Chapter 130: A Complete Reversal (Seeking Subscriptions)

The mountains were shrouded in mist, and the sunlight from above could not penetrate the gloom. This was the location marked on the iron plate.

The progress had been so rapid that Lu Qian felt caught off guard. Although this place was well-hidden, the water eye had been open for hundreds of years; surely someone must have found it by now? Furthermore, even if others hadn't, the faction that originally drafted the Underworld Secret Map must have known the location. Had they already beaten him to it?

Filled with doubt, Lu Qian descended in flight. The mountains were a labyrinth of dense river networks, with waterfalls cascading down the edges of the peaks. Lu Qian arrived before one that stood thirty feet high.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The waterfall crashed against the boulders below, creating a deafening roar. This was the exact spot marked by the red triangle on the map.

"Is the entrance behind the waterfall?" Lu Qian wondered.

He condensed a stream of pitch-black, refined water, shaping it into an arrow that shot into the torrent. The turbulent waterfall was strong enough to crush a mortal to pieces, but for a cultivator of Lu Qian’s level, it was hardly a threat. Still, one had to be cautious; if there were hidden traps, falling for them would be disastrous.

Bang!

The refined water struck with a sharp sound, but there was no cave entrance as he had imagined.

"Nothing?" Lu Qian frowned. He stepped forward to investigate, but indeed, there was no opening. He examined the water source carefully. The river was clear enough to see the bottom, where strange, salamander-like fish swam, blowing bubbles. They seemed harmless and ordinary.

From the water source to the ground below, Lu Qian could find no clues. It made no sense; the iron plate shouldn't be wrong. After all, the other locations had been correct, and this one was marked in red, clearly signifying its importance.

Taking out the iron plate again, Lu Qian was startled to see that the triangle had inverted. It was now a red, downward-pointing triangle.

"Is it telling me to invert myself?"

Not fully understanding, a bizarre idea crossed his mind. He let his Yin Spirit float up, then flipped his head downward.

Boom!

His Yin Spirit heard a thunderous sound. Suddenly, the scene before him shifted. The location remained the same, yet he felt no sensation of space-time travel. His Yin Spirit was no longer standing upside down; instead, he stood upon grey-black stone.

The poles had reversed. The once cool river was now a river of scorching magma, with red bubbles periodically bursting on its surface. Behind the magma waterfall, a dark, gloomy opening was visible.

Pop!

A bubble burst, spewing flames and a pungent scent of sulfur.

"Babies!"

Dozens of magma-covered, sharp-toothed salamanders, each a yard long, broke through the lava. They spat jets of fire, which hissed through the air toward him.

"So that's how it is!"

Facing the onslaught, Lu Qian summoned a five-foot-wide azure cloud that churned around him. The cold, azure mist divided into dozens of long, whip-like lashes.

Whoosh!

The lashes struck the fire snakes, and with a series of bangs, the two conflicting powers neutralized each other in a burst of energy. The core fire of the magma was intense, refusing to be frozen by the Yin energy like ordinary flames. Although the salamanders were ferocious, Lu Qian’s power held the upper hand, and in a short time, he had wiped them all out.

He carved into the carcasses; their veins flowed with magma-like blood. These creatures were at the mid-stage of Qi refinement and would make excellent Daoist soldiers.

After collecting the materials, Lu Qian looked toward the dark opening. His Yin Spirit probed inside; the interior was cool, not the scorching heat he had expected.

Swish!

He flew inside. The interior was a ghostly green, with glowing mushrooms lining the walls. Not far ahead stood a massive bronze door, mottled with rust and left half-ajar. It seemed someone had indeed arrived first.

Beside the bronze door grew a giant tree with dense, tangled roots. Its trunk was covered in grotesque knots that looked uncannily like human faces.

Creak, creak!

As if sensing something, the roots gave off a grating sound, twisting together to form a gigantic, one-eyed, one-legged blue demon. From the shade of the tree, countless disc-like chunks of flesh took flight. Each disc was covered in human eyes that emitted a crimson light, patrolling the sky like flies.

Lu Qian had already vanished; the moment he entered, he had transformed into a three-inch-tall straw doll. Taking advantage of the monsters' distraction, he crept step by step toward the bronze door. The monsters patrolled the area, found nothing amiss, and eventually dissipated.

The moment he stepped through the bronze door, a vast space opened up before him. A massive, pitch-black abyss stretched out, crossed by a single, narrow log bridge. At the bottom of the abyss lay mountains of white bones and mummified corpses. The air was thick with dark mist and eerie green light. Most of the skeletons were headless; their skulls were impaled on the branches of a bronze forest on the other side of the abyss, numbering at least ten thousand. They lay with eyes closed, as if sleeping. The mottled green light reflecting off the lifelike faces made them look unsettled, as if they might spring to life at any moment.

