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墨書 Inktalez
After a sleepless night, everyone finally prepared to rest as dawn broke. Master Xiao and I went to retrieve our backpacks and set up camp at Qiu Leyu's site.
Let me briefly introduce the five members of the Quanzhen Sect: Qiu Leyu from the Longmen Sect, Han Yuan from the Encountering Immortals Sect, Jiang Quan from the Qingjing Sect, Liu Hetian from the Longevity Sect, and Zhu Shun from the Huashan School. Although they all wore matching Daoist robes, each of them was robust and full of energy, likely due to their long-term martial training; they looked like soldiers ready for action.
Especially Liu Hetian, who stood over six feet tall and was even bigger than Master Xiao. He was a Senior Master, one of their elders from the Longevity Sect. They were well-equipped for self-defense; besides the Iron Sword and daggers, I even spotted a shotgun and an ancient crossbow. One might think they were heading into the mountains for hunting.
It made sense, though; the Quanzhen Sect primarily focused on internal alchemy, so they practiced with weapons to keep fit. Those chosen to come here were undoubtedly exceptional. No wonder they could bring back wild boar for food.
We slept until noon that day, and lunch was still lavish, featuring the leftover wild boar. Master Xiao brought out all the liquor, and we exchanged cups, drinking merrily. This guy is truly something else; I thought he only brought one bottle, but after finishing it, he produced another one, and then another after that—all of them fifty-three proof liquor.
Originally planning to head out after lunch to find Senior Master Skeleton's location, we ended up not going at all.
After drinking, everyone sprawled out on the grass and fell asleep in various positions. Looking back now, it was quite a memorable experience—how many people in this world can feast and drink heartily in Shennongjia's Cutting Cliff?
We didn't wake up until after four in the afternoon and hurried toward that location. Fortunately, it wasn't far; we arrived at the outskirts after walking for just two or three hours.
The perimeter was surrounded by bamboo groves. Qiu Leyu mentioned that there was a large Depression in the middle of the bamboo forest where no bamboo grew—only thick weeds. It resembled a swimming pool dug into flat ground; however, this Depression varied in depth. The entrance sloped downward with occasional small earth mounds, and at its deepest point, it was three or four meters above ground level. At the very back, there was a stone cave about two meters long and wide. The cave faced westward, allowing the afternoon sun to shine inside.
However, it would take us about another mile to walk from the outskirts to reach the Depression. I checked my bearings; this direction also led to Lost Shore After walking a bit further, Qiu Leyu said we were almost there. I looked up and noticed that the branches of the bamboo were sparse enough for moonlight to filter through—this made things easier for us.
Just a few dozen meters ahead, I suddenly spotted flickering lights in front of us. I pointed curiously at that spot and asked Qiu Leyu if that was where he meant. He nodded and said, "That's it; it seems like someone is over there."
I nodded back and said, "That's in the direction of Lost Shore; it could be Mao Ruiliang and his group."
"Ha ha! Perfect timing! Isn't that guy from Maoshan Sect also around?" Liu Hetian chuckled.
“Meng Biao, Liu Shixiong, don’t mess things up when the time comes,” I reminded them.
Liu Hetian just smiled and said, “I won’t mess up. I want to see just how fierce he really is. Let’s go.” Liu Hetian had a temperament just like Master Xiao.
We quickly made our way toward the source of the firelight. When we were still over ten meters away, we heard familiar incantations. It was indeed them, but their tone seemed a bit urgent; they might have run into some real trouble.
I quickened my pace, and when I reached the Depression, I realized just how vast it really was.
Several restless spirits were darting around inside. Mao Ruiliang, Meng Biao, Liu Zhiqiang, and Zhang Chuanzheng were each wielding their talismans and entangled with those spirits. However, these spirits seemed much larger than the ones we had previously collected.
Upon closer inspection of Meng Biao and Zhang Chuanzheng’s movements, I instantly understood. They weren’t collecting souls; they were clearly destroying them. The Peach Wood Swords in their hands were aimed directly at the spirits' hearts, and the incantations they chanted were Exorcism Spells and ghost-slaying curses.
Even with so many spirits and people entangled inside, the Depression still appeared quite spacious. Zhou Hong had not joined the fight; instead, he squatted by the campfire, continuously adding firewood while several protective talismans were stuck to his back.
“Brother Liu, look at those two brutes, Meng Biao and Zhang Chuanzheng,” Master Xiao said beside me. In just a few seconds, Meng Biao had already dispersed one spirit, and Zhang Chuanzheng showed no mercy either; every move he made was aimed at shattering spirits.
These clustered spirits were once villagers from the same community. After that incident, they had chased after the Quanzhen Sect's Senior Master together. After so many years of cohabitation, they had become quite united. At this moment, it would be simple to collect or guide them to peace. If one or two were shattered, all the spirits would become incredibly violent, their strength multiplying exponentially. I wondered why they chose to deal with these villagers' spirits in such a manner—was it merely for self-training?
