Chapter 481: Ants Looking at the Sky (2)

Back at Xinhu High School, the Ghost Mother had stuffed ten Infant Spirits into my Kidney Aperture to help me break open one of the Nine Locks. The Three-Eyed Ghost Infant residing there had reaped tremendous benefits from the process, but fell into a deep slumber as a result.

I chanted a ghost curse. It was a matter of life and death now; I had to wake the Ghost Infant early, regardless of the consequences.

As Yin energy poured in, the Ghost Infant's eyelids twitched. Its deathly pale body emitted a faint white glow. A split second later, all three of its eyes snapped open, including the vertical slit on its forehead!

The pitch-black eyes carried a trace of intelligence. The Ghost Infant seemed to have gained something it didn't possess before.

It gave me an incredibly familiar feeling. I muttered subconsciously, "Fate Ghost?"

The Three-Eyed Ghost Infant nodded eagerly. Its intelligence had improved significantly; it could completely understand me now.

"You died for me, and now I've fulfilled my promise," I said. This was probably the only good thing to happen to me lately. I wanted nothing more than to scoop it up and rub its head, but I couldn't.

I was in grave danger, at risk of dying at any second.

I had only woken the Three-Eyed Ghost Infant to help lure away the giant snake, but seeing that its will was now replaced by the Fate Ghost, I couldn't bear to do it.

I had painstakingly preserved a single strand of the Fate Ghost's black hair, waiting for the day it could be resurrected. That day had finally arrived, yet I hadn't expected it to be the last day of my life.

It probably didn't even count as a day anymore. To be precise, it was the last half hour.

My consciousness hovered within my Kidney Aperture. The Fate Ghost took control of the Three-Eyed Ghost Infant's body, stretching its limbs and staggering closer. Completely devoid of defenses, it reacted like a child seeing its closest relative, lying beside my consciousness and gently nuzzling me with its head.

Seeing it act like this, I couldn't bring myself to make it lure the giant snake. It had already died for me once; I couldn't let it die for me a second time.

"Little guy, come out of my Kidney Aperture right now. Once you leave my body, run straight toward the north side of the city. Don't look back. No matter what happens, do not look back!" I didn't know why I blurted that out. Perhaps I simply didn't want to owe it anymore.

Amidst endless calamities and the people constantly scheming to kill me, the only one to stay by my side at the crucial moment was a ghost.

I knew what choice to make. "Hurry! Do exactly as I say!"

My consciousness returned to reality. At the exact same time, the Fate Ghost slipped out of my Kidney Aperture and landed beside my leg. The scene was chaotic, but even so, the sudden appearance of the Three-Eyed Ghost Infant drew the attention of the Three Yin Sect's evil cultivators.

"A body like white jade, and a third eye at the brow! The Yin soldiers dare not approach it. This is a Shura! This Ghost Infant is a Three-Eyed Shura!"

"A genuine Three-Eyed Shura Ghost Infant! How did he do it? With the power of our entire sect, it took us five whole years just to raise a remnant soul."

"Don't forget, Gao Jian destroyed the dao foundation where the Ghost Infant Lineage raises ghosts. Perhaps he stole this Three-Eyed Ghost Infant from there."

"Haha, no matter what, this Three-Eyed Shura Ghost Infant belongs to my Ghost Infant Lineage now!" The large-headed dwarf Daoist burst into laughter. His words were overbearing and his movements comical, but not a single person dared to laugh. "If we can raise it to maturity, even if it only possesses a tenth of a Three-Eyed Shura's power, my Ghost Infant Lineage will reclaim the top spot among the Three Yin!"

"Stop dreaming. Forcing a Ghost Infant to acknowledge a master is extremely difficult. It's still up in the air whether you can even claim it." The heavily wrapped female Daoist sneered. Judging by her voice, she wasn't very old.

The large-headed dwarf glared at the female Daoist, his gaze growing cold. "If the Previous Generation Meng Po hadn't gone missing, your Meng Po Lineage would indeed be unrivaled, but now, you'd better watch your tone."

The two quickly stopped arguing and struck out together, attempting to capture the Ghost Infant.

I had already anticipated that the Three Yin Sect would target the Ghost Infant, so I hurriedly ordered it to flee.

"Go!" I roared. To my surprise, the Ghost Infant didn't obey. At first, it ran around in a panic, moving faster and faster, before stepping in front of me to block the way. The eye between its brows went wide as Yin energy roiled around it. Its tiny body unexpectedly erupted with a heaven-shaking murderous aura!

