Chapter 29: The Netherworld and Azure Heavens Obscured

Located deep within the Nine Netherworlds, the Ghost Gate Pass, representing the boundary between life and death, had somehow appeared in the mortal realm!

This explained the persistent, unyielding dense fog. The fog wasn't artificial; it was a natural convergence of the laws of heaven and earth.

Because the Netherworld and the Azure Sky were never meant to meet. The appearance of the Ghost Gate Pass in the mortal world necessitated concealment.

The wandering souls gathered here, far exceeding the number of living inhabitants of Little Forest Town, now had a reason for their presence. These souls were drawn to the Ghost Gate Pass by an instinct devoid of consciousness. It was likely that all the wandering souls in the Maple Forest territory had gathered here. And it was foreseeable that as long as the Ghost Gate Pass remained, the number of souls would only increase, growing stronger!

But how could the Ghost Gate Pass appear here?

Without hesitation, Wei Yan, upon understanding the meaning of "Ghost Gate Pass," retrieved a uniquely styled, scarlet incense stick from his bosom and offered it to Zhao Lang. "Quick!"

He naturally carried a firestone and was familiar with fire-based Taoist arts. However, Zhao Lang would be faster.

Having partnered with Wei Yan for years, their understanding was implicit. The moment the scarlet incense stick was offered, Zhao Lang snapped his fingers, igniting the stick with a flame that consumed it entirely within moments.

Only then did he say with a troubled expression, "That was your only red incense stick, wasn't it?"

In the Zhuang Kingdom's army, incense sticks were categorized into black, red, and yellow, reserved for individuals of significant rank and considered invaluable strategic assets. Black incense, once lit, signaled a fight to the death for the entire nation. Only a handful in Zhuang possessed the authority to light it.

Yellow incense signified that the lighter was trapped in a hopeless situation.

Red incense, falling between the two, represented the imminent danger of a city's destruction or territorial loss!

The lighting of red incense would shake the entire Maple Forest City and undoubtedly alert Wei Quji.

With the City Guard and the Arresting Division tied up, Wei Quji's presence at the City Lord's mansion was crucial. Was a Little Forest Town, where the only threat was wandering souls, worth Wei Quji's personal attention? Or, if Wei Yan misjudged the situation, would he bear the responsibility for any problems that arose in Maple Forest City due to Wei Quji's departure?

But these questions were irrelevant in the face of those three words.

Because... it was the Ghost Gate Pass.

A place appearing in countless legends, a faint echo of the mythical era.

In fact, upon seeing the illusory image of the red incense, Wei Quji, the City Lord himself, had already launched into the sky without hesitation!

Enveloped in a whirlwind, he soared towards Little Forest Town with a roaring cry.

Almost simultaneously, Dong A, who was in quiet cultivation, abruptly opened his eyes. At all times, a powerhouse of his caliber had to be stationed in Maple Forest City. With Wei Quji's departure, he could no longer leave.

Without moving, his authoritative voice echoed outside the room, "Order all disciples who can be reached to immediately cease all tasks and training and return to Maple Forest City!"

While the Daoist Academy nurtured Zhuang's future, that future required a lengthy growth process. But when the homeland was in danger, everyone had to fight.

Meanwhile, Song Qifang, the current Vice Dean of the Daoist Academy, sat cross-legged before an alchemy furnace, gently fanning the flames with a palm-leaf fan. A soft sigh escaped his lips, "Getting old."

...

In Little Forest Town, Wei Yan didn't pause after lighting the red incense. Instead, he swung his long saber horizontally, its sharp edge almost slicing through the air, before dissipating against the archway.

Yes, it vanished silently, without a ripple.

The same happened with subsequent attacks. Whether it was fiery flames or raging winds, any Taoist art thrown at it disappeared without a trace. Ling He even threw his sword at it, but it too vanished.

It was as if it didn't exist. Not only did it not exist, but anything that touched it also ceased to exist.

Huang Azhan hesitated before the Ghost Gate Pass for a long time. He had unwavering confidence in his virgin urine, but after seeing Ling He's sword disappear, he regretfully chose to give up.

