66. Blood Lake Lamp
Fragrant grave soil, sacrificial altar.
A faint blue light flashed, and Xuanwu calmly stepped out from the crack in the light. After taking only two steps, he paused slightly, and when he looked up, his eyes met those of Zhu Qianqian, who was repairing the stone altar.
Zhu Qianqian froze for half a second, then bristled with fear and reverted to her original form, screaming as she dodged away, "Lord Vermilion Bird! White Tiger! They've broken in!"
Xuanwu's stride froze for a moment: "..."
A call came in? Who? Me?
The White Tiger arrived in an instant, its killing intent palpable, lightning flashing. Upon recognizing the Black Tortoise, it immediately withdrew its stance and couldn't help but sneer, "What, you got lost and wandered off to another Pure Land, only to remember you wanted to see the Vermilion Bird?"
"I...I brought someone here."
Xuanwu coughed lightly, feeling uneasy.
The white tiger patted Zhu Qianqian, who had reverted to her original form and was terrified, on its head. "It's alright, this is my friend, Xuanwu. He has a very good temper, but he's a bit directionally challenged and often gets lost."
"You're the one who has no sense of direction."
Xuanwu raised his hand, and the surrounding spirit-gathering crystals floated up on their own.
Zhu Qianqian exclaimed in surprise. This spiritual energy was cool and gentle, yet very powerful. Each crystal in the sacrificial altar contained different spiritual energy. Even Zhu Qianqian, who could already transform into human form and control the wind as a blade, had to exert herself to move each crystal one by one.
The fragments of the stone pillar were slowly lifted by the pale blue, water-like spiritual energy, neatly and orderly returning to their original positions. Zhu Qianqian felt like she had nothing to do, so she tilted her head to look at Xuanwu, then flapped her wings and flew away from the sacrificial altar.
"The aura that Junxing Mountain just unleashed startled her."
Baihu watched Zhu Qianqian's departing figure, then turned to Xuanwu, "Has Junxing Mountain been dealt with?"
"It's all done."
Xuanwu said, "However, we still need to keep an eye on that kid."
"Huh?" Baihu asked, puzzled. "Is it all done yet?"
"It's not that simple." Xuanwu glanced sideways toward Junxing Mountain and continued repairing the sacrificial altar.
“A mental breakdown can cause such a devastating commotion. If we don’t keep an eye on him, it will be a big problem later. He needs to find something to rely on, something to hold onto, something that makes him cherish beautiful things.”
"Mental breakdown? You're saying that commotion just now was from Tang Xi and?"
The white tiger was startled and couldn't help but look in the direction of Junxing Mountain as well.
Half an hour ago, a surge of malevolent energy suddenly erupted from the direction of Junxing Mountain. Dark clouds covered the sky and blocked out the sun. The manifested terrifying resentment condensed into thick clouds and even spread rapidly to other areas. Wherever it passed, it was instantly assimilated into a purgatory. The monster remnants that split off from the remnant soul of Yan Youzu were attracted by it and were either devoured and disappeared directly or fled in all directions.
At that time, Baihu and Zhu Qianqian were protecting Zhuque as she transformed. Seeing the cloud of malevolent energy rapidly approaching, Zhuque Pipi, still timid, was frightened and reverted to her original form as a raven. While Baihu was entangled in a battle with a massive number of remnant souls, Zhu Qianqian hurriedly chased after Pipi, who had hidden in fear.
Fortunately, the executive officer Zhu Danqing happened to pass by, and with a flash of his lantern, he instantly delivered the deceased. After showing off his coolness, he excitedly shouted that he was going to the Ancient Path of the Underworld to grab a first-class merit before floating away.
Baihu sighed, "It's a pity I couldn't go to help, and I didn't get to see what Junxing Mountain looks like now. I couldn't leave when Zhuque was in the crucial stage of transformation."
"Hey, who took care of that kid?"
A subtle smile appeared on Xuanwu's lips.
"You?" Baihu was speechless. "How come it's you again? You convinced him in just a few words?"
"He was soft-hearted on his own; it wasn't my doing."
Xuanwu glanced around. "Where's Zhuque? Not training again? How's it going today?"
"It's a struggle, I still can't transform. I've made some progress today, I can conjure up two legs, and I can retract the broken gong mouth."
Baihu said helplessly, "He's childish, impatient, and afraid of hardship. He's not Zhuhe after all."
"..."
An awkward silence fell over the air.
Realizing he had misspoke, Baihu awkwardly touched his mouth and quickly changed the subject: "Uh, well, is everything over? With a half-immortal realm being mobilized, the secret realm will have to be reshuffled again."
"There's a lot to come, and there are still some who have slipped through the net. The five 'elders' from the Immortal Alliance's Cloud Court have scattered in all directions and are difficult to catch."
Xuanwu looked around. "Where's Zhu Danqing? Asking her to find someone might be faster."
The White Tiger's lips twitched as he recalled the astonishing method of deliverance. "She said she had made a new discovery and has now gone to the Ancient Path of the Underworld."
The Ancient Path of the Netherworld?
Xuanwu frowned slightly. "She's alone?"
