Chapter 285: First Display of Divine Power (2)

This swamp was unfathomably deep, like an endless abyss.

Had Shui Miao not used his Soul Devouring ability to consume a demon ape, he would never have discovered the hidden treasures beneath the swamp.

Based on the memories of the demon ape, this hidden treasure should belong to Lord Huangquan. However, not long ago, a woman had entered the treasure chamber. Additionally, Shui Miao learned that beneath the swamp lurked many monsters. The demon ape was nothing compared to what lay deeper below—demon sharks, demon whales, and even dragon demons.

The wind howled, but although Shui Miao didn’t know the Wind Riding Technique, he knew how to travel underground.

Previously, under guidance from Bai Feng, Shui Miao had developed some proficiency in earth-piercing techniques.

Lao Cai was worried about Shui Miao and was about to follow him when Lao Qin and his group arrived.

After confirming this was the wrong route, Lao Cai instructed Lao Qin to lead his men back and attack the Huangquan Sect directly, while he himself took a squad of ghost guards to find Shui Miao and follow shortly after.

Shui Miao sped through the underground, slaying any monsters he encountered. After killing and absorbing several demon apes, he arrived at the hidden treasure chamber deep below. However, he noticed something was amiss—the treasure chamber door was wide open. Normally, it should have been sealed shut with guards posted. Yet here, aside from a few scattered demon apes, nothing else stirred.

“Could this be a trap?” Shui Miao couldn’t help but suspect.

He spread his spiritual awareness to scan the area and sensed Lao Cai approaching.

“What kind of place is this?” Lao Cai arrived beside Shui Miao, gazing at the treasure chamber with mixed emotions.

“I’m not entirely sure either. Let’s go inside and check it out,” Shui Miao replied. Drawing from the memories of several demon apes, he suspected the woman who had entered last might not be who she seemed. Something about her felt off, almost like a thief. Combining this with the information he had previously obtained from the physician Guigu, Shui Miao began to suspect the woman might be the notorious thief Bai Luolan.

If she truly was Bai Luolan, then this treasure chamber had likely already been looted.

Lao Cai also felt uneasy. He was cautious by nature and immediately ordered six ghost guards to search the chamber while he and Shui Miao followed more slowly, conversing as they walked.

“Brother Shui, we took the wrong route. This is the Huangquan Swamp. The deeper we go, the more dangerous the monsters become, and the more toxic the fumes. I’ve already sent Lao Qin and the ghost kings to attack the Huangquan Sect directly. If there’s nothing valuable here, we should return as soon as possible.”

“Senior Lao, I’ve obtained the demon ape’s memories and know a shortcut leading directly to the back hall of the Huangquan Sect. Why don’t we sneak over and catch them off guard?” Thanks to the demon ape’s memories, Shui Miao now had an intimate knowledge of the Huangquan Swamp.

Lao Cai was shocked. Staring at Shui Miao, he asked, “Brother, you’re saying you’ve acquired the memories of a demon ape?”

“Yes. What’s wrong with that?” Shui Miao blinked in surprise.

Lao Cai quickly explained, “Well, from what I know, there are many ways to obtain another’s memories, but the method varies depending on the subject. For powerful demons like a demon ape, only a King of the Underworld could normally extract their memories… So I’m a bit surprised. Brother, how strong have you become exactly?”

“Well… I’m not really sure either.”

Indeed, Shui Miao wasn’t clear about his current strength level. Without a clear benchmark, he didn’t know how to answer.

Lao Cai assumed Shui Miao was just being modest and didn’t press further.

After an awkward moment, the six ghost guards returned. Five of them had found nothing, but one reported discovering a heavily sealed chamber door.

When Shui Miao and Lao Cai arrived at the sealed chamber, Lao Cai noticed the door was unique—it bore a special lock crafted by the King of the Underworld. Unwilling to accept this, Shui Miao used his Soul Devouring power to envelop the door. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the door collapsed with a thunderous boom. Inside, Shui Miao saw a hellish prison cage—and within it, none other than Bai Feng.

Lao Cai immediately ordered the cage to be unlocked and Bai Feng freed.

Bai Feng was unharmed, just trapped. Seeing Shui Miao, she was both startled and overjoyed.

“Shui Miao, I thought I’d never see you again!” Bai Feng excitedly grabbed his hand.

So Ye Xian had hidden Bai Feng here. Looks like I was lucky. Maybe I should play along and take him down? As thoughts raced through Shui Miao’s mind, he suddenly spoke, “Sister Bai, I already know the general situation. Don’t say anything. Go into my Divine Yuan Ring first, and I’ll deal with Ye Xian later.” After saying this to Bai Feng, Shui Miao sealed her into the ring. Then, grabbing Lao Cai’s hand, he sent a mental message: “Senior Lao, don’t let anyone know we rescued Sister Bai. Let’s set up a grand scheme to capture them all at once.”

“Great idea!”

Lao Cai naturally agreed, since Shui Miao was the one doing all the work.

※※※

Huangquan Sect

On a dark five-fingered mountain, dark clouds gathered and red lightning crackled, causing countless lesser ghosts to tremble in fear and keep their distance.

This was the back hall of the Huangquan Sect.

