Awakening (Thanks to Immortal Friend "Dues Cheese" for the Alliance Leader Reward! (Third Update!)

Inside the Wide Hall, his shout boomed like rolling thunder. Beyond the broken entrance, the sinister wind seemed to rise a pitch, its howls turning especially shrill and piercing, as if they were physically scraping at something.

As Zheng Que's words fell, the Seven-Fingered Bone Hand remained in its kneeling posture and quietly faded into the mist. The dense fog that had suddenly appeared before the hall vanished with it, as if it had never been there.

Looking at the now-empty hall, Zheng Que let out a long breath. His stiff posture relaxed, and his fingertips unconsciously rubbed against the [Life and Death Book] before him.

This dilapidated Wide Hall was incredibly useful for scaring ghosts!

That "Wicked Sin" had clearly been terrifyingly powerful, yet inside this hall, it had been just like Qing Li—too scared to speak without kneeling...

What a pity that this Underworld now had only this one crumbling, incomplete hall left. If the Eighteen Levels of Hell were still here, he'd have had even more confidence when he'd scolded that thing!

At the thought, Zheng Que's expression turned grave. The main reason the town had been attacked by the [Evil Shadow Play] was that it had sensed some so-called "opportunity."

Changfu Town was small and had never been anything special. There weren't many things in the whole town that could be called an opportunity.

The Great Medicine at the town chief's house probably counted as one.

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

As for the rest...

Aside from his own [Life and Death Book], he couldn't think of anything else in the whole town that would attract the attention of a powerful ghost.

The [Evil Shadow Play] had probably been drawn here by his [Life and Death Book]!

However, judging by what the [Evil Shadow Play] had described, it had only sensed that there was an opportunity somewhere in town; it didn't know what that opportunity actually was.

When it sent "Shadow Puppets" to search for the opportunity, they'd crossed paths with him several times. Cui Ni'er had even interacted with him, yet none of them had noticed anything amiss about him.

That meant the [Evil Shadow Play] couldn't sense his [Life and Death Book] or the Underworld at all!

The [Life and Death Book] had likely drawn it to the town through the "karma" his master had once mentioned...

At the thought, Zheng Que took a deep breath. Before this calamity struck, he'd expected to face no more than a few ghosts at the sixth or seventh level of [Tongue-Pulling Hell]. He'd never imagined he'd run into a "Wicked Sin" that surpassed [Tongue-Pulling Hell]!

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

The [Evil Shadow Play] had been waiting outside town ever since his master left. If he'd fled the town early, he would've delivered himself right to its doorstep.

But if he'd stayed in town, he would've had to avoid every "Shadow Puppet." The moment a "Shadow Control Thread" connected to him, he'd have been doomed.

And even if he'd managed to avoid all the "Shadow Puppets" and started running when the [Evil Shadow Play] descended on the town, he would still have had to face its attack as it destroyed the entire town...

As Zheng Que pondered this, the black aura between his brows quickly faded. At last, its final wisp sank into the [Life and Death Book], and the space between his brows settled.

Yet he didn't return to reality right away. Instead, just as before...

The [Life and Death Book] began turning its pages on its own again. They quickly flipped back to the first page, and great gouts of viscous, ink-black yin energy surged out. It rose into the air, roiling and twisting, then rapidly collapsed toward the center. In the blink of an eye, it became a symbol that looked like both an insect and a fish.

It hovered in midair, like countless insects and fish tangled together, or vines entwined and hanging down through a dense forest. It radiated an ancient, weathered aura.

Another Imperial Edict!

Staring at the newly formed Imperial Edict, Zheng Que froze for a moment, then realized what had happened. The [Life and Death Book] had recorded so many names tonight that it could form more than one Imperial Edict!

The next moment, the Imperial Edict became a streak of dim light and sank into Zheng Que's brow.

Zheng Que's vision went black, and he fainted again.

Crack... crack... crack...

The intermittent sound of flesh and bone being chewed apart reached his ears. Zheng Que came to at once and snapped his eyes open.

He saw moss-speckled rock. The air was thick with blood and the rank, musky stench peculiar to carnivores. He was in an unfamiliar cave.

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

The cave wasn't very large, about the size of two rooms. Water seeped from a crevice in the rock nearby, and the moss around it bore marks where some animal had licked it repeatedly.

A black bear hung by the entrance, its belly ripped open, blood streaming down.

Qing Li stood in the open space beside the bear's carcass, greedily devouring its entrails.

Staring at the scene, Zheng Que froze. He immediately asked, "Where are we?"

At the sound of his voice, Qing Li turned around. Fresh blood and scraps of meat clung to the corners of her mouth as she replied, "On a barren mountain east of Changfu Town."

"Your human brat's spell ran out of time."

"Your granny could only bring you here."

Zheng Que nodded slightly. After the [Spirit Descent Technique] ended, Qing Li would immediately enter a period of weakness.

All things considered, the situation wasn't bad. Neither he nor Qing Li had been injured.

At the thought, he asked again, "The [Evil Shadow Play]... Where is that ghost hand from last night now?"

Last night, he'd dragged the [Evil Shadow Play] into the Underworld and given it a thorough scolding. It had already agreed to be his mount.

So he wasn't afraid of running into the [Evil Shadow Play] now. He was only worried that Qing Li had taken him too far away and it wouldn't be able to find him.

As he pondered this, Qing Li replied in a gloomy voice, "I don't know! One day, your granny's going to boil that old ghost with nothing but bones into soup!"

As she spoke, her clawed hand flashed like a blade, stabbing several holes into the black bear's carcass. Her crimson eyes burned with murderous intent.

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

Once your granny gets stronger, she'll drag that thing straight to the Underworld and toss it into Deep Frying Hell!

Hearing this, Zheng Que took a deep breath, stood up, and headed for the cave entrance.

The cave was halfway up a mountain. A small, flat patch of ground outside the entrance was overgrown with weeds, and a few picked-clean bones lay scattered there.

The slopes below rolled away in undulating ridges, with lush greenery stretching into the distance—a thriving sea of plants and trees.

Perhaps because of the dense yin energy around Qing Li, the area was eerily quiet. Not only did no birds or beasts come near, but even the sounds of insects and birds had vanished without a trace.

When Zheng Que suddenly walked out of the cave, Qing Li followed at once.

Zheng Que looked around, then jumped onto a boulder at his side and gazed into the distance. Before long, he spotted the faint outlines of houses to the west.

That was Changfu Town. It was daytime, but the town lay motionless in the distance, lifeless and still, without a trace of vitality.

After observing it for a while, Zheng Que felt puzzled. He couldn't see the [Evil Shadow Play] anywhere above Changfu Town.

Where had it gone?

At the thought, Zheng Que immediately said, "Back to town!"