Baihu nodded, "Yes."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xuanwu's figure transformed into a streak of dark blue light and headed towards the Netherworld Ancient Path.
·
The ancient path to the underworld is filled with numerous remnant souls, which are difficult to unite and drift about, like "living paper money" fluttering in the dark world.
Bu Chengzhi walked along the ancient path with an air of nonchalance, letting the remnant souls pass through his body without a care in the world. He rubbed two dice in his hand, humming a little tune as he walked on the path where the remnant souls drifted.
Suddenly, a glaring red color caught his eye out of the corner of his eye.
He looked up and, amidst the countless lingering souls, saw a white figure in the dim sky—a woman in white, carrying a dazzling, long-handled lantern for night patrols. She hovered in mid-air, gazing down at the ancient road. A strong wind whipped her robes, making her appear exceptionally elegant. The lantern emitted an eerie red light, faint and flickering rhythmically.
Bu Chengzhi froze for half a second, wondering if he was hallucinating.
He wanted to go to a deserted place, so he consulted a divination before setting off. The divination told Bu Chengzhi that he would indeed be teleported to a remote place where no one was around.
He miscalculated? He actually miscalculated?
And this person... feels weird.
Bu Chengzhi stopped humming his little tune and walked quietly forward, his hands in his pockets.
Zhu Danqing had already noticed Bu Chengzhi's strange expression and hesitant manner. She glanced at him briefly but didn't give him much attention, her eyes slightly closed as she carefully sensed his presence. She was here to capture the leader of the Immortal Alliance's Cloud Court; she had no time to concern herself with these passerby cultivators.
This place is remote and the spiritual energy is chaotic. Moreover, due to the disturbance at Junxing Mountain, many surviving spirits who had fled have been forced to come here.
Within the greyish-white mist, countless distorted faces appeared and disappeared, wailing silently, causing the Netherworld Ancient Path to appear as if rippled with water. Zhu Danqing gently raised the Blood Lake Lamp, and countless wails echoed from the vast spiritual sea.
What is she doing?
Even though the remnant soul is silent, cultivators can still feel its pain. Bu Chengzhi felt his scalp tingle as he "heard" it. The translucent spirits floating around him were summoned by the eerie lantern and screamed as they rushed away.
He reached up and scratched his ear, then casually tore off two blank pieces of yellow paper and stuffed them into his ear, continuing to observe in secret.
The figure in white, suspended in mid-air, was slender and seemed like a wisp of smoke that might dissipate at any moment. She stood out starkly in the dim, gloomy world, especially with the red lamp in her hand that flickered on and off.
Bu Chengzhi then noticed that the lamp was strange.
A circular cover hangs from the end of the handle. Its material is unclear, but it is intricately and beautifully carved with openwork patterns. Moreover, the patterns carved on the cover are slowly changing.
The "wick" enveloping it was even stranger. It was neither fire nor candle. Bu Chengzhi squinted and saw that it was actually a water vessel, steadily protected by the carved cover.
The surroundings were too dim, and the "lamp" was too dazzling. Moreover, the flashing red light grew stronger and stronger, from an inconspicuous glimmer to a blinding degree, to the point that Bu Chengzhi could not see the material clearly. He only felt that the water vessel was neither gold nor jade, but had a dark texture. It should not have a lamp wick, but it rhythmically emitted a pale red light.
A water vessel used as a lamp?
A memory flashed through Bu Chengzhi's mind, and he seemed to recall that a similar ritual implement was recorded in an ancient book: a long-handled, hollowed-out round lampshade with a bowl of water inside. It was a very strange lamp, so Bu Chengzhi had some impression of it.
...What was it called again?
Unfortunately, he was reading the book too hastily at the time, and it took Bu Chengzhi a while to find the name of the magic artifact from his vague memory. It seemed to be called something like "Blood Lake Lamp Ritual".
Um?
Blood Lake Lantern!
Bu Chengzhi sensed something was wrong. The three words "Blood Lake Lamp" were like a memory anchor, and he immediately recalled a short annotation he had read in an ancient book.
"...This lamp was created by Meng Po's magic; its method of deliverance is unmatched..."
Bu Chengzhi immediately realized he was overthinking things. A ritual for the departed? This woman didn't seem like she was performing a ritual for the dead at all; she seemed more like someone coming to harvest their wealth.
The woman was like a ghost, her face so pale it was almost transparent, her eyes unfathomable. The bright red lantern couldn't reflect the light in her eyes. She floated by with her back straight, holding the red lantern. Wherever she passed, the light of the Blood Lake Lantern spread like ripples, becoming brighter and brighter, almost blinding. In the dim world, only a white-clad figure and large patches of shimmering blood-red could be seen.
"rest in peace."
She spoke softly, her voice ethereal and otherworldly.
Wherever the light reached, the struggling and howling vengeful spirits and demons seemed to be cleansed by an invisible, gentle water—gentle yet cruel, nourishing the many remnant souls with a silent, profound flow. Their spirits transformed into specks of light, rising like a galaxy, gradually dissipating and returning to the world.
