Chapter 365: The City of the Undead?

The tip of the Fusheng blade was stuck on the mirror surface and hadn't been pulled out. He Lingchuan asked it, "Do you yield?"

"Yes, yes, I yield, you're amazing!" What was going on with this blade?

He Lingchuan twisted the blade tip. "Who did you just call a stinking bug that doesn't bathe?"

"I..." The mirror reacted quickly. "I was talking about that Gan Laosan fellow!"

"What exactly are you? If you dare utter another false word, I'll twist you into a pretzel."

"I was originally a heart-protecting mirror bestowed by the Tianyan Sect upon General You Shanming. I accompanied him in battle for many years. I absorbed too many vengeful spirits, and thus I awakened."

So this thing was originally a heart-protecting mirror? No wonder it was hard to pierce. It was designed to block such attacks.

He Lingchuan recalled that the mirrors used by Qingxu and others had the same design as this object. It seemed to be a standardized product of the Tianyan Sect.

Fortunately, he had stabbed it from the back to the front, hitting a weak point.

The mirror continued, "Later, when General You died in battle, I was removed from his armor and passed through many owners. They all used me to kill humans and demons, which allowed me to retain my sentience even after the world's spiritual energy declined."

"What are you doing here?"

"I was sealed for a long time, in a deep slumber. A few days ago, I suddenly consumed a large piece of Emperor's Dew paste, and only then did I awaken. I found myself in the wilderness, so I summoned a mirror servant to lead me away." The mirror sighed with frustration. "Although I augmented her, she was already over two hundred years old and had simply run out of lifespan. I had no choice but to take another mirror servant nearby."

"Was that Gan Sanye?" As the name implied, this mirror used living people as slaves.

"Yes, the rule for acquiring a mirror servant is to perform three tasks for them. It's best if they agree directly."

That muddle-headed fool. He Lingchuan shook his head inwardly. No wonder Master Gan had repeatedly warned his third brother not to consult the sorceress again.

"Did Master Gan see how you dealt with Young Master Sha?"

"He was right there at the time," the mirror said. "Do you think he wasn't aware beforehand? I told him this would use up Gan Laosan's second wish, but he still made the request!"

He Lingchuan fell silent. Master Gan understood that the sorceress wouldn't act for the Gan family without reason, and the cost would ultimately be paid by Gan Laosan. Yet, for the sake of his own business, he still requested the sorceress to target Young Master Sha.

Of course, perhaps from another perspective, Gan Sanye had relied entirely on his elder brother for seventeen or eighteen years to enjoy a comfortable life, so what if he paid a small price for the family?

As he was pondering, a two-foot-long large fish suddenly leaped out of the lake, directly hitting his wrist.

This was truly a stroke of genius. While He Lingchuan was conversing with the mirror, he had actually kept his divine sense active, scanning the surroundings to guard against ambush.

However, the lake water could block divine sense, and the fish's leap was completely without warning.

The evil spirit that had slipped away earlier had quietly entered the water and attached itself to the fish.

His wrist was knocked, causing it to turn over, and the mirror was carried with it, flipping over, with its surface facing He Lingchuan! The mirror's surface glowed, and he saw his own face within it.

His "reflection" was sneering at him, "Do you really think you've won? Hand over your soul!"

It had meticulously feigned weakness just for this moment!

He Lingchuan immediately felt an immense suction emanating from the mirror, attempting to drag his soul inside.

He had already fallen victim to it previously in the mirror's illusion, but the mirror's suction then was incomparable to the genuine article before him now!

No wonder so many people couldn't escape its grasp.

However, as the reflection in the mirror was laughing triumphantly, a "buzz" sounded in the real He Lingchuan's mind, as if someone had struck a grand bell.

The sound was long and deep, carrying an indescribable mighty power, instantly stabilizing his soul, which would not waver again.

It was indeed so; He Lingchuan finally relaxed. The two items he possessed were enough to counter this mirror.

At the same time, his reflection in the mirror widened its eyes:

From its perspective, a massive city suddenly appeared in the void behind He Lingchuan. Although only its outline was visible in the gloom, with details unclear, it was still majestic and uneven. There were numerous figures on its city gates, and countless whispers seemed to fill the air, a powerful, majestic aura washing over it!

Such power was something it could not contend with!

"City of the Dead, City of the Dead!" The mirror shrieked until its voice cracked. Its terror was like a rabbit about to be caught by a tiger. "You're from the realm of souls; there really is a City of the Dead in this world..."

The Fusheng blade suddenly vibrated, its murderous aura cutting off the mirror's words.

Ah, it cracked a little more!

"City of the Dead, my foot!" He Lingchuan sneered, punching the mirror surface twice. "Spit out my Golden Armored Bronze Golem!"

He didn't know what kind of ghost this mirror had seen to suddenly cry out "City of the Dead."

He wasn't familiar with a City of the Dead; he only knew Panlong City. Recalling his initial desert journey, Panlong City indeed housed countless heroic spirits, who had killed both Nian Songyu and Grand Master Sun.

Weren't heroic spirits also the dead?

The existence of Panlong City had always been his biggest trump card. Having it suddenly exposed by this mirror made him quite displeased.

This thing was extremely treacherous, constantly plotting against people. If his treasures weren't still inside the mirror, he would want to chop it into a million pieces right now to prevent future trouble.

After this severe fright, the mirror became much more compliant, spitting out the Golden Armored Bronze Golem with a "poof."

