You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

Chapter 55 The Demon Spirit
In the mist.

Marin's "soul" had a blank stare, as if it were in a daze, and wandered aimlessly around.

Chen Yang followed behind and soon discovered something else amiss.

"wrong!"

“This is different from what Yan Xuebing and the old man encountered before their deaths. This is not one of the three souls and seven spirits, but the vengeful spirit of Ma Lin!”

Those of you who are often scared out of your wits know...

The so-called "scared out of one's soul" only means that one of the "three souls and seven spirits" is lost. So after losing one's soul, one either falls into a deep sleep or becomes mentally impaired and easily frightened. If it is a child, he will cry incessantly at night or even have a high fever.

For example, Zhou Qiang's father was so frightened that he fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake up until Chen Yang performed a ritual to summon his soul.

But Marin is different.

Although his "soul" was illusory, Chen Yang could tell with a little observation that it was a complete Yin spirit!

"Marin!"

Chen Yang called out again.

He flashed forward and stood in front of Marin's "soul".

The "soul" still didn't hear anything and continued to drift forward.

Marin's "soul" stopped upon hitting Chen Yang and was bounced back several meters, but like an NPC that had encountered a bug in a game, he continued to float forward.

It was knocked back, then continued to drift.

It collided, bounced off... and then floated away!
Chen Yang was speechless!

The spirits are formless and intangible, yet they can penetrate trees, stones, and even flesh and blood.

Ordinary people can't stop him, can't see him, can't touch him, let alone catch him, but Chen Yang is different.

He grabbed Marin by the neck and slapped him hard across the face several times!

"........."

Marin's soul trembled, his face was almost smashed to pieces, but his eyes became clear.

Chen Yang quickly put his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Marin, you're awake?"

"Master Chen...?"

Marin looked completely bewildered.

He turned and looked around, surprised, "I... how am I floating? Am I already dead?"

He was, after all, a "Taoist cultivator," and knew what his current state meant. For a moment, he was dejected and found it hard to accept.

Chen Yang asked, "Do you remember what happened?"

Marin choked up as he said, "Not long after Director Wei and I went into the mountains, we were attacked by a flock of sheep..."

???

Chen Yang: "Sheep?"

Marin: "That's right, it's sheep... there are three or four hundred of them. The sheep were affected by the mist and underwent some kind of mutation. Their eyes glowed with blood, their bodies became as big as calves, and they grew fine, sharp teeth!"

Chen Yang's eyes flickered slightly, and he knew he hadn't guessed wrong.

The animals shrouded in mist all underwent some kind of mutation.

"and then?"

"Then……"

Marin seemed to have some lingering recollection. After a moment of deep thought, a look of horror gradually appeared on his face as he said in a deep voice, "Later... we were attacked again by those villagers and rescue team members!"

"They...they've mutated too!"

"It was as if I was possessed by an evil spirit, becoming fearless and ruthless. Director Wei said that those people might still be saved, so he didn't kill them... After that, I had no memory of it."

Marin asked, "Master Chen, are we still in Wulong Mountain? Why is there a blood-red moon in the mist of Wulong Mountain?"

"I can't say for sure."

Chen Yang said, "However, I have seen this blood moon and mist in one place before."

"Where?"

"The underworld!"

"what?"

"However, the mist of Wulong Mountain seems different from that of the underworld... I need to take a closer look before I can make a judgment."

Marin seemed frightened. He said, "Could it be that this thick fog has caused Wulong Mountain to fall into the underworld? If that's the case, will the spirits and vengeful ghosts of the underworld enter the human world through Wulong Mountain and cause havoc?"

Chen Yang chuckled and said, "If that's really the case, then it's actually a good thing... It means that the path between Yin and Yang is now open, and the experts of the underworld can enter the human world in large numbers to maintain the order between Yin and Yang. At that time, there probably won't be enough spirits and vengeful ghosts for the underworld officials to catch."

But Chen Yang soon realized he had oversimplified things. Deep within the fog, Chen Yang discovered even more "souls."

These "souls" belonged to the villagers and rescue team members, and they were in the same dazed and confused state as Marin at the beginning, with dull eyes.

Chen Yang tried to wake them up, but failed.

Marin was a Daoist cultivator who had already condensed a Yin spirit. His divine soul was powerful, and he still had self-awareness even after leaving his body. But these villagers were different.

