Editor: Sahloknir
Two medical disciples in violet gauze robes shuffled in softly and lit up the Yin candles. The eerie green light illuminated the dim mortuary.
“Lord Xu, this way please.”
All the major sects in the cultivation world tend to guard their own territory, except for Mu Duozhu of the Golden Boat Medical Sect. For one, he claimed that it was the duty of medical practitioners to extend a helping hand to the world. The other reason was to make more money. Because of these reasons, he established countless medical clinics across the world.
At this moment it was noon, but the interior of the house was so dark that one could not see the tip of their own fingers. There were only four rows of green candles, which cast a wavering glow on the twenty-eight neatly positioned coffins of varying shapes and sizes.
Gong Wei, weaving through the crowd like a fox, took advantage of the hoards of people as a cover to hide in a corner. It was only then that the constant spasms of his heart started to slightly ease. Unfortunately, as he eased himself away from the crowd, he unwittingly bumped into someone behind and felt a jab.
“Why are you hiding?”
Gong Wei spun around, and when he saw Yuchi Xiao, his face tensed up into an expression of agony and he cried, “It was an accident, Young Swordsman. Have mercy, Young Swordsman!”
Yuchi Xiao: “…”
Yuchi Xiao lifted his hand but froze it in mid-air, the corners of the mouth twitched slightly and reluctantly suppressed his annoyance. He said in a low voice, “Didn’t I apply the medicine on you?!”
Gong Wei pitifully mumbled, “It is no use Young Swordsman, it is my fault, I am still in pain.”
Yuchi Xiao sighed and almost rolled his eyes in response. He quickly placed his hand on Gong Wei’s left shoulder and channelled a stream of powerful spiritual energy into him, repairing Gong Wei’s broken meridians and calming his erratic heartbeat—caused by No Way Out.
Gong Wei, with a face full of sincerest gratitude, reached out and grabbed his hand, “Young Swordsman, you are such a kind person, I—”
Yuchi Xiao was thoroughly grossed out and snarled, “Just talk and don’t touch me!”
At this time, Xu Shuangtze asked one of the medical disciples, “How are the bodies preserved?”
The Medical Sect’s disciple bowed to him in response and replied anxiously, “When they were delivered to us, we filled them up with mercury. Young Master Yuchi kindly assisted us in this matter by using up a large amount of his spiritual power to prevent the bodies from decaying. Though we know that the souls of those who died under the influence of dark arts cannot be summoned again. But my Lord, we-we were reluctant to give up hope and so we tried several times…to call them back using our best spell formations. But in the end, we were helpless. But if you help us, with your unparalleled cultivation level, we might have a chance.”
Gong Wei whispered, “Look at how others speak…”
Yuchi Xiao, who was in the midst of healing his shoulder, heard everything. He quietly looked on but softly retorted, “I shall let you continue to be in pain.”
Hearing that, Gong Wei froze up immediately, and hurriedly responded, “Young Swordsman, I misspoke, please don’t stop.”
Meanwhile, Xu Shuangtze was slowly strolling past several coffins, his expression hidden under those long eyelashes.
He suddenly stopped walking and pressed on a coffin lid. Everyone immediately could see the eerie glow of spiritual energy emanating from his palm. In the blink of an eye, the energy enveloped the entire coffin. As the crowd became quiet in awe, Xu Shuangtze could be heard whispering, “None shall look back after crossing the Ghost Wall, life and death are merely day and night. Rise!”
All of a sudden, the lids of all twenty-eight coffins flipped open in unison and created an incessant booming vibration. As if suspended by invisible ropes, each corpse rose from their coffins. Bathed in an eerie green glow, their pale faces looked tragically beautiful. Suddenly, twenty-eight pairs of cloudy eyes sprung open at the same time and looked at Xu Shuangtze!
It was an extremely shocking scene and a few cultivators standing in front of the crowd could not help but stumble backwards. Unfazed, Xu Shuangtze looked at the nearest corpse and commanded, “Report your names.”
