The Ghost Fan Tower was indeed located underground.
The three of them arrived at a slanted entrance before a building's gate while holding their invitation cards.
Contrary to their expectations of a sewer, the entrance to the Ghost Fan Tower had actually been constructed with a gatehouse.
Although this gatehouse was situated on the remote outskirts of Bianliang, its ostentatious appearance still surprised the three of them.
Which terrifying organization or cult would still operate openly?
This was a case of being exposed before they had even revealed themselves, and now they were openly establishing their headquarters while being hunted down by the government.
This was no longer a simple provocation.
Despite their surprise, the three did not hesitate for even a moment and stepped into the underground gatehouse.
The interior of the gatehouse sloped downward, initially dim, but as they ventured further in, a pale white light began to emanate from the surrounding walls and ceiling.
This was a cold light that, when cast upon the three of them, made them feel even chillier.
“Phosphorus fire,” Xu Shilan whispered.
Yamada nodded in agreement, but he also had a question: “There aren’t that many scales in human bones, nor can they shine for long.”
Wu Qifu remained silent, his blood concealed, the qi gathering within his flesh, ready to respond to any ambush at any moment.
Xu Shilan coldly stated, “This isn’t pure phosphorus fire or phosphorus light. There are records in the techniques of shadow puppetry that after a person dies, the resentment of their soul can do many things. The simplest is to arrange the environment. This place is actually arranged with phosphorus fire combined with resentment. What we see as light may very well just be a dim underground passage.”
“Right.”
Wu Qifu affirmed.
In his eyes, this passage presented two different states: one was the pale light source, and the other was still the dim or even pitch-black underground passage.
Moreover, he could vaguely see something deeper.
That was countless broken and incomplete human heads, each with terrifying expressions embedded in the surrounding walls of the passage, all wailing in agony…
The first layer was the phosphorus light passage, the second layer was the pitch-black passage, and the third layer was a passage where countless ghosts gathered…
This was the effect of his inspiration combined with the Huanglian fragments, allowing him to vaguely see the truth of the third layer while not being observed by it.
Wu Qifu did not share the truth of the third layer with the other two, as this thing was very eerie; if you saw it, it would see you back.
The two did not have Huanglian fragments, and telling them would not be a good thing.
The three of them safely passed through the phosphorus light passage, and then their surroundings suddenly opened up, revealing a space as large as half a football field.
The height of the rock ceiling above was about five meters, and there were numerous passages leading in all directions around this open area, which also contained some distorted-looking buildings.
There were not many people in the open area; those present were mostly peering cautiously out from within the buildings.
However, before the three of them stood five figures in white robes.
They were entirely pale, their long robes wrapping around them completely, resembling the White Impermanence described by people.
The most crucial detail was that Wu Qifu and the others keenly noticed that all five figures in white robes had no legs; they were floating in mid-air.
However, the three felt confident and were not intimidated.
Wu Qifu took the lead and asked, “Are you here to welcome us?”
The five figures in white robes spoke in five different male and female tones, eerily saying, “We humbly invite the three celestial disciples to follow us.”
The white-robed figures floated toward a passage, and the three followed in formation, with Wu Qifu at the front, Yamada at the back, and Xu Shilan in the middle.
Gradually, they wound through the underground for several dozen minutes.
During this time, Wu Qifu glanced back several times, and Xu Shilan slightly nodded at him, while Yamada also gave a slight nod, which calmed Wu Qifu’s heart.
Both of them had a spatial memory ability, especially Yamada, who, as a veteran of three wars, had an intuition and understanding of terrain and geography far beyond ordinary people.
As they walked, they once again came to a sudden opening, revealing an underground plaza that was twice the size of the entrance area.
In the center stood a massive restaurant connected to the rock ceiling above, surrounded by numerous buildings, and many people were setting up stalls.
The entire open area, while not exactly a sea of people, was at least bustling with activity, with the number of visible people possibly exceeding a thousand.
These were not a thousand ordinary people; Wu Qifu, Yamada, and Xu Shilan all possessed cultivation techniques, and their perception abilities had surpassed those of mortals.
