strokinit Chapter 73 Desolate Mountain Tunnel, Crimson Dawn
Chapter 73 Desolate Mountain Tunnel, Crimson Dawn
Chapter 72 Desolate Mountain Tunnel, Crimson Dawn (Please Subscribe)
Liu Yan led two mountain elders and three yellow spirit children out of the cat cafe and headed towards the Department of Mysteries building.
Jiang Jun stood by the window, watching their figures disappear into the gray mist before turning his gaze away.
Zhao Jing stood to the side, rubbing his hands together, somewhat embarrassed: "Teacher, was I too rash? Asking the old man for help right off the bat—"
"It's nothing," Jiang Jun shook his head. "Your grandfather is old, and it's only natural that you care about him. Besides, the Mountain Elder was purified into a spiritual plant precisely for the purpose of helping people and saving lives. What difference does it make who uses it?"
Zhao Jing chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
Jiang Jun then asked, "Do you two have any important matters to attend to in reality? If not, I'd like to take you on a tour of the Ghost Realm for a few days."
He looked at Cai Liang and said, "I see that you have already reached the Spirit Connection Realm. I would like to see your strength and give you some pointers to help you enter the Fusion Realm as soon as possible."
"And you, Zhao Jing. Regarding the 'Pure Lotus' visualization diagram I previously shared with you, I've recently gained some new insights, so I'll pass it on to you as well."
Cai Liang's eyes lit up: "Teacher, I'm free anytime! Anyway, the news center is under reconstruction recently, so I've taken leave."
Zhao Jing nodded quickly, "I'm fine too! Grandpa is in good health, and the villagers are helping to take care of the gourd field."
Jiang Jun nodded slightly, then looked down at the turmeric and ginger juice at his feet: "You two, do you want to go back?"
Turmeric grabbed his trouser leg and shook its head, making "ah-beep ah-beep" noises. Ginger Juice snorted and pawed at the ground with its front hooves, looking like it wanted to go too.
"Let's go together then." Jiang Jun casually pointed in a direction, "Let's just go that way, whatever happens, happens."
""
Half an hour later, they arrived at a desolate mountain.
The mountain has no name, no landmark; as far as the eye can see, there are only gray-brown rocks and withered yellow weeds. The mountain is not steep, but it exudes a desolate atmosphere.
The stone steps stretch from the foot of the mountain to the halfway point, but due to years of neglect, many sections have collapsed, exposing the rough rubble beneath. Moss grows in the cracks of the steps, making them slippery to walk on.
There was a wooden house halfway up the mountain, with a crooked door, broken windows, and thatched roof that had long been blown away by the wind.
The room was empty, with only a table with a missing leg and half of a kang (a heated brick bed), and some broken farm tools piled in the corner.
Further into the mountains, there are many more similar wooden houses, all of which are decaying and dilapidated.
"It's like some forgotten mountain village." Zhao Jing looked around. "There aren't even many monsters."
As soon as he finished speaking, two spectator-level ghosts floated out from the eerie mist ahead.
Jiang Jun glanced at Cai Liang: "Go and practice your skills."
Cai Liang responded and strode forward. He took a deep breath, channeled his inner energy into his fist, and threw a punch at the ghost.
The fist carried a faint, clear light. The ghost was struck, its body swayed violently a few times, and then vanished like smoke.
"Hey! That was great!" Cai Liang shook his hand and chased after another one. That ghost was fast, and it took him several steps to catch up. He then killed it with another punch, clean and swift.
Jiang Jun nodded slightly, but did not speak.
They continued uphill. At a bend in the mountain path, a lantern made of human skin, belonging to a wandering warrior, hung from a withered tree branch, like a dilapidated lamp.
Sensing the presence of a living person, it lit up with eerie green flames and floated over with a strange "hee-hee" laugh.
This time, Cai Liang did not rush forward rashly. Instead, he took a string of "Strange Encounters" from his waist and poured his true energy into them.
The purple light needle suddenly lit up, transforming into a fine rain of light that shot towards the lantern.
The human skin lantern was repeatedly pushed back by the rain of light, and several charred holes appeared on its surface, but they did not disappear.
With a thought, Cai Liang condensed the light needle into a two-foot-long pale purple lightsaber and held it in his hand.
Unlike Jiang Jun, who was used to controlling his sword remotely, his spiritual sense was weak, so he could control it better by hand.
He stepped forward and fought the human-skin lantern for several rounds. Seizing an opportunity, he pierced the lantern's core with his sword.
The lantern extinguished the eerie flame with a "poof," fell to the ground, and dissipated into a wisp of black smoke, leaving only a "eerie fire candle" behind.
Jiang Jun then spoke: "Your true energy is more solid than I expected. To be able to kill a monster of the Wanderer level while being at the Spirit Realm level is quite impressive."
Cai Liang chuckled and dissipated the lightsaber: "Thanks to your guidance, teacher!"
