: The Message

The sky in the underworld was forever gloomy.

The Qingjiao Army raced across the gray-black plain.

On the back of his black-blood paper horse, Luo Si interrupted his healing, opened his eyes, and looked toward the horizon.

A flicker of doubt crossed his eyes.

"That's the Water Burial Valley ahead!" Ning Zhuo knew the direction, after all, Sun Lingtong had been there before, only to be intercepted nearby.

Ning Zhuo also showed a puzzled expression—the scene before him was vastly different from his memory.

He saw a thick haze of black and gray mist rising from the valley, coalescing into a heavy, oppressive leaden cloud low in the sky.

Two black hills lay like the skeletons of giant beasts crouching on the ground.

Ning Zhuo frowned. "Why do these two black hills seem much shorter than I remember?"

The hills faced each other like two colossal beasts, tearing a relatively narrow but bottomless chasm between them—that was the entrance to Water Burial Valley.

"There's clearly been a great battle here!" Luo Si conveyed his thoughts with a grave expression.

Both he and Ning Zhuo showed concern—the former worried about the Gray Bone Elder, the latter anxious about the Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin.

As they drew closer, the details of the gray-black mist became clearer.

Countless small, gray-white flocculent particles floated and drifted in the mist. They resembled ashes from burned paper or spores of some fungus, swirling silently and emitting a mix of mildew, corpse stench, and a heavy fishy odor.

"This is the burial water unique to Water Burial Valley. Normally, it flows like a stream within the valley," Luo Si explained, his voice tinged with gravity.

Sun Lingtong had never entered the valley, but Luo Si had been in and out many times and was quite familiar with its conditions.

Ning Zhuo remained silent, growing more anxious, wishing he could rush into the valley immediately to find his mother.

But he restrained himself, instead ordering the entire army to stay alert and slow their pace.

This move earned an approving look from Luo Si.

After experiencing several major events, Ning Zhuo's military acumen had far surpassed the ordinary.

"Set up camp nearby and take good care of Qing Chi. Don't let her suffer any more harm," Ning Zhuo ordered. "We'll be back soon."

Qing Chi was still unconscious.

Unlike Luo Si, who had recovered quickly and could ride on his own long ago, Ning Zhuo arranged for the Qingjiao Army to camp temporarily near the entrance of Water Burial Valley. He and Luo Si would go together to investigate.

Finally reaching the entrance, a powerful stench hit Ning Zhuo like a solid punch to the nose.

He nearly choked.

Ning Zhuo held his breath, letting Luo Si lead the way as he followed closely into Water Burial Valley.

The valley walls were covered in honeycomb-like holes, thick with greasy moss and slippery trails left by snakes and insects.

"This place used to have clear distinctions between mountains and water, and the air was at least refreshing," Luo Si sighed.

Uncertain of the situation, both chose to proceed cautiously on foot rather than flying—which would make them easy targets.

Underfoot was not rock or soil but a flat path.

It was a swamp formed from a mixture of bone fragments from destroyed ghosts, rotting water plants, sticky mud, and pale talisman paper scraps.

The burial water was still being drawn into the sky, turning into gray-black mist—a lingering effect of the intense battle's spells.

Ning Zhuo could only tell it wasn't a water-based spell.

"There must have been a terrifying exchange of spells here!"

The deeper they went, the more jagged and abrupt the valley walls became. Wreathed in black-gray mist, they looked like various狰狞ghosts, ready to pounce at any moment.

Both had long since released their spiritual senses and activated detection spells.

They advanced carefully for several hundred steps, the distance between the valley walls widening.

Turning a corner, they came upon a broad battlefield.

The ground was flat, half covered in thick frost with a biting chill, the other half charred as if scorched by flames.

The foot of the mountains was crisscrossed with spiderweb-like cracks, and the walls bore many twisted lines and scars, hard to imagine what impact they had endured.

"What are these?" Ning Zhuo squinted slightly, his heart sinking.

At the edge of the battlefield opposite, he found many remnants of paper dolls!

Crossing the battlefield, as they got closer, the big-headed youth easily recognized these paper scraps as belonging to the paper army from White Paper Immortal City.

They continued forward, finding noticeably more paper scraps on the mountain path.

Torn paper arms, legs, shattered paper armor, deformed fragments of paper weapons... mixed with soil and碎石, forming a chilling graveyard of paper scraps.

