Chapter 65: Declining Visitors

Chapter 65: Turning Away Visitors

Under the blood-red sky, Chu Jingxi was unaware that he had been unfairly slandered among the ghost clan again. He was focused on examining his hand-drawn drafts, further clarifying the path ahead.

Everyone worked together seamlessly. Yan Zizhan's Spiritual Sense covered the surroundings, ensuring the Warship's route didn't cross paths with the blood mist, while Chu Tiannan stood watch over the cabin.

Chu Suye piloted the Warship, glancing toward the high sky several times: "There seems to be a ghost clan presence up there."

She'd also researched pills targeting the ghost clan, often using Ghost Blood as a catalyst, so she was especially sensitive to that kind of energy.

But then again, plenty of ghosts had fallen on this old battlefield—wasn't a little ghostly energy in the air normal?

Nothing could be confirmed until they got there. Crossing mountains and valleys, they finally caught sight of the weathered ancient imperial gates mentioned in the Rustless Copper Bell's broadcast.

The divine beast carvings on the door knockers still looked majestic, but wild grass had overgrown the area. The Rustless Copper Bell's dramatic words suddenly didn't seem so over the top.

The ground had already been swept for dangers, so walking was way safer than flying right now.

Chu Jingxi turned to Chu Tiannan. "Brother Tiannan, mind staying in the outer city to guard the Warship and back us up? As for what we find, we'll split it evenly later."

Chu Tiannan felt a little sheepish upon hearing this—his task was undoubtedly the easiest and safest of them all.

He immediately pulled out some precious protective talismans and handed them over. "Stay safe."

Yan Zizhan also set up a defensive formation on the Warship. The ship was already a beast in combat, but an extra layer of protection never hurt.

Ding-dong, clang!

A loud ringing drew everyone's attention. Another straggler came flying over at lightning speed—it was the bell that had been stuck in the old battlefield!

It had been through a lot on the way. Seeing its family again, it immediately led the way to the spot without a word.

Along the way, Chu Jingxi felt like he'd stepped into a painting. The stinking ditch and the bell-and-drum tower he'd once wanted to explore—he'd already gotten a taste of them through Zhao Gang's exploits, so now they just needed to go deeper.

'It's right there.' The bell said, still shaken, hovering to a stop a thousand meters out.

Chu Jingxi looked up. Ahead was a spatial rift, weirdly shaped—like a serpentine corridor that didn't belong, half of it still stuck underground.

The rift still hadn't closed.

'Zhao Gang and the others used artifacts to reinforce the space before exploring, and they never grabbed them back when they fled.' The Rustless Copper Bell cursed. 'Those idiots never picked up the good habit of closing the door behind them!'

Otherwise, the blood mist might not have gotten out.

Chu Jingxi figured Zhao Gang wouldn't screw up that badly.

Yan Zizhan squinted. "It's possible the artifact wasn't his—might belong to some Immortal Alliance cultivator."

His gaze landed on some scattered bone fragments nearby. If the owner died, the artifact obviously couldn't be retrieved in time. Even if Zhao Gang wanted to take it, he'd have to spend time scrubbing off the owner's mark first.

Right now, scary energy was seeping out of the spatial entrance, but luckily there was no second wave of blood mist.

Maybe scared of this energy, even the aggressive spirit plants nearby were hunched and curled up.

This was the best time to explore. But the serpentine space was also creepy—that feeling of the unknown and danger made it hard to ignore, especially with ghost clan energy leaking out.

Chu Suye: "Split up, or just pick one?"

Chu Jingxi: "Find the treasure first, then come back for the dangerous stuff." We're adults—can't we have it all?

"..."

Good idea in theory, but everyone knew they might not have enough time.

Chu Jingxi always went for the profit first. He gave Yan Zizhan a slight nod, and the two quietly stashed Recording Stones around the area.

That way, anything that happened around the spatial corridor later would be on record.

If the blood mist came back or something else went wrong before they could explore more, they'd wait for backup and let the big shots team up to check it out.

If they wouldn't do it, plenty of others would.

Yan Zizhan also set up a formation—if anything else came out, it'd at least buy them time.

The Rustless Copper Bell didn't get why they were making it so complicated: 'Just cut off the spatial passage! Problem solved!'

At that, everyone turned to stare at it.

Chu Jingxi smiled. "I don't know if more dangerous stuff will come out, but one thing's for sure—once it's sealed, the blood mist definitely can't go back."

And if it couldn't go back, it'd start killing everything in sight!

The Rustless Copper Bell: '...' It was a dark-attribute treasure, so shady thoughts came naturally.

