Evil Deeds Bring Evil Retribution

"Li Hai? It's you! How is that possible?"

Guo Huaijin staggered back three steps in shock. "You should be dead! How could you..."

"Enough nonsense!"

Li Hai shouted coldly, "Old Dog, die!"

With that, he immediately activated Blood Devouring Burning Heart. His entire body flushed crimson and swelled in size as he charged toward Guo Huaijin in the courtyard like a murderous tiger.

But just as he crossed dozens of yards in two or three strides, his palm curled into a claw and tore through the air with a howl, about to smash into Guo Huaijin's head, the other man suddenly vanished underground with a swish an instant before the attack landed.

Li Hai's full-force strike... missed.

"Fuck!"

With an angry curse, Li Hai stomped the ground apart and forcibly halted his charge, then turned to look back.

There, at the spot where Guo Huaijin had vanished, was a dark, deep hole two feet wide.

Clearly, Old Dog Guo had escaped danger through this inexplicably appearing tunnel.

"This donkey-fucking dog bastard sure knows how to play~"

Li Hai sneered as he walked toward the hole. "He actually dug a tunnel beneath his own courtyard. Guess he's done too many guilty things."

He bent down and strained to peer into the pitch-black depths, but after staring for a long while, he could not see even a glimmer of light. It was completely dark.

"That old schemer must have set up traps inside, and quite a lot of them."

Li Hai clicked his tongue as he thought, "Tsk. If I just rush in carelessly, I'll definitely fall for his tricks."

Logically, this was the perfect time to use the Invisible Evil Spirit. As long as he sent it into the tunnel, Li Hai would immediately learn every ghostly trick hidden inside.

Unfortunately, after leaving the Evil Spirit Land, the power of Li Hai's Ghost Path arts had begun to plummet.

Back when he had been at the Three-Fork Junction near the edge of the Evil Spirit Land, this abnormality had not been so obvious.

But once the distance increased, Li Hai felt the power of all his Ghost Path arts undergo a terrifying, cliff-like decline.

It was as though this world would not permit ghosts to appear among the living outside the Evil Spirit Land.

Li Hai guessed that the yin energy beyond the Evil Spirit Land was too sparse, or that the daytime yang energy was simply too strong.

In short, the power of all his ghost arts had fallen to less than ten percent of their former strength—barely one-tenth remained.

As a result, the Invisible Evil Spirit within Li Hai's soul naturally could not stray too far from him for too long.

Even if it possessed some unlucky person nearby, it could not fully control that person's body and soul.

But that did not mean Li Hai had no way to deal with this tunnel.

His eyes rolled, and he turned toward the blood tree stump. Looking over Asu, who was bound tightly to the stump and unable to move, he chuckled.

"You're the one. Charge forth, Asu~"

With that, he forcibly tore off the Demon Subduing Rope binding Asu.

"Ahhhhhhh!!"

The instant the rope hit the ground, Asu threw back her head and shrieked as she transformed into a cloud of murky black wind. After exchanging a glance with Li Hai, she spun and rushed into the dark tunnel.

As for Li Hai, he leisurely sat down in the grand chair and began waiting.

Though Asu, like him, had suffered a severe decline in her Ghost Path arts—an even sharper decline than ordinary Dead Soul-level ghosts—she should have no great problem testing the traps and scouting the tunnel.

Asu naturally understood Li Hai's scheme, which was why she had given him such a deep look before entering the tunnel.

But this was an open scheme. Asu had no room to refuse.

Sure enough, not long afterward, a series of dull, low explosions came from the tunnel, as though a pile of bombs had been detonated.

The moment he heard those muffled blasts, Li Hai's figure flashed. He rushed to the tunnel entrance and jumped in without hesitation.

The instant he entered, he realized he was sliding down a narrow, smooth passage with a slight incline, rapidly descending all the way.

Before long, the passage came to an end, and Li Hai arrived in a spacious underground chamber at an unknown depth beneath the surface.

Though the chamber was dark and unlit, it could not conceal anything from Li Hai's sharp eyes.

With a sweeping glance, he saw that aside from the mess of traps, the chamber had four exits—east, south, west, and north.

"Damn, Old Dog Guo, are you cosplaying Ghost Blows Out the Light?"

Li Hai bared his teeth coldly. "You actually built a maze underground."

Though he said that, he had expected it all along.

Guo Huaijin was nothing but a thoroughly despicable little man.

And every little man cared deeply about his own life.

So if conditions allowed, how could Guo Huaijin possibly not perfect his escape route?

Fortunately, Asu was still here. She could guide Li Hai in the right direction.

He was so certain because he had learned from the Evil Spirit Earth Yin Absorption Method that—

When a ghost hunted the enemy responsible for its death in life, it basically would not lose its way.

As long as the two were close enough—say, in the same town—this near-Causality-level lock would immediately take effect, and the ghost would begin its frenzied pursuit.

No matter where the hunted target hid, as long as they were not dozens or hundreds of miles away from the ghost, they would be unable to escape alive.

Especially if the target was alive, the ghost's sense of direction was so precise... it was like a cow standing upside down—fucking incredible.

What people called the cycle of Causality and inescapable retribution, where those who harm others will surely pay for it, meant exactly this.

Li Hai closed his eyes slightly. Relying on the faint, unseen connection between ghosts, he immediately learned Asu's approximate location.

Namely, the eastern exit of this underground chamber.

Whoosh~

Without hesitation, Li Hai immediately rushed toward the eastern exit.

"Four underground chambers in a row. Each one has four winding passages leading in different directions, and every chamber and passage is packed with arrow, spear, and gunpowder traps. Tsk tsk tsk, Guo Huaijin..."

Walking slowly through a long passage beside an underground river, Li Hai shook his head and sighed. "You really know how to make trouble. I'm getting tired just chasing you."

Fortunately, he finally sensed that Asu's position had stopped changing.

After being battered by all manner of traps in the many chambers and passages, her murky yin aura had weakened to a level far below even Guo Lao San's—far, far below it. She was nearly on the verge of having her soul scattered.

But fortunately, Asu had ultimately caught up to Guo Huaijin, who had been fleeing for his life, and used the last trace of her evil power... to possess him.

Thus, Guo Huaijin was now collapsed beside a ruined rock wall thirty yards away from Li Hai. His facial features and limbs were all twisted, and he crawled weakly like a maggot.