Chapter 2: Demon Suppression Gate

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  Three days later, west of Zhongzhou, within the borders of Youzhou.

  A majestic mountain range stretching tens of thousands of miles, shrouded in thick fog and gloomy winds, with icy gusts piercing to the bone, accompanied by mournful cries echoing from unknown places.

  "Ah..."

  "Oh no......"

  "It hurts so much..."

  The dense fog suddenly parted, and more than 20 young men were driven out by a man and a woman in green robes. Their feet were supported by dark clouds, carrying them through the clouds and mist at an incredible speed. The crowd of young men was shocked, their faces pale, holding each other tightly, afraid of falling down.

  Shi Dong shrunk his neck, standing in the middle of the team, a round face was blown pale by the cold wind, two rows of nasal mucus hung on his lips, and he cried out in his heart: "Gee, this...this is probably the legendary Ghost Mountain where evil spirits gather? This cry...is it the ghost crying?"

  Suddenly, he remembered that nursery rhyme he had recited since childhood —

  Guishan, Guishan, five fingers pointing towards the sky like a human hand

  The underworld's cave is suppressed, the gloomy wind and ghostly energy howl incessantly.

  The living enter and die without a bone left, the dead enter and transform into fierce ghosts.

  Mó xiè mén, mó xiè mén, bàn rén bàn guǐ yī qún mó.

  Translation:

  Demon gate, demon gate, a group of half-human and half-demon monsters.

  Walks in daylight like ordinary people, midnight bloodthirsty transforms into a fierce demon

  Adults were caught and burned with fire, children were caught and boiled in pots.

  This nursery rhyme tells the terrible legend of Guixia Mountain and Moxiamen, which has been circulating in the Zhongzhou area for a long time. As soon as he flew into this treacherous mountain range shrouded in gloomy wind and mist, hearing the terrifying ghostly howls, Shi Dong naturally thought of it.

  "It's all over, these two demons are going to take us up the mountain and cook us alive!" He forced a bitter smile, uglier than crying.

  Treading on the soft, fluffy black clouds beneath her feet, she gazed down at the sharp rocks that occasionally flashed by below, weighing whether to make a desperate leap, thinking that even if she fell to her death, it was better than being devoured alive by the demon king.

  He glanced around the team and saw two men in green robes, who suddenly sprayed out two thick smoke from their sleeves, surrounding the young people, like ropes binding them together, making it a bit difficult to jump down.

  "Alas... damn it, Ling Xiao Zong's Xian Shi is really a waste!" Shi Dong cursed secretly.

  Three days ago, he was hijacked and soon woke up to find that the two green-robed guests took him and a group of young men flying westward. In the territory of Zhongzhou, they had a fierce battle with the Ling Xiang Sect cultivators who were chasing and intercepting them, killing the Ling Xiang Sect cultivators until they were terrified, while the two of them only suffered some injuries.

  This made Shi Dong's eyes widen in shock, thinking that the Ling Xiao Sect's immortal master was too cowardly. Usually, he would show off his might on Ling Xiao Peak, but why did he become so useless when facing these two demonic immortal masters?

  The pursuit and killing continued on the road, and the young men were watched extremely tightly. Shi Dong thought of escaping several times but had no chance. He thought that perhaps Ling Xiao Sect would send out even more powerful cultivators to pursue and kill him, and at that time, he might be able to escape successfully, so for now, he temporarily endured and hid his intentions.

  But where did you know, as soon as you entered the Youzhou border, there were no more Lingxiao Sect cultivators coming after them. The two green-robed guests sped up and quickly flew into this strange mountain range, leaving Shi Dong to ponder the possibility of jumping off a cliff to escape.

  "Huh? No, no." Suddenly he had an idea and a thread of doubt rose from the bottom of his heart.

  It's said that the Demon Head of the Moshanmen captures children to eat their flesh and drink their blood, but why would he take such a risk by running to the territory of Lingxiao Sect, which is tens of thousands of miles away? It seems like he's abandoning what's near in pursuit of something far.

