Chapter 416: Chapter 380: Ghost Gate
By noon, Ye Changqing sent someone to find Sang Que, preparing to survey the changes in the Black Tai Sui today.
Upon arrival, Sang Que saw the original Ancient House from the Republic era, now reduced to ruins, with many archaeological workers in special protective suits using various tools to dig and search the collapsed area, retrieving buried items one by one in search of valuable artifacts.
Ye Changqing said to Sang Que, "After preliminary surveys, we found that the upper structure of this area was indeed rebuilt during the Republic era, but some older artifacts can still be found in the lower foundation."
The ancient house has no roof, and no written records have been discovered so far. This seems illogical, as if forcibly erased.
However, when dealing with the supernatural, there’s logic in it too, preventing the secrets of Wushi from being detected by outsiders.
Passing through the front yard, in the center of the four collapsed walls, the ground broke open into a large hole, surrounded by various machinery, and a group of people were lifting a coffin from below.
Beside it, on an open space, lay many coffins in various states of disrepair.
These were the coffins Sang Que and Wu Liang had seen in the basement, but now they were empty, only leaving a black human-shaped imprint at the bottom. Professor Zhuo, in a protective suit, was extracting material from the black imprint with her students, preparing to take it back for testing.
After the last Black Tai Sui outbreak, the Wushi people disappeared completely, leaving nothing behind but her.
The moment Sang Que arrived, she felt the air was indeed different from last time. She could clearly sense the yin energy being thick here, yin energy being the dark power that breeds ghosts.
Even just standing there, she felt the Mountain Ghost Coin in her palm absorbing the surrounding yin energy, gradually completing itself.
Ye Changqing took Sang Que to a temporarily erected elevator, "The yin energy is heavy below. I’m too old to go down with you. As a member of Wushi, maybe you can see what changes have occurred with the Black Tai Sui. We’ve tried extracting some samples from Black Tai Sui a few times."
"But regardless of the methods, any harm done to the Black Tai Sui would transfer to humans, carrying a corrosive virus. If possible, that is, under the premise of ensuring your safety, if you can help us extract a sample from Black Tai Sui, we could start lab tests to figure out how to eliminate it."
"Alright, I’ll give it a try." Sang Que nodded. She came equipped with the Hundred Blade and Obsidian Dagger this time.
"Be careful, nothing must happen to you. The country still very much needs you right now."
Of course, Ye Changqing was referring to the matter of creating Yin Walkers. He had already seen Qin Zhixian’s report that morning, which had also been forwarded to the higher-ups. Everyone paid it great attention, especially asking to take good care of Sang Que.
The Yin Walkers hold significant strategic importance for Huaxia. Once the upper echelon settles on a decision, someone will formally negotiate various welfare policies with Sang Que.
Placing Sang Que here is actually a form of observation and review.
Ye Changqing can tell that Sang Que is still hiding something from them, but overall, Sang Que is a righteous and passionate child. He has high hopes for her and strongly opposes some officials’ plans to coerce Sang Que into revealing everything using harsh means.
Due to Sang Que’s aunt, Sang Yu, Ye Changqing has always felt guilty towards their family. So, as long as he’s around, he would certainly ensure Sang Que’s protection, without harming the country.
Workers brought Sang Que a new set of protective gear, but she declined, "No need, I’m not afraid of these."
The elevator descended about three levels, around a ten-meter drop. Sang Que saw the basement again, where a large hole had been broken in its center. Below, Black Tai Sui resembled a pool of black oil, with a smooth surface, rhythmically undulating like breathing.
The further down she went, the hotter Sang Que’s palm grew. Originally, only more than half of the trigram was left. But in this short time, it’s been completed, and the second trigram was quickly recovering.
This intense transformation hadn’t occurred on her last visit.
Moreover, Sang Que sensed that beneath Black Tai Sui’s calm surface, some force was surging turbulently.
At the edge of the fissure, Sang Que saw Su Yun, whom she had met in the meeting room yesterday. Su Yun was adjusting complex equipment resembling an astronomical telescope with others.
Seeing Sang Que, Su Yun instructed her subordinates, patted one on the shoulder, and walked up to Sang Que, directly removing her face shield.