Particularly, Wu Qifu’s intuition was at the second tier, while Xu Shilan’s technique was shadow puppetry, a method known in this world as one of the three evils.
They could all sense that the thousands of people carried an aura similar to resentment, cold and eerie, making them uncomfortable just to look at.
All these people were cultivators and extraordinary beings of this world!
The five white-robed figures floated toward the largest restaurant, where two men and one woman stood blocking the way of Wu Qifu and the others.
The two men and one woman clasped their fists, and the leading man said, “Vase Hand, Jiang Xianzhi.”
The man standing slightly behind added, “Corpse Keeper, Yang Mu Yi.”
The woman said, “Painted Skin Qing, Huang Yaoyan.”
“Greetings, celestial disciples.”
Wu Qifu and the others did not even raise their hands.
Xu Shilan and Yamada remained silent, while Wu Qifu stepped forward and asked, “So… are you going to challenge us first to confirm our qualifications or something?”
Jiang Xianzhi smiled and said, “How could that be? The arrival of the three celestial disciples brings glory to our humble abode; we are delighted, not wishing to make things difficult for you. Please, we are your guides for the next part.”
Wu Qifu let out a cold laugh and stepped into the Ghost Fan Tower.
As he passed Huang Yaoyan, he sniffed and said cheerfully, “So that human skin was yours?”
Huang Yaoyan’s face turned slightly pale, and she expressionlessly replied, “If I disturbed the three celestial disciples, that human skin can be considered an apology; it’s just a pity for my senior sister, whose last remnant of soul dissipated along with her skin.”
Wu Qifu felt a chill in his heart and took note of this woman, then led the way into the building, followed by Xu Shilan and Yamada.
Under the guidance of Jiang Xianzhi and the others, they arrived inside the large building and found that the center was a platform surrounded by rooms, which should be the so-called grand auction hall.
The three were arranged to sit in the front row of the auction hall on the first floor.
This was clearly not a private room, and upon looking around, they found that aside from the three of them, there were no other guests seated.
They immediately realized that this seating arrangement was suspicious, but Wu Qifu sensed the surroundings and shook his head at the other two.
He then sat down directly, waiting to see what this Ghost Fan Tower faction intended to do.
As the three settled down, the surrounding lights flickered on and off, and vague shadows moved about.
Occasionally, they could hear the sounds of ghostly wails.
After a moment, a woman dressed in thin silk and gauze walked to the stage.
This woman had a beautiful face and a graceful figure, but her expression was extremely vacant, her skin a grayish-blue, and her lips devoid of any color, making her appear lifeless.
At this moment, a man’s voice unexpectedly came from her mouth: “The grand auction of the Ghost Fan Tower is now commencing. As per usual, the price is in soul crystals, with each bid not less than ten soul crystals.”
The woman clapped her hands, and someone brought up a black cabinet.
The three saw the woman open the black cabinet, revealing a blue-and-white porcelain vase.
This was not the main point; the key detail was that instead of flowers, a young and beautiful woman’s head was inserted into the vase.
“Beauty Flower, feed it soul crystal powder, or place it in a ghostly area; it will bloom in three years and bear fruit in three years, yielding three to five Night Gu fruits after six years. The starting price is sixty soul crystals.”
The faces of Wu Qifu and the others turned grim, but they remained seated.
At this moment, someone in the upper private room began to call out bids, and eventually, one hundred and ten soul crystals were paid for it.
Next, another black cabinet was brought out, and when opened, it revealed a scroll.
It was evident that the scroll was not made of paper; although Wu Qifu and the others did not touch it, they could imagine that it was likely made of human skin or something similar.
On the scroll was a woman with seven children, and astonishingly, the woman and the seven children were playing and moving within the scroll.
“Ghost Mother and Seven Sons Scroll, a high-grade magical artifact. After being refined, it can release the seven sons, each possessing the strength of five men. Ordinary swords and blades are difficult to injure them. If one sprays their essence blood on the scroll, they can summon the Ghost Mother, who possesses the strength of a hundred men and can tear apart tigers and leopards. The flaw is that it is prone to backlash and must be constantly fed with living souls and human flesh. The starting price is three hundred soul crystals.”