"It holds such fierce might before it's even fully grown? Good! I'm definitely taking this Ghost Infant," the large-headed dwarf Daoist shouted at Lord Snake. "Capture this ghost, and we can inversely refine a Shura and reunite the Three Yin!"

In the distance, Lord Snake—whose form was merged with a ghost—nodded slightly. He chanted several bizarre, inhuman syllables, then pointed at the Ghost Infant.

A bad premonition welled up in my heart. I urged the Ghost Infant to leave, but it already had its own will and completely ignored me.

Just as I prepared to use the Yin-Yang Ghost Art to forcibly drive it away, a bone-piercing chill washed over my calf, making my teeth chatter. I turned my head.

Beside my leg, the blind, several-zhang-long Snake King slithered past, heading straight for the Ghost Infant.

"Run!" I shouted, having no idea where I found the strength to bend down and pin the Snake King.

"You'd better worry about yourself first! Meng Po, prepare to search his soul!" Lord Snake flicked his fingertip. The evil cultivators of the Three Yin Sect mixed among the Yin soldiers wielded Soul Ropes, driving the iron hooks deep into my flesh—my back, my legs, my chest.

The pain was excruciating, as if venomous bugs were burrowing into the wounds to gnaw at my flesh.

Blocked by the Snake King, the Ghost Infant shrieked anxiously, but its attacks had little effect on the giant serpent.

The Soul Ropes pulled taut, the hooks lodged in my flesh torturing my nerves. Anyone else would have broken down by now.

'Soul search? The reason they didn't kill me, the reason they spent so much effort to control me is to search my soul—to obtain all my secrets.' Pain could make a person lose their mind, but it could also snap them out of madness. Looking at the frantic Ghost Infant, the dissipating Desire Ghost and Filthy Ghost, and the wounds covering my body, I slowly raised my head.

The sky overhead was deep and mysterious. In the distant unknown, it felt as though a pair of eyes were watching me, hoping for my death simply because I had violated its rules of the game.

"Is this the will of heaven?"

"If heaven wants you dead, you must die. Accept your fate." The sole female Daoist among the evil cultivators stepped out of the crowd. She plucked the Soul Ropes hooked into my flesh as she walked toward me. Her voice was exceptionally beautiful, inadvertently evoking a sense of familiarity.

"Helpless souls upon the Bridge of Helplessness, recalling past lives, helpless they are born..."

My vision blurred, and I felt my memories growing hazy. The woman before me approached gracefully. She slowly untied her headscarf and removed her veil, revealing a face I was incredibly familiar with.

"Ye Bing..."

Time slipped away as my memories sank deeper. She walked toward me, and when she stopped in front of me, her features shifted again into those of Tie Ningxiang.

She said something to me, her fingers beckoning. My body grew lighter and lighter, as if I were about to follow her hand and depart from this world.

Everything around me grew even hazier. The dilapidated street vanished, and the swarms of Yin soldiers and evil cultivators were gone.

Only she existed in my eyes. Countless other people were walking from every direction, all seemingly heading the same way.

I was exhausted. I followed her forward, answering her questions. An unknown amount of time passed, and it wasn't until a giant gate as massive as a mountain appeared before me that a change occurred in my body.

Flecks of blue light drifted down, illuminating Tie Ningxiang's astonished face. Under the blue glow, her features rapidly aged, sprouting wrinkles until she quickly transformed into a completely unfamiliar person.

'Who are you?' I hadn't vocalized the question when a massive blue butterfly suddenly landed in front of my eyes. Flapping its wings, it whisked me backward in a rapid escape.

My memories sharpened as the fragmented images reassembled. Everything became clear once again, accompanied by a bone-deep, agonizing pain!

Pop!

As if a bubble had suddenly burst, my eyes snapped open.

"How is this possible?" the tightly wrapped woman shrieked, her veil already dyed red with blood. "His three souls had already entered the Yellow Springs! How could they possibly return? Does he possess a peerless treasure capable of traversing Yin and Yang?!"

Looking inward with my consciousness, I saw that the Dream Wing Gu inside my Liver Aperture was sluggish, and the cluster of locust tree flowers had shrunk by another third.

"The Underworld? The Yellow Springs? Just how badly do you want me dead?" Glancing around, I knew I had reached the absolute final juncture. My gaze fell upon the phone screen, which displayed the time: 23:55.

"There are only five minutes left before the day ends. This went even smoother than I expected." My calm tone struck an inexplicable sense of dread into everyone present. "I've waited a long time to play this final trump card."

Flipping my palm, I retrieved a box made of white bone from my inner pocket.