Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess
Chapter 853 - 416: The Secret Place_2

Chapter 853: Chapter 416: The Secret Place_2

"No way! I don’t want to stay here."

Before Jiang Shouzhong could speak, Little Jiangyi picked up the puppy.

Jiang Wan sighed helplessly:

"Then forget it, but I must tell you clearly, the enemies inside the City Lord Mansion are really formidable. If your father takes you in with him, he will definitely get hurt trying to protect you; he might even lose his life."

And I can’t manage to take care of all of you on my own, sigh, what are we to do?"

Listening to Jiang Wan’s words, Little Jiangyi’s face scrunched up with hesitation, full of conflicted emotions.

Eventually, she reluctantly handed over the puppy in her arms, and said fiercely to Jiang Wan: "You must protect my father, otherwise... I’ll hate you forever!"

"Good girl."

Jiang Wan smiled and took the puppy, suddenly leaned in and gave Little Jiangyi a quick kiss on her cheek, and praised with a smile, "Such a sweetheart."

Then, she handed the candied fruit she had just bitten to Little Jiangyi.

Little Jiangyi quickly wiped the drool off her face: "Gross."

But her hand gripped the candied fruit tightly.

Jiang Shouzhong left the Cow Demon and Rat Demon behind, instructing them to protect Little Jiangyi well.

Afterwards, he and Jiang Wan entered the City Lord Mansion.

As they stepped inside, the eerie atmosphere grew thicker.

They could vaguely see some guards patrolling back and forth around.

Their walking posture was stiff and strange, like puppets being controlled by strings, mechanically repeating actions.

"These are not living people or resurrected dead, but puppets controlled by a kind of Corpse Gu."

Jiang Wan whispered, leaning close to Jiang Shouzhong’s ear.

At this moment, the two were hiding in a corner of the wall, cautiously observing the patrolling guards.

Because they were close, the warm breath from Jiang Wan’s words gently brushed against Jiang Shouzhong’s face, with a faint warmth, making him feel a bit ticklish.

He shifted slightly to put some distance between them.

Jiang Shouzhong said in a low voice: "It seems that the Taoyuan Immortal has already taken control of this place, otherwise, these sinister things wouldn’t exist."

"Perhaps."

Jiang Wan frowned slightly, their eyes showing some heaviness.

As the patrolling guards gradually moved away, Jiang Wan lightly patted Jiang Shouzhong’s shoulder, gave him a look, and then crouched, stealthily heading towards the main courtyard.

Jiang Shouzhong hurriedly followed.

The two of them cautiously made their way into the main courtyard.

Inside the main courtyard, Jiang Shouzhong was surprised to see a seven-story pagoda standing in the center, with two tall black tombstones on either side, engraved with the words "戒" (discipline) and "魂" (soul).

"Between heaven and earth, discipline is law, and the soul is the shadow."

Jiang Wan said softly, "When the Ghost King was once a cultivator, he failed in his attempts to ascend multiple times. Later, he devoted himself to seeking the path and finally comprehended his own Ghost Path. He believed that the rulers of heaven and earth were not humans or immortals, but souls.

Immortals, who have not escaped the fetters of creation, ultimately transform into a wisp of ghost. Humans eventually fall into the abyss of life and death, also becoming a remnant soul. Regardless of humans or immortals, after death, all are souls, so soul cultivation is the true path. As long as the soul is not extinguished, there is eternal life."

Jiang Shouzhong, hearing this, couldn’t help but be amazed: "This Ghost King is quite formidable."

Jiang Wan said, "It’s said there are three thousand paths, and every path can lead to ascension, but through all these years, to successfully ascend, one must have the flesh sanctified and transform into a feather, thus stepping into the realm of Heavenly Humans, essentially without difference.

The Ghost King can be said to have opened up a new path, giving him a chance to attain a true undying body. Unfortunately, because he was too hasty, he fell short."

Jiang Shouzhong muttered: "I guess those Taoyuan Immortals realized he’d pose a threat to them, so they used the Heavenly Dao to eliminate the potential danger."

"Smart."

Jiang Wan pinched Jiang Shouzhong’s ear, smiling, "That’s what I thought too."

They entered the pagoda, finding the scene inside quite strange, with no stairs leading up, and in the entire space, there was only a staircase going down.