"It’s suffocating. We’ve met yesterday, so no more introductions. Professor Ye explained your situation briefly. You’re free to move around here, but try not to touch the surrounding equipment or circuits. If you discover anything, please let me know immediately."
After speaking, Su Yun went about her business, a decisive character.
Sang Que circled the pit in the floor, and in the corner of her eye, the shadow of an Earth Ghost lingered. After pondering for a moment, Sang Que found a spot, sat cross-legged at the edge of the hole, and quietly released the Yin Child.
As soon as the Yin Child emerged, all the surrounding lights flickered twice, and everyone instinctively looked towards Sang Que. They couldn’t see the Yin Child or understand what happened, only feeling the underground air grow even colder.
After the lights flickered back to normal, everyone resumed their work with confusion.
The Yin Child, once out, was also curious about everything around, standing there twisting its neck to observe.
Sang Que mentally instructed the Yin Child to stay by her side, not to wander or touch anything here. She took a deep breath, the Hundred Blade resting across her knees, preparing to enter a visualization state.
In the Deceit Dynasty, visualization could let her spirit enter the Nine Netherworld. She now suspected the inside of the Black Tai Sui was the Nine Netherworld. Would visualizing here lead her spirit into the Black Tai Sui?
Even if it couldn’t, she could still absorb the surrounding yin energy here to replenish the Mountain Ghost Coin, treating it as a meditative recharge wouldn’t be a loss either.
Su Yun kept staring at the monitor screen, depicting the Black Tai Sui’s interior as a patch of fluorescent blue ’nebula’, spinning slowly, its central glow expanding outward at an even pace, like a gate about to open.
Suddenly, without knowing what triggered it, the rotation inside Black Tai Sui’s ’nebula’ accelerated, along with the expansion of the central glow. All devices began emitting beeping alarms, and the monitor’s image flickered due to intense magnetic fluctuations.
Su Yun immediately glanced at Sang Que, finding her just sitting there quietly, breathing long and steady. No one noticed that her breathing rate matched precisely with the rhythmic surface of the Black Tai Sui below.
Sang Que abruptly opened her eyes, realizing she wasn’t in the Ninth Floor of Nine Netherworld’s Pot of Soup Prison but in a dark wilderness, surrounded by mounds and tombstones, all bearing the surname Wu.
Sang Que, perplexed and uncertain, followed the winding path in the center of the graveyard, spotting three new graves by the roadside with no weeds on the mounds. One tombstone prominently displayed the name ’Wu Liang.’
Could it be the entire Wushi is buried here? Is this the promised Yunmeng Divine Kingdom?
At the path’s end, Sang Que saw a tall, imposing archway standing silently amidst the dark fog, strings of white lanterns swaying in the yin wind, with what seemed like an abyss beyond, emitting faint blue light.
On the archway’s black stone pillars, ferocious Evil Ghost carvings thrashed and clawed, appearing ready to break free from their stone confines and attack her.
Raising her head, Sang Que saw three blood-red traditional characters on the archway’s grand plaque, the hue resembling dried blood, sending chills down one’s spine.
Ghost Gate!
A realization dawned in Sang Que’s heart. Her assumption was correct; the Ghost Gate is indeed where all ghostly spirits go to. Beyond the Ghost Gate lies Hell.
Over the past two millennia, the Wushi exiled ghosts through here, this being the true passageway.
The Mountain Ghost Coin serves as a key, capable of unlocking this passage.
For over two millennia, even if the opposite passage was once a Divine Country, it has now become a ghost-ridden Hell.
Sang Que cautiously approached the Ghost Gate, with a dark abyss behind her. Driven by some impulse, she lifted her right hand over her eyes.
Her vision ’penetrated’ through her hand, viewing through the Mountain Ghost Coin into the abyss below, instantly drawing her sight across the entire chasm, where she saw a person.
A person also standing at the abyss’s edge, looking down, his red official robes fluttering in the wind, with a stern expression and determined gaze.
Zuo Jinye!
He seemingly detected something, his gaze subtly rising, almost aligning with Sang Que’s, prompting her to hurriedly lower her hand and retreat outside the Ghost Gate.
Her heart pounded like a drum, unclear of its significance. Could Zuo Jinye have already successfully stepped into the Ghost God Realm? Has he detected the existence of this passage?
