Night of Despair

Chapter 336 - 336 334 Mutation II

?Chapter 336: 334 Mutation II Chapter 336: 334 Mutation II The wooden bridge stretched into the depths of the fog, where faint sounds of water lapping seemed to echo.

Yu Hong stepped forward, and before long, vanished into the black mist with the Five-Colored Spiritual Power.

But soon, he reappeared, returning to his original position and sitting back down. The black mist also faded away, as if nothing had ever happened.

This was the current method of the Black Ship’s movement.

After being reinforced in conjunction with the safe house, the Black Ship could now appear anytime, anywhere, in this world.

Just like in the Hope City World, the Black Ship also followed the appearance of the black mist, not limited to whether it was at sea.

Time continued to pass, and Yu Hong continued his seclusion, undergoing the transformation of the Five Spirits Spring.

In the blink of an eye, another three days went by.

Suddenly, Yu Hong opened his eyes and looked outside the room.

Outside, there was someone standing very close, in the courtyard, without any clear intention.

He split a bit of his focus, waiting for the other’s reaction.

In the courtyard, Zheng Xia looked rather helplessly at the room where Yu Hong was in seclusion.

*Should she disturb him or not? This hesitation churned in her heart.*

Before leaving, Master Yu Mo and the Temple Master had repeatedly advised her not to interrupt Yu Hong’s absorption and transformation.

The Five Spirits Spring, which took ten years to collect, and the process of the spiritual power sharpness transformation were crucial. If interrupted and failed, a decade’s efforts would go to waste.

Zheng Xia understood these principles. Once, she had been jealous of Zheng Rou for receiving such tremendous benefits.

But now, truly facing adversity, she realized how important it was to have someone in the sect capable of stabilizing people’s hearts.

“Senior Sister, should we go in and speak?” a young Taoist boy asked softly from behind her.

Zheng Xia was silent for several minutes before finally turning around.

“Let’s go, hold on a little longer….”

Everyone in the temple was running on overdrive, utterly exhausted, and even adding Yu Hong wouldn’t actually resolve much.

After she left, Yu Hong inside the room closed his eyes again, continuing to immerse himself in the transformation.

By then, half of his spiritual consciousness had been transformed. From here on, as long as he followed the steps, he could perfectly obtain the special gift of the Five Spirits Spring.

*Zheng Xia came, perhaps something has occurred?* This thought flashed through his mind before he completely immersed himself again.

After a few seconds of silence.

“Agrius.”

Buzz!

Behind him, a massive black giant lizard appeared out of thin air behind Yu Hong.

The form of the Dragon of Xianglv seemed largely like black mist and wasn’t fully solidified. Otherwise, this room wouldn’t have been able to contain it.

“Go see what’s going on,” Yu Hong couldn’t step away, but something else could.

Swish!

Agrius silently transformed into black mist, dispersing into several strands and flying out through the cracks in the door and window.

Cooperating with it were the forty Dragon Lizards brought along in hibernation.

“Go, don’t let anyone disturb me. If there’s any trouble, take care of it directly,” Yu Hong instructed, closing his eyes.

*

*

*

The Taizhou border, Minnan Mountain.

Zheng Ying of Qingchen Temple held a flashlight, trudging through the dim, unlit forest land.

Behind her were fellow ordinary Taoists Qing Yun and Qing Ding, who were accompanying her on the mission.

Both were young and vigorous fellows, but because their cultivation achievements were mediocre, they had switched to fieldwork to freely obtain some talismans and pay to support themselves.

There were many such Taoists in Qingchen Temple.

They were nearly all the backbone of various chores, the silent, behind-the-scenes workers.

Cleaning the temple, transporting goods, conveying information, looking after the elder Taoists, and more were managed by them.

Whereas the Dao Seeds and the Yu Generation elders only took care of the most essential duty: driving away resentful marks.

“This time, the Golden Jade member has been missing for two days. The police from the nearby township have searched for two days but still haven’t found anything. I’m afraid he might have already….” Qing Ding said, looking at the pitch darkness around them. Even the treetops blocked the light, giving him a chill.

