From the Depths of the Nine Nether

Small Forest Town. Zhao Rucheng and Du Yehu had lost their combat capability, and Ling He was carrying Zhao Rucheng on his back, so on the way back to the Central Palace Position, only Jiang Wang could fight. Fortunately, by now he had gained considerable experience dealing with those wandering souls, and the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword grew ever more refined through this unbroken combat.

There was no need to worry about stamina either. Since returning from Tangshe Town, he had been cultivating his Pulse-Opening, amassing over seventy Dao Essences. Although each one spent before a Dao Vortex was formed was one less to use, at critical moments every Dao Essence gave him enough feedback to sustain this intensity of battle without much strain. In truth, these Dao Essences were his real trump card for deciding to break the Xun Palace with four people; he just hadn't expected Zhao Rucheng to suddenly encounter danger, or Du Yehu to be so decisive.

"Hey, don't all of you keep making such long faces," Zhao Rucheng couldn't help speaking up again after walking for a while. "It's just excessive qi and blood depletion, not like there's no way to fix it."

"What way?" Before Du Yehu could say anything, Ling He got excited first, shaking Zhao Rucheng by the hand that was supporting him. "Spit it out!"

Jiang Wang, while clearing away wandering souls, couldn't help glancing at him, really wanting to give him a couple of sword strikes. This kid, if he had a way, why didn't he say so earlier? He'd been holding out all along.

"Hey hey hey, you're shaking my handsome head dizzy." Zhao Rucheng barely managed to calm down his 'temporary mount' and continued, "I happen to know that someone recently bought a Foundation-Solidifying Pill at a high price from the Cloud Kingdom and was about to resell it. This pill has miraculous effects in nourishing qi and blood and stabilizing the foundation. Some noble scions even take a Foundation-Solidifying Pill specially before opening their meridians, so that the true essence of their Dao Veins becomes even more lively after opening! Let alone Du Tiger's mere excessive blood loss."

"The only question is..." He even curled his lips, "whether certain people are willing to buy it."

Du Yehu paused for a moment before rumbling, "I don't have money."

"You can borrow from me. Industry standard, nine in ten, thirteen in twelve." Zhao Rucheng said with a grin.

"Usury is fine. Tiger likes usury." Du Yehu smiled with a seemingly honest look.

"Alright, alright." Jiang Wang's forehead was lined with black streaks. In all of Maple Forest City, who didn't know that Du Yehu was notorious for borrowing and never repaying when it came to usury? As Du Tiger put it, none of those usurers were good people anyway, so squeezing out a bit of wine money was a win. If he weren't from the Daoist Academy, he'd have been thrown into the moat long ago.

"Xiao Wu, who is that person? How much silver would it take to sell?"

Jiang Wang had already secretly decided that no matter how much that person asked, he would find a way to scrape together the money.

"This person who bought the Foundation-Solidifying Pill actually has the surname Zhao. What a coincidence, don't you think?" Zhao Rucheng sighed with feigned drama. "Even more coincidentally, he happens to be someone from my household. Too coincidental!"

Jiang Wang took a deep breath and warned himself that Old Fifth was severely injured and could easily be beaten to death. Only then did he control the urge to hit someone.

This kid had been circling around for ages, and all he meant was that his family had a Foundation-Solidifying Pill that could make up for Du Yehu's loss. One sentence, and he'd kept several elder brothers waiting for half an incense stick's time.

Even the magnanimous Ling He felt his teeth ache.

But with this assurance, everyone felt much more at ease. Just as they were talking, they had already returned to the Central Palace Position.

Li Jianqiu and Zhao Lang were already waiting there, discussing something with Wang Changxiang. There were also some other fellow disciples present, all in poor condition. Wei Yan had gone to support the Dui Palace position, the only array point that had not yet been breached.

"Junior Brother Jiang performed well," Li Jianqiu greeted casually.

Wang Changxiang also nodded at him.

"I'm ashamed, it all relied on Brother Yehu and Zhao Rucheng's burst," Jiang Wang said with a bitter smile.

In front of the main forces, he decisively deferred the credit. The most important thing at this stage was for them to successfully open their meridians. He didn't mention Ling He because Du Yehu and Zhao Rucheng's conditions were more convincing.

Ling He didn't mind at all.

Li Jianqiu and the others were all battle-hardened; one look told them what state Du Yehu was in, and they were secretly shocked by the strength of his qi and blood.

"Once Wei Yan returns, we'll go straight into the Central Palace," Wang Changxiang said. "Everyone fought bravely against the evil this time, with commendable performance. Maple Forest City will not forget your contributions, and the Daoist Academy will not forget your merits."

"Exactly!" As he spoke, Wei Yan emerged from the thick fog, followed by three Daoist Academy disciples. Two other disciples had not appeared, apparently having met with misfortune.

