Chapter 418: Chapter 382: Coffin
The people in the ancient mansion ruins left one by one with important data and materials, leaving only Sang Que alone in the underground, facing the Black Tai Sui at the bottom of the pit, and the Earth Ghost always lingering in her peripheral vision.
Sang Que recalled the last time she directly fell into the Black Tai Sui, her legs were eroded, covered with black spots, her flesh and blood dried up. Fortunately, the Mountain Ghost Coin’s purification saved her legs.
Even though she is a Witch, she can only use visualization to let her soul enter the Black Tai Sui; her body cannot come into contact with it.
Half an hour later, silence fell all around, with only the low hum of machines and the wind; all personnel had evacuated.
Sang Que tied a rope around her waist, secured the other end, and slowly lowered herself down. The Yin Child stood above, curiously looking down.
Once ready, Sang Que took out the Obsidian Dagger, slicing like lightning across the Black Tai Sui.
The soft surface of the Black Tai Sui rippled, and in an instant, a piece was sliced off by Sang Que, the black Tai Sui flesh disintegrating into gas mid-air, impossible to collect.
Simultaneously, an invisible force sliced a chunk of flesh from Sang Que’s left arm, causing it to bleed profusely, and the flesh that fell onto the Black Tai Sui swiftly sank into it.
Sang Que gritted her teeth against the pain and examined her left arm; the wound was turning black. The skin and flesh were losing nutrients, becoming dry, while the black material spread elsewhere, filling Sang Que with coldness and suppressing the ghostly power within her.
Meanwhile, the Yin Child above shuddered and retreated continuously, black spots appearing on its body.
Despite the pain, Sang Que observed that the Earth Ghost in her peripheral vision remained unresponsive, the shadow still squatting there watching her.
The Yin Child transmitted a feeling of urgency; the Black Tai Sui’s power had paralyzed its entire body, completely suppressing it.
Sang Que roughly understood that the Black Tai Sui was eroding her body, having a strong suppressive power over ghosts. But it did not harm her soul, the descendant of the Witch clan.
If her body succumbed to the erosion and died, her soul would be drawn inside the Black Tai Sui, just like those men of the Witch clan, buried in graves or roaming near the Ghost Gate.
The Earth Ghost desires her soul; as long as she doesn’t contend with the Earth Ghost for it, the Earth Ghost won’t act.
The plan to use the Black Tai Sui to deal with the Earth Ghost failed!
Sang Que placed her right hand on the wound on her left arm, gradually erasing the black spots with purifying power, and the black spots on the Yin Child’s body also slowly disappeared.
Previously, when she was on the fourth layer, the Black Tai Sui eroded her, and the Yin Child was unaffected. Now at the fifth layer, the Yin Child got infected, indicating their bond has indeed tightened.
Sang Que used the rope to climb back to the upper level, retrieved the Yin Child into her body, and left the ancient mansion ruins.
Ye Changqing, Su Yun, Zhuo Wenli, and folk expert Gu Yun were all outside. Seeing Sang Que come out empty-handed, they knew the attempt to collect samples from the Black Tai Sui had failed.
Before Sang Que could speak, Ye Changqing consoled her, "Don’t be discouraged. The research institute is still far from exploring the Mysterious Domain completely. There will always be a way in the future."
Sang Que nodded with a smile. She wasn’t discouraged, just a bit worried.
She worried that Zuo Jinye’s progress might be too fast, leaving them unprepared in the future, especially now when Sang Que still couldn’t figure out what Zuo Jinye wanted to do.
Did he want to inherit Wuyou’s legacy and completely end the Spiritual Era, or did he want to open this gate and drive all ghosts into the modern world?
Even though the people of the Deceit Dynasty were innocent and suffering, Sang Que was an ordinary person at heart. She leaned towards protecting the modern world and didn’t want it to become like the Deceit Dynasty.
