My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 907 - 536: Dead as a Doornail (Double-Length - ) (Part 2)

"Yes, yes, it was a coincidence that Immortal Lady Lu saw me performing the soul summoning technique while stitching up a corpse," Zhang Shengzhen recalled with a look of longing, "She gave me a couple of pointers. Initially, I didn't take it seriously, but later realized it was Immortal Lady Lu herself, and suddenly felt enlightened."

Chen Yi, uninterested in delving deeper, asked directly, "What did you discuss?"

"...She said that life and death are predestined by heaven and earth. My technique of stitching up corpses and summoning souls confuses Yin and Yang, defying the natural order. If a peaceful era prevailed, it would surely invite heavenly punishment. But fortunately, the White Lotus Sect is in chaos now, Yin and Yang are muddled, and too many people are defying the heavens, which inadvertently allows me to save more people and accumulate virtue. That's one aspect."

Zhang Shengzhen paused, then continued:

"The second... is that if I wish to improve, I should seize the opportunity to visit Dragon and Tiger Mountain and meet the Old Heavenly Master. He might be interested in my spell... Immortal Lady Lu implied that perhaps the Old Heavenly Master could guide me."

When Zhang Shengzhen said this, he seemed timid, perhaps thinking he dared not hope a simple country bumpkin like himself could meet the Old Heavenly Master, and naturally felt apprehensive at heart.

But Chen Yi seemed deep in thought.

The actions of Lu Ying couldn't be understood with common logic nowadays, resembling Zhou Yitang's deeds quite a bit, each move shrouded in fog. And... it's extremely coincidental that after Zhang Shengzhen met Lu Ying, he ran into me here.

Is it truly fate at work?

Chen Yi pondered for a moment, then quickly asked, "Why have you all come here?"

Zhang Shengzhen hurriedly replied, "I encountered this group of Zhe Dao Sect members looking for a Taoist on the road, saying there were people from the White Lotus Sect here. They planned to exterminate them and take them to the Hero Conference at Dragon and Tiger Mountain to boast."

Chen Yi quickly looked towards those Zhe Dao Sect members.

One person shivered and quickly replied, "The truth is, the Taoists from Dragon and Tiger Mountain made a map, marking both major and minor strongholds of the White Lotus Sect. They secretly distributed it among various sects, inviting people to join the righteous cause to annihilate them, thereby weakening the White Lotus Sect."

Chen Yi furrowed his brow slightly, sensing a subtle link within, yet it seemed entirely coincidental, just pure luck.

This expression made everyone's hearts skip a beat, fearing the person before them might suddenly erupt and wipe them out.

This person seemed closely linked with the White Lotus Sect, and it was unclear which terrifying killer they might be. Their martial prowess was frighteningly strong, capable of anything.

Seeing him silent for so long, Zhang Shengzhen's lips trembled, racking his brains to come up with a prominent name to reassure the person before them.

Swoosh.

Suddenly, the rain poured heavily.

Chen Yi turned to look at the old Taoist, Zhang Shengzhen's face showed confusion; he made secret signs and shouted several times "stop," but there was no sign of the rain stopping, as dense drops pounded on their faces.

Copper Coin-sized raindrops beat people's eyes shut, Zhang Shengzhen's spell chanting tailing off with the crack of rain on the wind. The ground began to tremble, initially like distant carts passing but soon turned into the rhythmic thunder of thousands of galloping horses.

The storm suddenly went wild.

Amidst the rain, there seemed other sounds, initially crackles that grew into rumbling sounds, resembling drum beats or heavy hammers. Zhang Shengzhen's body shook, and he discovered the ground beneath his feet buzzed too.

Chen Yi snapped his head around.

The entire mountain forest shivered, birds flew frantically, dense flocks broke through the rain screen, huge rocks mixed with mud rolled over pine woods, torrents wrapped with snapped branches rushed toward the village entrance!

In an instant, Zhang Shengzhen's eyes flashed, and Chen Yi darted away like a streak of light.

The mountain ruptured with a sound like tearing fabric, suddenly it seemed as if heaven collapsed and earth cracked, the ground splitting open with a crack...

.....

Thunderous sounds rolled from all directions, mimicking the collapse of mountain bodies spilling down.

Torrents of mud almost instantly swallowed up everything visible.

The entire village seemed buried beneath the earth, Yin Tingxue still remembered chanting spells in panic and then closing her eyes.

Even now, her eyes were tightly shut.

The footing was gone, nothing felt real momentarily.

Yin Tingxue startled, doubting she was dead but still dared not open her eyes, afraid she really was.

"Yin Tingxue, Yin Tingxue!"

A familiar shout suddenly called from behind; Yin Tingxue turned, opening her eyes to find herself lifted by her clothes into the air.

