After leaving Yin Mountain, Xiao Tian and his group wandered around aimlessly, cultivating while having barbecues and meals, living a pretty good life.
"Finally, we've seen a city! There's so much wasteland in this Nether Realm, Lord Xiao Tian, shall we enter the city?"
Tianxuzi is getting a bit visually fatigued by the wilderness.
Moreover, although Xiao Tian's barbecue skills were excellent and the food was delicious, Tianxuzi was a vegetarian and really wanted to eat some Chinese vegetarian dishes, such as scrambled eggs with tomatoes or Azure Dragon Crossing the Sea.
Xiao Tian gazed at the distant city, which was shrouded in a mysterious mist, constantly emitting black smoke into the sky. The city's appearance and structure differed from ancient cities; a large, gaping opening was clearly visible to the naked eye, large enough for ten tanks to drive side by side, and there was no city gate at all when viewed from the front.
"I don't care, what about you guys?" Xiao Tian democratically sought the opinions of his companions.
Big Black Bull: "Whatever you like, bro."
Xuanlong: "As you wish, Master."
Biyou Fairy: "Lord Xiao Tian has made his decision."
Kabuta wanted to say no, but seeing the cold look in Xiao Tian's eyes, he swallowed back what he was about to say.
"It's fine as long as Lord Xiao Tian makes the decision! We'll follow Lord Xiao Tian's arrangements!" Kabuta chose the correct political choice.
The Immortal in Wine wisely let Xiao Tian make the choice.
"Alright, let's enter the city then. It'll be a good opportunity for us to learn more about this mysterious Nether Realm."
The Nine-Tails Ice Fox, Yanyan, said somewhat angrily, "Why weren't you asked for my opinion! That city looks like a giant monster with its mouth open; it's too dangerous. Let's not go in."
"Children should just behave and obey the majority. Didn't your elders and teachers teach you that?"
Yanyan was angry and reluctantly followed after him with her face puffed out.
An hour later, Xiao Tian and the others entered the unguarded Nether Realm city.
There was no one around on the outermost edge of the city wall. Xiao Tian and his group walked for a long time before they saw a few natives of the Nether Realm, or even people who looked no different from humans and were suspected to be outsiders.
Strangely, upon seeing Xiao Tian and his group, these people's expressions changed drastically, and they turned and fled at top speed.
"What's going on?" The Immortal in Wine frowned.
After a long while, Xiao Tian and his group had explored half of the city and found it to be very eerie. Many people were hiding in their homes, and they would secretly watch them as they passed by. Occasionally, passersby would see them and, like the people before them, would be terrified and flee quickly.
"Something's not right! Bro, I'm going to go grab someone and ask them!"
Before long, Xiao Tian and his group encountered living people again. The Big Black Bull acted swiftly and captured a native of the Nether Realm, a middle-aged man with two goat horns, protruding ears, and green eyes.
"Let me go! Please, let me go!"
Seeing the terrified expressions on the faces of these Nether Realm natives, Xiao Tian frowned and asked, "Buddy, don't be afraid. We'll just ask you a few questions, we won't hurt you. Why are you all running away from us? What's going on with this city? Why is it so ghostly? Also, I've noticed that the people in this city don't seem to do business. How do they survive if they don't do business? Don't you eat or drink? Also, I saw that some of the gates and walls were covered with mysterious talismans. What's that about? And also..."
Not to mention the Nether Realm natives being held by the Big Black Bull, even the Big Black Bull, Xuanlong, and others were stunned.
Xiao Tian bombarded everyone with a barrage of questions, asking nearly a hundred in total.
"No, I don't know! Let me go! Please, please let me go!"
The Nether Realm native struggled, but no matter what it did, it could not break free from the terrifying power of the Big Black Bull, and in the end, it wanted to die.
"Hmph! In my hands, do you think I'd let you die?"
The Big Black Bull gave the Nether Realm native a good beating, stopping his self-destructive behavior. Then, with a roar, he instilled correct values in him, which made Xiao Tian secretly give him a thumbs up, Big Black Bull for being smart since childhood.
The Nether Realm natives, having been disciplined, became obedient and were forced to answer some questions.
It is understood that this city, named Sangfire City, was a prosperous commercial center and a major trading hub for various races from the Nether Realm a thousand years ago. However, one day, a strange fire burned down the city gates and engulfed the city. The strange fire burned for a full year, and only those with strong Dao Entry Realm were able to escape.
This place was later called a forbidden land, a cursed land!
Over the next century, criminals, refugees, and outlaws lingered here, making the Sangfire City increasingly eerie.
After nearly a thousand years, the people still living in this city have developed a set of survival strategies.
You must not talk to strangers who have just entered the city, nor get close to them, and you must not be exposed to their scent, otherwise you will most likely be burned to death by a strange fire at night.
When a woman's song is heard in the city, one cannot wander the streets but must stay indoors; otherwise, one will immediately become a walking corpse, with eyes turning red and bulging, running wildly around the city like a mad dog until the song fades away and one dies on the spot.
Anyone who enters Sangfire City for the first time, no matter how strong, must stay in the city for seven days before leaving. Otherwise, if they leave the city within seven days, they will die in a bizarre manner.
When the Blood Moon in the Sky is at its fullest, one must leave this city, otherwise one will lose one's mind and do all sorts of unusual things within the city.