After some consideration, Sang Que said to Ye Changqing and the others, "Professor Ye, when I was sampling earlier, I was eroded by the Black Tai Sui. Possibly because I am a descendant of the Witch clan, I could always see some illusions. I think inside the Black Tai Sui is a passage, but it leads not to the Yunmeng Divine Kingdom, but to a world teeming with ghosts."
"The Black Tai Sui is like a gate, confining those ghosts over there. Previously, the Black Tai Sui caused anomalies, leaking yin energy, because the ghosts over there are becoming stronger, wanting to break through the gate and enter our world. Although I have no evidence to prove this yet, I think we should prepare some contingency plans."
Upon hearing this, Ye Changqing looked at the others present, and they all had heavy expressions. They had already considered this possibility but were in a stage of doubt and speculation due to a lack of evidence.
"Understood, we’ll convene a meeting to discuss this."
The passage below the Black Tai Sui had already closed to the smallest extent, reducing the leakage of yin energy. The research institute staff would work more safely here. Sang Que couldn’t offer much help temporarily and went over to assist Qin Zhixian.
They were still testing Jia Liang. Sang Que also saw Zheng Wujun, who had almost fully recovered in just half a day, though his skin still showed some burn scars.
Zheng Wujun was unwilling to give up and wanted Sang Que to help him try again, and he also wanted to control the firefighter ghost from last time.
For Sang Que, this was a minor task, and she helped Zheng Wujun control the ghost once again, and this time Zheng Wujun succeeded quickly.
Sang Que had already shared the three methods of Ghost Control with Qin Zhixian, as training material for the experimenters, allowing them to ponder them.
Zheng Wujun had contemplated a lot in the past half-day. His Heart Lamp lacked strength, so he couldn’t use the ’Use Forcefully’ approach. This time, he adopted ’Treat Respectfully,’ communicating with the ghost during control.
The ghost’s obsession was saving people, and as long as Zheng Wujun promised never to stand by and watch again, he could align with the ghost’s goal.
Compared to suppressing with the Heart Lamp, controlling this ghost brought Zheng Wujun more restrictions and backlash.
With two Yin Walkers controlling different ghosts, Qin Zhixian had enough for research. He didn’t ask Sang Que to create more Yin Walkers, being cautious with unknown powers.
Feeling fatigued from the Black Tai Sui’s erosion, Sang Que informed Qin Zhixian and went to rest.
Returning to the campsite at the base of the mountain, it was just lunchtime. Sang Que got a meal from the canteen and took it back to eat in her dorm.
After eating her fill, Sang Que locked the door, drew the curtains, took out the ancient costume she wore before from her bag, and donned it. Carrying the scroll and knife, she pushed open the bathroom door to head towards the Deceit Dynasty.
This time, after opening the gate, Sang Que walked in the darkness between two worlds, carefully sensing everything within the darkness.
She hadn’t paid attention before, but now, having been to the Ghost Gate, Sang Que realized the aura in the darkness was indeed similar to that at the Ghost Gate.
The Mountain Ghost Coin acted as a protective key, safeguarding her body and soul, allowing her to bypass the depth of the Nine Nether Abyss and pass through the center of the passage.
As for how to locate utilizing the Mountain Ghost Coin each time when traveling between two worlds, Sang Que figured that with her current level, she definitely wouldn’t comprehend it, so she didn’t dwell on it.
At the end of the darkness, the world spun, and Sang Que transitioned from standing to lying down, entering a small space, surrounded by darkness, the spot where the door should have been turned into a wooden board, unlike previous entries and exits through the gate.
After a brief exploration, Sang Que realized she was now trapped in a moving coffin, feeling the motion.
The coffin was tightly sealed. She tried to probe out with the blood threads from her heart but couldn’t penetrate the coffin’s wood, even the seams were tightly sealed; air could come in, but ghostly powers couldn’t.
Out of options, Sang Que resorted to the most primitive method, vigorously pounding on the coffin.
"Let me out!"
