"System, is this the correct path?" Ye Chen whispered into the freezing darkness. "It feels like walking into a massive grave."
[Path aligns perfectly with the coordinates provided by the merchant. Proceed forward.]
Ye Chen adjusted the blank white porcelain mask on his face. Fatty Wang had provided the heavy disguise to hide his true identity from the corrupt sect members. The smooth ceramic was uncomfortably cold against his skin.
He navigated the dark and winding paths carefully. These were the abandoned mining tunnels located deep beneath the Azure Cloud Sect. The elders claimed these caverns had been stripped of all valuable spirit ore decades ago.
The ambient sounds of the surface world faded away completely as he descended deeper. The rhythmic dripping of underground water stopped abruptly. The faint howl of the distant wind vanished entirely.
The air grew unnaturally still and freezing cold. Ye Chen could clearly see his breath pluming into thick white clouds before his face.
"This is not a natural cold," Ye Chen analyzed silently. "This is the distinct chill of stagnant death."
He circulated his Stage 4 Chaos Body Tempering Art slightly. The heavy Qi warmed his blood instantly and staved off the biting frost trying to seep into his bones.
A faint light flickered suddenly a few dozen meters ahead of him in the main tunnel.
Ye Chen stopped moving instantly. He pressed his back tightly against the jagged rock wall to hide his silhouette.
He spotted a solitary figure walking slowly through the gloom. The person carried a glowing blue mining lantern that cast eerie shadows across the stone.
The figure wore rich silk robes heavily trimmed in bright silver thread. It was the undeniable uniform of an Inner Sect Elder.
"Another buyer heading to the secret auction," Ye Chen deduced quietly. "I should follow him closely to find the exact entrance to the market."
Ye Chen stepped away from the wall and followed the blue light at a safe distance. He kept his heavy footsteps completely silent using his immense physical control.
He watched the Elder very closely as they moved deeper into the earth. Something was wrong with the man's gait.
The Elder did not bob up and down with each step. He glided perfectly smoothly over the incredibly uneven and broken rocks. His expensive silver robes did not catch or snag on a single sharp stone protruding from the floor.
"System, scan that target ahead of me," Ye Chen commanded firmly.
[Scanning Error.]
[Unable to Detect Target]
Ye Chen narrowed his eyes dangerously behind the porcelain mask. The strange Elder abruptly turned left into a narrow side tunnel.
Ye Chen surged forward quickly using his massive agility to avoid losing his guide. He turned the exact same corner just a second later.
He stopped dead in his tracks. The narrow tunnel ended abruptly in a solid wall of collapsed rock.
The Inner Sect Elder was completely gone. The glowing blue lantern light had vanished entirely into the dark. There was absolutely nowhere for a human being to hide or escape.
"An illusion," Ye Chen stated coldly.
He immediately pivoted on his heel to return to the main path. He needed to find the true route before the auction began.
The main tunnel had changed completely while his back was turned. The path he had just walked down was no longer an empty passage of bare rock.
Dozens of emaciated figures now filled the wide corridor. They were all dressed in the tattered gray robes of servant disciples.
They were violently swinging heavy iron pickaxes into the solid stone walls. They worked in absolute and terrifying silence.
The heavy iron tools struck the solid rock without making a single sound. No metal clinked against stone. No crushed rock fell to the floor. No breath left their lungs.
Ye Chen walked slowly toward the nearest working figure. The freezing air around the miners was thick with the foul smell of rotting meat.
He looked closely at the young servant striking the wall. The boy's skin was entirely gray and peeling off in large flakes.
The boy turned his head slightly toward the center of the tunnel. His eyes were milky white and completely dead. They looked exactly like the eyes of the corrupted demonic wolf from the forest.
Ye Chen reached out his calloused right hand. He grabbed the silent miner directly by his bony shoulder.
The moment physical contact was made, the miner stopped swinging his tool. The boy's head snapped around violently to face Ye Chen directly.
Ye Chen felt a massive cold shock hit his chest. He recognized the rotting, sunken face instantly.
"Little Bo," Ye Chen whispered in genuine horror.
It was a young and cheerful servant boy Ye Chen had known very well. The sect overseers had claimed Little Bo died of a sudden severe fever over a year ago. The boy had only been twelve years old.
"You did not die of a fever in your bed," Ye Chen realized aloud. His voice was thick with rapidly rising anger. "The elders sent you down here to die in the dark."
Little Bo opened his mouth impossibly wide. Thick black blood poured freely down his chin and stained his gray robes.
The dead boy raised his heavy iron pickaxe high into the air. He swung the sharp metal spike directly toward Ye Chen's face with lethal intent.
The other silent miners turned around in perfect unison. Dozens of dead, milky white eyes locked directly onto Ye Chen. Dozens of heavy iron pickaxes were raised silently in the dark tunnel.
Ye Chen heavily circulated his Chaos Body Tempering Art. His blood roared exactly like a massive river inside his veins. His dense muscles expanded rapidly, straining heavily against his thick beast pelts.
He stomped his right foot down with explosive violence. The solid stone floor cracked heavily beneath his heavy boot.
He pulled his right arm back perfectly.
He did not aim his strike at Little Bo. He did not aim for the legion of attacking ghosts surrounding him.
Ye Chen threw a massive, Qi reinforced punch directly into the solid stone wall of the tunnel.
His knuckles slammed into the rock with devastating kinetic energy. The chaotic Yang energy of his cultivation exploded outward upon impact like a detonating bomb.
The sheer physical shockwave ripped violently through the confined space. The solid stone shattered inward instantly. Massive cracks raced quickly across the ceiling and floor.
The brutal kinetic vibration hit the demonic energy exactly like a heavy hammer striking fragile glass.
A loud, high pitched screech echoed painfully inside Ye Chen's mind. The terrifying illusion shattered completely into countless invisible pieces.
It felt exactly like breaking violently through the surface of a deep and dark lake. The oppressive and freezing silence vanished instantly.
The rotting ghosts dissolved into wisps of foul black smoke. The collapsed dead end behind him melted away like wet paint sliding off a canvas.
The real world flooded rapidly back into Ye Chen's sharp senses. The sound of muffled, greedy voices echoed clearly from just around the corner.
The thick smell of burning incense and roasted meat filled his nose.
He had successfully breached the hidden entrance to the Ghost Market.
Ye Chen slowly pulled his bleeding fist out of the deeply cratered stone wall. He looked back at the empty tunnel where Little Bo had just stood seconds ago.
"They did not just abandon this mine," Ye Chen swore a dark and absolute oath. "The Azure Cloud Sect is built directly on top of a massive, unquiet grave."
The self proclaimed righteous path was built on the bones of innocent children. The hypocrisy fueled his chaotic energy even further.
He adjusted the white porcelain mask firmly over his face to ensure his identity remained hidden. He stepped boldly out of the dark shadows and walked directly toward the flickering torchlight of the black market.