A woman looked blankly at Xu Shuangtze. There were strangulation bruises on her otherwise swan-like neck. She was the courtesan who had committed suicide at the Prince’s Residence. In death, her beauty had not faded, but her movements were stiff and emitted a rusty, creaking sound that made everyone’s scalp tingle. She jerkily bowed down and emotionlessly replied, “This lady’s name is Yao Yuqing.”
Beside her was a young bride wearing a ceremonial phoenix crown and scarlet cape. Her throat had a gaping hole which had already turned greenish-black—a result of decomposition. As she bowed, liquid dripped down from her wound, “This lady’s name is Yu Xiaomeng.”
The third one was a teenage cultivator in white robes who bent down, holding onto his sword in a salutation, his voice carried a tinge of sorrow, “This junior is called Yuan Le.”
…
Xu Shuangtze’s eyes swept over the twenty-eight deceased, as they reported their names. He looked back at the first courtesan, “You excused yourself from the feast at the Prince’s Residence to change your clothes. As your makeup had worn off, you touched it up again in front of the mirror, didn’t you?”
Ktf mbegafrjc rjlv klat j agfwyilcu nblmf, “Tfr!”
We Vtejcuahf atfc aegcfv ab atf yglvf, “Tbe kfgf kjlalcu obg j ibcu alwf lc atf yglvji mtjwyfg obg sbeg ugbbw ab jgglnf. Vb sbe abbx boo sbeg nfli jcv jvwlgfv sbeg beaola lc atf wlggbg, vlvc’a sbe?”
“Tfr!”
“Tbe jgf jc Pwwbgaji Vfma’r vlrmlqif jcv sbe tjnf ab ufa eq fjgis fnfgs wbgclcu ab wfvlajaf. Tbe kfgf ojmlcu j wlggbg ab ugbbw sbegrfio joafg j yjat yfobgf sbeg wfvlajalbc qgjmalmf?”
“Yes!”
…
Without needing Xu Shuangtze to ask each of the deceased, the truth dawned on everyone present. All the victims had done the same thing before they died, they looked at themselves in a mirror!
One cultivator suddenly turned pale as he recalled the bronze mirror in his room, he shakily exclaimed, “Could it-could it be that as long as there is a mirror, it can-it can all—”
Hearing the panic of the cultivator, Gong Wei shook his head and softly said, “No, it has to be a mercury mirror.”
The reason why the Mirror Art is rarely practiced is because one of the conditions to activate the craft was the use of mercury mirrors. A bronze mirror could not effectively capture a soul, as it was unable to connect the Yin and Yang, and could not create illusions.
Mercury mirrors were rare and expensive items that were not readily available to the masses. Hence, the twenty-eight deceased in Linjiang City are all dignified and prestigious figures. Without access to a mercury mirror, even if there were beauties with heavy Yin predisposition, they would escape the unfortunate fate of being exposed to the Mirror Art.
Hearing Gong Wei’s remark, Yuchi Xiao softly replied, “You know quite a lot.”
Gong Wei looked at him arrogantly as he secretly scoffed, Of course! Once Yuchi Rui saves me from Xu Shuangtze, I will demonstrate the full extent of my knowledge which will be guaranteed to make you kneel down before me in awe. You will definitely want to acknowledge me as your uncle!
Sensing rather unkind thoughts, Yuchi Xiao rubbed his nose uneasily, “Why do you keep staring at me?”
Gong Wei: “…”
Xu Shuangtze took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Everyone watched him fearfully as they saw him exhale deeply, as if he was finally ready after some kind of mental preparation.
He opened his eyes and glanced around at the twenty-eight corpses before asking the most crucial question.
“Who was the one who harmed you?”
The souls of the dead were stirred up—they all looked as though they had countless words to say at the same time, the courtesan was the first to let out a sharp cry, “It-it was the Immortal—”
“The Immortal Alliance—”
“—Immortal Alliance’s…”
In that instance, the blood-curdling cries of the souls were disrupted and a sudden unnatural silence descended upon the audience as all the corpses grabbed their necks simultaneously looking as though they were being choked by something unseen.
