Cui Yu?
Where the dragon's claws swept, the seawater was pushed aside by an invisible force, and five pitch-black, wound-like cracks appeared in the air. The edges of the cracks shimmered with golden dragon energy and emitted a sharp sound like metal being torn apart.
The five cracks rapidly expanded and connected, eventually forming an irregular, elliptical entrance to a passage with a diameter of approximately two zhang (about 6.6 meters).
Inside the passage was a pure, thick darkness.
The next moment, a thick aura of corpses rushed out from inside the passage.
The corpse aura carried a scent that was a mixture of decaying flesh and blood, mineral dust that had accumulated over millions of years, and an extremely strong aura of death. Even from several miles away, the Hu Mang could clearly smell the scent and even feel the cold energy contained within the corpse aura eroding its True Qi.
Hu Mang silently activated his Yin-Yang Eyes.
Sure enough, a strange scene unfolded.
It was a strange scene where Yin Qi and yang energies were mixed together.
Yin Qi held absolute dominance, like a colossal black python, firmly controlling the entire passage within its territory.
Those faint yang energies, like the undigested remains of prey swallowed by the giant python, emitted a final, unwilling glow within its body.
This intertwined state of yin within yang and yang within yin does not conform to the conventional distribution pattern of Yin Qi, nor to the conventional pattern of yang energy decay; it is more like a result of being forcibly distorted by some external force.
Can a dead Dragon Vein still possess such powerful vitality?
Moreover, this strange state of yin and yang balance seemed somewhat familiar to the Hu Mang.
Could it be that the Yin-Yang Road in the Underworld is actually the transformed form of a dead Dragon Vein?
"We need to hurry, the Turbid Dragon's dragon energy is devouring True Qi too quickly."
"Wait a moment, Sister Lin, I also have a task to do."
Hu Mang took out his "Underworld Bureau Consultant Token". The Underworld Bureau attached great importance to this mission, so no matter how much Eighth Master Hui valued it, they would not let a half-baked person like him really investigate the Dragon Vein.
The one truly investigating the Dragon Vein is someone else, or rather, someone else entirely.
He infused the Yin Qi within his body into the token, and a grayish-white light slowly rose, condensing into a blurry humanoid outline in the void.
It was the image of an old man dressed in a gray robe, with a withered face and a thin body. His eyes were closed, his hands were folded in front of him, and his whole body exuded a thick, Yin Qi, like that of an old coffin.
When the humanoid silhouette completely solidified, he slowly opened his eyes.
Those eyes had no pupils, only a pure, stagnant gray-white, gleaming faintly in the darkness.
He spoke, his voice hoarse and deep, as if coming from a great distance, or as if echoing directly in one's mind. "I am Cui Yu, an Inspector of the Underworld Bureau, ordered by the King of the City to assist Advisor Hu in investigating the overseas Dragon Vein. I will now guide the three of you on the path ahead."
It really looks like it.
Could this be the security guard from Dachang?
Seemingly knowing what Hu Mang was thinking, the old man turned his head and said in a hoarse voice:
"I presume that Advisor Hu has met my younger brother."
So he really is a scorer!
Hu Mang looked up with respect. "Uncle Cui!"
Faced with this Yin Qi -looking fellow whose cultivation level was impossible to discern, both Lin Zhiying and Ao Tianhai remained on high alert.
Cui Yu pulled out the old man's standard "flashlight".
"Let's go, we don't have much time left. The Yin-Yang Passage won't stay open forever."
After speaking, Cui Yu didn't even glance at the other two and walked directly into the "Turbid Dragon's corpse".
As a half-member of the Underworld Bureau, Hu Mang simply explained, "The old rules of the Underworld Bureau are that underworld beings only deal with other underworld beings. The more senior a person is in the Underworld Bureau, the more they value this rule. You two, please go in."
Hu Mang took out the same type of flashlight and followed behind Grandpa Cui.
The light could only reach a very limited area, about three zhang (approximately 10 meters), before being swallowed up by a grayish-black substance resembling thick fog.
The substance looked like a gas, but was more viscous. It slowly churned and flowed in the beam of the flashlight, like some kind of living thing breathing silently in the darkness.
Both Lin Zhiying and Ao Tianhai were entering the body of the Turbid Dragon for the first time, and they were both a little nervous.
After hesitating for a long time, Lin Zhiying couldn't help but ask in a low voice:
"Just who is this Elder Cui? Why did Hui the Eighth send him here?"
Hu Mang thought for a moment and said, "According to Eighth Master Hui, this Elder Cui was an old inspector of the Underworld Bureau. When he was alive, there were only a few of the Ten Yama Kings. Moreover, the inspectors back then weren't called inspectors, they were called judges."
Judge of the Underworld Bureau?
Lin Zhiying's expression changed again. Judge, this is a saying from folk legends, and it's not a modern folk custom. It can even be traced back to the ancient dynasty period!
So how many years has Elder Cui actually lived?
