Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 112 repeated. (Second update!)

Upon hearing this, Li Li'an was immediately startled.

With the Jia siblings unwilling to intervene, he dared not go against Zheng Que on his own.

So, Li Li'an coughed lightly, as if nothing had happened, and immediately put on a warm smile, saying very enthusiastically, "Fellow Daoist Zheng, just now, Fellow Daoist Wu Rushou and I, a total of nine people, entered the Ghost Cellar together."

"As it turned out, they discovered that there was actually a ghost at the sixth level of the [Tongue-Pulling Hell] guarding the place!"

"Fellow Daoist Wu Rushou, who is at the fifth level of Qi Refining, and seven other fellow Daoists were all killed."

"I was just lucky and managed to escape by the skin of my teeth."

The Sixfold Ghostly Beings of the Tongue-Pulling Prison?

Zheng Que listened and nodded slightly, then asked again, "Isn't that soul-summoning banner in the ghost cellar?"

Upon hearing the words "soul-summoning banner," Li Li'an's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly recovered and replied without hesitation, "No!"

No?

Zheng Que frowned. He sensed that Li Li'an was hiding something, and the Jia siblings beside him clearly knew something about the Ghost Cellar as well…

Even if the soul-summoning banner isn't there, this haunted cellar likely contains clues related to it!
As for that ghost at the sixth level of the [Tongue-Pulling Hell], any one of his ghost servants could easily deal with it, so there was no need to worry about it.

Thinking of this, Zheng Que looked at the Jia siblings and asked directly, "Gentlemen, are you going to the underground mine next? Or the Ghost Fighting Arena?"

After a moment's thought, Jia Bin said, "My brother and I were just lured into the fortress by an illusion."

"We have now dispelled the illusion."

"As previously agreed, we are responsible for guarding the exit and meeting everyone."

"Therefore, we will not go to either of these two places; we will just leave the fortress directly."

Jia Miaoniang added, "Fellow Daoist Zheng is very powerful. If you really find that magic artifact, just name your price for whatever you want."

"Our Jia family of Taishan is a prominent family in Taiping County. The reward we offer will definitely satisfy Fellow Daoist Zheng!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Que was slightly surprised.

These brother and sister, though they spoke sweet words, seemed only eager to escape from Shu Family Fortress, and didn't even have the intention of seizing the magical artifact...

At this moment, Li Li'an hurriedly added, "I don't want the thirty spirit stones as a reward for the mission!"

"I have an urgent matter to attend to and need to get out of here right away!"

Seeing that the three were about to leave, Zheng Que didn't say anything more, turned around, and walked directly towards the entrance of the Ghost Cellar.

The ghost cellar may contain clues to the summoning banner.

Most importantly, this Shu Family Fortress is fraught with danger and teeming with ghosts, but the "strangeness" of their dwellings is such that killing more ghosts is useless unless the root cause is eliminated. However, the ghost in the Ghost Cellar that Li Lian mentioned, which is at the sixth level of the [Tongue-Pulling Hell], can be used to enhance Qing Li and Ku Lan's strength.

In the small round hall, the Jia siblings and Li Li'an held their breath and watched as Zheng Que led two ghost servants into the passageway leading to the ghost cellar and quickly walked away before they all breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the Jia siblings had no time to argue with Li Li'an about what had just happened, and immediately rushed towards the gate.

Li Li'an snapped out of his daze and quickly said, "Fellow Daoist Jia Bin, wait for me..."

As they spoke, the three of them moved with lightning speed, taking two steps at a time to traverse the corridor marked by the carnage and arrive at the entrance hall.

Before Li Li'an could finish speaking, he suddenly froze. He saw the Jia siblings, who were running ahead, disappear mysteriously right before his eyes as they rushed out of the gate!
The fog was still outside, but the visibility was not low. The cultivators' eyesight was enough to see the surrounding situation clearly. No matter how fast the Jia siblings were, it was impossible for them to disappear in an instant.

