Volume 2 Chapter 7: The Black River Blocks the Way

  Along the passage, Lu Yun and the other five flew on their swords for hundreds of feet before arriving at a large gate. Upon closer inspection, they saw that the gate was shrouded in a dark, eerie aura that seemed to seep into the surroundings. Cloud looked at the gate and laughed, "Everything here is different from our mortal realm, always filled with ominous and strange things, what a waste of time and energy, how detestable."

  Lu Yun smiled and said, "Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. This is the Ghost Domain, so it's naturally different from our Human Realm. In the past, no one has ever heard of anyone coming here and leaving alive, so none of us understand what kind of strange things are here. Now that time is running out, we should open this door and leave quickly, otherwise, if we're caught by the Wu Jian Ghost King, it'll be troublesome."

  Yun Feng thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "One evil spirit was enough to almost destroy everyone, now there's another notorious ghostly entity, it's better not to provoke it." Looking at the large door, Yun Feng said: "Leave this matter to me, I'm most familiar with these things, watch me." After finishing speaking, his hands formed a very strange hand seal in front of his chest, and he lightly shouted: "Yin and yang heaven and earth, Qian Kun overturned, right and wrong follow the heart, only my orders can change. Three intervals of yin evil spirits, seven boundaries of ghostly entities, before the yin-yang incantation, everything is revealed, open!" After finishing speaking, his hands pushed forward, and instantly the dark and gloomy ghostly energy around them formed a black air vortex, slowly merging with the black airflow on the door. Only to see a flash of light, a faint sound, and a weak beam of light slowly appeared in front of everyone.

  As the gate slowly opened, everyone felt a sense of mystery about Yun Feng's Yin-Yang technique, and unexpectedly it was quite magical in this aspect. Turning back to look at the path they came from, Lu Yun said: "Let's leave here, we'll head to Gui Wang City immediately, that's our real destination." After saying that, he led everyone away together.

  As soon as they exited the passage, they saw that the exit was suspended in mid-air on a steep cliff, with a distance of over 100 zhang from the ground. In front of them, a thick layer of eerie aura was shrouded, giving off an ominous and terrifying atmosphere. After taking a glance at Yun Feng, who was the last to come out, Lu Yun said: "Yun Feng, remember to add a powerful seal on this exit to prevent that ghost from appearing. We'll go ahead and take a look around first, you finish up and then we can all leave." A flash of crimson light, along with four other colored sword lights, flickered in the dark sky, creating a beautiful, shimmering aura like shooting stars streaking across the horizon, and instantly vanished without a trace.

  While flying, Zi Yang Zhen Ren said: "Lu Yun, you said that according to the strange cave's words, it only takes one meal's time to feel the Black River. Then shouldn't we be able to approach the Ghost King City immediately? Now is the dark night of the ghost domain, shouldn't we take this opportunity to sneak in quietly and inquire about the whereabouts of the Soul Transformation Pool?"

  Lu Yun heard this and suddenly felt a jolt in his heart, opening his mouth to say: "Everyone immediately put away their weapons, or else we'll probably be discovered by the ghostly creatures of the Ghost Domain from far away. For now, let's temporarily stop advancing and wait for Yun Feng to come up. Then everyone will sneak forward together, doing our best to conceal our tracks. Unless absolutely necessary, it's best not to reveal ourselves." The others heard this and only then remembered this issue, each putting away their weapons and standing still in mid-air.

  Looking ahead, Cang Yue said calmly: "As for this ghost domain, we are still too unfamiliar and not familiar at all. From what we have seen and heard since we came here, the light here has always been relatively dark, and it seems that there will never be a light like the human world. Moreover, there is one thing that is similar to our human world, that is, there are also armies here. From the mouth of the two-product general, there are three major legions, among which the third legion is stationed in the Black River Basin, with a ghost commander and three first-class generals. The Ghost King City we are going to this time, in the human world, is like the Forbidden City, heavily guarded and full of masters. Due to limited time, we have no time to understand and analyze the distribution of troops in the ghost domain, so this action is full of danger. How to enter the Ghost King City is a very important question, and how to come out and go back is also a very important question. This point, before entering, it's best to consider carefully."

