Chapter 139: Valley of the Dead

As the administrative seat of Hezhou, Wu County was naturally larger than Feng and Guan counties, and the Hezhou Garrison was usually stationed here.

However, He Zhong, the regional commander of the Hezhou Garrison, had been hacked to death right upon entering Hezhou during his death-by-a-thousand-cuts execution, and the elite black-armored cavalry under his command had been entirely wiped out in Guan County.

Only a few stragglers remained in the Hezhou Garrison now. No doubt, upon receiving Cao Hubao's letter, Sun Xuan had already dispatched the Courageous Battalion to sweep them up completely.

It was already close to dusk when Ling Chi reached the vicinity of Mount Li. The residual glow of sunset bathed the earth, and winter nights fell early; it seemed impossible to venture into the mountains for a search overnight.

Since He Zhixian dared to enter Mount Li at this juncture, he must have something to rely upon. Venturing into the mountains at night would simply give the enemy an opportunity to defeat them piece by piece.

Cao Hubao and Zhao Qing went straight to Sun Xuan's encampment outside the mountains, while Ling Chi requested a topographical map of Mount Li for himself.

He Zhixian had three sons and a daughter. Aside from He Qian, whose limbs had been broken and whose cultivation had been crippled, leaving him locked in the He County dungeon, the others had all died at Ling Chi's hands. He Zhixian must have harbored a burning hatred for him in his heart.

How could he possibly allow someone who hated him so deeply to remain alive? He had to eliminate both of them together; otherwise, even his cultivation would lack peace of mind.

Ling Chi committed the topographical map to memory, then casually stopped a Jing'an Division standard bearer and ordered him to bring someone familiar with the local terrain.

After the time it took to brew a cup of tea, a hunter was brought before Ling Chi.

"You need not be afraid. Let me ask you, are there any dangerous or crucial passes within Mount Li?" Ling Chi asked the woodcutter in a warm tone.

"This humble one knows of no particularly dangerous places. When I gather firewood, I only dare to walk the outer peripheries," the woodcutter replied, his tension mostly vanishing upon seeing Ling Chi's scholar-like appearance.

"There are no main official roads in the mountains either; they are all treacherous paths and mountain trails."

"However, I've heard the elders say that there is a Dead Man's Valley deep in Mount Li, shrouded in gloomy ghost qi all year round and seeing no sunlight. I don't know if it's true."

Remembering something, the woodcutter spoke in a rush.

"Where is Dead Man's Valley? If I hand you this topographical map, can you identify it?" Ling Chi pressed further.

"This humble person doesn't understand any map, but I've heard it's near Pine Ridge. Pine Ridge stretches for several miles of continuous pine trees, making it very easy to recognize," the woodcutter answered.

Ling Chi slipped a dozen copper coins into his hand and had the standard bearer lead the woodcutter away.

If a massive search party yielded no results, he would definitely have to venture into these perilous locations alone.

Drawing from his abundant experience in hiding, while harboring people in such places was dangerous, if one made thorough preparations, they paradoxically became the most suitable locations.

Ling Chi gently stroked the hilt of his saber, pondering deeply. He sought out several more hunters and woodcutters to question them one by one, presenting the topographical map for them to point out corrections until a solid plan formed in his mind.

Seeing that Cao Hubao had not emerged for a long time, he summoned a standard bearer, left behind a single message, and bolted straight toward Mount Li like a shooting star.

Dusk had faded, and the shroud of night grew thicker. Mount Li, draped in black gauze, resembled an unknown beast lying in wait, its treetops rustling under the gentle breeze.

Ling Chi circulated the Extreme Yang Spring Thunder Breathing Technique, his eyes turning one purple and one crimson. Neither baleful ghostly entities nor nether-qi could escape his gaze.

With his divine sense fully extended, he executed the Thunder Flash to search at a speed invisible to the naked eye, targeting exclusively those places prone to concealment.

In his past life, he had frequently been hunted, giving him extremely rich experience in the art of concealment.

Given that the He family was traveling with their entire household, their numbers could not possibly be small.

According to the intelligence brought back by the Jing'an Division, the He residence was completely empty, leaving behind only pools of blood.

