A ghost god with the lower body like tree roots and the upper body a voluptuous female form had its corpse embedded in the stone wall.
Its robe was thoroughly tattered, and many battle-damaged black glass lanterns lay around it.
Luo Si continued, "This was a Spirit Lamp Lord."
After walking several hundred more steps, the two of them discovered an empty skeleton throne, inverted on the ground.
The throne was immensely large.
Not far from the throne, on the ground, a pile of rubble nearly buried the entire body of a third ghost god.
Only a right forearm was exposed.
The arm was covered in cracks, from which blue light glowed outwards. The blue glow was eerie and unsettling.
Ning Zhuo and Luo Si’s hearts were shaken.
Besides the third one whose origins were unknown, the first two ghost gods were formidable fighters.
Judging from their aura, they were all at the Transforming Spirit Level!
Yet they all paid with their lives.
Even if they were ordinary and inferior to top cultivators like the Lord of Wangchuan and the Silent Ghost Monk, they were still at the Transforming Spirit Level.
"The battle that occurred here must have been extremely fierce!" Luo Si remarked.
Ning Zhuo’s gaze darkened as he naturally thought of the three deity-invoking paper puppets in his mother’s paperman army.
"Mother led this paperman army into the valley and encountered a strong enemy. Most of the soldiers were lost upfront, leaving a trail of scattered paper scraps."
"Here, she had no choice but to use those three deity-invoking paper puppets, summoning these three ghost gods."
"In the end, the ghost gods sacrificed themselves, allowing Mother to continue forward!"
Ning Zhuo reconstructed the battle in his mind, growing even more worried: "Every time Mother takes action, she greatly diminishes her spiritual nature. Her condition is limited, and she won’t hold out for long."
Thinking of this, Ning Zhuo’s heart filled not only with heaviness but with mounting anxiety.
Luo Si felt the same.
The two of them unwittingly quickened their pace and finally reached the deepest part of the Water Burial Valley.
The scene before their eyes struck Ning Zhuo and Luo Si like a lightning bolt, causing them to forget to breathe!
The bottom of the valley had been completely transformed!
A giant pit, several dozen yards in diameter and over ten yards deep, occupied the core!
The walls of the pit were smooth as a mirror, with residual marks of high-temperature melting.
Thick magma flowed within the pit, reminding Ning Zhuo of Fire Persimmon Mountain.
The edge of the pit revealed a strange, wavelike distortion of the ground, with all rocks pushed outward, filled with frost, scorch marks, and corroded holes.
Their divine sense continuously spread out, and detection spells permeated in all directions.
Luo Si was the first to discover, "There’s a rudimentary formation hidden in the magma."
The formation was at the Golden Core Level, but so crude that with Luo Si’s effort, he easily broke an opening.
The two of them squeezed into the array space through the opening.
"Mother!" Ning Zhuo’s body trembled violently, his Adam’s apple bobbing, almost uttering heartfelt words.
"Grey Bone Elder!" Luo Si, however, let out a cry of surprise.
The Grey Bone Elder, robed in a wide grey cloak, lay on the ground motionless, his breath completely gone.
His skull seemed as though it had been torn by sharp claws, leaving a small portion missing.
But his eyes were tightly closed, and his corpse had been hastily handled.
Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin sat cross-legged beside the Grey Bone Elder.
She held the Big Snake Scythe firmly, the blade embedded deep into the massive stone slab beneath.
She had lost half her body, along with half an arm and a left leg. Through the massive wounds, the internal mechanisms were visible, completely deformed.
At the wounded areas, the spiritual network was severed, hanging like thin silk.
Droplets of spiritual liquid, faintly glowing with Buddha Light, trickled from the cracks.
Charred holes, ice-formed cracks, and terrifying penetrating wounds.
Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin’s head hung low, stained with blood and dust. Her left eye was a black cavity, with its inner mechanisms completely destroyed, leaving only some broken spiritual network.
She should have collapsed, rather than sitting upright. The Big Snake Scythe, propped against the ground, provided her only support.
Ning Zhuo noticed sharply that Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin’s remaining right hand clamped the scythe’s long handle with iron-like grip.
