Landing Ashore

The sword light sliced through the Nether Mist, causing it to burn and create a fiery rift.

The sword's edge reached directly above the Humanoid Ghost Shadow's head.

Accompanied by a shrill scream, the Humanoid Ghost Shadow, along with the camel and the Ghost Flag, plunged towards the sea below.

Li Weiyi grabbed the rope hanging in mid-air, only to realize he was twenty to thirty meters away from the ship's railing above. A wave of fear washed over him.

"Plop!"

As the Humanoid Ghost Shadow landed on the sea, the Evil Camel Bell carrying it hit the water first, splashing a large amount of water.

A moment later, it emerged from the water, riding the camel, its hooves treading on densely packed Floating Coffins, heading in the direction Qi Shanshan in the red dress had disappeared.

A dry, hoarse voice echoed back: "The ship is a trap, the Nether Realm has arrived, and the path to survival is right before you. If you have the guts, why not follow and see?"

"This Ghostly Creature is really hard to get rid of."

Li Weiyi knew very well that the other party was trying to lure him off the ship, still coveting the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish.

But the Humanoid Ghost Shadow was right.

Staying on the ship wasn't just a trap; it was a dead end.

Even if they were extremely frugal with food and water, they only had enough to last a few more days.

"The White Bone Demon and the Camel Bell Ghostly Creature wouldn't have disembarked without reason. There must be a cause. In life, they were likely creatures from this region."

"Since the Bronze Ship has temporarily stopped, I'll go scout ahead. If there's land and no danger, we'll all disembark together then. Within five days, regardless of the outcome, I will return. We'll live or die together."

Li Weiyi couldn't rest easy about the people on the ship. He left his Senior Brother in charge and descended to the sea surface with Gao Huan via the rope, landing on a tightly packed cluster of Floating Coffins.

The reason he brought Gao Huan was twofold: Firstly, Gao Huan's physical condition was excellent after drinking the Golden Crow Blood.

Secondly, Li Weiyi's mission wasn't just to find land, but also to rescue Cai Yutong. Knowing the White Bone Demon acted intentionally, how could he not go?

If they found land but had to pursue the White Bone Demon, someone would need to return to the Bronze Ship to report back.

Li Weiyi followed the residual aura of the White Bone Demon and the Camel Bell Ghostly Creature, moving swiftly across the Floating Coffins on the sea. Although the path ahead was uncertain, he finally felt a sense of solid ground beneath his feet.

The Bronze Ship behind them blurred into the gloom.

Soon, it completely disappeared.

The stern of the Bronze Ship.

The three-zhang bronze door, carved with "Myriad Homes' Lanterns" and "River of the Underworld Stars," was suddenly blown open by a gust of wind. From the giant sword within the door, dense streaks of light flew out, condensing into two figures.

One figure gazed into the distance, as if able to see through the vast gloom, and murmured, "We've arrived?"

"If the Bronze Ship sets sail again, we'll be abandoned in this bizarre sea of blood, left to keep company with the dead in their coffins."

Leaving his comfort zone, Gao Huan felt uneasy, his heart in his mouth. He quickly added, "Forget it, staying on the ship won't get us far. May Tathagata Buddha, Goddess Guanyin, the Jade Emperor... and all the gods bless us to find a way out."

Li Weiyi discovered something and crouched down, touching a drop of fresh blood on a coffin with his finger.

Gao Huan asked, "Whose blood?"

"Senior Sister Cai's."

Gao Huan said, "She killed Dr. Cai?"

"No! She deliberately left this drop of blood to guide me." Li Weiyi replied.

Gao Huan said, "You must have something she desperately needs. If we follow like this, won't we fall into her trap?"

"Then let's hurry and catch up, not give her a chance to set a trap."

Li Weiyi was more worried about the White Bone Demon and the Camel Bell Ghostly Creature working together. After all, they needed different things, and could easily get what they wanted.

Perhaps that was why the Camel Bell Ghostly Creature was chasing the White Bone Demon.

They chased for a whole day, and the Floating Coffins beneath their feet seemed endless.

The two stopped to rest briefly, their stomachs growling fiercely, but they could only endure it, as their food supplies were extremely limited.

Li Weiyi's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Gao Huan's head. "Don't move."

Gao Huan tensed up, not daring to move at all, and asked tremblingly, "What's wrong?"

Li Weiyi reached out and plucked a fallen withered leaf from Gao Huan's hair, then looked up into the mist.

"What's that in your hand? A leaf!" Gao Huan exclaimed.

Suddenly, a strong, cold wind blew through, causing the coffins beneath their feet to sway with the waves.

The gloomy mist was blown away considerably.

The two, who had been sitting on the ground, slowly stood up, their eyes widening as they looked ahead, their spirits instantly soaring to their peak.

A vast, dark mountain range appeared, stretching upwards, its peak hidden from view.

Because their current location was almost at the foot of the mountain.

Ancient trees, like old scholar trees, grew on the shore not far away, their branches lush and dense. Their trunks were as thick as millstones, and their roots powerfully probed into the water, showcasing their centuries or even millennia of vitality.

Giant vines, as thick as a thigh, were entwined among the branches and leaves of several ancient trees, bearing fruits the size of watermelons.

By the water's edge beneath the trees were patches of shrubs and reeds.

"Clang clang!"

A bronze bell, mottled with green rust, flew out from the water behind the two.

In an instant, the bell's chime grew loud.

Black Nether Mist surged out from the bell, enclosing camels and humanoid ghost shadows, and Ghost Flags, charging directly at Li Weiyi.

"You dare to ambush again?"

Li Weiyi had been on guard. The moment the bronze bell flew out of the water, he had already turned around.

As the sword hilt struck the Black Iron Seal, two streams of cold and hot air flowed into it.

