Chapter 1358 - 1325: A Plea from the Darkness

Even though the Coffin Nail had already penetrated the fierce ghost ahead, the supernatural presence on the staircase had not dissipated, a situation that seemed somewhat illogical.

However, in supernatural events, all kinds of scenarios could occur. Yang Jian just frowned slightly, not too surprised.

“It seems the supernatural on this staircase is not as simple as imagined. Since this supernatural can’t be dealt with, then just ignore it.”

Yang Jian immediately changed his mind. He continued using the Coffin Nail to suppress the old corpse with closed eyes in front of him, then bypassed it and moved forward.

Yet, behind the old corpse, there were no steps, only a void of darkness, causing a wave of unease.

But Yang Jian still chose to proceed. He spread out the Ghost Flame, lighting up the darkness, turning it into steps extending into the void.

After everyone bypassed the old corpse, Yang Jian no longer restricted it but retracted the long spear that was cracking and actively released it.

There were many ghosts here; Yang Jian’s Coffin Nail couldn’t always stay on this old corpse. It must remain usable at any time.

Speed up the advance.

Yang Jian and the others quickly shook off the old corpse that had been released, then continued to proceed in the darkness.

“Yang Jian, it seems that old corpse is following again.”

Suddenly, Liu Qi heard movement behind them, a heavy footstep once again approaching, but this time it wasn’t the sound of ascending, rather descending.

“Ignore it. That old corpse is a manifestation of the supernatural, not the source. Even if I nail it with the Coffin Nail, the supernatural presence on the staircase won’t disappear. The most important thing now is to get out of here; spending time on that old corpse isn’t worth it.”

Yang Jian replied and continued forward.

“Although we’ve entered a Ghost Domain by now, my Ghost Flame paving the way equals forcibly opening a path in the Ghost Domain. So, following this path, we can definitely get out, but it takes some time because the Ghost Domain alters distance, and I can’t guarantee how long it will take to exit.”

Liu Qi nodded, staying alert to the rear but not overly concerned.

Before long, the group had completely entered a pitch-black environment.

There were no stairs here, no walls, and no sense of direction. They didn’t even know where they were, like an endless abyss.

And the path formed by the Ghost Flame was like a fragile bridge spanning this dark world, seemingly ready to be swallowed at any moment.

But the eeriness of the Ghost Flame remained strong, constantly spreading, creating a path over ten meters long.

For every meter Yang Jian advanced, the path extended another meter.

It’s not that he didn’t want to expand the range of the Ghost Flame, but the wider the Ghost Flame spread, the more the supernatural dispersed. If anything happened, this path could have issues, and in such a situation, a broken path surely meant danger; even reconnecting it would likely pose problems.

“It seems like there’s no end here. Can we really get out?” Wang Shanshan spoke, her inner unease growing.

“The footsteps behind us are still following, and now there seem to be not just one… two, no, three now.” Liu Qi whispered.

“Each ghost in this wooden house is unusual and not easy to escape from. At this moment, we need patience,” Yang Jian calmly said. “No matter how many footsteps follow behind, as long as they don’t appear within the range of the Ghost Flame, there’s no need to fear the fierce ghost.”

“If other ghosts want to attack us, they must first cross the Ghost Flame.”

His words gave the two some confidence and calmed their unease.

At this moment, an unexpected voice rang out in the completely dark space, coming from the depths of darkness, calling out to Yang Jian and the others: “Young ones, wait a moment.”

The appearance of this voice immediately changed Yang Jian’s expression. He instinctively stopped and looked in the direction the voice came from.

Even with the ghostly eye to peer into the darkness, Yang Jian couldn’t see through this void. He could only roughly judge that the voice was at least a few hundred meters away.

“Is there someone in this ghostly place?” Liu Qi’s eyes widened in shock.

“Not necessarily a person, maybe a ghost. Some ghosts imitate humans, and if you’re not careful, it’s easy to be fooled.”

Wang Shanshan suggested. She had suffered from human skin paper before, so she was wary of such voices.

Yet the voice sounded again: “Young ones, please wait, I’m not a ghost; I’m a person who has been trapped here for a long time. I haven’t met living people in ages. I hope you can help me escape, and I’ll repay you handsomely, absolutely not letting you suffer losses.”

“Can there really be a living person in this ghostly place? Do you take me for a fool?” Yang Jian replied coldly.

“I’m not an ordinary person; I can control fierce ghosts. That’s why I haven’t died all these years,” the voice in the darkness explained.

Yang Jian said, “Though your reason barely makes sense, don’t expect me to rescue you. No one would risk so much just because of a voice to change their route. You’ll have to figure it out yourself.”

“If I could get out, I would have left long ago. Young ones, have mercy and help me out; I’ll reward you richly,” the voice pleaded again.

“You’ve been stuck for so long without dying, meaning your supernatural power control is extraordinary. Even someone like you can’t escape, so why do you think I can take you out?” Yang Jian said, without hesitation, continuing to move forward.

The voice in the darkness continued, “Different skills for different tasks. I’m trapped here because I lack abilities related to the Ghost Domain.”

Yang Jian no longer responded to the voice.