  Besides, these two guests in green robes have been traveling with gloomy faces and emitting a cold aura all along, but they haven't turned into demons at midnight!

  After repeated consideration, Shi Dong made up his mind and decided to endure for the time being, to see what would happen after going up the mountain.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Three loud explosions shook the air, and the surrounding clouds churned violently. The black cloud that had been protecting the young people trembled fiercely, and the protective screen of smoke was instantly shattered.

  Shi Dong was shocked and didn't know what had happened, so he quickly pulled his head back into the cloud and looked around; those young men reacted half a beat slower than him, and were only scared to shout repeatedly.

  A young man was squeezed and fell down, letting out a mournful cry.

  "Not good, the yin energy of the underworld is erupting! Let's go!" The male cultivator shouted loudly, his sleeves fluttering as two black smoke trails shot out behind him, propelling the dark clouds forward like a whirlwind.

  The female cultivator concentrated her mind and stood guard at the front of the team. When a dark energy burst out, she released a gray gas from her palm to counterattack, defeating it and protecting Hei Yun's flight.

  Bang! Bang! Bang......

  One after another, the gloomy air exploded, and the dark clouds on Mount Guiya were tumbling and rolling like boiling water. The black cloud where Shi Dong was located was like a small leaf in a boiling pot, flying rapidly and erratically in mid-air, sometimes diving down and sometimes flying upside down, trying to avoid the giant boulders that suddenly appeared in front of him.

  The group of young men were so frightened that they couldn't even cry out, clinging to each other for dear life, afraid that if they weren't careful, they would fall down and become food for the ferocious evil spirits below.

  After flying for a long time, the surging dark energy was all shaken off behind him. The black clouds arrived at a quiet area, with five mountain peaks in front of him that pierced the sky, high and low, thick and thin, long and short, resembling the five fingers of a human hand. Below them was a rolling sea of clouds, which looked magnificent under the faintly shining sky light.

  The flight of the black cloud slowed down, and the young men collectively let out a sigh of relief. Some people couldn't help but vomit, and were sternly stopped by the green-robed guest, who was so frightened that he had to swallow it back.

  The rock moved, but it wasn't that unbearable. However, he was scared to the point of turning pale, his whole body drenched in sweat, and thought: "Damn it, what kind of ghost place is this? It's simply too scary!"

  He took a few deep breaths, gazing ahead, thinking to himself: "Is that where the Demon Gate is?" He felt that this Ghostly Mountain was indeed mysterious and treacherous, with an air of secrecy and danger everywhere, his heart racing like a drum.

  Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew by, and many dark clouds emerged, resembling small boats. On top of them were two monks and several young boys, who were in the same situation as Shi Dong.

  At one time, the sky was filled with such dark clouds, with a total of nearly 100, all flying towards the direction of Wuzhi Mountain, making this quiet area suddenly lively.

  Shi Dong was shocked and didn't expect Mo Xie Men to send out so many cultivators to catch children, what were they trying to do?

  They were just greeting each other.

  "Haha... Bai Jin Shixiong, I see you only caught twenty this time, your performance isn't great!"

  "Hmph! I caught this at the foot of Ling Xiao Peak, and even fought several battles with those stinky Taoist priests from Ling Xiao Sect. You can't compare to me!" The male guest in blue robes on Shi Dong's side said coldly.

  "Cough cough, you actually went to the foot of Ling Xiao Peak to catch it? And even fought a few rounds with those cow-nosed ones?" The other person was very surprised.

  "Hmm! Do you have doubts?"

  "How bold, how daring! Brother Bai's courage is truly admirable! Snatching someone from the Ling Xiao Sect and making them swallow a huge loss will surely delight our ancestors."

  "Hehe, it's too early to say these things. Wait until the child finishes cooking with the pot and after Wu Feng Lao Zu distributes them, then we'll know if the ancestors are satisfied or not."

  "Well, well, well! Good luck to you then, Master Bai!"

