Chapter 345

Chapter 345: Forbidden Grounds (Part 2)

Yun Jiuge quickly raised her head and saw a tall, burly corpse ghost with dark green eyes and wearing bronze armor, rushing towards her.
The corpse ghost raised his green moon broadsword, black Qi coalescing above him. He swung it towards the ground, aiming directly at Yun Jiuge. A large crack appeared on the ground where the broadsword hit, releasing billowing ash and a loud bombing sound.
“Run, little monkey.” Yun Jiuge wanted the White Bone Monkey to escape with her.
But instead, the fool stood up and dashed away with its bone-cracking sound, abandoning Yun Jiuge.
Boom! At that critical moment, a purple fog jetted out from the mark on Yun Jiuge’s wrist and wrapped protectively around her.
The crack in the ground stopped right in front of Yun Jiuge.
The Corpse General let out a huge roar when he realized he had missed.
Once again, he lifted his sword and swung it at Yun Jiuge.
But this time, the broadsword was blocked by a purple-black spear.
The spear was just as powerful as the sword, and in a flash, the Corpse General was thrown into the sky.
“Are you all right?” asked Zi Shang as he loosened the knot around her.
“Where have you been?” Yun Jiuge asked. She placed the traitorous White Bone Monkey back into the Magical Bottomless Bag.
“I went looking for treasure in the forbidden grounds.” Zi Shang knew that the thing Yun Jiuge loved the most was treasure.
Yun Jiuge’s eyes lit with expectation, but she hesitated when she remembered that Elder Qiu Ren would be coming back. “Will we be caught for trespassing another territory?” she asked.
“I’m sure he won’t find out.” Although the constraints of this forbidden ground were powerful, it could not stop Zi Shang.
“Well, let’s go in and take a look!” Yun Jiuge said, lighting up.
Yun Jiuge and Zi Shang easily navigated through the Corpse Ghost Formation, led by the Xuan Yin White Bone Monkey. They avoided the myriad of traps, and finally reached a dark cave.
“This cave doesn’t look very promising.” Yun Jiuge looked around the empty cavern and did not find anything unusual.
“Focus the Yin Qi between your eyes and see if there is anything hidden behind the cave walls,” he said. Zi Shang then placed his palm on Yun Jiuge’s back, lending her some of his energy.
Yun Jiuge opened her Spiritual eyes, then carefully scanned the area. As expected, she saw Spiritual Runes all over the ground and walls like a tightly woven spider’s web, just waiting to trap unsuspecting prey.
“This is a battle of the underworld. Although it’s not arranged completely, it’s still strong. If someone were to rush into it, not only will their physical body be destroyed by the formation, but their spirit will be trapped. It’s very vicious,” Zi Shang explained.
“How are we going to get in?” Although Yun Jiuge had not realized it at first, she now could feel the immense pressure that the cave was giving her.
“Why are you afraid when I am here?” Zi Shang sneered. He summoned the Xuan Yin White Bone Monkey.
Xuan Yin White Bone Monkey highly respects Zi Shang, and he humbly appeared when summoned.
Zi Shang disassembled the Xuan Yin Shite Bone Monkey and then reassembled into an umbrella with the monkey’s head turned to face Yun Jiuge.
“Why did you turn him into an umbrella?” Yun Jiuge felt sorry for the White Bone Monkey, staring at the Soul Fire pitifully flickering in its eye-sockets.
“We must use Yin Qi to block and safely pass the defenses of the Netherworld,” said Zi Shang.
“Will the little monkey be in danger? If it’s too dangerous, then we can forget about this. It’s more important to protect what we have than to take such a big risk.”
“No, it has already consumed too much Yin. This Formation will actually be good training for the monkey,” replied Zi Shang. His expression seemed to convey the message that “I am doing this for his own good.”
The White Bone Monkey’s Spiritual Fire jumped wildly as if it was displaying its displeasure.
“Come on! No pain, no gain, good boy!” Yun Jiuge patted its big head and stepped under the umbrella next to Zi Shang.
