Ye Ling frowned as he looked at the man and ghost lying on the ground, barely alive.
When he had made his move earlier, he had intended to deal with these two directly, then search their souls to find their master.
However, it seemed that the person behind Wu Ying was quite skilled and had specifically prepared countermeasures against soul searching. It was clearly impossible for Ye Ling to find the mastermind's whereabouts through soul searching.
"I didn't expect there to be so many people with such skills on Earth. I wonder if these guys have any connection to Hongchen Pavilion."
Ye Ling sighed softly, enveloped the man and ghost with his spiritual energy, and with a little effort, healed all their injuries.
The wild forest fell silent. Wu Ying's injuries healed at a visible rate. At the same time, Ye Ling also altered the memories of Wu Ying and the sixth-grade evil spirit.
To ensure these two would obediently return to where he wanted them to go, Ye Ling even repaired the large pit that had been created!
A quarter of an hour later, Wu Ying woke up under the shade of a tree, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "How did I fall asleep?"
"You've been asleep for half the day. You're finally awake."
The sixth-grade evil spirit, possessing Wu Ying, saw him awake and couldn't help but say, "This time, it's all thanks to your foresight. Just as we left, the Heavenly Masters from the Zheng Yi Sect arrived at the airport."
"I've lost contact with my informant now. I estimate it's been captured by the Zheng Yi Sect and is likely in grave danger."
Hearing the sixth-grade evil spirit's words, Wu Ying also recalled that he had overused the Wu Hou Sect's Qimen techniques, consuming a large amount of mental energy, and was unable to hold on, so he had simply fallen asleep on the spot.
"I've rested enough. This place is still Zheng Yi Sect territory. We might encounter their Heavenly Masters here, so let's leave as soon as possible!"
Wu Ying didn't dwell on the matter. After saying this to the sixth-grade evil spirit, the two of them crossed the mountain and left Dao City.
After Wu Ying had been gone for a while, Ye Ling emerged from the shadows of the forest, looking in the direction Wu Ying had left, a faint smile on his lips.
"This way, there shouldn't be any more trouble."
Ye Ling murmured, and a gust of wind blew, scattering fallen leaves.
Ye Ling vanished from his spot.
...
Northwest of Dao City, at the border between Jiangdong Province and Jingchu Province, lay Bailin Mountain.
In its center was a three-kilometer tunnel connecting Jiangdong and Jingchu, allowing vehicles to pass between the two provinces.
Even the long-haul truck drivers who traveled between Jiangdong and Jingchu year-round were unaware of what lay within Bailin Mountain.
At this moment.
Wu Ying advanced along the mountain stream, occasionally making marks on the pebbles by the stream.
Bailin Mountain contained a natural maze formation. Ordinary people who stumbled into it, unless they were extremely lucky and accidentally found their way out, would only get lost within the formation and starve to death!
Even though Wu Ying was a sorcerer, proficient in formations, he felt a sense of dread every time he entered this natural maze formation, and a single mistake could lead to him getting lost.
He walked back and forth along the stream nine times, carving nine scratches on the same pebble, and then headed upstream again.
However, this time was different from before. A cave, hidden by bushes and covered in moss, appeared before them.
Seeing the cave, Wu Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief. The sixth-grade evil spirit also floated out of Wu Ying's body. "Every time we navigate this maze, I have to be on edge. If we take one wrong step, there's no getting out of it."
"Last month, two people returning from the north for reporting duties accidentally took a wrong turn. Master didn't care about them and let them starve to death in Bailin Mountain, only for them to be eaten by Master's pets..."
Wu Ying lowered his voice. "Are you trying to die by discussing Master here?"
"Aren't I just indulging my tongue?" The sixth-grade evil spirit gave a dry laugh and repossessed Wu Ying. "Let's not talk about this anymore. We should go back and report the results."
"One day, you'll bring disaster upon yourself with your words."
Wu Ying grumbled, then pushed aside the bushes and entered the cave.
Not long after Wu Ying entered, Ye Ling slowly followed from behind, looking at the cave entrance hidden by bushes, a faint smile in his eyes.
"I didn't expect such a force to be hidden in these mountains. Those guys from the Dragon Department claim to manage the circle of extraordinary individuals in China, but who knows how many dark elements are hidden beneath China's surface, besides Hongchen Pavilion?"
Ye Ling chuckled, casually passed through the bushes, and entered the cave.
From the surface, it appeared to be just an ordinary cave, but after walking inside, Ye Ling discovered that the cave held a hidden world.
Inside, there were artificially carved spiral stairs that descended downwards.
On both sides of the tunnel, every ten meters, there was an ever-burning lamp fueled by mermaid oil, illuminating the entire tunnel.
Ye Ling walked for half an hour, but the spiral tunnel still showed no end.
If someone else were here, unaware of the truth, they might have thought they had stumbled into some kind of barrier and gone mad.
"To build such a long tunnel, how bored must they be?"
Ye Ling leisurely trailed behind Wu Ying, yawning slightly.
He had been counting, and he had already descended over nine thousand steps, moving from the mountainside underground, and he was only halfway through.
Not to mention the increasing construction costs as one descended, in Ye Ling's opinion, regardless of the purpose, establishing a force underground destined it to never amount to much.
It wasn't like building a tomb for oneself. Spending so many resources to build a city deep underground, besides being insane, Ye Ling could find no other adjective.
After following Wu Ying for another half hour, the stairs underfoot gradually leveled out, and the tunnel stopped winding, becoming straight.
A city with Ming Dynasty architectural style appeared in Ye Ling's sight.
The moat of this city was replaced by lava, and the city gates were tightly shut. Wu Ying and the sixth-grade evil spirit stood by the lava, seemingly waiting for someone inside to open the gates.
"Finally arrived."
Ye Ling glanced at the magnificent city, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.
Although he believed building such a large city underground was pointless, it didn't mean the construction lacked skill.
Based on Ye Ling's understanding of China's technological level, it might take another hundred years of development to build such a grand city underground.
Scanning the underground city with his divine soul, Ye Ling sensed the aura of the Heavenly Net Ghost King.
However, to Ye Ling's surprise, besides the Heavenly Net Ghost King, he also sensed Ye Qingyan's aura within that underground city!
Ye Ling was stunned.
"Why is she here?"