Chapter 26: The Shadowless Labyrinth

  A flock of vampire bats flew rapidly southward under the control of Nanban.

  Faintly visible is the land of the southern village, without stopping, flying straight over.

  Apart from me and Old Qian, the two transparent bodies, the other three people were still silent, worried and tense in their hearts, but couldn't do anything about it. Only then did I understand what it means to be a person in the world of rivers and lakes, where one's body is not under one's own control.

  A flock of blood bats arrived at a steep cliff with a precipice of ten thousand feet, surrounded by swirling black fog, with intermittent fierce howls mixed in. Among the cliffs, countless blood bats flew in groups, red dots scattered among black clusters, making people's hair stand on end.

  Halfway up the mountain, a pitch-black cave suddenly appeared, like a giant mouth, as if it wanted to swallow this strange and eerie atmosphere.

  The swarm of blood bats didn't stop, and flew straight into the cave. Inside the cave was surprisingly spacious, but it was still frighteningly dark, with only the surrounding area filled with blinking red eyes flying back and forth - the blood bats.

  Suddenly, white bones appeared around, the terrain became more open, and the blood bat array stopped descending and scattered with a loud noise. On the ground, Qing Shan Daozhang was still lying down, Ling Miao and Li Yan were also there, I and Old Qian stood trembling on one side, Feng Chen didn't know when he followed behind, holding his knife and standing with his hands hanging down.

  The Nanmanzi looked at us with her crimson eyes and loudly said to the front, "Master, everyone is present, please give your orders."

  A deafening rumble echoed, and before our eyes, two massive stone gates slowly creaked open. A red glow emanated from within. At a glance, my goodness! Inside was a vast grand hall. On both sides stood countless ghosts and spirits. Bats hovered in unison on the adjacent stone walls. Blood-red eyes stared wide, illuminating the cave without need for lighting, exuding an eerie aura.

  "A long and arduous journey, leaving behind two ordinary souls, the rest are sent into the Refining Soul Cave, quickly raise the Spirit Blade." A gloomy old man's voice came, looking closely, only to find that at the very top of the passageway, a tall and thin old man was sitting high up, his face gaunt, leaning against a wide stone chair, his voice was eerie and frightening, but it was clear that he lacked energy, looking like someone suffering from a serious illness, with no strength left.

  Nanmanzi heard this, waved his hand, and several men in black clothes beside him carried the three people away. I just wanted to say something, but Nanmanzi stared at me again, forcing my question back.

  The Ghost Sun Blade hung high above the old man's head. I thought, damn it, this was originally Laozi's thing, but now it has become a accomplice's sharp weapon, how can we explain it clearly afterwards? And the lives and deaths of these three people, damn it, won't they be separated by yin and yang forever? Suddenly thinking, Laozi is already a soul away from his body, now he is in the underworld, what's the point of talking about separation by yin and yang.

  "Are you the legendary Righteous Spirit Envoy?" the old man asked suddenly.

  "I don't know what kind of envoy you are or aren't, all I know is that your subordinates hurt my friend." I've had enough, damn it, worst case scenario I'll just die again.

  Old Qian shouted again, "This damned place is freezing and you're hurting people everywhere. I have a condition where I faint at the sight of blood. For crying out loud, can't you open a window for some ventilation? I'd rather die with dignity. And another thing, I've called 110, so you'd better behave yourself, or else you'll face the consequences of your foolish actions."

  The old man burst out laughing. I thought to myself, Old Qian is still the same, he scared people twice when he was 110 years old, now in the underworld, what's there to be afraid of?

  "I thought the Shadowless Gate was for the sake of the common people, to eliminate those greedy and lustful ones. But it's been repeatedly misunderstood by the world, especially by those who claim to be righteous and enlightened. They always oppose us. Now that you've arrived, can't you see clearly who is black and who is white?" The old man ignored Old Qian and spoke only to me.