Her finger joints had even twisted and deformed from the extreme force, as if desperately wanting to merge with the deadly weapon, revealing a will to fight to the death against formidable foes, protecting her dear ones!
Ning Zhuo’s eyes reddened, and finally, he couldn’t help but call out softly, "Mother!"
This cry immediately drew Luo Si’s gaze.
The immense grief and boundless terror filled Ning Zhuo’s body and mind. He staggered forward to Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin.
Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin showed no reaction, a scene of dead silence.
Ning Zhuo forcibly suppressed his nearly shattering spirit, his fingertips trembling uncontrollably as he carefully inspected the condition of this broken Immortal Puppet.
Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin’s spiritual nature had completely vanished!
This shattered Ning Zhuo’s heart and soul, almost driving him to collapse.
He suddenly understood that he had paid an extremely heavy price to thwart the Lord of Wangchuan’s century-old scheme.
And this price, he could not accept at all!
Click.
At that moment, a barely audible, spring-like mechanical sound emerged.
Then, a Jade Slip slid out from Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin’s body. Ning Zhuo instinctively reached out, catching it before it hit the ground.
Luo Si, too, had reddened eyes and knelt beside the Grey Bone Elder.
He was temporarily distracted by the unusual sound, looking at Ning Zhuo with eyes full of sadness and curiosity.
Ning Zhuo immediately immersed his divine sense into the Jade Slip.
The next moment, his mind was violently shaken.
Because the content of this Jade Slip was specifically left for him by his mother.
"Zhuo’er, do not despair. I have not truly perished but retained a breath with the aid of a monstrous method. In the future, go to Myriad Images Sect, open Mother’s cave mansion, and take everything within. When the Big Snake Scythe trembles, the time has come. If you cremate Mother’s belongings from her lifetime, the Spirit Light can reappear."
"At that time, Mother might even, by misfortune, gain fortune and grasp more of the monstrous path’s mysteries."
Seeing this content, Ning Zhuo immediately stopped crying, as if he had returned from hell to the Mortal World.
"Mother!" He collapsed to the ground, completely drained, feeling more exhausted than he had in the Altar Battlefield not long ago.
Fortunately, fortunately, everything could still be salvaged.
The contents of the Jade Slip were quite extensive. After regaining his composure, Ning Zhuo continued reading.
"The Water Burial Valley has become a deathtrap. Alas, although partnering with Grey Bone Elder to slay the strong enemy, ultimately, I couldn’t save him."
"Zhuo’er, the Lord of Wangchuan will not rest! You must leave here and the Netherworld immediately! Do not linger for a moment!"
...
"The City Lord of the White Paper Immortal City... this person... must be cautiously guarded. Regardless of victory or defeat for the Lord of Wangchuan, it will be a different situation for the White Paper Immortal City."
"Therefore, you must properly arrange the Qing Jiao Army."
"They must stay in the Yin Tide Black Swamp but also frequently enter the Netherworld."
"Mother received instructions from Grey Bone Elder, uncovering many of Xuan Su Scholar’s hidden moves. These can be utilized along with the military forces, allowing them to traverse Yin and Yang, continually exerting their influence in the swamp."
...
"You need to personally care for Qing Chi! I believe you have already guessed several possibilities. These mysteries will be explained in the future."
"Under no circumstances should she remain in the Qing Jiao Army, nor can she stay in White Paper Immortal City. Either would put her life at great risk."
"Take her with you to Myriad Images Sect."
...
"Before Grey Bone Elder died, he allowed me to teach you the ’Water Burial Peace and Virtue Scripture.’"
"You must diligently cultivate this Taoist Scripture, accumulate merits, and eliminate the disdain held by the Netherworld’s Heaven against you..."
...
"When you arrive at Myriad Images Sect, you may seek someone... she is Mother’s bosom friend there, whom you may try to trust."
"Mother also has a Talisman Paper enterprise at Myriad Images Sect. If you reveal your identity, you should be able to inherit it."
"Do you still remember Mother’s instructions? Do not explore the Chaotic Destiny Sect; you are far from strong enough now."
...
Ning Zhuo stood rooted to the spot, momentarily like a clay figure.
Mother’s messages, every word like a heavy hammer, struck his heart.
All the arrangements, between the lines, conveyed a mother’s love and concern for her son...