  "Everyone understands this issue, but no one has had the time to think about it. When we first entered, we didn't understand the situation here at all. All the information was just hearsay, and no one knew what was true or false. Now that we're inside, we've discovered that it's very eerie and strange, with many things we've never seen before. Many events can't be analyzed from a human perspective. Like now, we don't know what's ahead of us - whether there are heavily guarded troops in the Ghost King City, or if there are any terrifying ghostly defenses. These are all things we need to consider."

  Zi Yang Zhen Ren said in a low voice, "Now that you mention it, I feel that our trip here is indeed fraught with difficulties, and we're lucky to be alive. Who knows how the other group is doing? Are they facing similar challenges or having a smooth journey? This time, only eleven of us entered the Ghost Domain, but the enemy is almost all the ghostly creatures in the domain. In such a battle, perhaps our victory will not be great, and we can't win by force alone, except by using strategy."

  Everyone let out a sigh and fell into silence, making the situation seem even more severe. Just then, a flash of silver light appeared from behind, and Yun Feng had arrived. Lu Yun stopped Yun Feng and told him to put away his weapon, saying in a low voice: "We're already close to Gui Wang City, so for safety's sake, everyone should put away their weapons to avoid being discovered by the ghost soldiers of Gui Domain. As for how we'll enter Gui Wang City, it can only be said that we'll have to adapt to changing circumstances. Even if we think about it more, no one can predict those unknown changes. Here, ordinary ghost soldiers can't trap us, so let's just say that those ghost domain army units - apart from the top few powerful individuals - are not worth considering for now. Everyone should use their lightness skills and move forward slowly." After finishing speaking, he flashed his body and took the lead in scouting ahead.

  After advancing dozens of miles, Lu Yun had already discovered the so-called Black River, and his heart was shocked by the Black River. He turned back to look at everyone and said in a low voice: "Everyone take a closer look at this Black River, remember to be extremely careful, see if you can discover anything, so that we can all raise our vigilance. At the same time, take a closer look around, does anyone feel that the ghostly energy here is ten times heavier than other places?"

  The people around heard the words and gazed at the black river a hundred feet away. The so-called Black River was indeed aptly named, with a width of over a hundred feet and countless dark waves surging forward with great momentum, yet strangely, despite its majestic appearance, not a single sound could be heard from it, truly bizarre.

  Ziyang Zhenren felt a sense of wonder in his heart, and he couldn't help but ask, "Why is it that this Black River, apart from its dark waters, doesn't even have any sound? It's impossible! This completely defies logic. Is it because we're too far away? Let's move closer and listen carefully to see if there are any sounds."

  Yun Feng also found it strange, and said: "Shibo is right, this Hei River in the Ghost Domain is indeed mysterious. It doesn't have any sound like our rivers do. Moreover, from my feeling, there seems to be a huge amount of ghost energy hidden within this Black River, which has an extremely powerful corrosive effect on living beings from the Mortal Realm."

  Looking at the Black River, Ao Xue said softly: "Look at the direction of this Black River, won't it be like a moat, protecting that Ghost King City? Since there is a thick and eerie ghostly energy here, it means that this Black River is not easy to cross, so it can play a certain role. In the mortal world, take the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers for example, they are the two great rivers of China, able to stop countless people from advancing. So, can't this Black River in the Ghost Domain also stop ordinary ghost soldiers or ghost armies from passing through? In our minds, ghosts are all existent in a soul form, they have always been light and unobstructed, but if this Black River is like the Yellow River, able to block the passage of ghosts, then for us, it would be a very troublesome thing." Ao Xue's words made everyone shocked, but after careful consideration, they felt that her words were very reasonable.

  Cang Yue's gaze lingered on the black river, and after listening to Ao Xue's words, she spoke up: "If this black river can indeed block the passage of ghosts, then isn't there a barrier in its airspace that is similar to the one at Bu Yue Ridge? Otherwise, what could it rely on to stop the ghosts from passing through?" Ah, indeed, what could it rely on to stop the ghosts?