Chen Yi, seeing her safe, quickly fixated on the village below. Riding the wind, he watched massive torrents of mud mixed with broken mountain rocks slowly converging somewhere.

That was a huge pit, half the mountainside had collapsed; Chen Yi recalled, that was the direction Chu Yiyuan had left.

What did they actually excavate?

The thought passed by, but Chen Yi didn't dwell on it; the current priority was finding Donggong Ruoshu.

"Did you see where Donggong Ruoshu went?"

Yin Tingxue, snapping back to reality with a pale face, said, "She... she said she was going to get some air, to see what they were up to, and then... then... it turned into a stone flood."

After listening, Chen Yi swiftly rushed toward the direction of the pit, as the heavy rain continued to pour down, the muddy water flowed like a torrent, carrying along broken wood, giant stones, and ruined walls, all washing down together, making the ground underfoot seem like a flowing ocean.

He recited a spell, opened the Heavenly Eye, and scanned the area quickly.

He saw near the edge of the pit, amid the surging mudflow, a large-chested figure struggling. No matter how hard she tried, the enormous mudslide continued to push her further into the depths.

Rumble.

In an instant, Donggong Ruoshu's figure fell into the pit.

...…...

An incense stick's time later.

Chen Yi and Yin Tingxue rushed into the pit almost immediately but could not find Miss Donggong's figure.

The muddy river outside had gradually calmed, gently laying over the land, having gone from a mountain-crumbling, ground-splitting tempest to tranquility in almost the same instant.

"What on earth have these White Lotus Sect people dug up?" Chen Yi murmured unknowingly.

Yin Tingxue grasped Chen Yi's hand, her calves somewhat weak, but she did not speak a word, avoiding distracting Chen Yi, who must focus on finding Miss Donggong.

The earthy smell permeated the air, the mud beneath their feet slippery. Chen Yi touched a Lighting Talisman from his Square Land, hesitated for a moment, smelt the heavy presence of yin energy, and then put the Lighting Talisman back, grabbing a torch and flint from his bosom instead.

The torch was lit, casting its light into the dark pit.

It seemed to reveal another world.

A vast underground cavern appeared before their eyes, half of the underground seeming hollow, with the rock walls continuously extending outward, boundless, becoming more immersed, turning the darkness above into a celestial curtain.

Leading Yin Tingxue, Chen Yi calculated Donggong Ruoshu's location by pinching his fingers. The two walked to a certain spot where a deep, long tunnel appeared ahead, triggering a sense of deja vu in him, as memories of the Tushan Underground Palace surfaced in his mind.

Is this a secret tomb realm?

Chen Yi's expression deepened. He had previously ventured northwest planning to find the Tushan Underground Palace again but gave up after encountering the Tushan Clan at the Sword Pool. He didn't expect to be so fated with these tombs, unable to meet them then only to encounter them now.

Continuing the exploration along the deep, long tunnel, the icy mud beneath their feet was mitigated by the Water Avoidance Technique on Chen Yi and Yin Tingxue, not causing much trouble, only slowing their pace a bit.

The tunnel was deep, its end unfathomable; the cavern muddied like flesh and blood, and the firelight made it seem to writhe.

Chen Yi led Yin Tingxue deeper, their eyes still gleaming with golden light.

The tunnel suddenly narrowed into a seam of the sky, forcing them to squeeze through sideways. Yin Tingxue's shoulder brushed against the rock wall, sprinkling fragments mixed with a few pieces as big as fingernails; Chen Yi scorched it with the torch to find it was a faded half Jade Authority Tablet carved with a bird-headed serpent-bodied totem.

After passing through the tunnel, Chen Yi looked up once more.

His steps paused slightly, the firelight revealing indistinct outlines ahead.

Before him lay an open expanse; Chen Yi raised the torch high.

In the dim glow appeared a nine-tiered stone stairway, atop which lay a split altar, with a beast's head skewed into the ground, strands of red silk hanging from the split, surprisingly human hair.

In deeper darkness, lay a series of human-shaped outlines.

Each face turned towards them.

Each covered in feathers…

The crooked bodies fell behind the altar, seemingly set for them, the dim firelight obscuring them, sending chills down the spine.

Yin Tingxue's breath froze, her heart leaping into her throat.

Tap tap.

Footsteps…

Behind them!

Yin Tingxue didn't understand why Chen Yi hadn't moved, forcefully pulling him to turn around; Chen Yi came to and looked back, seeing that familiar face appearing before them.

"Chen Yi, Tingxue… you're both here."

As the words fell into their ears, Chen Yi hadn't yet relaxed before catching a detail in the corner of his eye.

She had no shadow.

"But I seem…" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Donggong Ruoshu stood frozen in place,

"to be dead..."