Chapter 387: 20 Chapter The Land of Fengdu, The Grand Pass of Ghost Gate
Two people and one corpse made their way through the narrow passage.
After an unknown amount of time, they finally left the mine, and the view around them suddenly became clear.
Wei Dongliu frowned as he looked around, only to see that it seemed to be nighttime now, with cold stars twinkling high above, and a desolate wilderness stretching ahead like hell, unlike the mortal world.
No, this place was indeed no longer the mortal world.
The scenery of the mortal world, even at night, could not possibly be so filled with a gloomy atmosphere, with ghostly shadows flitting about.
Wei Dongliu thought silently as the Chaotic Demon Body began to operate, and soon he took on the appearance of red hair and heavy pupils.
Jiang Liyan watched unblinkingly as the handsome, wild, ruthless, and mysterious Wei the Demon Lord transformed, almost like a child watching Ultraman take the stage, her eyes nearly shining with light.
The Synchronization Value of the Kunlun Mirror also started to respond.
If the Chaotic Demon Body were likened to a tank, then the mysterious persona’s Synchronization Value would be the fuel the tank consumed.
As for Jiang Liyan, she was like a multifunctional portable gas station—not only could she run and jump, follow Wei Dongliu to refuel him, but she could also be used as a shield in critical moments (after all, Ah Jing said she certainly had a life-saving secret technique), which was extremely convenient.
“Won’t you use your secret technique?” Wei the Demon Lord said coldly.
“Ah? Oh, right, right!” Jiang Liyan suddenly realized and quickly formed a Daoist formula and operated her secret technique.
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Then a demon head emerged from her sleeve, rolled on the ground, and suddenly transformed into the appearance of a beautiful young maid, then slowly walked toward Jiang Liyan and quickly merged with her body.
As the demon head possessed her, Jiang Liyan’s cascading black hair turned white quickly, and the blood vessels in her originally lively eyes bulged out, turning into an eerie blood-red color.
“Wei the Demon Lord, how do I look now?” The white-haired witch, elegantly turning around, asked with a strange, ethereal, melodious intonation as if presenting a treasure, “This ‘Heavenly Demon Transformation Technique’ I’ve painstakingly searched for in the many ancient texts of the sect.”
“Somewhat interesting,” Wei Dongliu gave a moderately approving evaluation—and it was not in reference to her appearance—”What effects does your secret technique have?”
“White hair and blood pupils,” replied Jiang the Witch, “immune to demonic corruption, and enhanced abilities in communicating and controlling Heavenly Demons, with a certain boost to evil spells and magic.”
“I see,” Wei Dongliu, having been associated with practitioners of the Demonic Path for a long time, naturally knew this secret technique was considered quite weak in their view.
Demon Cult Cultivators favored those secret techniques that had extremely powerful offensive abilities, with a wide range of lethality, preferably able to kill all enemies in sight instantly.
Second to those were the controlling secret techniques, like making a move that renders the enemy immobile and ready for the slaughter.
As for those that involved transforming and then receiving enhanced effects, these were the least regarded by Demon Cult Cultivators—what use was looking good? What was the point of being immune to demonic corruption? Such flashy uselessness was inferior to a stab that could kill.
Probably only girls like Jiang the Witch, who cared about appearance and charm, would go out of their way to find such transformative Daoist Magic.
Unaware of Wei Dongliu’s thoughts, Jiang Liyan turned another circle, proudly enjoying her new guise, when the Flying Asura beside her said:
“If you use your spell for too long, the corrosion it does to your body probably wouldn’t be less than staying here, right?”
“What do you know?” Jiang the Witch said with a cold laugh, “Although the technique will corrode the body, it can be treated with elixirs to delay the effects.”
“Besides, for the Purple Mansion Secret Medicine, which represents fifty years of cultivation, all of this is worth it.”
Wei Dongliu remained silent, feeling a measure of pity for some reason.
Alas, without Ah Jing’s assistance in ‘cheating’, cultivators with ordinary talents could only struggle to seize every opportunity to get stronger.
Don’t blame her for not taking care of her body; those cultivators with mediocre talent and an even more common background didn’t even have the chance to sacrifice their bodies for a shot at the Purple Mansion Secret Medicine!
