Chapter 200: then translation of chapter title

I quickly explained my guess to Tang Tang, and indeed it coincided with Yu Nian's.

Then I solemnly said: "Senior sisters, Aunt Tang is relying on you to hold the fort; I will do my utmost to complete the mission and bring Aunt Tang's soul back as soon as possible!"

Tang Tang nodded firmly, and Yu Nian cautioned: "Xiao Jiu, protect yourself well."

I replied, picked up the Soul-guiding Lamp, opened the door and went out.

As I went downstairs, I told Liu Junyan what had just happened in the room.

Liu Junyan, however, was not surprised, as if he had known this would happen all along.

When I reached the lower floor, I only felt the old manor was chilly all over.

I instinctively ran to the back window and glanced into the backyard.

Indeed, many yin soldiers were guarding the backyard.

Although the number was not as large as a week ago, it was still considerable.

I realized then that tonight was the critical moment for Tang Xun, and these yin soldiers had come to guard the Tang family's old manor!

Aunt Tang's true love… is still a rather meticulous person.

Liu Junyan drove, and as the car left the Tang family's old manor, I asked: "Where should we enter the Nether Realm from?"

I had prepared everything, yet in the end I overlooked this crucial point.

To enter the Nether Realm from the mortal world, there are many entrances, but few know exactly where they are.

The place most often mentioned by people is a location called Fengdu Ghost City.

But what I know is only the westernmost part of Gui Shi, where it borders the Nether Realm.

However, Gui Shi cannot be entered at just any time, and that ghost gate cannot be opened whenever.

Besides these specific locations, there are also ways like when I was previously had my soul hooked, or like the ghost gate that first appears when the underworld officials arrive on New Year's Eve; one can pass through it to enter the Nether Realm.

But these methods all require specific conditions and timing to succeed.

Right now, none of these are usable for us.

Liu Junyan's answer surprised me: "Enter from Hu Shan."

Hu Shan?

Tang Xun plucked the crystal orchid in the ancient tomb of Hu Shan and became stained with the Ghost King Butterfly.

It turns out that place is also an entrance to the Nether Realm.

Hu Shan is a two-hour drive from Huicheng, and during those two hours I kept staring at Tang Xun's remnant soul inside the Soul-guiding Lamp.

I could not figure it out no matter how I thought.

Can a remnant soul really live so smoothly in this world?

I remember that when I learned Tang Xun and Feng Wu had once been friends, I asked Tang Tang in surprise just how old Tang Xun really was.

Tang Tang also couldn't say.

Could there be a hypothesis that Tang Xun was not born normally?

Like the villagers of Tafengcun.

Just… just like me…

Thinking of this, my heart started pounding.

I inexplicably felt a sense of mutual sympathy toward Tang Xun.

Hu Shan is vast, but as soon as our car entered its territory, all the buildings, flowers, grasses, and trees ahead disappeared.

Everything was a dark haze, and the only thing we could see was a straight road ahead.

That road was whitish, standing out especially against the darkness.

Big G continued along that road for another quarter hour, when suddenly a mountain range appeared ahead, from the foot up to the mid-slope, the entire mountainside road lined on both sides with yin soldiers.

Their great number and strict discipline were enough to display the master's dignity.

The car stopped at the mountain's base; I got out holding the Soul-guiding Lamp, while Liu Junyan took my hand.

The Xuan cat initially lay on Liu Junyan's shoulder.

After going up the mountain, the Xuan cat suddenly stood up, fully alert and vigilant.

I had thought we would continue up this mountain road, and upon reaching the mid-slope we would have entered the ancient tomb where Tang Xun had previously picked the crystal orchid.

From some entrance of that tomb, we would then enter the Nether Realm.

But when Liu Junyan took my hand and I stepped onto the mountain road, the surrounding scenery changed again.

The mountain range vanished, and the mountain road turned white.

The yin soldiers remained.

The light of the Soul-guiding Lamp, which had initially been golden light of merit, instantly turned into a dark green.

The entire hexagonal palace lamp changed appearance.

The lamp chamber originally had some three-dimensional skulls, but now they turned into six ferocious ghost faces, each glaring with scarlet eyes at the surroundings.

If one's courage were even slightly weaker, they could be frightened to death by this Soul-guiding Lamp!

The further we went, the more uneasy I felt, my palms sweating.

Fortunately, soon the scenery before us suddenly changed.

The whole space lit up.

But this brightness is relative to the previous darkness; the sky remained a gray haze.

Waves of fragrance came from all directions; looking around, the mountains and fields were filled with flowers and grasses—white, red, purple, and black, these four colors predominating.

The yin soldiers had disappeared at some point, and we were surrounded by flowers and grasses within reach.

Yet I dared not even touch them.

I lifted my eyes to Liu Junyan and asked: "Is this… the Nether Realm?"

"It should be a corner of the Nether Realm."

Liu Junyan said while looking around, not knowing what they were searching for.

Soon he locked onto a target, pointing to a mountain hollow in the distance: "There, Xiao Jiu, let's go!"

Liu Junyan kept holding my hand tightly, he led me through a patch of flora and stood at the edge of the mountain hollow.

When I saw the scenery in the mountain hollow, I couldn't help exclaiming: "How beautiful!"

The mountain hollow was still filled with flora; compared to the dull colors on the outside slopes, the flora here was incredibly vivid.

Moreover, almost every plant had more than just one or two colors.

Even without flowers, the leaves were multicolored.

Too beautiful to take in!

But what truly amazed me was that the mountain hollow was filled with swarms of butterflies of all kinds!

The butterflies' forms and colors were in no way inferior to the flora.

They fluttered freely in the mountain hollow, as if living in a utopia.

Yes, a utopia!

This was my most immediate impression upon entering this area.

And at that moment, Tang Xun's faint remnant soul actually drifted out of the Soul-guiding Lamp.

She drifted straight toward the mountain hollow, into that patch of flora.

The next moment, countless butterflies flew toward Tang Xun's remnant soul, densely attaching to it.

This scene truly left me stunned.

It was too beautiful, and too eerie!

And Tang Xun seemed to be enjoying all of this.

She comfortably spread her arms, face up to the sky, as if basking in sunlight, accepting the baptism of countless butterflies.

Soon, the first batch of butterflies attached to Tang Xun's remnant soul fell like withered leaves.

Immediately after, a second batch of butterflies attached.

Wave after wave of butterflies surged in, and wave after wave fell.

As time passed, Tang Xun's soul became increasingly clear and ever closer to a physical form.

This was a silent pilgrimage.

Moreover, it was a shocking sacrifice…