The brother and sister vanished without a trace the instant they stepped across the threshold!
His steps, which were about to rush out the door, came to an abrupt halt. He hurriedly rubbed his eyes, and after confirming that he was not seeing things, he called out urgently, "Fellow Daoist Jia, Fellow Daoist Miaoniang..."

He called out several times, but there was only silence around him, as if he were the only living person in and around Shujiabao.

Li Li'an shuddered, his face changed drastically, and he immediately dared not go out. He turned around and ran back into the small round hall, glanced at the five fan-shaped passageways, and immediately ran towards the entrance of the ghost cellar that Zheng Que had just entered.

※※※ Shujiabao.

Ancestral Hall.

Deep inside the semi-circular cave, dark green creeping fig trees grow densely, their branches intertwined, and the gilded characters on the ebony memorial tablet reflect a glimmer of cold light.

Outside the shrine, figures stood silently, like figures in a painting.

Jia Bin and Jia Miaoniang looked around blankly, then quickly came to their senses.

This is the ancestral hall of Shujiabao!
As soon as they regained their memories, they were blown to the ground by a sudden gust of cold wind.

This is a trap!
Now, we need to get out of here right away!

Thinking of this, the brother and sister immediately got up and fled desperately back the way they came...

※※※

Shujiabao.

As Zheng Que walked briskly through the passageway leading to the Ghost Cellar, his footsteps echoed far and wide.

Qingli and Kulan followed closely on either side.

After walking for quite some time, a gate finally appeared ahead.

Zheng Lishi then gestured to Ku Lan beside him, who understood and stepped forward to open the door.

creak.

Before the door was fully opened, a strong, pungent stench wafted in from outside, like the smell of fresh entrails wrapped in flesh and blood.

Soon, Zheng Que saw that the outside world was in complete disarray, with blood flowing everywhere, and the limbs, robes, and shards of broken pottery scattered all over the ground.

Several ghostly creatures were either sitting or lying in the blood, engrossed in their feast.

Click... click... click...

The sounds of raw meat and bones being chewed echoed throughout the ghost cellar.

Among these ghostly creatures, the central one was a dark, shadowy figure with indistinct outlines, resembling both a human and a beast, its features indistinct. It lay prostrate on the ground, constantly sucking up the blood and bits of flesh scattered around it, its body shrouded in yin energy. Its strength was at the seventh level of the [Tongue-Pulling Hell], and its aura was ferocious. It was the "fierce spirit" at the entrance that the Jia siblings had promised to lure away for the cultivators.

Beside it was a tall ghost with a flat, round head, no eyes, no nose, no ears, only a mouth that ran from head to waist, and long, thin hands that were holding a cultivator's head and chewing it like fruit.

Aside from the other few ghost servants, Zheng Que recognized them somewhat; they seemed to be the ghost servants of fellow cultivators, whom he had seen in the group before entering Shu Family Fortress.

At this moment, these ghost servants were wolfing down pieces of fresh cultivator flesh and blood, and their auras were much stronger than when they were ghost servants, clearly indicating that they had broken free from the suppression of the blood seal.

On the uneven tabletop, there were many different kinds of "yin vessels," and judging from the talismans sealing them, they still contained ghosts.

As Zheng Que observed the situation in the ghost cellar, many ghosts also sensed the presence of a living person. They immediately stopped eating, turned their heads, and looked at him.

Seeing this, Zheng Que's expression remained unchanged. He opened the Soul Nourishing Bag and released Nian Nu, then ordered the three ghost servants, "Nian Nu, you stay here and protect me."

"Qingli, Kulan, go and clean up all the ghosts in this haunted cellar."

"【Tongue-Pulling Prison】Those below the sixth level will not be spared."

"For the six levels of the [Tongue-Pulling Prison], try to keep one or two ends; I have a great use for them."

As they spoke, the ghosts in the ghost cellar dropped the remains and flesh they were holding and rushed toward Zheng Que in a frenzy.

A surge of yin energy, like a tidal wave, accompanied by ghostly wails, as malevolent energy and murderous intent, carrying a chilling aura, rushed into the passageway, attacking Zheng Que...

(End of this chapter)