Chapter 1 This Time

This time, unlike the last, I didn't struggle to find the entrance to the main hall. Instead, the hall proactively opened its doors to me.

I stepped into the icy hall, and the doors closed behind me.

Candlelight flickered on the stone pillars, but the light only illuminated a meter or so around each pillar. The majority of the hall remained in darkness.

I took a few steps forward, and a white silk scroll suddenly unfurled from a pillar. The bottom edge stopped just before touching my head, but I felt as though someone was standing in mid-air, feet pressed against the pillar, toes pointing directly at the top of my head.

The hanging ghost is stepping on me!

My heart lurched.

Hanging ghosts seek replacements, but when they encounter someone with strong Yang energy, they can't directly put the noose around their neck. They have to find a way to suppress the Yang energy first.

When a person is walking and finds themselves unconsciously drawn towards tree branches or beams—places where a rope could be hung—that's the hanging ghost trying to lure them.

If a person walks under it once, the hanging ghost can step down, the sole of its foot not touching their head, but scattering the Yang energy above it.

The person stepped on by the hanging ghost will become disoriented and wander in a certain direction, while the ghost continues to step on them.

Once the hanging ghost has scattered enough of the person's Yang energy, it will lower the rope.

The instant I looked up, I saw a blood-soaked painting.

It seemed to depict a monk, but he was hacked to pieces, only his feet remaining in a standing position.

The feet holding the bottom of the scroll were right above my head.

As I looked up, the scroll lowered another half a foot. The corpse's remains shifted into view, and the painful expression on the head in the painting struck me. I felt sharp pains all over my body, as if someone was repeatedly cutting me.

I couldn't help but gasp for air, and staggered forward a few steps.

When I managed to steady myself, the piercing pain in my joints almost made me collapse.

It felt like someone was running a knife tip along the seams of my bones, trying to dismember me piece by piece.

I held onto the pillar, straightened my body, and looked up at the painting, a cold smile appearing on my lips.

A Painting Curse!

The enemy intended to kill me using the events in the painting!

I straightened and spoke towards the distance, "Friend, are you trying to test my foundation with a Five Elements Curse, or are you planning to make me undergo a Five Elements Tribulation as well?"

A woman's voice echoed from the depths of the hall, "If you don't undergo the tribulation, how can you lead the way for me?"

"Unless..."

I cut her off, "Unless I'm half-human, half-ghost, half in the underworld, half in the Yang world, right?"

As soon as I finished speaking, the human energy within me vanished completely, replaced by a thick aura of death.

My half-ghost state isn't a cultivation, it's merely a transition between life and death. Although my cultivation is sealed, I can still transform into a ghost.

From deep within the hall came a gasp of surprise, "A half-ghost person; a heavenly opportunity has truly arrived!"

She seemed to struggle to suppress her excitement, trying to remain calm as she said, "Please, come in!"

As she spoke, most of the lights in the hall went out, leaving only a few candles to illuminate a path for me.

I followed the corresponding candlelight for hundreds of steps before reaching a wooden door.

A normal main hall wouldn't be this long. I must have just walked through a maze.

I discreetly glanced at my watch, my heart sinking slightly – it had stopped, and I lost contact with Ye Yang.

Neither of us knew when the other would launch their attack.

We could only gamble on our mutual understanding, or perhaps it was luck.

Before I could lower my hand, the wooden door opened automatically, and I saw Luan Jingfan sitting at a round table.

Luan Jingfan looked exactly like the person in the portrait, but with more vitality than Ning Kang in the picture.

The real Ning Kang stood behind Luan Jingfan.

Luan Jingfan gestured for me to sit. "My humble abode is simple. I only have a cup of water to offer my honored guest. The fruits on the table are ones I grew myself; they're barely palatable, but please, help yourself if you don't mind!"

I walked to the table and sat down. "Patriarch Luan, you should know the purpose of my visit."

To my surprise, Luan Jingfan shook his head. "I've sealed myself in here. I know nothing of the outside world. You can tell me your intentions!"

I raised an eyebrow slightly. "You may not go out, but what about the Five Elements Corpses outside? Did they walk in on their own?"

Luan Jingfan smiled. "Is it so difficult to make people walk to a designated place to die?"

I smiled outwardly, but my heart sank slightly: this is bad. Luan Jingfan has an accomplice outside, someone who knew all along that Luan Jingfan wanted to become an immortal.

I hope it's not Doctor or Cang Jian!