Chen Zhou sighed inwardly. I'm being watched again.
Tsk, this tracking ability was truly a massive pain.
Previously, because of the Sunlight Array, the other six Western Mansions were still trapped inside, which was why only Lou-Metal Dog had tracked him here.
Chen Zhou glanced at his system panel. The duration of the Sunlight Array had already ended.
If Lou-Metal Dog pursued him again and brought the other six Mansions along, it would be extremely difficult to handle.
“My Lord?” the Plague Rat noticed Chen Zhou's strange behavior and approached, asking.
“It's coming again.”
“Who? Lou-Metal Dog?”
Chen Zhou nodded.
The Plague Rat's expression changed, and he instinctively glanced deep into the forest.
The moonlight of the Graveyard of Ten Thousand Beasts slowly flowed above Dou Mu Xie's head, the silver-white light spilling like liquid mercury, dyeing the entire forest in a coat of silver-white.
Under the moonlight, the paths in the forest twisted and deformed. With nothing but overlapping tree shadows as far as the eye could see, it was impossible to tell north, south, east, or west.
The Plague Rat let out a sigh of relief. “That gave me a scare. Now that the moonlight is shrouding us again, that dog shouldn't be able to find us, right?”
Jian Huaishuang spoke coldly, “Have you forgotten how My Lord got in here just now?”
The Plague Rat froze.
“My Lord used the Sunlight Array to disperse the moonlight, and then, relying on the Longevity Deer's familiarity with the Graveyard of Ten Thousand Beasts, found the path leading straight to the Celestial Maiden Spring among the countless routes.”
Jian Huaishuang's tone was calm. “Lou-Metal Dog has already been here once. Even if the moonlight disrupts his tracking now, next time, he only needs to bring along Mao Ri Ji, who has already broken free—”
“To disperse the moonlight with sunlight.” The Plague Rat caught on, his relaxed expression turning solemn.
“Even if they aren't familiar with the paths of the Graveyard of Ten Thousand Beasts, given enough time, they will still be able to find this place again.”
Jian Huaishuang finished his sentence, “When that time comes, it will be highly problematic.”
The Plague Rat grew anxious. “Then what do we do? We can't just keep hiding forever, can we? How about we slip away before they get here?”
“Slip away to where?” Jian Huaishuang retorted.
The Plague Rat opened his mouth but found no words.
Indeed, where could they go?
The Jianmu had already taken root here. If they abandoned this place, it would be equivalent to letting the enemy find the teleportation point to the City of the Wrongfully Dead.
Unless absolutely necessary, Chen Zhou did not want to destroy a precious Jianmu clone.
Head deeper into Qingzhou? The situation there was even more uncertain. What if they ran into something even more formidable?
Besides, even if they wanted to leave, would Lou-Metal Dog let them?
That creature's tracking ability was like a cancer clinging to the bone; there was simply no shaking it off.
Chen Zhou stood in place, his mind racing.
In the short time since arriving in Qingzhou, he had already used the Source of Divine Power twice.
The first time was to steal Mao Ri Ji's Sunlight Array, and the second was to borrow Jian Huaishuang's Command Enslaved Ghosts.
He only had six uses in total.
Now, only four remained.
Four uses of the Source of Divine Power was neither too many nor too few.
But if he relied on consuming the Source of Divine Power to solve every problem, he would run out in no time.
Furthermore, replenishing the Source of Divine Power was too difficult; he had yet to find a way to restore it in large quantities. Even the two Ghost Emperors of the Great Emperor's Palace had scraped together only five uses for him with great difficulty.
Chen Zhou reassessed the current situation.
On Bai Xing's side, counting the six Western Mansions they had already seen plus Lou-Metal Dog, there were seven Mansions in total.
Meanwhile, from Dou Mu Xie's memories, he had seen that Xuan Cai had left another three Mansions in Qingzhou.
Nü Tu Fu, Wei Yue Yan, and Xu Ri Shu.
