"How could you perceive the You Character Flag at the Ghost Gate?" Shen Yan frowned tightly.
Was it merely because he had once secretly connected with the energy of the Ghost Gate?
Nonsense!
I’m still the Military Supervisor of the Hai Character Camp, who managed the Ghost Gate for years, how could I not perceive it?!
"I just perceived it," Chen Mu shrugged his shoulders.
Shen Yan’s frown deepened into a chuan character: "This is absurd!"
Chen Mu couldn’t help laughing—Thousand Lanterns City was full of Yin Spirits, wasn’t it just about seeing ghosts?
He could perceive this energy surely because his Sixth Rank Jade Gate Curse was high-end enough.
"When will you return to the Main Camp?" It took a while before Shen Yan finally asked.
By now he had a guess, knowing it might still be because of the Jade Gate Curse that Chen Mu had such a reaction.
After over a year of interaction, he had long discovered the other’s uncommon talent in cultivating secret techniques. It was still hard to believe, but it seemed that damned fellow’s control over the Jade Gate Curse might indeed be comparable to that of City Master Jian Chan.
"It will still take some time," Chen Mu shook his head.
He indeed wanted to return to the Main Camp immediately, where there were Yin Soldiers guarding, and there was the real Ghost Gate, which would allow a quicker and safer return to the Netherworld.
But...
"Afraid you can’t pass the camp’s inspection?" Shen Yan asserted confidently.
An auxiliary soldier who had escaped from the You Character Camp, not only capable of remotely locating the Main Camp but also able to teleport across vast distances. Without a reliable explanation, he would likely be detained immediately.
"Yes, I can’t just tell them I know the Jade Gate Curse, can I?" Chen Mu said helplessly.
"Don’t worry." Shen Yan’s mind quickly conjured a plan.
"Few people know the Jade Gate Curse, but many understand the Netherworld Ferry. You can use the blood sacrifice version of the Netherworld Ferry to cover up the Ghost Gate."
"Pu Lu comes from the Netherworld Sect, and not only has he developed the Ghost Pattern, but he also happens to be a master in alchemy. With enough qualifications and capabilities, he can act as the source of the secret Netherworld Ferry technique."
"As for locating the Main Camp?" Shen Yan stroked his chin in thought for a moment, then sighed slightly: "In the end, we still have to thank Lan Zhang, don’t we?"
"The Mountain-Carrying Scripture?" Chen Mu was surprised.
"Exactly!" Shen Yan nodded.
"In the past, General Hu Cheng from the Hai Character Camp’s Yinfeng Sect used the Mountain-Carrying Scripture to cultivate the Soul Summoning Banner, and by then your energies were already secretly connected to the Hai Character Flag."
"The Hai Character Camp is in ruins, and it won’t be possible to rebuild it in a short time; furthermore, as the Soul Summoning Banner is key to the City Master’s path to power, Hu Cheng wouldn’t be allowed to cultivate it recklessly, so the Hai Character Flag can only be kept in the Main Camp by the City Master himself."
"This gives us an opportunity," Shen Yan said solemnly. "Later, I’ll transmit to you a technique called the ’Nine Cups Calculation Scripture.’ Follow its procedures for divination, and you will get a vague direction."
"This direction might not be accurate, but it’s sufficient to deceive the camp inspectors and act as a cover."
"With this in mind..."
Chen Mu immediately rejoiced.
It was still Old Ghost Shen, with his vast experience and knowledge; He came up with a solution for the problem that had been troubling him in no time.
"Let me just consolidate the Jade Gate Curse a bit more to sharpen the perception, and then we will immediately set off to return to the Main Camp."
...
Over the following days, Chen Mu concentrated on leveling up his experience with the Jade Gate Curse.
The gray wall provided continuous insights, indicating that the Ghost Gate used the power of the seventh layer of the River of Oblivion. This layer contained the essence of secret techniques like Methods of Inverting Heaven in a Pot and Shrinking a Thousand Li to a Courtyard in a Bag.
Thousand Lanterns City exhibited similar marvels, but unfortunately, his Divine Skills came from someone else’s legacy, and while Chen Mu could use them, he did not understand them.