  Lu Yun's body moved forward lightly, stopping ten zhang away from the Black River. He carefully observed his surroundings and sent out three waves of spiritual energy to analyze the river, searching for any unusual phenomena. The energy quickly returned, revealing that the black water contained extremely strong ghostly energy, was very cold and yin, and seemed to have a corrosive power that could erode everything.

  Looking around at the people beside him, Lu Yun said: "This Black River is probably not something that can be easily crossed. Before we cross it, the safest method is to first send someone to try it out and see if there's any unusual changes. It's not possible for everyone to go together, in case something happens, there will still be people who can provide rescue. Now, let's discuss this among ourselves and see who should go to test it out. Does Master have any opinions?" After finishing speaking, he looked at Zi Yang Zhen Ren, after all, this time he was the leading elder and couldn't take charge of everything himself.

  Ziyang Zhenren glanced at everyone and said in a low voice, "This Black River looks very mysterious. For safety's sake, I'll take care of this one myself. You all observe carefully from the side, and remind me if there are any sudden changes." As for such a dangerous matter, Ziyang Zhenren also understood that he couldn't always have his junior disciples take risks, as he was the main person in charge of this line of work. Everyone saw him say this and didn't speak up, only looking at him with concern.

  He glanced at everyone, and Ziyang True Person's body shot out, slowly approaching the Black River, looking very cautious. His whole body flashed with a cyan light, and for a moment, in order to avoid being discovered by the ghostly creatures, he used the Yitian Twelve Formula instead of the dazzling and eye-searing Lihuo True Formula. As he approached the Black River, Ziyang True Person had an inexplicable feeling of unease in his heart, as if something was going to swallow him whole, making him feel a sense of alarm.

  Looking at the rolling black waves, there was not a single sound, it was so strange and gloomy. Countless black ghostly energy invaded his protective true energy, emitting a faint hissing sound, very ominous. Zi Yang True Person carefully observed the movements of the Black River, seeing that apart from these countless ghostly energies invading his body, there were no other movements, he couldn't help but feel slightly at ease, and began to control his breath and lift his body, moving towards the middle of the river.

  On the shore, Lu Yun and others watched as Ziyang True Person slowly moved forward. Seeing that he had already passed one-third of the way, nothing unexpected happened, and everyone was slightly delighted, thinking that there was no danger anymore. But just at this moment, Ziyang True Person suddenly let out a cry of surprise, his entire body rushing towards the rolling waves of the Black River with a loud splash. This startled the five people on the shore.

  Lu Yun's face changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Everyone calm down, believe that the master will be fine, maybe it's just an unexpected event, so let's wait and see. If the master doesn't surface for a long time, you all wait here, I'll go rescue the master."

  As soon as the words fell, Yun Feng exclaimed in a shocked tone: "Quickly look, Shibo is floating up, but it seems to be very strenuous, as if something is holding him back." Everyone's gaze instantly shifted to the center of the Black River, watching Purple Sun True Person struggling to float up. Upon closer inspection, only then did they see that Purple Sun True Person's entire body was radiating intense blue light waves, his originally calm face now filled with an expression of extreme shock, his forehead covered in sweat like water, his entire face flushed red as if he was using all his strength to resist something.

  Lu Yun's face changed drastically, and he lightly said: "Remember my words, I'm going to save Master." After finishing speaking, his body instantly appeared beside Zi Yang True Person. Lu Yun was just about to stretch out his hand to pull Zi Yang when suddenly a ferociously powerful force instantly pulled him downwards. With a slightly changed gaze, he looked at the rolling black waves, and in this moment, Lu Yun suddenly understood how terrifying this Black River was.

  A burst of light enveloped his entire body, and a dark blue glow lifted Lu Yun's body upwards with great force to resist the powerful suction. He glanced at his master, who was struggling to rise up, but every time he ascended a little, he would be pulled back down, clearly showing that this power was incredibly strong. A cold glint flashed in Lu Yun's eyes as his body suddenly stopped resisting and plummeted downwards. When his body hit the water surface, Lu Yun cleverly slapped the water with his left hand, using the force to bounce back up and grab onto Zi Yang Zhen Ren's body, pulling him back down. At that moment, Zi Yang Zhen Ren felt a very vague sensation in his heart, as if the powerful suction had suddenly disappeared for an instant before he was pulled back by Lu Yun.

