This bamboo forest was a notorious mass grave.
There were two paths down the mountain. One bypassed the mass grave, but it added over half an hour to the journey.
The other path went directly through the mass grave.
More and more figures appeared in the bamboo forest, some even poking their heads out to look at Yu Shuntian.
Yu Shuntian knew clearly that these were not people, but ghosts.
For him, dealing with these minor ghosts was nothing, but he was afraid of disturbing his grandson.
After a moment of thought, Yu Shuntian decided to take the longer route around the bamboo forest.
Walking on the small path, he could still occasionally hear the rustling of grass underfoot.
Yu Shuntian glanced at it once and paid it no further mind.
Suddenly, a chill swept over him. Yu Shuntian's expression shifted slightly as he looked in the direction of the chill.
A figure stood blocking his path.
A Shāguǐ?
Yu Shuntian's face darkened as he looked at the figure in front of him, and he spat out a single word coldly: "Scram!"
The figure seemed to be intimidated by Yu Shuntian's aura and dared not approach.
"Grandpa!"
Suddenly, Yu Daochen's voice came from behind him.
Yu Shuntian turned to look, and then suddenly realized something was wrong.
The surrounding scenery rapidly changed, and two rows of houses appeared on either side.
"Ghostly illusion?" Yu Shuntian muttered, feeling Yu Daochen on his back being yanked away.
Yu Shuntian spun around abruptly and found that Yu Daochen had vanished.
Yu Daochen was also awakened by the sound. As soon as he opened his eyes, he found himself being grabbed by a figure and pulled forward.
Yu Daochen froze for a moment, then reacted swiftly. He drew the Kanglong Jian from his waist and swung it out.
The figure in front was also quick, releasing Yu Daochen's hand and dodging the incoming Kanglong Jian.
"So fast!" Yu Daochen was slightly surprised.
The ghost's aura was only at the Shāguǐ realm, but why was its speed so astonishing?
Meanwhile.
Yu Shuntian looked at the two rows of houses surrounding him and then let out an angry roar: "Break!"
The illusory mirror shattered, and Yu Shuntian found himself back in reality. Seeing that Yu Daochen was nowhere to be found, he looked at the motionless Shāguǐ beside him: "Tell me, where is my grandson?"
The figure did not answer, turning into a wisp of green smoke and preparing to flee.
Seeing this, Yu Shuntian stomped his foot on the ground and waved his hand, reaching for the Shāguǐ.
The Shāguǐ transformed back into human form and dodged the grabbing hand.
Yu Shuntian's hand missed, and he looked slightly surprised.
This Shāguǐ was indeed incredibly fast.
Even an ordinary Minggui wouldn't be this swift.
The Shāguǐ was also clever, knowing it couldn't defeat Yu Shuntian and preparing to escape.
Seeing this, Yu Shuntian drew a silver needle from his waist and shot it out.
The silver needle moved with incredible speed. Before the Shāguǐ could even react, it was pierced through its body and pinned to a tree.
Yu Shuntian walked over to the Shāguǐ, his face etched with extreme displeasure: "Tell me, where have you taken my grandson?"
Seeing the Shāguǐ remain silent, Yu Shuntian raised his fist and struck.
The Shāguǐ was instantly obliterated, its soul scattered.
Yu Shuntian turned his gaze towards the bamboo forest, his expression shifting.
Could it be that guy?
A hundred years ago, this area was a bandit stronghold.
One day, the chief bandit of this group captured a woman and brought her up the mountain, intending to make her his captive bride.
The woman refused to yield, even unto death, but was killed by the chief bandit, stripped naked, and hung on a tree for seven days and seven nights.
The villagers from the surrounding areas, fearing retaliation from the bandits, dared not retrieve the body.
The woman's resentment ran deep, and coupled with absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, she transformed into a vengeful ghost of profound hatred and returned to the mountain for revenge.
In a single night, all over a hundred bandits on the mountain were slaughtered, their deaths gruesome.
Because the woman's corpse was in the bamboo forest, even under the bright summer sun, its rays could not penetrate the dense trees.
Most importantly, the female ghost was not afraid of sunlight.
No man who passed through there ever returned alive.
Over time, the area became a mass grave, where any child who died unnaturally or prematurely in the village was thrown into the bamboo forest.
Before Yu Shuntian had even made it onto the Black List, he had intended to rid the villagers of this menace, but he hadn't anticipated the female ghost's formidable strength.
Even a Minggui realm ghost was stronger than an ordinary Ghost King.
Back then, Yu Shuntian had to exert all his might just to manage to injure her, forcing her to refrain from harming others.
Later, Yu Shuntian retired from the martial world and had children, wishing to avoid trouble. He made an agreement with the ghost:
As long as she did not harm anyone, their wells would not interfere with each other.
So many years had passed; he didn't know how much stronger the female ghost had become.
Yu Shuntian strode towards the bamboo forest, filled with regret.
He should have annihilated this menace directly back then.
Meanwhile.
Yu Daochen looked at the Shāguǐ in front of him, dressed in red, his expression solemn.
This Shāguǐ was too peculiar; its realm was Shāguǐ, yet its speed was not inferior to a Minggui.
The Shāguǐ lunged again. Yu Daochen, with quick reflexes, swung the Kanglong Jian in his hand.
The Shāguǐ easily dodged. Just as Yu Daochen was about to swing the Kanglong Jian again, he felt a chill down his spine.
When he turned his head, another Shāguǐ, also clad in red, had appeared without his knowledge and was lunging with its sharp claws.
Seeing the claws inches from his face, Yu Daochen could only swing the Kanglong Jian to his chest to block the incoming attack.
As Yu Daochen blocked the claws, another Shāguǐ seized the opportunity and pounced.
Seeing this, Yu Daochen performed a swift roll to the side, evading the pincer attack from the two Shāguǐ.
Rolling to the side, Yu Daochen looked at the two eager Shāguǐ. Just as he was about to form a hand seal to use the Devouring Flame Technique, a Shāguǐ burst from the nearby bushes, interrupting his spell.
Yu Daochen, seeing this, had no choice but to retreat again, dodging the lunging claws.
Regaining his stance, Yu Daochen looked at the figure that had emerged, his expression growing grim as he cursed.
"Damn it, where did another one come from?"
This situation was not good for him.
The iron plates tied to his feet were severely hindering his performance. In those two surprise attacks just now, he had nearly failed to dodge.
And these three Shāguǐ were also incredibly strange.
Although they were only at the Shāguǐ realm, their speed surpassed that of a Minggui.
In the past, no matter how fast they were, he wouldn't have paid them any mind. But in his current state, hitting them was proving to be quite a challenge.
Yu Daochen was certain that if he didn't remove the iron plates from his feet, they could rush forward and kill him.
"Damn it, I never thought I'd be cornered by three Shāguǐ with nowhere to strike," Yu Daochen cursed vehemently.
He had never imagined he would be made so desperate by three Shāguǐ.
The three Shāguǐ exchanged glances and attacked simultaneously with uncanny coordination.
Seeing this, Yu Daochen was about to use the Samsara Blood Tear attack when a hand suddenly rested on his shoulder.
Yu Daochen turned his head and saw that his grandfather had arrived at some point.