Chapter 53: Yin and Yang Disorder
When Chu Yun uttered the word "go," Mo Li and Li Ge knew the matter was set, irrevocably irreversible. Mo Li silently pulled a black array disk made of an unidentified metal from her treasure bag. This disk could block auras, and she began rapidly adjusting it. Li Ge, in turn, gave Chu Yun a deep look before pulling out a palm-sized box from her bosom. Made of some unknown animal bone, it exuded a chilling aura. "Now that we've decided, let's not waste time," her voice regained its usual icy coolness. "To use that forbidden technique, we need to find a place with the most vigorous Yin Meridian and closest to the Underworld. Such a place isn't something you can find easily." "I know where it is," Chu Yun said. Li Ge and Mo Li both looked up at him. "Wrongful Death City," Chu Yun slowly uttered the three words. Wrongful Death City, a legendary city located at the border between the human world and the underworld. It's said that all souls who die unnatural deaths stay there briefly before being taken to the Underworld. That place is the most yin-filled part of the mortal world, and also... the place closest to the underworld. Without further delay, the three of them set off, heading towards the legendary City of the Dead. ... The closer they got to the City of the Dead, the more they sensed that some terrifying change was taking place in this world. They passed through a small, medium-sized town. It was afternoon, the sun shining brightly, and the streets should have been bustling with activity, but the town was eerily quiet. The streets were sparsely populated, and everyone walked quickly, their faces etched with an indescribable look of fear and exhaustion. Most shops were closed. The few that were open were almost empty, and the owners slumped over the counters, their eyes vacant. The entire town was shrouded in an invisible, oppressive, and unsettling atmosphere. "Something's wrong," Mo Li frowned. "The people here are all in a state of low spirits, as if... they've all suffered a collective illness." "It's not an illness." Li Ge's expression was even uglier than hers. She closed her eyes, carefully sensing something. After a moment, she suddenly opened her eyes, her voice filled with a hint of fear she herself hadn't noticed: "It's 'Yin Qi'. The entire town is shrouded in a thick Yin Qi. The Yang Qi of these living people is being continuously eroded by this Yin Qi." "Yin Qi?" Chu Yun also stopped and concentrated Taiyi Yuan Qi in his eyes. The next second, the world in his eyes completely changed. He saw that in those...
When Chu Yun said the word "go", Mo Li and Li Ge knew that this matter had been decided and could not be changed.
Mo Li silently pulled out a black array disk made of an unknown metal from her treasure bag. This array disk could block auras, and she began to adjust it quickly. Li Ge gave Chu Yun a deep look, then pulled out a palm-sized box from her bosom. The box was made of some unknown animal bone and exuded a chilling aura.
"Now that we've made up our minds, let's not waste time." Her voice returned to its usual icy coldness. "To use that forbidden technique, we need to find a 'gate' closest to the underworld where the 'Yin Meridian' is most vigorous. Such a place isn't something you can find easily."
"I know where it is." Chu Yun said.
Li Ge and Mo Li both raised their heads and looked at him.
"City of Unjust Death." Chu Yun slowly uttered these three words.
The City of the Wrongful Dead, a legendary city situated at the border of the human world and the underworld. It's said that all souls who died unnatural deaths will briefly stop there before being taken to the underworld. It's the place with the heaviest yin energy in the human world, and also... the place closest to the underworld.
The three of them did not delay any longer and immediately set off in the direction of the legendary City of the Dead.
…
The closer they got to the City of the Dead, the more they felt that some terrible changes were taking place in the world.
They passed through a small town. It was afternoon, the sun was shining, and the streets should be bustling with people, but this town was eerily quiet.
The streets were deserted, and everyone walked quickly, their faces etched with an indescribable sense of fear and exhaustion. Most shops were closed, and the few that were open were almost empty. The owners slumped over their counters, their eyes unfocused. The entire town was shrouded in an invisible, oppressive, and unsettling atmosphere.
"Something's wrong." Mo Li frowned. "The people here are in very low spirits, as if... they've all had a serious illness."
"It's not a disease." Li Ge's face looked even uglier than hers. She closed her eyes, carefully sensing something. After a moment, she suddenly opened them, her voice filled with a hint of horror she herself hadn't noticed: "It's 'yin energy.' The entire town is shrouded in a thick yin energy. The yang energy of these living people is being continuously eroded by this yin energy."
"Yin Qi?" Chu Yun also stopped and concentrated his Taiyi Qi in his eyes. The next second, the world before his eyes completely changed. He saw that among those hurried people, in front of those closed shops, in those deserted street corners and alleys, there were actually... countless translucent figures with dazed expressions floating around.
Those were... ghosts. Some were freshly deceased, bloodstained; some were long dead, their bodies beginning to become ethereal; and some were so utterly devoid of form that they could no longer maintain their full form, leaving only a vaguely humanoid remnant.
They wandered aimlessly in broad daylight, some repeating their last actions, some searching for their way home, and others simply standing there blankly, their faces filled with confusion and bewilderment.
"Why...is this happening?" Chu Yun's voice was a little dry. According to the records of the Evil Suppression Bureau, within seven days of death, a ghost messenger would arrive to take the person to the underworld to settle their merits and demerits before entering reincarnation. It was absolutely impossible for such a large number of ghosts to linger in the human world, even wandering during the day.
"They... can't go back." Li Ge looked at the bewildered ghosts, a trace of deep sadness in his eyes, "The door to the underworld is closed to them."
