Qin Gu tilted his head and chuckled. Ruan Bei nudged him with his elbow and said with displeasure, "What are you laughing at? Aren't you going to eat?"
With storage space available, stocking up on food and drinks is perfectly normal.
"Eat." Qin Gu obediently admitted his mistake.
Ruan Bei muttered softly, "I even stocked up on a lot of your favorite beef jerky."
Qin Gu couldn't help but chuckle: "Thank you, Xiao Bei."
Their interruption immediately livened up the somewhat somber atmosphere.
"That's right. Of all things, food is the most important. With food, you have nothing to fear."
"If someone isn't enthusiastic about eating, there's something wrong with their thinking."
"..."
Ruan Bei belatedly covered his face, realizing there was no need for such a reaction.
Since no one was injured after the fall, and the other companions are being found, everyone is relatively relaxed for the time being.
Xuan Ningcheng remained vigilant, as the surrounding environment was too dark. He instructed everyone to stay in pairs and not to walk alone, and then they would go together to find the remaining people.
Before they fell, they weren't far apart. Even if some of them managed to run away, they couldn't run very far in that last short time.
If they fell vertically, they should have landed close to each other, but in reality, it took them more than an hour to find each other.
There is no sunshine, no plants, no birds, beasts, insects, or fish in this place. Apart from the endless mud, there are only these incongruous outsiders.
Fortunately, there were many of them, and as they talked to each other, it didn't feel so lonely and scary.
But after walking for more than an hour, they didn't see any landmarks or anything else, only mud, everywhere was mud, as if they were in a huge swamp.
Everyone has been found, except for those on their side. Luo Zikun, Zou Na, and Lu Sibai have also been found.
The first person they found was Lu Sibai, who had been buried in the mud and hadn't woken up. Surprisingly, he hadn't suffocated.
One of the Taoist priests, who was walking on the outside of the group, kicked someone as he walked forward, and the others dug him out.
They found Zou Na, who stood there expressionless, making no attempt to find a way out or take any other action, as if nothing mattered to her.
Finally, they found Luo Zikun. He had run over here on his own after hearing the commotion. He had been alone in this place for an hour and was somewhat scared. This extreme silence was a kind of torture for one's spirit.
Although he probably wouldn't get away with it this time, he knew that out of respect for his father, his sect would spare his life, which was better than being left alone here.
After everyone had been found, Xuan Ningcheng told them to stop. They had walked for so long without any change, which meant they were using the wrong method.
He asked Ruan Bei to bring out some food and drinks. Everyone had just fought a big battle and gone through all that, so they were indeed hungry and thirsty. They needed to replenish their energy first, and then they could think about what to do next after they finished eating.
Ruan Bei didn't actually put any proper food in his ring; it was mostly snacks and drinks. Fortunately, there were also things like bread, milk, and dried meat, which were enough to fill his stomach.
There were also a few self-heating hot pots, but he was too embarrassed to take them out. He felt that eating hot pot in such a place was disrespectful to the atmosphere.
After they had eaten most of the food, Xuan Ningcheng gathered everyone together. He had been thinking about what kind of place this was and how to get out of it, but he had no idea. He had never been to such a place before and had never heard of it.
So I'm asking everyone to discuss this together and see if we have any ideas or thoughts.
Most people shook their heads, unable to explain. This place was truly strange. Several array masters held handfuls of mud, examining it back and forth, trying to find the key to breaking the array.
A few individuals shared their speculations, such as that they were currently trapped in an illusion array, and the evidence was that their bodies were spotless, and everything they saw was fake.
For example, they were teleported to an underground cavern—although the teleportation array had been lost for many, many, many years.
However, all their guesses were ultimately rejected by the array masters, who swore to the heavens that it was definitely not an illusion array, nor did it resemble a teleportation array.
The argument went nowhere, and Ruan Bei, probably the least experienced among them, obediently remained silent and listened to the others' discussion.
After listening for a while, he tugged at Qin Gu's sleeve and whispered in his ear, "Look at that person, doesn't he have something to say?"
Qin Gu followed his gaze and saw a middle-aged Taoist priest with a rather ordinary appearance and demeanor, standing on the outside of the group, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating.
Qin Gu remembered him. Although there were no useless people among the group his senior brother brought, their levels varied. This person's cultivation was relatively average.
"Senior brother, do you have any ideas?" Qin Gu was anxious for him as he saw him opening and closing his mouth. Besides, at this time, any clues were worth discussing. Even if he was wrong, given his senior brother's character, he wouldn't blame him.
Everyone was discussing how they were in a difficult situation when he suddenly focused everyone's attention on the Taoist priest, who immediately panicked.
Xuan Ningcheng reassured him, "Xingcheng, don't worry, just tell me what's on your mind."
He was the one who brought the team together, and he selected all the members. He also knew their individual situations quite well. Xingcheng was an introverted person who didn't like to talk.
The person next to him who knew him well also advised, "Yeah, Lao Li, just say what's on your mind. What's there to be afraid of? We're discussing this right now. You're just too introverted."
Li Xingcheng licked his lips, his eyes hesitant. Encouraged by Xuan Ningcheng's gaze, he finally spoke, his voice soft and trembling slightly: "I...I..."
