Chapter 389: Borrowing the Way through the Nether

The place where the singing voice came from was a dim workshop.

The shopkeeper was a multi-eyed ghost, floating above the workshop, with eyes all over its body.

As Xu Qing stared, a small half of the eyes on the multi-eyed ghost looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing didn't pay attention and walked over, looking down at a small bronze bottle among the many items on the ground.

"Sound-Capturing Bottle."

Xu Qing recognized it immediately.

He had once obtained a Sound-Capturing Bottle, and later used that bottle to capture the song of the hundred ghosts' night parade, which he used to attract the giant of the Sun's Imperial Carriage, thereby obtaining the Golden Crow Refining Myriad Spirits.

It was just that at the time, under the pressure of the giant, that Sound-Capturing Bottle had already collapsed and shattered.

At this moment, the singing voice was exactly emitting from within this bottle.

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, pointed at the Sound-Capturing Bottle, looked at the multi-eyed ghost, and then threw out a bag containing a portion of souls.

The multi-eyed ghost took it and checked it. All its eyes were squinting, seemingly pondering, and soon shook its head.

Xu Qing looked at the ghost in front of him.

He knew that most of the ghosts in the market were greedy, so he threw out another leather bag. However, this time, there was a trace of coldness in his eyes that allowed the other party to clearly perceive.

Perhaps the number of souls was enough, or perhaps it was this trace of coldness, the multi-eyed ghost pondered and nodded.

Xu Qing picked up the Sound-Capturing Bottle and covered it. As the singing voice disappeared, he turned and left this place.

After returning to the inn all the way, while waiting for the break of dawn that was about to arrive, Xu Qing looked down at the small bronze bottle in his hand, and a thick doubt rose in his heart.

"This voice is indeed the voice of the woman in the five-cornered wooden house in the ghost hole."

"Clearly, someone used a Sound-Capturing Bottle to store her voice..."

Xu Qing's mind surfaced the scene in the ghost hole that day, where the god's eye in the depths of the ghost hole slowly closed following the woman's singing.

He didn't know if this singing voice was only aimed at that one god, or if the voice itself contained some power that couldn't be fathomed, which could make a god close its eyes.

But no matter what, Xu Qing felt that buying this Sound-Capturing Bottle was very worth it.

Not long after, as the departure time approached, when footsteps came from outside the room, Xu Qing put away the small bottle, tidied his clothes, pushed open the door, and walked out.

In this inn, most of the Eight Sect Alliance disciples had arrived, but the Captain was not there.

Xu Qing wasn't surprised. Others might hesitate about the ghost market, but the Captain definitely couldn't hold back.

But clearly, going to the County Capital was the big event in the Captain's heart, so almost the moment the time approached, the Captain's figure ran back from outside in a rush, all the way to Xu Qing's side, his eyes still carrying excitement.

"Little Ah Qing, did you go to the ghost market? Let me tell you, there are good things inside."

Xu Qing was just about to speak, but the next instant his expression changed. All the disciples in the inn were the same.

An astonishing pressure came from outside the inn at this moment.

This pressure carried an indescribable gloom, making the inn feel as if it were placed in eternal cold ice, and even more, a great terror rose in everyone's heart and spirit uncontrollably.

Xu Qing was not unfamiliar with this feeling. The first time he encountered a strange entity, it was a similar feeling.

At the same time, during the three months he became a Treasure Keeper, he had seen similar things in the depths of the Forbidden Zones he had looked at through the taboo magic treasure.

Just as everyone's heart and spirit were shaking, Zixuan's figure walked out of the inn room, stepped to the inn gate in one step, and pushed forward lightly. As the door opened, everything outside... was different from what Xu Qing saw when he returned before.

The ghost market was still there, and the normal market was also there.

Like white and black, yin and yang, they appeared at the same time at this moment, and the two markets overlapped, turning into a blur.

And in this blur, in the sky... a black ship, several thousand zhang in size, appeared from the void silently, floating in the sky.

This black ship was riddled with holes, extremely dilapidated, and the sails on it were also tattered, revealing the meaning of decaying time while also carrying a death aura that was rich to the extreme.

Its arrival emitted a suppression that turned into ice cold, as if it could freeze everything.

This was a ghost ship.

It stopped in mid-air, as if this market were a port, and it would stay here briefly, waiting for people to board...

"Board the ship!" Zixuan's voice echoed calmly. With one step, she walked directly toward the sky and entered the ghost ship that was endless in gloom.

Xu Qing and the Captain looked at each other and stepped forward at the same time, heading straight for the sky. Others also braced themselves and flew up. Soon, the group of the Eight Sect Alliance all headed straight for the ghost ship.

Following their boarding, that kind of cold feeling was even more obvious, and the dilapidation of this ghost ship was also clearer in Xu Qing's sight than before.

The deck was mostly rotten, with many holes, and even the position at the stern was so dilapidated that it seemed about to fall apart. At the same time, there were no ghost figures in this ghost ship.

But the gloom here was extremely strong.

In addition, Xu Qing also found that it wasn't just the Eight Sect Alliance boarding the ship. There were dozens of cultivators in this market who also chose to board the ship at this moment. Among them, Xu Qing even saw the two Sword Holders he had met on the road.

These two stepped onto the ghost ship and also looked at Xu Qing and the Captain.

Seeing each other again, both were surprised. The two Sword Holders nodded at Xu Qing and the Captain, didn't say much, and walked into the cabin.

Inside the cabin, it was also dilapidated.

After Xu Qing stepped in, he noticed that everyone was finding a place to sit down, and Immortal Zixuan and the Fifth Peak old woman were also meditating not far away.

So he found a corner where he could see all the positions and sat down. The Captain looked around and chose to sit beside Xu Qing.

