Netherworld’s Spirit Envoy - -

As soon as the Dry Jiangshi saw the light from the phone, it quickly retreated. However, Lin Zhe pursued it relentlessly. Just as he was about to reach the Dry Jiangshi, the phone suddenly emitted a weak buzzing sound, and its screen went dark.

The phone was out of battery!

Lin Zhe and I froze instantly, not daring to make a move or even breathe heavily. I could clearly feel my back drenched in sweat, with a drop of cold sweat slowly trickling down my forehead, itching as it slid across my face.

Cautiously, I swallowed, feeling an itch in my throat, as if hair had lightly brushed against my neck. A cold sweat broke out again at the thought of the Ghost Face moving slowly, as Lin Zhe had said. I certainly didn’t want to turn into a gorilla covered in black hair.

I felt an itch in my ears, making me want to reach up and scratch. But I dared not move, fearing that any slight action would make the hair find its target and burrow into my body.

What about Lin Zhe? Why wasn’t he making any noise? Had he already been caught? I suppressed my breathing, inhaling slowly, exhaling slowly. This made me feel increasingly suffocated. I wanted to breathe deeply, but I was afraid the rise and fall of my chest would attract the attention of the Ghost Face and the Dry Jiangshi.

With a hissing sound, like a match being struck, a faint light appeared beside me, which felt as bright as the sun to me.

It was Lin Zhe. He held a illuminated spirit talisman in his hand. The Dry Jiangshi quickly retreated, and although there was some distance between the Ghost Face and me, her hair had already extended towards me.

Sweat had appeared on Lin Zhe’s face, and he seemed to be in some discomfort. Seeing that I was about to be entangled by the Ghost Face’s hair, he quickly threw the spirit talisman at it.

The talisman landed perfectly on the hair, but instead of burning it, the hair rapidly retracted upon contact. Taking advantage of this, I quickly pushed Lin Zhe forward.

Another spirit talisman lit up in Lin Zhe’s hand. I glanced back and saw the Ghost Face’s hair was some distance away from me.

“There’s a fork ahead, get in!” Crouching as we moved forward was exhausting for both of us, and Lin Zhe was already out of breath as he spoke.

We quickly dashed into one of the forked paths. After running for a short while, the passage suddenly expanded. We straightened up and took a deep breath, then continued running a bit further. Suddenly, Lin Zhe collapsed from exhaustion.

At first, I thought he was just worn out, so I sat on the ground, gasping for air and laughing with relief, “This place is really quite thrilling; I almost got scared to death.”

Lin Zhe lay on the ground without any response. It was only when I spotted the spirit talisman near his head that I noticed a fingernail-sized black spot on his face.

What was that?

I leaned closer to have a better look. The black spot seemed peculiar, as if it were part of Lin Zhe’s skin, yet resembled black ink. As I drew near, a strong odor of decay filled my nostrils.

“Lin Zhe, what’s wrong? Wake up, wake up!” I shook Lin Zhe’s shoulders vigorously, but he didn’t respond at all.

That’s when I remembered hearing the hissing sound of the Dry Jiangshi when the phone went dark. Could its venom have splattered onto Lin Zhe’s face?

What should I do now? I was at a loss. Wasting no time, I turned to the Yin-Yang Notebook, urgently asking if there was any way to remove the venom from Lin Zhe’s face.

After a long silence, the Yin-Yang Notebook finally responded to my persistent questioning, “There is a way, but the Master will have to take a risk.”

“Whatever the method, as long as it saves Lin Zhe, I fear no danger.” At that moment, my mind was solely focused on Lin Zhe. As long as I could save him, I was willing to risk everything.

“Grind the Dry Jiangshi’s tooth into powder and administer it with the Master’s blood. Only then will he be fine,” the Yin-Yang Notebook stated, its tone steady but making my heart race in fear.

The Dry Jiangshi’s tooth, where would I even find its tooth? Could it be its old teeth?

The Yin-Yang Notebook shattered my wishful thinking, “You must extract a fresh tooth directly from the Dry Jiangshi’s mouth.”

That practically meant a death sentence! But it was the only way. If delayed any further, Lin Zhe’s life would truly be in peril. I absolutely couldn’t just watch him die right in front of me.

“While I’m looking for the Dry Jiangshi, can you keep Lin Zhe safe for me?” Since I had to seek out the Dry Jiangshi, I couldn’t bring Lin Zhe along. Besides, the Ghost Face was still behind us, and if she caught up, Lin Zhe would be in just as much danger.

The Yin-Yang Notebook was silent for a moment before saying, “The Master can use the Yang Calamity Spirit to protect his Yang energy from being detected by the Ghost Face. Right now, Lin Zhe is motionless, so the Dry Jiangshi won’t notice him.”