Above, a massive, transparent dome, seemingly made of natural crystal, capped the space. On the far side of the abyss, a golden, magnificent palace could be glimpsed, half-hidden in the darkness. Against such a backdrop, it appeared truly terrifying.

Lu Qian carefully stepped onto the log bridge, which was roughly a mile long. He remained vigilant, ready to turn and flee at the slightest sign of trouble.

"What is this?"

He noticed a tall bronze altar in the forest on the far side of the abyss. Dozens of corpses lay strewn around its base. Some looked fresh, their blood barely dried.

"Is this the Underworld Secret Map?" Lu Qian’s pupils constricted. One of the corpses held a piece of parchment with a rough diagram, and this very spot was the center point.

A sense of conspiracy washed over him. These people had come with the same enthusiasm as he, only to perish here.

"Time to go!"

He decided to retreat immediately. Just as he cleared the log bridge, a grand, booming voice resonated, and a powerful aura locked onto him. Simultaneously, the ten thousand skulls began to rise into the air.

"No! It was a trap!"

Lu Qian had reacted quickly, but he hadn't expected to be discovered. Moreover, the aura in the void was formidable, exerting a pressure similar to what he had felt when encountering the Tongyou.

A hideous ghost hand reached out from the altar. It looked both real and illusory, thirty feet wide, and in an instant, it spanned the distance to claw at Lu Qian’s back.

"Order!"

Lu Qian spat out his sword pouch, and golden light pierced the black mist. Just as the ghost hand was about to strike, the golden light formed a shield.

Crack!

The golden shield held for a second before shattering into a spray of golden sparks.

Boom!

Boundless Yin energy surged forth. Taking advantage of the brief opening, Lu Qian transformed back to his original form and fled through the bronze door.

Boom!

The bronze door shook violently, and cracks spread across the ground like a spiderweb. The door seemed to be sealed, and the ghost hand could only pound against it in rage.

The moment he exited, the giant tree reacted instantly, morphing into a one-legged ghost. Its hands, turned into branches, whipped toward him.

"Die!" The one-legged ghost attacked with a hatred that seemed deep-seated. Simultaneously, the multi-eyed flesh discs emerged from the shadows.

A gust of white wind blew past. The flesh discs were drained of their essence by Lu Qian’s Bone-Sucking Needles, but the one-legged ghost remained unharmed. The Profound Frost Yin energy froze it, but the tree roots regenerated instantly, and the branches blocked his path. Inside the bronze door, dark energy began to seep out; something was trying to break through.

Swish!

The Profound Frost Yin energy, sharp as a blade, sliced through the roots at the entrance.

"Stay here!" the one-legged ghost laughed gleefully. It was a difficult opponent, with cultivation around the mid-to-late stage of Spirit Nourishment, and it possessed infinite regeneration.

"You court death!" Lu Qian said coldly. He opened his mouth, and golden energy surged out. The razor-sharp light severed the ghost’s arms.

"It's useless! Ah!" The ghost, triumphant a second ago, realized in horror that its limbs were not regrowing.

"Don't you know that metal conquers wood?"

A rain of golden light fell, and the monster, formed from wood and stone essence, was shredded to pieces in an instant.

Boom!

At that moment, a ghost hand reached out from the bronze door. Lu Qian bolted from the cave, ignoring the attacking salamanders. He inverted his Yin Spirit, the poles reversed, and the surroundings returned to normal.

Plop!

The salamanders fell to the ground, harmlessly crawling back into the water.

"It was a trap, as I thought," Lu Qian muttered. His previous theory was correct. Since someone had drawn the map, it was impossible that no one had entered. The water eye had been open for centuries; countless experts must have explored it. The map he saw across the abyss was different from his, but the general direction was correct.

"And that overwhelming aura..." Lu Qian recalled the presence he had felt. It was very strong, reminiscent of the pressure the Tongyou had exerted. Was it a trap left by the Heavenly River Daoist? Or perhaps a total conspiracy? It didn't seem quite right; the palace looked abandoned for ages. And if there really were an expert as strong as the Tongyou, he wouldn't have been able to escape just now.

"Perhaps it's still worth a try," Lu Qian thought, his eyes flickering. As long as it wasn't the real Heavenly River Daoist, it was manageable.

Screech!

A Yellow Spring Cold Crow flew overhead. Lu Qian immediately transformed into a straw doll and vanished several miles away.

"Strange! I felt an aura just a moment ago." The figure of Miaoming landed, looking around in confusion. Finding nothing with his divine sense, he looked at Pu Yu'an and the others. "Search the perimeter. Tell me immediately if you find anyone. And remember, do not act recklessly."

"Understood!" Pu Yu'an replied, his soul still lost in the depths of defeat.