Chapter 281: Mysterious Dark Tomb

The fog was very thick, spreading rapidly through the dense mountain forest, enveloping Xu Qing and the captain.

Looking around, fog was everywhere. Vision was completely obscured; one couldn't see even a foot in front of them. Everything was hazy, as if the sky itself was boundless and covered by the mist.

The fog appeared too quickly and was unnaturally cold, suggesting it wasn't a natural phenomenon but likely caused by something sinister. When it touched Xu Qing, he felt as if countless tiny entities were hidden within the mist, attempting to burrow into his body through his skin and pores. However, protected by his Destiny Lamp, the sinister fog's invasion had no effect whatsoever. It was somewhat similar to the mist outside the forbidden zone of the Scavenger Camp, but far less intense.

Xu Qing surveyed his surroundings. The captain's aura was also blocked by the arrival of the fog; although he had been right beside him just moments before, Xu Qing could no longer sense him. Yet, Xu Qing wasn't concerned. He felt that unless they were in a truly forbidden area, it was uncertain who between them was more formidable.

Especially now, Little Shadow, having just consumed its kin, emanated a sense of hunger and thirst after this ghostly fog appeared. It then delightedly absorbed the cool mist. To Xu Qing, it felt as though Little Shadow, after a full meal, had suddenly been offered water when it desired a drink, making it very pleased.

As the shadow absorbed the mist, the fog in front of Xu Qing thinned. With a calm expression, he walked forward, aiming for the source of this eerie mist. He wanted to see what kind of malevolent entity had generated this fog to invade him.

As he advanced, the mist continued to thin under the shadow's absorption, revealing the jungle trees within. These trees appeared grotesque and indistinct, like demons and spirits. Simultaneously, eerie laughter echoed through the quiet jungle. It was impossible to distinguish between male and female voices; they seemed to be both, intermingling, shifting from left to right, constantly swirling around Xu Qing.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, controlling the shadow and restraining it from devouring anything. He worried that if the shadow consumed it now, the true malevolent entity here might be scared away. He intended to kill the entity that had assailed him with such malice!

With the shadow restrained, Xu Qing, his eyes glinting with killing intent, continued forward. He passed through the jungle, ascended a small hill, and after half an hour, a blurry shape appeared in the mist ahead. It was faintly discernible, seemingly a wooden house.

As Xu Qing approached, the wooden house became clearer to his sight. It was an extremely old dwelling with rotting, tattered wooden boards and large holes in many places. The house appeared on the verge of collapse, filled with a sense of decay.

In front of the door, there was also a severely damaged rocking chair. Originally, there had been a yard and a garden surrounding the house, but now the yard was overgrown with weeds, and the garden had withered, creating a desolate atmosphere. The location of the wooden house was also peculiar; situated halfway up the mountain, it was surrounded by dense forest on all sides, a solitary structure standing alone.

As he drew closer, an eerie wind howled through the area, rustling the surrounding trees, sounding like countless people whispering.

Xu Qing's gaze swept around, then suddenly fixed on the rocking chair. Though clearly empty, it began to sway slightly. The movement was subtle, like it was blown by the wind, yet also like a frail, elderly person was gently rocking, reminiscing about life's moments and memories.

Xu Qing's expression remained unchanged. He glanced at the rocking chair, recalling that it had been still when he arrived. It seemed as though a breeze had started just after he blinked, causing it to move. So, Xu Qing blinked again. In an instant, a rope appeared in front of the wooden house's door.

Xu Qing deliberately blinked several times. With each blink, the rope twisted, and then a corpse appeared, hanging from it—the desiccated body of an old man. He had been hanging for so long that he had become a mummy, with only withered white hair hanging down. His face was like a skull, eye sockets sunken into black holes, and his mouth agape as if instinctively trying to breathe before death.

Xu Qing blinked again. The chair stopped rocking, and a blurry figure rose from it, slowly walking towards the old man. As it reached the corpse, the figure solidified into a hunchbacked old woman. In her hand, she held a stone bowl filled with a blood-red porridge-like substance, which she spooned, mouthful by mouthful, into the gaping mouth of the hanging corpse.

The eerie wind grew colder, and sounds like weeping and laughter echoed in all directions. The weeds on the ground swayed in unison. The entire area felt incredibly sinister, and both the hanging old man and the old woman feeding him the porridge had extremely pale faces, their lips remarkably red.

Under Xu Qing's watchful gaze, after the old woman finished half the stone bowl of bloody porridge, she suddenly raised her hand and twisted off the old man's head. "Old man, it's your turn to feed me!" the old woman rasped, her voice incredibly hoarse and grating, like grinding stones.

The corpse remained suspended, the noose above it, a void where the head once was. Despite the missing head, the body stayed perfectly still, maintaining its previous posture. As for the old woman, she contentedly placed the old man's head to one side, then proceeded to twist off her own head, placing it on the old man's neck and the noose. She then took the old man's head from beside her and placed it on her own neck.