If he could find them all, then even if the seven Mansions joined forces, he could field six special Ghost Servants on his side by combining them with Dou Mu Xie, Jiao Mu Jiao, and Wing-Fire Snake.
Six against seven—slightly inferior in numbers.
But with the addition of Jian Huaishuang, the Plague Rat, and himself, they should stand a fighting chance.
With this in mind, Chen Zhou turned and walked toward Dou Mu Xie.
After casting the moonlight, Dou Mu Xie had remained standing by the Celestial Maiden Spring, his head lowered as he stared intently at Lian.
His gaze was highly focused, the silver-white flames flickering within his eye sockets as if he were examining something.
Lian was currently crouching beside Jiao Mu Jiao. Black slime surged from her palms, crawling along the ground onto Jiao Mu Jiao's body and injecting into his wounds.
As she healed him, she muttered, “Jiao Mu Jiao, you are super amazing. You protected everyone.”
“But you can't be so reckless next time, okay? You still have to dodge the attacks you should dodge.”
“You don't have to worry about me being bitten by that bad dog. I'm just a filthy thing anyway, so I'll be fine.”
Jiao Mu Jiao let out a disgruntled snort.
“What are you snorting at? Am I wrong?” Lian glared at him, her hands never stopping.
“Don't move. Look at you, the wound has opened up again. I'll do it slowly. It might hurt a bit, so bear with it.”
Dou Mu Xie stared for a long time.
His instincts from when he was alive activated. The flames in his eyes could not only illuminate the darkness but also peer into the human heart.
Legend had it that the Xiezhi could distinguish right from wrong, recognize good and evil, and judge truth from falsehood.
He looked at Lian, looking at the black slime within her body, and looking at those black-spot monsters condensed from filth and resentment.
These things had nowhere to hide under the moonlight.
Chen Zhou walked over and got straight to the point. “Do you know where the other three Mansions left by Xuan Cai in Qingzhou are?”
Dou Mu Xie thought for a moment, then nodded gently.
Then he turned around, walked over, and nudged Lian.
Lian, who was in the middle of healing Jiao Mu Jiao, was nudged off balance and nearly fell over.
She steadied herself and looked up at Dou Mu Xie, utterly bewildered. “What's wrong? Are you hurt?”
Lian smiled sheepishly.
“I'm sorry. I'm just a little monster, so I can only summon filth.”
“I can probably only heal Jiao Mu Jiao, since he's also made of filth. But you are now My Lord's creation, formed from bones, so I'm not sure if I can help.”
Although she said this, Lian still examined his body very carefully. His skeletal frame was complete, without any cracks or damage, nor was it infected by the whiteness.
The silver-white moonlight flowed through the gaps in his bones, perfectly intact.
“Oh, so you aren't hurt?”
Lian let out a sigh of relief and patted Jiao Mu Jiao's single horn.
Dou Mu Xie lowered his head and gently nuzzled Lian's gaunt cheek.
Dou Mu Xie's skull was very cold, and as the silver-white moonlight brushed against her face, it brought an indescribable sensation.
It felt as though the moonlight itself were caressing her.
Lian felt a bit embarrassed and quickly lowered her head, pretending to adjust her clothes.
Dou Mu Xie gently bit a small corner of her sleeve, then kicked the Longevity Deer sprawling on the ground as he passed.
The Longevity Deer, which had been playing dead on the ground, jolted up in surprise, springing to its feet and staring at Dou Mu Xie in utter confusion.
It had used its Shrinking Earth talent not long ago and hadn't fully recovered yet. Encountering Lou-Metal Dog right after had scared it half to death.
It had finally managed to lie down for a brief rest, so why did Lord Dou Mu Xie kick it?
When Lord Dou Mu Xie used to shelter them, hadn't he been the most reasonable of all? The deer wasn't like those two troublemaking bastards, Old Pine and Old Locust.
There was no reason for it to get kicked.
Could it be that Lord Dou Mu Xie's current skeletal form was being controlled by an evil spirit?
Was what Old Pine had told it before—about how evil spirits were incredibly black-hearted, wicked, and detestable—actually true?
Oh no! It had lived so comfortably in the City of the Wrongfully Dead with plenty of food and drink, believing that the evil spirit was a great, benevolent god!
Yet the moment they arrived in Qingzhou, the god's true colors were revealed!
Its life was over!
The Longevity Deer was filled with terror. Seeing it standing there stupidly without moving, Dou Mu Xie gave it another kick.
The Longevity Deer cried out pitifully, obediently standing up though its four legs were still trembling.
Dou Mu Xie, holding Lian's sleeve in his mouth, kicked and herded the Longevity Deer along as they walked toward Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou waited to see what he would do next.
He watched as Dou Mu Xie gently nudged Lian onto his back, and then, with a single kick, sent the Longevity Deer flying into the Celestial Maiden Spring.
Splash—!
Water splashed in all directions as the Longevity Deer shrieked and fell into the lake, the moonlight on its antlers wobbling wildly on the surface of the water.
Dou Mu Xie raised his head, and a silver-white light flared on his single horn.
Moonlight poured from the tip of his horn, spilling onto the surface of the Celestial Maiden Spring.
The lake water seemed to be parted by something, splitting open down the middle to reveal a massive rift, exposing the shattered chessboard at the bottom of the lake and the endless void beneath it.
Standing on the chessboard, the Longevity Deer felt dizzy and disoriented. It managed to steady itself with great difficulty, and when it looked up, it found itself standing on a stone slab only a few zhang wide, surrounded entirely by the void.
It was pitch-black and bottomless.
Like a monster waiting to devour anything that came near.
The Longevity Deer was so terrified its legs turned to jelly. It collapsed to the ground, burying its face in its hooves, not daring to look.
Dou Mu Xie leaped from the shore, carrying Lian as he landed gracefully on the chessboard.
The chessboard wobbled, but it did not shatter any further.
Lian looked around uneasily. For some reason, she felt that the space beneath the chessboard was terrifying.
It was pitch-black, a vast nothingness, as if something were hiding inside, waiting for her to fall.
Yet, there also seemed to be something calling out to her.
It was very faint and distant, but she could feel it.
It was a very strange feeling, like someone calling her name from very, very far away.
But she couldn't hear what they were saying at all.
Lian gripped Dou Mu Xie's horn tightly, her fingers trembling slightly.
Dou Mu Xie sensed her anxiety. He lowered his head, nuzzled her hand with his snout, and then glanced back at Chen Zhou, gesturing for him to follow.
Then, carrying Lian, Dou Mu Xie kicked the Longevity Deer down first before leaping into the void himself.
Chen Zhou stood on the shore of the lake, staring into the void beneath the chessboard with a deep frown.
It was one thing for there to be a chess game at the bottom of the Celestial Maiden Spring, but there was actually something below the chessboard as well?
Just how many secrets were hidden in this place called Qingzhou?
He took a deep breath and turned to face Jian Huaishuang and the Plague Rat.
“You two stay here for now.”
“If Lou-Metal Dog tracks us down again with the other six Western Mansions, Jiao Mu Jiao and Wing-Fire Snake should be able to hold out for a bit longer under the protection of the moonlight.”
“Do your best to stall until Lian and I return.”
Jian Huaishuang nodded. “Rest assured, My Lord.”
The Plague Rat also patted his chest in reassurance. “Go ahead, My Lord. We'll guard this place. If they send one, we'll kill one; if they send two, we'll kill a pair!”
Chen Zhou glanced at him and frowned as he instructed.
“If you can't hold them off, don't do anything foolish. Saving your lives is the priority. Teleport directly back to the City of the Wrongfully Dead through the Jianmu, and then destroy this Jianmu clone.”