Despite being over six feet tall and robust, facing such supernatural tasks still made him feel paralyzed with fear like a child.

“Even if he is already missing, we must uncover the truth and give the family a proper explanation. Boss Feng has donated for the maintenance of our temple for over ten years and has never sought much in return. Now that he’s in trouble, we must do something no matter what,” Zheng Ying said sternly.

“But why is this place so dark? Why don’t we bring more people with us?” Qing Yun’s legs also trembled a bit.

“Ordinary people would only die if they came,” Zheng Ying replied, “Keep an eye on the Resentment Talisman, and let me know the moment there’s a reaction!”

“Yes, Senior Sister!” The two stiffened and answered in unison.

In the dark forest, the three ventured for over an hour. Finally, following a beaten path, they arrived before a small estate encircled by a wire fence.

The wire fence of the estate was already overgrown with vines.

Through the clean, silver large iron gate, one could see the three-story building inside, adorned with many curves and patterns, resembling the aristocratic style popular abroad.

Between the iron gate and the building, there was a vast stretch of grass.

In the middle of the grassy area stood a white fountain pool, with a dolphin statue perched inside it.

Zheng Ying shone the flashlight inside.

The bright flashlight beam was the only source of light in the estate, causing a pale reflection wherever it touched.

Evidently, all building surfaces here had undergone special moisture-proof treatment.

“There’s no light here, it seems deserted,” Qing Ding couldn’t help but say. “Shouldn’t we stay outside?”

Zheng Ying ignored him and shone the flashlight at the large lock hanging on the iron gate.

She took a key from her waist, inserted it into the lock, and gave it a gentle twist.

Click.

The large lock opened.

“The last message left by Boss Feng said he was coming here to recuperate, away from the city’s hustle, to enjoy peace. If we don’t go inside, where are we going to look for him?” Zheng Ying spoke calmly, “So many cases have already happened here, and you’re still afraid?”

“Of course I’m scared. We don’t have any Daoist skills. If something happens, we only have talismans, but even those have their limits…,” Qing Ding muttered.

Zheng Ying ignored him, pushed open the large iron gate, and stepped inside.

Suddenly, her flashlight seemed to catch sight of a figure standing by the fountain pool.

Her heart skipped a beat as she quickly swung the light back to the perimeter of the fountain.

The white beam cut through the night like a pillar, falling straight on the white surface of the fountain, casting a bright reflection.

*Was it an illusion?* She touched the Resentment Talisman in her pocket, found no response, and redirected the flashlight toward the main building—a well-maintained three-story house.

Before long, the three steadily crossed the grassy area, reached the entrance of the building, took out the key, and pushed the door open.

The white light from their flashlights was gradually blocked by the inner walls, plunging the lawn back into darkness.

Click-clack.

Outside the large iron gate, two tall figures clad in black robes silently emerged from the forest, looking at the eerie estate, yet they did not enter.

“They went inside,” one whispered.

“Even I don’t dare enter this place lightly; the things inside are bizarre, not simple resentful marks but mixed with something else… something vicious,” the other said in a deep voice.

“So they’re definitely done for?”

“Not necessarily, but since they’re here, let’s start with them. We’ll first eliminate the elite of the Dao Seed Class, then lure out the Yu Generation elders. If we do it discreetly, no one can tell if it’s us or the resentful marks doing it.”

“The Sect Hierarch is wise.”

“I’m no longer a Sect Hierarch. After we finish our revenge on Qingchen Temple, we’ll head to the Alliance and start fresh,” this person sighed, “In the past, such matters never required our personal intervention… it’s really….”

One after the other, the two gently pushed open the iron gate and entered.

Shortly after they entered, a massive, dark, fuzzy silhouette silently appeared in front of the gate. In a blink, the silhouette disintegrated, turning into black smoke that vanished without a trace.

*

*

*

Inside the estate’s building.

Zheng Ying wandered step by step in the first-floor corridor, searching each room she encountered.