"They weren't taken away, and they couldn't find the way to the underworld. They were trapped in the human world like this until the last vestiges of their souls were completely worn away by the yang energy, and eventually... their souls were shattered."
Souls scattered. These four words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Chu Yun and Mo Li's hearts hard.
"This... this isn't just 'disorder' anymore." Mo Li muttered to himself as he looked at the strange and tragic scene of humans and ghosts walking together. "This is simply... collapse."
At this moment, an unusually violent energy wave suddenly erupted from the distant sky. The wave was filled with endless resentment, pain, and struggle, as if thousands of souls were wailing their most piercing wail.
"It's the direction of the City of the Dead!" Chu Yun suddenly raised his head. He could clearly feel that the source of the energy fluctuation was their destination.
"The situation over there is probably a hundred times worse than here." Li Ge's face was as pale as a sheet of paper. Her ghostly medical skills allowed her to sense the agony of the dead souls more clearly than Chu Yun and Mo Li. Countless voices seemed to echo in her mind simultaneously: unjustly murdered merchants cried, "Give me back my life!"; soldiers killed on the battlefield roared, "I want to go home!"; children slain by disease helplessly called out, "Mother"... Countless agonizing, wailing cries, on the verge of fading, flooded her consciousness like a tide, making her feel as if her head was about to burst.
"Li Ge!" Chu Yun immediately noticed something was wrong with her. He immediately reached out and placed a hand on Li Ge's back, sending a stream of pure, life-giving Taiyi Qi to her. The warm energy was like a dam, temporarily blocking the onslaught of negative emotions. Li Ge's expression finally improved slightly.
"I'm fine." She shook her head, but the fear in her eyes still did not dissipate. "I just... didn't expect the situation to be so serious."
"The 'chain' between life and death is about to break." She looked at Chu Yun with an extremely serious look in her eyes. "Chu Yun, do you understand now what we are about to face?"
Chu Yun remained silent. He simply quietly sensed the Taiyi Qi within his body. That creative force, representing the most fundamental source of heaven and earth, maintaining the world's balance, at this moment, resonated with unprecedented intensity due to the extreme "yin and yang disorder" in the outside world. It was an indescribable feeling: it felt like an ancient call from deep within his blood, from his identity as "Dao Shu," urging him to repair it all, to put this crumbling world back on track; yet, at the same time, it felt like his own most instinctive warning of unknown danger, telling him that the underworld ahead was an abyss that could devour him completely. A sense of destiny and the instinct for survival engaged in the most intense battle within him.
"I understand." Finally, he slowly uttered these three words. He looked at Li Ge and Mo Li, his eyes no longer filled with hesitation or struggle, but with an unprecedented, heavy realization.
"I understand. This is no longer about Shadow Pavilion's conspiracy, nor is it about the secret of the Evil-Suppressing Seal. This is about... the survival of this world. If even the most fundamental order of life and death is completely destroyed, then even if we stop Shadow Pavilion and even if we gather the Evil-Suppressing Seal, what will be the point? At that time, the entire world will become... a giant 'City of the Dead'."
"So," he took a deep breath, his eyes becoming extremely determined, "I have to go on this trip."
Mo Li looked at him, at his eyes no longer filled with confusion. She knew that at this moment, this man had truly taken on the weight of the Dao, a burden so heavy it could crush everything. She no longer felt any fear, but silently adjusted the array plate in her hand to the final scale.
Li Ge also looked at him. She took out three pitch-black pills that exuded an ominous aura from the animal bone box. "This is the 'Three Paths Guide.'" She handed two of them to Chu Yun and Mo Li. "Take it, and then combine it with my secret technique to perform that forbidden technique."
"Remember," her voice became extremely serious, "once we enter that state, we are no longer purely 'living'. Our bodies will be somewhere between 'life' and 'death'. In this state, we cannot eat anything from the mortal world, nor can we touch any magical instruments containing the power of extreme yang. Otherwise, the balance of the laws will be instantly broken, and the consequences... unimaginable."
"I understand." Chu Yun and Mo Li both nodded solemnly.
The three of them arrived at a mass grave outside the City of the Wrongly Dead, a place of intense yin energy. Li Ge used his own blood to draw a magical circle filled with strange runes on the ground. Chu Yun and Mo Li stood at the two centers of the circle, respectively.
"Are you ready?" Li Ge looked at them and made a final confirmation.
Chu Yun and Mo Li both nodded heavily.
Without hesitation, the three of them simultaneously swallowed the pitch-black "Three Paths Induction." An icy chill, as if capable of freezing the soul, instantly spread from their dantian throughout their bodies.
At this moment, Li Ge formed hand seals and began to chant an ancient and obscure spell. As she chanted, the magic circle on the ground began to emit a faint, will-o'-the-wisp green light. Chu Yun could clearly feel his life force being forcibly drained from his body by an invisible force. His vision began to blur, his hearing dulled, and the entire world seemed to be receding from him.
Just before he completely lost consciousness, he felt a cold, yet incredibly strong hand grasp him. It was Li Ge. Then, another hand, though trembling slightly, but equally firm, grasped him. It was Mo Li. The three of them clasped their hands tightly.
The next second, Chu Yun felt his body suddenly lighten, as if something had broken free from the constraints of his flesh. He "opened his eyes" and saw a scene he would never forget:
He saw his own body, along with Li Ge and Mo Li's, lying quietly within the magic circle. Their "souls," hand in hand, hovered in mid-air. Beneath their feet, the earth cracked open, a bottomless fissure leading to endless darkness...
The "door" of the underworld is opened.
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