At that moment, a group of skirmisher-level ghosts, about seven or eight in number, sprang out from the bushes ahead.
Without saying a word, Cai Liang activated "Ghostly Sorrow" to release a burst of light needles, which wiped out the group of ghosts.
Before long, a valiant-level serpent leaped out from behind the rocks with astonishing speed.
Cai Liang remained calm and poured his true energy into the "Divine Rooster Talisman".
The talisman lit up, and flames condensed into a small rooster, which pounced on the snake. With a sharp peck, the snake's head was pierced, and it collapsed to the ground.
Zhao Jing, watching from the side, was dumbfounded: "Senior brother, you're too amazing!"
Cai Liang waved his hand and pointed to the "Gourd of Devouring Monsters" at his waist: "It's not over yet."
He pointed at a wandering ghost in the distance and activated the gourd.
A suction force firmly locked the ghost inside; after struggling for a few moments, it was sucked in. The gourd's belly bulged slightly, then fell silent.
Zhao Jing swallowed hard. "This whole routine is just as good as Captain Zhao's, isn't it?"
Jiang Jun shook his head: "Officer Zhao is at the Fusion Realm, while your senior brother hasn't arrived yet. However, in terms of killing monsters alone, he is indeed no less capable than an ordinary Fusion Realm monster tamer."
He paused, then looked at Cai Liang: "You used your true energy to enhance the talisman, and the effect is better than I expected. But it seems you're using 'Guibuxu' as your natal talisman?"
Cai Liang scratched his head: "Yeah, it did save my life after all, you could call it the fledgling effect. And saving my life isn't shameful—"
"In that case, from now on you will focus primarily on 'Unfettered Deception,' with the others as secondary."
Jiang Jun instructed, "The first stage of the Fusion Realm, Divine Harmony, is to merge the spirit of the suppressing object with your divine consciousness. Since you have already connected with the spirit of 'Ghostly Impermissible,' this step shouldn't be too difficult for you."
Cai Liang nodded quickly.
"Hmm. The key to cultivation is perseverance, don't rush." Jiang Jun looked at the sky, "It's getting dark, let's find a place to camp."
"The light dimmed quickly, and the hazy sky turned dark gray, as if covered by a dirty curtain."
They found a sheltered hollow on the ridge and were about to rest.
Suddenly, Jiang Huang poked its head out from Jiang Jun's arms and started calling out "Ah-beh-ah-beh" towards the southeast.
Jiang Jun looked in the direction it pointed and saw a faint, eerie green fire flickering behind the bushes in the distance, accompanied by a faint moaning sound.
"Let's go take a look." He took the lead and walked over.
Pushing aside the bushes, there was a dry well in front of me.
A large rock pressed down on the well opening, and eerie energy seeped from its edges. Seven or eight ghostly figures gathered around the well, wandering aimlessly.
Just as Cai Liang was about to step forward, Jiang Jun raised his hand to stop him: "Let's see how many Zhao Jing can handle."
Zhao Jing took a deep breath, took out the small gourd from his waist, and activated it with his divine sense.
The cracks on the gourd emitted a faint glow, and a suction force pulled the two foremost ghosts inside.
The remaining few were startled and snarled as they pounced on him.
Zhao Jing had just begun his cultivation, and his spiritual sense could not sustain itself for long, so he was unable to subdue them any longer. Cai Liang then stepped forward and killed them.
Jiang Jun smiled and nodded: "You remained calm under pressure and handled the situation well. Your gourd is quite remarkable, even stronger than ordinary complete-level monsters!"
He walked to the well and pushed the large stone aside.
A cold, damp wind rose from the bottom of the well, carrying a musty smell. The well walls were covered with moss, and a tunnel sloping downwards could be vaguely seen.
"Let's go down and take a look." Jiang Jun was the first to leap into the well, and with a flash of light, he landed steadily.
Cai Liang and Zhao Jing followed closely behind.
With turmeric on its back, the ginger pods landed lightly and gracefully on the ground.
The tunnel was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. The walls were rough rammed earth, and every few steps you could see ancient shovel marks.
After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the tunnel gradually widened, and a slightly larger space appeared ahead.
Jiang Jun raised the "Strange Encounter" to illuminate the surroundings, allowing him to see the appearance of the place.
Scattered on the ground were some rusted shovels and pickaxes, as well as a few broken pottery bowls. A pile of ashes lay in the corner, as if it had been burned long ago.
The most striking thing is a line of words written in charcoal on the wall: "Down with the petty life," the handwriting is messy but powerful.
Cai Liang was stunned for a moment, his voice trembling slightly: "Could this be... a remnant of tunnel warfare?"
He suddenly remembered something, and his expression changed: "Teacher, those ghosts I just killed—could they be...?"
"No." Jiang Jun interrupted him, his tone serious. "Everything in the Ghost Realm is a product of the collision and convergence of the projection of the real world and the power of the Ghost Abyss."