"Little Ah Qing, there are treasures in this ghost ship that accelerate our cultivation. I just heard a voice calling me from inside, wanting to exchange some items with me!"

Xu Qing paused his steps when he heard this, thought for a moment, squatted beside the Captain, and looked down.

"A liar?"

"Ten to nine, wanting to attract me down, so I am pondering whether to find an opportunity to do a job."

The Captain smiled, which was the place he appreciated most about Xu Qing. The two didn't need too much explanation to instantly understand each other's meaning. "Not now. After we reach the place, we can see the situation." Xu Qing thought for a moment and transmitted his voice.

"Good, otherwise if there really is a problem, it will be troublesome if this ghost ship doesn't take us." The Captain nodded, and the two stood up and returned to the cabin. The moment they stepped in, Zixuan glared fiercely at the Captain.

"There is a Void Returning evil ghost sealed under the ghost ship. If you want to go and die, go ahead."

The Captain was a bit aggrieved, so he looked at Xu Qing resentfully. It was clearly a decision made by both of them...

Xu Qing lowered his head, sat cross-legged to the side, and pretended not to see.

Not long after, at the moment when the first sun was about to appear between heaven and earth, this ghost ship suddenly vibrated and began to blur. And Zixuan's voice also entered the hearts and spirits of the Eight Sect Alliance disciples at this instant.

"Close your eyes!"

Everyone closed their eyes instantly.

In this closing of eyes, Xu Qing felt the ghost ship vibrate even more violently, as if shuttling.

Soon, the first sun appeared between heaven and earth, and this ghost ship also disappeared in the sky. The overlapping ghost market on the market disappeared, and the market returned to normal.

As for inside the ghost ship, the coldness became increasingly thick as the ship body continued to shuttle. All around was a piece of silence, only the vibration of the ship body constantly transmitted.

Although Xu Qing closed his eyes, the shadow was in his mind, transmitting a picture.

In the picture, it was the cabin of this dilapidated ghost ship.

Everyone had their eyes closed, except for the Captain... who had an eye drilled out from inside his chest clothes, observing the surroundings.

This eye was very strange, carrying a blue light, revealing ferocity and gloom, and seemed to merge with the atmosphere all around, like a ghost eye.

Xu Qing wasn't surprised. He controlled the shadow to look at the place where the flesh and blood were piled up outside the cabin. Soon, he saw countless black shadows appearing there. These black shadows, one by one, had red eyes, carrying madness, and were snatching the flesh and blood.

Occasionally, they would turn their heads while biting, greedily looking at the people in the cabin.

On them, the cruel and ferocious evil aura was extremely obvious, but they restrained themselves and didn't enter the cabin.

Until finally, there were a few who, after eating, hesitated for a long time, seemingly unable to hold back, and chose to drill into the cabin, floating around in front of everyone.

When passing by Zixuan, one disappeared silently. In front of the Fifth Peak old woman, another disappeared.

There was also one that appeared in front of Xu Qing, sniffing around on his face. The red light in its eyes flourished, and it opened its mouth, but the next instant, following Xu Qing's one breath, this ghost shadow trembled violently and was directly sucked into Xu Qing's mouth

"Close your eyes!"

Everyone's eyes closed instantly.

With his eyes closed, Xu Qing felt the ghost ship's vibrations become increasingly intense, as if it were shuttling through something.

Soon, the morning sun appeared between heaven and earth, and this ghost ship vanished from the firmament; the overlapping ghost market on the land's marketplace dissipated, and the marketplace returned to normal.

As for inside the ghost ship, the cold intent grew thicker as the ship's hull continued its transit, and the surroundings were utterly silent, with only the constant tremors of the hull coming through.

Although Xu Qing had his eyes closed, the shadow was in his mind, transmitting a scene to him.

In the scene was the cabin of this dilapidated ghost ship.

Everyone had their eyes closed, except for the Captain... an eye had emerged from inside the clothes on his chest, observing the surroundings.

This eye was very strange, carrying a trace of blue light, revealing ferocity and gloom, seemingly merging with the surrounding atmosphere like a ghost eye.

Xu Qing was not surprised; he controlled the shadow to look toward the place outside the cabin where flesh and blood were piled up, and soon he saw countless black shadows appearing there, each with red eyes and a crazed air, scrambling to eat the flesh.

Occasionally, they would turn their heads while tearing at the food, looking greedily at the people inside the cabin.

On them, the intent of cruelty, ferocity, and malevolence was extremely obvious, yet they restrained themselves from entering the cabin.

Until finally, a few of them, after finishing their meal, hesitated for a long time, and seemingly unable to resist, chose to drill into the cabin, drifting back and forth in front of the crowd.

When passing by Zi Xuan, one of them vanished silently; in front of the Five Peaks old woman, another one vanished.

Yet another appeared in front of Xu Qing, sniffing around his face; the red light in its eyes flared, and it opened its mouth, but the next instant, with one breath from Xu Qing, this ghost shadow trembled violently and was directly sucked into Xu Qing's mouth, suppressed within his Heavenly Palace.

There was also a ghost shadow floating near the Captain, staring at his ghost eye; noticing that its companions around it had all disappeared, this ghost shadow was clearly terrified and just about to leave, but the next instant, the Captain's ghost eye actually transformed into a large mouth.

With a fierce gulp, he swallowed that black shadow, then acted as if nothing had happened, transforming back into an eye and even winking at Xu Qing.

Outside the cabin, a large number of ghost shadows continued to scramble for food, paying no heed to the death of their companions inside the cabin.

Until half a moment later, as the last piece of flesh was eaten, these ghost shadows drifted slowly onto the ghost ship, operating it like crew members, causing its speed to suddenly increase significantly.

They shuttled toward the pitch-black netherworld ahead.