He grabbed his companion beside him, and said with a little excitement, "Old Hai, do you remember? I told you that I used to have a soul wandering and almost died with the ghost."
“I remember, I remember, you told me that.” Old Hai confirmed for him, then asked, “So?”
Li Xingcheng stammered, "I...I think this place...this place looks a bit like..."
"What do you mean? You're driving me crazy!" Some impatient people couldn't wait any longer.
“Like the road to the underworld…” Li Xingcheng’s voice was barely audible, yet it resounded like thunder in everyone’s ears.
"That's impossible!" This wasn't the only objection.
How can a living person enter the road to the underworld? That is a road for the dead!
Li Xingcheng shrank back and dared not utter a sound.
"Quiet." Xuan Ningcheng stopped the discussion, walked up to Li Xingcheng, and asked seriously, "Xingcheng, what's your basis for thinking this way?"
Li Xingcheng said, "At that time, my soul left my body. In a daze, I followed a ghost who had just died. He was going to the underworld to be reincarnated, and I followed him on the road to the underworld..."
He was very young then, only a teenager. Fortunately, his elders found out in time and found someone to call back his soul. He had just embarked on the road to the underworld when he turned back home following the sound.
But that memory is too vivid: "I remember that the road to the underworld was like this, all gray and gloomy, there was no road, but we had to keep walking, there was no sound, there was nothing."
This time, the others remained silent. Li Xingcheng continued, "However, I remember the Yellow Springs Road I walked on didn't have this mud. The ground was empty and hollow. It felt solid when you stepped on it, but you couldn't see what it was."
"That can't be it, can it?" someone said with a hint of hope.
They would rather remain clueless than confirm whether Li Xingcheng was telling the truth.
The road to the underworld is a one-way street. If a soul like Li Xingcheng mistakenly enters it, there is still a chance of being saved if it turns back in time. But for people like them, if they are trapped on the road to the underworld, there is really only one way out: death.
Calling back the soul is useless; to do that, the body must be outside. But in their case, the whole body is heading straight for the Yellow Springs.
Some pessimistic individuals couldn't hold back any longer and said with a mournful face, "No wonder the King of the Underworld did this before he died; he wanted to drag us down with him."
Ruan Bei pursed her lips, not daring to tell him, "You guessed right, that's exactly what he said, and that's what he planned to do."
Although unwilling to believe it, Li Xingcheng's words were highly likely, and the crowd discussed it amongst themselves.
Ruan Bei walked up to his senior brother and asked in a low voice, "Senior brother, why is the Road to the Underworld located at the foot of Yundang Mountain?"
Xuan Ningcheng explained, "It's not at the foot of Yundang Mountain, it's anywhere in this world. You can enter the Yellow Springs, but it's just one path. Do you understand what I mean?"
Ruan Bei shook his head, then nodded, understanding a little, but not completely.
Now I understand. No wonder the ghost messengers left right there; they could go back anywhere anyway.
Xuan Ningcheng patted his hair, frowned, and started discussing with several capable assistants. Ruan Bei ran back to Qin Gu: "I have an idea."
"What?"
"The ghost messenger mentioned to me before that the road to the underworld is blocked..."
Their eyes met, and Qin Gu understood immediately: "You mean?"
Ruan Bei nodded vigorously: "Do you think it might be this mud that's blocking the way?"
"It's possible," Qin Gu suggested. "We'll know once we try."
"How do we try it?" Ruan Bei asked.
"Don't you have the letter paper given to you by the ghost messengers? Send them a letter and tell them about the situation here. If there's a real problem, they won't ignore it. They might even give us a ride out on their way."
"Even if it's not the road to the underworld, we can still ask them where we are. Maybe they'll know the way out."
“You’re right.” Ruan Bei found the stack of yellow papers in his ring. Before writing, he ran to report to his senior brother.
"Write a letter to the ghost messengers?" Xuan Ningcheng was dumbfounded.
“Yes,” Ruan Bei said, “that chain was given to me by the ghost messenger brother.”
Xuan Ningcheng choked up for a moment, then asked, "How do you know the ghost messenger?"
“It was during the Ghost Festival. I met them on the road, treated them to some food, and gave them the talisman that Kunkun had drawn to ward off evil spirits. They gave me the chain and these papers, saying that they had something to burn for them.”
Others: "..."
I'm so jealous! We're all willing to offer sacrifices to the ghost messengers! The offerings are ready, but where do the ghost messengers collect them?
Xuan Ningcheng: "...Then you write it."
“I don’t have a table,” Ruan Bei said, blinking.
Immediately, someone eagerly bent down and said, "Come on, I have a wide back, lie on my back and write."
Ruan Bei thanked the man and began writing a letter while clinging to his back. The others gathered around to watch Ruan Bei write to the ghost messenger. He wrote a sentence, which was then read aloud by the people in the inner circle to those outside.
When Ruan Bei asked the ghosts for a favor, he naturally had to say some nice things. They read it to him until he blushed and was so embarrassed that he finished writing the letter with great difficulty.
After writing it, he burned it on the spot. The smoke drifted and swirled, not rising, but instead drifting in all directions.
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