After hearing her statement, the Flying Asura didn’t say anything, but silently curled the corners of his mouth, sneering in secret.
The three of them continued on their way, and on the wilderness not far away, they found a barely distinguishable path covered with wild grass and broken stones.
Walking along the path, on both sides, they began to see scattered solitary steles and desolate graves.
After a long walk, they could gradually see the tops of the great passes appearing on the distant horizon.
The guard tower was extraordinarily tall, but its design was incredibly simple and ancient, lacking both the battlements for archers and the slots for dropping logs; it seemed as though it was a crude toy pieced together from blocks, and yet it stirred within Wei Dongliu an eerie sense of déjà vu.
Oh, now he remembered.
In the secret realm of the East Sea Pavilion, there was a place known as the “Ten Halls Land of Fengdu.” Wasn’t the ghost gate there exactly the same as this guard tower?
Only that during the last visit to the Pavilion, Qiu Changtian and Luo Yan had violently broken through.
As for the real ghost gate in the Nine Serenities Underworld, Wei Dongliu, even if he were out of his mind, wouldn’t believe he could forcibly break through as a cultivator who hadn’t yet achieved Core Formation.
Looking further, there were tall city walls winding their way on both sides of the mighty pass, extending far off into the distance, making it quite unrealistic to simply bypass the ghost gate.
Apart from the ghost gate, there was almost no other structure to provide cover in the vicinity. Since flying on his sword would be too conspicuous, Wei Dongliu didn’t rashly take off but instead observed the ghost gate for a moment before asking the Flying Asura,
“To pass through that checkpoint, do you have any good ideas?”
“I’ve heard that the guards can be bribed,” the Flying Asura answered, somewhat disappointed to see that he didn’t immediately fly on his sword and was instead so cautious. “The walls on both sides of the ghost gate extend indefinitely, and no matter what method is used, crossing over the checkpoint from above will alert the Yin soldiers in Guanzhong.”
“Finding a way to deal with the guards, acquiring a pass warrant, seems to be the only way.”
“What is the power level of these Yin soldiers?” Wei Dongliu continued to inquire.
“Yin soldiers… are actually not that strong,” the Flying Asura said ambiguously. “Master would surely be able to defeat them.”
“Which means the trouble comes after defeating the Yin soldiers,” Wei Dongliu instantly understood its implied meaning.
“We would be wanted by the Ten Halls,” the Flying Asura sighed inwardly and replied.
“It seems we only have the option to bribe the guards,” said Wei Dongliu expressionlessly, “What do they fancy?”
“I don’t know,” the Flying Asura answered honestly.
“Then how did you come by the information you gave me earlier?” Wei Dongliu continued to press.
“I came here before with my master… the cultivator who refined me,” the Flying Asura said.
“How did he get through?”
“He was at Nascent Soul Realm, and the guards feared his power, so they let him pass directly.”
Wei Dongliu: ………
“In that case, we can only go and negotiate,” suggested Jiang the Witch.
“That’s the only option,” Wei Dongliu said as he used his Divine Sense to check his storage bag. Spirit stones, medicinal herbs, elixirs, magical treasures, the Flying Sword… he had no idea which item the Yin soldiers would accept.
However, compared to the flowers of the other shore, these items were somewhat inferior in value. Surely not all of them would be disregarded by the Yin soldiers?
Hmm, but since the Netherworld Rift is hard to find and few cultivators are able to enter the Yin realm, with the lack of exchange between the two sides, the valuation of goods may well be different.
Considering this, Wei Dongliu suddenly said,
“Asura, as the Flying Asura, don’t you also possess the power of Nascent Soul Realm? How about you go and negotiate with the Yin soldiers?”
“Not a good idea.” The Flying Asura paused for a moment before sighing, “As zombies, we lack souls, and to the Yin soldiers, we’re inherently flawed, similar to how you humans view eunuchs.”
“If the Yin soldiers saw me, they’d probably think I’m an eyesore,” it added.
“Hmm,” Wei Dongliu hesitated for a moment but was inclined to believe it wasn’t lying.
After all, the truth would be evident once they approached the ghost gate; there was no need for the Flying Asura to deliberately erode its own trust.
So it seemed he had no choice but to try.