"Not bad, with this map, we finally have some understanding of this place. However, it doesn't mark what this place is, or any architectural landmarks. It seems to have been drawn in a hurry and can only be used as a reference," Third Elder Qin also smiled.
"If you want to get more accurate information, Lao San(老三: Third Oldest), it depends on whether you are willing to part with this ghost. Maybe this guy has more accurate information," Fire Elder glanced at the trapped flying head ghost, his eyes flickering as he spoke.
"Are you talking about searching this ghost's soul? That's a good method, and I don't feel sorry about it," Third Elder Qin immediately thought of soul-searching. "Wait a moment, I'll cast a soul-searching technique."
Third Elder Qin was also a decisive person, and he sat down and walked towards the trapped flying head ghost.
This ghost spirit seemed to understand their conversation and struggled frantically.
Third Elder Qin grabbed it expressionlessly with one hand, pressing his hand on the flying head ghost's head, squinting his eyes and performing the soul-searching technique.
After a burst of wailing, the flying head ghost's eyes became dull, and the aura on its body also decreased by a third, as if it had lost its spirituality.
However, Third Elder Qin didn't seem to find more accurate information, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Fire Elder couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you find accurate information?"
"I did find some relevant information. This guy's memories from when he was alive are chaotic, with only some fragments. This ghost was indeed an elder of the Ghost King Sect before he died, seemingly a cultivator from ten thousand years ago. He was directly killed by having his head chopped off by one of his companions at the time. However, the deepest image in this guy's memory isn't the scene before his death, but a special place," Third Elder Qin said, glancing at the others and uttering a few words. "Shuoyue Mountain, Ghost Peach Tree."
"Shuoyue Mountain, what place is that? And what peach tree? Is it some kind of spiritual wood?" Fire Elder frowned, obviously not having heard of Shuoyue Mountain.
Zhang Ling hadn't heard of it either and fell into contemplation.
"Three, three seniors. This junior seems to have seen records of the Ghost Peach Tree in ancient books," At this time, Bai Xinyao, who had been standing aside without speaking, suddenly spoke.
Zhang Ling and the other three immediately turned their heads to look at this woman.
Bai Xinyao squeezed out a smile, and laughed, "Three seniors, although I don't know what Shuoyue Mountain is, there are records of the Ghost Peach Tree in a very ancient book. It says that there are ghost gates in the world that lead to the netherworld. Legend has it that where the ghost gate is located, in the vast sea, there is Mount Du Shuo, on which there is a large peach tree, whose twisted roots span three thousand miles. The northeast side of its branches is called the ghost gate, where all ghosts enter and exit. It is said that there are also gods guarding the ghost gate, ruling over all ghosts. And that big peach tree is called the Ghost Peach Tree."
"Not bad, you little one has some knowledge. There is indeed such a legend," Elder Qingshan seemed to know this legend as well, taking another look at Bai Xinyao. "But this legend is much older than the ancient times."
"On this jade slip map, a simple drawing of a peach tree is printed on the northeast side. Could it be that there really is that Ghost Peach Tree here? Did the disciples of the Ghost King Sect bring us here to open that so-called ghost gate?" Zhang Ling shook the jade slip map in his hand, muttering to himself.
At the same time, he summoned Blue Sparrow in his mind, asking if she knew about the legendary Ghost Peach Tree that could lead to the netherworld.
Blue Sparrow immediately said that there were indeed records of this rumor in the spiritual realm.
"Hehe, no matter what the purpose of that group of guys is, we'll find out by exploring that area," Fire Elder laughed, not worried about anything, but with a strong interest in his eyes.
Then the four of them set off again, heading towards the northeast.
Regardless of whether there was a Ghost Peach Tree in this direction, according to this simple map, this side was indeed the core area of this space.
At the same time, the group of Ghost King Sect cultivators, traveling along the Black Water River, arrived at a place with glittering green light.
At some point, a cloud of green light spots floated over the Black Water River, these light spots were like fireflies, lingering over the river.
The three one-eyed giant snakes carrying the Ghost King Sect's members seemed to become excited when they arrived in this area, constantly opening their mouths to absorb those green fluorescent lights.
Most of the Ghost King Sect's cultivators also showed excited expressions, looking around. They all sensed that the Yin Sha(阴煞: baleful yin) energy ahead was more abundant.
It was even seven or eight times higher than a high-grade Yin Sha(阴煞: baleful yin) spiritual vein.
"These green lights are spiritual lights formed by pure Yin Sha(阴煞: baleful yin) energy. Cultivating here would speed up my cultivation by at least half. I might even be able to break through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul stage in just a few years of seclusion. Oh, there's even a cluster of Green Phosphorous Nether Fire over there," A gray-robed elder muttered in admiration, suddenly noticing a cluster of green and white flames the size of a fist floating on the water surface thirty or forty feet to his left, jumping very spiritually.