  Shi Dong stood up straight, his ears perked up in shock, and he almost fell off the cloud. The last sentence "After the child is cooked in a pot, only after the Five Peaks Ancestor has finished distributing it, can one know whether the ancestors are satisfied or not" made his eyes turn black, and he thought: "Could I have misjudged? Are these demons actually kidnapping children to eat on the mountain?"

  Before he could think of a plan, dark clouds had already descended upon the "thumb" of Wuzhi Mountain.

  The entire mountain peak is majestic and unparalleled. Looking up, the clouds and mist surround it; looking down, a sea of clouds stretches out, as if floating in mid-air.

  On the halfway up the mountain, there is a piece of open land with an area of about one thousand square meters, on which are built pavilions and courtyards, and some ancient cypress trees are planted, looking just like ordinary scenery.

  But what made Shi Dong feel uneasy was that the buildings, courtyards and pavilions were shrouded in gloomy mist, giving off an eerie atmosphere; the ancient cypress trees stood beside strange peaks and rocks, swaying in the wind as if they were a group of ghostly creatures.

  He didn't dare to look more, lowered his head and shrank into the crowd, just saw the monks gathered the black cloud, let the young men land on the empty ground, drove everyone along a faintly visible bluestone road to go up.

  More and more young people gathered together, everyone's face was pale, their eyes revealed unspeakable fear.

  Those demonic cultivators who were driven away, although they still chatted and laughed outside, once they arrived here, they all fell silent, advancing in silence. Occasionally, they would swing their sleeves to help up the frightened young man and drive him back into the group.

  With a rustling sound of footsteps, Shi Dong walked forward nervously, his mouth dry, breathing rapidly, and so tense that he almost fainted.

  As he passed under a tall archway, Shi Dong raised his eyes and stole a glance, seeing three big characters covered in blood -

  "Devil", "Evil Spirit", "Gate".

  "We're here, we're here, this is Mo Sha Men." He whispered to himself.

  Hehehe......

  Suddenly a strange laugh came from the top of my head, several ghostly faces struggled to emerge from the white bony pagoda, and laughed: "I've seen so many children with such good spirits again, I really want to take a bite!"

  "Yes, yes, it's been 500 years since I last ate a human!"

  Many young people were frightened out of their wits.

  "Come on, come on! Whoever falls behind will be fed to the ghosts!"

  His legs went limp and he was swept along by the crowd, rushing forward with a whoosh.

  After walking a long way, I heard several young men shouting miserably, accompanied by the eerie laughter of ghostly faces: "Hey! You're too stingy! Just feeding us so few, we can't eat our fill and have no energy. If there's another invasion, we won't help defend either!"

  Ah, another few cries of young men in distress, it seems they were abandoned to be eaten by them. The ghostly faces grumbled a few times and stopped complaining.

  Shi Dong was shocked and dazed, and when he came back to his senses, he found himself already inside a grand hall.

  He looked around and was startled by the scene in front of him.

  The grand hall was over a hundred feet in diameter and was now packed with young men, numbering nearly a thousand.

  The young men who accompanied him stood trembling beside him, looking tensely ahead, while the driving blue-robed Taoist priests stood solemnly by.

  On the open ground in front, nearly a thousand large cauldrons were set up, with three legs suspended in mid-air, and flames burning fiercely below. The cauldrons were filled to the brim with dark, murky water, which was slowly bubbling up and emitting wisps of steam.

  The stone moved before his eyes, wave after wave of blackness, and in the bottom of his heart he cried out: "This... what on earth is going on? Are these male demons and female demons really... really going to boil us to eat? Is it true... are the rumors all true?"

  Just as they were panicking, someone suddenly shouted from the front: "The time has come, boys and girls enter the pot!"

  Suddenly a flurry of urgent footsteps rang out, and a group of bare-chested men rushed out from the great hall, holding sharp knives in their hands. Each one had a ferocious expression, like butchers, as they charged towards the crowd of young people, grabbed one of them, swung their knives with a few swift strokes to cut through his clothes, and then tossed the naked youth into a steaming cauldron.