Chapter 1067: Untouched Past Thirty-Six

Shortly after Hu Yun entered the Underworld, he sensed an unmissable change. The entire Underworld appeared calm, yet the flow of Yin energy subtly resembled a storm.

'What's happening? The Underworld's aura is so turbulent?'

Hu Yun, though he had rarely truly visited the Underworld, was well-traveled and experienced after years of cultivation. He knew that even if he hadn't "eaten pork, he'd seen pigs run"—something major was clearly happening in the Underworld.

'Could it be such a coincidence?'

Hu Yun thought with some concern, then continuously performed divinations to track them. However, within a short time, She Ji's aura had become extremely faint, and Sun Yiqiu's aura was completely untraceable.

At this moment, the Underworld was filled with howling ghostly winds. Dense, bizarre black mist began to spread across its lands, so thick it could even interfere with the senses of cultivators as powerful as Hu Yun.

Despite this, Hu Yun rushed to the location where She Ji's aura was strongest as quickly as possible. The closer he got, the denser the black mist became. From the distant sky, he could already hear the wails of countless ghosts.

Wailing, sobbing, and shrieking sounds, like wind and ghosts, filled the air. Countless malevolent spirits and monsters shrieked along the banks of the Yellow Springs River, as bridges made of grotesque creatures from the river itself were "woven" together.

Many ghostly entities disintegrated the moment they reached the shore, while others began to retch. Their shattered spectral bodies and the vile substances they expelled transformed into dense red mists. When concentrated, these mists turned black, containing an immeasurable strangeness that seemed to transcend mere resentment and malevolence.

This terrifying and bizarre presence continuously twisted, transformed, and expanded, appearing both red and black, yet surpassing both in intensity. Its nature was fluid but its concentration was fiery; at its densest points, it seemed to burn. Countless ghosts, having just escaped the Yellow Springs, were instantly affected by this mist: minor contact dissipated their spiritual energy and crushed their forms, while severe contact tore them apart and assimilated them. Some ghosts, touched by its fiery aspect, were annihilated in an instant, fueling the inferno. Hu Yun, still at a distance, felt a chilling dread. He instinctively knew this was an extremely dangerous substance and had no desire to come into contact with it. However, he couldn't simply turn and leave, as She Ji and Sun Yiqiu were likely caught within it.

"Damn it!"

Hu Yun cursed under his breath.

"You confounded scoundrels have gotten me killed!"

After cursing, Hu Yun channeled his magic. Despite constant warnings from his spiritual senses, he relied on his intuition to dodge and surge forward.

Hu Yun avoided direct contact with anything he saw. Relying on his intuition, he merely used wind manipulation to clear a path around him or employed the Palm Thunder spell to dispel evil.

As Hu Yun drew closer, he glimpsed a wisp of five-colored fabric, stained with ash, fluttering in the air. He instantly recognized it as material from She Ji's clothing.

Hu Yun gently waved his hand, swatting away any ghostly entities that approached him. Like a leaf caught in the wind, he floated towards the small piece of fabric and gently took hold of it.

The moment the fabric touched his hand, Hu Yun's eyes subtly lit up.

'As expected!'

Hu Yun had vaguely sensed that She Ji and Sun Yiqiu were still alive. Such feelings were rare, often lasting only a fleeting moment when they occurred, yet they frequently proved more accurate than continuous divination. This was the Heavenly Heart Sense of a truly devoted cultivator.

However, just as Hu Yun reached for the fabric, a hand enveloped in gray light suddenly extended from above, grasping the same piece of cloth almost simultaneously. Hu Yun looked up and saw a pair of equally astonished eyes.

"It's you!"

"You!"

In this bizarre situation, neither party had initially noticed the other. Instead, they had both followed the trail of She Ji's lingering aura, almost simultaneously grabbing the fabric, and only then discovering each other. They instantly recognized their opponent from their previous confrontation.

At that moment, neither spoke another word. Hu Yun and Mi Huang both attacked instantly.

"Hah!"

"Die!"

Each held a remnant of the sash in one hand, while their other hands instinctively swung to strike. There were no intricate spells, just the purest clash of magical energy.

Spiritual light swirled around their hands, which blurred into phantoms. Fists, palms, and fingers appeared almost simultaneously, like afterimages.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

"Boom—"

The impact of their magical collision sent both parties reeling in opposite directions. The increasingly bizarre changes in their surroundings compelled them to avoid further entanglement, so after the clash, they separated instantly, each retreating while clutching a torn fragment of the fabric.

By the time Hu Yun stabilized himself and looked in Mi Huang's direction, the other's trace was gone. It seemed the opponent had no intention of lingering.

Hu Yun narrowed his eyes, observing the direction in which the other had vanished. He hovered in place, remaining vigilant for a moment, before lowering his gaze to the fabric in his hand. Then, he immediately prepared to leave.

As Hu Yun glided away, he noticed Underworld Envoys approaching the area from a distance. Unwilling to be discovered by them, Hu Yun chose to evade.

The first group of ghostly deities to arrive consisted primarily of Underworld Envoys and Wandering Deities, numbering in the hundreds. Seeing the continuous emergence of malevolent, evil-ridden ghosts, the leading ghostly deity roared out an order.