Still, frequent use brought him ample experience and greatly facilitated the acquisition of experience with the Jade Gate Curse.
As the experience soared once again and the results were gratifying, the energy of the You Character Flag’s Ghost Gate became increasingly clear and perceptible. On the contrary, the issue arose with the Nine Cups Calculation Scripture intended for concealment.
The first part of the Calculation Scripture was filled with convoluted texts, and the latter part contained bizarre procedures and complex calculations.
Chen Mu enthusiastically read through it once, and then his mind was filled with nothing but bafflement.
"Understanding, why understand, how could it be understandable? Divination techniques have always been profoundly mysterious," Shen Yan said with an enigmatic face.
Chen Mu had no choice but to experiment according to what the scripture said.
He first went to the island to cut a large bundle of long grass leaves, then arranged and knotted them according to the special method at the right astrological time, followed by complex calculations resulting in a string of numbers.
Using this string of numbers, he then chose different passages from the first part of the scripture to form a Curse Command.
The scripture claimed that continuous recitation would give a vague perception.
But after reciting it hundreds of times, leaving him with a dry mouth and a parched tongue, he received not a hint of a response.
Fearing he had made a mistake in the process, he started from the beginning, knotting the grass for calculation, and then... then he found that every calculation resulted in a completely different Curse Command.
What a joke!
"With this ever-changing Curse Command, are you sure it’s actually effective?" Chen Mu looked at Shen Yan.
"I don’t know," said Shen Yan calmly.
Chen Mu: "..."
You don’t even know if it works, and you’re telling me to use this thing as a bluff?
Are you trying to get me killed, old ghost?
Yet Shen Yan remained nonchalant, becoming even calmer: "Not only do I not know, but even if City Master Jian Chan used this Nine Cups Calculation Scripture, it would stay silent for each user."
Chen Mu’s eyes widened involuntarily.
"The Nine Cups Calculation Scripture has been in circulation for a long time; its specific origins can no longer be traced. Some say it comes from a mysterious origin with great secrets, others say it’s nothing but a trick played by Jianghu charlatans," Shen Yan spoke calmly. "Sometimes it really works, but at other times, it’s useless."
"So it all comes down to luck?" Chen Mu couldn’t help but grin.
Continue your journey on
"It all comes down to luck!" Shen Yan nodded, then added meaningfully: "It’s precisely because of its unpredictability that it’s the best at deceiving people."
Good grief!
Alright then...
Chen Mu couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh, having no choice but to keep toiling over the Calculation Scripture.
After seven or eight days of intensive study, even sleeping with calculations on his fingertips, he finally managed to produce the Secret Technique on the grey wall.
Although the bizarre operations within the Calculation Scripture still puzzled him, at last, he could use the shifting Curse Command to obtain some vague perceptions.
Chen Mu did not care where these perceptions pointed; he stopped practicing the Secret Technique right away.
Only he could do this—if an ordinary person were to ponder without rest and food, they would go mad!
Moreover, to deceive someone, why take it so seriously?
...
That day, Chen Mu got up early in the morning, as usual, to practice the Jade Gate Curse.
But not long after the Yin Spirit Divine Power began to operate, the originally fluctuating qi suddenly became clear, as if a foggy glass had been wiped clean.
Chen Mu glanced at the experience on the grey wall.
Jade Gate Curse: 1002/10000/Sixth Rank;
Just over a thousand, and the effect is so obvious?
As the moment approached, he was somewhat indecisive.
"Why don’t I use the Nine Cups Calculation Scripture to divine for you?" Shen Yan offered with amusement, "When I was alive, I was a national advisor, you know. Rest assured, it’s very accurate."
No way!
Your trickery probably isn’t even as good as mine.
National advisor?
Chen Mu rolled his eyes, "In your lifetime, weren’t you just fooling the emperor and got beheaded by someone?"
Shen Yan looked unconcerned, "So, are you going or not?"
Go!
Why not go!
Reliance on oneself to return to the Netherworld requires a massive amount of Spirit Mechanisms, and without their own storage, it wouldn’t be possible for two or three years.