The courtesan trembled violently as she held onto her neck. The dead bride opened her mouth to cry out “Ah, ah” in a muted tone. A female entertainer at the back was first to succumb to whatever evil was pressuring her and tore at her own hair while letting out a miserable ghastly groan. The twenty-eight corpses struggled violently, causing the crowd to tremble and grasp in horror. One by one the corpses collapsed into their coffins, their once preserved look faded away leaving only a shrunken and decayed husk.
Xu Shuangtze reacted quickly, he rushed towards the nearest floating corpse and pressed his palm on the body of the young cultivator in white. He forcibly channeled his spiritual power and the sudden livor mortis slowed down. The young cultivator’s greenish-black lips struggled to open and barely gasped out a few words,
“He said he is…Immortal Alliance’s…Lo…tus…”
The surrounding cultivators were stunned…Lotus Immortal?
Was it really Chief Gong who had been dead sixteen years?
Before another sound could be heard, the soul of the young cultivator cracked, and the body disintegrated into pieces. The surrounding Yin candles flickered wildly in the still air and emitted a blinding green light. Then the corpse pieces in Xu Shuangtze’s grip became ash in an instant.
Bang!
The ashes scattered into the coffin, but emitted a strange, faint, flickering light.
Looking on silently, Xu Shuangtze leaned forward to touch the pile of ash, when he withdrew his hand, the crowd could see a peach blossom held between his two fingers.
“Here-here too…” Someone incredulously pointed to another coffin, only to hear the surrounding crowd hoarsely cry out,
“There is one here as well!”
“There’re peach blossoms here as well!”
All the souls were simultaneously depleted of spiritual energy, and were snatched back to the Underworld—all that was left behind were peach blossom petals!
“How could…” someone drew in a cold breath, “how could they suddenly…”
Damn right, how? Gong Wei wanted to find out more than anyone else.
He thought to himself, in his previous life, with the exception of Xu Shuangtze, he did not offend anyone. Even if some old men and women of the famous sects did not see eye to eye with him, they would only curse at him behind his back. The northern families who were always against him disputed over the interest of the Immortal Alliance and but did not butt heads with him personally. When he died, these grudges were buried with him.
So who is using his name to create chaos sixteen years later?
Someone peeked at Xu Shuangtze’s face, and was so shocked at his ferocious expression that he stumbled backwards. Xu Shuangtze stared at the remnants of the twenty-eight corpses and coldly spat out two words, “Get out.”
Before the cultivators could react, Xu Shuangtze sternly shouted, “Get out!”
Not even a word of dissent could be heard as the crowd immediately scrambled to leave the mortuary. Several people almost stumbled and fell in their sudden panic to leave. Yuchi Xiao took a couple of steps and saw that Gong Wei was still standing in place. He hurriedly tugged him and lowered his voice, “What are you waiting for?!”
‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ looked as though he just woke from a dream, softly made an “ah” sound, lowered his head and stepped outside.
Yuchi Xiao had never seen the Mei demon behave in this manner and was uncomfortable. He could not help but ask, “ Does your wound still hurt? Wanna let the Medical Sect’s disciples take a look again?”
Gong Wei grabbed his hands, his face flushed pink, “ Young Swordsman, I always knew you are a good person, I…”
All of Yuchi Xiao’s remaining goosebumps stood up and he exclaimed, “I told you not to touch me—” He retracted his hands, ignoring Gong Wei, he marched stiffly out of the door without looking back.
Gong Wei deliberately waited for him to leave, before slowing down his steps. The crowd scrambled to cross the high threshold of the morgue and no one noticed his body slipping behind the door like a shadow clinging to the corner of the wall.
High level cultivators like Xu Shuangtze, who wield unparalleled power, tend to perceive their surroundings mainly by using the Yin and Yang spiritual power, hence eyesight was secondary to them. Xiang Xiaoyuan, with an extremely Yin body deposition, blended in perfectly with the mortuary’s thick, undead gas. Even if the great Golden Immortals were to descend to earth, they might not discover him here—
Gong Wei looked out from the pitch dark corner and saw Xu Shuangtze standing in the middle, surrounded by the twenty eight coffins. He looked tall and slender from the side, his face was chiselled with sharp lines and his dark pupils had a faint, cold glint. Gong Wei could not tell what expression he had.
