Chapter 78: Re-entering the Witch Ghost Realm
Chapter 78: Reentering the Witch-Ghost Secret Realm
One month later, Skeleton Mountain.
Lü Yang rode his escape light unimpeded—given his current strength, ordinary Qi Refining Perfected cultivators were no longer worth his attention.
Even though he now only had a Yin Spirit forged from a single soul, his higher cultivation tier meant dealing with Qi Refining Perfected cultivators required merely a flick of his sleeve. Only if his opponent possessed a great divine ability like Yun Miaozhen once did or wielded rare treasures would they stand a chance against him.
Of course, this only applied to bullying weaker opponents.
Having lost his physical body, Lü Yang was actually at his weakest state. Against any cultivator of equal tier, his only option would be to flee.
Soon, Lü Yang halted his escape light.
In the distance, a black mountain range shrouded in towering yin energy came into view.
"Good, it seems True Person Yinshan hasn't arrived yet..."
After sensing the karma threads, Lü Yang confirmed that the Witch-Ghost Secret Realm had yet to emerge and that the Divine Martial Gate's forces hadn't arrived either. Only then did he transform into a gentle breeze and vanish into the mountain.
During the Witch-Ghost Secret Realm's emergence in his previous life, Lü Yang had memorized its location, making it easy to find this time. Before long, he arrived before a cave entrance. Stepping inside, the path was narrow at first but widened after several dozen steps, abruptly opening into a vast underground lake.
"This is the place..."
Lü Yang gazed at the lake, sensing intense void fluctuations, but didn't enter immediately. Instead, he lingered near the secret realm's entrance.
Though his circumstances had changed, his Dao heart remained steadfast.
Slow deliberation brings perfection; patience brings safety... No need to rush. Let's play with it first.
Lü Yang retrieved the Myriad Spirits Banner and gave it a light shake. Chen Xin'an's figure materialized instantly, only to be tossed unceremoniously into the secret realm's entrance.
He hadn't forgotten about the Golden Core Sword Qi inside.
In his previous life, he hadn't cultivated any Saint Sect techniques, so the sword energy hadn't targeted him. But this time, he'd practiced the Saint Sect's body-refining method, the Saint's Theft.
Who knew if that sword energy would spare him now?
Better safe than sorry—let Senior Brother Chen scout ahead.
Chen Xin'an: "........"
Boom!
The next second, ripples spread across the underground lake. Through Chen Xin'an's perspective, Lü Yang quickly discerned the scene within.
What met his eyes was a dazzling sword light.
Yet the sword energy didn't strike. Instead, it locked onto Chen Xin'an from a distance, seemingly marking him before actually allowing him to enter the secret realm.
"That easy?"
Lü Yang looked surprised, then formed hand seals to recall Chen Xin'an...
Clang! Clang!
Almost simultaneously, the previously dormant sword energy suddenly vibrated. Chen Xin'an, who had just been about to leave the secret realm, instantly dispersed into a puff of white qi.
Seeing this, Lü Yang raised an eyebrow. First, he checked Chen Xin'an's True Spirit within the Myriad Spirits Banner to ensure it could be resummoned after some time before relaxing. Then he took out another banner spirit and threw it into the secret realm. After several experiments, he finally reached a conclusion:
"Entry permitted but exit forbidden..."
Lü Yang pondered: "Of course. This sword energy's purpose is to exterminate the Witch Ghost Path's lineage, so it won't allow anyone to leave the secret realm."
"As for why entry is allowed... Damn it, this is bait fishing!"
Realization struck, making Lü Yang's eye twitch: "They're clearly using the secret realm as bait to lure demonic cultivators in searching for treasures, then slaughtering them all together!"
The righteous path's methods are too ruthless!
Though Lü Yang wasn't certain his speculation was correct, if it were him, he'd definitely do the same. Projecting his own thoughts, he felt the truth was probably eighty to ninety percent accurate.
