Wang Yuan suddenly accelerated, drawing the pack of wild dogs behind him to hastily follow.
With the agility of a monkey, he leaped several times, grasped a thick branch, swung his body completely out of the mountain forest, and landed lightly on the ground after a spin in the air.
He also inadvertently stepped over a fragmented and dark Tombstone Stone, entering a thicket riddled with thorny brushes and eerily grown strange trees at the creepy Burial Mound.
The Tombstone Stone was covered in blue-black moss as fine as hair, with a pitted surface where one could still discern patterns of divine beasts exorcising evil.
In the center, there was a badly weathered, brief curse:
"The living are born to the Yang, the dead return to the Yin; the living ascend to the high platform, the dead deeply conceal themselves.
Heaven is vast heaven, the earth is boundless, the dead to the Yin, the living to the Yang, the living have settlements, the dead have their hometowns."
Looking at this ancient object, its age is at least a thousand years old.
However, on Beimang Mountain, there are many tombstones aged beyond measure, and common people wouldn't pay much mind to such an old rock.
He walked past the Tombstone Stone.
In that forest enriched by fertile soil and notably lush growth, various sizes of mound tombs stretched all the way into the dark depths, with coffins, bones, and phosphorescent light openly scattered around.
Sparse and deadly silent, intensely desolate.
It's known that after thousands of years of accumulation, just the large mound tombs standing over ten meters tall on Beimang Mountain number at least a thousand.
Unnamed, solitary graves and barren tombs exceed three hundred thousand, and the numerous indistinguishable mass burial pits where bodies are buried as they are found aren't even countable.
So much so that ordinary people might not find a suitable place to step.
This place seems to be just a corner of it, seemingly no different from other areas.
If there had to be anything different, it might be that there are particularly many locust trees here, and Dragon Claw Locusts of all sizes stretch out at will, like ghostly claws.
Woof, woof, woof...
Noticing that Wang Yuan had finally slowed down, under the command of Wild Dog Taoist, the group of huge, fierce-looking wild dogs immediately surrounded him.
Seeing this scene, the hideous Daoist was not only not pleased but rather disappointed:
"A fool could train the Military Skill to the extent of great success in Bone and Flesh Outer Appearance, barely inferior compared to me, and could even escape from the Royal Mausoleum on his own.
I thought you could bring me more surprises, you should at least attempt to counterattack me before exhausting your strength. Are you prepared to surrender just like that?
This group of wild dogs was summoned here, and their predatory nature had not even had a chance to be unleashed."
Hearing this, Wang Yuan understood.
Indeed, this kind of chasing and hunting game was probably one of the Precepts and Taboos he had to abide by when cultivating another Divine Power Skill.
It is very likely used to control the capabilities of this pack of wild dogs.
The hunting method of wild dogs is indeed to chase the prey in groups until it's thoroughly exhausted before making their move, isn't it?
Such a method not only allows hunting but also does not damage the skin, making it a perfect match for the Human Face Painting Skill.
But just now, The Wild Dog Taoist revealed that the precepts related to the Human Face Painting skill were not severe, and they did not give Wang Yuan any opportunity to explore flaws in his Daoist Skill.
Unfortunately, he had never counted on the enemy making a mistake on their own.
Turning to face the ugly Daoist who had crossed the Tombstone Stone, he stood straight, holding his sword, his posture as upright as a javelin.
"Not at all!
Just from the accent, the one who followed Master Ge to Beimang Mountain, you're probably not from Luoyang City below the mountain, not even from Junzhou.
Have you never heard of..."
At this moment, Wang Yuan completely dropped any foolish demeanor, his eyes sharp, his tone frigid, pausing with each word:
"Down the mountain 'White Bone Pool,' where a hundred thousand high graves lack owners; within the mountain 'Wangren Town,' where wild ghosts feast guests at midnight; on the mountain 'No Return Cliff,' where it's hard for the living to turn back."
No sooner had he spoken than
Whoooo—!
With that ruined Tombstone Stone as the boundary, a chilling, piercing wind suddenly rose within the Burial Mound.
It just so happened to be the time for nightfall, and also the last of the twelve two-hour periods in a day and night: 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Although the two had yet to reach No Return Cliff, after crossing the Tombstone Stone, they had well and truly entered the boundaries of Wangren Town.
In an instant, their surroundings transformed completely.
The rain had stopped at some unknown point, and even the dense clouds silently dissipated, revealing a brilliantly clear starry sky that seemed washed by water.