Although Ao Tianhai was unfamiliar with the traditions of the Heavenly Gate, he felt a strong sense of oppression after entering the body of the Turbid Dragon. This oppression not only made the Dragon Vein energy in his body unable to move, but also affected his own cultivation level. In the blink of an eye, the dragon's cultivation level dropped from the Golden Core Perfection to the Golden Core Late Stage, which made him change color.
Hu Mang also felt the same pressure, and the ghost ship's consciousness dissipated more and more, to the point that it was almost undetectable.
As he walked further, the changes in Yin and Yang became increasingly intense. In some areas, the Yin Qi was so dense that it almost solidified, causing his skin to feel a stinging sensation as if it were being immersed in ice water, and the air he inhaled was so cold that it felt like it could freeze his lungs.
In other areas, however, the Yin Qi suddenly becomes extremely thin, and in its place, a blazing yang energy, like molten lava, erupts from cracks in the ground or walls, causing the surrounding temperature to soar from icy cold to unbearably hot in just a few steps, as if stepping from the dead of winter into the height of summer.
Of the three, Lin Zhiying's cultivation level was the same as Hu Mang's, both at the Mid Golden Core, but she was already nearing her limit.
Hu Mang frowned, looking at Cui Yu ahead, and noticed that the other's footsteps hadn't changed at all.
Major Lin was unlucky; she came to investigate the ghost ship using the corpse of the Turbid Dragon, but this trip was basically a waste of time.
If you can't find the Demonic Path, how about searching for the Sinful Dragon?
Hu Mang's heart stirred; he was quite interested in Jiang Kuisha form.
As Hu Mang was pondering this, he suddenly heard Elder Cui's voice in his ear.
"I need to go down and take a look first. This action will most likely cause a complete reversal of Yin and Yang, and some ghosts from the Underworld may take the opportunity to emerge. I would appreciate it if Advisor Hu could help me temporarily suppress them."
"A demon? What level of demon?"
"Night Parade of a Hundred Demons."
Hu Mang's expression changed, and he was about to speak when he realized that Cui Yu had disappeared from sight.
Damn, this old man isn't nearly as understanding as the security guard. At least the old man knew to give me a security guard uniform.
Hu Mang took a deep breath and relayed his words to the other two.
"What level of ghosts are the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons?" It was Ao Tianhai's turn to ask.
"The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons isn't actually a ghost," Hu Mang thought for a moment and said, "If I had to describe it, it's somewhat like Dragon Blood Tide, a special phenomenon caused by Yin Qi reaching its extreme, and this phenomenon is generally guided by ghosts."
"What level of ghost is guiding us?" Lin Zhiying asked, his expression grim.
"Generally speaking, the highest level of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons is led by one hundred thousand-year-old demon kings. Legend has it that this level of Night Parade of a Hundred Demons can turn yin into yang and devour the Fortune of an entire dynasty."
"The lowest level of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons requires at least ten thousand-year-old demon kings to guide it; otherwise, the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons simply cannot take shape."
None of the three looked happy.
A thousand-year-old ghost king is not the same as a thousand-year-old demon. A thousand-year-old demon is a calculation formula. There is no demon in Heavenly Gate Azure Mysterious Realm, it is a thousand-year-old cultivation.
Hu Mang silently took out the Demon Spear, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly thrust the spear into the ground.
"Give me five minutes! I'll fend off the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons!"
The next moment, Hu Mang Jingang sat down on the ground, and in an instant, all his energy vanished, leaving him looking like a dead man.
The remaining two remained silent.
"Can he succeed?" Ao Tianhai couldn't help but ask.
"An advisor to the Underworld Bureau should have some special abilities," Lin Zhiying said, forcing a smile.
She never expected that what was supposed to be a mission to investigate the demonic path would somehow turn into cleaning up the mess left by the Underworld Bureau.
Soon, in less than ten breaths, the darkness formed from the corpse of the Turbid Dragon began to surge violently.
A deep, humming sound, like the murmur of thousands of people, came from the depths of the passage. Within a few breaths, it rapidly amplified into a deafening cacophony, as if thousands of mouths were speaking, crying, screaming, and roaring simultaneously.
The sounds intertwined, forming a chilling, soul-piercing noise that caused Lin Zhiying and Ao Tianhai to involuntarily circulate their True Qi to protect their eardrums and sea of consciousness.
Immediately afterwards, a black, crude oil-like liquid began to seep from the walls on both sides of the passage.
The liquid gushed out from the cracks and holes in the wall, flowing slowly down the wall surface and gathering into black puddles on the ground.
Bubbles began to rise from the surface of the puddle, as if it were boiling. Each bubble burst, releasing a Yin Qi of grayish-black yin energy, Yin Qi condensed in the air to form distorted human faces.
Some of them had ferocious faces, some had expressions of pain, some had their mouths wide open as if screaming silently, and some had a strange, chilling smile.
Those faces floated, drifted, and devoured each other in the air, then shattered, transforming into even denser Yin Qi that merged into the expanding darkness.