"These ghosts and tunnels are merely projections and evolutions of history from the mirror world of ghosts. The heroic souls of our martyrs are not here."
Cai Liang breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt a pang of melancholy: "Do they even exist? If so, where are they now?"
Jiang Jun did not answer and continued walking forward.
As they ventured deeper into the tunnel, they encountered more and more forks in the path. Along the way, they discovered several sets of remains, some leaning against the walls, some lying face down on the soil, and some huddled in corners.
The bones had turned black and brittle, and the clothes on the body had long since rotted into fragments, making it impossible to recognize the original appearance.
Jiang Jun stopped and remained silent for a moment before saying, "Cremate them. Take their ashes out and find a place to bury them."
Cai Liang and Zhao Jing nodded silently.
Jiang Jun took out the "Divine Rooster Talisman" from his sleeve and activated the flames.
A ball of crimson flame landed on a skeleton, the flames licking the bones and making a soft crackling sound.
There was no odor, no black smoke, only a faint heat wave and an indescribable solemnity.
Turmeric jumped off the ginger juice's back, hugged the lotus seed, and silently chanted "Padme" as its little mouth opened and closed.
The golden and red light flowed through the dark tunnel like tiny lamps.
One, two, three—they found a total of nineteen sets of remains. Jiang Jun cremated them one by one, and put the ashes into his sleeve.
As the flames of the last remains went out, the tunnel suddenly shook.
Jiang Jun looked around warily, his gaze landing on a pile of miscellaneous items in the corner.
It was a rusty iron box, the lid half open, revealing a yellowed piece of paper inside.
The paper, which should have been rotten, now emitted a crimson glow, its light flickering as if it were breathing.
This is yet another divine artifact of the Rising Sun level!
Jiang Jun walked over and took out the paper.
The handwriting on the paper was crooked and messy, like a child's, or like a wounded person struggling to put pen to paper: "There has never been a savior, nor a god or emperor!"
The handwriting was small and crowded together, and the ink had long since faded, but now, under the crimson glow, every stroke was clearly visible.
A crimson glow spread out, rippling across the entire space like waves.
Jiang Jun felt that the true energy within his body was being suppressed by something, circulating extremely slowly. He also couldn't project his divine sense outwards, and could only gather it within his sea of consciousness.
Cai Liang and Zhao Jing were the same; they looked at each other, both seeing surprise on each other's faces.
Turmeric was clinging to the lotus seed, unable to make a sound. Ginger juice was also unable to move; only its eyeballs could still move.
But strangely, no one felt fear.
On the contrary, an unprecedented sense of pride suddenly rose from the bottom of my heart, as if something was burning in my chest.
It's a stubbornness that says "it's better to rely on yourself than on heaven or earth," and a fighting spirit that says "even if you only have a broken gun, you'll fight the enemy to the end."
After the crimson ripples dissipated, Jiang Jun held the paper in his hand, remaining silent for a long time.
He suddenly remembered the seven characters on the bamboo slips: "The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits!"
During this time, he has been trying to explore and comprehend its power using his divine sense and true energy.
But the appearance of this piece of paper reminded him that perhaps he had gone in the wrong direction from the very beginning.
Some things don't need to be mysterious or esoteric. They are power in themselves.
He carefully put the paper away and said to Cai Liang and Zhao Jing, "Let's rest in the tunnel tonight. I'll clean this place up first."
He took out the "Ghostly Prohibition" and the "Divine Chicken Talisman," activated his true energy, and swept the tunnel with alternating light and firelight, eliminating the remaining eerie energy and any possible lurking monsters.
Cai Liang and Zhao Jing found a dry corner and took the felt cloth from Jiang Jun and laid it out.
Jiang Jun sat cross-legged. Looking at Zhao Jing, he said, "I'll send you the 'Pure Lotus' visualization diagram again."
"The version I gave you before was based on the methods of the Department of Mysteries, which differed slightly from my way of suppressing objects. I have made some deletions and adjustments."
He raised his hand and pointed, sending a divine thought into Zhao Jing's sea of consciousness.
Zhao Jing closed his eyes, pondered for a long time, and when he opened them again, his eyes showed a hint of understanding: "Teacher, this time it feels much clearer!"
Jiang Jun then passed on a revised version to Cai Liang, saying, "Your foundation is already solid, so there's no need to rush to change it. Just adjust it gradually."
Cai Liang nodded in agreement.
The two disciples were contemplating the new "Pure Lotus" visualization when they unknowingly entered a meditative state.
The turmeric and ginger juice were squeezed together, and he fell asleep quickly.
Jiang Jun sat against the wall, closing his eyes to rest. His hands were in his sleeves, pressing against the paper and the bamboo slip, and a thought was vaguely forming in his mind.
The tunnel was quiet, with only the occasional sound of dripping water in the distance, like an echo of history.