Waking Up

In the Wide Hall, the shout was like a surging thunderclap. The Yin Energy outside the broken entrance seemed to pitch up an octave, its howling becoming exceptionally shrill and piercing, scraping against something as if it were physical.

As Zheng Que's voice fell, the figure of the Seven-Fingered Bone Hand remained in a "kneeling" posture, quietly fading into the mist. The dense fog that had suddenly appeared beneath the hall dissipated along with it, as if it had never existed at all.

Gazing at the now empty hall, Zheng Que let out a long sigh of relief. His previously rigid posture relaxed, and his fingertips unconsciously rubbed against the Life and Death Book before him.

This dilapidated Wide Hall was incredibly effective at bluffing ghosts!

The cultivation of that Wicked Sin just now was clearly terrifying, yet inside this hall, it was just like Qing Li—scared into only daring to speak while kneeling...

It was just a pity that the Underworld was now reduced to nothing but this broken, decaying hall. If there really were Eighteen Levels of Hell, he would have had even more confidence when reprimanding the opponent earlier!

Thinking of this, Zheng Que's expression turned solemn. The main reason the small town had been attacked by this Evil Shadow Play was that the opponent had sensed a so-called "opportunity."

Changfu Town was not large and had never been anything special; there were few things in the entire town that could be called an opportunity.

The great medicinal herb at the town mayor's house should count as one.

But that was an opportunity for cultivators and had basically nothing to do with ghosts.

As for the rest...

In the entire town, apart from his own Life and Death Book, he could not think of anything else that could attract the attention of a powerful ghost.

This Evil Shadow Play had very likely been drawn here by his Life and Death Book!

However, according to the events recounted by the Evil Shadow Play just now, the opponent had only vaguely sensed that there was an opportunity in this town, but did not know exactly what that opportunity was.

When the opponent sent the Shadow Puppets to search for the opportunity in the town, they had crossed paths with him several times, and Cui Ni'er had even had contact with him, yet they had never discovered the issue with him.

This meant that the Evil Shadow Play could not sense his Life and Death Book or the Underworld at all!

The fact that the opponent was drawn to the town by the Life and Death Book was likely related to the "karma" that Master had once spoken of...

Thinking of this, Zheng Que took a deep breath. Before this tribulation arrived, he had thought that at most he would be facing a few ghosts of the sixth or seventh level of the Tongue-Pulling Hell. He never expected it to be a Wicked Sin that surpassed the Tongue-Pulling Hell!

Although he now knew the specific details of the Evil Shadow Play, if he had to do it all over again without the Life and Death Book, surviving would still be extremely difficult.

Before Master left the town, this Evil Shadow Play had been guarding the outskirts. If he had fled the town early, it would have been equivalent to delivering himself right to the Evil Shadow Play's doorstep.

And if he had stayed in the town the whole time, he would have had to avoid contact with all the Shadow Puppets; otherwise, once connected by a Shadow Control Thread, death would be certain.

But even if he had managed to avoid all the Shadow Puppets and started fleeing when the Evil Shadow Play descended upon the town, he still would have had to face the blow that wiped out the entire town...

Just as he was thinking this, the black energy between Zheng Que's brows faded rapidly. Finally, the last wisp of black energy sank into the Life and Death Book, and his brow calmed.

However, he did not return to reality immediately, but rather, just like a short while ago...

The Life and Death Book began to flip through its pages spontaneously once more. The pages flew back to the first page, and then a large amount of Yin Energy, thick as ink, rose into mid-air. As it churned and swirled, it rapidly collapsed toward the center, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a symbol that looked like both an insect and a fish.

It hovered in mid-air, looking like countless insects and fish intertwined, or like the vines of a dense forest hanging down, exuding an ancient and weathered aura.

Another Imperial Edict!

Staring at the freshly manifested Imperial Edict, Zheng Que was slightly stunned, then immediately realized that because the Life and Death Book had recorded too many names tonight, it could condense multiple Imperial Edicts!

The next moment, this Imperial Edict transformed into a ghostly light and imprinted itself into the center of Zheng Que's forehead.

Zheng Que's vision went black, and he lost consciousness once again.

Crunch... crunch... crunch...

The sound of flesh and bone being chewed drifted intermittently into his ears. Zheng Que woke up instantly and snapped his eyes open.

What met his gaze were moss-covered rocks. The air was thick with the heavy scent of blood and the pungent, musky odor peculiar to carnivores. This was an unfamiliar cave.

Zheng Que propped himself up from a pile of fallen leaves and looked around.

The cave was not large, about the size of two rooms. Water seeped from a crevice in the stone nearby, and the surrounding moss bore traces of some animal repeatedly licking it.

A black bear hung at the cave entrance, its belly ripped open, blood flowing freely.

Qing Li stood in the clearing beside the bear carcass, devouring the black bear's internal organs in large mouthfuls.

Seeing this, Zheng Que was startled and immediately asked, "Where is this?"

Hearing Zheng Que's voice, Qing Li turned her head. With fresh blood and bits of meat lingering at the corners of her mouth, she replied, "A desolate mountain east of Changfu Town."

"The duration of your human technique has ended."

"This lady could only bring you this far."

Hearing this, Zheng Que nodded slightly. After the Spirit Descent Technique ended, Qing Li would immediately fall into a period of weakness.

Given the current situation, it wasn't too bad; neither he nor Qing Li were injured.

Thinking of this, he asked again, "Evil Shadow Play... where is that ghost hand from last night?"

Last night, he had dragged the Evil Shadow Play into the Underworld and taught it a good lesson, and it had already agreed to serve as his mount.

Therefore, he wasn't afraid of encountering the Evil Shadow Play now; he was only worried that Qing Li had carried him too far away and the Evil Shadow Play wouldn't be able to find him.

As he pondered, he saw Qing Li reply with a sinister sneer, "Who knows! That old ghost made entirely of bones—one day, this lady is going to use it to make soup!"

As she spoke, Qing Li's claws, sharp as blades, stabbed several holes into the bear carcass, her crimson eyes filled with killing intent.

That old ghost had nearly caused her to be sent to the Eighteen Levels of Hell!

Once I reach a higher level of cultivation, I'll make sure to drag that guy down to the Underworld and toss him into the Deep Frying Hell!

Hearing this, Zheng Que took a deep breath, stood up immediately, and walked toward the cave entrance.

This was a cave located halfway up the mountainside. Outside the entrance was a small, flat patch of ground overgrown with weeds and littered with leftover bones.

Below, the hillside rolled and meandered, lush and verdant in the distance, a scene of flourishing vegetation.

Perhaps because of the dense Yin Energy radiating from Qing Li, the surroundings were unusually quiet. Not only did no birds or beasts dare to approach, but even the chirping of insects and the calls of birds had vanished without a trace.

Seeing Zheng Que suddenly walk out of the cave, Qing Li followed him out immediately.

Zheng Que looked around, jumped onto a large rock at his side, and gazed into the distance. Soon, he caught sight of the faint outlines of houses to the west.

That was Changfu Town. It was daytime, yet the small town lay silently in the distance, deathly still and devoid of any vitality.

After observing for a moment, Zheng Que felt slightly surprised. He did not see the Evil Shadow Play above Changfu Town.

Where could that thing have gone?

Thinking of this, Zheng Que immediately said, "Back to the town!"