A Human Black Hole

One had to remember that the maple leaves had only just begun to redden, and daytime in Blade Harbor was still rather mild. Fortunately, the Fiend-Cleaving Pellets had already taken effect. As everyone circulated their true power, their hands and feet felt ice-cold, but at least the external force had not seized hold of them. The gray mist swirled around their bodies, probing specifically for mouths, noses, eyes, and ears, as though guided by malice. Lingguang said worriedly, "If the yin fiend energy over the sea is already this thick, I'm afraid landing on the island won't be easy." Longji Island was the very source of the leyline; it feared the Fiend-Cleaving Pellets would not hold up. After all, medicinal efficacy had its limits. Before He Lingchuan could speak, the divine bone necklace against his chest suddenly grew warm. The thing had slept for so long that he couldn't even remember when it had last reacted. The very next instant, the hole in the center of the pendant began drawing in the mist. To the eighteen eyes of his four companions, the gray mist suddenly surged frantically toward He Lingchuan as if driven from behind, and then— And then it vanished. Young Master He was like a human black hole; as soon as any gray mist drew near, it disappeared without a trace. Even an ancient great demon like Zhu Daniang, who had seen all manner of bizarre wonders, was astonished. "What is going on?" He Lingchuan raised his left wrist, spreading his fingers and then curling them into a fist. Though enveloped from head to toe in thick fog, he felt no discomfort whatsoever. Before the fog could even touch him, it was pulled away by the divine bone necklace. The divine bone's reaction was like a person who had just awakened, taking a long, deep breath. To outside eyes, however, the true destination of the mist remained invisible; it simply seemed to vanish upon approaching him. "Squeak! This is bad!" Lingguang clamped a paw onto his wrist, terrified he was being overwhelmed by the gray mist. The invasion of turbid yin fiend energy into one's body—especially at this concentration and scale—was no laughing matter! It had heard of corpses buried in grounds rich in yin fiend energy turning into jiangshi over time. And those were merely fiend-tainted grounds, not an active leyline! Several methods of expelling fiendish energy flashed through Lingguang's mind, but first and foremost, it had to separate its master from the yin fiend energy! Fearing it would suddenly cram a handful of pills into his mouth, He Lingchuan gently pulled his arm free of its paws. "I'm fine. The yin fiend energy can't harm me." Lingguang had already felt his pulse and indeed found nothing amiss. His pulse was steady and forceful, showing no symptoms of sinister corruption entering his body. Though bewildered, it breathed a sigh of relief. The others subconsciously stepped two paces back, reluctant to be touched by the gray mist. They watched the turbid yin fiend energy throw itself wildly at He Lingchuan while he stood there looking completely nonchalant. The stark contrast was striking, and the sight... was more than a little uncanny. None of the onlookers could hide their awe. Even the earth fiend energy could do nothing against him. With He Lingchuan holding his ground, Tao Ran asked directly, "My lord, are you all right?" "Never better," He Lingchuan laughed aloud, his mood soaring. "Just as I expected!" The others had no idea what he meant, but seeing his supreme confidence, their minds were put at ease. The eldest young master could absorb even the turbid yin fiend energy from a leyline. Whatever method he was using, it was immensely impressive. Zhu Daniang was quite calm. Having wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace and departed Mount Xu alongside He Lingchuan, she knew the fellow's illustrious feats better than anyone. Whatever bizarre things happened around him seemed utterly routine. As for He Lingchuan, he had rushed to the Yangshan Archipelago precisely to test an idea in his mind. When Lu Xun described the Yangshan Archipelago to him, the moment "earth fiend" was mentioned, He Lingchuan immediately thought of the Panlong Desert, and of the former territory of the Yuan Kingdom. When the Panlong Desert fell, millions of soldiers and civilians perished, and the resulting fiend energy brought about more than a century of wild sand seasons. The former territory of the Yuan Kingdom was even more telling: the earth fiend energy in Thousand Stars City had been so potent that even Taozi, an "earth fiend child," was further catalyzed into a little monster—a ba. Yet after He Lingchuan arrived in Lingxu City, he learned from Fu Shanyue that the earth fiend energy in Thousand Stars City had dramatically diminished, and vegetation was already beginning to grow. Why would a deadly land tainted by earth fiends for nearly two centuries undergo such a sudden change? He wasn't flattering himself, but the more he turned it over in his mind, the more he wondered: could the cause lie within himself? Had the Dafang Pot done it? He didn't mind putting it to the test, which was why he had questioned Lu Xun, the ancestor of his original self, so meticulously. At this moment, the heavy stone hanging over his heart finally dropped: The Dafang Pot not only desired yin fiend energy, but devoured it voraciously, displaying an extreme gluttony! To think that something so noxious to humans was actually a delicacy to it? In an instant, the gray mist within twenty li was sucked entirely dry with astounding efficiency, and visibility ahead cleared once more. The small boat steadily drew nearer to the source of the gray mist—Longji Island. Along the way, the humanoid young master—no, the human black hole—passively cleared the waterway. The looks the others gave him were knowing. Young Master He had to be carrying some kind of treasure capable of absorbing yin fiend energy. If he wouldn't say, that was his private business, and no one would pry unprompted. Still, this treasure... was remarkably potent. The clouds in the sky shifted away once more, and sunlight shone down upon the sea again, burning away the remaining gray mist without a trace in a flash. Seeing this, everyone grasped the gist: the yin fiend energy could not endure sunlight, yet during the day, pockets of gray mist still hid in the shadows of the island's hills, escaping whenever the sky clouded over. They moved faster than ships, and once the sun vanished, seafarers would still fall prey to them. That was why neither merchant vessels nor pirates dared venture near this area. And the night was the true domain of the yin fiend energy; no wonder the boatman had urged Tao Ran to find a place to moor and go ashore as soon as night fell. When they beached the boat, stepped onto the island, and looked back, all they saw was fair weather and clear skies, golden light dancing across the waves—a scene of boundless beauty. Who could have imagined that mere dozens of breaths ago, this waterway was an asura's slaughter ground for seagoing vessels? Following the winding slope, the party ascended Longji Island. Wormwood and reeds stood at least a zhang tall, and fallen, towering vegetation lay everywhere. Tao Ran suddenly said, "Hardly anyone ever comes here. How can there be an existing path?" There was indeed a path on the ground, roughly three feet wide, just enough for a single person to pass. The appearance of such a simple path here sent chills down their spines. Given the lush vegetation of Longji Island, if no one walked such a path for a single month, the overgrown flora would have completely swallowed it up. On an island teeming with yin fiend energy, how could there be living humans? "It's a game trail; the grass has been flattened down," Qiu Hu said, crouching to inspect it closely. "There's a light-gray viscous substance on the grass along the edges. The smell—" He took a deliberate sniff and immediately felt sickened, quickly covering his nose. "Fishy and salty!" Lingguang also hopped down to examine it. "If you hadn't taken the Fiend-Cleaving Pellet, you would be vomiting uncontrollably right now." He Lingchuan stroked his chin and said, "I heard that living creatures still inhabit this island, known as yin hui. Could it have been beaten out by them?" Lingguang fretted, "Those monsters are steeped in yin fiend energy day and night. If one bites you, I fear it won't be easy to cure." Tao Ran looked up at the sky. "It's still early before sunset. For now, we're relatively safe." Taking the lead, He Lingchuan said, "Let's move. Just stay alert." He observed the terrain as he walked. The sheer cliffs were on the other side of the island; the route from the beach where their boat had landed to the hillside had a gentle slope and was not difficult to traverse.