Chapter 1 Roadside Tavern

A roadside tavern, a fluttering wine flag, surrounded by lush vegetation, taking on a rather eerie appearance under the night.

Sa Wuling was somewhat suspicious, but he didn't pay too much attention.

After all, he used jia ma (armored horse talisman) to travel hundreds of miles a day, so it wasn't surprising he missed such a tavern.

"Senior, An Nuo County is still dozens of miles away. Why don't we eat something here before continuing?"

Turning his head, Sa Wuling had already put his doubts behind him and said to An Qisheng.

"This tavern..."

An Qisheng stopped, his pupils slightly contracted.

This tavern was perfectly integrated with the surrounding mountains, rivers, and feng shui aura.

Even, the aura emanating from this tavern would unconsciously make people want to get closer, even making people ignore the tavern's irrationality.

It carried extremely strong mental suggestion.

This state, when applied to a person, was the unity of man and nature.

When placed in famous mountains and sacred places, it was a dongtian (grotto-heaven), a blessed land, a Daoist temple, or a Buddhist kingdom.

But appearing on a tavern, it was too strange.

Swish~

The night wind blew, and the yellow dog whined, smelling the aroma of meat, drooling all over the ground.

Even the dog was affected...

"Change the road."

An Qisheng said calmly.

His voice carried a calming aura, and instantly, Sa Wuling and the yellow dog recovered from the temptation.

"Senior?"

Sa Wuling pinched the bell at his waist in surprise. This was a magic bell he had obtained after ten years of guarding, which could be used to cast talismans and was very sensitive to strange things.

The bell didn't ring, so there shouldn't be any problems.

But since the senior said so, was there something wrong?

"Let's go."

An Qisheng took a deep look at the tavern not far away and turned to walk in another direction.

His physique had not yet been fully tempered, his Qi seed had not yet condensed, and he had not found a suitable carrier for the Wang Quan Sword. Knowing it was strange, why would he go to his death?

"Alright."

Sa Wuling shook his head.

This senior was clearly super strong, but still overly cautious.

It was just a tavern, what demons and ghosts could there be?

Even the yellow dog was a little reluctant, turning its head three times with each step.

But they naturally dared not disobey An Qisheng's intentions and obediently followed him on another road.

However, not long after, when the moon was full in the sky, the footsteps of the two men and a dog stopped again.

In the distance, at a bend in a mountain col, on the side of the official road, they saw the wine flag waving in the wind again.

That tavern had appeared again.

This time, Sa Wuling's face changed. How was this possible?

They had clearly changed the road, how could they see this tavern again?

"Is this a ghost wall?!"

Sa Wuling turned pale with fright, and the hand pinching the bell trembled slightly.

He had heard of ghost walls, but such a large-scale ghost wall was a bit outrageous.

They had walked more than ten miles after changing the road!

"It's not a ghost wall, it's Qimen Dunjia (Mysterious Doors and Steps)."

An Qisheng's eyes flashed.

With the strength of his divine will, even if there was a possibility of being deceived, it wouldn't be possible to not have any flaws.

This was indeed not the previous road, the official road, the mountain col, nor was it the previous place.

The only thing that remained unchanged was this tavern.

This tavern was moving with their movements, which was an extremely clever method.

"What do we do?"

Sa Wuling's face was a little pale.

"Since we can't avoid it, let's go in and take a look."

An Qisheng's expression remained unchanged, his eyes were deep, and he stepped towards the tavern.

Sa Wuling looked at the departing man and dog, hesitated for a moment, and still followed.

If the senior were to fall here, he probably wouldn't have any other choice.

The tavern was quite old, the plain yellow flag was a bit faded, and the surrounding wooden planks were also somewhat decayed.

The strange thing was that this tavern had no threshold.

Heehaw, heehaw~~~

As the two men and a dog approached, a burst of donkey braying suddenly came from the donkey shed outside the tavern.

Tragic, miserable.

Sa Wuling was startled. He saw more than twenty donkeys tied in the donkey shed, and the one braying the loudest was the largest one.

That donkey was quite tall and strong, with slender limbs, standing out among the donkeys.

Seeing the two men looking over, the loudly braying donkey suddenly knelt on the ground, and large tears flowed from its eyes.

The donkey was crying...

"This, this is..."

Sa Wuling was a little dazed. How could this donkey...

"Guests."

At this time, the waiter greeted them with a smile, nodding and bowing:

"Guests, please come in."

"That, that donkey..."

Sa Wuling's fingers were trembling.

"The guests really have good eyes. This donkey is free-range in the mountains and forests, running every day, and its meat is the most delicious. If you want it, we'll kill it and make a whole donkey banquet for you."

The waiter answered with a smile.

"Let's go."

Sa Wuling wanted to say something, but An Qisheng had already interrupted him, striding into the tavern.

Sa Wuling gritted his teeth and followed in.

The loudly braying donkey cried even more miserably when it saw this scene.

"Stop!!!"

The moment the two men and a dog stepped into the tavern, a violent shout suddenly came from the distant mountains and forests.

But there was no time.

Whoosh!

A figure darted along the ground into the official road, looking at the tavern in the distance that was gradually dimming, as if disappearing into the void like smoke. His face was ugly:

"I calculated everything, but I was still late, still one step late."

The moonlight shone down, illuminating the person.

He was of medium height, wearing a bleached Daoist robe, and the long beard under his jaw trembled with his expression.