And their souls were either broken or whole.

Marin, being in a "ghost" state, could naturally see these spirits. He exclaimed in surprise, "These...are all these people dead?"

Chen Yang summoned the Soul-Capturing Bell and collected all the souls, saying, "The separation of the soul from the body does not necessarily mean death... However, if the souls of these ordinary people are separated from their bodies for too long, their physical vitality will wither, and they will eventually die."

He glanced at Marin and added, "You too."

Marin realized what was happening and exclaimed with delight, "Master Chen, you mean... I might not be dead?"

As we ventured deeper into Wulong Mountain...

The sky grew increasingly dark under the mist, the blood moon in the sky became more and more conspicuous, and the "evil aura" in the mist became even stronger.

A cold wind began to blow from all around.

That's strange.

The wind couldn't dispel the mist, but when it blew on Chen Yang, it made his soul feel as if it were about to be blown out of his body. He quickly activated the "Yellow Springs Refining Spirit Technique" to suppress his soul and looked ahead—

A figure appeared in the mist ahead.

This person was a village woman, about forty years old.

Her steps were mechanical, like a walking corpse, wandering aimlessly through the fog.

Do not!
There was more than one figure!
Many more villagers and rescue team members could be seen in the fog.

Their condition was similar to that of the village woman.

Clearly, there's something wrong with the "evil wind" here. When it blows on people, it blows their "souls" away, causing a separation between their spirit and body. Their "souls" drift away in a daze, while their bodies remain here.

Marlin exclaimed with delight, "I remember now..."

"Director Wei and I also encountered them. They seem to have lost their souls... Master Chen, is it possible that putting their souls back into their bodies will wake them up?"

"Am I... am I the same?"

Chen Yang glanced at Ma Lin and asked, "You really don't want to die? I can write a letter of introduction to the underworld and help you get a good reincarnation after you die!"

nonsense!

Who wants to die when you can live?
Marin thought to himself, but on the surface he smiled bitterly and said, "Master Chen, I'm only 26 years old... I'm not married yet. My family has only one son per generation. If I die, won't the line end?"

next moment……

Click, click, click!

A series of unsettling bone-grinding sounds rang out, and the civilians and rescue team members who were walking like zombies in the fog all turned their heads to look at Chen Yang and Ma Lin.

Some of them originally had their backs to Chen Yang.

But at this moment...

His head suddenly rotated 180 degrees!
Their eyes gleamed with bloodlust, and they exuded an evil aura. After staring at Chen Yang and Wang Lin for three seconds, they all stepped forward and charged!
"what's the situation?"

Marin exclaimed, "Their bodies and souls have been separated; they've already lost their souls. How can they still move?"

Chen Yang stared intently at the figures rushing through the mist, and said in a deep voice, word by word, "There's something dirty in their bodies!"

He touched the Soul-Capturing Bell at his waist!
The Soul-Capturing Bell... did not issue a warning!
This shows that the "dirty things" that occupy and control those people are not ghosts, but another kind of existence that Chen Yang cannot understand!
boom!
Chen Yang's body suddenly erupted with Yin energy, which poured into the Soul-Capturing Bell!
Ding-ding-ding-ding!

The Soul-Capturing Bell flew out, swelled in the wind, and grew to the size of a washbasin before crashing into the figure at the very front!

boom!
A streak of blood shot out from the back of the figure's head.

Within the blood-red light, a deep, hoarse, and somewhat sinister voice exclaimed in surprise, "The Soul-Capturing Bell... the aura of a ghost official from the underworld... Impossible, how could there be ghost officials in the mortal realm now?"

Chen Yang stared at the streak of blood-red light, sensing its aura...

He had never seen such a thing before.

But at that moment, a crisp notification sound rang in my mind—

[You strive to exorcise ghosts and maintain the order of Yin and Yang in the mortal realm, but you've discovered that the world has changed drastically. The seal between heaven and earth has loosened, allowing demonic spirits to invade and attempt to assimilate the human world. This is a matter of great importance; please report this to the underworld immediately and seek a solution!]

[Task Rewards: Cultivation +1000, Soul Condensing Pill *3]

…………

PS: In "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio", it is mentioned that: when a person dies, he becomes a ghost, and when a ghost dies, he becomes a demon. Ghosts fear demons just as people fear ghosts!

(End of this chapter)