"The ghosts here are unforgivable sinners! Eliminate them!"

As the command fell, the numerous Underworld Envoys and ghostly deities instantly moved from stillness to action. They drew their weapons and unleashed their magical artifacts. Many envoys also rushed towards the Yellow Springs Riverbank, intent on investigating what had truly happened.

These Underworld Envoys possessed considerable cultivation. They moved with an ethereal grace, more phantom-like than ghosts. Although they instinctively feared the surrounding changes, their duty compelled many of them to attempt to pass through the dense, strange mist.

One envoy waved his hand, trying to disperse the mist around him. But as he passed through it, he felt a faint stinging sensation on his body, which soon escalated into an increasingly intense burning pain.

"Aghhh!" Suddenly, the envoy screamed in agony. He realized his entire body had inexplicably caught fire. He desperately channeled his Yin energy, but it did nothing to lessen the flames; instead, they intensified.

"What's wrong?" "Is it a curse?"

"Put out the fire!"

"Ah!"

"The flames are on me too!"

"Me too, I can't put it out!"

"Ahhh!"

"Stay away from them!"

Like a rapidly spreading plague, dozens more nearby envoys, attempting to rescue their colleagues, were inadvertently set ablaze by the bizarre flames. No matter what they tried, they couldn't extinguish them, and the agony grew increasingly unbearable.

The envoys' screams grew louder and louder, becoming indistinguishable from the horrific wails of the innumerable ghosts around them.

"Save me!" "Help me!"

"Ahhh!"

"Kill me!"

"Don't go near them!"

The ghostly deity's eyes were wide with anger. Torn between aiding his comrades and feeling dread, even fear, he retreated continuously with his companions.

"Get away from here!"

Watching the plight of the ghostly deities from a distance, Hu Yun felt a burning sensation down his spine. What bizarre thing was this? These flames were, in some ways, as terrifying as Master Ji's Samadhi True Fire.

The Yin energy storm in the Underworld intensified rapidly, and powerful auras of other ghostly deities were also approaching.

Hu Yun dared not linger. He grew even more worried for Sun Yiqiu and She Ji. The situation in the Underworld was becoming increasingly confusing, and he had to find the two of them quickly.

However, Hu Yun hadn't flown far when a furious roar reached him, followed immediately by an incredibly oppressive storm of Yin energy.

"Vile creature, don't run—"

A giant hand, formed from condensed Yin energy, descended from the sky, striking Hu Yun heavily and slamming him directly onto the Underworld ground.

"Rumble!"

As the massive palm landed, the very ground trembled.

Although caught off guard by the attack, Hu Yun was no longer the small fox who had once sat by Ji Yuan's knee. Despite being slightly injured, he transformed into wisps of clear energy and dissipated away.

The Underworld was inherently a forbidden land. With no token and no time, Hu Yun had no intention of getting entangled; he simply used his illusionary magic to escape.

To his surprise, the owner of the voice was more powerful than Hu Yun had anticipated, or perhaps possessed special means, as they instantly detected that something was amiss.

"What a vile creature, and what formidable illusionary magic!"

As the voice faded, the Yin energy within a hundred-mile radius trembled. Streaks of spectral light emerged from the energy, seemingly weaving into a colossal net, intent on ensnaring everything within it.

The moment Hu Yun saw the vast net of spectral light, his spiritual senses flickered, and his mind trembled. It was as if a profound internal calculation had occurred: his illusionary magic couldn't break it, fire manipulation wouldn't work instantly, and magical artifacts or wondrous spells couldn't shake it. He even had the illusion that his very spirit was being bound, leaving him feeling suffocated.

At this moment, Hu Yun felt an immense sense of crisis. This ghostly deity clearly had a powerful background!

But he had just fled without explanation upon meeting them, which would make it even harder to explain now.

Hu Yun did not reveal himself; instead, he flew straight forward. As the spectral light neared him, the spiritual light in his lungs subtly vibrated, and then he exhaled a puff of white qi from his mouth. This qi subtly transformed into a sword shape. Hu Yun then extended his right arm, forming a sword incantation with his hand, and pointed forward, guiding this wisp of white qi.

Hu Yun had held onto this mouthful of golden qi for a very long time. His proficiency in swordsmanship had never been strong. However, looking back over a millennium, the scene of Master Ji wielding his sword under the jujube tree had long become eternal in his heart.

Hu Yun had never had the confidence, or even the courage, to brandish his own sword.

Yet at this moment, Hu Yun felt as if he had returned a thousand years into the past, becoming the small, injured fox curled beneath the jujube tree. In his heart and eyes, only the heroic image of Master Ji's sword remained.

At this instant, sword light erupted from Hu Yun's fingertip.

Swish—

A sword qi swept across the Underworld, its light briefly illuminating the gloom. With the force of a thunderbolt, it slashed forward, instantly tearing through the vast net of spectral light, and Hu Yun escaped through the breach.

"Whew, Master's reputation..."

Hu Yun was both deeply shaken and immensely exhilarated!

On the other side, a tall ghostly deity's manifestation stood upon the Underworld ground, looking into the distance with surprise. He raised his right hand; in its palm was a ruptured red spot.

"How formidable! The Spectral Net, which I carefully set, was shattered by a single strike!"