  "Since everyone says I'm the messenger of the righteous spirit, then fine, I'll be the messenger. You'd better listen to me and bring those three people back to life, they're my friends, I owe them that." I said.

  "My god, I've finally arrived at the Ghost Cave of Wuying Gate. Looking at this situation, it's not going to work if we force our way in, we need to think of a plan. Dammit, as two high-ranking officials, are we supposed to be afraid of these shady ghosts? I pulled Old Qian and whispered: "Are you scared?"

  Lao Qian said: "I'm scared, mom, there are no girls here, only vampires, and these dark and terrifying guys who don't seem human or ghostly, but I'm afraid we might be useful, don't worry, I'll go with you."

  "Those three friends of yours are unharmed, they're just suffering from a shock to their soul and spirit. If you cooperate with me, I'll definitely let them wake up," said the old man.

  This is about conditions again, damn it. They say our world has many unwritten rules, but the underworld also has many unwritten rules. Every step we take requires negotiating conditions. Since there are conditions to be negotiated, that means there's still a way out, which calms me down instead.

  "What conditions, you go ahead." My temper flared up, damn it, playing rogue, I'm the ancestor of rogues. Old Qian saw me like this, this guy understands me the most, knows my temperament, and also smiled wryly, "Understand clearly, old fellow, you're negotiating terms with two financial controllers, be careful, or else I'll go back and withdraw all the funds, increase the project scope, dig up your ancestral grave, scatter your ashes, don't blame us for not making it clear." Old Qian's temper also flared up.

  "What a mixed breed, Southern Barbarian." The old man said in a low and mysterious tone.

  The southern barbarian approached Old Qian, with a fierce fire burning in his blood-red eyes. I thought it was not good, and a good man does not suffer losses before his eyes. Hurriedly saying: "My friend is used to speaking like this, he's not negotiating terms, don't mind the rest."

  The southern barbarian girl gave me a humph and looked at me with disdain, then retreated to one side.

  "You've seen it too," the old man said in a relaxed tone, as if he had something to ask of me. Damn, they're all like this, when they have something to ask of you, they trick you without any discussion, can't they just speak properly, instead of being so mysterious?

  "You see, I'm surrounded by these blood bats," the old man continued to say. "They're all old people who have followed me for many years, but they can't transform their spirits and are only half-spirited bodies, unable to rest in peace or ascend to good fortune. You, on the other hand, are a true spirit body, with spiritual blood that can aid in transforming spirits. If you just follow my words and refine the Transforming Spirit Pill, then everything will be negotiable."

  The old man finished speaking, and was panting heavily, as if he had exhausted his true energy. Suddenly, it became clear that the Southern Barbarian had been playing tricks all along, thinking that this old fellow's life was not long, and also thinking of taking over the position. This little trick, we've all played with it before, I can naturally see through it. Moreover, wanting me to refine the Transcendent Spirit Dan, although I don't know how to refine it, but once it's successful, that would become a powerful bargaining chip for this old fellow to control the Blood Bats. It's treacherous every step of the way, damn it, I've fallen into this trap again. If I agree, who knows what will happen, the Blood Bat Transcendent Spirit might become an evil spirit, I heard Li Ying say that this old fellow was openly helping his subordinates transcend, but in reality, he's further strengthening his own power to contend with the Orthodox Spirit Gate. If I don't agree, it's clear that I won't be able to leave, not to mention being unable to escape, those three friends will also be handed over together. Damn it, what can be done? Suddenly feeling a bit angry in my heart, Qing Shan Dao Zhang seems very formidable, but why is the Spirit of Wonder still ineffective?

  The southern barbarian's pungent aura draws near, his blood-red eyes almost falling onto my head, that is to force me to quickly agree. The surroundings suddenly darken and the blood bats stir restlessly, it seems that my true spirit energy has reignited their desires.