"This vortex... must be connected to the Netherworld. Using so many unjustly deceased souls here... our attacks are all landing in the Netherworld, not in the mortal realm," Wang Changxiang analyzed, frowning. "What's appearing before us... this should be a reflection of the Ghost Gate Pass, and not even a fully formed reflection."

Not fully formed?

Jiang Wang had seen the characters on the plaque in the Illusionary Realm of Taixu, knowing they were Taoist script, words that elucidated the laws of heaven and earth. He had been contemplating what the appearance of the Ghost Gate Pass in Little Forest Town represented. Only after hearing Wang Changxiang's analysis did he realize with horror.

When would the true reflection of the Ghost Gate Pass materialize, and how? And what would it ultimately bring here?

People soon had the answer.

It was the countless wandering souls that permeated Little Forest Town, impossible to kill and impossible to eliminate, that now swarmed towards the center.

The group could no longer worry about anything else. They could only resort to the same tactic, retreating a distance and using fire-based Taoist arts to create a circle, guarding themselves within it.

If someone could pierce through the fog from the sky, they would see countless wandering souls charging forward, drawn by some power, a torrential river of souls flowing like hundreds of rivers converging into the sea!

And the disciples from the Maple Forest City Daoist Academy, along with Wei Yan and Zhao Lang, were like bitter reefs being eroded by the river.

Unable to move, unable to resist, and with no end in sight!

"All the wandering souls in the entire Maple Forest territory are being drawn here. Perhaps we're going to die here," Wang Changxiang said with a wry smile.

These wandering souls weren't particularly strong. They had been able to move freely within the formation before. But that was because they were wandering aimlessly, only attacking instinctively when living beings approached. Now that these souls were converging in one place, they were directly in the way.

There were too many, seemingly without end!

At least within Wang Changxiang's barely cleared vision, they couldn't see the end of the wandering souls.

What they didn't know was that if previously, only the wandering souls of those who had died in Little Forest Town over the years had gathered here, along with scattered souls from further away, now all the wandering souls in the entire Maple Forest territory were converging here, at a speed far exceeding what they could normally achieve.

The dense lines of wandering souls piercing the sky formed a spiderweb-like scene in the spiritual vision of countless powerhouses throughout the Maple Forest territory, moving them deeply.

"Not necessarily," Wei Yan's voice was cold, as was his heart. "The City Lord will arrive soon."

No one knew how much he didn't want to light that red incense, didn't want that person to see him weak and begging for help. But he couldn't. Faced with a legendary existence like the Ghost Gate Pass, he couldn't gamble the safety of the entire Maple Forest City for his pride.

Jiang Wang also watched the wandering souls that bypassed the "reefs," roaring towards the Ghost Gate Pass and being absorbed and dissolved in an instant. His mood was complex, beyond description.

These wandering souls likely had no consciousness. So there was no struggle, no howling, no regret, and no pain.

But they had all once been living people. Each of them was a soul that deserved to rest in peace!

Perhaps someone among them had brushed past him, or someone he knew, or his neighbor, his grandparents, or even his father.

He stared intently at the dense mass of wandering souls, searching for his father, who had died of illness in bed. The man who wasn't tall but had always been the sky supporting him.

The wandering souls flashed by in an instant, like lightning, from all directions. He only focused on the direction from Phoenix Stream Town, his eyes red, unable to see everything.

Having lived alone for so long, he didn't want to show his vulnerability. Later, living with An'an, he had to be strong as a brother. He had almost never said it, but it was true, he missed him so much!

Jiang Wang wanted to see him one more time, but he was also afraid of seeing him.

Afraid of the helplessness in the face of the Ghost Gate Pass.

Suddenly, it seemed to reach a critical point. The torrential river of wandering souls was instantly cleared by some force. And the illusory image of the Ghost Gate Pass above the vortex became incredibly clear and concrete.

In the next instant, Wei Quji, the City Lord of Maple Forest City, descended from the sky, enveloped in a whirlwind. But the illusory image of the Ghost Gate Pass vanished at the same time!

In the haze, Jiang Wang seemed to feel a breeze brush his face, but after a moment of distraction, everything before him changed.

The massive vortex was gone, and the fog that had gathered in Little Forest Town immediately dispersed.

Everything had vanished, the Netherworld and the Azure Sky no longer in sight!