The entire process was silent, yet it was deeply moving.
The scope of the ritual was extremely wide, with the red light covering almost half of the Netherworld Ancient Path. The efficiency was astonishing, and there was not a trace of malevolence left behind. This woman's control over the Blood Lake Lamp Instrument was perfect.
"Is it true? I actually got to see the Blood Lake Lantern with my own eyes on this trip! This trip was definitely worthwhile..."
Just as Bu Chengzhi was trying to determine whether the magic artifact was real or fake, a strange change occurred as the red light spread deep into the ancient road.
A low groan echoed from the depths of darkness. With this sound, the resentment throughout the entire Netherworld Path began to boil. From the depths of the ancient path, a vortex seemed to emerge, instantly draining the spiritual essence of many undelivered spirits, which then flowed into the depths of the ancient path.
Bu Chengzhi was so frightened that his scalp tingled, and he watched as a figure appeared at the end of the road.
The man was thin and wiry, wrapped in a black robe with a strange pattern on it, resembling two "chicken claws" with their palms cupped together to lift the air. Looking up, he saw a horribly aged face, so wrinkled that the features were no longer visible, and the face was sunken inwards.
The old man seemed not to see Bu Chengzhi at all, his gaze fixed on Zhu Danqing high in the sky. His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against his vocal cords, "This place is not your Yellow Springs, leave."
His words contained a terrifying power that seemed to have the power to make law, attempting to directly "reject" the woman in white from this place.
The old man was speaking to the woman in white, but the passerby Bu Chengzhi felt a strong, irresistible force that forcibly threw him out.
As the old man finished speaking, the red light suddenly dimmed, then flickered violently, its light fading and dimming. The power of salvation that had been illuminating half of the secret realm came to an abrupt end.
The candle, painted in cinnabar, floated down lightly.
She lowered her head, looking at her beloved lamp, her pale fingers gripping the handle tightly, her knuckles turning bluish-white from the force. The spirits around her, not yet released from their torment, sensed something even more terrifying; a deathly aura spread through them.
Zhu Danqing already had a cold appearance, and his face was even darker. He lifted his eyelids and looked at the old man with a gloomy expression.
"Come with me, or shall I do it?"
Words become law!
Bu Chengzhi, who was almost thrown out, withstood the pressure emanating from the old man and, through an unorthodox approach, managed to reach the "threshold".
Bu Chengzhi's eyes lit up slightly; this old man's words could become law!
Although it wasn't used on himself, Bu Chengzhi, who had been unable to decipher this minor supernatural power for a long time, finally grasped a vague inspiration from the perspective of an observer.
Bu Chengzhi was extremely anxious. He scratched his head, his hard-won inspiration about to vanish. In desperation, he blurted out, "Go away!"
"..."
Zhu Danqing glanced at Bu Chengzhi speechlessly, her disdain evident. "Who are you using this on?"
"Huh?" The old man turned his face inexplicably, his sunken face clearly showing confusion.
"..."
Did I make a mistake again?
Bu Chengzhi was a little embarrassed, "Well, you guys talk first..."
"hehe……"
Zhu Danqing suddenly chuckled softly, but the last syllable carried a hint of danger. His voice echoed through the empty ancient road, sending chills down Bu Chengzhi's spine.
He quietly retreated, clutching the teleportation talisman hidden in his palm.
Bu Chengzhi wasn't very skilled at teleportation, and with no dice to roll yet, he wasn't sure where he'd teleport to next. However, with that strange old man and that crazy woman in front of him, anywhere was safer than here.
Zhu Danqing slowly raised her head, and a very incongruous, cold and crazy expression appeared on her originally calm face.
"How... ungrateful."
The Blood Lake Lamp suddenly burst into red light!
The lamp emitted a soft hum, like a ringing in the ears, yet it caused the surrounding space to tremble slightly. She spoke softly, her voice still ethereal, but carrying a strange excitement.
"Illuminating the netherworld, all spirits return to nothingness!"
call--
Centered on her, a spiritual energy thousands of times more powerful than before burst forth, absolutely and undeniably overwhelming, radiating wildly in all directions. Wherever the light passed, the remnant souls vanished instantly.
The old man let out a shrill, ear-piercing cry, and his figure transformed into a wisp of broken energy, flying deep into the ancient road.
Bu Chengzhi was closer, and for a moment his vision went black from the red light.
In the last moment of his brief blindness, he only remembered the woman standing in the center of the blood-red light, her clothes fluttering wildly, her long hair like snakes, and a look of almost intoxicated madness on her face.
First-class merit!
Zhu Danqing's eyes gleamed with unusual excitement. She poured all the power of the Blood Lake Lamp into the secret realm, wishing she could turn half of it into a spiritless wasteland. She had long forgotten about the idea of exorcising the remnant soul; she was now completely absorbed in the joy of exorcising Elder Kui.
"Run! Keep running! Hahahaha!"
Having observed in secret for a long time, Xuanwu took in the macroscopic view of the Netherworld Ancient Path and Elder Kui being "purified with one click," then put the bewildered Bu Chengzhi into his space and flashed away.
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