Mythology Returns! Starting with Folklore and Strange Tales

Those who understand the times are wise!

After realizing that his act of killing the drowned corpse had revealed the true horror of the pool, Zhang Wei quickly returned the way he came after a brief moment of thought, temporarily leaving the oppressive space and returning to the tunnel leading to the human world.

Growth is precious, but life is even more valuable!

Although he hasn't used any of his resurrection attempts yet, at this point, having resurrection attempts is no different from not having them at all.

There are too many things he can't bear to part with.

More importantly, Zhang Wei didn't feel any regrets along the way. In fact, he even revealed a divine post from the ancestral master that shouldn't have appeared in the silhouette earlier that night.

Why would you abandon another already discovered Easter egg in order to find one?

It's also an Easter egg with a clear follow-up storyline, and it can even determine its own future direction.

The malevolent energy completely blocked the entrance to the cave at the bottom of the pit. The crimson aura, like a gate that could only enter but not exit, continuously sucked up the malevolent blood and resentment from the space at the bottom of the pit. Layers of black dregs drifted and fell outside the "door," quickly piling up.

As for Zhang Wei himself, he continued upwards, climbing halfway up the way he came before hesitating and stopping.

Although it's still quite a distance from the ground entrance, it's safe enough now!

He hadn't forgotten his prospective master's words.

The contents of the mine are not unmanageable, but he doesn't have enough time left.

Without relying on his master, Zhang Wei felt that solving this strange geological ley line problem on his own was a bit too difficult.

Perhaps it's not entirely without a chance... So, after some consideration, Zhang Wei chose a method with relatively low risk!

He stood there, using the malevolent energy to block the entrance and observe the changes in the cave at the bottom of the pit.

If everything goes smoothly, then so be it. Zhang Wei will choose another cave as dawn approaches to try and seize an opportunity. However, if his massive evacuation causes changes in the cave at the bottom of the pit, then he will have to assess the situation carefully.

As the amount of malevolent energy increased, the Yazi method's extraction of the earthly malevolent blood and resentment from the cave changed from being like a small water pipe at the beginning to being larger and thicker now, and even equipped with a water pump!

All that could be seen was the continuous flow of earthly evil energy being drawn into the tunnel, where it was repeatedly crushed and cleansed at the cave exit by a blood-red millstone, leaving only pure evil energy mixed together. Then, with its increased volume, it was drawn into the cave below even more violently!

After about an hour, the number of earthly evil spirits in the cave decreased by one level.

From the original perspective of malevolent energy, the cave was shrouded in thick black fog, but now one can vaguely see a little further away.

And it was at this moment, when there was no sign of life, that the pool, which had become calm, suddenly surged with huge waves!

The water was bubbling and boiling, and the thousands of drowned corpses struggling on the surface were pushed aside by the surging waves. A huge limb emerged from the bottom of the pool, and the limb alone occupied nearly half of the cave.

Countless arms and legs hung in mid-air. When the outstretched hands touched the rope, they caused a layer of dark red flames to fall from it. The flames quickly ignited on the behemoth, and several hands and legs were charred black at a visible speed until they were dry.

But that's all there is to it.

The passage of time has long since eroded most of the power of the sealing array. The so-called sealing has a greater effect on nurturing evil than on suppressing it. Suppression is just a secondary effect of nurturing evil. While binding it, some methods are used to make the nurtured evil spirits fear and become easier to control.

The Japanese soldiers who dug this mine never imagined the consequences.

Perhaps they did think of it, but unfortunately they retreated too quickly and didn't have the chance to achieve their sinister goal.

The secrets of the cave have long since vanished and remain unknown to outsiders.

But under the scorching flames, the giant creature, whose more than a dozen limbs had been burned, was not afraid at all. Instead, it became even more ferocious. Its ear-piercing roar made Zhang Wei, who was hundreds of meters away from the cave, feel slightly dizzy. In the semi-enclosed environment of the cave, the turbulent sound waves made the magic array flicker, like a candle in the wind.

Hundreds of limbs gripped the ropes hanging high in the air, ignoring the flames that spread along the ropes and burned on its body, as it desperately tore at the damned confinement.

Meanwhile, the palms of the countless hands swaying in mid-air cracked open, and facial features grew from the pale, writhing flesh.

Its tongue twitched, its nose sniffed, and its pale green eyes searched around.

After a long while, the enormous creature, having gained nothing, seemed to angrily thrash about in the pool. But the next moment, the remaining arcs of electricity and the sealing array activated simultaneously, and the two-colored light flashed in the pit, directly scaring the arrogant creature back down.

Even so, before it was completely submerged, it angrily scrambled across the water's surface, taking away hundreds of drowned corpses before finally stopping.

As the tide receded, the cave at the bottom of the pit returned to tranquility.

In the tunnel hundreds of meters away from the cave, he used the feedback from the dissipating evil energy to observe and imagine the sudden change that had occurred. Looking at the cave, which had become dilapidated after being ravaged by the evil spirits of the earth veins, with most of its functions gone and completely dimmed without the aura of thunder, he pondered for a moment and then showed an awkward but polite smile.

