Chapter 124: Eradicating Corpse Aura

As those two large birds flew into the pitch-black space before us, I could distinctly feel the solemn and tense atmosphere hanging in the air. Naturally, based on his previous display, I could already tell that the Yang Dong standing before me was an unfathomable master of Yin and Yang.

With just a casual flick of folded paper and a breath, he could materialize real objects—this was truly a technique supported by unimaginable sorcery. The moment those two large birds flew into the terrifying black vortex tunnel ahead, Yang Dong leaped in without the slightest hesitation. As he entered, I could perceive wisps of dark, gloomy aura enveloping his entire body.

Instantly, I too was drawn into this turbulent current of the ghostly path. To my astonishment, however, I seemed entirely unaffected. I suffered no threat whatsoever within this space. Even the turbulent ghostly currents, which could casually shred human souls and corrode human flesh, appeared to me no different from the most ordinary, mundane night in nature.

When I stepped in and stood beside Yang Dong, I could clearly perceive swirling currents of air forming around his body, all of which were completely neutralized by the chilling ghostly aura radiating from him.

However, the people following behind Yang Dong were not nearly as fortunate. The moment they stepped through, I watched with my own eyes as swirling vortices instantly formed around the bodies of two individuals. Their entire bodies immediately went rigid, and before they could even collapse, the aforementioned Taoist priest Mashan gave a slight wave of his hand. Instantly, a terrifying flame materialized in his palm, and in the fraction of a second, it directly ignited the companions who were about to fall.

The air here was saturated with a thick, dense stench of corpses, making it extremely easy for flames to ignite under such conditions. The instant the fire flared up, I caught a glimpse of the surrounding environment and shuddered violently.

Involuntarily, I was reminded of the scene I had witnessed when Xiyue and I previously entered this tunnel.

According to Chen Chuyi's account, what I was seeing now was the scene from ninety-nine years ago. At that time, this genius Yin and Yang master, Yang Dong, was already the leader of the Azure Dragon Pavilion, and possessed the capability to casually summon so many elite experts. From this alone, it was not difficult to see that this Yang Dong was by no means an ordinary figure.

Before my eyes lay a world drenched in blood-red, where the dense aura of corpses billowed like a sea of smoke.

These corpse miasmas had condensed completely into oceans of smoke in an instant. Because there had been no light whatsoever when I entered earlier, I had been utterly unable to see the sights within. Seeing them now made my entire body tremble. Moreover, beneath the condensed corpse aura lay corpses stained entirely with blood, and the blood on these bodies seemed as though it would never stop flowing.

Only at this moment did I realize that my sensory perceptions within the memory-image had been extremely dulled; amidst such a dense and sickening stench, I had previously felt none of that terrifying pressure.

For a moment, I stood frozen in place, utterly dumbfounded.

"Pavilion Master Yang Dong, what should we do now?"

Clearly, these people had no idea how to proceed, so their immediate reaction was to consult Yang Dong for his intentions. After all, they trusted Yang Dong from the bottom of their hearts—a fact that had been fully evident from the moment they first entered this cavern.

I swallowed a mouthful of saliva out of fear, then, taking advantage of the flickering light of the unexhausted flames, I scanned the perimeter of the cavern. At that moment, I could not help but feel a deep sense of shock.

True to Yang Dong's words, this was a path of corpses—a genuine path of corpses, paved entirely with dead bodies.

Yang Dong did not answer their questions. Instead, he gazed into the profound, pitch-black depths ahead, where two rustling wingbeats slowly began to echo from the distance. It was the two paper-folded birds flying back.

This time, however, Yang Dong did not reach out to crush the paper birds. He merely watched them as his brow furrowed slightly.

"There is an exit to this tunnel, but it is blocked by corpse miasma. We must completely dilute the miasma in this cavern so that we can reach the end, open the passage, and travel to this unknown place!"

Yang Dong turned around and said to the people behind him. His tone carried excitement, yet it was simultaneously tinged with the anxiety and dread of the unknown.

Just as Chen Chuyi and Zhao Fifteen had said, once individuals reached their level, worldly fame, fortune, power, and desire held no interest for them whatsoever. In their eyes, only the relentless exploration of the unknown possessed ultimate attraction.

Thus, it was entirely normal to see such excitement and thrill on Yang Dong's face at this moment.

The moment Yang Dong rushed into the space ahead, closely followed by the two birds whose bodies were completely enveloped in corpse miasma, I could distinctly hear the relentless flapping of wings. The sound was so prominent that I could no longer even hear the roar of the counter-current vortices in the space. Of course, because I was currently within a memory and essentially acting as an impartial spectator, it was naturally difficult for me to truly experience the specifics of the situation back then.

Rip!

Just as Yang Dong continued pressing forward behind the two birds, another person's body was suddenly ensnared by a whirlwind, and wisps of corpse miasma instantly began to corrode his flesh.

"Unsheathe!"

The instant that Taoist priest collapsed, the entire space trembled violently. A long sword soared into the sky, rushing forward at blinding speed. The rolling corpse miasma immediately converged upon the sword like a pack of wolves catching a lone stray lamb.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

At that moment, the long sword spun continuously, drawing the wisps of corpse miasma onto its blade. For a fleeting second, I could clearly perceive the surrounding corpse miasma gathering into a vortex and rushing toward the long sword.

"Cover!"

Amidst my shock, another Taoist priest hurled his ghost-repelling and corpse-chasing bell into the air. As the bell rang continuously aloft, I could distinctly feel the entire space vibrating.

"Let's move, quickly!"

With a flash, Yang Dong led the remaining few forward in an instant.

Clang!

Hum!

Just as they were about to reach the end, the bell emitted one final chime, plunging deep into the darkness, while the long sword instantly shattered into fine powder.

"Such terrifying corpse miasma! It actually corroded a top-grade spiritual artifact like this. However, the miasma here is impossible to re-gather in such a short span of time!"

"Master Mashan is right. We must hurry and pass through here!"

At this, Yang Dong let out a cold snort and took the lead with a swift stride...

Hum! Bang!

"Fall back!"

Just as the others were about to keep up, Yang Dong suddenly let out a roar, his body rapidly retreating backward...