Three days later, Ghostly and Yue Guan led Wang Zhong to a vast, open rocky area with countless peaks and valleys stretching as far as the eye could see.
The mountains were rugged and steep, with trees growing amidst the crisscrossing ravines, completely obscuring the numerous valleys that were not very wide to begin with. Sunlight could not penetrate, leaving them shrouded in deep darkness.
Crows flew from the woods in twos and threes, cawing mournfully and bringing a sense of desolation.
The entire canyon was eerily quiet and terrifying.
"Little Wang Zhong, you really knelt there for three days!"
Beside Wang Zhong, Yue Guan's gaze kept wandering over him, recalling the scene when he first found the boy, and he couldn't help but ask.
Wang Zhong did not respond to this, merely staring silently at the canyon before him, a hint of dejection in his expression.
What was the use of kneeling for three days? He still hadn't waited for the words, "Get up!"
Bibi Dong had also not visited the small wooden house in these three days.
Exchanging a look with Ghostly, Yue Guan transmitted telepathically, "It seems this little fellow and His Excellency have encountered some issues."
"Not only him, His Excellency has also seemed a bit distracted lately."
"Should we intervene?"
Ghostly glared at Yue Guan and also transmitted, "Don't you remember? His Excellency strictly forbade you and me from interfering in matters concerning Wang Zhong and her!"
"You and I must not meddle."
After warning Yue Guan, Ghostly said in a hoarse voice, "Wang Zhong, go."
"The Pope's command, we cannot change or persuade. This is your punishment, and neither Yue Guan nor I can help you."
This statement finally made Wang Zhong nod, and he replied in a low voice, "I understand. Thank you, Elders, for escorting me all the way here."
"Goodbye!"
Watching Wang Zhong enter the canyon, Ghostly's body was engulfed in black mist, intending to wrap Yue Guan and leave together, but was suddenly stopped by the latter.
"Old Ghost, what are you doing!"
Yue Guan stared at Ghostly's actions with a strange expression.
"To report back to His Excellency the Pope!"
"Or are you planning to walk back yourself!" Ghostly's expression was also odd; Yue Guan's question was incredibly foolish.
"If the two of us really go back together now, it will be fatal."
"Given His Excellency's concern for that little fellow Wang Zhong, she would never let him venture alone!"
"His Excellency asked the two of us to escort him here, the subtext being that one of us should stay here to look after Wang Zhong."
Yue Guan slapped his forehead. His old partner was sometimes very cautious and meticulous, but in political matters, he had obvious shortcomings and often needed Yue Guan to point them out for him to realize.
"You plan to stay here?"
"Why don't I do it? My martial soul is far more suitable for concealment than yours and makes it easier to look after him."
Ghostly, having understood, made a very suitable suggestion.
Yue Guan's martial soul, Qi Rong Tong Tian Ju, was inherently very conspicuous, making it unsuitable for covert observation. Ghostly's martial soul, however, was extremely adept at such tasks.
After deep contemplation, Yue Guan finally shook his head. "No, Old Ghost, you go back."
"Although my martial soul is not adept at concealment, as a Titled Douluo, if I can be detected by an eight-year-old boy, then I am too useless."
"You are fast, your round trip will be short, and your right leg bone has the ability to traverse space. Go back and tell His Excellency that little Wang Zhong knelt for three days."
"Whatever His Excellency's decision, come back to replace me after seven days!"
Ghostly's mind instantly understood Yue Guan's reasoning and, without hesitation, immediately nodded in agreement, "Alright, I understand."
Black mist surged around Ghostly's body, and his figure disappeared from the spot, while Yue Guan immediately followed in the direction Wang Zhong had gone.
Stepping into the Death Grand Canyon, Wang Zhong felt the world before him abruptly darken. Sunlight could not reach here, blocked by the dense trees on both sides.
Although sunlight couldn't penetrate, many plants, mushrooms, and mosses that emitted a soft glow lived at the bottom of the canyon. Various colored light sources flickered here, creating a unique, ethereal beauty in the dark environment.
Walking within, after just three or four steps, Wang Zhong encountered four岔道 (chàdào - branching paths) leading in different directions.
This was the Death Canyon's first welcome gift: diversions!
The reason the Death Canyon was named a canyon was fundamentally because it was a series of unfathomably deep, sprawling rifts that appeared on flat ground after a continental earthquake, extending for thousands of miles.
The irregular cracks were dense, making it easy to lose direction and get trapped within. Coupled with the presence of various fierce and terrifying spirit beasts living inside, escaping became even more difficult.
Flying into the sky to find direction might be a good option, but the canyon was truly too deep. Even spirit masters with flight-type spirit skills and abilities would not be able to easily survey the entire area.
Moreover, the spirit beasts lurking in the cliffs and tree canopies were very eager to see a prey-like target ascend or descend.
Whoosh!
A slender, pitch-black figure suddenly sprang from the treetops, its target being Wang Zhong, who had stopped at the intersection of the paths.
With a quick grab, a pitch-black snake, no thicker than a chopstick, appeared between Wang Zhong's two fingers.
With blood-red eyes and scales as dark as ink, the small snake wriggled desperately, the force it exerted being quite considerable.
"Black Snake, and a hundred-year-old one at that."
"Tsk tsk, just arriving here and already receiving such a welcome, truly worthy of the Death Canyon!"
With a squeeze of his two fingers, Wang Zhong snapped the black snake in half. Its broken body writhed on the ground, oozing ink-like blood. The section with the head opened its mouth, attempting to bite.
He stepped on it with a kick, crushing it entirely. Wang Zhong casually chose a direction and walked in.
Shortly after Wang Zhong's figure disappeared, Yue Guan appeared here. Glancing at the yellow spirit ring slowly rising from the ground, he chuckled, "This little fellow is much better than I imagined."
"He's cautious and vigilant, which is excellent."
"With these two qualities, along with his considerable strength, in this canyon filled with danger, my task will be much easier."
However, before Yue Guan could finish speaking for two minutes, a series of spirit energy shockwaves, accompanied by beast roars, suddenly erupted from the direction Wang Zhong had entered.
"What is this little fellow doing!"
His figure vanished, and Yue Guan rushed towards the source of the sound and spirit energy fluctuations.
When Yue Guan arrived, he saw Wang Zhong riding on a bear-like spirit beast, pounding its face with his fists.
He was muttering, "I told you I was in a bad mood, and to leave, but you insisted on being stubborn and roaring! Now you know, I'm really angry."
Punch after punch, he beat the bear spirit beast into submission, whimpering pitifully.
"This kid is really something! He's fighting a thousand-year-old Violent Demon Bear like it's nothing."
"He's not using spirit energy or spirit skills, only his body, and he's reached this point. His physical quality is terrifyingly strong."
Hiding in a concealed spot, Yue Guan praised him inwardly.