The brutal battle was not limited to the Xun Palace position. Apart from Wei Yan and Li Jianqiu, who had resolved their position's vengeful spirits almost without loss, the other squads had suffered casualties. Eleven had died, a death rate of nearly half! The survivors were almost all wounded. Even Zhao Lang had nearly been disemboweled, with a gruesome wound on his abdomen.

If not for Wang Changxiang's timely coordination from before the Central Palace, this squad operation might not have succeeded.

Wei Yan said solemnly, "If we can return from this battle, I will be the first to petition for merits for everyone."

"I did not anticipate the danger of this battle. But now Maple Forest City's combat strength is depleted, and only you all are fit to fight." With these words, he actually bent down and bowed. "On behalf of the wronged souls of Small Forest Town, on behalf of the common folk of our Maple Forest City, I thank you all for your bloody struggle!"

"Brother Wei speaks too heavily," Li Jianqiu said.

Everyone turned aside, unwilling to accept this bow.

"General Wei, what are you saying? You're a man of Maple Forest City—are we not born and raised here?" Du Yehu said discontentedly. "Stop with the empty formalities. There's no time to waste!"

In such a weakened state, this fellow still did not hide his boldness.

Wei Yan gave him a deep look, then turned with his blade. "This junior brother is right. Everyone, charge with me! Let's see what kind of fiendish scoundrel has been poisoning our fellow villagers here!"

With the eight palaces broken, the fog wall at the Central Palace position lost its foundation and silently dissolved, no longer blocking the way. But the thick fog had not yet dispersed, always obscuring the view.

Wei Yan took the lead, with Li Jianqiu and Wang Changxiang guarding his flanks. Zhao Lang, though wounded, was largely intact in combat capability and took the rear. The group advanced into the Central Palace position with full vigilance.

By now, the danger of Small Forest Town needed no further elaboration. Having experienced the perils of slaying vengeful spirits in the other eight palaces, everyone had some imagination of the horrors at the Central Palace.

If the fiends who had been wreaking havoc in Small Forest Town had any goal, it must be at this center.

This group could be said to represent the hope of Maple Forest City's younger generation. If they all died here, the entire Maple Forest City Daoist Academy would be left without successors for a generation.

But not a single person spoke of retreat. The road ahead was indeed dangerous and terrifying, but this was their homeland!

They were born here, grew up here, studied here, and were willing to die here.

Besides Zhao Rucheng and Du Yehu, three other Daoist Academy disciples had also lost combat capability. Small Forest Town was so treacherous that they couldn't possibly leave them behind. So Ling He still carried Zhao Rucheng forward in the formation, and Huang Azhan, as Du Yehu's old drinking buddy, guarded him on the side.

Unlike the nearly exhausted Du Yehu, Huang Azhan was full of vigor. In the previous battle, he was one of the few who came through unscathed, showing that he did have some skill, not just swagger.

As the group advanced, Huang Azhan suddenly stopped. He sniffed hard. "I smell a fragrance."

The group paused.

He added, "It's a woman's rouge... no, it's body scent."

Everyone turned to look at him.

He supplemented, "It's a beauty."

Du Yehu said irritably, "Are you a bloodhound or what?"

"Ah! A beautiful female ghost!" Zhao Rucheng suddenly got excited. "I told you they existed, didn't I? Du Tiger, you owe me a romantic encounter!"

No one paid any attention to these two clowns, because they had already reached the very center of Small Forest Town and spotted the enormous, churning vortex.

Other than that, the entire Central Palace Position held nothing else.

The red-clad woman, the white-haired old man, and the black-robed cultivator—it was as if they had never existed.

It wasn't just that they were gone. There were no people, no livestock, not even a single brick or tile. Aside from the endless, thick fog, there was only this bizarre, solitary great vortex.

"Where did the government office go? What the hell is this vortex?"

No one could answer that question. Only Wang Changxiang's eyes were wide open, filled with shock and disbelief!

"Brother Wang, do you recognize it?" Wei Yan asked in a low voice, gripping his blade in readiness.

But his question was soon answered.

Because from the profound darkness at the center of the vortex, a pitch-black object slowly emerged.

Seeing blackness within darkness—this was a rather awkward description. Yet that was exactly what happened.

That pitch-black object, though within the darkness, seemed to be the very heart of it, allowing everyone to clearly make out its form. As it rose bit by bit from the vortex, its full appearance gradually unfolded before each person's eyes.

It was a stone archway, not grand in scale—merely a structure of three bays, four pillars, and seven roofs. If one ignored its jet-black texture and the scene of its emergence, it would be no different from the ordinary archways people saw every day.

But the plaque at the very center of the archway already spoke of its extraordinary nature.

On it were written three characters. No one present recognized the script, yet the moment they laid eyes on it, every single person understood its meaning.

—Ghost! Gate! Pass!