Arriving at the Guangwang Palace, Ye Jie saw Fuling at a glance. She was wearing an ink-wash gown and pacing back and forth, fanning the folding fan in her hand quickly. It was unknown how long she had been waiting here.
"Since you are here, just accept the mission." Fuling snorted disdainfully, her eyes as cold as ice.
Following Fuling's direction, Ye Jie also saw the Class C mission to find and deal with the enemy. He did not immediately reach out to take it, but instead asked, "Before that, I need to ask you for the details of the mission."
Fuling frowned slightly, with a hint of impatience in her eyes: "Is it necessary?"
"Of course it's necessary." Ye Jie leaned slightly to answer Fuling's doubts and to impart his experience to Nan Linghe behind him. "I only deal with bad guys. Other ghost officials may be willing to do things that are against the will of heaven and earth, but I won't do them. Unless you explain the reason clearly, I won't accept the mission no matter how generous the reward is."
Behind Ye Jie, Hua Xiaomei saw the 20,000 Yin De or a top-grade human-level skill written on the task reward, and almost reached out to pull Ye Jie aside to discuss it, but was stopped by Ye Jie. In the end, she had to put her hand down awkwardly.
Seeing Ye Jie's repeated insistence, Fuling finally smiled, and the icy coldness in her eyes melted away: "Now I understand why Sister Lan values you so much and even reported your affairs to me..."
She paused, then continued, "Don't worry. The enemy I'm dealing with is an unforgivable villain. Years ago, my parents and I were visiting our hometown. Passing through Shadow Valley, we were ambushed by an evil cultivator at the early second stage. My parents lost their lives trying to buy time for me to escape, and I was unable to escape either, so I had no choice but to jump off a cliff and commit suicide."
"Jump off a cliff and commit suicide..." Ye Jie was stunned. He looked at Hua Xiaomei and saw the surprise in each other's eyes. "So, you are greedy for the work of God..."
Fuling raised her eyebrows: "Take the credit of heaven? What does that mean?"
Ye Jie shook his head. "According to the laws of the underworld, those who commit suicide are considered to be greedy for the merits of heaven. This means they do not respect their own lives and regard everything they have been given by their parents, their country, and the creation of heaven and earth as their own merits. They believe that their lives belong to them and can be given away at will. This is greed. If discovered, they will be punished by being a beast for three lifetimes."
Fuling was silent for a while before she said, "Do you think that my fate would be better if I fell into the hands of thieves than if I committed suicide?"
Ye Jie didn't answer, and listened to Fuling continue, "Aunt Meng, the head of the Wine Country, took pity on me and found the judge, who spared me from punishment and took me in as a maid in the Wine Country. For many years, I have kept the hatred of my murder in my heart, never daring to forget it for a moment. Now that I have reached the middle stage of the second stage of cultivation, if I can get some help from you, I think defeating that evil cultivator will be no problem."
After learning the whole story from Fuling, Ye Jie saw Nan Linghe waving his fists behind him, ready to stand up for Fuling's miserable situation. Seeing this, Ye Jie said, "Since that's the case, let's take on this mission and punish this evil cultivator who has committed so many evil deeds."
Hua Xiaomei stepped forward and took down the list, which was the final assessment task for Nan Linghe.
Fuling then said, "That evil cultivator is currently hiding in Shadow Valley, but our exact location is unknown. I heard from Sister Lan that you only need to perform a ritual once to find his exact location. I've already prepared all the necessary materials for you. Please follow me."
Several people returned to the quiet room in the wine country. On the wall of the quiet room, there was a map of Shadow Valley, with cinnabar red ink placed next to it.
Looking at this familiar scene, Nan Linghe pursed her lips and puffed her lips, a hint of grievance in her big eyes. Was she going to be dizzy by Brother Jie again? In response, Ye Jie coughed dryly: "In addition to these things, I also need a good bow and an arrow."
Fuling gave the order, and soon a maid handed the bow and arrow to him.
After everyone left the quiet room, Ye Jie handed the bow and arrow to Nan Linghe, but saw confusion in her eyes: "Brother Jie, I, I don't know how to shoot arrows."
Ye Jie had expected this: "It is precisely because you don't know how to shoot that this method works. If you want to hit the target every time, you need to change your method. Now close your eyes and shoot an arrow at random."
Nan Linghe closed her eyes as she was told, but she was so flustered that she couldn't even draw the bow properly. Either the arrow was crooked, or it fell to the ground halfway through pulling the string.