"Legend has it that five hundred years ago, a powerful being at the Dao Entry Realm defied the supernatural. On the day of the Blood Moon's fullness, still in Sangfire City, he brandished his sword, challenging a strange power and cleaving the sky. Those outside the city witnessed this being's power last only a minute before he suddenly discarded his weapon, began stripping off his clothes, and then arranged his limbs into bizarre shapes. His neck even began to bite at his own flesh like a spring. When the Blood Moon passed and people entered the city, they were horrified to find this powerful Dao Entry Realm riddled with holes, his corpse arranged in the shape of the Chinese character for 'death.'"
In short, this Sangfire City is evil!
The person who was forced to answer Xiao Tian and the others chose to commit suicide after being released by Big Black Bull!
Such decisiveness, disregarding his own life, instilled a sense of awe in Big Black Bull, Xuanlong, Tianxuzi, and others.
"Brother, how genuine do you think this ingredient is?"
Xiao Tian frowned, his gaze sweeping around, and he noticed several people spying on them from a house in the distance.
"It might be true. We need to be careful!"
Big Black Bull couldn't help but sigh. He had finally found a city, but there was no food, and he would have to stay in this godforsaken place for at least seven days.
"Let's go, let's find a suitable place to settle down first."
The group began their operation, but less than ten minutes later, a strange female singing voice rang out, ethereal and otherworldly.
"Damn it! Get inside!" Xiao Tian took the lead and flew straight towards the nearest house.
The Big Black Bull and others were also quite fast.
As everyone entered the abandoned house, the fairy's voice grew louder, as if it were right next to their ears.
The house was shaking, as if it were under attack!
Ten minutes later, the ethereal music gradually faded away.
"Goodness, this is really strange!" the Big Black Bull exclaimed in alarm.
A commotion arose on the second floor, accompanied by footsteps, and a group of people arrived on the first floor, appearing before Xiao Tian and the others.
One of them, with a donkey's head and a human body, held a wooden board with the words: "Get out, someone lives here."
Clearly, these people were aware of the taboo and did not want to talk to Xiao Tian and his group who had just entered the city.
Although they didn't know whether Xiao Tian had just entered the city, their long-standing experience in this place told them that as long as they were in this city, they should not speak to any strangers except for those they knew.
"You donkey, bray! Can't you speak properly? Watch your mouth!" Big Black Bull said fiercely.
The donkey's companions, including the donkey itself, all changed color.
The lettering on the wooden sign in the donkey's hand has changed again.
'Get out of here, or we'll kill you!'
Xiao Tian Xiao and said, "Since when has the Nether Realm started using our Country H's dragon script? It's fate that we meet in this unfamiliar place, coming from the same hometown. We'll be leaving, but please show some respect."
Beside the donkey, an old man in black robes raised his hand and snatched the wooden plaque.
"Hurry up and leave! It'll be nighttime soon with countless stars in the sky. Find a house to hide in, and don't make a sound. No matter what knocks you hear or any familiar voices you hear outside, don't open the Gate of Opening. Wait until the last stars have disappeared before you go out."
Xiao Tian raised an eyebrow, thanked him, and led his men out of the house.
Half an hour later, Xiao Tian and his companions found a secluded, abandoned mansion. It had many rooms and little furniture, but Xiao Tian, with abilities similar to Doraemon, managed to find a luxurious Simmons bed, blankets, and a sofa in his Kamui Dimension. To celebrate arriving in this strange city, he had to reveal his little secret and obtained barbecue ingredients from Bibi Dong's farm.
"Brother, where did you get this?" Big Black Bull stared in disbelief.
"Hey, these ingredients were stored up in Mount Tai. I didn't expect we'd still have to eat them."
Big Black Bull's face darkened, and he said with displeasure, "Brother, why didn't you take it out sooner!"
" Brother Niu, do you still want some barbecue?"
The Big Black Bull's expression changed, and he praised Xiao Tian for his great skill and for storing the ingredients so well. He also punched Kabuta in the face, telling the guy to go wash the vegetables.
Half an hour later, the Immortal in Wine came to report that the sky outside was filled with the last stars.
"So what if they show up? Let's eat barbecue first."
In the middle of the night, Kabuta noticed people moving around on the top floor and quickly reported it.
"It seems the people from my hometown are still quite wicked; they just want to take advantage of us."
"There are people around, but nothing's wrong. We're fine inside too. If it were nighttime now, but it was daytime before, nothing would have happened day or night. Although we've been tricked, it might not be a bad thing," Tianxuzi analyzed.
"Old Daoist, you're right. Let's wait for the remaining star to pass before checking the surrounding area."
Two hours later, the phenomenon of lingering stars in the sky disappeared.
Xiao Tian and the others observed the surrounding area of the street.
"Lord Xiao Tian, the sky doesn't seem to be the same sky we just arrived in. Something's wrong."
A group of people looked up. The sky had just disappeared and returned to normal, but less than five minutes later, it was stained red, and countless blood vessels seemed to be flowing within it.
The area became incredibly quiet. Suddenly, a shadow appeared on the street in the area monitored by the Big Black Bull.
The figure moved swiftly, appearing on a pavilion far in the distance, seemingly watching the door.
"Hey buddy, look over there!"
Xuanlong glanced at it with his dragon eyes, his expression changed drastically, and he whispered, "This shadow is filled with evil and negative emotions, resentment, hatred, and revenge, making me feel extremely dangerous."
"Look, that shadow is knocking on another door again!"
"Hiss!" Apart from Xiao Tian, everyone, both human and demon, gasped in shock.
The family that received the knock opened the door, and a shadow, shrouded in countless blood vessels, dragged the person who Gate of Opening the door out and feasted on them right in front of them, a scene of extreme gore.
"This is really weird! I'm completely confused now. In this dilapidated city, when is it night and when is it day? What time of day was it when we first entered the city?"