Inside the central hall of the sect, tens of thousands of ghost generals stood in neat formation, awaiting orders. Outside the central hall and throughout the front hall, hundreds of thousands of ghost soldiers lay in ambush. In the open area before the front hall, thirty thousand wandering spirits gathered in formation, waiting for something.

The entire Huangquan Sect was on high alert, a terrifying silence hanging in the air.

Suddenly, a giant black bat flew over the front hall and straight into the central hall. Landing on the jade steps of the high platform, the bat transformed into a bat demon who bowed to the middle-aged man in yellow robes seated on the grand throne.

“Old Master, they’ve arrived. Roughly estimated, around one hundred thousand strong!”

The middle-aged man in yellow robes was none other than Ye Xian, the impostor posing as Lord Huangquan.

Beside him stood two figures dressed as military advisors.

One wore a black robe, holding a black staff with a blood-red snake coiled around it, its tongue flickering out continuously. The other wore a white robe, holding a white feather fan, with a white eagle perched on his shoulder. The eagle glared coldly at the bat demon. Both advisors bore the appearance of quiet, delicate scholars—one more aloof in black robes, the other more cheerful and approachable in white.

Ye Xian snorted coldly, “Only a hundred thousand? Hand them over to the Rogue Ghost Corps. Remember, capture their leader, then release a few decent fighters to go back for reinforcements. I want to lure more of them here to deliver their medicine.”

The Rogue Ghost Corps referred to the thirty thousand wandering spirits in the open area.

The “medicine” Ye Xian mentioned were the pills each ghost carried—these were what the Huangquan Sect truly desired.

“Yes, my lord!”

The bat demon transformed back into a bat and flew out with a gust of wind.

After a silence of over ten seconds in the grand hall, the advisor in white robes turned to Ye Xian and said, “Old Master, I think we should be cautious. We’ve already sent ten thousand ghost soldiers to scout, which has alerted both the Yin Ming Realm and the Lu Sha Realm. The Immortal Realm might also get involved. I’m worried they might infiltrate the enemy ranks…”

“Brother Zhuge, you’re overthinking,” the advisor in black robes interrupted. “This time, the Old Master himself is in command. We’ve laid a heavenly net, an iron wall that cannot be broken. Plus, the Old Master has used the excuse of stolen pills and being wounded by the King of the Underworld to attract greedy adventurers. They’ll surely be careless…”

“That’s exactly what worries me,” Zhuge interrupted in turn. “Brother Sima, as the Old Master’s right and left hands, we must consider every possibility. Some experts equal in strength to the Old Master have always been too afraid to target us. Now, they might dare. If all these experts come together, how shall we respond? Therefore, I humbly request the Old Master to prepare in advance and strike first, defeating them one by one.”

“No, no, no…”

The advisor in black robes waved his hand repeatedly. “Those people are just a rabble, selfish and unscrupulous, seeking only profit. They won’t truly unite. If we don’t show weakness and instead attack first, they’ll hesitate and eventually back off, ruining our plan. Therefore, we must remain patient, lure them in, draw the strong experts into the Soul-Devouring Formation in the back hall, and then strike with full force to capture them all at once.”

“What if we can’t finish them all off?”

Zhuge smiled coldly at Sima.

Sima responded unconcernedly, “Impossible.”

“Nothing in this world is absolute,” Zhuge raised his eyebrows.

Sima frowned, “Then how about we make a bet? A bet on our spirit pets?”

By spirit pets, he meant the snake on Sima’s staff and the white eagle on Zhuge’s shoulder.

“No, no, no. Let’s bet on each other’s lives instead,” Zhuge said with a smile.

Hearing this, Sima immediately turned to Ye Xian and bowed. “Old Master, I, Sima Zongheng, am willing to make this bet with the arrogant Zhuge Suopan.”

“Fine! Since both of you want to bet, I’ll indulge you.” These two old foxes finally started fighting among themselves. If I want to replace Lord Huangquan, I must first eliminate one of these two old men. Ye Xian’s lips curled into a cold smile as he sighed deeply. “I’m tired of listening to your endless arguments. Since you want to bet, let’s bet on whether they can get past the Rogue Ghost Corps.”

“What? Why that bet?”

“Old Master…”

At this, both Zhuge Suopan and Sima Zongheng were taken aback.

Wise men bet with intellect.

Gamblers bet on luck—blind bets.

Both Zhuge and Sima considered themselves supreme strategists and naturally refused to make blind bets like gamblers.

“Enough. After all, it’s still a bet. Both of you have a fifty-fifty chance. It’s only fair.” Ye Xian waved his hand. “Now, you can both place your bets.”

…

Zhuge and Sima both knew this “Old Master” was actually Ye Xian, merely a substitute. But in their desire to destroy each other, they couldn’t back down in front of all the ghost generals.

After a pause, Zhuge spoke first. “The Rogue Ghost Corps are a disorganized rabble. I bet they can pass.”

“These mere hundred thousand are just insignificant ghost soldiers. I bet they cannot pass!” Sima declared. Suddenly raising his hand, the red snake on his staff shot forward like an arrow.

“Simazong, you’re cheating!” Zhuge roared in anger, immediately releasing the white eagle on his shoulder. The eagle transformed into a streak of white light, chasing after the red snake…