With a soft click, the door was carefully closed.
Xu Shuangtze’s shoulders stiffened like a wooden plank, but that might be an illusion caused by the flickering candle flame. His voice felt like it was forced through his teeth, “…Gong Wei!”
Gong Wei narrowed his eyes without displaying any emotion.
“Gong—Wei—”
His hoarse voice trailed off like a roar, Xu Shuangtze drew his sword with force, his qi shook the grounds, and he swung the sword down with force through the air!
—Boom!
The sky and the earth shook, No Way Out shattered the void and split it open to reveal the Underworld!
A gust of Yin wind swept out towards heaven and earth, and hellfire rained down like a waterfall from the air. A nine-foot high, blood-painted door emerged from the raging fire and stood right in front. The massive door had nine rows of door nails made from greenish human bones and skulls and a pair of bronze dragon head door-knockers. There were thousands of headless skeletons clinging onto the door frame and making sorrowful, ghastly cries.
Xu Shuangtze’s face was stiff as ice and he did not hesitate to swing down his sword once more.
This time, the huge door broke into pieces, and the debris of gigantic stones fell like rain. Even the door frame was completely shattered into pieces!
A chill finally rose silently from Gong Wei’s heart. He had made a correct guess. Xu Shuangtze wanted to be alone to open this door that separates life and death—
He was breaking through the Ghost Wall of the Underworld!
Before Gong Wei could react, his surroundings morphed and the morgue disappeared. In its place the entrance to the Underworld appeared. A gust of hellish wind swept out from the broken door of the Ghost Wall, sending Xu Shuangtze’s hair and sleeves flying as he slammed No Way Out heavily on the ground.
Numerous foot soldiers from the Ghost Wall, holding eerie green torches, axes and forks, rushed out of the door like a wave.
“How dare you!”
“Who is this?”
“The living may not enter the Underworld, how dare you trespass!”
The soldiers’ ranks swelled up as more of them gathered from the back, they crowded together and from afar they looked like a ghastly black swamp. Xu Shuangtze looked at the scene and smiled coldly,
“—Get out of my way.”
As soon as his words fell, the ghost soldiers stiffened and neatly stepped aside, creating a path. At the end of the path, eighty-eight skeletons were seen carrying a carriage as they hurried forwards. On it was the Ghost Judge who was donned in a red official’s robe and wore black iron headgear . His body was as large as a small mountain and under his robe was not a typical body with arms and legs, but a mass of ghosts crying pitifully but not being able to break free.
“—It is Lord Xu, I have not seen you for many years, I trust that you have been well?!”
The Ghost Judge smiled like a Maitreya Buddha and projected his voice so loudly that Gong Wei nearly went deaf. The eighty-eight skeletons carrying the carriage suddenly halted and knelt in unison. He swept his gaze across the surroundings and the ruins of the wrecked door before his greenish face showed an expression of gratitude. “Immortal Monarch, your temper has improved. This is much better compared to sixteen years ago, when you stormed the Ghost Wall and slaughtered thousands of ghosts within the Twelve Provinces of the Underworld. I am delighted.”
Gong Wei’s thin silhouette was hidden behind the debris, and his eyebrows twitched. Xu Shuangtze once stormed through all Twelve Provinces of the Underworld?
But why?
Xu Shuangtze stood with his sword, his expression held no surprise at the Ghost Judge’s words. He merely said, “Bring me the Book of Life and Death, I am looking for someone.”
The Ghost Judge’s actions suddenly stopped, his smile slipped off his face and he let out a long sigh.
“Immortal Monarch, we have already made it clear to you sixteen years ago. The soul you are looking for is not in the Underworld—I think it must be No Way Out’s formidable powers. It is not possible for that person to even reincarnate, his soul would have already been fragmented and scattered!”
——————————————————————————————–
Sahl
Okay guys, I know some of you have your doubts about Xu Shuangtze, but he literally went to hell for his boi. *Clasps hands together* So romantic!
