Chapter 1563: Chapter 928: Snake Bone String (2)
"Don’t worry, that ghost didn’t manage to kill me; I’ve figured out its way of killing," Yang Xiao spoke quickly, "I’ll explain later, but first do me a favor and move these statues over here."
Trusting Yang Xiao, Nalan Shuo and the Chamber of Commerce man began moving the statues without a word. As they moved the statues, they realized these statues were different from the Stone Statue Ghosts they’d seen before. These statues were much lighter, almost as if they were hollow inside.
Once Yang Xiao threw all the statues into the Mirror World, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Back in the cave, Yang Xiao carefully explained the whole story, including the Ghost Fog Bottle and the Source Ghost that hid in the mist and never showed its true form, always blocking his path.
"It’s your bottle that attracted this Source Ghost," Jiang Qingluan remarked thoughtfully.
"It’s an ownerless Magic Artifact. Once an ownerless Magic Artifact undergoes a mutation, it gets noticed by the Source Ghost in the Secret Realm," Nalan Shuo said, his analysis sharp and insightful.
At this moment, the woman from the Chamber of Commerce couldn’t help but nod, "No wonder Elder Ku Wen repeatedly warned us not to pick up ownerless Magic Artifacts; now it makes sense."
Everyone present was experienced, and through Yang Xiao’s explanation, they had basically figured things out. The Source Ghost is attracted to ownerless Artifacts that trigger supernatural events, and it doesn’t reveal itself when killing. Instead, it drags people into its Ghost Space, the Mist World.
There’s no way to walk out of the Mist World, no matter which way you go, you eventually end up in front of that ghost. Panicked running around only leads to a quicker death.
"When facing the Source Ghost, don’t try to use Magic Artifacts to escape. It’s useless. I can feel that using them only accelerates death," Yang Xiao added.
"Did you ever see that ghost at all?" The Chamber of Commerce man pressed.
"No, but I know it hides behind the mist. I can feel its existence, completely different from those Stone Statue Ghosts, very terrifying," Yang Xiao recalled.
The place was no longer safe for staying. After a brief discussion, everyone packed their bags and left quickly.
After some time resting, the woman from the Chamber of Commerce had recovered quite a bit from her injuries. She even said she was fine now.
They proceeded along the pre-determined route, climbing over two hills in a row, and from the hilltop, they could clearly notice that the fog ahead was much denser, with something like an invisible giant hand stirring within the depths of the mist.
Sticking her hiking pole into the ground, Jiang Qingluan gazed ahead, slightly out of breath, "Not far ahead is the Secret Realm Core Area. At our pace, we’ll be there in half an hour."
Along the way, they discovered a few more statues, but out of caution, they would rather take a longer route to avoid these statues.
Finally, after half an hour, they truly entered the Secret Realm Core Area.
Previously, Yang Xiao was unclear about how the so-called Secret Realm Core Area was defined. After all, there were no signs here. In his view, it was just an area with denser fog than elsewhere, until Jiang Qingluan shook her wrist and pulled out a bracelet from her sleeve.
It was a bracelet with a series of oddly shaped beads strung together. The beads were large, certainly not something a girl would wear.
The beads had different shapes and textures—some were made of wood, some were jadeite, some turquoise, and several were like antiqued amber, while others seemed to be bones of unknown animals.
The bracelet’s overall craftsmanship was rough, exuding a primitive and wild sense. The largest bead was carved into a skull, with a semi-transparent bead embedded in its mouth.
The cleverest part was that this bead could move, constantly rotating inside the skull. If you listened carefully, you could hear a faint "hissing" sound, like a snake flicking its tongue.
"It’s the Black Lama’s Snake Bone String," the man from the Chamber of Commerce recognized the treasure at a glance.
Hearing this, Yang Xiao took a closer look at the bracelet and noticed some intricacies. If the largest bead with the skull was considered the snake’s head, then the remaining beads, despite their various shapes, were generally arranged from large to small, making it resemble a snake coiled around a wrist.
Yang Xiao was no stranger to the group of Black Lamas in Tibet. Their strain had some ties with the Black Buddha Mother. These guys spent years trekking and cultivating, seeking the Spiritual Child to refine treasures and were top-notch at nurturing Magic Artifacts.
