The Classic of Mountains and Seas said: west of Guankou lived the Zhangqiao clan, unmatched in seduction!

The world was changing ever faster.

The world was vast, and humanity numerous; all manner of strange events were bound to occur.

While Yun Qing and Master Xuanhui were falling into the Netherworld,

the members of the Third Kind Contact Administration's Southwest Office had already entered a weird realm.

It was a sprawling complex of magnificent palaces, with carved beams, painted rafters, and glittering gold, surrounded by lush flowers and countless fruit trees. Beautiful men and women with exquisite figures walked among them.

"Uh, that guy in uniform works for the highway administration, right? Big Yellow, you're growling. Is something wrong?"

"Good lord, this is downright obscene. Judging by his clothes, that guy must be one of the missing people!"

"Hehe, I told you, didn't I? What if it turned out to be a stroke of good fortune? Look at them. Men or women, they all seem very satisfied!"

"Qian Yao, I keep getting the feeling you're implying something."

Before their eyes,

some of the people who had gone missing lay in the palaces or on the lawns beside flourishing greenery.

They held all sorts of women in their arms, doing things that made one blush.

Pale flesh intertwined in wanton abandon.

Whenever a beautiful woman or handsome man passed, a casual wave was all it took to have someone join them.

Fine wines and exquisite dishes were also delivered straight to their mouths.

The men were surrounded by stunning beauties, living lives of imperial debauchery.

The women were no different, surrounded by handsome men with perfectly proportioned bodies, enjoying themselves too much to think of leaving.

Everyone was lost in lust, blissfully happy.

Occasionally, someone noticed the newcomers.

They either pretended not to see them, turned back to their wanton pleasures, or waved for everyone to join in.

"Hehe, look. Everyone outside is worried sick, but they're perfectly happy here."

Major Zhang watched the scene before him.

He shook his head.

"Whatever the case, we have to take these people out. This isn't a normal world, after all. Who knows whether staying too long will affect them? Wine and lust wear away a person's bones, after all. This sort of... this sort of... group debauchery is far too... far too..."

Even Major Zhang felt embarrassed as he spoke.

Old Che and the woman, Qiu Lanlan, instinctively turned their faces away as well.

It was simply too much of an assault on their values and their eyes.

Those men and women with perfect faces and figures displayed their flawless naked bodies in all manner of seductive poses, making the onlookers breathe harder and blush.

It was truly a paradise of carnal pleasure.

Even Old Che's wooden face turned bright red. What man could resist such temptation? Every woman here was breathtaking. Their skin, their faces, their figures-beside them, the drab old wife back home seemed even less worth mentioning.

And they all sensed it.

Although nobody deliberately called out to them, they felt that a single wave would surround them with beauties, theirs for the taking!

"Um... um... hurry and ask whether they're willing to leave. If they aren't, I think we should get out first. Anyway... anyway, I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself if we stay too long!"

"Hehe, you three are old enough to have seen everything, yet you're acting like complete virgins. Your self-control is terrible!"

Only then did they notice.

Qian Yao was still slowly chewing her gum.

She watched the scene before her with utter indifference.

Were young women these days all this bold? Not a trace of embarrassment or temptation-had she already seen through the allure of the flesh at such a young age?

Qian Yao smiled, as though she knew what they were thinking.

"I'd love to find a beautiful young man who's six feet tall, looks slim in clothes but muscular without them, and knows how to make me laugh. Unfortunately, unfortunately... right now... I don't feel tempted at all. I feel sick instead!"

"Enough. If we don't act, these people will all be sucked dry."

"Hmph!"

"Old Huang, attack! Lion's roar!"

Silence!

Utter silence!

Qian Yao looked a little embarrassed.

At that moment, Old Huang was watching those humans doing strange things with both wariness and curiosity. To her, none of them was even as attractive to a dog as a Pomeranian.

Old Huang completely ignored Qian Yao's words.

The other three caught on as well. If Qian Yao felt no temptation, her Yin-Yang Eyes must have seen through the illusion and discovered something, leaving her heart unruffled.

Besides, none of the people here made a sound.

Realization stirred within them, and they forcibly suppressed the lustful fluttering in their hearts.

Old Che patted Old Huang.

He called out sharply:

"Big Yellow!"

"Roar!" No, it was "Woof, woof, woof..."

A ripple spread.

It was as though a corner of a curtain had been lifted from the magnificent palace complex.

There were no carved beams or painted rafters, no flowers or lush greenery, no fine wines, exquisite dishes, handsome men, or beautiful women.

Inside a desolate cavern stood creatures with rounded, slimy upper bodies resembling earthworms. Their mouths, ringed with layers of fleshy lips, spat out bubbles that touched the lifted "curtain" and began repairing and extending it inch by inch.

Their lower bodies resembled octopuses, with tentacles propping them upright.

Their upper bodies and the suckers on their tentacles clung to the missing men and women, seemingly absorbing something from them.

The missing people had become terribly emaciated, their faces pale and bloodless, as though they might die at any moment from having their vital essence drained.

When Old Huang's roar revealed the truth, those people first froze, then looked incredulous.

After that... nothing. Every one of them looked utterly drained, too weak even to struggle, their voices barely more than dying breaths. Nobody could tell what they were moaning or crying out in terror about!

Colonel Zhang had already unbuttoned his coat, revealing a "pig-butchering knife" about thirty centimeters long hanging beneath his arm!