The umbrella, however, was a little too small to shelter them both.
“Climb up,” Zi Shang said as he slightly bent his knees. It seemed like he wanted to carry Yun Jiuge on his back.
Yun Jiuge quickly clambered up without hesitation. Under the protection of the umbrella, the two of them carefully stepped into the cave. All of a sudden, the scenery in front of them changed dramatically.
What was once an empty cave transformed into boundless darkness. From the darkness, they could hear the sounds of crying babies, as well as the fleeting sounds of children laughing.
Suddenly, a woman’s thin and squeaky voice reverberated throughout the darkness. It was a grieving cry full of pain and torture, and simply listening to it numbed them both.
Yun Jiuge, however, had experienced a hundred battles and, as such, was not easily frightened by these tricks.
Just as she was about to urge Zi Shang to move on, she suddenly felt the handle of the bone umbrella sinking and she almost lost her grip.
“That is the Netherworld blocking the path.” Zi Shang held Yun Jiuge with one hand and wrapped his other hand over hers as they steadied their grip on the umbrella.
Yun Jiuge’s hand felt lighter almost at once. It was a relief as it had felt as if someone had been sitting on the umbrella.
Zi Shang continued into the darkness with Yun Jiuge. All the while, the strange voices continued to harass their eardrums.
As the pair ventured deeper into the cave, the voices seemed to transition into more familiar voices. Yun Jiuge even thought that she recognized the voices of Qing Mama, Ye Yu, and Luo Tian, and she almost wanted to greet them. Fortunately, she managed to fight back the temptation to do so.
Although Zi Shang walked steadily, Yun Jiuge could feel the White Bone Umbrella getting heavier and heavier. The creaking sounds of the bones left a sour taste in her mouth.
Yun Jiuge started to worry that the White Bone Monkey would not be able to bear any more, but then she noticed that there was still Yin Qi leaking out from under the weight pressing down on it. Under the guidance of Zi Shang’s Spiritual Force, it established a cycle of cultivation that made its bone denser and stronger.
Eventually, the white bone umbrella was only half its size. The Yin Qi, however, had spread out even more than before. Every piece of bone shimmered like metal. It seemed that it had succeeded in upgrading itself.
They continued on, and Yun Jiuge was happy to finally arrive at the edge of a cliff. They looked down but it appeared to be bottomless. Strong winds were blowing, and it felt like painful slaps on their faces.
“Now what…” Before Yun Jiuge could even finish her question, Zi Shang jumped down the cliff with her still on his back.
The rushing wind was blowing past her ears. It was so loud Yun Jiuge could not hear anything else. There was nothing at all. The moment they jumped, a stone chamber appeared in front of them. The cliff was just an illusion.
Zi Shang folded up the White Bone Monkey and put his hand on the stone chamber.
Purple fog appeared and the stone room opened up. When their eyesight adjusted, they were greeted by an amazing view. It was a room full of treasure.
This treasure room was very spacious, and although there were not a lot of things in it, the items have been neatly arranged.
On the left stood a row of Yin Corpses in the form of monkeys and monsters. There were more than a hundred of them, each carved with grim and frightening runes.
In the middle of the room was a curtain of light made up of about a dozen small lit balls. Inside the spheres were pieces of high-leveled Spiritual Weapon. Even the lowest among them were fourth-level Spiritual Weapons, which were more advanced than Yun Jiuge’s bone spurs and Lightning Snake Magical Whip. She was eager to own them, but she dared not touch them at will.
On the right side of the room was a row of medicine cabinets made from spiritual wood and carved with flowers and branches. Placed on the top were Bottles of Medicinal Pills, and all of them were very effective for cultivation. There was also a bottle of Foundation Establishment Pills, and beneath that was a jade medicine cabinet filled with countless blood lotus flowers.
“The Elder Qiu Ren is very wealthy indeed!” Yun Jiuge exclaimed. The ancestors of Core Formation were indeed rich.
“The real good stuff isn’t here.” Zi Shang smiled lightly and pointed to the ground beneath the medicine cabinet.