Editor: Sahloknir
Two medical disciples in violet gauze robes shuffled in softly and lit up the Yin candles. The eerie green light illuminated the dim mortuary.
“Lord Xu, this way please.”
All the major sects in the cultivation world tend to guard their own territory, except for Mu Duozhu of the Golden Boat Medical Sect. For one, he claimed that it was the duty of medical practitioners to extend a helping hand to the world. The other reason was to make more money. Because of these reasons, he established countless medical clinics across the world.
At this moment it was noon, but the interior of the house was so dark that one could not see the tip of their own fingers. There were only four rows of green candles, which cast a wavering glow on the twenty-eight neatly positioned coffins of varying shapes and sizes.
Gong Wei, weaving through the crowd like a fox, took advantage of the hoards of people as a cover to hide in a corner. It was only then that the constant spasms of his heart started to slightly ease. Unfortunately, as he eased himself away from the crowd, he unwittingly bumped into someone behind and felt a jab.
“Why are you hiding?”
Gong Wei spun around, and when he saw Yuchi Xiao, his face tensed up into an expression of agony and he cried, “It was an accident, Young Swordsman. Have mercy, Young Swordsman!”
Yuchi Xiao: “…”
Yuchi Xiao lifted his hand but froze it in mid-air, the corners of the mouth twitched slightly and reluctantly suppressed his annoyance. He said in a low voice, “Didn’t I apply the medicine on you?!”
Gong Wei pitifully mumbled, “It is no use Young Swordsman, it is my fault, I am still in pain.”
Yuchi Xiao sighed and almost rolled his eyes in response. He quickly placed his hand on Gong Wei’s left shoulder and channelled a stream of powerful spiritual energy into him, repairing Gong Wei’s broken meridians and calming his erratic heartbeat—caused by No Way Out.
Gong Wei, with a face full of sincerest gratitude, reached out and grabbed his hand, “Young Swordsman, you are such a kind person, I—”
Yuchi Xiao was thoroughly grossed out and snarled, “Just talk and don’t touch me!”
At this time, Xu Shuangtze asked one of the medical disciples, “How are the bodies preserved?”
The Medical Sect’s disciple bowed to him in response and replied anxiously, “When they were delivered to us, we filled them up with mercury. Young Master Yuchi kindly assisted us in this matter by using up a large amount of his spiritual power to prevent the bodies from decaying. Though we know that the souls of those who died under the influence of dark arts cannot be summoned again. But my Lord, we-we were reluctant to give up hope and so we tried several times…to call them back using our best spell formations. But in the end, we were helpless. But if you help us, with your unparalleled cultivation level, we might have a chance.”
Gong Wei whispered, “Look at how others speak…”
Yuchi Xiao, who was in the midst of healing his shoulder, heard everything. He quietly looked on but softly retorted, “I shall let you continue to be in pain.”
Hearing that, Gong Wei froze up immediately, and hurriedly responded, “Young Swordsman, I misspoke, please don’t stop.”
Meanwhile, Xu Shuangtze was slowly strolling past several coffins, his expression hidden under those long eyelashes.
He suddenly stopped walking and pressed on a coffin lid. Everyone immediately could see the eerie glow of spiritual energy emanating from his palm. In the blink of an eye, the energy enveloped the entire coffin. As the crowd became quiet in awe, Xu Shuangtze could be heard whispering, “None shall look back after crossing the Ghost Wall, life and death are merely day and night. Rise!”
All of a sudden, the lids of all twenty-eight coffins flipped open in unison and created an incessant booming vibration. As if suspended by invisible ropes, each corpse rose from their coffins. Bathed in an eerie green glow, their pale faces looked tragically beautiful. Suddenly, twenty-eight pairs of cloudy eyes sprung open at the same time and looked at Xu Shuangtze!
It was an extremely shocking scene and a few cultivators standing in front of the crowd could not help but stumble backwards. Unfazed, Xu Shuangtze looked at the nearest corpse and commanded, “Report your names.”
