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Chapter 633: Heaven and Earth Reversed, Grandparents Are Here

Looking at the lantern in his hand, the captain pondered. "Could it be that Lord Heir and the elders didn't secretly follow us after all? Otherwise, how could they have resisted devouring the dark souls beneath the abyss just now?"

The captain sighed inwardly. Ignoring the struggle of the human-skin lantern, he quickly formed a hand seal with his left hand and pressed it against the lantern's face, which bore an eighty percent resemblance to his own.

The lantern's face contorted fiercely, emitting a low growl. But as soon as the growl escaped, the captain bit his tongue and spat a large mouthful of blood onto it. Immediately, the lantern's face was drenched in blood.

“Silence! You're my past life's face, left here by me back then. How dare you growl at me!” As the captain's voice rang out, Xu Qing had already unhurriedly crossed the mountain range and stepped onto the altar. The candle in his hand had just burned out completely. As the mist dispersed, Xu Qing saw everything around him clearly, his gaze finally settling on the captain and the lantern in his hand.

The captain, pleased, lifted the lantern. “This thing was left here by me back then. It's hidden. Since it has no brain, only a face, its intelligence is limited.” As the captain spoke, the others also stepped onto the altar one by one. Smiling at the smooth progress of this stage, the captain continued, “Initially, it told you not to look back to gain your trust, and also because it was worried that the entities beneath the abyss would steal its food. And after gaining your trust, its final instruction to run quickly was for harvesting.”

It was fishing, and I was fishing for it. Although this thing has no brain, it possesses instinctive caution. Without this method of 'fishing,' it would never approach. “This particular hurdle wasn’t difficult under the light of my candle; the challenge was figuring out how to get my hands on it.”

The captain patted the lantern's face. After being sprayed with blood, the face was barely conscious. It suddenly opened its mouth, attempting to bite the captain’s finger, but the captain casually slapped it away.

“Give it to me!” You Jing said, his gaze cold and indifferent.

The captain blinked, then tossed it over. This was one of the costs he paid to gain You Jing's agreement to follow.

After taking the human-skin lantern and seeing the face that was eighty percent similar to Chen Erniu's, You Jing's eyes turned crimson. He raised his right hand and violently slapped it. The beating didn't stop; slap after slap caused the human-skin lantern to wail pitifully, a sound so miserable it shocked Ning Yan, Wu Jianwu, and the others. The captain, meanwhile, cheered him on from the side.

“Good hit! Harder! Go for it!” Hearing this, You Jing grew even angrier. The human-skin lantern was also strange; no matter how You Jing struck it, it wouldn't collapse. Even when its face swelled up, it quickly returned to normal.

This scene was very strange. Xu Qing glanced at it, about to speak. But just then, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in his mind. “This lantern is quite interesting.” The voice was ancient; it was Lord Heir!

Xu Qing closed his mouth. He was both surprised and unsurprised by the voices in his mind. Subsequently, the voices continued to resonate.

“Hmm, it's a treasure, especially the refining technique, which carries the style of Huangtian. This Chen Erniu's origin is indeed mysterious.” This was Princess Mingmei.

This was Eighth Lord.

“Compared to that, I'm actually more interested in knowing where the mysterious High God he's cooperating with comes from! Is it as we previously analyzed?” This was Fifth Grandma.

Lord Heir said with a smile.

Listening to these voices in his mind, Xu Qing silently looked up at the sky. Their current location was, in fact, the peak of heaven. As far as the eye could see, the dark firmament seemed to be where the abyss lay. Particularly striking was the scar on the firmament; it looked less ominous from the mountain's starting point, but at this close proximity, it resembled a colossal, horrifying canyon. Lightning flashed and thunder roared within it, yet it failed to illuminate the darkness; only the occasional booming echoes resonated, spreading through the gloom.

Noticing Xu Qing's gaze, the captain walked over, patted his shoulder, and spoke with a smile. “Little Ah Qing, although the next stage, the second trial, is dangerous, I, your Big Senior Brother, am well-prepared.” Saying this, the captain took out stacks of long, strip-shaped talismans and distributed them to everyone. “Once I enter, I’ll walk and cast spells to burn them. This time, we won’t split up; we'll stay together as a group. As long as the light and fire don't extinguish, those souls won't approach. These skins are all good stuff, so use them sparingly...”

The captain was a bit reluctant, giving them a reminder. After receiving it, Xu Qing immediately recognized from the feel that it was Big Senior Brother's skin. He then gave him a sympathetic glance.

