The Mysterious Card Maker: Starting with Zhang Jiao's Deification

"It's just..." The threshold ghost lowered its voice even further, "Besides that eerie presence, there was also an extremely powerful aura."

Lin Fan glanced back at the bed and whispered to the threshold ghost, "Let it in."

The threshold ghost was taken aback: "Release them all?"

Lin Fan took Zhang Jiao's card out of his pocket. "Put it all out. Since the Gates of Hell can block the strange things, it can certainly trap them too."

He quickly went to Qin Muyao's bedside, reached out and nudged her, "Qin Muyao, wake up, they're here!"

Lin Fan originally didn't want to wake her up. If it were just the previous strange occurrences, the threshold ghost and the ghost soldiers would be enough to deal with it. But now there was more than one strange occurrence, so it was no joke!

"Hmm..." Qin Muyao responded groggily, then suddenly opened her eyes as if she had been electrocuted, immediately got out of bed, and hid behind Lin Fan.

"click"

The door lock clicked softly; it wasn't pried open from the outside, but rather the threshold opened by itself.

A cold, damp wind carrying the smell of decay swept in, and the temperature in the room suddenly dropped several degrees.

Lin Fan subconsciously held his breath; the smell was too pungent, like the stench emanating from a dead rat that had been soaking in a stinking ditch for days.

"Crunch"

The old, dilapidated door was gently pushed open, making a jarring sound.

A lantern came into view first, its pale light casting a bleak glow over the surroundings. A maidservant dressed in white with thick white powder then appeared.

She stood at the doorway, not moving forward, but turning slightly to the side, as if welcoming someone.

A one-eyed, grotesque figure, clad in tattered armor and covered in rotting flesh, crouched low and slipped through the doorway.

The maid raised a lantern, its pale light illuminating Lin Fan's face. "General, this is where they harassed me last night."

The eerie figure called "General" tilted his head, his neck cracking as if it hadn't moved in a long time.

He slung his sword over his shoulder, his one eye fixed on Lin Fan, revealing two rows of blackened teeth. "You smell wonderful. You must taste good too."

The moment he spoke, the smell in the room intensified. Lin Fan quickly covered his nose, suppressing the urge to gag. "Your breath stinks!"

"Foul breath is no problem." He took a step forward, knife in hand. "As long as the meat smells good!"

"General, that woman has such delicate skin and tender flesh, she must taste even better," the maid exclaimed.

Upon hearing this, Qin Muyao's face turned pale instantly, and her hand had already reached for the Zhang Fei card in her pocket.

"This place is so small, where can they run to? In the end, they'll all end up in our stomachs."

The one-eyed general tilted his head and suddenly laughed, as if everyone in the room was his for the taking.

"Old Zhang!" Lin Fan called out softly.

A blue light appeared, and Zhang Jiao's figure gradually solidified in front of him. His eyes swept over the strange situation, but his expression remained unchanged.

The one-eyed general's gaze fell on Zhang Jiao, and his one eye shrank abruptly. He unconsciously took half a step back, lowered his sword from his shoulder, and held it horizontally in front of him.

"What are you?" His voice was no longer as calm as before, and he was more wary of the person who had suddenly appeared in front of him.

Zhang Jiao remained silent, his hands surging with lightning magic, ready to strike at Lin Fan's command.

Lin Fan gripped the [Netherworld] card tightly in his hand, frantically activating the energy within.

"close the door."

The door slammed shut by itself.

The one-eyed general looked at the tightly closed door behind him and couldn't help but laugh. "I thought it was something important. If you close the door, aren't you just asking for trouble?"

He slowly raised his rusty battle sword, which he had been holding horizontally in a defensive stance, and pointed the tip at Lin Fan. A strong smell of blood instantly wafted from the sword.

"Lin Fan, let me handle this!" Sensing the murderous aura emanating from the One-Eyed General's sword, Qin Muyao immediately took out Zhang Fei. Just as she was about to summon Zhang Fei, Lin Fan grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing? Are you really going to wait for that weird thing to rush up?" Qin Muyao said anxiously.

"It's not over yet! I'd like to see what this [Netherworld] is really like. Gates of Hell, stand guard!"

The card in Lin Fan's hand turned into a ball of silver light and exploded instantly, engulfing the entire room. The room disappeared!

Instead, there is only a pervasive darkness, like being buried underground, where not a single ray of light can be seen.

The silver light began to reshape the space; there was no ceiling overhead, only a pitch-black sky.

The white ceramic tiles on the ground have been replaced by dark blue-green stone slabs with indistinct patterns engraved on them, resembling some kind of ancient script.

The surrounding area was desolate, with only one pass standing in the mist. The gate was black and white, as if piecing together the realms of Yin and Yang. The three large characters "Gate of Hell" were engraved on the gate.

On either side of the door, six ghostly soldiers stood upright, spears in hand. They did not look at the rotting flesh general or the maidservants, but only at what was ahead, as if waiting for someone's command.

The threshold ghost was now crouching behind the door, its body a full size larger than before, its bluish-gray face displaying an unprecedented ferocity.

He muttered to himself, "Where's the token? Where's the token? Anyone entering without a token...dies!"

The one-eyed general stopped moving, his single eye scanning the unfamiliar surroundings. "What kind of place is this? What kind of charlatan is this!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Fan couldn't help but curse inwardly, "I wonder who the devil is!"

"General..." The maid's voice was no longer clear and gentle, but tinged with fear, "This place... no... can we... can we still go back?"

"What's the panic? Kill them, and we'll definitely get back!" The one-eyed general roared, his dark red sword flashing brightly. He looked at Lin Fan inside the pass and took a step forward.

The six ghostly soldiers in front of the gate simultaneously raised their spears and thrust them at the one-eyed general.

With a single slash of the sword, the two ghostly soldiers vanished instantly.

Seeing this, the one-eyed general slashed at the other two, and in no time, all six ghost soldiers disappeared.

"General, you are mighty!" The maid's voice returned to its previous gentle tone, and her gaze towards Lin Fan and his companions held even more disdain.

"Hahaha, just some gray-level trash. I thought they could be that powerful!" Just as he was about to take another step forward.

From behind the door, the voice of the threshold ghost rang out:

"No one may enter without permission!"

"Those who enter... die!" The threshold ghost raised his hand, and six ghost soldiers reappeared, once again blocking the one-eyed general's path.

The one-eyed general, seeing this, froze for a second, then swung his sword again, shouting, "I refuse to believe you can stay alive forever!"

Indeed, these ghostly soldiers also die; in fact, one could say they died the moment they first vanished.

The only remaining ones are the "Yin Soldiers and Guards" of the Underworld, who are kept alive by consuming cards. Once the Underworld's current state ends, they will completely disappear.

Qin Muyao had somehow ended up standing next to Lin Fan, clutching Zhang Fei's card in her hand. The fear on her face was long gone, replaced by an expression of excitement.

"This is what you meant by..." she thought for a moment and said, "The Gates of Hell?"

"Yes, but... I can't hold on much longer!"