Drawing the knife, he said:

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas said: west of Guankou, mountains stretch across the land, riddled with countless caves and tunnels. Within them lives the Zhangqiao clan, with upper bodies like earthworms and seductive tentacles below, skilled in illusions..."

"Heh, apparently they're not just skilled in illusions. They're good at sucking out people's vital essence too!"

"Oh, Old Zhang, that's a nice pig-butchering knife. There's a fierce aura hidden in it, though it's a little weaker than the heirloom Executioner's Ghost-Head Blade I saw someone carrying last time!"

"And you sound like you know a lot. Do you know martial arts too? No wonder you became a major. I, Qian Yao, hereby accept you into my team. Got any internal energy?"

Old Zhang was in no mood to joke with Qian Yao.

"This is the Ox-Dismembering Knife. It can butcher cattle to fill bellies, and slay fiends to save lives."

"Fortunately, this is only a tiny offshoot of the Nether Realm within the Netherworld. Still, judging by this, that vast Netherworld is drawing closer and closer, faster than ever!"

The strange Zhangqiao creatures also realized that their true forms had been exposed.

They stopped pretending. At last, eerie squealing sounds came from their mouths as they swarmed forward. A few of the taller creatures even wielded crude, dark iron implements that continuously radiated a chill.

"Kill!"

A beacon-like surge of vital energy seemed to flare around Major Zhang, while a savage aura spread over the Ox-Dismembering Knife.

"Roar!"

More of the illusory curtain was torn apart.

Big Yellow no longer barked. Instead, she swelled to twice her size, looking much like a male lion, and pounced. Old Che also grew somewhat stronger and followed her.

"Yi-ya-ya-ya-ya! Sun shines outside, but here it's dark! If the east won't shine, the west will spark! Boundless is the Azure Dragon King of Sorrow Method! As a Wandering Spirit, I borrow power, guarding the eastern Azure Dragon Gate... yi-ya, yi-ya... dong-dong-dong-dong!"

"Turn to the left and draw in near, no sky in this murky place here! Old immortals, old gods, their joy knows no bounds, no bounds... dong-dong-dong-dong-dong..."

Qiu Lanlan seemed perfectly at home in this environment.

The black aura around her grew denser.

Her entire body turned a dark blue-black, and the fear she had shown outside vanished.

She became ferocious, charging straight through everything like an iron-armored corpse.

Qian Yao finally dropped her flippant attitude. Her eyes seemed to become kaleidoscopes, with endless dark abysses swirling within.

"Freeze, freeze, freeze..."

"Spin, spin, spin..."

Some of the charging creatures froze in place, while others became utterly disoriented!

Gu Zhe had no idea that while he was doing his "ordinary" paper-cutting, upheavals were already brewing in hidden corners of the outside world.

Suddenly,

Liu Zhaodi popped out of who knew where again.

"Brother Gu, um, um, I have a friend who wants to know whether you have a girlfriend."

"Ahem, and my friend also wanted to ask what kind of girl you like."

Gu Zhe glanced at her flushed face.

He stroked his chin.

"Girlfriends? I've had quite a few. Back in the day, I was one of the school heartthrobs. Lots of girls confessed to me and swore they'd marry nobody else. Let me think, one, two, three... fifteen..."

"Brother Gu, I... uh, my friend meant right now."

"Right now? This handsome fellow just dumped a manipulative little faker. I don't want to give up the whole forest for one little sapling. There are plenty of peerless beauties out there. Once His Majesty has rested enough, he'll choose his consorts!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Bragging again. There he goes again!"

"If I, Old Zhang, didn't browse that Dating App every day, I'd almost believe you. A whole forest out there, he says! Rich sugar daddies are all the rage now. What makes a paper folder like you think you qualify? Little Zhaodi, don't believe him. Let me tell you, a man's got to have a career."

Liu Zhaodi ignored him.

She looked at Gu Zhe.

"I believe Brother Gu has that kind of charm. Um, um, Brother Gu, let me tell you, once you're tired of playing around, you should find an honest girl to marry!"

"Oh, right. What kind of girl do you like?"

Gu Zhe glanced at Liu Zhaodi.

Without the slightest hesitation,

"Fair skin and a pretty face... ahem, most importantly, she shouldn't be able to see her toes when she stands up..."

Liu Zhaodi instinctively lowered her head and looked. Never mind her toes-she could see her whole feet perfectly clearly.

She was just starting to feel puzzled.

"Pfft! Brother, you're a man who knows what he likes. Zhaodi, ignore him. He's being shallow. Just eat more papaya from now on... Besides, you're not small either. He's asking for too much..."

Liu Zhaodi was bewildered at first.

Then she understood. She looked at her toes again, blushed, and ran off with a patter of footsteps!

The sleazy Boss Zhang from next door stuck out his belly and tugged at his belt.

He raised a thumb.

"Brother, you're something else. Little Zhaodi is so cute, and you still... hehe, you haven't really had lots of women, have you? Uh, the kind who can't see their toes..."

"I just don't understand you young people. A well-fed man doesn't know how a starving man suffers!"

Gu Zhe calmly shook his head.

"When you're as handsome as I am and reach my age, you'll understand!"

He exuded an indescribable air of nonchalance and... pretentiousness!

It left Old Zhang from next door grinding his teeth in envy, jealousy, and resentment!

"Hmph!"