"Boom!"

Thunder roared through the bay.

Bright lightning shot out, striking the humanoid ghost shadow riding the camel within the black Nether Mist, piercing its chest and creating a transparent hole.

The humanoid ghost shadow let out a scream and fell off the camel's back.

Having been injured repeatedly, its combat power declined severely.

It had thought that upon seeing land, Li Weiyi would lower his guard, presenting an excellent opportunity for a surprise attack. Who would have thought this brat seemed to have expected it to be ambushing here, reacting far too quickly.

Gao Huan hurriedly fled towards the shore, not wanting to become a burden to Li Weiyi.

On the other side, Li Weiyi pressed his advantage, giving the humanoid ghost shadow no chance to escape back into the camel bell.

After three more sword strikes.

"Bang!"

The Yellow Dragon Sword severed the Ghost Flag's pole and sliced the humanoid ghost shadow diagonally in half.

The soul mist on the humanoid ghost shadow quickly dissipated, and it cried out in terror, "No... no... I already returned to the Nether Realm... how could I die here? I'm not reconciled... This King is not reconciled..."

Another sword strike, and it was utterly annihilated.

Li Weiyi scanned his surroundings vigilantly. Only after confirming that no White Bone Demons were nearby did he pick up the camel bell that had fallen onto a Floating Coffin and attempt to shake it gently.

Immediately, a strong wind arose.

"Whoosh—"

The semi-ethereal, semi-solid camel mount, three to four meters tall, was retracted into the bell.

"It just went in?"

Li Weiyi shook it a couple more times.

As the bell chimed, he felt a surge of distracting thoughts and negative emotions welling up in his mind.

He quickly stopped.

This Evil Camel Bell was too sinister, definitely an inauspicious item.

But it seemed capable of collecting physical objects as well, which was extraordinary. That severed Ghost Flag was a physical object.

Li Weiyi tore off the Ghost Flag and wrapped the Evil Camel Bell tightly, not wanting it to continue chiming.

"Gao Huan... Gao Fish Soup..."

He called out twice but received no response.

Li Weiyi quickly disembarked, passed through the reeds, and entered the dark forest.

Before long, he saw Gao Huan slumped on the ground.

"What are you doing? I was calling you, why didn't you say anything?" Li Weiyi gripped his sword hilt and walked over cautiously.

Gao Huan finally seemed to catch his breath and let out a long sigh, "Damn it! You scared me to death. It's all bones, and there are no heads."

Li Weiyi walked up to him and, seeing the scene in the forest, felt a chill run down his spine.

On the ground were dense human skeletons, all headless.

Gao Huan got up and forced himself to act calm, "Why do I feel like the land is even scarier than the ship? Do you think we've really arrived in the Underworld? Could this world be full of Departed Spirits like White Bone Demons and Ghostly Creatures from camel bells?"

"No, look there."

Amidst the expanse of bones, Li Weiyi found three recently deceased human corpses.

"Humans... That's great, they're human bodies..."

Gao Huan had never been so excited to see corpses before.

Li Weiyi observed the surroundings, confirming there were no traces of animal activity, so it shouldn't be the lair of some fierce beast. He then looked down at the three headless corpses. The breaks at their necks were extremely irregular, not like they were cut by a sharp weapon.

He squatted down and rummaged through the clothes of the corpses.

In the first corpse's embrace, he found a palm-sized gray cloth bag. It rustled noisily inside. When poured out, it revealed a pile of round... coins, like jade.

The first impression was that they were indeed coins.

The cloth bag and their form made it impossible to think of anything else.

"Holy crap! Master Li, you're the fastest thinker."

Gao Huan quickly began searching the corpses too.

Money could get you anywhere in the world, but without it, you'd starve even on land.

He worked quickly, thoroughly searching the remaining two headless corpses. Then, he moved on to the clothed skeletons nearby, his earlier fear completely gone.

After searching over a dozen skeletons, he turned back to find Li Weiyi wearing the clothes of a headless corpse and tying the belt.

"Master Li, what are you doing?" Gao Huan asked, surprised.

Li Weiyi replied, "I plan to explore this world! We haven't encountered any danger along the way. You can go back to the Bronze Ship to report."

"Don't you think that looks like a monk's robe?" Gao Huan remarked.

Li Weiyi agreed, "I think so too! But it's just similar to the monk's robes in our world. What proper monk would have all these coins instead of prayer beads?"

Gao Huan also changed into a similar brown robe, thinking that if they encountered any natives, they could blend in.

What if it really was a monk's robe?

A Buddhist practitioner was welcome anywhere.

"I feel like something's wrong. Why are there so many headless corpses here? Who brought them here? We need to leave quickly!" Li Weiyi suddenly felt a sense of danger.

This sense of danger grew stronger and stronger.

It felt as if it were right beside them.

Li Weiyi glanced up, his expression changing drastically. He grabbed Gao Huan and they quietly prepared to leave.

"What's wrong?" Gao Huan whispered.

"Don't speak..."

"Oh no!"

Li Weiyi looked up again, his pupils constricting.

He immediately threw Gao Huan over his shoulder, the springs in the soles of his feet gushing forth, pushing his speed to the extreme as he fled in a panic.

Gao Huan had already seen what it was.

It was that thigh-thick vine!

It covered a vast area, blanketing the dense forest. They had initially thought the fruits on the vine were watermelon-sized, but now, as these fruits opened their green eyes, they realized they were human heads.

There were hundreds, even thousands, of these heads, all growing directly on the vine.

Their mouths opened like bowls, revealing sharp, pointed teeth. They let out various strange cries and laughter, men and women, old and young, flying through the leafy branches behind them, relentlessly pursuing them. It was truly terrifying.