This realization made Lü Yang even more cautious.
He patiently waited several more months until his Primordial Qi Avatar once again achieved the Martial Dao's Heaven and Man Realm before sending it into the secret realm.
This time, he didn't plan to leave but to explore deeper.
Soon, clusters of buildings appeared in Lü Yang's vision—most had turned to white bones, with only broken magical implements scattered about.
Surveying his surroundings, Lü Yang noticed the entire Witch-Ghost Secret Realm differed from the outside world. Not a trace of spiritual energy remained, only an intensely concentrated Earthly Fiend Yin Qi. Ordinary cultivators without corresponding techniques couldn't even perform breathing exercises here. Prolonged exposure would erode their physical bodies with yin energy.
"Could cultivators survive in such a place?"
While pondering, Lü Yang continued moving, curiously examining his surroundings. He realized he seemed to be in some kind of city.
Just then, an extremely suppressed shout came from nearby:
"Bastard... what are you doing?"
Lü Yang turned to see a human face peeking from a ruined corner, hissing: "Do you have a death wish? It's already nighttime!"
The face first showed hesitation and struggle before its owner gritted his teeth and crawled out—a boy no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. He rushed to Lü Yang's side, roughly grabbing his hand to drag him away.
Lü Yang raised an eyebrow but didn't resist.
Yet the next moment, the boy's expression froze. Turning back, his decently handsome face twisted with despair:
"I shouldn't have saved you... we're dead... all dead..."
Tap, tap tap...
Almost simultaneously, footsteps echoed through the empty ruins. Following the sound, Lü Yang saw a yellow-robed old man with lifeless eyes.
The old man's grayish-white eyes lacked focus, his pupils dilated, yet they fixed unerringly on Lü Yang and the mysterious boy. As his gaze fell upon them, a visible darkness slowly advanced toward the pair, carrying a strong stench of decay.
"Yellow robes! How could it be yellow robes!?"
Following Lü Yang's line of sight, the boy also noticed the old man. Seeing the color of the man's clothing, his face paled dramatically.
Behind the boy, Lü Yang observed everything with keen interest.
Truthfully, he hadn't understood a word the boy said earlier, but that didn't diminish his fascination with the suddenly appearing yellow-robed elder.
The next moment, Lü Yang placed his hand on the boy's head.
He had no interest in wasting time conversing to gather information slowly. As a Saint Sect disciple, directly soul-searching aligned better with his preferences.
"You!?"
Never expecting Lü Yang would "repay kindness with enmity," the boy screamed before Lü Yang's divine sense pierced directly into his mind.
Soon, vast amounts of information flooded Lü Yang's consciousness.
Language, culture, worldview—even all intelligence regarding this "Witch-Ghost Secret Realm"—everything was meticulously extracted by Lü Yang.
Night parade of a hundred ghosts, the mortal realm as hell!
Within the secret realm, sword energy hung overhead, preventing anyone from cultivating. All were mortals—only by devouring ghosts to serve Yama could they beg for a sliver of survival...
White-clothed ghosts, yellow-clothed ghosts, black-clothed ghosts, red-clothed ghosts...
The Tingyou Sect, ghostly enforcers...
Lü Yang digested the torrent of information, marveling while growing suspicious: "The secret realm wasn't like this in my previous life."
Last time, the Witch-Ghost Secret Realm had been nearly empty—no living creatures remained even when True Person Yinshan destroyed it. Yet now, the realm clearly still harbored life. The Witch Ghost Path's former cultivators hadn't just survived but found an alternative cultivation path.
"Could it be because of that sword energy?"
Recalling the Golden Core Sword Energy entrenched in the secret realm, Lü Yang felt bone-chilling coldness: "Did it slaughter them all later?"
But reconsidering, that didn't seem right.
After all, the Golden Core Sword Energy had remained dormant here for so many years. What could have happened to make it massacre the entire secret realm in the future?