According to Ye Xingchen, this was an ancient battlefield. Legend had it that in primordial times, a wave of invaders from an unknown world had attacked the Galaxy World. Their leader, carving a path through all obstacles, reached the heart of the Galaxy World, the River Palace. His advance had been unimpeded until a great deity named Lu Xu suddenly rose to prominence. Lu Xu clashed with the invaders' leader, Zhu Yan, in a battle of equals. They fought from the Galaxy World to the Tongshu World, and then from the Tongshu World to the Tieshu World. The battle raged for years, with neither side gaining an advantage. Finally, they arrived at Puleng Mountain. For reasons unknown, perhaps due to what they encountered or because both had expended their last reserves of strength, they both perished.
Since then, everyone passing through Puleng Mountain had to do so on foot. Otherwise, strange occurrences were bound to happen. Some would suddenly fall, shattering into pieces. Others would be sucked away by an invisible force, disappearing without a trace. Some would hear bone-chilling sounds. Others would be caught in violent gales and swirling dark clouds, blown about in disarray, only to land somewhere unknown, battered and bruised.
However, as long as one proceeded on foot, nothing would happen. The only drawback was that it was time-consuming and tiring.
"What if there's an ambush?" Mo Qi asked worriedly.
"Generally, no one sets ambushes here because it's too uncanny. People say the ghost of Zhu Yan, the Demoness, lingers, wreaking havoc in the mountains. Someone once spent a day in the mountains and emerged insane, claiming to have seen demons."
"We are all deities, what is there to fear from ghosts and spirits? Let's fly over," Mo Qi said dismissively.
None of the soldiers responded, all lowering their heads.
They were afraid, and one could not force them to their deaths. If a decision proved disastrous, it would severely damage troop morale.
Therefore, after a moment of thought, Mo Qi said, "Then I'll go ahead and scout the path. Once it's safe, you can fly over, or you can wait for me to return on foot."
Ye Xingchen said, "How can that be? You are the commander of the three armies. If anything were to happen to you, where would we go? How about this, I'll scout ahead. If there's nothing amiss, I'll come back and inform you."
Ye Xiaowei also offered to scout.
Mo Qi agreed to neither, insisting on scouting the path himself.
He then spread his form and headed into the mountain.
This mountain was indeed peculiar!
At first, his form was above the mountain peaks. But as he flew, it seemed the peaks were growing, and he found himself descending into the mountain.
He tried to ascend to the summit, but no matter how high he flew, the peaks always remained higher than him. He was perpetually wandering within the mountains.
What was even more critical was that the path seemed endless. After flying for a long time, he was still faced with continuous mountains. After passing one section, another would appear before him. Moreover, he discovered with horror that the shapes of these peaks were all different, with no repetition, unlike merely going in circles.
This made him even more bewildered. How could such a long mountain range exist?
He felt as if he hadn't traversed a mountain path, but an entire world.
After walking for a while longer, he finally felt disheartened. He realized that continuing this way, he would never get out.
He stopped and landed within the mountain.
He pondered whether he had stumbled into a formation or encountered something uncanny.
To figure it out, he would have to venture deeper into the mountain.
Moreover, after walking for so long, it was time for a rest.
The mountain was pitch black, with no visibility.
He even doubted if he was in a mountain at all.
It felt more like being inside a cave.
Thinking of a cave, he looked up and suddenly saw many people sitting around. He had indeed arrived in a cave.
People were seated in twos and threes around stone tables. Men and women, some chatting, some playing chess, and others intertwined, engaged in unknown activities.
These people shared a common trait: they all seemed unable to see Mo Qi, each engrossed in their own affairs, oblivious to their surroundings.
Mo Qi walked among them, but not a single one even glanced at him.
Even when their eyes seemed to look in his direction, their gazes were vacant, as if they were looking straight through Mo Qi's body.
In other words, in their eyes, Mo Qi appeared to be transparent.
This made Mo Qi feel very strange.
At that moment, someone suddenly stood up and looked around vigilantly, "I feel a stranger has arrived nearby."
The others stopped their activities and stood up abruptly. "Where? Where?"
Mo Qi felt a chill run down his spine. He dared not even breathe loudly or move.
"Outside. We'll only know the exact location once we go out and look," the first person said.
"Let's go and see," they all clamored, and one after another, they walked towards the cave entrance.
In an instant, the once lively cave became deserted.
The cave returned to pitch darkness, as if the departing people had taken the light with them.
"Could those people be the so-called ghosts?" Mo Qi thought, a profound fear gripping him.
It wasn't because he feared the ghosts themselves, but rather because the ghosts seemed unable to see him.
By all logic, shouldn't it be that he couldn't see them, but they could see him?
Furthermore, ghosts shouldn't possess such clear intelligence, nor such solid forms!
The more he thought about it, the stranger it became!
Who were they going to meet?
Mo Qi's curiosity was piqued. He immediately spread his form, exited the cave, and followed closely behind those people.
What he saw then was even more terrifying.
On a mountain peak, heads were crowded together, a dense mass of people standing with unblinking eyes fixed on a road below the mountain.
Mo Qi immediately thought that these must be Jin Kingdom soldiers ambushing there, intending to surprise his troops.
Fortunately, he had stumbled upon this place by chance and discovered their plot in advance, allowing him to eliminate them.
Just as he was about to act.
At that moment, the people from the cave had quietly crept up and began to beat the ambushing Jin Kingdom soldiers.
However, the Jin Kingdom soldiers seemed unable to see the cave dwellers, their eyes wide with fear, searching everywhere. "Who is it? Who's playing tricks? Come out!"
The cave dwellers remained silent, continuing their assault.
The soldiers were terrified, their bowels loosening in fear, and they fled in disarray.
At this point, Mo Qi became even more convinced that these cave dwellers were likely ghosts.
Yuan Hongquan, who possessed the highest cultivation among them, amplified his protective golden light, manifesting a Dharma image behind him. The ghosts, upon seeing his Dharma image, seemed to behold a blazing sun slowly rolling towards them.
The cave dwellers, emitting wisps of green smoke and letting out screams, retreated back into the cave.
In an instant, the area was empty!
The valley was deserted!
Yuan Hongquan saw Mo Qi!
Mo Qi, who had intended to flee into the cave with the others, suddenly realized Yuan Hongquan was staring at him, his gaze locked onto him with extreme hostility.
At that moment, he understood that a battle with this individual was unavoidable.
He had thought this confrontation could be avoided, as he could have used the cave dwellers to deal with Yuan Hongquan.
But now, it seemed he had to take matters into his own hands.
Yuan Hongquan could not distinguish whether Mo Qi was human or a ghost, nor did he care.
Who it was didn't matter; as long as he could kill them, what difference did it make?
He had long heard of the uncanny things within this place, but he had come nonetheless, for he was unafraid.
No one could deter his resolve to slay enemies.
If these ghosts intended to emerge and cause trouble, he would kill them all.
At this moment, he was in a bloodthirsty frenzy and could not stop.