Ye Jie stepped forward and patiently corrected her mistakes: "Don't face straight ahead. Turn slightly to the side, with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your body balanced. Relax your fingers when drawing the bow, and slowly use the strength of your arms to draw the string..."
Under Ye Jie's guidance, Nan Linghe finally shot an arrow. The weak arrow flew shakily in the air and stuck crookedly in the corner of the map.
After shooting the arrow, Nan Linghe opened his eyes, first looked at the arrow stuck on the map, and then looked at Ye Jie with expectation.
"You did well. In the presence of the First-Rank Talent: Fortune Star, all seemingly impossible coincidences are destined to happen. The location pointed by the arrow is where the evil cultivator is hiding."
Hearing Ye Jie's praise, Nan Linghe's face flushed with an intoxicating blush, and a shy light flashed in her eyes. Her heart beat faster, as if a happy little deer was jumping around.
After calling everyone in and explaining the situation, Fuling took a deep breath, her eyes revealing a bit of determination: "If that's the case, then let's set off as soon as possible."
As the crisp sound of black stones hitting the ground spread, everyone quickly moved to the place where the arrow was pointing, but saw that the sky suddenly darkened, and layers of dark clouds covered the sky above, like a huge black net covering the earth. The cliffs in the distance towered into the clouds. At the end of the road, a huge and deep cave came into view, like a ferocious beast with its mouth wide open, ready to swallow all living things that entered.
At the entrance of the cave, an eerie, ominous, and chilling aura filled the air. Gusts of cold wind blew past. Fuling, sensing something, exclaimed, "That's the evil cultivator's cave dwelling... Just looking at the cave's majesty, I can tell that the evil cultivator's strength has greatly improved over the years. I'm afraid he's no longer at the early second stage..."
Ye Jie looked around with a serious expression and suggested, "The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. We don't know their strength yet. If we act rashly, and go deep into the enemy's lair, we will inevitably be at a disadvantage. In this case, we might as well retreat first and take action after gathering enough people."
"How can we do this? I don't know how long I have been waiting for the opportunity to take revenge on the evil cultivator. Even if there is a dangerous place ahead, there is no reason to retreat!" Fuling narrowed her eyes and rejected Ye Jie's proposal. She took the lead to head towards the evil cultivator's cave, and Hua Xiaomei followed.
Ye Jie was helpless. With his insignificant influence, he couldn't convince Fuling to change her mind. He looked at Nan Linghe behind him and said, "If a fight breaks out later, you can hide behind me and I'll protect you... Why are you still holding the bow?"
Nan Linghe was slightly stunned, and took his hands behind his back to take a look. Sure enough, he was still holding the good bow in his palm. The streamlined bow body outlined a perfect arc. The solid wood and strong bowstring also gave it considerable lethality.
If this good bow were placed in the hands of someone who is good at using an archery, it would surely become a powerful weapon to kill the enemy. However, when it was held by the dazed Nan Linghe, its momentum was somewhat weakened.
"By the way... you didn't bring any arrows? Just a bow?" Ye Jie couldn't help but ask.
"Ah...it seems like that." Nan Linghe blinked, showing an expression of sudden enlightenment. Then he realized that he only had a bow but no arrows. Just as he was about to throw the bow down, Ye Jie's reminder came to his ears again.
"Forget it, you'd better take the bow with you. Remember to return it to the maid from the Wine Country when you go back." Ye Jie scratched his head. The bow belonged to the Wine Country, so he had to make sure it wasn't lost.
Seeing Fuling and the other two enter the cave first, Ye Jie and Nan Linghe quickly followed. After walking dozens of steps, they saw the two of them stop in front of them. The light purple ritual patterns completely blocked the way forward.
In front of everyone was a small barrier magic array. Around the array, lavender lines formed a barrier, emitting an enchanting light. Ritual lines crisscrossed, and a huge amount of spiritual power was constantly flowing in the array. Dried blood remained on the ground, and blood-colored runes could be vaguely seen looming in the array.
Ye Jie warned everyone, "Be careful! This seemingly bright and beautiful magic circle actually hides a strong murderous intent. If you come into contact with it rashly, you will likely suffer a powerful backlash from the ritual."
After being reminded by Ye Jie, Nan Linghe quickly took three steps back.