The stairs extended downward, dark and deep, seemingly leading to an endless abyss.

Just as Jiang Shouzhong was about to step, Jiang Wan suddenly stopped him.

"Above is the living world, below is hell, do you want to die?" Jiang Wan said.

Jiang Shouzhong frowned: "But there’s only this one staircase here."

Jiang Wan said nothing, indicating for Jiang Shouzhong to turn around.

Then the two of them descended the stairs backwards.

This way of walking was indeed very unusual, yet strangely, although they were stepping downward, their bodies defied logic, appearing to be moving upward,

Jiang Shouzhong marveled silently.

Is it possible to navigate a staircase like this?

Unknowingly, the two of them followed the bizarre steps to the seventh floor, the top of the tower.

They entered through a stone door and could vaguely hear the sounds of people talking from within.

Jiang Wan gently pressed her jade finger to her lips, making a shushing motion, then gracefully leapt onto the stone platform nearby, signaling Jiang Shouzhong to follow.

Continuing forward along the stone platform, it wasn’t long before they arrived in front of a marble beam.

Jiang Wan stopped, reached into her pocket, and took out a candle, raising it to her lips and gently blowing on the wick.

The wick did not ignite but slowly emitted a wisp of purple smoke.

"Get closer."

Jiang Wan beckoned Jiang Shouzhong closer.

Jiang Shouzhong moved in a bit closer.

"Closer."

Seeing that the smoke hadn’t completely enveloped the two of them, Jiang Wan urged softly again.

Jiang Shouzhong moved in even closer, almost touching Jiang Wan.

Yet the smoke from the candle wick still couldn’t cover both of them.

Jiang Wan then signaled Jiang Shouzhong to lie down, and she directly lay on his back, whispering, "Crawl slowly forward, stop when I say stop."

She held the candle on top of Jiang Shouzhong’s head.

In this way, the smoke fully covered them.

At first glance, it appeared Jiang Shouzhong had an antenna on his head, looking rather comical.

Jiang Shouzhong didn’t understand what she was doing but had no choice but to carry the woman and slowly crawl towards the beam.

Below was a rather empty hall, with a few candle flames burning faintly in the corners.

The dim light did not fully illuminate the hall, instead making the shadows around even darker.

As Jiang Shouzhong crawled forward, his vision gradually clearing, he finally saw the figures of several people below.

Among them was Pucha Xiaohua, someone Jiang Shouzhong had seen before in the dungeon.

But now Pucha Xiaohua was bound with chains, blood oozing from the corners of her mouth.

Standing next to Pucha Xiaohua was a young man in lavish attire, exuding the air of nobility, clearly the fifth prince of Nanjin Country.

Beside the fifth prince stood two muscular and burly men, likely his personal bodyguards.

Behind these two was another person.

Short in stature, the person was enveloped in a cloak, exuding a chilling aura.

"Is he that Taoyuan Immortal?"

Jiang Shouzhong asked in a low voice.

The candle above continued to emit wisp after wisp of purple smoke, enveloping the two of them, forming a natural barrier.

Not only did it isolate their presence, but it also seemed to swallow their voices, preventing them from spreading far.

Jiang Wan didn’t speak, only squinting slightly, directing her gaze towards the hall.

In the center of the hall, there was a cage.

Inside the cage were two people.

One was a soldier in ordinary armor.

The other was a Jianghu cultivator; you could tell from his attire and the faint aura he exuded.

At this moment, the soldier, unsure of what he had ingested, was clutching his stomach and screaming in pain.

Soon, the soldier’s body convulsed uncontrollably, limbs flailing around, and then he started foaming at the mouth before his body slumped to the side, lifeless.

The Jianghu cultivator beside him stared blankly at this scene, at a loss for what to do.

But in the next moment, the soldier suddenly stood up straight, his eyes glowing with a black hue.

The fifth prince’s eyes were filled with intense anticipation, and he couldn’t help but step forward eagerly, approaching the cage and loudly asking the soldier inside with black glowing eyes, "Do you recognize me?"

The soldier stared at the fifth prince with hollow eyes, his pupils slightly contracting, as if regaining some consciousness of his past life.

Then, the soldier knelt on one knee, speaking in a mechanical and cold voice, "Greetings, Your Highness."

Above, Jiang Wan murmured, "They are imitating the Snow Domain Divine Soldiers."

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