The Lord of Void and Real
Chapter 982

Chapter 982: Chapter 979: The Old Black Mountain House Chapter 982: Chapter 979: The Old Black Mountain House Shen Luo and the man in blue robes traveled more than a dozen miles along the Styx River until they were met by a procession of ghost soldiers, led by a demon man with a purple complexion.

Upon seeing someone approaching, the man in blue robes was initially delighted, but then somewhat disappointed; he was well aware that a Demon Clan member in the middle stage of True Immortalhood was no match for Shen Luo.

“Qing Lu, who was fighting upstream just now?” the demon man asked rudely upon seeing them.

“It was that fool Stone Corpse Ghost. He saw me leading quite a few lost souls and wanted to snatch them to feed, but I gave him a beating and drove him off,” the man in blue replied, following Shen Luo's instructions.

“Fighting over scraps like stray dogs… Let me tell you, those guys in Purgatory can't hold on anymore and are itching to escape. Lord Black Mountain has also already gone to provide support. You fellows had better keep a good watch over the Styx River; otherwise, if any issues arise, there will be hell to pay,” the demon man said disdainfully upon hearing this.

“Understood,” the man in blue responded with a bowed head and clenched fist, his teeth secretly gritted.

Seeing this, the demon man paid him no further attention and continued upstream with his retinue of ghost soldiers.

As they faded into the distance, Qing Lu remained silent and continued to lead a large group of ghosts towards the Netherworld.

After about half an hour, the current in front began to slow, and the waters of the Styx River became murkier and murkier. Shen Luo looked into the distance from within the crowd of ghosts and saw a lake of considerable size ahead in the river.

In the center of the lake, there was a yellow-brown vortex with boiling yellow soup swirling inside, whence strong spiritual power fluctuations emanated.

“The Netherworld has arrived…”

Amid his confusion, he heard Qing Lu speak, “Celestial Immortal, that Ghost House by the Netherworld is the residence of the Black Mountain Old Demon. He was supposed to be recovering from his injuries there after being hurt by that group of people. Judging by the looks of things, though, he seems to have been called away recently as well.”

“I don't need you to tell me that; I heard about it earlier. But to be safe, you go first to his mansion to inquire. I want to double-check,” Shen Luo nodded and said.

“Celestial Immortal, I'm not well acquainted with Lord Black Mountain, nor do I have a direct relationship with him. If I go rashly, I fear…” Qing Lu hesitated upon hearing this.

“If he's not in the mansion right now, you can just go to verify. You're unwilling to even do that; could it be that there is some deceit involved?” Shen Luo's tone grew colder.

“Dare not! Be assured, Celestial Immortal, there is absolutely no deceit. Please wait a moment, I'll verify right away,” Qing Lu immediately responded.

“No rush, I'll go with you,” Shen Luo said, detaching himself from the group of ghosts to follow behind Qing Lu.

“Yes,” Qing Lu cursed inwardly but didn't dare to speak out of line.

He had no choice but to wave his hand, prompting all the ghosts to proceed to the Netherworld on their own while he and Shen Luo disembarked, drifting toward the lakeside Ghost House.

The big gate of the Ghost House was tightly closed with no guards outside. Above the blood-red big gate, hung two white lanterns with “Black Mountain” written on them, giving off an eerie, gloomy aura.

“Water ghost of the Styx River, Qing Lu, seeks an audience with Lord Black Mountain,” Qing Lu called out in front of the gates.

Inside the mansion, silence prevailed, with no one responding.

Frowning slightly, Qing Lu, with no other choice, called out two more times before the blood-red big gate creaked open slowly.

An old man with a hunched back emerged from within the gate; his face was pale as ash, deeply wrinkled, and looked extremely dry.

Shen Luo's gaze was deep and masked the brilliance that should have been present. He surveyed the old man and noticed not only the deeply wrinkled skin on his face but also the creased garments on his body, looking crumpled and worn.

“The master is not here; go back,” the hunched-back old man said, his voice as dry as the rest of him and devoid of any emotional fluctuations.

“Then I shall take my leave…”

Before Qing Lu had finished speaking, a figure had already flashed past him in a blink of an eye.

The next instant, a crack tore open from the top of the old man's head straight to his feet, splitting him in two.

A palm then burst through the old man's cleft torso, seizing a talisman that had just started burning at one corner, enveloping it in a layer of golden light, trapping it within the palm.

The talisman, now shrouded in golden light, seemed to freeze in place; although the fire hadn't completely died out, it stopped spreading.

Qing Lu's mouth hung open slightly, surprised by Shen Luo's sudden move, but also feeling fortunate he had not made any foolish moves himself, otherwise Shen Luo could indeed kill him instantly before he could even sound the alarm.

What surprised him even more was that the hunched-over old man torn apart by Shen Luo's hand didn't bleed or release any spiritual power; instead, he instantly turned into two paper effigies that began to burn on their own.

“Paper puppets… I had heard Lord Black Mountain was suspicious by nature, but to think that even the people in his mansion are puppets,” Qing Lu couldn't help but mutter.

Shen Luo waved his hand to gather all the ashes and secured the reporting talisman before grabbing Qing Lu and darting into the Black Mountain Old Demon's Ghost House.

Once inside, Shen Luo didn't act immediately, but instead, his eyes condensed as he activated his Golden Fire Eyes, scanning the surroundings.

“As expected, there's an array,” Shen Luo murmured to himself.

In his vision, the courtyard in front of him was covered with various symbols and formation flags. Some were obvious, meant to attract attention, while others were more concealed, set to awaken Lord Black Mountain at the slightest touch.

However, all of these couldn't escape the sight of the Golden Fire Eyes.

Shen Luo, clasping Qing Lu as if he were holding a chicken, leapt and dodged swiftly through the courtyard, avoiding all the formation setups, and soon crossed the courtyard.

There were many paper puppets and hidden arrangements in the courtyard as well, all of which he effortlessly evaded, quickly arriving in front of a tower lit with Ghost Head Lamps in the Inner Courtyard.

“Lord Black Mountain usually resides here,” said Qing Lu.

Shen Luo, who had reverted to his original appearance, quickly discovered a secret chamber in the tower after a sweep with his Golden Fire Eyes.

After entering the room, Shen Luo immediately came to the side of a black stone writing desk in the Inner hall, which was holding an incense burner. He turned it a few times and opened a hidden door behind the desk, all under Qing Lu's astonished gaze.

As the hidden door was revealed, Shen Luo didn't rush in but instead stretched out his hand to perform a magic spell, using his mana to condense sharp spikes, embedding them one by one in certain spots beside the hidden door.

Then, a layer of flowing light rippled over the entrance of the hidden door, and an invisible force dissolved along with it.

Only then did Shen Luo flash in with Qing Lu.

The secret chamber was not large; it appeared to be Black Mountain Old Demon's usual cultivation space. The room's furnishings were simple–besides a straw cushion for meditation, there was only a black wood shelf with several bottles and jars on it.

Shen Luo swept his gaze over them and noticed that most of the things had traces of deathly qi, which seemed to aid in the cultivation of the Ghost Path and were of no use to him; by contrast, Qing Lu was eyeing them with great interest.

At that moment, his gaze fell on a wooden box placed at the top of the wooden frame. He reached out into the void, and the box flew into his hands.

There was no trick to the wooden box, as if the Black Mountain Old Demon hadn't thought the contents inside were of importance.

After examining for a while, Shen Luo lifted the lid, revealing an ancient scroll made of an unknown race's hide within.

“Celestial Immortal, this should be it,” said Qing Lu, leaning in and taking a glance at the scroll inside the box, speaking somewhat ingratiatingly.

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