Hua Xiaomei carefully inspected the area surrounding the ritual and soon made a discovery: "This is a simplified version of the Netherworld Spirit Formation, originating from the same master as the Netherworld Formation. It can be broken using the Green Nether Branch. But be careful, the evil cultivators within the cave are very likely practicing the ways of ghost immortals, just like us."
Ye Jie reached into his arms and pulled out a dry branch with only three remaining leaves hanging on it. He swung it hard, and as the dry branch touched the magic circle, a gap suddenly appeared on the surface of the magic circle, just like ice and snow melting rapidly under the scorching sun, revealing a space for everyone to pass through.
Before the formation could recover, everyone rushed past the barrier and entered its interior, only to discover a hidden world within. Before their eyes lay a vast, empty mountainside, even more spacious than the lobby of a winery. This was the cave dwelling of the evil cultivator.
In a corner of the cave, there is a simple wooden table and a wooden bed. On the wooden table is a crudely made porcelain bowl with some leftover cold soup in it. On the wall hangs a specially treated eternal candlestick, the light never goes out. The ground is covered with an animal skin carpet, and in the distance there is a fire pit for warmth and keeping out the cold.
"It seems that the evil cultivator is not in the cave at the moment. We can take this opportunity to stay in the cave and ambush him and catch him off guard."
Hua Xiaomei carefully sensed and confirmed that there was no aura of evil cultivators around the cave, so she felt relieved. If she could successfully ambush the evil cultivators, the battle would be much easier.
Ye Jie shook his head and reminded, "Don't forget to let the evil cultivator make the first move. If we ambush him without a word, it will violate the rules of the underworld."
As they were discussing countermeasures, Nan Linghe walked over to the evil cultivator's bed, pointed at something shiny and bright on the bedside, and asked, "Brother Jie, what is that?"
"Is that... a spirit stone?" Ye Jie also saw the shiny thing and couldn't help but be stunned.
"Spirit stones? Where are they? Let me see." Hua Xiaomei also ran over and took in those unremarkable, clear stones that looked no bigger than a thumb. Her eyes widened for a moment. "They really are spirit stones! A low-grade spirit stone can be exchanged for at least a thousand Yin De in the underworld. There are more than a dozen of them here. It's a windfall."
As she spoke, Hua Xiaomei reached out to grab the spirit stone on the evil cultivator's bedside. However, Ye Jie's expression changed at this moment. Years of experience gave him a warning, and he quickly warned, "Be careful! Something is wrong here. It's very likely a trap!"
Ye Jie's reminder was a beat too late after all. Before he could finish his words, Hua Xiaomei had already grasped the spirit stone. In an instant, a heart-pounding dark light burst out from the surface of the spirit stone. The pitch-black flame rose up and burned violently along Hua Xiaomei's arm, and in a blink of an eye, half of her body was ignited.
"What?" Hua Xiaomei was horrified and quickly threw the spirit stone in her hand to the ground. The dark flames were still burning on her body like a cancer, and she could not get rid of it no matter what. She let out a painful cry.
At the moment Hua Xiaomei activated the trap, the ritual formation of the cave also began to change, and invisible pressure enveloped everyone. Ye Jie saw that the situation was not right, took out the shrinking stone from his arms, and prepared to lead everyone to escape. However, the black stone hit the ground, and everyone remained in the same place, with no signs of moving at all. Except for a crisp sound that spread in everyone's ears, nothing happened.
"Oh no... It's the power of the magic circle that's causing this. We must leave this cave so that we can use the power of the shrinking stone to escape..." Ye Jie's face changed slightly, and he hurriedly said to everyone.
"Now that you're here, don't leave."
A low and evil voice suddenly came from the entrance of the cave. Looking in the direction of the voice, I saw a tall man walking towards me. His face was gloomy and ferocious, and his eyes in his deep sunken eye sockets were as sharp and cruel as a vulture. Even if you were just stared at by him, you could feel a chill.
"I was wondering who dared to break into my Black Hawk Master's cave. Turns out it's a few greedy ghost messengers. Well, I will make you taste despair and pain!"
Along with the merciless threatening words, there was also a powerful aura belonging to the late second-level Soul Building Realm. Under the pressure of that aura, Ye Jie and others' expressions changed drastically. They felt their breathing stagnate and their bodies fell into an ice cellar.
"Damn it, his strength is even higher than I imagined..." Seeing this, Fuling gritted her teeth and immediately threw a white jade bottle to Ye Jie, "Use the Anhun Ling to stabilize her injuries. I'll go fight him first!"