He wasn’t afraid of waiting; what he feared was falling into unknown perils during the hunt.
Just like the encounters with the blue glowing bugs—if it wasn’t for the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed breaking through the Illusion Realm, he would have been eaten clean by the bugs by now.
"It’s just being interrogated for a few days. If I really can’t deceive them, I’ll hide in Thousand Lanterns City again."
"But if I can deceive them, I’ll be safe without worry and be able to return to the Netherworld without any risks through the Ghost Gate."
"Let’s do it!"
He immediately began to gather Pu Lu and the original Yin Spirits of the Hai Character Camp.
Pu Lu was the source of the Netherworld Ferry, and the Yin Spirits of the Hai Character Camp were involved in the cultivation of the Soul Summoning Banner, essential for the casting of the Nine Cups Calculation Scripture.
He also rehearsed several times with everyone, according to the information provided by Shen Yan, for the possible interrogations they might encounter.
...
In the afternoon, everyone gathered next to the Bottomless Pool.
Shen Yan stood in front of the crowd, waving his hand to activate the Mountain-Carrying Scripture, and aside from the hundred or so Yin Spirits around Chen Mu, the rest instantly turned into a black cloud.
The Jade Gate Curse operated, the anthropomorphic Ghost Gate was activated, and a pitch-black curtain suddenly appeared in midair. Its surface rippled like water waves, while the inside was pitch-black, releasing strands of chilly air—the telltale sign of the Ghost Gate opening.
Chen Mu took a deep breath and likewise activated the Mountain-Carrying Scripture, taking the hundred or so people with him and plunging into the curtain.
His vision suddenly darkened, his spirit slightly confused, and his consciousness a bit sluggish—the feeling he had at the bottom of the River of Oblivion had returned.
Before he could savor the sensation, a light appeared before his eyes.
Chen Mu looked forward eagerly, only to lock eyes with a head missing half of its face.
The other person’s skin was pale, and their burly body had a sinister vertical eye on the forehead. The left half of their face and the back of the head were entirely missing, exposing stained red and white on the broken greyish-white stones they leaned upon.
Chen Mu’s body tensed immediately, and he looked up to inspect his surroundings.
The expected ghost soldiers had not appeared; instead, a raging sea of fire and rolling black smoke took their place. A thick scent of blood rushed at him, with severed limbs and bodies scattered everywhere. Countless three-eyed individuals’ mutilated corpses nearly covered the entire range of his sight.
"Is this really the Main Camp of Antiquity City?"
Chen Mu’s pupils contracted sharply, as if struck by lightning.
It took a while for him to regain his composure before he realized that the greyish-white stone the three-eyed individual was leaning on was actually a piece of the Ghost Gate.
As the Jade Gate Curse operated, a strong sense of perception spread around him.
"No wonder I didn’t see the Ghost Gate earlier; it turns out all the fragments were blasted into dust. You couldn’t see anything at all!"
"This chunk of stone that’s two to three meters wide turned out to be the largest fragment."
"The three-eyed individuals are natives of Nether Demon Heaven?"
"Sigh... I thought the Main Camp would be safe enough. Who would have expected..." Chen Mu shook his head and chuckled bitterly.
All around him, mountains had collapsed, and the ground was pitted and scorched black; the grey ash from dead ghost soldiers and the mutilated corpses of three-eyed individuals were visible everywhere.
Chen Mu took a deep breath, the smell of burning flesh overwhelming.
"We can’t stay here!"
He opened the gates of Thousand Lanterns City, ready to take the Yin Spirits inside when a thought suddenly struck him. Once again, he looked out at the corpses that filled the landscape.
"Should I just leave them lying here, exposed to the wind and sun?"
Although they were not of his kind, Chen Mu still couldn’t avoid a sense of sorrow for like souls.
"Dying without anyone to retrieve their bodies is too pitiful!"
"Well, what can I say, I’m a good person, aren’t I?" With a sigh, Chen Mu waved his hand, and all five or six thousand Yin Spirits inside Thousand Lanterns City appeared.
"Do your best to gather the bodies," he decided to provide these three-eyed individuals with a burial place.
For instance...
The Bottomless Pool!
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter