Chapter 515: Difficult to Defy a Master's Order

At this moment, within the deep pit of the Ministry of Justice, figures of cultivators continued to descend around the stone cone formation that marked the Immortal Forbidden Zone.

Xu Qing, who had arrived in an earlier batch, did not approach the fractured opening of the formation. Instead, he stayed a bit further out, observing with caution.

The world inside the opening was the Immortal Forbidden Zone. It was a dim place, pervaded by mist.

This was due to the anomaly reaching a certain concentration.

Everything was hazy and distorted; one could only vaguely see what seemed to be many palace buildings in its depths. Waves of shrill howls echoed from within, as if this was the true Gate of the Underworld.

As Xu Qing observed the environment, the Captain next to him looked with some surprise at Ning Yan, who was held in his embrace.

Ning Yan’s answer made the Captain feel that the young man was definitely asking for trouble.

So, with a half-smile, he patted Ning Yan’s head and licked his lips.

"Little Ning Ning, you're not being good."

Ning Yan also gave a half-smile and looked at the Captain. His right hand seemed to want to lift, as if preparing to strike or to struggle.

But after looking around, he restrained himself and turned away, ignoring the Captain.

Seeing Ning Yan's reaction, the Captain was satisfied.

He naturally didn't believe Ning Yan would dare to hit him, so it must have been an attempt to break free from his arm. But clearly, Ning Yan eventually remembered his goodness and was moved to give up resistance.

"That's more like it, Little Ning Ning. I truly, truly missed you."

The Captain chuckled, pulled Ning Yan closer to Xu Qing, and winked at Xu Qing. It was an expression outsiders wouldn't understand, but Xu Qing knew what it meant with a single glance.

This was telling Xu Qing that their "weapon" should be put to good use this time.

Xu Qing remained expressionless and glanced at Ning Yan. He was about to speak, but at that moment, after a large number of cultivators had already descended, a group of figures in black robes, emitting very subtle fluctuations, swept down from above.

The aura of these people was mostly sinister, unlike ordinary cultivators. They seemed to practice a very unique cultivation method, seemingly individual yet intertwined with each other.

While giving a strange feeling, it also instinctively made one want to stay away.

This was evident from how the surrounding Imperial Capital soldiers instinctively retreated a few steps upon seeing them.

What Xu Qing focused on was that among this group of cultivators, whose heads and entire bodies were covered by black robes, there was one whose aura was distinctly different from the others.

This person was surrounded in the center, seemingly protected, but also subtly under house arrest.

Their steps faltered. As a Heavenly Palace Golden Core cultivator, a corner of their hood was lifted by the anomaly-infused wind blowing from the formation's opening as they descended, revealing half of their face.

It was Zhang Siyun.

He looked different from when Xu Qing last saw him half a month ago.

Half a month ago, Zhang Siyun's face was gaunt and pale, and he seemed utterly listless. But now, countless red blood vessels appeared on his face, like a spiderweb, looking very bizarre while his expression seemed to show pain.

Seeing this scene, Xu Qing immediately withdrew his gaze. He remembered what the divine finger had said at that time.

"The Red Moon is about to awaken."

Xu Qing subtly retreated a few steps.

The Captain beside him also saw all this. The smile had vanished from his face, and he too retreated a little. Ning Yan, whom he was embracing, also retreated with him.

It was unclear if Ning Yan did it intentionally, but as he retreated, he chose to stand in front of Xu Qing and the Captain, blocking some of the black-robed figures' sightlines.

After arriving, the group of black-robed figures scanned the surroundings, then silently stood in a corner.

The cultivators who were originally there also instinctively moved away.

After a while, the Blood Fiend Marshal, in charge of this exploration, descended from above, floating above the formation's opening. As his body erupted with a bloody, malevolent aura that spread in all directions, he looked down at the opening and spoke calmly.

"Those of the Gui Xu realm first, then those of the Ling Zang realm."

As soon as he spoke, the three palace deacons and the Imperial Capital generals immediately stepped forward. Without any hesitation, they headed straight for the opening, disappearing into it in an instant.

Inside the opening, mist churned, and faint, shrill roars could be heard. A moment later, when it became quiet, white light shone within the mist in the depths of the opening.

"Main army, enter!"

The Blood Fiend Marshal let out a low roar, stepped forward, and entered the opening. Others followed in succession.

Xu Qing and the Captain were among them, as were Qing Qiu and Kong Xianglong.

As everyone leaped down, a hazy world immediately came into Xu Qing's sight.

This world had no discernible end; the ground was blurred, with vague glimpses of buildings hidden within the mist. However, from high up, what was visible was small, and one could only roughly perceive a sense of ancientness.

The specifics were hard to discern.

The surroundings were distorted. The space between heaven and earth was not only permeated with anomaly, but countless shrill roars also came from the misty world below.

As for the sky, it was not naturally formed, but artificial.

It looked like a giant mirror, but it wasn't flat; instead, it had curved lines, especially where they had entered, where the curve was more pronounced.

The surrounding sky was sunken here, forming a passage much like the mouth of a huge bottle.

As Xu Qing gazed at all this, while his heart was shaken, he also felt an increasingly strong sense of comfort emanating from his body, as if it longed to absorb.

He dared not act rashly at this moment. As he restrained himself again, the Captain's voice came from beside him.

"Little Junior Brother, do you think this place might just be a bottle?"

The Captain, with Ning Yan in his arm, stood beside Xu Qing, looking at everything around them. As he voiced his surprise, Xu Qing noticed something, quickly turned his head, and saw the black-robed figures surrounding Zhang Siyun fading into the distance.

After entering the Immortal Forbidden Zone, these people seemed to have a precise destination. Their speed was incredibly fast, and they vanished into the deep mist in an instant.

Seeing this, Xu Qing felt a bit uneasy, and the Captain became even more anxious.

The two looked at each other and communicated via sound transmission.

"That's not right, Little Junior Brother, where's Master?"

"Could Master have arrived by a special method? Or perhaps he changed his appearance, so it's normal for us not to notice." Xu Qing thought for a moment and replied via sound transmission.

The Captain nodded upon hearing this.

"That makes sense. Master is always cunning; he must have entered by a method unknown to us. Besides, I know him too well. As soon as he hears about deities, he'll probably start drooling, the kind that needs us to help wipe it off. He definitely wouldn't ignore it."

"So, we should hurry down now and get some 'snacks' first." The Captain's eyes gleamed as he looked down.

After some thought, Xu Qing nodded.

As the two communicated via sound transmission, Ning Yan was still held tightly in the Captain's arm, as if fearing he would escape. So, as the mist flowed past, partially obscuring him, Ning Yan calmly glanced at the Captain.

The Captain and Xu Qing, completely unaware of this, finished their discussion and reached a consensus, then descended with the main army.

The Captain still held Ning Yan, with the two of them in front and Xu Qing behind.

Soon, they, along with cultivators from all sides, landed on the misty ground. The moment they touched down, a rumble echoed, and the sounds of battle reverberated through the mist.

Vaguely, some massive anomalous beasts could be seen emerging from the mist, battling with the Gui Xu and Ling Zang realm cultivators who had arrived earlier.

And with their descent, the buildings on the ground became much clearer than before.

This was an extremely vast area, a complex of palaces covering the entire ground.

Countless palaces and temples formed a city.

While filled with a sense of vicissitude and ancientness, it also possessed an extreme eeriness.

Because these buildings were covered in purplish-black flesh, and all of it was wriggling.

Looking around, not only the buildings were like this, but the ground was also the same, covered in flesh—a truly shocking sight.

"Everyone, clear the surroundings and establish a safe zone!"

A cold voice echoed from within the mist.

This was the Blood Fiend Marshal's decree. As it reverberated in all directions, the hundreds of thousands of cultivators who had descended here immediately became busy.

According to different divisions of labor, some controlled war puppets, sending them into the mist to battle.