A look of excitement appeared on this person's face. His figure instantly transformed into a cloud of Yin(阴: yin) energy and pounced over, obviously wanting to collect that cluster of spiritual fire.
His actions were fast, but someone was faster than him. A green light arrived there one step ahead of him, and a withered hand reached out from it, instantly sucking the cluster of spiritual fire into its hand.
"Hundred Souls, you dare to snatch from me?"
"Hmph, this cluster of spiritual fire is unowned. Whoever grabs it first naturally owns it," The figure in the green light was True Soul Hundred, holding the Green Phosphorous Nether Fire in one hand, and taking out a black and white Soul Refining Banner in the other hand.
Several small blood-red bells hung on both sides of the soul banner, emitting strange sounds. Green light flickered on the back, revealing a green skull that directly swallowed the cluster of Green Phosphorous Nether Fire.
"You" The Nascent Soul elder who failed to grab the spiritual fire's face turned ugly, and a layer of black ghost Sha(煞: baleful) energy appeared on his body.
"What are you two doing? Are you going to fight over a cluster of Yin(阴: yin) fire, and in front of the Sect Leader?" The black-robed female cultivator, Ghost Mother, seeing this scene, immediately snorted.
Sect Leader Yan didn't say anything, but his eyes also glanced at True Soul Hundred.
True Soul Hundred and the other person immediately shivered, as if they were being stared at by a ferocious beast. The expressions on their faces stiffened.
"Alright, you two, come back. Don't ruin the harmony over some small matters," Elder Ghost Car also spoke to persuade them at this time.
The two of them instantly returned to their original positions, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Fellow disciples, you don't need to fight over these small benefits. Ahead is Shuoyue Mountain, and there are definitely many such Yin(阴: yin) fires. Everyone can collect a few, but if you attack fellow disciples, don't blame me for punishing you," Elder Ghost Car then glanced at the other Nascent Soul elders, revealing a smile that was not a smile, and intimidated these fellow disciples.
At this time, three spirit lights flew over urgently from behind. It was Ghost Face Youth Yan Shimin and the other two, returning.
Sect Leader Yan then turned his gaze over and asked, "Any gains?"
Ghost Toutuo immediately excitedly spoke about their discoveries. Upon hearing that they had found the sect's lost Black Moon Blade, Sect Leader Yan also revealed a surprised expression.
"The Young Master is truly blessed," An elder said, generously complimenting.
"Although the Black Moon Blade is just an imitation spiritual treasure, it can increase the chances of success for this goal. Driven by your Heavenly Ghost Body, it can exert its full power," Sect Leader Yan also nodded, saying.
After traveling for several more miles, a patch of pitch-black ghost fog appeared ahead, seemingly reaching the end of the Black Water River.
"Sect Leader, this is the place recorded by my predecessors. Should we act now?" Elder Ghost Car asked, looking at the pitch-black fog ahead.
"This ghost fog seems to be the Nine Yin(阴: yin) Earthly Fiend Array set up by our sect's predecessors. First, use the Myriad Ghost Token to summon the Myriad Ghost Banner inside, and we can easily enter. Moreover, without the cover of the Nine Yin(阴: yin) Earthly Fiend Array, the aura emitted by the Ghost Peach Wood will be sensed by the other Nascent Soul old monsters in this area, saving us the trouble of finding them," Sect Leader Yan instructed in a deep voice.
Elder Ghost Car nodded, transforming into a Yin(阴: yin) wind and flying into the air, his body floating with ghost Sha(煞: baleful) energy. He threw out the Ghost King Token with one hand, and began to chant incantations.
As this great cultivator cast his spell, the palm-sized Ghost King Token seemed to come alive, constantly vibrating and emitting a burst of ghost wails.
The pitch-black ghost fog ahead was also affected, flowing. Vaguely, countless blurred shadows could be seen shuttling back and forth inside.
"Eh, the Ghost Seal is reacting," Yan Shimin suddenly sensed something, and some strange colors appeared on his face. His body was slowly blurring, becoming somewhat transparent in the blink of an eye.
It looked like he had suddenly cast the Heavenly Ghost Technique, but he hadn't done anything.
Yan Shimin frowned, and spat out a ball of green light. The green light circled in front of him and wanted to fly away, seemingly out of his control.
Yan Shimin quickly raised his hand to grab it, but Sect Leader Yan, who was standing in front of him, was one step faster, conjuring a pitch-black ghost hand that grabbed the green light.