That was just its nature—definitely not a brains problem.

The demonic beasts and spirit plants didn't dare leave their lairs, and with Yan Zizhan around, they could dodge a lot of dangerous leftover formations. Walking through the old battlefield, their risk level dropped a lot. Along the way, Chu Jingxi kept looking around—just like the rumors said, barely any skeletons.

He hadn't forgotten why else he'd come: to find clues about his parents.

Thinking of that mysterious spatial corridor—the weirder a place, the more likely to find something. Could it be...? Chu Jingxi closed his eyes, forced down the urge to check it out, and steadied himself.

"Treasure first." The more money he had, the better his talent could shine. Secure his survival first, then worry about everything else.

They didn't find any inheritances along the way, just the occasional old-era relic.

Chu Jingxi had no use for them—he just appraised them. Selling them all would net a nice profit to fill his empty pockets.

Chu Suye could tell he was desperate for spirit stones. "Just ask the family for some, it's no big deal."

"I can't take something for nothing."

The system had set prices so high on purpose to make things harder to get. If that difficulty system got totally broken, it might backfire.

Otherwise, Chu Jingxi would've already fought to become the clan's... Young Patriarch, just to line his own pockets.

Chu Suye, clueless about the real reason, was deeply influenced by that strong-person mindset and decided she'd stop asking the family for money too.

**

Meanwhile, the treasure-hunting squad was hunting for loot in the most dangerous—yet safest—place. Meanwhile, Zhao Gang was fleeing in a sorry state with his men.

Running forever would eventually get them caught by the blood mist, but he still refused to reveal the secret passage too soon. His eyes kept darting around as he racked his brain for other escape routes.

An Immortal Alliance cultivator spat bitterly: "Chu Jingxi sure knows how to play his cards."

Not long ago, everyone had seen a huge shadow heading the other way—definitely the Chu family Warship.

First using them as pathfinders, then using them to clear the way while he swooped in to grab the leftovers—just thinking about it almost made them cough up blood.

Zhao Gang, though, just smiled. Chu Jingxi going to the battlefield had actually done him a huge favor.

He gritted his teeth and took out some items he'd brought back from the old battlefield, saying with a smile, "Don't forget, we can imitate the Chu family's aura."

The other cultivators suddenly caught on—right! As long as the blood mist thought someone else had taken the stuff, it'd work!

Zhao Gang deliberately hung back for a bit, making sure enough distance had been put between them and the Warship. Under his command, they managed to get the blood mist to lock onto a different aura without much trouble.

The blood mist turned back, surging like a tidal wave toward the edges of the old battlefield.

Outside the city gate, Chu Tiannan was still mulling over how splitting things evenly would be too unfair to those who'd done the work, and that he himself should take at most ten percent. As he mulled it over, his face flushed. When he looked up, it went even redder.

!!

Once he was fully red-faced, Chu Tiannan immediately activated the Warship's defenses and contacted the others at top speed.

...

Completely unaware of Chu Tiannan's stress, the trio—who thought of themselves as bearing the load—were still treasure hunting.

"Since ancient times, triangles have been the most stable shape."

Chu Jingxi occasionally got a little superstitious. Looking back, he found that whenever he formed a group of three, they always managed to get out of danger in one piece.

Unfortunately, the others didn't get Chu Jingxi's dark humor—though there was another deadly joke staring them in the face.

Of the treasures found so far, less than a tenth were left by the ancestors; the rest were all storage pouches from cultivators who'd died hunting for treasure.

Chu Jingxi had only one thought: they absolutely couldn't become part of the treasure themselves.

"We've got a problem!"

The Message Talisman still worked fine even inside the sealed space. Chu Tiannan sent an urgent message: "The blood mist's come back around! I tried steering the Warship toward the demon creature zone, but it keeps chasing only me!"

Chu Jingxi only froze for a second at the first three words. The moment Chu Tiannan finished speaking, he said, "Head toward the stronghold."

"No, if I turn back! The blood mist will shift toward the inner city and speed up like crazy! I feel like the second I leave, it'll go straight for you." On the other end of the talisman, the nervous cries of rock antelopes could be heard, suggesting the blood mist was already really close.

The group exchanged glances. The blood mist had originally been hunting Zhao Gang, but now it seemed like its target had changed.

A scourge lasts a thousand years—Chu Jingxi didn't think Zhao Gang would kick the bucket that easily. In an instant, he figured out who was behind this.

"Don't worry about us. Turn around and head back to the stronghold. Make use of the Immortal Alliance people!"

On the other end, Chu Tiannan still seemed to be hesitating.