A woman looked blankly at Xu Shuangtze. There were strangulation bruises on her otherwise swan-like neck. She was the courtesan who had committed suicide at the Prince’s Residence. In death, her beauty had not faded, but her movements were stiff and emitted a rusty, creaking sound that made everyone’s scalp tingle. She jerkily bowed down and emotionlessly replied, “This lady’s name is Yao Yuqing.”
Beside her was a young bride wearing a ceremonial phoenix crown and scarlet cape. Her throat had a gaping hole which had already turned greenish-black—a result of decomposition. As she bowed, liquid dripped down from her wound, “This lady’s name is Yu Xiaomeng.”
The third one was a teenage cultivator in white robes who bent down, holding onto his sword in a salutation, his voice carried a tinge of sorrow, “This junior is called Yuan Le.”
…
Xu Shuangtze’s eyes swept over the twenty-eight deceased, as they reported their names. He looked back at the first courtesan, “You excused yourself from the feast at the Prince’s Residence to change your clothes. As your makeup had worn off, you touched it up again in front of the mirror, didn’t you?”
Ktf mbegafrjc rjlv klat j agfwyilcu nblmf, “Tfr!”
We Vtejcuahf atfc aegcfv ab atf yglvf, “Tbe kfgf kjlalcu obg j ibcu alwf lc atf yglvji mtjwyfg obg sbeg ugbbw ab jgglnf. Vb sbe abbx boo sbeg nfli jcv jvwlgfv sbeg beaola lc atf wlggbg, vlvc’a sbe?”
“Tfr!”
“Tbe jgf jc Pwwbgaji Vfma’r vlrmlqif jcv sbe tjnf ab ufa eq fjgis fnfgs wbgclcu ab wfvlajaf. Tbe kfgf ojmlcu j wlggbg ab ugbbw sbegrfio joafg j yjat yfobgf sbeg wfvlajalbc qgjmalmf?”
“Yes!”
…
Without needing Xu Shuangtze to ask each of the deceased, the truth dawned on everyone present. All the victims had done the same thing before they died, they looked at themselves in a mirror!
One cultivator suddenly turned pale as he recalled the bronze mirror in his room, he shakily exclaimed, “Could it-could it be that as long as there is a mirror, it can-it can all—”
Hearing the panic of the cultivator, Gong Wei shook his head and softly said, “No, it has to be a mercury mirror.”
The reason why the Mirror Art is rarely practiced is because one of the conditions to activate the craft was the use of mercury mirrors. A bronze mirror could not effectively capture a soul, as it was unable to connect the Yin and Yang, and could not create illusions.
Mercury mirrors were rare and expensive items that were not readily available to the masses. Hence, the twenty-eight deceased in Linjiang City are all dignified and prestigious figures. Without access to a mercury mirror, even if there were beauties with heavy Yin predisposition, they would escape the unfortunate fate of being exposed to the Mirror Art.
Hearing Gong Wei’s remark, Yuchi Xiao softly replied, “You know quite a lot.”
Gong Wei looked at him arrogantly as he secretly scoffed, Of course! Once Yuchi Rui saves me from Xu Shuangtze, I will demonstrate the full extent of my knowledge which will be guaranteed to make you kneel down before me in awe. You will definitely want to acknowledge me as your uncle!
Sensing rather unkind thoughts, Yuchi Xiao rubbed his nose uneasily, “Why do you keep staring at me?”
Gong Wei: “…”
Xu Shuangtze took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Everyone watched him fearfully as they saw him exhale deeply, as if he was finally ready after some kind of mental preparation.
He opened his eyes and glanced around at the twenty-eight corpses before asking the most crucial question.
“Who was the one who harmed you?”
The souls of the dead were stirred up—they all looked as though they had countless words to say at the same time, the courtesan was the first to let out a sharp cry, “It-it was the Immortal—”
“The Immortal Alliance—”
“—Immortal Alliance’s…”
In that instance, the blood-curdling cries of the souls were disrupted and a sudden unnatural silence descended upon the audience as all the corpses grabbed their necks simultaneously looking as though they were being choked by something unseen.