At the time, this bronze golem had thrown the three of them out of the mirror world, while it and Hong Luan had fallen together. If the mirror spirit hadn't cooperated, He Lingchuan would have suffered the painful loss of a treasure.

The Golden Armored Bronze Golem had shrunk back into a small doll. He Lingchuan picked it up and examined it, almost spitting fire with rage:

"Where's the Dark Crystal? Where's the Dark Crystal from inside my golem? Did you swallow it?"

As a large combat puppet, the Golden Armored Bronze Golem required Dark Crystals for activation. He Lingchuan originally only had two Dark Crystals, and he had inserted one into it, expecting it to last for several uses.

To his dismay, the golem's compartment was empty!

"It wasn't me; it used it up itself." After the mirror's excuse, He Lingchuan learned that after the three of them left the mirror world, the Golden Armored Bronze Golem lost connection with its operator and received no command to stop, so it continued to rampage.

It was a heavy energy consumer. Before long, it quickly exhausted the Dark Crystal.

Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan's heart bled.

Such a precious energy source as Dark Crystals, each costing tens of thousands, had actually been wasted like this.

Looking at the golem, which was covered in scratches and dents, it was clear it had been in many fights within the illusion.

A huge loss.

Yet the mirror still complained, "It fought with the characters inside my mirror, disrupting many karmic connections. I'm the real victim here!"

He Lingchuan was absolutely furious. Just as he was about to severely chastise this broken mirror again, hoofbeats approached, and Wu Jinsong and his companion finally rushed back.

"As soon as we reached Baijiao Shrine, Gan Laosan turned to dust," Wu Jinsong said, still panting slightly. "We fell into a trap."

He Lingchuan shook the bronze mirror towards them, making sure to keep its back facing them.

"The mirror's right here," he grumbled. "It was all its doing. Gan Laosan was just a front, a mirror servant bound by it."

Wu Jinsong cautiously approached. "Is this the object that took our souls?"

"It should be," He Lingchuan said, tapping the mirror surface. "Hey, where are their souls? Give them back!"

He knocked several times, and only then did the mirror reluctantly spit out two spheres of light.

These two spheres of light flew towards Wu Jinsong and his companion, entering their seven orifices respectively.

The two men shivered. Their eyes quickly changed from dull to clear, and their expressions became lively.

Then they exchanged glances and cupped their fists towards He Lingchuan, saying, "Thank you for your assistance, Young Master He!"

Just by hearing the difference in their tones, He Lingchuan knew their souls had returned — no, their consciousness had returned, bringing with it their own emotional changes.

"We still need to retrieve Young Master Sha's lost soul."

The mirror quickly said, "I can, but if I release it now, his soul will dissipate." From here to the Sha residence was more than a hundred li. Even a living soul couldn't be separated from its body or a container for too long.

His companion had been killed by it, and Xu Dongdong gnashed his teeth in hatred, saying, "No need! We have seabed wood; it can house souls..."

How could they come looking for Young Master Sha's lost soul without preparing a container? But his words stopped there, because he suddenly remembered that the seabed wood had originally been with his companion, who had died in the mirror world.

"Give us back the seabed wood!"

The mirror said nothing, pretending not to hear. It wasn't stupid; once it handed over the item, the large blade would likely come down on it.

"It seems we'll have to take this thing back with us," Wu Jinsong said, looking at He Lingchuan. After a moment of hesitation, he added, "I wonder if Young Master He would be willing to transfer ownership..."

This was He Lingchuan's spoils of war, and He Lingchuan was capable. What price would he have to offer to convince him to transfer the mirror?

He Lingchuan waved his hand. "Are you two returning to the Grand Tutor's Residence of the Baoshu King to report?"

"Precisely."

"I'm also going to Beijia," He Lingchuan said with a grin. "Shall I go with you?"

Wu Jinsong was overjoyed. "That would be truly excellent!"

He immediately felt relieved, and the smile on his face grew brighter. "For returning the young master's soul, the Grand Tutor will surely offer a generous reward!"

He Lingchuan chuckled, feeling that Wu Jinsong had been more sincere when he was distraught and soulless.

They immediately demanded that the mirror return the five bodies of the Sha residence guards, to be buried and have memorial steles erected by Moyou Lake.

Wu Jinsong and Xu Dongdong recited prayers for them and poured two pots of wine. Only then did they lead their horses and return to Wuzhe County with He Lingchuan.

Regarding Gan Sanye, He Lingchuan also had a plan:

He forced the mirror to dissolve the mirror servant contract, restoring Gan Sanye to freedom.

If he had simply killed him, it would have been too easy on Gan Sanye.

To be honest, while soul-stealing wasn't good, with the Gan family on the brink of collapse and Gan Sanye's situation so dire, becoming a mirror servant to the Soul-Stealing Mirror was actually the best possible outcome for him.

Previously, the sorceress, though sliced in half by He Lingchuan's blade, had quickly healed due to her status as a mirror servant. Not to mention she had lived for over two hundred years, far exceeding the lifespan limit of ordinary people.

If this mirror were to play dirty tricks and take underhanded actions, it might genuinely be able to pull the Gan family out of its predicament.

Hadn't Master Gan already demonstrated this once?

Evil artifacts had their own uses. Crooked paths had their own conveniences.

He Lingchuan specifically ordered the mirror to remove this contract, returning Gan Sanye to his original state, to suffer what he was meant to suffer.

For a parasitic figure like him, once the family's pillar collapsed, his fate...

Heh heh.