He realized that the devil's methods were just scratching the surface; the only truly ruthless technique was his own master's lightning magic!

But his master told him to eat, so he ate more. Easter egg?

He'll probably come back and try again if he has the chance in the future, but this time...

Sorry to bother you!

Just pretend I was never here!

I'll breathe in your exhaust fumes up here, and you can sleep peacefully down here. We won't disturb each other, and we'll say goodbye at dawn!

With these thoughts in mind, Zhang Wei completely withdrew his gaze from the cave and focused solely on absorbing and transforming the Earthly Fiends.

But if Zhang Wei were to bravely descend into the pit now, he would find that a small stone sculpture had appeared where he had been standing.

The stone carvings have smooth, rounded lines, as if they were created naturally.

But the carved objects have a somewhat sinister and ferocious appearance.

It was a monstrous creature, resembling a dragon or snake, but covered in bloody, mangled limbs, its skin shed into scales, and its skull densely packed with bones—a truly grotesque monster!

"..."

Time passed second by second.

Zhang Wei leaned against the coal pile on the slope, watching the faint red light appearing at the bottom of the pit below.

Since leaving that cave at the bottom of the pit, he hasn't encountered anything strange again.

It was as if all the bad luck that had accumulated had been used up at the bottom of the pit, and they spent the rest of the night peacefully and serenely in the tunnel.

As the churning, restless bloodlust at the bottom of the pit gradually subsided, and the saturated aura overflowing into the tunnel began to decrease, Zhang Wei realized that the night had passed.

The sun rises, the earth's energy settles.

This bizarre and wonderful first "silhouette" journey has finally come to an end.

As he ascended to the end of the tunnel, Zhang Wei dusted himself off. With a slight raise of his hands, a gust of wind surged behind him, and streams of bright red malevolent energy, like threads, wove and shifted across his body.

In the blink of an eye, all the returning malevolent energy wove a long robe around his body.

The robe was somewhat similar to a Taoist robe, but more refined. It was blood-red with gold accents, and a dense pattern woven into a hazy, rough beast shadow on the back. Sword and cloud patterns were scattered along the edges of the sleeves and collar.

Just by looking at the surface of this outfit, you can tell it's a rough, hastily made, unfinished product.

Even so, the occasional shimmer on the finely textured fabric is enough to prove the extraordinary nature of this outfit!

With the abundant food he had eaten these past few days and the fair skin he had gained from the blessings of several sacrificial rites, he did look somewhat like a Taoist novice. However, the only pity was that his complexion was too bright, and the shimmering light on Zhang Wei's face made it seem as if there was an indescribable evil aura hidden beneath what should have been a strong sense of righteousness.

"Who are you?"

As Zhang Wei stepped out of the mine tunnel into the morning light, he was immediately surrounded. The dark muzzles of guns pierced the blurry map behind him, causing a stir. But soon the surrounding militiamen were pushed aside, and a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit stepped forward, looking Zhang Wei up and down with a puzzled look in his eyes.

It's no wonder they don't recognize anyone.

Yesterday, as soon as Zhang Wei arrived at the camp, he was surrounded by a group of Taoist priests, and then eminent monks also clung to him. During the meal, these two groups of people almost filled every available space around him. Although the people in the camp were also curious about Zhang Wei's appearance, they only glanced at him from afar.

It was pitch black at night, and there were no bright spotlights like in the real world. You couldn't see faces clearly from a few meters away, and from ten meters away you could only see a blurry figure.

Fortunately, the Taoist priests rushed over and helped him out of the predicament.

They envied Master Yiming's good fortune and even grumbled a few words in their hearts, but these are all human nature.

When things actually come up, they don't resort to scheming or backstabbing.

There's no other reason than that magic has declined to this point, and everyone's fate is intertwined—one prospers, all prosper; one suffers, all suffer. With such a promising talent in the making, and with the guidance of the old Daoist Yiming, we dare not hope for more, but this young man has the potential to become the next leader of the Taihang Mountains!

How far he can go is the upper limit for everyone's future.

If he can ascend to immortality, it will prove that the path to immortality has not been completely closed even at that time!

Although not all geniuses are the same, and even with the opportunity, one may not necessarily be able to cultivate to the top, none of that matters. What matters is whether the hope of becoming an immortal still exists!

The Taoist priests, who had already subconsciously regarded Zhang Wei as a guiding light, naturally wouldn't let him get into trouble.

When the Taoist priests helped Zhang Wei out of the crowd and brought him to Master Yiming, the two soon-to-be master and disciple looked at each other, and Zhang Wei bowed deeply, saying, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Master!"

"Hey, don't forget what I told you, you can't call me master yet!"

Old Daoist Yiming stepped forward and helped Zhang Wei up. Although his words were a refusal, his eyes were full of satisfied smiles.

He is filial, talented, knows when to advance and retreat, and is not greedy!

For some people, these four points are not enough, far from enough, but for others, they provide sufficient reasons to take action.

Of course, before some miscellaneous matters are dealt with, the master-disciple relationship cannot be finalized...