The courtesan trembled violently as she held onto her neck. The dead bride opened her mouth to cry out “Ah, ah” in a muted tone. A female entertainer at the back was first to succumb to whatever evil was pressuring her and tore at her own hair while letting out a miserable ghastly groan. The twenty-eight corpses struggled violently, causing the crowd to tremble and grasp in horror. One by one the corpses collapsed into their coffins, their once preserved look faded away leaving only a shrunken and decayed husk.
Xu Shuangtze reacted quickly, he rushed towards the nearest floating corpse and pressed his palm on the body of the young cultivator in white. He forcibly channeled his spiritual power and the sudden livor mortis slowed down. The young cultivator’s greenish-black lips struggled to open and barely gasped out a few words,
“He said he is…Immortal Alliance’s…Lo…tus…”
The surrounding cultivators were stunned…Lotus Immortal?
Was it really Chief Gong who had been dead sixteen years?
Before another sound could be heard, the soul of the young cultivator cracked, and the body disintegrated into pieces. The surrounding Yin candles flickered wildly in the still air and emitted a blinding green light. Then the corpse pieces in Xu Shuangtze’s grip became ash in an instant.
Bang!
The ashes scattered into the coffin, but emitted a strange, faint, flickering light.
Looking on silently, Xu Shuangtze leaned forward to touch the pile of ash, when he withdrew his hand, the crowd could see a peach blossom held between his two fingers.
“Here-here too…” Someone incredulously pointed to another coffin, only to hear the surrounding crowd hoarsely cry out,
“There is one here as well!”
“There’re peach blossoms here as well!”
All the souls were simultaneously depleted of spiritual energy, and were snatched back to the Underworld—all that was left behind were peach blossom petals!
“How could…” someone drew in a cold breath, “how could they suddenly…”
Damn right, how? Gong Wei wanted to find out more than anyone else.
He thought to himself, in his previous life, with the exception of Xu Shuangtze, he did not offend anyone. Even if some old men and women of the famous sects did not see eye to eye with him, they would only curse at him behind his back. The northern families who were always against him disputed over the interest of the Immortal Alliance and but did not butt heads with him personally. When he died, these grudges were buried with him.
So who is using his name to create chaos sixteen years later?
Someone peeked at Xu Shuangtze’s face, and was so shocked at his ferocious expression that he stumbled backwards. Xu Shuangtze stared at the remnants of the twenty-eight corpses and coldly spat out two words, “Get out.”
Before the cultivators could react, Xu Shuangtze sternly shouted, “Get out!”
Not even a word of dissent could be heard as the crowd immediately scrambled to leave the mortuary. Several people almost stumbled and fell in their sudden panic to leave. Yuchi Xiao took a couple of steps and saw that Gong Wei was still standing in place. He hurriedly tugged him and lowered his voice, “What are you waiting for?!”
‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ looked as though he just woke from a dream, softly made an “ah” sound, lowered his head and stepped outside.
Yuchi Xiao had never seen the Mei demon behave in this manner and was uncomfortable. He could not help but ask, “ Does your wound still hurt? Wanna let the Medical Sect’s disciples take a look again?”
Gong Wei grabbed his hands, his face flushed pink, “ Young Swordsman, I always knew you are a good person, I…”
All of Yuchi Xiao’s remaining goosebumps stood up and he exclaimed, “I told you not to touch me—” He retracted his hands, ignoring Gong Wei, he marched stiffly out of the door without looking back.
Gong Wei deliberately waited for him to leave, before slowing down his steps. The crowd scrambled to cross the high threshold of the morgue and no one noticed his body slipping behind the door like a shadow clinging to the corner of the wall.
High level cultivators like Xu Shuangtze, who wield unparalleled power, tend to perceive their surroundings mainly by using the Yin and Yang spiritual power, hence eyesight was secondary to them. Xiang Xiaoyuan, with an extremely Yin body deposition, blended in perfectly with the mortuary’s thick, undead gas. Even if the great Golden Immortals were to descend to earth, they might not discover him here—
Gong Wei looked out from the pitch dark corner and saw Xu Shuangtze standing in the middle, surrounded by the twenty eight coffins. He looked tall and slender from the side, his face was chiselled with sharp lines and his dark pupils had a faint, cold glint. Gong Wei could not tell what expression he had.