  Falling on the shore, Lu Yun looked at everyone and found that Ao Xue and Cang Yue both had a faint concern in their eyes. He nodded slightly towards the two women, and a gentle smile appeared on Lu Yun's face. Looking at his master, Lu Yun said: "Fortunately, nothing happened, now we finally understand the secret of this Black River. This Black River is indeed as Ao Xue said, it can prevent ghosts from passing through, but it is different from the seal on Bu Yue Ridge, it has a very strong attractive force, right in the center of the Black River, once you get there, you will be sucked down, and it's hard to escape."

  Ziyang Zhenren looked at Lu Yun with a hint of strange color in his eyes, but he didn't ask anything. He just said softly: "There's one more thing, the water of the Black River is very gloomy. When I fell down, I felt an incredibly powerful force that seemed to devour all living things, and that kind of soul-destroying power was terrifying. My original protective true energy was instantly eroded by the river water by two-thirds, almost burying me in the Black River. It seems that flying over from here is not very realistic, we need to think of another way."

  They looked at each other, and the blows fell silent. How could they smoothly cross this black river? How did those ghosts usually cross it? Did they have to use a boat to cross this black river like the Yangtze River or the Yellow River? But where would they find a boat in this ghostly realm? This question deeply puzzled everyone, causing Lu Yun and others to fall into deep thought for a while.

  At this time, although Lu Yun's face was a thoughtful expression, he was actually using his mind to launch another exploration of the Black River. This time, he launched nine mind waves in a row, with a very large frequency span. However, from the information analyzed by the nine mind waves, the Black River basin is extremely narrow and long, and the entire Black River is covered with a very strange power, just like a protective layer, tightly protecting the land on the other side of the Black River.

  Turning back, he took a glance at the Black River and said in a low voice: "I'm going to take another look at the movements of the Black River. Everyone wait here for me, remember not to get close, lest something unexpected happens. If this time I still can't think of a solution, we'll leave immediately and try to catch one or two ghostly creatures to ask about the situation here. After we understand the situation, we'll act, so as not to alarm them and ruin everything."

  "Ao Xue said in a soft voice, 'Remember to be careful, this Black River is very strange.' The short two sentences seemed to have some hidden meaning that wasn't spoken. Lu Yun looked at her and their eyes met, both of them feeling a surge of joy in their hearts. There was no need to say anything more, many words didn't need to be said, they could both feel the intention in each other's hearts."

  He withdrew his gaze, unintentionally glancing at Cang Yue with a hint of concern and encouragement in her eyes. It was as if an unspoken message had been conveyed to Lu Yun's heart, nourishing his soul. A faint smile appeared on Lu Yun's face as he suddenly thought about his life - what couldn't he do? If he wanted to break free from the shackles of fate, then why not follow his heart? Without saying a word, Lu Yun simply smiled faintly, his eyes shining brightly as he gazed intently at Cang Yue. The subtle message was conveyed silently. A hint of blush appeared in Cang Yue's eyes, as if her inner thoughts had been seen through, making her feel somewhat unnatural.

  On the side, Ao Xue looked at Lu Yun and Cang Yue with a hint of a sigh in her eyes, gently avoiding eye contact, gazing out at the distant river. Yun Feng stepped forward and patted Lu Yun on the back, saying in a low voice, "Be careful, you're the most powerful expert here, we're all watching you, don't make us worry."

  Lu Yun's gaze was slightly reluctant to leave, and he looked at Yun Feng with a hint of warning: "Got it, take the opportunity to recover your depleted true yuan when you have time. If you think of a way later on, there won't be time for that then." After speaking, his body flashed and appeared above the surface of the Black River. On the riverbank, everyone watched Lu Yun with eyes filled with blessings.

  Slowly approaching the center of the Black River, a hint of black light flashed in Lu Yun's eyes, but unfortunately, it was invisible. He lightly deployed the Ghost Sect's "Soul Transformation", and a faint black aura appeared on his body, which was almost impossible to discern in the rolling black waves of the Black River. As soon as he reached the center of the river, the powerful suction force suddenly pulled down Lu Yun's body, causing him to fall continuously. The divine light in Lu Yun's eyes flickered, and his body didn't struggle much, standing still on the black water surface, maintaining an upright posture. Due to the splashing waves, countless black ghost auras almost completely enveloped Lu Yun's body, leaving only his head visible, allowing people like Ao Xue in the distance to see him.

