Iron Gate Pass

The Ghost Subway creaked and stopped in front of the "Iron Gate Pass," and Hu Mang and Chen Xiaosan swaggered out.

The Profound Yin Devil Fire returned to its place with a series of "chirping" sounds, not forgetting to utter a few words as it returned.

"It's not tasty! Ghosts don't taste good at all. Next time I want to eat a live person!"

"Master, let's not come to the Underworld next time. The ghosts here are all sweet and salty. What do they taste like?"

"Don't you even know anything about Western food? You bunch of bumpkins."

"Master, next time let's go eat people from the righteous path; the Daoist priests there taste pretty good."

"Idiot, there are no Daoist priests these days, they're all programmers! Don't you understand what a programmer is?!"

As the last wisp of demonic fire entered the Hu Mang's body, Chen Xiaosan finally dared to approach, wiped away his cold sweat, and said.

"Second brother, what kind of Divine Ability is this? It's so damn weird! This flame can actually talk! This is truly unbelievable!"

Hu Mang silently sized him up. "You saw a ghost? What did I see then?"

"The Profound Yin Devil Fire is formed by using the seeds of impure thoughts in a person's mind as a catalyst, absorbing the heart fire of the Sha Palace, and mixing it with Profound Yin Devil Qi. It is most adept at seducing people's heart fire and devouring their essence. Those unlucky ghosts were not those I intentionally wanted to devour; rather, they had too many thoughts, which were then spied upon by the Profound Yin Devil Fire, which then entered their ghostly orifices and directly ignited their ghostly thoughts. I am not a ghost cultivator; what use is absorbing Yin Qi to me? Devouring living people is the only way to strengthen myself, okay?"

"Second brother, there's no need to explain. The more you explain, the more dangerous you seem to me!"

Hu Mang shook his head, grabbed the black iron spear with his hand, and pulled it out. Inside the Heavenly Gate, this was the strongest weapon he could openly use.

Chen Xiaosan was already stunned by Hu Mang's Profound Yin Devil Fire and didn't even notice when the other party pulled out his big spear.

"And the danger isn't mine, it's what's in front of me."

As the Hu Mang opened its Heavenly Eye, it could be clearly seen that the entire outline of the pass was shrouded in a layer of dark red blood light. Every brick and stone of the city wall seemed to have been soaked in blood countless times, exuding a strong resentment and death aura. Above the city gate, an invisible giant blade hung, with the wails of countless dead souls flowing on its blade, facing everyone who tried to pass through the pass.

"Such a heavy Sha Qi," Hu Mang muttered to himself, without turning his head.

"You can go back now if you want, but as for getting a permanent position, I'll ask my mother."

"Just kidding, we're already this far, how can a brother like me back down? Besides, we can't get in touch with Old Ironhead, so it's only right and proper that I go check on him."

Chen Xiaosan forced himself to speak, admitting that he had clearly sensed the unusual situation here as well.

"OK."

Without further ado, Hu Mang pulled out a flashlight and stepped directly into the pass. Chen Xiaosan followed behind him, exhaling a long breath. Dense ghost patterns reappeared, completely locking away any trace of human life on his body.

Before arriving, Chen Xiaosan had explained the situation here to Hu Mang.

Every ghost town is unique because no two segments of history are exactly alike.

Just like Great Prosperity City where Chen Xiaosan lived, Ten-Mile Foreign Quarter where Liu Ruyan lived, and the Iron Gate Pass guarded by Old Ironhead, they are all completely different styles.

Because of these different styles, different delivery drivers have completely different delivery styles.

Chen Xiaosan is a modern version of "being crowned emperor," Liu Ruyan is "absorbing yin to replenish yang," and Old Ironhead follows the path of "ancient warfare."

It's somewhat similar to certain hack-and-slash action games.

Whenever this guy discovers a ghost about to break through, he will lead his ghost soldiers and generals to fight it. They can fight one-on-one, or the ghost can gather its ghosts for a big battle. If he wins, the ghost will have to serve under him. If he loses, he will give the ghost food related to the Underworld Bureau and promise not only not to harass the ghost again until the ghost completes its next breakthrough, but he will even take the initiative to protect the ghost.

The general duel mode and the mowing-down-enemies mode look quite familiar.

Of course, this kind of operation is not something that an ordinary deliveryman can do. Putting aside everything else, if Chen Xiaosan had done something like that, his grave would probably be overgrown with weeds by now.

And that Old Ironhead has reportedly begun attempting to subdue the "thousand-year-old ghost."

If the other party succeeds, they might actually be able to become the station manager.

However, it wasn't on this branch of the Ghost Dragon Vein, but rather by attacking and capturing other ghost cities from the Five Dynasties period.

This might also be this guy's wish.

It was precisely because of him and Liu Ruyan that Chen Xiaosan was able to live a fairly comfortable life; after all, if the sky fell, there would be someone taller to hold it up.

However, it seems that "tall people" are now also having problems.

As you cross the dilapidated city gate of Iron Gate Pass, a thick, almost tangible, Yin Qi rushes towards you.