With a soft click, the door was carefully closed.
Xu Shuangtze’s shoulders stiffened like a wooden plank, but that might be an illusion caused by the flickering candle flame. His voice felt like it was forced through his teeth, “…Gong Wei!”
Gong Wei narrowed his eyes without displaying any emotion.
“Gong—Wei—”
His hoarse voice trailed off like a roar, Xu Shuangtze drew his sword with force, his qi shook the grounds, and he swung the sword down with force through the air!
—Boom!
The sky and the earth shook, No Way Out shattered the void and split it open to reveal the Underworld!
A gust of Yin wind swept out towards heaven and earth, and hellfire rained down like a waterfall from the air. A nine-foot high, blood-painted door emerged from the raging fire and stood right in front. The massive door had nine rows of door nails made from greenish human bones and skulls and a pair of bronze dragon head door-knockers. There were thousands of headless skeletons clinging onto the door frame and making sorrowful, ghastly cries.
Xu Shuangtze’s face was stiff as ice and he did not hesitate to swing down his sword once more.
This time, the huge door broke into pieces, and the debris of gigantic stones fell like rain. Even the door frame was completely shattered into pieces!
A chill finally rose silently from Gong Wei’s heart. He had made a correct guess. Xu Shuangtze wanted to be alone to open this door that separates life and death—
He was breaking through the Ghost Wall of the Underworld!
Before Gong Wei could react, his surroundings morphed and the morgue disappeared. In its place the entrance to the Underworld appeared. A gust of hellish wind swept out from the broken door of the Ghost Wall, sending Xu Shuangtze’s hair and sleeves flying as he slammed No Way Out heavily on the ground.
Numerous foot soldiers from the Ghost Wall, holding eerie green torches, axes and forks, rushed out of the door like a wave.
“How dare you!”
“Who is this?”
“The living may not enter the Underworld, how dare you trespass!”
The soldiers’ ranks swelled up as more of them gathered from the back, they crowded together and from afar they looked like a ghastly black swamp. Xu Shuangtze looked at the scene and smiled coldly,
“—Get out of my way.”
As soon as his words fell, the ghost soldiers stiffened and neatly stepped aside, creating a path. At the end of the path, eighty-eight skeletons were seen carrying a carriage as they hurried forwards. On it was the Ghost Judge who was donned in a red official’s robe and wore black iron headgear . His body was as large as a small mountain and under his robe was not a typical body with arms and legs, but a mass of ghosts crying pitifully but not being able to break free.
“—It is Lord Xu, I have not seen you for many years, I trust that you have been well?!”
The Ghost Judge smiled like a Maitreya Buddha and projected his voice so loudly that Gong Wei nearly went deaf. The eighty-eight skeletons carrying the carriage suddenly halted and knelt in unison. He swept his gaze across the surroundings and the ruins of the wrecked door before his greenish face showed an expression of gratitude. “Immortal Monarch, your temper has improved. This is much better compared to sixteen years ago, when you stormed the Ghost Wall and slaughtered thousands of ghosts within the Twelve Provinces of the Underworld. I am delighted.”
Gong Wei’s thin silhouette was hidden behind the debris, and his eyebrows twitched. Xu Shuangtze once stormed through all Twelve Provinces of the Underworld?
But why?
Xu Shuangtze stood with his sword, his expression held no surprise at the Ghost Judge’s words. He merely said, “Bring me the Book of Life and Death, I am looking for someone.”
The Ghost Judge’s actions suddenly stopped, his smile slipped off his face and he let out a long sigh.
“Immortal Monarch, we have already made it clear to you sixteen years ago. The soul you are looking for is not in the Underworld—I think it must be No Way Out’s formidable powers. It is not possible for that person to even reincarnate, his soul would have already been fragmented and scattered!”
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Sahl
Okay guys, I know some of you have your doubts about Xu Shuangtze, but he literally went to hell for his boi. *Clasps hands together* So romantic!