If household servants and martial slaves were included, there would be at least two to three hundred people. It would take a massive space to accommodate so many individuals.

Such a large crowd could not possibly pass through without leaving the slightest trace. Ling Chi surmised that members of the Ghost Cult must have meddled in this, and the blood in the He residence was undoubtedly used to sacrifice to the Five Ghosts.

The crimson in his left eye shifted to a dazzling orange-red, capturing the wisps of nether-qi drifting between heaven and earth. Even if the Five Ghosts had passed by, it would be impossible for them to leave no trace.

With a casual slash of his blade, he killed a Qi Sea realm ghostly entity crouching on a treetop preparing to ambush him, absorbing four hundred wisps of thunder spirit energy in return.

With a leap, he sprang onto a towering tree. Mount Li in the darkness appeared before his eyes in minute detail, as clear as day.

Having determined his direction, Ling Chi resumed his Thunder Flash. The He family would never expect anyone to dare chase them into the mountains in the dead of night, so they would surely lower their guard.

Ling Chi advanced with lightning speed, making not the slightest sound throughout. He transformed into a phantom within the quiet dense forest, conducting a silent search.

His divine sense was maximized like a radar, ensuring nothing within a radius of two hundred paces could escape detection.

As he was speeding along, he suddenly halted sharply. With a wave of his left hand, the Exterminator flashed forth, imbued with extreme yang power, pinning a red-robed ghostly entity firmly to a large tree.

The creature was instantly scorched into flying ashes, returning to the earth amidst the cold wind.

Shifting his stance to retrieve the short saber, this was already the seventh Qi Sea realm ghostly entity he had slain. Two thousand wisps of thunder spirit energy caused the spiritual crystal within his body to continue expanding.

He straightened his arms to loosen his muscles, bent his knees, and propelled himself instantly from the spot, vanishing into thin order.

Searching all the way, it was already the dead of night with the moon high overhead when he caught sight of the pine forest. The midnight hour was hardly a propitious time; it was precisely when ghostly entities were most active.

Moonlight spilled among the pine trees. Ghosts, zombies, and fiendish demons all needed to devour and refine lunar essence to advance their cultivation, and this was the prime opportunity for them to practice.

Ling Chi lurked not far away, quietly observing the forest. If any ghosts or demons were hiding within, they would undoubtedly reveal their forms at this moment to absorb the lunar essence.

Sure enough, after the time it took to brew a cup of tea, gloomy nether-qi permeated the pine forest, and several ghostly entities slowly emerged.

There was a hanged ghost with its long tongue lolling out, a drowned ghost with water constantly dripping from its entire body, and a headless ghost with a bare, smooth neck—altogether seven or eight ghosts, each having met a different demise.

The weakest among them, the drowned ghost, possessed a cultivation base at the mid-stage of the Qi Sea realm.

Lunar essence was drawn toward their bodies, and specks of fluorescent lunar qi were inhaled into them to be transformed into nether-qi. Ling Chi could even discern expressions of delight on their rotting faces.

After waiting another quarter of an hour and seeing no further ghosts appear, Ling Chi openly revealed his figure, charging into the pack of ghosts with the speed of a thunderbolt.

Before the hanged ghost bathing in the moonlight could react, its head was lopped off by a sudden flash of a blade, and the attached extreme yang power burned it completely to ashes.

Ling Chi's speed was extreme. Before the drowned ghost could cry out, he had already reached its front, thrusting the Soul-Execution Blade straight into its mouth and out through the back of its skull, staging a rather unprofessional deep-throat piercing.

The Soul-Execution Blade vibrated rhythmically, as though complaining to its master for forcing it to perform such a disgusting deed, while the drowned ghost's body, covered in nauseating mucus, irritated it deeply.

With a single slash, the headless ghost was cleaved evenly from top to bottom into two halves, instantly cremated by the extreme yang power, and then scattered into the air by the wind.

Slaughtering the seven or eight ghosts took only a few breaths of time. The victims vanished into a complete sweep without even managing a single miserable scream.

Ling Chi did not waste energy cleaning up the battlefield, leaving behind only a scene of utter chaos as he swept away.

Passing through the pine forest without a sound, Ling Chi was greeted by a sight that made his scalp tingle and goosebumps instantly erupt across his arms.