The four of us clung to the rope and descended one by one into the pit. It turned out to be just over two meters deep, far shallower than we had anticipated. At the bottom, the first thing we noticed was Wu Long's backpack lying on the ground—but no sign of him. We were all puzzled. Where was Wu Long?
Shining our lights around, Da Zui Rong and I found that only half the area of the pit was visible. The ground was still covered in a layer of white powder, except for a massive cross-shaped gap in the center, revealing a stone slab underneath. The cross-shaped fissure was about a meter wide in both directions, and on the exposed stone slab, every foot or so was a small oil lamp, arranged in dense rows. There had to be at least fifty or sixty of them. The lamps contained oil but were all extinguished.
Looking at this setup, I had a gut feeling—this had to be the Yin Ghost Array. Earlier, when I used the spirit communication technique, I had seen a ghost formation in a similar cross pattern.
Xiao Gundao exclaimed excitedly, "We've found the Yin Ghost Array!" He picked up his Lingguan Belt and ran along the edge of the cross to its center. Pulling out a dagger from his bag, he waved Da Zui Rong over.
Da Zui Rong rolled his eyes at him but eventually trudged over.
Xiao Gundao crouched and carefully surrounded one of the lamps with his Lingguan Belt, forming a tight ring around it. He made a sword gesture with his left hand, while his right performed a summoning seal, delicately lifting the lamp. Both of them looked extremely tense, sweat glistening on their foreheads.
But when the lamp was removed, nothing happened. The two exchanged relieved smiles and wiped their brows.
Xiao Gundao turned to us and said, "This is the Yin Ghost Array. Beneath it, there's bound to be a demonic entity holding the array together. We need to dig it out and burn it with Samadhi True Fire. That's the only way to break the array!"
Before I could respond, Xiao Ying folded her arms and said, "Then hurry up and dig. We'll go look for my cousin."
Da Zui Rong shook his head. "Your cousin might've already escaped through an underground passage. When the array was active earlier, it opened a gateway. But once suppressed, all passages except for this opening were sealed. We'll have to dig out the demon before we can chase after him."
Something felt off about this whole situation. The two of them seemed far too invested, and their demeanor increasingly struck me as suspicious. I couldn't shake the feeling they might have ulterior motives. Xiao Ying seemed to catch on too. After a moment's thought, she said, "Fine, you two get digging. We'll wait."
Xiao Gundao looked momentarily stunned. "You're not going to help? It's just this one knife. How long do you think it'll take us to dig?"
"We just lost a lot of blood. You're really going to make us work?" I cut in before Xiao Ying could respond.
Xiao Gundao smacked his lips. "Alright, alright. I'll do it, but only because there's a lady present." With that, he plunged his dagger into the soft earth where the lamp had been, quickly digging out a small hole.
He and Da Zui Rong switched turns digging, and before long, they had excavated a pit about a meter and a half deep. The two wiped sweat from their brows, cursing under their breath as they continued to dig. They stopped taking turns and both jumped into the pit, one using the dagger and the other scooping dirt out by hand.
At that moment, Yan Xiaoning appeared. Now that the Yin Ghost Array was suppressed, she finally dared to show herself. When I explained the situation, she thought for a moment before saying, "It seems the array's greatest weakness is Yin-Yang blood. Wu Long must've already known this, which is why Xie Chen tricked you into coming here. Earlier, when you accidentally used your Yin-Yang blood to cast the Spirit-Dispelling Technique, you not only drove away the cat spirit but also suppressed this semi-human, semi-cat demon."
"That's why the three of us woke up in the pit, while Wu Long fell below and escaped through the underground passage while the array was only partially suppressed. Later, Xiao Gundao used the Lingguan Belt with the Yin-Yang blood curse, which is much more potent than your Spirit-Dispelling Technique. That completely suppressed the array, and I couldn't sense its energy anymore, so I dared to come out and talk to you."
So that's how it was. I couldn't believe how effective our blood was. Maybe Xiao Ying and I could go into the blood-selling business; our Yin-Yang blood seemed like the perfect solution for dealing with evil spirits. But considering how rich Xiao Ying's family was, she probably wouldn't stoop to partnering with me. What a missed opportunity!
"Found it!" Xiao Gundao suddenly exclaimed. Xiao Ying and I couldn't contain our curiosity and rushed over.
The pit was now about a meter and a half deep, and at the bottom, a patch of yellow fur was visible. My heart pounded as I wondered what kind of monstrosity lay beneath. Something hairy certainly wasn't human. But I was wrong.
Xiao Gundao and Da Zui Rong brushed away the last layer of dirt, revealing the creature in full.
I froze, every hair on my body standing on end. Xiao Ying gripped my arm so tightly her nails dug into my flesh, sending a sharp jolt of pain through me.
At the bottom of the pit was a strange creature, about 1.2 meters long. It was entirely naked, with clearly feminine features. However, the left side of its body was covered in yellow fur, and its legs, feet, and face resembled those of a cat. If you covered the right half, it would look like an oversized yellow tabby cat.
The right side, in contrast, had smooth, delicate skin, and its curves were unmistakably human. If you covered the left half, it would seem like a beautiful woman in peaceful slumber. The combination of the two sides, however, was grotesquely disturbing.
Yan Xiaoning gasped. "I can't believe it… They've been cultivating a Cat Fiend!"
"What's a Cat Fiend?" I asked.
"A Cat Fiend is a cat corpse infused with Yin ghost energy to take on human form. But to create one, the cat spirit must first kill at least ten people—five men and five women, balanced in Yin and Yang. If any of the victims happen to be a pure Yang male or pure Yin female, the Cat Fiend becomes an incredibly dangerous entity that's nearly impossible to destroy!" Yan Xiaoning explained.
Damn, that's brutal. But why would anyone go to such lengths to create a Cat Fiend? Looking back at the three men and three women who died here, it seemed likely they were killed by the Cat Fiend to reach its current form. And now Xiao Ying and I, being pure Yang and Yin respectively, were probably the final targets needed to complete the ritual.
"Tell him not to touch the Cat Fiend's claws!" Yan Xiaoning suddenly shouted urgently.