Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Mountain Forest Ghost Manor
Deep in the woods, a solitary manor.
The manor was devoid of light and fire, eerily quiet, with a thin mist that added an inexplicable eerie atmosphere to the place.
The pair in front exchanged glances, looked at the two chasing stars behind them who were getting closer, and decisively leapt into the manor.
Lu Zheng and Yan Hongxia stopped at the entrance of the manor.
"Something’s not right with this manor!"
"The Nether Qi is so heavy!"
Lu Zheng scoffed, "Could it be a Ghost King’s villa in the mortal world?"
"It’s hard to say for sure." Yan Hongxia’s eyes gleamed with energy, then she vaulted over the wall into the courtyard.
Lu Zheng shook his head and followed her inside.
...
"Hmm?"
As soon as Lu Zheng jumped in, he sensed something amiss.
"Miss Yan?"
The entire manor was silent, shrouded in a faint fog, with no sound whatsoever, apart from a thin nether Qi, not even a ghostly figure.
The couple who had jumped in earlier had vanished...
Yan Hongxia, too, had disappeared...
Lu Zheng turned around and saw the mist behind him, seemingly faint yet dense—logically speaking, the courtyard wall that should have been three feet behind him had vanished, leaving only a thin mist and paths without direction.
"There’s something here..." Lu Zheng’s eyes gleamed, murmuring to himself.
Generally, a powerful Ghost King lives deep within the Netherworld; even if they occasionally visit the mortal world, they wouldn’t set up a villa here.
Moreover, the Nether Qi Lu Zheng sensed from outside was even lighter than that of the Netherworld.
Hence, Yan Hongxia determined that this ghost’s power was average, so she rushed inside without hesitation, and Lu Zheng promptly followed.
He didn’t expect this ghost to give him such a surprise.
Lu Zheng blinked, circulated True Qi, concentrating it in his eyes, his pupils flickering with cloud patterns, and looked around.
Silent and still, the mist swirling around.
Lu Zheng took a deep breath and reached for his waist, uncapping the gourd, and with a gentle tap of his finger.
"Whoosh!"
A peach wood sword appeared in his hand.
Holding the peach wood sword, he recited the Exorcism Curse, then slashed behind him.
"Swish!"
A flash of blue light scattered the Nether Qi, clearing a large space.
Yet Lu Zheng still found nothing else, and the scattered Nether Qi returned to its original state within three breaths.
Fighting alone against heaven and earth is not the choice of a wise man.
Thus, Lu Zheng stopped testing and instead used Cloud Qi Body Protection, holding the peach wood sword in one hand and the True Cloud Curse in the other, cautiously following the stone path deeper inside.
"Hmm?"
Lu Zheng looked around, the mist was thick, and although no one was visible, there was a sporadic sense of being watched.
"Invisibility Technique? Illusion Technique?"
As Lu Zheng was about to investigate, a few ghostly figures flickered in the mist around him.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
But before Lu Zheng could exert force, they suddenly vanished.
"Array..."
Not an illusion, not a barrier, so naturally, it must be an array.
Lu Zheng pondered, intending to circulate True Qi, but suddenly noticed a faint gray mist covering his True Qi within, making its movement sluggish, and the mist was gradually intensifying.
It’s a Netherworld Spell!
Lu Zheng stood still, exerting his whole True Qi only to prevent the gray mist from worsening, but to clear it...
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
More ghostly figures flickered by, and Lu Zheng felt the mist inside him thickening.
"Damn it! That’s ruthless!"
Lu Zheng grit his teeth, pondering a strategy.
The other side didn’t attack with overwhelming force, either out of disdain or inability, or thinking it not worthwhile.
From the array, the feeling of being watched, and the appearance of ghostly figures gradually intensifying the effect of the spell, the first possibility was the least likely; more probably the second or third.
So Lu Zheng felt capable again.
...
Lu Zheng knew nothing about arrays and wasn’t powerful enough to overwhelm them, unable to break this array.
Thus...
When that inexplicable sense of being watched briefly disappeared, Lu Zheng used Illusion Technique to conceal himself, avoiding the ghosts’ eyes in the mist, then stomped the ground, condensing a patch of soil beneath his feet with Cloud Qi, and molded it into an Earth Puppet the size of a True Man.
Puppetry! Spirit Attachment Curse! True Qi infusion!
Then this Earth Puppet transformed into the likeness of Lu Zheng—unless one’s cultivation greatly surpassed his, the illusion would hold.
"Done!"
Lu Zheng patted the puppet’s shoulder and sank into the earth.
Freed from the array’s confinement and those ghosts’ ambushes, Lu Zheng manipulated the puppet to advance while stealthily following underground, expelling the gray mist internally.
...
The Earth Puppet Lu Zheng continued forward, the surrounding ghosts appeared and disappeared, and the Cloud Qi within him was gradually suppressed.
To make it realistic, the puppet Lu Zheng also used the True Cloud Curse, striking all around him, but to no avail.
Soon, the Cloud Qi within was entirely suppressed by gray mist, even difficult to mobilize, as the Nether Qi encroached, making his form stagger.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
A few ghosts emerged, each tossing a chain to bind the head, neck, and limbs of the puppet Lu Zheng completely.
"What are you!" the puppet Lu Zheng shouted angrily, trying to break free, but then a ghost approached, slapping his Dantian.
Ghost Qi surged in, sealing the puppet Lu Zheng’s Dantian Qi Sea and meridians entirely.
"You!"
The puppet Lu Zheng attempted to struggle, then two ghosts suddenly appeared behind him, one grabbing his shoulder and the other his elbow, locking him in place, unable to move at all.
"Hehe!"
"With just this skill, dare to barge into His Majesty’s manor?"
"Just a bit of cultivation and yet daring to intrude Profound Nether Manor? Seems like you’re tired of living, wanting to die sooner?"
"After entering this manor, just obediently accept your fate."
"His Majesty is kind-hearted and will let you die swiftly."
"Let’s go, take him to His Majesty’s rear courtyard; His Majesty might be waiting impatiently."
"And the other three? Two are taken down, and one more is close to it."
"Four at once; almost couldn’t handle it."
"Hehe, let’s hope His Majesty shows mercy, leaving some Yang Qi for us; this human Abnormal People, not weak in Dao Practice; even a little Yang Qi leftover would greatly replenish us."
"Where do you ghosts come from?" Internal Lu Zheng shouted with anger, "The mortal world is not a place for you to linger! And you dare to set up a manor and harm people?"
"Hehe, you know nothing!"
"Once His Majesty succeeds, we’ll be important figures; this mortal world will be ours to come and go as we please?"
"You four just let His Majesty drain you dry!"
The two ghosts pushed Lu Zheng along, navigating the mist with twists and turns until they reached a secluded courtyard, forcing him into its front hall.