Netherworld’s Spirit Envoy - -

As the heavy black door slowly opened, a thick, suffocating wave of Yin energy swept over, causing my breath to catch and my consciousness to briefly blank out.

When I regained awareness, I found myself enveloped in complete darkness. The Yin-Yang Notebook was nowhere to be seen, nor was there any sign of the so-called Ghost King. My feet stood on emptiness, unable to feel any solid ground beneath.

This lack of any discernible form instilled a sense of fear in me. I moved my feet and continued walking forward.

After walking for a short distance, a few flickering black shadows appeared before my eyes, but when I tried to focus, they vanished again.

My steps halted abruptly, and I stood there, frozen, afraid to move. Were those shadows real, or was it just a ploy by the Ghost King? I couldn’t be sure.

Steadying my nerves, I continued forward. Suddenly, a bright light pierced into my eyes, blinding me completely.

A loud, thunderous voice echoed in my ears, making them ring so intensely that I could hardly make out the words being spoken.

With my mind dulled by the ringing, I stood there, unsure of what to do next. Once the scene before me became clear, a huge black shadow loomed in the distance.

It was like a towering mountain, looking down on me. Judging by its shape, it seemed to be a human figure, with a head, neck, and broad shoulders, standing against the backlight, confronting me.

The earlier voice must have come from this figure-it sounded dignified, demanding respect.

“Who are you, daring to trespass in my domain!” Without allowing me time to react, the black shadow swiftly approached, and before I knew it, a pair of enormous eyes, black and white, loomed in front of me, each eyeball as large as my entire face.

Frightened, I staggered back a few steps to put distance between us.

The shadow’s head quickly retreated, but I got a clear look at what this so-called Ghost King truly looked like.

Glaring at me with its large eyes, its face was covered in dry creases. The greenish skin appeared especially grotesque, and between those eyes was a mouth devoid of lips, leaving all its teeth exposed, appearing fierce and terrifying.

I was completely stunned by its appearance, standing there, momentarily forgetting to respond to its question.

A violent gust of Yin energy swept through the array, flinging me away as if slicing across my face with a knife, leaving a burning pain.

After tumbling through the air a few times, I hit the ground and struggled to get up, only then remembering what I had come for as I stared at the enormous black Shadow in front of me.

However, now I lacked the courage to meet its gaze and could only lower my head and speak softly, “I… I am here to find a soul that you have imprisoned.”

“Hahaha…” A deafening laugh rang out, as if a giant hand clenched my heart tightly, making it hard to breathe and endure the pain.

The Shadow looked down at me, seemingly viewing me as a tiny ant. “With just you, wanting to find someone from my grasp? You’ve got quite the nerve.”

As soon as the words fell, another gust of Yin wind swept through, this time sending me into the infinite beyond. The scenery before me kept changing, yet I continued to spin around in the Serpent Ghost Domain.

When I landed again, the same backlit black Shadow appeared before me. “A mere mortal dares to speak wildly before me, overestimating yourself!”

Faced with that being’s taunts, I didn’t even have the power to fight back. My head buzzed, resonating with the Ghost King’s laughter.

Gust after gust of Yin wind swept over, lifting me into the air. My body spun endlessly in mid-air, and I had no sense of direction, helplessly at the mercy of the Yin wind.

These Yin winds all emanated from the Ghost King’s mouth, containing the purest Yin energy he had refined within himself. Blowing against me felt like a bone-chilling winter wind piercing my bones. The feeling left me struggling in pain, powerless to resist.

It was as if tiny bugs were gnawing at every joint in my body. Numb and tingling, I was unable to react or stop them, only able to let them consume me inch by inch.

In an instant, I was drenched in cold sweat, and my clothes clung sticky and damp to my body.

It felt like countless small bugs were crawling through the cracks in my bones, moving wherever they pleased, coursing through my veins, eroding whatever they wished. Each tiny wound they inflicted left me powerless to fight back, at their mercy as they wreaked havoc on my body.

As I struggled to fight the bugs with my consciousness, they seemed to reach a forbidden area, abruptly halting their path. Instantly, a defensive battle within me began.

It’s really like a tug-of-war unfolding within my body, with one side attacking and the other defending, one side charging and the other obstructing. However, in this battle between the two armies, it’s me who suffers the damage.

Indescribable pain coursed through my body, leaving me powerless to fight back, yet somehow it was this agony that jolted me awake.

As I opened my eyes, all I saw was darkness; I couldn’t make out anything, and the so-called Ghost King had vanished.

With no sense of time here, I had no idea how long I’d been lying down. My whole body felt as though I’d just been pulled from the water, and any slight movement made my bones creak loudly.

As I stood up, a wave of helplessness washed over me, and darkness threatened to pull me back into unconsciousness.

No! A voice suddenly echoed in my mind. I thought of Lin Shishi. No matter what difficulties I faced here, I couldn’t give up. I had to take Lin Shishi away from this accursed place.

I clenched my fists and then relaxed them, lifted my foot, and continued walking forward.

The deafening, intimidating voice was gone now. After walking for what felt like ages, a vermilion wall, over two meters tall, appeared in front of me.

Why would there be a building here, and it seemed like it was part of a temple complex? I followed the line of the wall until I saw, not far ahead, a five-meter-high memorial archway.

It was a classic structure with three doors and two arches, covered with three layers of bricks and tiles, appearing particularly grand.

There were actually three identical memorial archways along this stretch, and at the end of the last one stood the main entrance.

A path of perfectly square white bricks paved a broad road that passed under the arches and led directly to the main entrance.

The main entrance was no less imposing than the arches themselves. Although not as tall, it was covered with black tiles, and the two vermilion doors were adorned with gilt bronze handles.

Standing before the door, I felt a nagging sense of unease, as if something were missing. The discomfort was inexplicable, and with the doors tightly shut, I hesitated over whether to go inside.

After much contemplation, having walked so far without encountering anything, I decided it was best to go in and take a look. The compound was so large; who knew what might be inside?

I had assumed that such a heavy door would be difficult to open and used all my strength to push it. Surprisingly, the door swung open effortlessly, and my forceful push caused the vermilion door to slam against the wall with a loud bang.

In the emptiness of this Ghost Domain, the sound was particularly jarring. I stood there, frozen, not daring to move, afraid that the noise might attract something.

After waiting for a while and hearing nothing, I finally dared to slowly open my eyes and look inside the doorway.

It was a desolate sight. Beyond the door was a murky gloom, resembling an overcast sky or the moments before dawn, giving everything a somewhat indistinct appearance.

The courtyard inside was vast, stretching beyond my vision to the left and right. However, the main hall just inside the entrance stood out, towering about five meters high with black-tiled roofs and intricately carved, hollowed woodwork beneath the eaves.

There was a row of lamp posts leading from the entrance to the main hall, all of which were unlit, casting no illumination.

As I set my first foot into the courtyard, six of the lamps abruptly flickered to life, as if they had been waiting for my arrival.

Though the scene was eerie, it didn’t frighten me. I was already here, and it was clear that something was orchestrating all these peculiar occurrences.

The door to the main hall was open. Upon entering, I saw a long offering table intended for placing tributes, but there were no deities or statues being honored. On either side of the main hall were passageways leading further back, both shrouded in darkness that I couldn’t penetrate. However, to the left, there stood an urn taller than a person, placed on a stone pedestal.

The urn was elegantly designed, adorned with gilt patterns. Circular in shape, it boasted floral designs on each side, exuding an air of sophistication.

Oddly, the top of the urn was sealed with a thick, ten-centimeter stone lid, an incongruous match for the ornate urn beneath it.