He decided it would be best not to tell Big Senior Brother about the arrival of Lord Heir and the others, otherwise, his mood might instantly sour. Although Lord Heir and the others would likely appear soon anyway, it was good for the captain to be happy for a little longer.

Xu Qing sighed inwardly and walked towards the straight grand canyon ahead. The moment they entered, heaven and earth inverted. The sky became the ground, and the ground transformed into the sky. The canyon, which had been in the sky, now appeared before Xu Qing. The mountains on both sides soared high, the canyon resembling a narrow crack in the earth, and the once blade-like mountain range had become the firmament. Its tilted appearance made it seem like a colossal blade, poised high above the firmament, ready to descend at any moment and cleave into this canyon, fitting perfectly. That sense of imminent danger, like a blade suspended overhead, rose in their minds.

As everyone was startled, the captain took out a piece of skin, waved his hand, and it ignited, producing a flame. The surrounding darkness, surprisingly, like ink, transformed into countless wisps, slowly receding all around, creating an empty space where the light of the fire shone. “Don't waste them. Just keep two burning at the same time. I'll keep lighting them. As for you, one talisman at a time is enough for each of you. Big Sword Sword, you go first, then Little Ning Ning, Li Youfei, Big... Sister You, and Little Ah Qing.” As the captain's words spread, a warmth also emanated with the firelight, enveloping everyone's bodies and minds. Outside the firelight, distortions began. Xu Qing clearly saw pairs of cold, sinister eyes appearing in the darkness. Moreover, amidst the surging dark currents, enormous entities seemed to be lurking in the shadows, watching them hungrily. A sense of peril, born from a life-threatening crisis, grew within Xu Qing's heart.

However, thinking of Lord Heir and the others, Xu Qing felt relieved. Wu Jianwu also quickly lit a talisman skin, expanding the range of the firelight.

“Let's go.” The captain took a deep breath and stepped forward. Xu Qing followed behind, and the group proceeded along the canyon, venturing into the darkness.

As they walked, under the illumination of the firelight, their area became the sole source of light in this dark world. While it deterred external dangers, it also naturally drew in more malice lurking in the shadows. Combined with the tilted mountain range in the firmament, the pressure on everyone was immense. Ning Yan and Wu Jianwu were already regretting coming here. Li Youfei, meanwhile, followed closely behind Xu Qing, feeling that only this way could he be safe. You Jing was at the very back, stepping forward with a cold sneer, while continuing to slap the human-skin lantern.

Thus, time passed, and soon an hour went by. After walking for a little over half the distance in this canyon, they had burned more than dozens of pieces of skin. The further they went, the faster the skins burned. Although the captain was well-prepared, seeing his own skin being consumed like this made him incredibly distressed, his expression changing... After all, every piece was peeled off by him in agony. At this rate, he worried that if there wasn't enough later, he might have to temporarily skin himself again.

“Surely not...” The captain let out a long sigh.

Eventually, even Xu Qing couldn't bear it and spoke softly in his mind. “Seniors...”

“Understood. The number of entities attracted around us is about right.” Lord Heir said indifferently. The next instant, the talismans in the hands of the captain and Ning Yan, which were burning, instantly extinguished. Everyone was startled, becoming vigilant, and the captain's eyes widened.

At the same time, with the disappearance of the firelight, everything around them plunged back into darkness. The souls gathered in the gloom, one by one, rushed towards them with greed and frenzy. Wails and howls echoed in all directions, but in an instant, these sounds abruptly changed into cries of terror, receding rapidly in every direction. It was as if they had encountered something that terrified them. But it was too late. Xu Qing felt his sleeve shake a few times, and several figures darted out. Immediately after, the cries of terror turned into shrill screams. Accompanied by horrific chewing sounds, countless souls were being devoured!

Thunder roared and lightning flashed, faintly illuminating the surroundings. Xu Qing vaguely saw the figures of Lord Heir and the others, each transformed into a vortex, ravenously devouring from different directions. Countless souls shattered in the vortices' tearing grasp, ultimately sucked into the whirlpools to become food.

At this moment, the elders no longer seemed as amiable as Xu Qing usually perceived them; instead, they exuded an air of indifference. Xu Qing's expression remained calm; he wasn't surprised.

He knew this was the true nature of the 'Soul Incarnations.' Bearing the character for 'God', in a sense, they had already transcended the scope of ordinary life.

Their past amiability and kindness were because they were facing Xu Qing and the younger members of the medicine shop. But to outsiders, the term 'Soul Incarnations' often meant... no different from deities!

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