“At worst, when we return to Qingzhou, we'll just have to brave the Myriad Ghost Array again.”
“Contact me immediately if anything unexpected happens. I can also descend into Huaishuang's body as a Bone Incarnation at any time.”
After saying that, Chen Zhou looked at the skeletons again. “Continue transporting the auspicious beast skeletons. I will need them later.”
For Chen Zhou to summon special Ghost Servant units in the future, a large amount of bone materials was indispensable.
“Understood!”
The skeletons responded in unison, then swarmed toward the pile of bones on the shore, scrambling to carry them.
Having finished his instructions, Chen Zhou walked to the edge of the chessboard and glanced at the void below.
It was pitch-black; nothing could be seen.
He took a deep breath and leaped down.
The moment Chen Zhou left, the divine technique-level Command Enslaved Ghosts deactivated.
The jade-like skeletal texture on the skeletons rapidly faded away, and they turned back into thin sheets of white paper, drifting in the air a few times before gently landing on the ground.
“Ouch—”
A paper person climbed up from the ground, touched his flat body, and wailed.
“Why is it gone? Where are my bones? Where are my handsome bones?”
“Stop whining.”
A nearby paper person patted the dust off himself, his tone not particularly bothered. “It's not like this is your first day being a paper person.”
“But bones feel so good! They're hard and solid, which makes fighting so much more exciting.”
The first paper person was still reminiscing. “It's easy to go from rags to riches, but hard to go from riches to rags!”
“Sigh, it's all because we followed the wrong Boss.”
“When will the Boss be like My Lord and give us a majestic, powerful body?”
“At the end of the day, it's still because the Boss is too weak. It's all the Boss's fault.”
Sighing and groaning, the paper people climbed up from the ground, shook the creases out of their bodies, and began carrying the auspicious beast skeletons on the shore.
Jian Huaishuang stood nearby, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
The paper people giggled and laughed as they passed him, but upon noticing his expression, they quickly shut their mouths in fear.
Jian Huaishuang's lips twitched. He turned to look toward the edge of the Graveyard of Ten Thousand Beasts and set off, bringing the Plague Rat, Jiao Mu Jiao, and Wing-Fire Snake along with him.
Upon reaching the canopy of a giant tree, the Paper Snow Sword Domain silently unfolded. Countless paper fragments drifted down from between the branches and leaves, spreading in all directions.
Crouching by the tree roots, the Plague Rat asked, “So, when do you think that dog will get here?”
Jian Huaishuang did not answer.
“Hey, I'm talking to you.” The Plague Rat picked up a blade of grass and stuffed it into his mouth.
“I don't know.”
“Can't you say something useful?” the Plague Rat grumbled.
“Wait.”
“Wait for what?”
“Wait for it to come.”
The Plague Rat: “...You're absolutely right.”
He sighed, leaned against the tree roots, and looked up at the moonlight overhead.
The silver-white light flowed through the tree canopy like a thin veil, shrouding the entire forest.
The moonlight was beautiful, but the Plague Rat knew this beauty would not last long.
Once Mao Ri Ji arrived and the sunlight shone, the moonlight would be dispersed.
When that happened, the two of them would have to face the siege of at least seven Mansions.
Seven.
Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
“Jian Huaishuang,” the Plague Rat suddenly spoke.
“Hmm.”
“Do you think My Lord can find those three Mansions?”
“He can.”
“So certain?”
“My Lord has never let us down.”
The Plague Rat paused, then smiled. “True.”
He closed his eyes and fell silent.
The task for the two of them now was to buy enough time for My Lord.
The forest grew quiet, with only the sound of the wind and the occasional rustle of drifting paper snow.
Standing in the tree canopy with his hand resting on his sword hilt, Jian Huaishuang peered through the moonlight toward the distance.
There, patches of white were drawing near.
Their speed was extremely fast.
They had indeed caught up again.
Rate on N.U.
