A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 281: Emperor Willow

Qi Xuansu wondered what Master Yin’s true appearance was like.

Master Yin did claim to be a thousand-year-old ghost. Master Wan and Madam Bai also called him an old ghost, so perhaps Yin Jiuyin really was a millennial ghost.

Even if Yin Jiuyin did not have a thousand years of cultivation, a century-old ghost was still terrifying enough. Was that what a Ghostly Immortal was?

Yin Jiuyin did not express any opinion on this. Instead, he cut to the chase. “Madam Bai, Master Wan said that you have that thing.”

“That thing?” Madam Bai’s tone turned solemn. “The Ghost Kingdom is barren, unlike the Kunlun Cave. This is one of the few possessions we have, so you must tell me what your plans are if you want to take it away.”

Yin Jiuyin sighed. “Life is fleeting, but one must have foresight and prepare for what is to come.”

Madam Bai fell into silence.

Qi Xuansu was like a child watching a conversation between adults. He could not interrupt and could only patiently wait until they could leave. However, he had a hunch that this matter might be related to him or his Xuan Jade of Death.

After a long time, Madam Bai asked, “What are you going to do?”

Yin Jiuyin glanced at Qi Xuansu. “Well, that depends on our friend here. It’s just an idea for now, and we won’t know the specifics until later.”

Madam Bai stood up from the throne. “Follow me.”

After that, she turned around and walked toward the side door next to the main hall.

Yin Jiuyin and Qi Xuansu followed her.

They passed by many different halls. One would surely get lost in the maze of halls if one was not familiar with the place.

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However, Madam Bai had been living here for hundreds of years, so she was very familiar with this place.

They walked through the corridors and halls deep into the palace.

The deeper they went, the thicker the yin energy became. Finally, it started to rain due to the condensed yin energy. Countless fine raindrops fell from the sky like the spring rain in the night, but the place was silent.

Anyone who was proficient in catching ghosts and exorcising evil spirits would understand that places with strong yin energy would feel damp. That was because when the yin energy reached a certain level, it would condense to water. At this time, this rain had strong enough yin energy to kill a Xiantian Being’s soul, turning them into a living corpse.

That was why this area was forbidden to living humans. However, Qi Xuansu was not affected by this rain thanks to his Xuan Jade of Death.

Thinking of this, Qi Xuansu could not help but glance at the grade horse who had always been beside him. Since this huge palace was empty aside from Madam Bai, there were no cumbersome rules, unlike the Imperial Palace in the yang realm. That was why Qi Xuansu could bring his horse with him through the palace.

Qi Xuansu thought that his grade horse was old, but it seemed more sentient than the average horse. It was smart enough to rescue Qi Xuansu on the execution platform and knew the importance of following Qi Xuansu closely at this time. It dared not make a sound for fear of disturbing Master Yin and Madam Bai, who were two rare supernatural creatures.

Madam Bai and Master Yin were in their element here.

Although Qi Xuansu had never been to the palace, the layout of the palace was no secret. He knew that the palace was divided into the front court and the harem.

Behind Chengtian Gate was the Duan Gate, followed by the Wu Gate, Taisheng Gate, and the Palace of the Supreme Deity.

The front court consisted of the Palaces of the Supreme Deity, Higher Deity, and Central Deity, which were collectively known as the Three Main Palaces.

The harem was the Three Inner Palaces, which consisted of the emperor’s study and the residences of the emperor and empress.

The Three Main Halls and the Three Inner Palaces were located on the central axis.

However, when Qi Xuansu followed Madam Bai to the Three Inner Palaces, he found that the harem here seemed very different from the one in the yang realm. That was because instead of palace buildings, there was only a huge lake that occupied half of the area.

After all, this was just a replica of the Imperial City, so the Daoist Order could renovate it to their liking.

However, what surprised him was that the lake was not filled with normal water but blood-red water.

Qi Xuansu knew that it was not pure blood because of its low viscosity and translucence, which was very strange.

Thick white fog filled the surface of the lake, so he could only see a vast expanse of white in the distance, making it difficult to see the rest of the surroundings.

With a wave of her hand, Madam Bai dispersed the fog to both sides of the lake.

That was when Qi Xuansu could see an island in the center of the blood lake. However, the island was not made of earth and rocks. It was made of countless corpses.

Qi Xuansu was shocked beyond words.

Yin Jiuyin explained, “After the Daoist Order conquered the Ghost Kingdom, they gathered all corpses here to be processed. This is also where Master Wan eats.”

A gory image emerged in Qi Xuansu’s mind—the giant wading through the bloody water to the corpse island, where it could enjoy its meal.

In addition, there was a massive willow tree in the middle of the corpse island. Its tree trunk reached the sky, and its canopy almost covered the entire lake. Each of the hanging willow vines was as thick as an adult man’s waist.

Peach wood was known to be a yang object, while willow wood was a yin object. Therefore, peach wood could be used to exorcise evil spirits and destroy ghosts, while willow wood allowed ghosts to reside in it.

This willow tree was planted in the Ghost Kingdom, taking root in the island of corpses and a ??bloody lake. This was a magnificent sight that one would never get to witness in the yang realm.

Yin Jiuyin raised his hand and pointed at the tree. “This tree is called the Emperor Willow, a masterpiece created by the Daoist Order. As I mentioned before, the Zaoge Cult back then managed to corrode a crack in the barrier between the yin and yang realms, connecting the netherworld to the mortal realm and causing the yin energy to spread to the entire Beimang Mountain.

“In order to fill this crack, the Daoist Order planted this Emperor Willow to feed on the yin energy from the corpses and bloody water. It flourished and reached a height of over 666 meters in just 200 years.”

Qi Xuansu’s jaw dropped.

It turned out these were the measures the Daoist Order put in place to revive Beimang Mountain to its original glory. It was truly impressive how the collective efforts of thousands of people could repair something that seemed irreversible.

Madam Bai interjected. “Actually, if you think about it, we can be considered members of the Daoist Order as well, because we all have our own duties. Since this blood lake has concentrated yin energy, even the Spirit Guards would find it difficult to stay here for a long time. So my duty is to guard this place and not allow outsiders to get close to the Emperor Willow. It sounds like a heavy responsibility, but it’s really boring because I don’t get any visitors.”

Yin Jiuyin added, “I suppose there is no need for me to elaborate on Master Wan’s responsibilities. His main job is to get rid of these corpses. My granddaughter isn’t wrong to say that all he does is eat and sleep. As for me, I am a liaison, so I can travel freely between the Ghost Kingdom and the Ghost Pass.”

Qi Xuansu did not know what to say, so he could only nod.

If the Ghost Kingdom was already so impressive, Qi Xuansu wondered what the Kunlun Cave was like. The Kunlun Cave was known as the best paradise in the world.

Madam Bai turned to Yin Jiuyin. “What you want is on the Emperor Willow.”