Chen Zhou was taken aback, his gaze falling upon the white-robed monk on the back of the giant, earthy-yellow earthworm.
“Why are you here?”
Wu Gou sat cross-legged on Diting's back, pressing his hands together. He grinned, revealing a row of bright white teeth.
“This poor monk naturally divined that you couldn't do without me.”
He spoke with absolute confidence, his tone carrying a slight hint of wanting to take credit.
Diting let out a low rumble, its colossal body fully emerging from the pit at the edge of the ruins. Segment by segment, its stiff bristles gleamed with a metallic luster under the moonlight.
Wu Gou stood up on Diting's back with an easy grace. Tapping his toes lightly against its spine, he floated down.
The moment his feet descended, a lotus platform suddenly bloomed in the void before him.
The lotus platform was pieced together from countless human hands—thick and thin, whole and severed—packed densely together in a grotesque yet merciful display.
Wu Gou landed steadily on the lotus platform of human hands, his snow-white robes draping down to cover the writhing, twisted fingers beneath.
The surrounding white beasts had been frantically besieging Chen Zhou's Ghost Domain, but the moment Wu Gou appeared, their movements ground to a sudden halt.
As if sensing something, they all snapped their heads around and stared in Wu Gou's direction.
Abandoning Chen Zhou, the white beasts turned and lunged directly toward Wu Gou.
Wu Gou smiled. He raised his right hand, palm facing up, his five fingers curling slightly.
“Shen Liang.”
“Yes, Master.”
Another sinister voice echoed from beneath the lotus platform of human hands, and soon, the ground began to turn damp.
A thin layer of moisture suddenly seeped out from the dry, gravelly ground. It rapidly expanded into shallow puddles, which then merged into streams, quickly swelling into a raging flood.
Turbid floodwaters surged from the cracks in the ground at an incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, the water rose past their ankles and quickly reached their knees.
The white beasts rushing toward Wu Gou slipped and stumbled into the water, their speed dropping instantly.
The water continued to rise—from their knees to their waists, and then from their waists to their chests.
Dead branches and rotting leaves floated in the turbid floodwaters, and a layer of grayish-white foam drifted on the surface, emitting a rancid, decaying stench.
From the lotus platform of human hands, a pair of bloated, slender hands began to elongate.
The ten fingers were pale and swollen, with mud packed beneath the nails. The arms, seemingly bone-less, drooped limply from the platform and plunged into the water.
Then, those hands detached from the platform. After hoisting the lotus platform above the water, the arms rapidly transformed into a slender, ghostly silhouette beneath the surface.
The ghostly figure swam through the water at a staggering speed.
Shen Liang's soaking-wet head emerged from the water. His cheekbones were high, his eye sockets deeply sunken, and his pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks. His lips curled back to reveal two rows of blackened teeth.
“Can we... stomach them all...”
The evil ghost's voice echoed across the water, sounding near yet far, as if rising from the very bottom of the flood.
From the floodwaters, pairs of disproportionately long, slender arms reached out, clawing toward the white beasts.
Fingers dug into the beasts' bodies, nails sinking deep into the white flesh. With a powerful tug, they dragged the beasts down into the water.
The beasts struggled, but the water was too deep. With the sweep of a wave, they were completely swallowed.
Gurgling sounds echoed from beneath the surface, sounding like something chewing.
A few breaths later, a patch of white debris floated to the surface before slowly sinking back down.
Shen Liang grinned, his gaze sweeping over the countless white beasts around him.
“Come on...”
“Come on down...”
“It's so nice and cool down here...”
Even more white beasts lunged at Shen Liang. He neither dodged nor avoided them, letting them plunge into the water.
The moment they entered the water, countless slender, ghostly hands wrapped around them, binding their limbs, necks, and torsos before dragging them down with brute force.
The beasts struggled desperately, but Shen Liang's arms were as soft and resilient as water weeds, binding tighter and dragging them deeper.
The gurgling sounds beneath the water grew increasingly dense as white debris continuously floated up.
Shen Liang darted joyfully through the water, his hideous face filled with a malicious excitement.
“Yes... just like that...”
“Struggle... only struggling is fun...”
“Drown... just drown... die, all of you, go die, hahaha...”
Within moments, the white beasts besieging Wu Gou were mostly cleared out.
Wu Gou stood upon the lotus platform of human hands, his white robes unstained by a single drop of water. He pressed his hands together, his face serene.
He looked down at the dissolving fragments of the white beasts on the water's surface, then raised his head, his gaze landing on the half-open bronze gate in the distance.
White slime was still pouring out of the gap in the gate, and more white beasts were squeezing through.
That must be the source. To catch the bandits, one must first capture their leader—the Big Demon had taught him that, and he had always kept it in mind.
Wu Gou withdrew his gaze and called out once more.
“Taotie.”
“Right here.”
A muffled response echoed from beneath the lotus platform of human hands, coarse, raspy, and thick with a heavy nasal tone.
Another pair of hands detached from the platform.
These hands were countless times thicker than Shen Liang's, with stout fingers, broad palms, and backs covered in thick, fleshy folds.
The moment the hands touched the ground, Taotie's figure coalesced from the void.
He was slightly thinner than when he was at the Xuandu Ghost Mansion, but he was still a round, tubby mass. His belly bulged like a giant cauldron, and his flesh jiggled with every step he took.
Clutching the Severed Thought warhammer in his hand, with dull red light seeping from the cracks in its head, Taotie strode through the floodwaters, kicking up massive splashes with every step.
Nü Tu Fu was suspended in midair, its wings flapping slowly as it glared intently at Dou Mu Xie.
Meanwhile, Dou Mu Xie was mostly polluted, with only its head and a patch on its chest retaining their original color. It lay on the ground, its hooves twitching, having completely lost the ability to fight.
Charging up to Nü Tu Fu, Taotie swung the Severed Thought warhammer without a second word.
Boom—!
A heavy, muffled crash echoed.
Nü Tu Fu was sent flying backward, crashing into the ruined walls as cracks splintered across its body.
Yet it did not die. Struggling a few times upon landing, it wobbled back up into the air.
Taotie frowned and looked down at the Severed Thought warhammer in his hand.
“Tsk, with my cultivation suppressed to this state, fighting really isn't satisfying enough.”
He muttered, then slammed the Severed Thought warhammer into the ground and rotated his wrists.
“Still, it's not like there's no other way.”
“Let me eat you... I'm hungry, so hungry...”
Taotie took a deep breath. His round belly inflated violently like a balloon, growing larger and larger until it turned into a colossal ball of flesh.
He opened his mouth and inhaled deeply.
Then, he lunged violently toward Nü Tu Fu.
Nü Tu Fu opened its mouth and let out a sharp screech, attempting to block Taotie with soundwaves.
But Taotie was too fast. He crashed straight into Nü Tu Fu, the blubber on his belly absorbing most of the impact and leaving Nü Tu Fu completely dazed.
Then, Taotie opened his massive maw and bit down on Nü Tu Fu's wing.
Crack.
The sound of bone snapping.
With a powerful wrench, Taotie tore the entire wing off. White slime spewed from the rupture, splashing all over his face.
Not caring in the slightest, Taotie chewed the wing and swallowed it down.
Then, he bit into Nü Tu Fu's body, tearing and crunching it down bite by bite.
Nü Tu Fu thrashed in his mouth, letting out shrill screeches, but Taotie ignored them entirely. Within a few bites, he had chewed up and swallowed Nü Tu Fu whole.
He let out a loud burp, patted his belly, and turned to look at Dou Mu Xie nearby.
Dou Mu Xie lay collapsed at the edge of the ruins. The silver-white moonlight was gradually dissipating from its body, and the white pollution had already reached the edge of its skull, leaving only two flickering silver-white flames in its eye sockets.
Taotie walked over, glanced down at Dou Mu Xie, and then looked at his own hands.
Grinning, he pressed his fat palms against Dou Mu Xie's body. A wave of black death qi surged from his hands, covering the white pollution and halting its spread.
“Hang in there, old bones. Otherwise, I won't be able to face the Young Palace Master in a bit.”
The silver-white flames in Dou Mu Xie's eye sockets flickered slightly, as if it understood.
On the other side, Wu Gou had withdrawn his gaze and focused his attention on Lian.
Lian was suspended in midair, bound by white tentacles. Her body was as withered as dry wood, and the black spots inside her had mostly drained away, with the remaining few struggling weakly beneath her skin.
Wu Gou sighed. Pressing his hands together, his lips moved as he began to chant the Cleansing Heart Mantra.
Golden Sanskrit characters drifted from his lips, sinking one by one into the space between Lian's brows.
Lian's body shuddered, and her unfocused eyes slowly began to clear.
“...My... Lord...”
She let out a faint voice, seemingly calling for Chen Zhou.
Wu Gou did not stop, continuing to chant the Cleansing Heart Mantra. The Sanskrit characters entered Lian's sea of consciousness, peeling away the self-destructive emotions layer by layer.
Lian's eyes regained a touch of lucidity, but her body remained incredibly weak, lacking even the strength to lift her head.
“Taotie.”
Taotie rushed over at the call. His fat body waded through the floodwaters, yet it did not hinder his agile speed in the slightest.
Rushing to Lian's side, he reached out with his thick, fleshy hand, grabbed her withered arm, and yanked hard.
The white tentacles snapped one by one, spewing white slime from the ruptures and splashing it everywhere.
Lian was torn directly from the bronze gate, falling from midair and landing into Taotie's arms.
Cradling her, Taotie turned and strode back, splashing loudly through the floodwaters.
Having lost the bloodline of the Emperor's Daughter, the bronze gate shuddered violently. The doors recoiled half a foot and slammed shut, letting out a heavy, muffled boom.
The divine script on the gate flickered a few times before dimming once more.
The floodwaters began to recede.
The turbid water seeped back through the cracks in the ground, and the water level dropped rapidly, eventually leaving only a thin, damp sheen on the ground.
Shen Liang's figure emerged from the water. His limbs, previously as long and thin as bamboo poles, slowly shrank back to their normal length, and his twisted, hideous face gradually returned to calm.
Stepping on the wet ground, he walked over to Wu Gou, water still dripping from his body.
Carrying Lian, Taotie walked back and placed her on the ground in front of Wu Gou, panting as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The two of them bowed in unison to Chen Zhou. “Greetings, Young Palace Master.”
Chen Zhou was also panting. He nodded slightly, then looked down at his severed arm. Death qi surged from the stump, rapidly condensing into a new arm.
He flexed his fingers, his joints popping with crisp cracks.
Then, he quickly walked to Lian's side, squatted down, and reached out to check her breath.
Lian's divine soul was relatively stable, showing no signs of shattering. However, the death qi in her body was severely depleted, and parts of her physical form had been eroded by the white pollution. Fortunately, the pollution had not penetrated her core, remaining only on the surface.
She had simply passed out from exhaustion.
Chen Zhou let out a sigh of relief.
Standing up, he looked at Wu Gou. “Thanks. You arrived just in time.”
“Weren't you accepting your inheritance at the Xuandu Ghost Mansion? Why are you here?”
Wu Gou assumed a solemn expression, pressed his hands together, and said with exaggerated concern, “How distant! Are you polluted? Did you actually just thank me?”
After speaking, his expression turned uncharacteristically serious.
“I was indeed accepting the inheritance at the Xuandu Ghost Mansion, and I must say, Senior Xuandu is incredibly strict.”
“This poor monk thought that accepting the inheritance merely meant sitting on a cushion and listening to the senior lecture on the art of governance. Instead, the senior threw me directly into the Eighteen Levels of Hell, ordering me to transcend a hundred thousand dead souls in the prison within the time it takes a stick of incense to burn. If I failed, I would be assimilated by the death qi of the Wujian Hell.”
As he spoke, a hint of lingering fear colored his tone, though his expression remained calm.
“While this poor monk was meditating in the prison, I suddenly heard Diting crying for help.”
Wu Gou turned to glance at Diting behind him. Diting was raising its massive head, its throat letting out a low rumble, looking incredibly smug.
“Diting can hear the sounds deep within the ley lines. While traveling underground, it sensed the white pollution spreading. Following your scent, it found this place. However, knowing it couldn't win on its own, it ran while crying out to me for help.”
At this point, Wu Gou smiled slightly.
“Naturally, this poor monk knew that Qingzhou is Xuan Cai's territory. So, I immediately asked Senior Xuandu for leave, left the Great Emperor's Palace, returned to the Wanchuan River in the City of the Wrongfully Dead, and teleported here through Jianmu.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Diting again.
“Diting's earth-tunneling technique is unmatched under heaven. It tracked your scent, tunneling through the earth all the way here.”
Beside him, Shen Liang added with a grin.
“The Young Palace Master might not know, but when Lord Xuandu heard about this, he almost lost his composure.”
He paused, lowering his voice to mimic Xuandu's tone.
“How can the Young Palace Master of my Great Emperor's Palace, when traveling abroad, let himself be bullied by some false god of the Central Province?”
Having finished, Shen Liang returned to his own voice, looking at Chen Zhou with a grin.
“Thus, Lord Xuandu immediately ordered this subordinate and the fatso to accompany Master, so we could bolster the Young Palace Master's presence.”
Hearing this, a slightly peculiar feeling welled up in Chen Zhou's heart.
Xuandu truly protected him like a junior.
This seemed to be the first time he had ever experienced such a feeling.
Just as Chen Zhou was about to say something, his gaze suddenly froze, falling upon Shen Liang and Taotie.
Shen Liang's limbs had turned completely white, and Taotie's bloated, festering belly was also whitening bit by bit.
Noticing Chen Zhou's gaze, Shen Liang looked down at his own whitening hands, then raised his head, letting out a sinister grin.
“Thank you for your concern, Young Palace Master, but it is of no consequence.”
He patted his chest, his tone incredibly casual.
“This subordinate and the fatso are, after all, evil ghosts who have cultivated for a hundred thousand years. This tiny bit of pollution won't damage our foundation.”
“Once we return to the Great Emperor's Palace, with our Void-Returning stage cultivation, we can easily suppress this kind of pollution.”
“The Seven Evils have cultivated in the Xuandu Ghost Mansion for a hundred thousand years, and all possess top-tier talent. Our ranks are naturally higher than those of ordinary ghosts outside.”
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