Chu Jingxi said one last thing: "Hold it together, brother! Don't look back!"

With that, he himself turned back. He grabbed the still-dazed Rustless Copper Bell and immediately flew toward the space corridor: "Follow me!"

Three figures shot through the air like lightning.

Chu Jingxi's mind was working even faster than the lightning.

The Warship had defense and stealth modes. Chu Tiannan mentioned the blood mist sped up when heading toward the inner city, meaning its power would be weakened outside.

With two possible targets, once Chu Tiannan chose to leave, the blood mist would definitely prioritize hunting them.

Chu Jingxi glanced at their position—they were in the inner city, while Chu Tiannan was at the city gate. The blood mist wasn't far from them. At this distance, the only option was to close the door and trap the dog!

As predicted, shortly after the communication ended, the blood mist followed the aura and went straight for those inside the old battlefield.

Coming face to face, Chu Jingxi watched as a sea of red appeared in their field of vision.

The closer to the inner city, the faster the blood mist moved, its speed multiplying.

Rushing toward each other, just as they were about to dive into the crimson glow, thousands of Array Talismans shot out from Chu Jingxi's sleeve. Chu Suye's body reacted before her mind, also sending out talismans.

Successfully stalling the blood mist for a moment, Yan Zizhan wiped away the imprint on the artifact that maintained spatial stability. Without external interference, the open corridor closed, and they slipped inside like the wind. Yan Zizhan then expanded his domain to seal the space.

A second later, the blood mist was blocked outside, spinning wildly in place.

By the time Chu Jingxi and the others were safely sealed in the space, the Warship had already fled far from the old capital, racing across the mountain ridges.

"He took the danger on himself, yet still comforted me, even telling me not to look back."

Thinking of Chu Jingxi's last words, Chu Tiannan's eyes went red. He still couldn't help it—he looked back once.

That one look tore him apart!

In the distance, the blood mist was closing in fast—he could even sense a hint of rage in the fog.

Chu Tiannan pushed the Warship to full speed. The Rock Antelope's hooves clung desperately to the railing, and relying on its sharp sense of direction, it kept twisting its head toward another direction, signaling a shortcut.

The direction the Rock Antelope indicated not only had a shortcut, but also Zhao Gang's group. The path he chose for his desperate escape was also the one he'd gotten from the Rock Antelope's imagery earlier.

Fate brings people together!

Zhao Gang had been gloating that Chu Jingxi was taking the fall for them, when suddenly he sensed something. He saw the Warship speeding toward them, with the blood mist chasing right behind.

"How is this possible?" He'd calculated the timing and kept a good distance. Even if Chu Jingxi and the others wanted to turn back, they'd just crash into the blood mist.

Unfortunately, human speed couldn't match the Warship. There was no time to think—everyone immediately bolted for their lives.

Acceleration talismans, Magic Artifacts—everyone used every trick to speed up.

Just then, Chu Tiannan's "helpful" reminder came from the Warship: "Zhao Gang, watch your back."

Too close to the blood mist, Zhao Gang didn't dare release his Spiritual Sense. He instinctively turned his head and made eye contact with the stronghold manager behind him.

Some people, even without doing anything, would guiltily look away when they made eye contact—the stronghold manager was exactly like that.

One suspected the other of planning a sneak attack, and the other suspected the first of suspecting him. Before Zhao Gang's eyes could flash with ferocity, the manager struck first, jabbing two fingers at Zhao Gang's throat.

Zhao Gang dodged quickly, but a bloody hole still opened up in his collarbone. His counterattack, meanwhile, aimed for the manager's knee.

The manager's speed instantly slowed, and the blood mist caught him, cursing Zhao Gang to die a horrible death.

Zhao Gang clutched his wound and kept flying, but the wound had been laced with poison and started to fester. Noticing the fleeing cultivators on both sides staring at him, he gritted his teeth against the corroding skin and snarled, "You want to die too?"

Seeing his speed steadily drop, the lagging Zhao Gang had no choice but to take a pill, burning his blood to force a speed boost.

Burning blood meant burning lifespan—not only was his foundation severely damaged, but the hair on the left side of his head had already gone white.

Up high, Chu Tiannan spat in disgust: "Still trying to copy Chu Jingxi's hair color. Shameless."

The Warship was far ahead, and in its shadow, Zhao Gang was so enraged he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

...

While the distant blood mist was causing chaos, inside the blood mist's lair, all was pitch black, with only the sounds of heartbeats and heavy breathing.

For a long moment, Chu Suye said blankly, "What have we done?"

More precisely, what had she done following Chu Jingxi?