  The situation is critical, damn it, not a single helper. Old Qian stared at me with his eyes open and said: "What to do? We'd rather die together than surrender. If you agree, I'll deduct your wages."

  This is really Old Qian being silly, and he's still thinking about these things at this time.

  I hesitated for a moment and said: "Alright, I agree. This is also a good thing for Guī Shēng Dé (to cross the ghost and ascend to virtue). Why wouldn't I agree? But first, let's make things clear before I do it."

  The old man's face, which had been dark and gloomy, suddenly cracked open a gap, and his mother was even more eerie. I was blown by the surrounding yin wind, and my head was sore.

  "Alright, alright, you speak," said the old man.

  "First save my three friends and then lock us together. I have to keep an eye on them at all times to make sure they're okay, before I can cooperate with you."

  The master of the Wuying Gate suddenly changed his bitter face and said, "Originally, I was going to give you a way out, but unfortunately, you are too arrogant. This won't do. Locking them up together is possible, but you must refine them into a Dan medicine in order to save them."

  No room for negotiation. Now even the last resort is blocked.

  The southern barbarian beside me suddenly looked at me, and the blood-red eyes had no flames at this time, but only two fireballs.

  "Answer first and then talk." It was actually the voice of a southerner. Damn, can't you speak properly? Why do you always yell so loudly that it shakes the ground?

  A sudden flash in my mind, I thought of the usual behavior of Nanmanzi, and the things that happened before and after, it's possible that this guy is actually a chess piece.

  "I said loudly: 'Master, it's up to you, first lock me and him together with those three people.'"

  The old man was delighted to see me agree. With a wave of his hand, several burly men came to carry us two, under the leadership of Nan Mazi, and headed towards the Soul Refining Cave.

  The southern barbarian didn't say a word, but his actions were less fierce than before, and he kept probing as if wanting to say something to me.

  Damn it, I finally understand now, there's a trick in here, and suddenly I've got an idea.

  Arriving at the Refining Soul Cave, it was a gloomy mountain cave. The yin energy inside the cave was terrifying, and the ground was covered with white bones. There were scratch marks on the walls of the cave, which seemed to be caused by extreme pain. In the middle, three people lay motionless, their bodies already shrouded in a thin layer of white mist that had condensed into ice.

  Good heavens! I took a deep breath of cold air. This shouldn't be something like turning into pus and blood as said in martial arts novels, right?

  The four blacks put down the two of us in Han and left, it can be seen that they also don't want to stay here for a moment.

  The Southern Barbarian gave us a glance, his gloomy face changing unpredictably.

  But he retreated and closed the stone gate with a loud bang. A small hole was left on the stone gate, outside of which two blood bats were guarding. Two bright red eyes peered through the small hole, well, they could be considered as lanterns now.

  Lao Qian cried out in a loud voice, "This is the end, I'm afraid it's really going to be a ghost!"

  "I said: 'Where's that crazy energy from just now? Now you're afraid.'"

  Lao Qian said: "Just now was a great enemy in front of us, giving you encouragement, but now, to be honest, what can we do?"

  I gently touched those three people, their bodies were soft and flexible, but they were frozen in a terrifying way. I thought to myself, "They're still soft, which means they haven't died yet, as long as they're not dead, there's still hope."

  I said to Old Qian: "You have to cooperate with me, now there's no one else to rely on, we must save ourselves."

  Lao Qian naturally agreed. I said, "If it's not beyond my expectations, you and I will calm down now, don't move around, the southern barbarians will come looking for us." Lao Qian nodded in shock.

  I closed my eyes lightly with Old Qian. I really need to sort out these things properly, and also what's going to happen next. If one step goes wrong, it will be a disaster.

  It was also unknown how much time had passed, when the red dot that had been shining through the small hole suddenly disappeared. In an instant, however, an even larger red glow shone through, accompanied by a faint rustling sound, like claws scratching against something, making one's heart feel stunned and bewildered.