Click.

Qing Ding toggled the light switch, but there was no response.

“Doesn’t seem like there’s electricity,” he said, curling up even more, increasingly scared.

“Senior Sister?” Qing Yun, who was exploring the other end of the corridor, suddenly called out.

“Come quickly, there’s something over here!”

Startled, Zheng Ying and Qing Ding quickly moved toward Qing Yun.

Soon, the three gathered before a room that appeared to be the master bedroom.

The door to the master bedroom was a smooth, clean black composite wood, with a silver metal handle featuring delicate cherry blossom patterns, looking simple yet elegant.

But now, this door, which should have been pristine, had a line of text and drawings carved into its surface with something sharp.

Zheng Ying reached out, gently tracing the carvings with her fingers, reading the inscriptions aloud with a furrowed brow.

“I was wrong… She was not my wife… not….”

Beneath the text was a grotesque depiction of a hideous woman’s face.

“If I remember correctly, wasn’t Boss Feng a member of the city’s painting association?” Zheng Ying asked softly.

“Yes… yes, he was,” Qing Ding verified, taking out a document.

“Then this drawing is just awful… has there been any response from the Resentment Talisman?” Zheng Ying asked again.

“No…” Qing Yun replied, his voice trembling slightly, “Senior Sister, I have a bad feeling about this….”

“Don’t say anything ominous.” Zheng Ying slapped him lightly in annoyance.

“Wait… Senior Sister, over there… it looks like someone is there!”

All of a sudden, Qing Yun stared blankly, eyes locked on something to Zheng Ying’s right.

It was the corridor connected to the living room, the path they had just walked through.

Zheng Ying quickly turned her head to look, clutching the Resentment Talisman.

Her flashlight illuminated the area, but nothing could be seen. Frowning, she turned the flashlight back, then her breath caught, and she hastily stepped back.

Because in that moment, the text and drawings inscribed on the door had completely vanished!

Zheng Ying swiftly took out a Resentment Talisman from her belt, a more advanced talisman than the Yin Energy Talisman, equivalent to a moderate blow from her own power unleashed medium Fear Shadow!

Outside, giving it saved strength was the best substitute.

Strangely, however, the most sensitive Resentment Talisman didn’t react at all at that moment.

Instead, the Inheritance Dao Artifact hanging on Zheng Ying’s chest trembled slightly as if influenced by something.

Spa.

Suddenly, there was a light sound, and Zheng Ying turned her head to discover that Qing Yun, who had been beside her, had vanished.

“Qing Yun?!” The truth was petrifying; she called out softly.

But no one answered.

“Qing Yun?” Qing Ding quickly called after, sweat streaming from his face like a broken line. It trickled relentlessly down his neck.

Zheng Ying gritted her teeth; the Fear Shadow behind her surged forward into the dark living room.

Splat.

The Fear Shadow instantly merged with the darkness, severing the connection.

The abrupt severance of connection with her summoning caused a sharp pain in Zheng Ying’s head.

She groaned, clutching her forehead, and shook her head vigorously.

When she looked up again.

“Qing Ding?!” She was shocked to find that Qing Ding, who had just been beside her, had also disappeared!

Swish.

At that moment, just as a profound sense of powerlessness washed over her, a special yellow talisman paper hidden deep within her talisman pouch suddenly grew hot and spontaneously combusted.

Zheng Ying sensed something was wrong and quickly pulled out the talisman paper.

And at the moment she saw the talisman paper, her expression changed dramatically.

It became extremely grim.

“This is… the Catastrophe Spirit Talisman!!?”

“Could it be that this isn’t a resentful mark, nor the Black Disaster… this is….”

Zheng Ying’s voice quivered slightly, and a vague, white human figure slowly emerged behind her.

“Spirit Disaster!!?”

A legendary, truly terrifying Spirit Disaster that only existed in tales and storybooks!!

No wonder the Resentment Talisman was ineffective!

No wonder the Yin Energy Talisman was useless too!