Chapter 140: Plunging into the Abyss

"Ah—" A miserable shriek from Yun Mutian suddenly tore through the air.

I turned my head to see Old Man Ma wringing both of his hands and delivering two sharp, forceful strikes to his wrists. Two ice-like objects tumbled from his sleeves.

"I’ve spared you time and again out of respect for your status as a junior! You practice evil arts, take innocent lives, and now you dare to lay a hand on my apprentice? Do you truly believe I wouldn't dare finish you off?" Old Man Ma roared, his voice cold and filled with rage.

Yun Mutian howled in agony. The two ice-like objects quickly dissolved into smoke and vanished.

Old Man Ma had finally vented some of my frustration for me!

But this wasn't over. Old Man Ma was protecting his apprentice, but I still had my own score to settle with that bastard!

Old Man Ma released Yun Mutian, his expression complex as he looked toward a certain direction. I followed his gaze and found him staring at Tu'e. What was this? A staring contest? What was going on?

"Are you all right?" Tu'e asked.

It suddenly hit me. Wait—wasn't that move just now performed by Old Man Ma?

I looked at Old Man Ma, who shifted his gaze away and raised his voice: "There are an unusual number of corpses; we cannot go on like this! Guo, although we walk different paths and cannot work together, we must temporarily join forces to deal with these things!"

Having just had his apprentice disciplined, Guo Sangong’s expression was far from pleasant. "Heh! Different paths, indeed. Old Man Ma, you’re so formidable—why would you need a junior like me to join you?"

"We can settle our own affairs later. You know of the Witch-Howl passed down through my lineage; I need you to join me in using it to strike these things down!" Old Man Ma insisted.

Guo Sangong snorted, offering no further argument. Despite his extreme reluctance, he knew the bigger picture had to come first; otherwise, none of them would survive.

Old Man Ma added, "Luozi, take everyone and retreat to the side to avoid being struck by the resonance!"

"Understood!" I replied.

I signaled to Tu'e, and we shielded the group as we pulled back. Old Man Ma and Guo Sangong moved toward the center.

Yun Mutian was swallowed by the sea of corpses and remained motionless. I didn't care to pay him any mind at that moment; I would settle the final account with him later!

Old Man Ma and the others had reached the center, and we had just about retreated to the edge.

As I dragged my feet backward, my heel suddenly found only air. I was jolted with shock, instinctively lunging forward and jumping ahead.

I looked back. By the faint light of a few mobile phones, I saw a deep pit yawning behind us! To be more precise, the ground we were standing on was a platform, and beneath it lay a bottomless abyss!

My God! Just how deep had these two-headed snakes dug? This was bad! I had to warn Old Man Ma immediately! If there were more corpses down there, all their efforts above would be in vain!

"Ma—" I started to call out, but two piercing howls erupted simultaneously!

Damn it! It had already begun!

The deafening, resonant howls echoed all around. The sound was pervasive and immensely powerful; it felt as though it might pierce our eardrums and shatter our spirits, lingering on and on.

I covered my ears, though it did little to help.

The possessed corpses began to struggle and writhe, their mouths gaping wide as if in extreme agony—or rather, it was the two-headed snakes possessing them that were in such agony.

Tu'e suddenly came running toward me with a panicked expression, waving his arms and shouting something, but beneath the roar of the Witch-Howl, not a sound could be heard.

I looked at him, confused, and followed the direction he was gesturing toward. A figure lunged at me. Before I could even react to what was happening, a heavy blow struck me, sending my body flying backward!

My heart leaped into my throat. Oh no! Behind me was...

My body plummeted violently. The light from the phones and the red glow of the snakes' eyes vanished from my sight, and my vision plunged into absolute darkness!

Yun Mutian! If I don't die today, I will surely have your life!

After a rapid descent, I slammed into stagnant water, sending splashes everywhere. My entire body ached, feeling as though it were falling apart, but I gritted my teeth and struggled to climb up.

I leaned against my knees, gasping for air. It was bone-chillingly cold down here; the temperature must have been below freezing. This wasn't just a surface chill—it was a cold that seeped into the marrow, freezing the very soul! It was Yin energy! This was the most concentrated, oppressive Yin energy I had ever experienced since entering this profession!

Even deep in the mountains, and while dealing with the swarm of corpses above, I hadn't felt such intense Yin energy. How could it be this heavy down here?

It was terrifyingly dark, so pitch-black I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face. I looked up, but it was just as dark, as if I were submerged in ink. Furthermore, not a single sound could be heard.

"Master! Master! Tu'e!" I shouted, tilting my head back. My voice echoed, but there was no response from above.

I tried a few more times, but after a long while, there was still no sound.

Old Man Ma once said that if a place had excessive Yin energy, it was bound to be abnormal. This situation had to be related to that heavy presence.

I gnashed my teeth in pure hatred. Yun Mutian, you have tried to harm me time and again; I swear we are irreconcilable enemies!

"Cough... cough, cough..." A hoarse, raspy cough drifted through the darkness.

I shuddered. It was the same sound I heard from the mountains every night! How could it be coming from here? Even though I had suspected something about the "living corpses," hearing it from beneath this deep pit was too bizarre!

"Cough... cough, cough..." The coughing continued, and a faint, ghostly cyan light flickered into existence ahead.

Staying here was no solution. The place was damp and freezing; the stagnant water had seeped into my shoes and soaked my trousers. My legs were painfully cold, especially since I was mobility-impaired and forced to put all my weight on one leg. Regardless, there were no swarms of red eyes here. I hesitated, then followed the direction of the ghostly light.

After walking for a distance, the stagnant water remained. I had thought it was just a puddle, but it appeared to be a vast pool.

The cyan light grew closer, but the hoarse coughing remained at the same distance, constant and unchanging.

When I reached the light, I saw no source for it. I was baffled—it wasn't the ball of fire I saw every night? Then where was this light coming from?

In the eerie glow, I could see that this was an irregularly dug cave, stretching inward with no end in sight. The stagnant water stopped ahead. I dragged my feet forward, wondering if this, too, had been dug by the two-headed snakes. Yet, I didn't see a single snake here, a stark contrast to the dense swarm above.

As I moved further in, the cave widened into a spacious chamber. Still, there was no source of light, and the hoarse coughing continued, always just out of reach.