Soon, they reached the middle section of Water Burial Valley.

It had changed dramatically!

The originally broad mountain path was buried and blocked by massive broken rocks, forming a chaotic pile.

And within this pile lay several enormous,残缺bodies.

A Hundred-Armed Ghost Deity was mostly buried under the rubble, with more than half of its hundred giant arms severed at the roots! The remaining dozens of arms were mostly twisted and broken, hanging limply.

Its massive body was covered in deep, bone-revealing claw marks and charred holes piercing through its chest and back.

Its狰狞horned head had been severed and thrown far away.

Luo Si said gravely, "This is the Hundred-Armed Ghost Deity."

He stared at the ghost deity's head in the distance, his gaze fixed on its twisted expression.

This wasn't the only ghost deity slain.

Another, with a lower body of tree roots and an upper body of a full-breasted female form, was embedded in the stone wall.

Her robes were tattered, surrounded by many broken black glass lanterns.

Luo Si continued, "This is a Yin Soul Lantern Master."

A few hundred steps further, they found an empty skeletal throne, overturned on the ground.

The throne was immense.

Not far from it, a pile of碎石 nearly buried the entire body of a third ghost deity.

Only a right forearm was visible.

The arm was covered in cracks, from which beams of blue light emanated. The blue glow was eerie and诡异.

Ning Zhuo and Luo Si were deeply shaken.

Of these three ghost deities, aside from the third whose origin was unclear, the first two were known for their combat prowess.

From their auras, both were at the Deity Transformation level!

Yet they had paid with their lives.

Even if they were ordinary, inferior to top Deity Transformation cultivators like the Forgotten River Prefect or the Silent Ghost Monk, they were still Deity Transformation-level combatants.

"The battle here must have been extremely fierce!" Luo Si exclaimed.

Ning Zhuo's gaze grew distant; he naturally thought of the three divine summoning paper puppets in the paper army.

"Mother led this paper army into the valley and encountered a powerful enemy. Most of the soldiers were lost earlier, hence the paper scraps along the way."

"Here, she had to use the three divine summoning paper puppets to call upon these three ghost deities."

"In the end, the ghost deities sacrificed themselves, allowing mother to press forward!"

Ning Zhuo reconstructed the battle in his mind, his worry growing. "Every time mother acts, it costs her greatly in spirituality. Her condition is limited; she can't hold out much longer."

The thought filled him with anxiety atop his凝重.

Luo Si felt the same.

Both unconsciously quickened their pace, finally arriving at the deepest part of Water Burial Valley.

The sight before them struck Ning Zhuo and Luo Si like a thunderbolt, stealing their breath!

The terrain at the valley's bottom had been completely altered!

A giant pit dozens of zhang in diameter and over ten zhang deep occupied the center!

The pit walls were smooth as mirrors, bearing traces of high-temperature melting.

Inside flowed viscous magma, reminding Ning Zhuo of Fire Persimmon Mountain.

The edges of the pit showed an eerie, wave-like distortion, with all rocks pushed outward, filled with frost, scorch marks, corrosive holes, and more.

Their spiritual senses spread continuously, detection spells permeating in all directions.

Luo Si was the first to discover, "There's a crude formation hidden in the magma."

The formation reached the Golden Core level but was so rough that Luo Si easily breached a hole in it.

They entered the formation space through the opening.

"Mother!" Ning Zhuo's body trembled violently, his throat moving as he almost cried out.

"Elder Gray Bone!" Luo Si exclaimed in surprise.

The Gray Bone Elder, in his wide gray robes, lay flat on the ground, motionless, without a trace of breath.

His head looked as if torn away by some sharp claw, missing a small part.

But his eyes were closed, and his body had been hastily attended to.

The Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin, sat cross-legged beside the Gray Bone Elder.

She held the Great Serpent Scythe, its tip deeply embedded in a large stone slab.

She had lost half her body, part of an arm, and her left leg. Through the massive破损, twisted and deformed mechanisms were visible.

At the wounds, spiritual threads were severed, hanging like tassels.

Jade marrow灵液with faint Buddhist light dripped from the cracks.

Charred holes, cracks from frozen ice, and terrifying penetrating wounds.

Meng Yaoyin's head was bowed, stained with blood and grime. Her left eye was a black hollow, its internal mechanisms utterly destroyed, leaving only a few broken spiritual threads.