“Mao Shixiong, we’re here!” I shouted into the Depression, catching Mao Ruiliang’s attention.
He exclaimed in surprise, “Liu Shidi! You came just in time. This group of spirits has gone berserk; we can’t control the situation anymore.”
Master Xiao and I dropped our backpacks and rushed into the Depression with our talismans and soul-collecting charms. Wang Xiaolu quickly followed us inside as well. Seeing us dive in, Qiu Leyu and the others hesitated for a moment before drawing their Iron Swords and charging in after us.
However, they weren’t skilled in soul collection at all, and with the spirits now enraged, each of them could only barely hold onto one spirit.
I rushed into the midst of the chaos, shouting, "Meng Biao, Zhang Chuanzheng, stop killing! If we can collect them, let's do it; if not, just contain them. These souls are the lingering spirits of villagers and can be guided to peace."
"Guided my foot! These souls are filled with resentment and no longer listen to reason. What nonsense about villagers? Their resentment clearly marks them as vengeful spirits. If we have to kill them, then so be it." Meng Biao looked displeased, swinging his Peach Wood Sword with increasing ferocity. Zhang Chuanzheng, however, was more sensible; he began to abandon the idea of killing the souls and slowly started collecting them instead.
Perhaps because Meng Biao had killed more souls, a greater number of spirits began to swarm around him, and gradually he started to struggle under their weight.
I deliberately refrained from helping him, while Master Xiao showed no interest in assisting either. The others were too preoccupied to lend a hand. Meng Biao's movements grew slower as he began to retreat while still trying to fend off the spirits. Eventually, when he could no longer hold on, he turned and ran, pursued by seven or eight vengeful spirits.
I shook my head. "Sigh, this Meng Biao really is reckless."
"Haha, serves him right! How can this fool be so eager to show off?" Master Xiao's voice boomed across the area for everyone to hear.
I wondered if it was because Meng Biao had disrupted that Senior Master's spirit that Liu Hetian chimed in loudly after Master Xiao, saying, "Haha, what a load of nonsense about Maoshan! I always thought it was something impressive; turns out it's just a coward. If I were you, I'd rather fight than be a turtle hiding in its shell."
Upon hearing this, Meng Biao halted in his tracks and turned back toward the spirits chasing him.
"What does it matter who you are?" Zhang Chuanzheng said. Since he had stopped scattering the souls, the pressure around him had lessened significantly; he even had time to chat about Kung Fu.
No one paid him any mind. Master Xiao circled around to his side, clutching several Soul Guiding Talismans. He slapped one onto Zhang Chuanzheng and began loudly reciting the Soul Summoning Spell. Before long, a spirit from nearby suddenly lunged toward Zhang Chuanzheng.
"Haha, shut up!" After casting the talisman, Master Xiao quickly ducked aside and watched with amusement as the spirits charged at Zhang Chuanzheng.
"Damn!" Zhang Chuanzheng was no Meng Biao; he wasn't as reckless. Seeing so many spirits rushing toward him, he bolted for the exit while stripping off the clothing that had been touched by the Soul Guiding Talisman and tossing it far away.
After the farce subsided, everyone focused on their own battles and diligently collected souls. Only Meng Biao continued to struggle against those spirits. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't withstand the combined assault of seven or eight vengeful spirits. His incantations grew increasingly unstable as his Peach Wood Sword swung with diminishing strength.
His persistence was entirely fueled by a certain overblown confidence, a pride that bordered on arrogance. However, confidence alone could not be transformed into strength. Less than a minute later, he began to run, leading those few lingering spirits in a frantic circle.
Liu Hetian couldn't help but mock him further upon seeing this. "What's wrong, Meng Biao? Are you afraid of dying? If you're scared, what are you doing here?"
"Get lost," Meng Biao shouted as he ran.
Liu Hetian, feeling triumphant, replied, "Haha, desperate times call for desperate measures." Yet he did not chase after Meng Biao, as he was also entangled with a spirit. Although he couldn't deal with it at the moment, he couldn't afford to let his guard down either.
A dozen people were locked in a fierce battle with dozens of spirits within the Depression. However, I felt relieved that no one was resorting to scattering techniques against the spirits anymore. Zhang Chuanzheng had lost the nerve to do so, and Meng Biao no longer had the capability.
For a time, everyone fell silent—some were collecting souls while others were performing rites. As time passed, the number of spirits in the Depression dwindled. Just when there were only about twenty left, Qiu Leyu suddenly shouted, "Liu Shidi! Hurry over to deal with the spirits here with us—He Tian, Han Yuan, Zhu Shun, let's go!"
I turned in confusion to look at Qiu Leyu standing not far from the entrance and then glanced toward the exit.
At the entrance of the Depression stood two wild boars. The flickering red light of the campfire illuminated them, making them appear even more imposing and fierce.
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