Chapter 41: A Gruesome Sight Part 1

Zhang Qingshui appeared remarkably calm. She said, “Let’s walk a bit further and see. Perhaps the Yin Souls on the Yellow Springs Road are causing trouble and confusing us.” She took the Ghost Collecting Bell from Wang Ya’s hand and continued forward.

Wang Ya, Old Tang, Huang Qi, and Wang Cheng’an watched Zhang Qingshui without even blinking, observing as she slowly stepped ahead.

Zhang Qingshui was indeed walking, but the distance between her and the four of them did not change at all. When her foot landed, the solid ground beneath her feet rippled with an extremely faint, almost invisible pattern like water waves. Her foot landed strangely in the exact same spot.

Wang Ya instantly felt a chill run down her spine and cried out, “Damn it, this is haunted!”

Old Tang glanced at Wang Ya. Though he said nothing, his expression clearly said: Isn’t ghost catching your specialty?

Huang Qi said, “It looks more like demon mischief to me. Qing Jie, stop walking—you’re just marching in place.”

Wang Ya asked in astonishment, “How could there be demons on the Yellow Springs Road?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Old Tang looking at her with speechless exasperation. She also remembered the eerie Other Shore Flower from the Yin Spirit Scroll. Wang Ya sucked in a sharp breath inwardly and thought, Could it really be that demon flower from the scroll making trouble? Is this Yellow Springs its home, and it doesn’t want to leave—or doesn’t want us to leave?

Zhang Qingshui slowly turned around, her expression grave as she looked at Wang Ya and said, “Wang Ya, didn’t your grandma ever tell you about the Other Shore Demon Flower in the Yin Spirit Scroll?”

Wang Ya shot Zhang Qingshui a sideways glance and said, “If my grandma had told me everything, would I need to ask you or beg for your help?”

Zhang Qingshui glanced at the Soul-Guiding Lamp, whose light grew ever weaker, and said heavily, “It looks like we can’t get out by following the Soul-Guiding Lamp. We’re all trapped here right now, Wang Ya. I hope you can set aside your prejudices and think of a way out with us. If I’m not mistaken, we probably can’t go anywhere now—not even to the Underworld Courts.”

Wang Ya thought for a moment, then turned and walked toward the depths of the Yellow Springs. She had only taken a few steps when she heard Huang Qi shout, “Wang Ya, you’re marching in place too.” She turned back and saw that, sure enough, the distance between her and the other four had not increased at all.

Wang Cheng’an clapped his hands and cheered, “Hee hee, this is fun!” He ran in circles on the spot, twisting his butt happily.

Wang Ya shot Wang Cheng’an a glare and thought, You think it’s fun now, but wait until you’re hungry later—I’d like to see you laugh then. She pulled the Yin Spirit Scroll from her slung canvas bag and saw that it was neatly rolled up, with only Yin Spirits swirling around it and no abnormalities. Still uneasy, she wrapped it several times with the Ghost Collecting Bell and sealed it with a Zhang Evil-Suppressing Talisman before continuing forward—but she was still marching in place.

Zhang Qingshui said, “Little Qi, what do you sense?”

Huang Qi said, “I feel like what’s gathered around us isn’t Yin Qi—it’s Yi Wood Aura.”

Zhang Qingshui nodded slightly and said, “Wang Ya, that flower in your scroll—we only saw the bloom. Where did its stem, leaves, and roots go?”

Wang Ya remained silent. She knew very little about the Yin Spirit Scroll.

Old Tang asked, “What do we do now? Find the Flower Demon hiding nearby?”

Zhang Qingshui cupped her fists toward the empty air and said, “Senior, if we have offended you in any way, please forgive us. We beg the senior to show mercy and let us go. If the senior has any commands, we will certainly obey.”

Silence reigned around them. If there was any sound at all, it was the withered Other Shore Flowers dropping one by one from their stems.

Wang Ya thought for a moment, then slowly unrolled the Yin Spirit Scroll to see if the Other Shore Flower was behind this. As the Yin Spirit Scroll unfurled, a large number of Yin Spirits were released. At the same time, a curtain of eerie green light manifested around them—a faint halo of light that enveloped them and the released Yin Spirits alike. The light resembled the bioluminescent glow from glowing plants, suddenly illuminating the dark Yellow Springs Road with an eerie, chilling gleam that was even more unsettling than seeing a ghost.

Huang Qi said in a low voice, “It’s energy released from the surrounding Other Shore Flowers.”

Wang Ya stared unblinkingly at the Yin Spirit Scroll, bracing herself for another terrifying encounter. But to her surprise, the flower inside the Yin Spirit Scroll had vanished. The scroll contained only Yin Spirits and Blood Lights, with no trace of the flower whatsoever. Wang Ya’s face paled as she said, “Did I release the demon flower sealed in the scroll back into the Yellow Springs when I opened it before? Could it be that the Feng Family Ancestor caught this demon flower back then and imprisoned it in the scroll, and I accidentally let it out, so now it’s come to take revenge on us?”

Huang Qi murmured lowly, “Are we really going to die here?”

Zhang Qingshui reached out and gently grasped Huang Qi’s hand, whispering, “Don’t be afraid.” She stared intently at the green light curtain before them.

Old Tang cleared his throat lightly and said, “Wang Ya, shall we join forces to break through this light curtain and charge out? Better to fight than sit here waiting to die.”

Wang Ya nodded and said, “Good!” She rolled up the Yin Spirit Scroll and tucked it into her canvas bag. She stood firm, formed seals with her hands, and unleashed an Azure Dragon Yi Wood Evil-Breaking Talisman straight at the light curtain ahead.

At the same moment, Old Tang pressed his hand to his knife sheath and drew the meter-long Tang Dao gripped in his hand, stepping forward to charge.

Huang Qi grabbed Old Tang’s hand and shouted, “Uncle Tang, don’t move!” As her words fell, Wang Ya’s Azure Dragon Yi Wood Evil-Breaking Talisman slammed into the green light curtain surrounding them.

Wang Ya watched as the talisman’s glow struck the curtain and rippled out like water, causing the entire curtain to emit a blinding sheen of the same luster. The powerful Yi Wood Energy condensed on the curtain then surged toward them like a mountain flood!

Zhang Qingshui stepped forward to shield Wang Ya. With a flick of her right hand, a verdant green vine shot out from her palm. The green vine erupted with blinding green light, coiling around them like a soaring dragon. Every tremor of green light from the vine blocked the descending green glow from the curtain. The curtain’s radiance then vanished. In the next instant, countless roots burst from the ground and wrapped around their feet, dragging them underground. The earth turned incomparably soft in that moment, like quicksand. In the blink of an eye, all four of their legs were buried.

These roots were thicker than thumbs. Old Tang swung his Tang Dao with all his might but only managed to slice the outer skin.