Others rapidly constructed formations here, causing the power of the formations to envelop the surroundings.

Still others began purifying the area, driving the anomaly and flesh from this region away to the surroundings.

Most others formed small teams and spread out in all directions.

Those doing this were mostly from the Sword-Holding Palace and the Imperial Capital soldiers.

Xu Qing and the Captain were also among them. As for Qing Qiu and Kong Xianglong, they couldn't be found due to the large number of people here, and their whereabouts were unknown.

Thus, according to the plan, a small area was quickly established and continuously expanded outwards.

If any direction encountered an obstacle that couldn't be resolved by the team itself, strong individuals would soon arrive after being reported, to suppress and push through.

Everything proceeded in an orderly manner under the arrangements of the Blood Fiend Marshal.

During this time, Xu Qing and the Captain also saw anomalous beasts in the mist. They were fierce, monstrous beasts, purplish-black all over, without sentience, pervaded by anomaly, and their combat power was considerable.

Moreover, the taller their bodies were, the more astonishing their combat power.

After being here for most of the day, when everyone had established the safe zone to a certain extent, they began to rest and reorganize.

After all, the anomaly here was too concentrated, and every so often they had to completely clear it from their bodies to prevent their own abnormal mutation.

During this period, after communicating with the Captain, Xu Qing and the Captain took on a reconnaissance mission and chose to leave, with Ning Yan, of course, accompanying them.

"Staying here is useless. We're not afraid of the anomaly. We should hurry and find some 'snacks' to taste; we can't have come for nothing. And Ning Yan, this weapon, we must also put him to good use."

The Captain, holding Ning Yan, ran forward and spoke to Xu Qing via sound transmission.

Xu Qing glanced at Ning Yan, feeling a bit of sympathy. For most of the day, Ning Yan hadn't left the Captain's arm; clearly, the Captain was worried his "weapon" would run off.

As for Ning Yan, he seemed to have resigned himself to fate, occasionally showing signs of struggle, but ultimately acquiescing.

Seeing this, Xu Qing couldn't help but speak.

"Senior Brother, aren't your arms getting tired? Do you want to let go of Ning Yan for a bit?"

"Tiredness is nothing! I need to protect our Little Ning Ning!" The Senior Brother spoke righteously and looked at Ning Yan sincerely.

"Little Ning Ning, don't worry. If you follow me this time, you'll definitely get your share!"

After speaking, the Captain couldn't help but raise his hand and pat Ning Yan's head again.

He didn't know why, but ever since the first time he patted Ning Yan's head, he instinctively loved this action; it seemed to give him a strange sense of pleasure.

Ning Yan's breathing became slightly ragged. After looking deeply at the Captain, he suddenly spoke.

"You want to find good stuff? I investigated some information before I came in, and I know a place where there should be some good things. I'll take you there."

The Captain looked at Ning Yan upon hearing this, blinked, his face filled with surprise and delight, but secretly transmitted a message to Xu Qing.

"Little Junior Brother, isn't something a bit off with Ning Yan?"

Xu Qing's expression remained normal, but doubt also arose in his heart.

In fact, he had just noticed something was off with Ning Yan's reaction; he also sensed something was wrong. After all, he was the one who brought Ning Yan back from Zhaoxia State and arranged for him to be in the Secretariat.

He had some judgment on Ning Yan's tone of voice, and at this moment, Ning Yan's words seemed off, as if they didn't belong to Ning Yan's usual tone.

So he was about to transmit his doubts to the Captain, but a familiar cold snort suddenly echoed in his mind.

This cold snort contained a warning. Xu Qing shivered upon hearing it, his expression immediately became serious, and he immediately transmitted a message to the Captain.

"Senior Brother, I brought Ning Yan back from Zhaoxia State before. I know him well; something happened to him in Zhaoxia State, so his personality changed a bit. Everything... is normal!"

After Xu Qing finished speaking, a familiar "hmm" echoed in his mind, filled with satisfaction.