"Master, slow down."

Not long after he landed, a small Daoist priest carrying a small flag came up panting.

This little Daoist priest had delicate features and bright eyes.

"The Yin Si (Underworld) Tavern disappears when the moon is seen, disappears when the moon is seen, Ming Xin, it's all your fault for getting drunk and missing the hour."

The old Daoist stamped his feet hatefully:

"I'm so angry!"

The Ming Xin Daoist child rolled his eyes at his master:

"You can't blame me for that. You were greedy for a drink on the road, and I just had a cup with you. How was I to know the wine was so strong?"

"Once you miss this Yin Si Tavern, the next time you see it will be a hundred years later! I spent so much to ask Celestial Master Tianji to calculate this place, but I didn't expect to still be one step late..."

Daoist Chang Lin looked up at the night sky with a full moon and couldn't help but sigh:

"Man's calculations are inferior to Heaven's, man's calculations are inferior to Heaven's!!"

His limit was approaching, and breaking through his realm was a distant prospect. If he wanted to avoid death, he could only seek it in the netherworld.

However, the netherworld was difficult to enter, and the only way he could think of was this Yin Si Tavern.

"Missing it is fine. Didn't Celestial Master Tianji also say that the netherworld is undergoing great changes and is not suitable for entering?"

The Ming Xin Daoist child advised.

The netherworld was not a good place to go, especially for the living.

"The chaos in the netherworld is a good opportunity for us. If the netherworld is not chaotic, even the great Yuanshen (Primal Spirit) Real people and the Huang Tian Shi Li (Ten Ferocious Ones) da yao (great demons) would not dare to enter the netherworld."

Daoist Chang Lin sighed:

"The next hundred years will be the Netherworld Monarch Festival. At that time, Lord Bai Qi (White Seventh), Lord Hei Ba (Black Eighth) will definitely appear to sacrifice to that Netherworld Monarch gu (ancient)..."

His voice came to an abrupt halt.

Daoist Chang Lin shuddered, hastily retreated, and bowed to the ground, looking extremely frightened:

"Lord Seventh, Lord Eighth, please don't blame me. This poor Daoist didn't mean to say that word..."

"Master..."

The Ming Xin Daoist child also shuddered.

In his eyes, the earth seemed to have turned into a bright mirror, reflecting another gloomy and vast world.

That world was full of yin qi (nether energy), endlessly desolate and empty.

Faintly, it seemed as if a towering and solemn city flashed by. In that fleeting glimpse, one could see the city gate open, equally empty inside. Only on the city wall, amidst the swirling yin fog, could one see, sitting back-to-back,

One black and one white figure.

It was as if the whole world only contained those two figures, one black and one white.

Desolate, desolate, and lonely.

"This poor Daoist will erase his memory, this poor Daoist will erase his memory..."

Daoist Chang Lin's face was ashen, and he raised one hand, slapping his forehead with a 'pa' sound, directly making his eyes see stars.

He then slapped his disciple's face, directly knocking the little Daoist unconscious.

The Ming Xin Daoist child didn't utter a sound, spinning like a top into the air, and crashed headfirst into the grass beside the road, leaving only his legs twitching outside, directly knocked unconscious...

Whoosh~

A wisp of yin wind dissipated, and the earth faded its light and shadow, returning to its original color.

Daoist Chang Lin was drenched in sweat, collapsing to the ground as if his limbs were exhausted:

"Supreme Celestial Worthy, they, they have already awakened..."

......

"Huh?"

Stepping into the tavern, An Qisheng seemed to sense something and turned his head back.

It was only one step, but it was as if he had stepped into another world. The surrounding aura instantly became somewhat cold.

The tavern was not large, with a dozen tables placed inside, empty and without guests. Apart from the waiter leading the way, there was only a hunchbacked old shopkeeper, and a middle-aged woman with a slightly flirtatious air, the proprietress.

Seeing that guests had arrived, the latter two were somewhat indifferent, only glanced at them, and then went back to doing their own things.

"Guests, our donkey meat is freshly slaughtered, the taste is the most delicious, would you like to try some?"

The waiter asked with a smile.

"Is there only donkey meat?"

An Qisheng touched the table, and it was icy cold to the touch, as if touching a piece of ten-thousand-year-old ice:

"Beef, or horse meat or something."

The waiter's face stiffened slightly, and then he responded with a bitter smile:

"It is forbidden to slaughter cattle, and horses are mostly for military use. We are honest people and don't do illegal things. We don't have those."

"Then just bring a pot of wine."

An Qisheng didn't press the matter.

"This..."

The waiter was a little dazed. The shopkeeper and proprietress, who were busy with their own things, also slowly raised their heads. In the alternating light and shadow, the smiles on their faces seemed extremely strange:

"Is just drinking enough?"

"Is just drinking enough?"

"Is just drinking enough?"

The three spoke at the same time, their voices strangely converging into one. At first, it was a normal tone, and then it was sharp as a wolf howl, and finally, it was like a roar of evil ghosts.

The sound waves exploded, shaking Sa Wuling so much that he almost fell to the ground, and the bell in his hand finally shook madly.

Woof~

The yellow dog was also frightened and barked loudly. It shook its body, and the skull pendant hanging under its neck fell off and grew in the wind, turning into an eight-foot-tall white bone demon.

It also let out a roar.