After swapping heads, the old man's head suddenly gleamed with a faint light in its eyes. It picked up the bowl and, as the suspended old woman opened her mouth, began to feed her, spoonful by spoonful. They appeared to be lovingly caring for each other. Notably, while feeding, the old man seemed concerned about scalding his partner, often blowing a cold breath of air before offering the spoonful to the old woman's mouth.

This scene was both eerie and profoundly bizarre. Xu Qing watched them silently, expressionless, as they continued to feed each other, spoonful by spoonful, without disturbing them. After a moment, realizing they showed no intent to attack him, he decided to leave.

However, just as he turned and walked a few steps, the seemingly loving old man and his companion instantly turned their heads, staring fixedly at Xu Qing. The wooden house shifted its position, reappearing directly in front of him. At the same time, they both bared their teeth, revealing ghoulish, jagged fangs, and a faint, spectral voice emanated from them in unison: "Son, you're back! Would you like some porridge?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing calmly glanced at the entities in front of him and began walking towards them. Simultaneously, from beneath his feet came the sound of gulping, and puddles of viscous liquid oozed from the shadow, corroding the ground it touched. This was Little Shadow's saliva, which it was barely able to control, clearly exerting immense effort to restrain itself.

This scene instantly caused the old man and old woman in front of the wooden house to change their expressions. "Eat them," Xu Qing stated calmly. The moment he spoke, the shadow, having reached its limit of restraint, suddenly shot up from behind Xu Qing, transforming into a colossal black tree-like shadow. Thousands of densely packed eyes on its form simultaneously opened, staring intently at the old man and old woman. A massive mouth also split open, exhaling a terrifying, chilling wind.

This sight made the old man and old woman tremble violently, their eyes widening in terror. The wooden house blurred instantly, attempting to flee, but it was too late. Little Shadow lunged forward, and in a flash, the surrounding area transformed into a black shadow domain, covering everything. Only sounds of chewing and agonizing screams continuously emanated from within. After a moment, as the shadow domain contracted, Little Shadow returned to Xu Qing's feet, emitting clear, joyful, and satisfied pulsations. "So... delicious..."

The surrounding fog also rapidly dissipated due to the death of the two entities, completely vanishing after just a few breaths.

Xu Qing continued forward and soon saw the captain walking towards him. The captain was eating a black apple, on which an eerie entity, similar in appearance to the old man and woman, was visibly sealed. It was currently emitting horrific screams as the captain devoured it bite by bite.

Upon seeing Xu Qing, the captain waved while still eating. By the time they met, he had finished the apple, a look of lingering pleasure on his face. He licked his lips, then looked at Xu Qing. "That was only half-filling. It's whetted my appetite. How about we look around for more?"

Hearing the captain's words, the shadow quickly conveyed a strong desire to Xu Qing, accompanied by a pleading, almost coquettish demeanor... It hadn't eaten enough either, and was still a little thirsty. Xu Qing nodded.

This scene made the Vajra Sect Patriarch incredibly wary. He sensed that Little Shadow's ingratiating techniques had significantly improved, and his sense of impending danger immediately intensified. "It's even acting coy now? Unacceptable! Disgusting!"

Amidst the Vajra Sect Patriarch's anxiety, Xu Qing and the captain strolled through the jungle, searching for more entities. However, these creatures, which normally appeared when one didn't want to encounter them, were nowhere to be found now that Xu Qing and the captain were actively looking.

Although they found no entities, after walking for a while, they discovered a patch of immortal spirit herbs growing on the withered, anomaly-ridden ground. "Spirit herbs here?" the captain exclaimed in surprise upon seeing them. In the environment of Mount Tai Si Du'e, spirit herbs typically couldn't grow. These immortal spirit herbs only thrived in areas free of anomalous corruption, usually cultivated by various factions who would cordon off a region and use formations to disperse the anomalous energy. Therefore, the presence of these herbs was highly unusual.

Their leaves were notably small, clearly indicating stunted growth, which was understandable. But what was more perplexing was that the area where the spirit herbs grew formed a long line, one end extending into the deep mountains, and the other towards the direction of the Immortal Vein River.

Xu Qing knelt down, plucked a spirit herb for examination, and touched the soil where they grew. After looking towards the Immortal Vein River, he spoke in a low voice, "There's an underground current beneath this."

The captain narrowed his eyes, gazing at the ground. Soon, a faint light appeared in his eyes, as if he could see through the soil below. After a few breaths, he chuckled. "What audacity! Someone has diverted an underground passage from the Immortal Vein River!" The captain then looked up towards the end stretching into the deep mountains and swiftly moved closer.

Xu Qing frowned, finding this approach imprudent. However, seeing the captain proceed, he followed suit.

Soon, they both reached the end of this underground current. There... was actually a massive tomb!

On the tombstone, three eerie, blood-red characters read: Xuan You Sect.