Wu Qifu and the others remained expressionless, and the scroll was eventually sold for eight hundred soul crystals.
Then, one bizarre item after another was brought up for auction, each more grotesque than the last, mostly made from human materials and organs, with high-end items even mixed with human souls.
However, there were a few auction items that were not like this; for example, there was a bronze long sword, claimed to be an antique from the Warring States period, which was bought at a high price due to its historical significance and some legendary properties that Wu Qifu and the others could not understand.
There was also a treasure map, said to be a fragment left behind by a high-level cultivator from hundreds of years ago, indicating the location of a mansion that might contain a Zhu fruit.
Wu Qifu noted down the term Zhu fruit.
Soon, the auction seemed to be nearing its end.
Just as the zombie woman finished auctioning off a beautiful skin painting, the area where the three were seated suddenly rose, and light began to shine around them.
The zombie woman continued to use a male voice to say, “The last item of this auction is three celestial disciples. According to our tower's understanding, their elders may possess Pure Yang techniques. Whether they are immortals is uncertain, but perhaps the origins of the Pure Yang techniques can be found on these three celestial disciples. The starting price is three thousand soul crystals.”
Wu Qifu, Xu Shilan, and Yamada exchanged glances and all laughed.
Wu Qifu stood up and said, “Isn’t it about time to wrap this up?”
The zombie woman did not speak, but a voice from the stage laughed loudly, “For you, it is the end.”
Another voice chimed in, “Otherwise? Hahaha.”
“When I buy you, I will surely extract your souls and savor them.”
“What does the blood of celestial disciples taste like?”
“Celestial? Hahaha, celestial?”
In an instant, the entire building was filled with ghostly wails, various voices mixing loudly.
Wu Qifu remained silent, and with a metallic orb in hand, he threw it forcefully forward, striking the wooden wall behind the zombie woman with a loud bang.
The surroundings fell silent for a moment, and just as the cultivators in the private rooms were about to make noise again, a thunderous explosion erupted.
As azure flames surged, brilliant light and heat began to sweep outward, and everything touched by it—be it people, objects, or bizarre items—vanished in an instant.
In the next second, a section of the Ghost Fan Tower was directly pierced through and disappeared, more than a quarter of it gone, even affecting the outside, where dozens of cultivators setting up stalls evaporated into thin air.
“…….”
“What was that!? What was that!?”
“Thunderfire Bomb!? Explosives!?”
“No, it’s impossible! The power can’t be this great, and didn’t you smell it? There’s not even a hint of gunpowder!!”
“……It’s a Thunder Pearl, said to be usable only by those with a hundred years of cultivation and possessing great virtue of pure yin!?”
“There’s no yin energy, not a trace, only such terrifying light and heat. This is…”
“Pure Yang, this is Pure Yang Celestial Thunder!”
“Celestial!? Is there really a celestial!?”
Countless ghostly wails turned into genuine cries, and in an instant, who knows how many people were running or jumping down from the Ghost Fan Tower, while the loud cultivators wished they had two more legs.
“Don’t be afraid! That must be a treasure given to them by their elders to save their lives; how much could it be!? We have the numbers, let’s charge in!”
“Pure Yang opportunity!!”
At this moment, a thin man jumped down from the private room while shouting loudly.
The wailing quieted for a moment, and then over a hundred dark figures surrounded the three from all directions.
Even though they were still a distance away, Wu Qifu could feel a real chill of oppression rushing toward him.
This was not an illusion of momentum but a genuine cold power or energy.
“……Is this the strength of baseline reality 0.7?”
The three were all horrified; even though they had not yet approached, they could feel the terror of these evil cultivators, each one stronger than the previous half-paper man by an unknown margin.
Thus, the three immediately stood back to back and began to rapidly and extensively…
Throw out metallic orbs.
In an instant, all those about to pounce froze in place.
What came rushing toward them were densely packed “Pure Yang Celestial Thunders,” and then…
Boom!
The Ghost Fan Tower did not last even a second before it collapsed and shattered!
(End of Chapter)