The perilous journey, the eternal return of souls, and the fierce power of the underground
The fog over Meixi Town suddenly thickened the moment the children entered. The gray-purple mist no longer spread slowly but swirled like a living thing, enveloping the town in an impenetrable cocoon, completely shutting out even the sunlight. Lin Ye clutched the compass tightly, the broken needle spinning frantically. The cinnabar on the needle's tip oozed black blood, dripping onto the back of his hand and bringing a piercing chill—this was the compass's reaction to a sinister and evil spirit, a hundred times more ferocious than the black-robed figure Su Nian and the others had faced.
"Watch your step!" Chen Xi suddenly grabbed her companions, and the Yang Gu in the cloth bag let out a sharp hiss. As she finished speaking, the soil beneath their feet suddenly cracked, and several black vines as thick as buckets broke through the ground. The vines were covered with dark red veins, like congealed blood. Under each vine leaf was a dense swarm of corpse Gu. The Gu's shells shone with a cold metallic light, clearly absorbing enough evil energy from the ground. They were no longer the ordinary corpse Gu of the past.
Lin Ye quickly pulled out the Red Sun Talisman and pressed it against the black vine. The talisman only produced a tiny spark before being extinguished by the black juice oozing from the vine. "Something's wrong!" His expression suddenly changed. "The evil witch's power is far stronger than Sister Su Nian claims!" Before he could finish his words, a deafening roar echoed from the distance. The ground in the center of town collapsed, revealing a bottomless black hole. The black mist pouring out of the hole was no longer gray-purple, but pure black as ink. It carried the howling of the wronged souls suppressed a century ago, but it was even more shrill and violent than before.
"He's built a soul nest down there!" Chen Xi's voice trembled. The Yang Gu in the cloth bag began to struggle violently, as if afraid of something. She looked up at the black hole and saw a black-robed figure slowly rising from the black mist—it was the evil witch, but his appearance had changed. The black robe was covered with black vines, and the scar under his left eye had split into a bloody wound. From within was no longer a tiny corpse Gu, but a half-foot-long Gu King with a single horn on its head, breathing out black air in the direction of the crowd.
"How dare you, youngster, ruin my plans?" The evil wizard's voice was no longer the chirping of insects, but carried the heavy echo of the underground rock layers. He raised his hand and waved it, and countless black vines flew out of the black hole, wrapping around the children like poisonous snakes. "Back then, I hid more than just a strand of soul in the corpse Gu. In the past three years, I have absorbed all the resentment from the ground under Meixi Town. Even the evil spirits suppressed in the earth veins a hundred years ago have become my nourishment. Today, you will all die here!"
Lin Ye shielded his companions behind him and attempted to draw a soul-soothing formation with his compass. However, the moment the compass touched the black mist, it snapped in two. Remembering Su Nian's words, "Destroy the black vine roots first," he gritted his teeth, unsheathed his peach wood sword, and slashed at the nearest black vine. However, the blade deflected off the vine, causing him to bleed from his knuckles. Just then, Chen Xi suddenly opened the cloth bag and poured the Yang Gu into his palm. The Yang Gu instantly expanded upon encountering the black mist, radiating a golden-red glow. It flew towards the evil witch, but upon approaching, it was struck by the black energy from the witch's palm, falling to the ground. After struggling for a few moments, it became motionless.
"Your Yang Gu is nothing but an ant in my eyes," the evil witch sneered. The black energy in his palm condensed into a giant claw, grabbing at Lin Ye. Lin Ye closed his eyes, remembering what Sister Su Nian had said, "The evil core fragments and the guardian soul are all there." He suddenly opened his eyes and scattered the soil hidden in his pocket, which he had taken from under the old locust tree. The soil was mixed with the scent of the evil core fragments, and as soon as it touched the black mist, it emitted a faint golden light.
Though the golden light was weak, it caused the evil wizard to pause. During this moment, Lin Ye's companions suddenly pulled out their remaining Red Sun Talismans, pressed the talisman paper onto their peach wood swords, and rushed toward the black vine's roots. "We'll distract him, you go destroy the soul nest!" They knew they were no match for him, yet they pressed forward without hesitation. The Red Sun Talisman ignited faintly in the black mist, like a star in the darkness, but was instantly entangled by the black vines. The instant the talisman paper died, a muffled groan could be heard from their companions.
"No!" Lin Ye's eyes flushed. He knew he couldn't retreat. He remembered Senior Chen Yan's compass and Sister Su Nian's words. He suddenly grabbed the Yang Gu corpse on the ground and rushed towards the black hole. Although the Yang Gu was dead, it still retained the Yang Qi that could suppress the Corpse Gu. Seeing this, the evil witch roared angrily, and the Gu King flew out from his scar and pounced on Lin Ye's back.
At this critical moment, a familiar voice rang out from the distance: "Lin Ye, catch up!" Lin Ye turned and saw Su Nian running out of the fog, carrying a copper box. The red flame ash within the box reignited, transforming into a red-gold chain of fire that entangled the Gu King. "I knew you couldn't handle this alone." Su Nian's face was scarred, evidently having encountered obstacles on his way. "The evil sorcerer has absorbed the evil spirits of the earth's veins. Only by using the Red Sun Fire to draw the earth's yang energy can we destroy his soul nest!"
Su Nian handed the copper box to Lin Ye, took out the last Red Sun Talisman and stuck it between her eyebrows, "I'll hold him back, you take the rest of the people, go down through the black hole, find the evil stone in the center of the soul nest, and pour the Red Sun Fire on it! Remember, the Yang energy in the earth veins is at its peak at midnight, we only have half an hour!" After she said that, she leaped towards the evil witch. The Red Sun Talisman ignited a flame on her body, which temporarily drove back the evil witch's black fog.
Lin Ye clutched the copper box tightly, watching Su Nian's figure entangled by black vines, but he didn't turn back. He led his remaining companions into the black hole—the underground soul nest, where black vines formed a forest and poisonous insects were everywhere. But he knew he couldn't lose, not only for himself and Su Nian, but also for the seven people who had walked into the fog that year, and for all those waiting for the fog to dissipate. Deep in the black hole, the ominous stone at the center of the soul nest glowed coldly. The evil witch's life soul was entangled in it, continuously absorbing the ominous aura. Lin Ye's Red Sun Fire was the only hope of destroying it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