Chu Jingxi's throat bobbed: "The guest does as the host pleases."

They'd locked the owner out and let themselves in to do whatever they wanted.

"..."

Chu Suye finally understood why Chu Jingxi, after handing the chance to escape to Chu Tiannan, had instead given him encouragement.

Unable to return to the space, the blood mist had no choice but to chase after them again.

After several failed attempts, the blood mist would likely be furious to the extreme.

Chu Tiannan was in for a rough time, having to face such an overwhelming opponent.

Chu Jingxi was still panting: "The time we fought so hard to buy is enough for him to reach the mine stronghold first. With the Warship hovering overhead, the Immortal Alliance will be forced to act."

The blood mist's tornado-like reach was no joke.

Even though the system was offline, Chu Jingxi still clasped his hands together: "I hope Brother Tiannan can beg heaven for five hundred more years."

"..."

Outside was danger, inside was the unknown—Chu Jingxi had no choice.

As a homebody extraordinaire, his spatial ring contained everything. He pulled out three lanterns.

...Even linked together, they couldn't light the way ahead.

Vast and silent, the entire space was like a giant bottomless pit, endlessly devouring light.

The light only reached less than a meter, and for now, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. The lingering blood mist aura left them dizzy and foggy-headed.

Yan Zizhan held out a hand to stop Chu Jingxi and took the lead instead.

He continuously infused spiritual power into the spirit bamboo leaves, then combined them with the poles shed from the old spirit bamboo.

A giant green umbrella materialized out of nowhere, shielding the group. The air under the umbrella turned crisp and clean, and Chu Jingxi felt so good he puffed out his chest.

"Brother Zhu always comes through." Even off-site, he was the MVP.

The path wound and twisted. The group circled through the ring-shaped space, and gradually, the hollow feeling from the spatial chaos made Chu Jingxi lose track of time. He bit the tip of his tongue to force himself to stay alert.

A sudden warmth spread through his hand. He instantly looked up. Yan Zizhan had put away the lantern at some point, holding the umbrella with one hand and Chu Jingxi's hand with the other.

The real, solid touch was better than any anchor. It reminded him of the illusion in the Blood Curse Art, and he unconsciously gripped back.

The sound of their breathing grew softer.

Yan Zizhan didn't walk beside him—he stayed half a step ahead, always keeping himself between Chu Jingxi and whatever lay ahead. Both of them snapped back to full alertness.

Behind them, Chu Suye hadn't noticed this scene at all. She was using the oldest trick in the book: talking nonstop to keep from losing her sense of reality.

"This is technically my first real trial."

Competing for family resources was all about contribution points. In the past, she'd entered alchemy competitions and stuff to rack up points. As for those secret realm expeditions, none of them were all that dangerous.

Chu Suye wanted to use pain to focus, but since she was talking, the taste of blood from biting her tongue could cause problems.

After a while, the lanterns suddenly flared brighter, and the whole space stabilized.

The group couldn't help speeding up. As they rounded a corner, before the light even reached them, a vivid face with a sinister grin was staring right at them.

None of the three let out a sound.

Cold sweat beaded silently in Chu Jingxi's palm.

The face had no aura whatsoever, as if it didn't exist at all. In the light, the glow cut through that thin layer of skin, and the smiling face vanished.

A few steps later, they came across a crying face, an angry face, and one of profound sorrow.

Yan Zizhan was about to say these weren't living beings and there was nothing to fear, when Chu Jingxi—still shaken—suddenly stepped forward.

Using the Space-Time Law, he forcibly altered the landing point of objects, stretched out five fingers, and ferociously dragged a face into his spatial ring.

"Everyone, rest assured, these aren't living beings. They can easily go into the ring."

"..."

When he tried to take it out again, there was no face, only a crystal the size of a pebble.

Chu Jingxi frowned in confusion: "What is this?"

Before Yan Zizhan could answer, the corridor disappeared. In what should have been an open space, the path abruptly broke off. Faces floated in the air like lanterns, and at the bottom, at cliff-like depths, was boiling black water.

And in the middle, floating in mid-air at eye level with them, was a blurry blood shadow.

Equally devoid of life, yet it seemed to be constantly decomposing and reassembling, every particle filled with overwhelming terror.

Chu Jingxi had seen a similar blood shadow in the barbarian tribe's memories and blurted out: "Ghost Emperor Wuliang."

Author's note:

Chu Jingxi: I clearly had other content creators make thorough guides. How did it come to this?

Yan Zizhan: It was bound to be like this.

Chu Suye: ...Can we still go back for a meal?