Ghost Domain

In the ruins of Fahua Temple.

A great mass of black smoke suddenly spread across the ground, and yin energy filled the entire surrounding space.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang You and the Old Daoist vanished from where they stood.

Then the surrounding smoke disappeared, the yin energy contracted, as though it had never appeared at all.

Only a huge crater remained, bearing witness to the intensity of the battle that had taken place here.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Figures descended one after another, most of them having rushed over from the direction of the marketplace.

But the place was already empty. Only faint traces of blood energy and baleful energy lingered behind.

"It's the aura of the Blood Shadow Ghost Mother, Qingyuan Old Daoist, and an ordinary person."

Pang Biao of the Demon Suppression Division searched the area and reached a conclusion.

He had already sensed that the ordinary person was Zhang You.

Before long, Shopkeeper Li, Boss Ren, Tang Julou, head of the Tang household, and Qin Fengtian, the city lord, arrived one after another.

Pang Biao stepped forward and told them what he had discovered.

"Shopkeeper Li, where is that little thing?"

They all looked toward Shopkeeper Li.

"I can no longer sense his location. I only know that this is the last place where he disappeared."

Shopkeeper Li's expression was not pleasant either.

"Hmph! If it weren't for you, we would have taken him down last time!"

Pang Biao snorted coldly.

"I already explained everything to you last time. The time wasn't right, and I can't be bothered to explain it again."

Shopkeeper Li closed his eyes once more and began sensing Zhang You's location, but still found nothing.

The world in Zhang You and Qingyuan Old Daoist's eyes had already changed.

The surroundings gradually darkened. The sky turned blood-red, with two Blood Moons hanging overhead.

Dense yin energy radiated all around them.

Looking up, the two of them were standing at Fahua Temple's entrance!

But after the previous battle, Fahua Temple had already been razed to the ground. Even its gates had long since vanished somewhere.

Yet now, everything was perfectly intact!

It made no sense at all!

Looking around again.

The area surrounding Fahua Temple had previously been a field of ruins, but now houses stood all around them.

Although none of the houses had their lights on, it was all far too unbelievable!

"This may be that Ghost Domain! The surroundings should be the area that was burned down!"

Qingyuan Old Daoist drew a deep breath as he spoke.

"Wasn't that just a rumor? I heard even the Demon Suppression Division found no mystery here!"

Zhang You sensed the area around them. It was deathly silent.

"Hehe! That was only to keep the common people stable. Otherwise, why did everyone living nearby move away afterward?

It was all orchestrated by the authorities.

The truth was, a Ghost Domain really did form here back then. The authorities wanted to eliminate this hidden danger, so they sent members of the Demon Suppression Division inside one after another.

But even Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, without exception, vanished without a trace!

In the end, with no other choice, they used force to seal and bury the entrance to the Ghost Domain.

The battle earlier was probably too fierce and tore open a gap in the Ghost Domain. The two of us were unlucky enough to get sucked in!"

Qingyuan Old Daoist told him everything he knew.

"By your reckoning, the two of us are more likely dead than alive!"

Zhang You sat on the ground and began recovering his blood energy.

"Looks grim!"

The Old Daoist sighed.

One had to know that the Demon Suppression Division had sent Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators in back then, yet none of them had returned. That showed just how dangerous this place was.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The sound of a wooden fish suddenly rang out from Fahua Temple, followed by the sound of scripture chanting.

"Gulp!"

The Old Daoist swallowed and looked toward the temple gates.

"Playing god and playing ghost!"

Zhang You had already recovered and risen to his feet. Squinting, he too stared toward the temple gates.

"Creak!"

The gates opened by themselves!

"Are we going in?"

The Old Daoist was a little frightened!

"Of course... not. If it tells us to go in and we just go in, wouldn't that be humiliating!"

Zhang You turned around, preparing to search for another way out.

What he hated most was being led around by the nose.

But at that moment, the road behind them had already disappeared. The buildings around them had also vanished, replaced by thick black fog.

It was as if Fahua Temple was the only temple left in the entire space.

As the yin energy grew increasingly dense, Zhang You and the Old Daoist both felt a trace of cold.

"Looks like we have no choice but to go in!"

After pondering for a moment, Zhang You summoned a thread of blood energy around his body and stepped through the gates.

"Alas!"

Qingyuan Old Daoist hurriedly followed him.

"Creak, bang!"

The gates shut again. The space fell silent once more, like a stagnant pool of dead water.

They did not encounter any other living creatures along the way, much less any monks.

The courtyard was completely empty.

"Creak!"

When they reached the entrance of the main hall, its doors opened by themselves again.

They could not see the situation within the hall from outside; there was only a dim gray haze.

The source of the wooden fish and the chanting came from inside the main hall.

As the two entered the main hall, the doors closed by themselves once more.

The moment Zhang You crossed into the hall, he felt the scene before his eyes shift, and everything became clear.

The Buddha statue in the center of the hall was completely intact, but its head was obscured by some unknown force and could not be seen.

The lower portion, however, was clearly visible.

Excluding its head, the Buddha statue stood at least five or six zhang tall, its entire body golden.

On the prayer mats lining both sides of the hall sat many bald monks. They struck wooden fish and chanted unknown scriptures, all with their backs to the two of them.

At that moment, Zhang You felt as though the chanting carried a kind of magic. It seeped deep into his mind and made people sink into it.

Before long, he felt dizzy and lightheaded, with a drowsy urge to sleep.

A black shadow suddenly appeared above his head. It spat out a mouthful of black smoke that extended down toward his head.

"Hm?"

Zhang You sensed something was wrong, and a stream of blood energy shot straight toward the crown of his head.

Pop!

Zhang You instantly felt much clearer, while the black shadow above his head was directly dispersed.

A wisp of blue-white energy entered his body.

Turning around, he discovered that Qingyuan Old Daoist had already closed his eyes. A black phantom floated above his head, connected to him already, and the shadow was on the verge of completely entering the Old Daoist's body.

Zhang You flashed to the Old Daoist's side, his right hand wrapped in blood energy as he grabbed at the black shadow.

The black shadow tried to flee, but it was clearly too late.

"Caw..."

He exerted force with his hand, yanking the black shadow out in one pull. Then he blasted a stream of blood energy into it, instantly grinding it to pieces.

He absorbed another wisp of blue-white energy.

Slap!

Seeing that the Old Daoist was still muddled, Zhang You gave him a hard slap across the face!

"Damn it, I fell for it!"

The Old Daoist jolted awake. Realizing what had happened belatedly, he immediately gripped a stack of talismans in his hand and nervously watched the surroundings.

"Relax. Don't accidentally hurt an ally!"

Zhang You backed away several steps and hurriedly spoke, afraid that the Old Daoist would start fighting at the slightest disagreement.

"Thank you, little brother!"

Recalling what had happened earlier, the Old Daoist already knew that Zhang You had saved his life.

Then his expression turned solemn as he said, "There's something wrong with these sounds!"

At that moment, the chanting abruptly stopped, and the knocking of the wooden fish ceased as well.

"Gulp!"

Blood began flowing down the surrounding walls, doors, and windows, while great amounts of yin energy gathered toward the two of them.