I nodded. The Yang Calamity Spirit is a refined spirit, and it even bowed to me. I nodded back and instructed it to keep Lin Zhe safe.

The Yang Calamity Spirit spoke in a calm tone, “Master, rest assured, I will protect him.”

The Yin-Yang Notebook also gave me something-well, it was more like a thing called the Foot Spirit. Its body is soft and can change shape at will. Even if it’s scattered, it can reform itself. The Yin-Yang Notebook said that if the Dry Jiangshi attacked me, I could hide inside the Foot Spirit’s body, as it’s immune to the Dry Jiangshi’s poison.

I headed in the opposite direction. To ensure Lin Zhe’s safety, I took turns down the tunnel, walking for a long time until I felt secure. Using my palms, I kept knocking on the stone walls to make noise and attract the Dry Jiangshi’s attention.

However, I never expected that my plan would not only attract the Dry Jiangshi but an entire family of them.

There were big ones and small ones, even one with a tongue more than a meter long leading the way. Behind it, there were over a dozen other Dry Jiangshi, yet they all seemed to fear the large one, emitting hissing noises toward me but not daring to come closer.

I swallowed hard and spoke directly to the Foot Spirit, “Let me inside quickly.”

To my surprise, the Foot Spirit decided to joke with me. It turned its head, looked at the empty space beside it, and mimicked me, “Let me inside quickly.”

“Hurry up.” I urged, unable to contain my frustration. What was this spirit doing? Instead of letting me inside, it kept mimicking me with no intention of helping.

What was going on? Did it require some kind of incantation? The Yin-Yang Notebook didn’t mention anything about that. Now, in this urgent situation, it was just mimicking me instead of helping. I didn’t know what to do.

“How the hell do I get in? Damn it, let me in now!” I was thoroughly frustrated. I didn’t have anything that could produce light around me, and the Foot Spirit, which could emit a glow, had easily drawn the Dry Jiangshi to me. But after attracting them, it seemed useless and was mocking me with its mimicry-what a joke!

Seeing that I was angry, the Foot Spirit stopped moving and looked back at me, unmoving.

I suppressed my anger and urged, “Please, it’s urgent, let me inside quickly.” Softening my tone, I pleaded, and yet it started mimicking me again.

It seemed that it truly wasn’t taking me, its Master, seriously. I was on the brink of madness. If I couldn’t make it out alive, then I might as well make the Foot Spirit my first casualty!

Without further ado, I reached out and grabbed what I assumed was the Foot Spirit’s neck. It felt like soft rubber, deforming easily under my grip.

Wasn’t the Foot Spirit supposed to have no weaknesses? Yet when I clamped its neck, its eyes rolled back, and its voice changed, sounding like a rooster that had been stepped on. It pleaded, “Master, Master, I get it! Please let me go, I can’t take it anymore.”

“Can’t take it? That’s right; if I’m going down, you’re not getting off easy either!” I was completely unhinged. At such a critical moment, it still thought it could joke around with me. Did it really think that its so-called Master was just for show?

Suddenly, a wavering pattern resembling water ripples appeared before my eyes. Instantly, I felt a sense of blockage in my ears, nostrils, and mouth. Although it didn’t affect my speaking, hearing, or breathing, it felt comforting, as if it could shield me from some danger.

“Master, I was wrong, you’re holding my vital point. Please let go.” I was taken aback. This voice-it was the Foot Spirit’s voice. I looked down to find myself holding something akin to a red thread.

The Foot Spirit’s voice carried a hint of awkwardness as it finally said, “Master, I’m male.”

I was momentarily stunned before releasing it with some distaste. Seriously, at a time like this, there was no room for foolishness. With exasperation, I ordered it, “Get moving forward, to that old Dry Jiangshi. I need one of its teeth.”

The Foot Spirit dared not misbehave further and obediently moved ahead. As soon as it moved, it became the target of the Dry Jiangshi. The old Dry Jiangshi remained still, but the smaller ones behind it began to act.

Mouthfuls of black venom were spat at the Foot Spirit encasing me. The venom hit it and slid off, as if sliding off glass, having no effect on the Foot Spirit.

At first, when I saw the venom being spat towards us, my heart leapt. But upon seeing nothing happened, I relaxed a bit. The Foot Spirit took large strides, and as it approached the Dry Jiangshi, they began to retreat fearfully.

The old Dry Jiangshi hadn’t moved the entire time, its eyes fixed on the Foot Spirit. Suddenly, it jumped and landed on the Foot Spirit’s head, clinging to the tunnel’s ceiling.

Indeed, the old Dry Jiangshi was something else. Realizing that the venom was ineffective, it decided to launch a direct attack.