“Young ones, please…”

The voice in the darkness kept pleading, hoping Yang Jian would change his route and lend a hand.

But Yang Jian remained unmoved, not willing to do something so foolish.

As they continued forward, the voice gradually faded until it was no longer audible, disappearing entirely into the darkness.

“Yang Jian, do you think what that person said is true?” Liu Qi couldn’t help but ask curiously at this moment.

“Truth or falsehood is not important. What’s important is that doing this carries great risks. First, that voice is not close to the outside. If we deviate from the set path, we could get lost here. Secondly, even if we really rescue that person, there’s no guarantee this person is good or evil.

“A Ghost Rider trapped here for a long time, even if they’re still alive, their mind and spirit are already twisted. Once free, they will cause trouble. They might even kill us immediately.”

“Just listen to the story of the farmer and the snake, but never act it out.”

“Besides, no one can be sure that voice is human. Wang Shanshan’s speculation makes sense, too. The source of that voice is most likely a ghost, just trying to lure us over.”

Yang Jian explained. He never wavered and did not intend to pay attention to this matter at all.

Liu Qi nodded: “You’re right. The chances of a living person showing up in this ghost place are very low, it’s just…”

He wanted to mention the strange incident that happened on the second floor of the cabin when he was attacked by the supernatural. At that time, it seemed that there was indeed someone standing not far from him, talking to him.

However, after thinking about it, he didn’t reveal this information to avoid unnecessary questions.

Soon.

The path paved with Ghost Flame came to an end, and a turning point appeared in front of them.

The missing steps reappeared.

“It looks like we’ve walked for so long and only covered half a floor. From the situation up ahead, we still need to go another half floor to reach the ground floor of the cabin, except… there’s a fork here,” Yang Jian frowned again as they stepped onto the old wooden planks.

This was the turning point of the staircase.

But instead of one way down, there was one on each side.

Clearly, there’s only one correct path.

Wang Shanshan said, “According to the layout of the cabin, the correct stairs should be on the right, but supernatural events are never that simple, maybe the left is the correct one instead.”

Yang Jian’s face was calm, and he walked toward the stairs on the right without hesitation.

However, as soon as he stepped onto them, a cracking sound rang out. The wooden stairs unexpectedly broke apart, and his body, unwilling to obey him, began to fall, forcing him to quickly step back.

“How can the stairs break? Although the wood is fragile, supernatural constructs shouldn’t be so easily damaged,” Liu Qi was also puzzled. “Did we take the wrong path? Let me try the left side.”

Then he attempted to walk to the left.

The same thing happened; the stairs broke, nearly causing him to fall into the darkness.

Yang Jian looked and said, “My Ghost Flame can’t pave the way anymore. The supernatural interference on the stairs disrupted the Ghost Flame, preventing the formation of the Ghost Domain.”

His Ghost Flame was still burning, but scattered and unable to gather together.

“Young ones, if you’d be willing to save me, I can tell you how to descend these stairs, and you need to hurry, the ghosts won’t let you escape easily. Being here means you’ve entered a danger zone, and whether you can survive is a question,” suddenly, that voice from the darkness spoke again.

This time the voice seemed even further away, as if it had followed them along the way.

“Tell us the method first, and maybe I’ll consider saving you,” Yang Jian said coldly.

“That’s not acceptable. What if I tell you and you leave me here?” the voice replied.

Yang Jian said, “You have no choice, and I might not need your help.”

The voice fell silent, seemingly deep in thought.

“Alright then, I’ll tell you the method.” The voice from the darkness soon relented.

“You should take the stairs on the left, but don’t start from the first step. Since this is descending stairs, some taboos must be reversed. You need to start from the second step. If you step only on even-numbered steps, you won’t fall, but there are ghosts blocking the stairs. Whether you can go down smoothly depends on your ability.”

“Is it really that simple?” Yang Jian’s eyes moved slightly.

The voice from the darkness said, “This cabin is deliberately constructed; everything has a pattern. Once you know the method, everything becomes relatively simple.”

“Yang Jian, I recall folklore saying that odd steps are yang, and even steps are yin, with the last step for the living always being odd-numbered. But the ghosts of the underworld are different, they always step on even numbers. This person wants us to step on even-numbered steps, suggesting that the living can’t leave here, only the dead can,” Liu Qi said in a low voice.

“But whether it’s true or false, you’ll only know after trying.”

With that, Liu Qi gathered his courage once more and walked down the stairs to the left.

Just now, those broken stairs on the left restored themselves. However, he didn’t step on the first, but directly onto the next step.

Sure enough.

The method was true, and Liu Qi didn’t fall into darkness; he landed steadily on the stairs.

“I wouldn’t lie to you young ones. After all, I don’t want anything to happen to you. Now, can you help me a little?” The voice from the darkness said.

Yang Jian said, “If we can get out of here alive, I’ll come back in three years to take you away, but not now.”

With that, he led Wang Shanshan and the Ghost Child quickly down the even-numbered steps.

“Three years, huh?”

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The voice sighed, “Alright then, I’ll wait for you here for another three years, do make sure not to forget.”

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