From the man’s words from the Chamber of Commerce, this Snake Bone String was one of the fine creations of the Black Lamas.
Staring at the constantly rotating bead inside the skull, Yang Xiao could guess that the treasure’s ability was related to perception.
It was precisely because of this treasure that Jiang Qingluan could confirm their entry into the Secret Realm Core Area.
"What should we do next?" the woman from the Chamber of Commerce asked, surveying around.
Most of the information they received previously was about how to enter the Secret Realm Core Area and data on the Japanese Apostles. Elder Ku Wen hadn’t elaborated much on what to do after entering the Core Area.
The Secret Realm is essentially a special Mysterious Place, intrinsically similar to ordinary paranormal events, also triggered by an ownerless Resentful Eye. However, the level and danger of this Resentful Eye are much higher.
Yang Xiao could ascertain that this Resentful Eye was definitely a Netherworld-level Magical Artifact, and its capability was quite exceptional. The person who acquired this Resentful Eye might gain the power of Petrification and a horde of hard-to-kill Stone Statue Ghosts.
Putting the bracelet away and covering it with her sleeve again, Jiang Qingluan said seriously, "We don’t have any other tasks; we just need to linger in the Secret Realm Core Area for a while longer, at least 24 hours."
"But we can’t stay in one spot for too long; we need to keep moving. I’ll lead the way to avoid the ownerless Resentful Eye in advance."
Jiang Qingluan’s meaning was clear—the ownerless Resentful Eye that triggered the Secret Realm was located in the Core Area. Such a high-level Resentful Eye would be dangerous to get close to, and she could sense it in advance relying on the Snake Bone String’s ability.
However, Yang Xiao caught a hint of something amiss in her words and immediately questioned, "What do you mean by avoiding it in advance? Are you saying you can’t determine the exact location of the Resentful Eye, or that... it’s alive?"
"I don’t know," Jiang Qingluan shook her head, "I don’t know much more about that Resentful Eye than any of you do. I only know that it’s weird and seems to be able to move."
"My item can sense the distance between us and the Resentful Eye, but it’s not very precise, just a general idea. It only distinguishes far or near, not direction," Jiang Qingluan lifted her wrist, explaining.
"Why don’t you have more of these good things, otherwise it will be troublesome if anyone gets separated?" Yang Xiao’s worry was not unfounded. This was the Secret Realm Core Area, and the fog was very thick. You could barely make out who was who from 2 or 3 meters away, but beyond 5 meters, only a person’s outline remained, and any further, they would be engulfed by the fog.
Knowing Yang Xiao’s ways, how could Jiang Qingluan not be aware of his little schemes? This guy obviously had his eye on the treasure on her wrist but dared not say it directly. "Do you think these are like cabbages, everyone can have one? From what I know, my sect only has three such items at most, and this one was even lent by my master! I’ll have to return it after we go back!"
"Why are you so excited? I was just saying it casually, cheapskate." Yang Xiao, feeling guilty, avoided Jiang Qingluan’s gaze, muttering to himself softly.
However, at the same time, Yang Xiao also mentally noted down this treasure.
Jiang Qingluan’s master was Shao Changyin Ji, and she had personally promised to owe him a favor.
But Yang Xiao didn’t intend to exchange the favor for a treasure. After all, having just helped someone, asking for a treasure in return felt too much like taking advantage of the situation, and Yang Xiao considered himself a gentleman, unwilling to engage in such conduct.
Besides, he wanted to keep this favor in reserve, as a favor from a Netherworld Envoy could be very valuable in the future.
At the Peace Hotel auction and the Esoteric Treasure Vault, the Black Lamas’ Secret Treasure Box had appeared, and now there was a Snake Bone String that could sense the Resentful Eye’s distance. These guys surely possessed many good items.
Yang Xiao secretly resolved that if he ever encountered those Black Lamas in the future, he must be vigilant, as there was no telling what good items he might find on them, provided he could defeat them.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely about treasure hunting; primarily, Yang Xiao was a member of the Patrol Defense Office, naturally at odds with Evil Cultivators.
