The Dark Banner hovered quietly above his palm, a spectral gleam flickering across its surface.
At a slight impulse of Chu Mo's will, countless shadows surged from the banner, fluttering down and assuming human forms as soon as they touched the ground. Tall and short, fat and thin, men and women, old and young-all were represented.
At the same time, Desire Consort and Paper Daoist slowly manifested from the banner.
"My lord." The two ghosts bowed in unison.
Chu Mo nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the densely gathered Banner Spirits:
"Search every inch within a hundred li of this place. Report any anomalies immediately."
With that, he waved his hand, and hundreds of Banner Spirits scattered as though receiving an imperial decree. They drifted to and fro through the dark night, eerily weaving past one another. Desire Consort stepped gracefully forward, a trace of confusion in her gentle voice. "My lord, what are you doing?"
Chu Mo looked at Desire Consort and Paper Daoist, then pointed beside him. "You have lived in the Eternal Night Sea for many years. Have you ever heard the rumors of Netherworld Soil?" Desire Consort followed his finger and only then noticed the stone tablet. She murmured in surprise, "Netherworld Soil?"
Her delicate brows knitted, her expression briefly dazed. Then she recovered and hurriedly answered:
"Tales of Netherworld Soil are widespread, but most consider them the fanciful imaginings of ordinary mortals.
"I once read an ancient text that recorded, 'In the northern Gui stands a tablet, its incised inscription marking the soil; let the living draw no nearer, and departed souls shall return of their own accord.' But until today, I had never actually seen it."
If Netherworld Soil truly existed, Ghost Creatures would not have been roaming everywhere in the Eternal Night Sea.