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Chapter 76: Precious Pearl
After entering the canyon, the guardians here are no longer Yin soldiers, but squads of ghost beasts. These ghost beasts have peculiar and varying shapes, some small like human children, while others are like small hills, causing the ground to shake with their movements.
Their eyes are sharp, their hearing keen, and their sense of smell highly developed. As Meng Zhang advanced along the path, a ghost beast that resembled a wild dog suddenly rushed over and sniffed around intently. "This is bad," Meng Zhang inwardly exclaimed. He had only tested the Concealment Gauze Cloth for its invisibility function and didn't know if it could conceal his Soul's scent.
Though this ghost beast couldn't see him, if it could sniff him out, it would be terribly unjust. After sniffing around for a while, the beast made some random calls and then ran away. Meng Zhang breathed a sigh of relief, unsure if the creature's sense of smell was unreliable or if the Concealment Gauze Cloth had covered his Soul's scent.
Meng Zhang became even more cautious as he continued. The passage in the canyon was deep and lengthy, sometimes broad enough to accommodate a large group of people passing at once, and sometimes narrow like a winding path that required people to walk sideways.
The tall mountains on both sides of the canyon were shrouded in a mysterious force, preventing Meng Zhang from flying too high. Each time he passed through the narrow paths, he carefully drifted through the middle, trying to avoid colliding with the mountain walls on both sides.
In the mortal realm, Souls could penetrate through earth and stone with relative ease. However, in the Netherworld's Trial Ground, almost all the rules of nature had undergone certain changes. Even an ethereal Soul would make a disturbance if it collided with the surrounding mountain walls.
The twists and turns of the deep canyon seemed endless, and Meng Zhang was getting a bit tired of it. However, he had no choice; this was the only passage to enter the canyon's interior. The surrounding mountains and cliffs were restricted, and Souls couldn't pass through. The only consolation was that his ability to float as a Soul was still effective, allowing him to avoid many obstacles that were impassable from the ground.
Finally, after passing through the last bend, a vast and flat small plain appeared before Meng Zhang's eyes. This plain was actually a flat valley within the mountains, surrounded by towering peaks.
In the middle of this small plain stood a massive building. Numerous large stone pillars stood, halls without roofs, collapsed palaces, tilted pillars, and beams lying on the ground... The entire foundation was in ruins, with no intact building left, only countless debris.
When this building was intact, it must have been a grand palace. Even from the remnants, one could imagine its former magnificence. Now, numerous ghost beasts freely roamed among the palace ruins, frolicking and playing.
Outside the palace on the plain, even more ghost beasts roamed around. Meng Zhang was a bit disheartened; in the area outside the canyon, he had attempted to kill some ghost beasts. These ghost beasts were different from ordinary ghosts; killing them yielded no knowledge or the power to strengthen his Soul. In short, killing these ghost beasts was a complete waste of effort with no rewards.
This flat and open small plain hardly seemed to hide any treasures. Unless...
Meng Zhang, knowing that thieves wouldn't leave empty-handed, had taken such great risks to enter the canyon's interior. Naturally, he was determined to extract all the gains and not let his efforts go to waste.
Now, the only potential treasure might be hidden in the ruins of the palace. Clad in the Concealment Gauze Cloth, Meng Zhang continued forward, crossing the small plain, avoiding the roaming ghost beasts, and finally drifting into the palace ruins.
After searching for a while in the ruins, Meng Zhang spotted a suspicious target. A massive, unprecedented ghost beast buried half of its body underground, leaving only its head on the ground. This ghost beast was snoring loudly, and none of the other ghost beasts dared to come near.
Floating above this ghost beast's head was a black bead, quietly suspended in the air without moving. With just a glance, Meng Zhang's gaze was fixated on it for quite some time before he could finally tear his eyes away.
His Divine Soul had left his body and was temporarily without a physical form, thus losing the ability of the Deception Breaking Eye. However, a primal instinct arose within him, making him desire the black bead intensely, wishing to take it immediately. But when he glanced below at the enormous ghost beast, he couldn't help but shudder.
Just a few glances generated such a tremendous pressure, causing a terrifying deterrent force. The strength of this ghost beast was unimaginable, and it was certainly not something he could contend with.
Meng Zhang's yearning for the bead made him unable to give it up; he had only one way to retrieve it: through cunning. He hoped this ghost beast would remain in deep slumber, undisturbed.
Meng Zhang carefully evaded the roaming ghost beasts in the ruins, approaching his target with utmost caution. Once he entered the area near the beast, his movements had to slow down. It was no wonder no other ghost beast dared to approach; this beast had a strange force field around its body, somewhat resembling the Law Domain possessed by legendary Gold Core Daoist Masters.
As soon as one entered this area, immense pressure would manifest, forcefully oppressing any Ghost within. Despite the pressure, Meng Zhang continued onward.
After slowly moving for a while, Meng Zhang finally arrived above the beast's head. The snoring of the ghost beast showed no change; the deafening sound actually reassured Meng Zhang.
"Keep sleeping, continue to sleep soundly, the more deeply, the better, never wake up," Meng Zhang silently urged.
Meng Zhang's Soul had already drifted beside the black bead, almost within his grasp. After a moment's hesitation, he made a resolute decision. His Soul reached out, firmly grabbing the bead.
As Meng Zhang grabbed the bead, the snores of the sleeping ghost beast suddenly ceased.
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