The scene before me was a chaotic ancient military camp, stretching as far as the eye could see, seemingly belonging to different ghostly peaks. Not only were the flags different, but some were also shrouded in ghostly mist.

The tents were scattered haphazardly, some of them already half-collapsed, revealing empty ground inside; others had large holes in their fabric, shivering in the cold wind.

Scattered on the ground between the tents were various debris—broken spear shafts, shattered pottery bowls, scattered arrows, helmets half-buried in the soil, and several piles of embers from extinguished campfires. Occasionally, a few charred bones could be seen among the ashes, and a strong, damp smell permeated the air.

Ghost soldiers roamed everywhere, moving in groups of three or five between the tents. Some dragged rusty weapons, some carried tattered flags, some carried wooden boxes containing unknown contents, and some were even fighting each other.

In short, it was a scene of utter chaos and war.

When Hu Mang and his companion entered, all the ghost soldiers stopped what they were doing and turned to look at them.

"Why is it so messy?" Chen Xiaosan said in surprise.

Apart from a few ancient ghost camps, most of this area should have been suppressed by Old Tie, right?

Sensing the presence of the two people, primarily the living aura emanating from Hu Mang, the ghost soldiers' eyes lit up. Although the number of ghosts here was not comparable to that of Great Prosperity City, their ferocity far surpassed that of the ghosts in the city.

Almost immediately, a ghost soldier wielding a large sword charged forward, his body transforming into a gust of yin wind as he lunged, leaving only the Dao Ying faintly visible within it.

Although he was just a lowly soldier, his swordsmanship was surprisingly good; with this single strike, he actually conveyed a sense of perfect Unity of Man and Saber.

Hu Mang watched this scene expressionlessly until the other's broadsword was about to fall on his cheek. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the thick tip of his spear exploded with Wisdom King Fire.

The moment the yin wind lifted the Hu Mang's ponytail and the blade was about to touch his skin, the spear tip struck first, precisely hitting the core of the yin wind. The ghost soldier's body exploded into an even larger cloud of yin mist the instant the Wisdom King Fire touched it. Before he could even scream, he scattered in all directions, rapidly evaporating in the firelight without leaving a trace.

The Yang Spear subdues demons, and the Buddha's Fire extinguishes ghosts. In this ghost city filled with Yin Qi, the latter is precisely the natural enemy of all the ghosts here.

After the first ghost soldier vanished into the mist, the surrounding silence lasted for less than a breath.

Then, the entire Iron Gate Pass was like a hornet's nest that had been poked.

Countless ghost soldiers poured out from the tents, from the arrow towers, from behind the stables, and from the gaps in the collapsed tents.

Some of them wielded rusty spears, some brandished nicked broadswords, some dragged heavy iron chains, and some were simply bare-handed, their ten fingers like hooks, the eerie green light in their eye sockets forming a continuous mass in the darkness, like countless will-o'-the-wisps floating above the camp; they made no shouts, no roars, only a dense and chaotic sound of footsteps and the clanging of armor plates, surging from all directions like a tide, converging on the location of the Hu Mang.

Seeing this, Chen Xiaosan's eyes twitched, and he subconsciously looked at Hu Mang.

"Second brother, let's not make a strategic retreat yet. You haven't seen my jungling skills since you came back. Let me show you."

"Need not."

Hu Mang uttered only two words, then stepped forward with his gun.

The first ghost soldier to charge forward wielded a rusty iron axe and cleaved at the front.

With a flick of his wrist, Hu Mang's spear tip traced an arc, striking the opponent's chest with a single thrust. The Wisdom King Fire exploded, and the ghost soldier, along with his axe, vanished into a cloud of yin mist.

The second ghost soldier pounced from the left, his spear aimed straight for his ribs; Hu Mang didn't even look, swung his spear like an iron whip across the soldier's head, the ghost soldier's head exploded, the headless body took two steps forward, and then dissipated into a cloud of shadows. The third, the fourth, the fifth... more and more ghost soldiers pounced from all directions simultaneously, the flashing blades and spears weaving a dense web of killing intent in the dim camp.

The Hu Mang still did not retreat.

His gunplay began to unfold, not with wide, sweeping attacks, but with a more efficient and ruthless pinpoint kill.

Each spear thrust landed precisely on the vital points of a ghost soldier, wasting no effort and making no unnecessary movements. The spear tip blossomed like raindrops before him, each spear flower taking the life of a ghost soldier; the ghost soldiers' attacks surged like waves crashing on the shore, wave after wave, only to crumble under his spear tip, turning into wisps of dark mist that gathered into a gray-white cloud above the camp.

Upon witnessing this scene, Chen Xiaosan subconsciously rubbed his eyes and blurted out:

"Damn it, I thought it was Boss Gu time-traveled. Are these two having an affair? How come their demeanor has become so similar?"

The red scarf around his neck tightened unconsciously, and Chen Xiaosan let out a squeal, like a duck being choked, and quickly tried to comfort the other person.

"We're all on the same side. If you hadn't attacked me, my second brother wouldn't have killed you."