The green light kept jumping in the ghost hand, extremely restless. Following that, Yan Shimin cast several blood-red reactions, and the green light stabilized, turning into the Ghost Seal.
"Control this treasure well. This treasure was originally obtained in this place. The closer you get to the Nether King's body under the Ghost Peach Tree, the greater the reaction," Sect Leader Yan instructed with a serious expression.
Yan Shimin nodded silently, and once again sucked the Ghost Seal into his mouth, directly sitting cross-legged on his large tongue and meditating.
It seemed that he would re-refine the treasure later.
Sect Leader Yan glanced at Yan Shimin, and then turned his gaze to the black-robed female cultivator, asking, "Is there any sign of Hong'er awakening in the Soul Coffin?"
Hearing the question, Ghost Mother shook her head. "Hong'er still shows no signs of awakening, but her aura is constantly increasing, with faint signs of breaking through. It seems that she will awaken in the next few days. And calculating the time, there is still some time before the blood moon is full."
Ghost Mother said, and looked up at the three Yin(阴: yin) moons slowly moving in the sky.
"That's good. Once Hong'er awakens, even if her primordial spirit is incomplete, we can control her," Sect Leader Yan also looked at the three moons above his head, muttering something.
…
Speaking of Zhang Ling and others, they flew towards the northeast, crossing tens of thousands of miles again. After passing over several high mountains, a hilly area appeared ahead.
But strangely, a large area of hills ahead was shrouded in a glowing green light, with no end in sight, covering at least a hundred miles.
Zhang Ling swept his divine sense and found that the green light was actually a group of translucent green fish, each with Yin Sha(阴煞: baleful yin) energy surrounding them, obviously some kind of Yin Sha(阴煞: baleful yin) attribute creature.
These green fish were very small, the largest looking only as thick as a finger, similar to ordinary small fish. The green light was the flickering fluorescent light from the translucent scales on these fish.
From a distance, they looked more like some kind of spiritual insect. The number was extremely large.
Fire Elder took the lead, flying in front, and suddenly reached out and created a gust of wind, sweeping down below, seemingly wanting to grab some flying fish for research.
However, the wind ball created by this old man approached those flying fish, and it seemed like he was pouncing into the air, failing to catch anything.
The green fish near the wind ball were also alarmed, scattering in all directions, instantly creating an open space.
"Interesting, what kind of strange fish is this? Do you recognize it? It doesn't seem to have a physical body,"
"Never seen it before."
The others shook their heads. Zhang Ling lightly flicked his hand, releasing a yellow light ball, covering several green fish.
Those green fish, illuminated by the yellow light, slowed down their movements, but only twisted a few times, and then darted out of the yellow light as if it were nothing.
They didn't seem to be harmed in the slightest.
This surprised Zhang Ling quite a bit. Although the yellow light he released was only a small ball, it was indeed the Heavy Yuan Profound Light he cultivated, possessing the power of heavy pressure, but it couldn't control a few weak and fragile little fish.
Although these fish carried Yin Sha(阴煞: baleful yin) energy, it was very weak, only equivalent to a first-order initial-stage demon beast.
Bai Xinyao was also very curious, looking at the large area of green fish below. The large area of green light in front of her had a somewhat serene feeling.
Although she didn't know what kind of creatures these fish were, they didn't seem to be threatening, possibly similar to fireflies.
With a whoosh, a firelight came from the side. It was Fire Elder throwing out a huge fireball with a width of more than ten feet. With a loud bang in the sky, a piece of green strange fish, instantly turned into wisps of blue smoke in the firelight.
A large area of green fish nearby was affected, fleeing in all directions. This time, at least a thousand green fish were killed.
"Hehe, although I don't know what kind of creatures they are, they don't seem to be a threat to us," Fire Elder chuckled and ignored them, continuing on his way.
Zhang Ling and the other two followed closely. There were a large number of these green fish, and if they were really a threat, they might be surrounded.
Although for Nascent Soul cultivators, they would only cause some minor troubles, but now it seems that these fish are neither threatening nor very timid.
Naturally, there was no need to pay attention to them.
However, what Zhang Ling and the others didn't notice was that not long after they left, a small fish with a pitch-black body suddenly flew out from among the fish below.
This small fish carried a piece of green light, but unlike the other fish, its body was not virtualized, but more like a real fish.
The black fish's two dead fish eyes blinked a few times, staring very spiritually in the direction Zhang Ling and the others left.
The black fish flicked its tail, with a clear sound, a gray-white flame ignited on its body, directly turning into green smoke. Among the strands of green smoke, there was a flash of black light as thin as a hair, and then it disappeared without a trace.