She should have fallen, not sat upright. The Great Serpent Scythe propped on the ground gave her sole support.

Ning Zhuo敏锐noted that Meng Yaoyin's remaining right hand gripped the scythe's handle like iron pliers.

Her knuckles were even扭曲from extreme force, as if she wished to merge with the weapon, displaying a fierce will to fight strong enemies and protect her loved ones!

Ning Zhuo's eyes reddened, finally unable to suppress a low cry, "Mother!"

The call immediately drew Luo Si's gaze.

Immense sorrow and boundless terror filled Ning Zhuo. He staggered forward to kneel before Meng Yaoyin.

Meng Yaoyin showed no reaction, utterly still.

Suppressing his nearly shattered mind, Ning Zhuo reached out with trembling fingers, carefully examining the condition of the残破immortal puppet.

Meng Yaoyin's spirituality had completely vanished!

This shattered Ning Zhuo's heart and soul, nearly breaking him completely.

He suddenly understood that he, too, had paid an极其惨重price for thwarting the Forgotten River Prefect's century-long scheme.

And this price was one he could not accept!

Tap.

Just then, a faint sound, like a spring mechanism loosening, was heard.

A jade slip slid out from within Meng Yaoyin's body. Ning Zhuo instinctively reached out, catching it before it hit the ground.

Luo Si also had reddened eyes, kneeling beside the Gray Bone Elder.

He was momentarily distracted by the sound, looking at Ning Zhuo with悲戚and inquiry in his eyes.

Ning Zhuo immediately immersed his spiritual sense into the jade slip.

The next moment, his heart shook violently.

Because the contents of the jade slip were a message specifically left for him by his mother.

"My child Zhuo, do not despair. Your mother has not truly perished but, using unorthodox means, retained a breath of life. In the future, go to the Myriad Phenomena Sect, open my cave dwelling, and take all its contents. When the Great Serpent Scythe trembles, the time will have come. Cremate your mother's worldly possessions, and my spirit light will reappear."

"By then, perhaps I may even turn misfortune into blessing and grasp more of the unorthodox path's mysteries."

Seeing this, Ning Zhuo stopped his tears, as if returning from hell to the living world.

"Mother!" He collapsed sitting on the ground, devoid of strength, feeling more exhausted than during the recent altar battlefield.

Fortunately, fortunately, there was still room for redemption.

The jade slip contained more. After composing himself, Ning Zhuo continued reading.

"Water Burial Valley has become a dead land. Alas, though I joined forces with Elder Gray Bone to slay the strong enemy, I ultimately could not save him."

"My child Zhuo, the Forgotten River Prefect will never relent! You must leave here immediately, leave the underworld! Do not delay for a moment!"

"The City Lord of White Paper Immortal City... this person... requires cautious防备. Whether the Forgotten River Prefect wins or loses, for White Paper Immortal City, times have changed."

"Therefore, you must properly安置the Qingjiao Army."

"Both keep them in the Yin Tide Black Marsh and have them frequently enter the underworld."

"With Elder Gray Bone's guidance, I've uncovered many of the Mysterious Scholar's backup plans. Use these, combined with the army types, to let them traverse Yin and Yang, continuously exerting influence in the marsh."

"You need to personally care for Qing Chi! I believe you already have some guesses about her. These doubts will be answered in time."

"Absolutely do not let her stay with the Qingjiao Army or leave her in White Paper Immortal City. Both would endanger her life."

"Take her with you to the Myriad Phenomena Sect."

"Before his death, Elder Gray Bone permitted me to teach you the 'Water Burial Harmony and Virtue Accumulation Scripture.'"

"You must diligently cultivate this scripture, accumulate merit, to dispel the underworld heaven's aversion to you..."

"When you reach the Myriad Phenomena Sect, seek out... She is my closest friend; you may try to trust her."

"I also have a talisman paper business in the Myriad Phenomena Sect. Identify yourself, and you should inherit it."

"Remember what I told you? Do not investigate the Chaos Fate Sect; your current strength is far from sufficient."

Ning Zhuo stood still, momentarily like a clay or wooden statue.

His mother's message, each word like a heavy hammer, struck his heart.

The various arrangements, between the lines, revealed a mother's care and concern for her son...

(End of )