Chen Xiao did not wait long before Wu Guide’s soul drifted out through the roof.
As only one soul and one spirit had departed, Wu Guide appeared as a mere phantom.
The man had always possessed a dull demeanor, and in this state, he seemed even more numb, his eyes vacant and hollow.
As soon as he floated out from the roof, he ascended rapidly, drifting away like a wisp of smoke.
His speed was astonishing, not like soaring through clouds, but more akin to a gentle breeze.
Chen Xiao summoned the Yitian Sword and quickly pursued him.
Wu Guide flew faster and faster, becoming almost a fleeting light within Chen Xiao’s sight.
Chen Xiao had no choice but to accelerate multiple times to match the other’s speed.
At this pace, in less than half an hour, the soul and the person had traveled thousands of miles to Ice Fire Island.
Compared to Chen Xiao’s last visit, Ice Fire Island appeared even more dilapidated.
Perhaps because Zhujiuyin had been beheaded by Chen Xiao, and without the divine beast guarding the domain, Ice Fire Island had become indistinguishable from a deserted island.
At this point, Wu Guide began to descend, heading straight for the volcano at the center of Ice Fire Island.
“The Gate of Realm Origin is indeed here!”
When Chen Xiao had come last time, he had entered the lava of the volcano, and at that time, he felt as if there was something beneath the lava.
Now, it seemed his intuition had been correct.
Chen Xiao did not follow him down. Instead, he ascended higher and concealed his aura.
This was because he discovered that Wu Guide was not the only Yin Walker who had come to claim the bounty.
Several more fleeting lights streaked towards Ice Fire Island, their states similar to Wu Guide’s, clearly indicating they were also Yin Walkers.
Chen Xiao, observing from high above, saw that all the Yin Walkers had landed near the volcano.
More and more Yin Walkers arrived, numbering several hundred, perhaps even a thousand, at a rough estimate.
They all had blank expressions, no communication amongst themselves, and were simply staring motionlessly at the lava within the volcano.
The entire scene was quite eerie.
Chen Xiao, however, knew they were merely waiting for the Ghost Gate to open.
The Ghost Gate opened at midnight, and there were still seventeen minutes until then.
In these seventeen minutes, dozens more Yin Walkers descended.
However, their numbers were dwindling, suggesting that most of those who were coming had already arrived.
Finally, midnight struck.
The bright moon in the sky was obscured by a dark cloud.
At this moment, the lava in the volcano suddenly began to spin rapidly.
As the lava spun at high speed, a vortex-like void appeared in the center, resembling a black-blue gem embedded in the lava.
Whoosh—
Just then, a young man dressed in ancient yamen runner attire flew out from the vortex.
He soared into the sky and finally landed on a clearing beside the volcano.
The Yin Walkers showed great reverence towards this youth dressed as a yamen runner. After he landed, all the Yin Walkers retreated.
"Hoo—"
The yamen runner let out a strange cry.
Chen Xiao guessed that this was likely a ghost officer serving in the underworld.
And the Yin Walkers were serving him.
Through his divine sense, Chen Xiao felt a somewhat familiar aura from this ghost officer.
He recalled for a moment, remembering the aura that had emanated from the father and son when they transformed into their ghost-like states during his battle with them at the Hall of Smiting Gods and the Huangfu family.
Chen Xiao thus speculated that this ghost officer was likely a cultivator living in the 'middle-thousand world' known as the 'Underworld.'
However, he was a ghost cultivator.
The strength of this ghost officer was not particularly high, his aura’s intensity comparable to that of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
To Chen Xiao, he posed no threat.
However, Chen Xiao was slightly puzzled: with so many Yin Walkers, were they all receiving bounty orders from this single ghost officer?
How long would that take?
As Chen Xiao was pondering, he suddenly saw another ghost officer fly out from the vortex in the lava.
No, not just one… two, three, four… there were over thirty ghost officers in total.
After flying out, they landed beside the first ghost officer.
Their attire also differed slightly from the first ghost officer.
Chen Xiao thought that the first one to emerge was likely a scout or similar role.
After he confirmed there were no anomalies, he would give a signal, and then other ghost officers would appear.
The last two to emerge were tall and imposing, more than twice the height of the other ghost officers, clad in armor and cloaked.
Their aura was quite extraordinary… if one could overlook their ox and horse heads.
There was no doubt, these two were the legendary Ox-Head and Horse-Face, responsible for escorting souls and claiming lives.
Upon seeing these two, Chen Xiao began to analyze their identities again… Could it be that they were demon cultivators who had cultivated the ghost path?
Yes, that should be it!
The identities of these two were clearly different from the other ghost officers; they should be like superiors.
Next was the distribution of bounty orders. Although the Yin Walkers did not communicate and appeared listless,
they spontaneously formed queues and approached the ghost officers one by one to receive their bounty orders.
After receiving the bounty orders, they could leave.
Throughout the entire process, there was no verbal communication, not even eye contact.
Chen Xiao was contemplating whether to sneak into the Ghost Gate by concealing his aura while these ghost officers were distributing the bounty orders.
Or should he eliminate these ghost officers one by one and then walk in openly?
Both options had their pros and cons. Just as Chen Xiao hesitated, Wu Guide reached the front of the queue below to receive his bounty order.
Like the other Yin Walkers, he received the bounty order in a streamlined manner and turned to leave.
At that very moment, the ghost officer who had issued him the bounty order suddenly spoke, "Wait!"
This single word "Wait!" sounded particularly sharp in the silent environment.
Everyone's attention was instantly drawn.
Even the Ox-Head and Horse-Face, who had been observing leisurely, turned their gaze.
Wu Guide stopped and stood there blankly.
The ghost officer raised his nose and sniffed him, then sternly shouted, "Why do you have so much human scent on you?"
"Did you bring a human?"
Hearing this, Chen Xiao showed a hint of surprise on his face.
Was this ghost officer a dog? Such a keen sense of smell?
Wu Guide looked blankly at the ghost officer and slowly shook his head, "I… did… not…"
It was only then that Chen Xiao realized that souls spoke like this.
"Damn it, you reek of human scent and you say you didn't?"
"Tell me honestly, where is that human hidden?"
The ghost officer questioned Wu Guide fiercely.
"I… did… not…"
Wu Guide still shook his head.
Chen Xiao couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up in his heart. This guy really had a tough mouth… whether as himself or as a soul!
"Damn it, you dare to play dumb with me? I'll whip you until your soul and spirit are scattered, and I don't believe he won't come out!"
Saying this, the ghost officer suddenly produced a whip and lashed out at Wu Guide…