  He glanced faintly at the five people on the shore, and Lu Yun shifted his gaze. His entire body's black light was almost completely invisible in the dark ghost energy. The gloomy ghost energy surged like a raging wave, frantically rushing towards Lu Yun's body as if to devour him. Lu Yun didn't mind, his whole body's energy mechanism opened up wide, and the "Tian Di Wu Ji" mysterious mantra began to wildly absorb the surrounding gloomy ghost energy.

  At this moment, Lu Yun unexpectedly forgot everything and began to cultivate the Ghost Sect's "Soul Transformation" here. It was truly unexpected. Lu Yun only felt a gloomy ghost energy, which after entering his body, followed the route of Soul Transformation and rotated wildly. Those gentle yin energies were being fully absorbed by him, while those fierce and cruel ghostly energies were completely expelled from his body. He was like a conversion machine, panning for gold in the midst of huge waves.

  Time, at this moment, seemed to have frozen, and everything appeared to have come to a standstill. By the riverbank, Yun Feng asked, "Lu Yun's appearance is quite strange; he's standing alone on the water's surface, his entire body shrouded in that black demonic energy. Why isn't he showing any signs of resistance? From my observation, the density of the demonic energy surrounding him is at least ten times stronger than the demonic energy in the surroundings. It's truly terrifying to hear. Fortunately, it's him; if it were me, I probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it."

  Xu Jie gave him a white look and said, "Needless to say, otherwise do you think the first six institutes are so simple? Don't you see his calm expression? This shows that there is no temporary matter. I think he is trying to test the nature of the ghost energy, and see how much harm the ghost energy has for the repairers. When he figures it out, maybe we can cross this mysterious black river."

  Aoyue looked at Cangyue with a glance, and suddenly said in a low voice: "What are you thinking about in your heart? Are you worried about him?" Cangyue looked at her calmly and said: "How about you? Aren't we the same? Maybe our hearts are thinking of the same thing. As cultivators, there are many things that cannot be thought about, but we have all broken the rules, haven't we?"

  A faint sigh escaped Ao Xue's lips as she grasped Cang Yue's hand, her eyes locked onto hers. "Cultivating the truth is actually quite dull," she said. "I recall him asking me a question once. He asked, what are we cultivating for? Is it to pursue immortality or happiness? Are humans living just to survive, or to live happily? Cultivators are still human, and as humans, they have seven emotions and six desires - that's unavoidable. If one loses those emotions and desires, can they still be considered human? Have we ever carefully thought about whether our past obsessions were right or wrong?"

  Cang Yue heard this and shifted her gaze to Lu Yun in the river, saying softly: "In one's life, many times we are actually in a state of confusion. Who can see through their own future and know what they will do? No one. That's why no one knows, so some people cultivate because they want to know what they will encounter in their lifetime. Encountering each other is already inevitable for us, since some things have happened, let them continue to happen, and the result will come naturally, won't it? Cultivators of truth are most concerned with a single word 'fate', everything is fate, fate brings people together, fate separates people, why be too attached?"

  She nodded slightly, looking at Lu Yun's figure, and said softly: "Perhaps all of this was already destined a long time ago, we just didn't know, so we were confused. Everything is up to fate, let our past lives decide everything." In her light tone, something was subtly revealed, but how much did the people who heard it understand?

  Ziyang Zhenren glanced at the two women, and naturally understood that there were some unclear emotions between them and Lu Yun. He let out a soft sigh, raised his head to gaze into the distance, and fell into deep contemplation. Suddenly, Yun Feng cried out in surprise, and everyone's attention was focused on him.

  "Look, something strange is happening around Lu Yun!" Cloud Fragrance exclaimed. "It's so mysterious and weird, it's really surprising." As soon as she spoke, everyone's eyes turned to Lu Yun, wanting to see what was happening on his body.