soon. According to the plan, no matter what happens today, we cannot delay any longer. Even if Dole Ghost King tries to stop us, Boundless Dao Academy will send experts today to hold him in check. We will not hesitate to turn our faces against them."