Under the silver moonlight, a thin mist began to form among the gravemounds and, in the blink of an eye, it engulfed both the confronting duo and the pack of dogs.
When they opened their eyes again,
before them stretched a brightly lit night market along a street.
The gleaming candles lit up the night sky overhead as if costing nothing, filling the air with the scent of wine, meat, and the sweet greasiness of cosmetic powder.
The noisy hawking, sounds of stringed instruments, songbirds and swallows chattering, interspersed with laughter, shouting, quarreling, and the crude lingos of country folk—a rush of lively mortal world scent assaulted their faces.
Not far off on the stage, a pretty actress was sweetly singing:
"As spring returns and apricot blossoms bloom, the wild geese fly away and the purple swallows come. Butterflies fly over the wall in pairs, reminding me of my long-lost husband Zhang Cai…"
This was a famous local play from Junzhou, "Miaoyu Taohua Temple," telling the poignant love story of Scholar Zhang Cai and a... ahem, a nun.
In any other place, men young and old who couldn't frequent brothels would've already perked their ears, widened their eyes, joined in singing a few lines of the seductive song, and thrown in a thumbs-up compliment:
"How titillating, what melody, what lyrics!"
However, although the night market and the grand opera were lively, everyone from vendors to porters, maids to actresses, seemed just like paper people, void of any trace of life.
Hisss!
Wild Dog Taoist and the pack of dogs, as if bitten by a venomous snake, instinctively shrank their bodies in unison.
Although the Magician had not attained enlightenment, he had stepped into the threshold of cultivation, and he could immediately tell that "they" were not human at all!
An invisible cold aura continuously poured into Wild Dog Taoist's neck, making him feel a chill deep in his bones, and he muttered with a slight pallor:
"Is this a ghost realm formed by hundreds of yin objects? Is there really such a large ghost realm hidden within Beimang Mountain?"
Indeed, Taoist Military Skill emphasizes swallowing landscapes, spewing out star battles, breathing the universe, laughing as rivers converge.
When practiced deeply, one's qi-blood shines as bright as the great sun and fiercely as flames, and any fierce soul or evil spirit that approaches would instantly turn to ash.
But whether it was Wang Yuan, who had mastered the Bone and Flesh Outer Appearance, or Wild Dog Taoist, whose martial arts cultivation was hardly different, neither could reach that invincible realm.
Caught in this Wangren Town and surrounded by countless ghosts, they were hardly stronger than ordinary people.
With the grand ceremony every two hundred years approaching, Wild Dog Taoist, who had arrived at Beimang Mountain just three days ago to help his uncle, indeed had no chance to hear the local legends of Wangren Town.
Of course, even if he had heard of them, he would have no idea where exactly in the hundreds of miles of Beimang Mountain this Wangren Town was hidden.
Because even the tomb guardians in Daling Village didn't know either.
"A Fool would know? He intentionally ran into this ghost's den to escape!"
No, wrong!"
Wild Dog Taoist, feeling a chill down his spine, suddenly realized that Wang Yuan's speech had been clear and logical earlier, nothing like the Fool the Wang Family had described.
He, who had planned to play a hunting game by adhering to the precepts and taboos of the Gathering Beasts Magic Skill, was clearly led by this boy as if he was the fool.
That ability to feign foolishness effortlessly, which others found difficult to guard against, if he himself could act that well, why would he worry about not perfecting the Human Face Painting Skill?
Wang Family has misled me!
However, just as he glared fiercely at Wang Yuan, he saw the young man, as if intentionally seeking death, suddenly exert his strength underfoot and thrust himself into the bustling street market.
At the same time, he bizarrely yelled out:
"Ladies and gentlemen, grandpas, grandmas, brothers, sisters, uncles, old men... Today's meal is on me, everyone eat and drink well!"
His figure flashed twice through the shoulder-to-shoulder "crowd," and just like that, he disappeared without a trace as if he had gone into his own home.
Strangely, those wild ghosts seemed to ignore this succulent living human, allowing him to dash deep into Ghost Street.
But because of Wang Yuan's actions, all the surrounding wild ghosts turned their faces toward the still stationary Wild Dog Taoist and the pack of dogs, and even the noisy atmosphere of the night market fell silent for a moment.
Even a fool could see it—that pair of eyes beginning to glint green revealed an emotion starkly naked—raw hunger!
Wild Dog Taoist's scalp exploded on the spot.