Chapter 515

Sure enough, as soon as the ghost face exerted force, the black mist quickly dispersed a bit to both sides, and only then did I discover that ahead was actually a grove of willow trees!

The trees were interwoven and arranged, but only the path cleared by the ghost face was straight, extending all the way into the black mist ahead.

How could this be such a coincidence?

It just so happens that I'm walking on this straight path?

Looking around, I could faintly see that there seemed to be graves scattered among the trees, sparsely distributed, each grave fairly large, with a stele standing before it.

I furrowed my brows, having no desire to explore those graves; everything was too eerie.

This passage leads straight from the Feng Clan's burial mound behind them—who would have thought there was such a graveyard underground?

Besides, who would plant so many willow trees in a graveyard?

In the mortal world, willow trees are commonly called ghost‑pulling hands.

The so‑called ghost‑pulling hand refers to willows planted by a river; if they also happen to be on the shady side and their branches are especially long, stretching into the water, that spot will particularly attract unclean things.

Imagine, the willow branches reach into the water, and from the water a ghostly hand reaches out…

Thus willow trees have the power to summon souls and yin; in some places they are grouped with locust, poplar, mulberry, and chinaberry trees as the Five Ghost Trees.

Interestingly, as one of the Five Ghost Trees, the willow can both summon spirits and yin and also repel evil.

However, what can be used to repel evil is not the willow trunk itself, but certain willow branches heavily charged with yin and killing energy.

Such willow branches, when used to whip ghosts, can still count as a magical implement.

Of course, ordinary people cannot control it either; a moment's carelessness will bring disaster upon themselves.

I walked forward while thinking, and as I went, the black mist ahead began to spread again; the ghost face had somehow returned to the Soul‑guiding Lamp without my noticing.

Yet ahead of me, on the path that had been straight, a few willow trees now stood blocking the way.

I hastily looked behind, and it was the same there.

Clearly, there were no willow trees on this path when I came here, yet now there are.

I don't know if it's my imagination, but I feel as if even those graves have shifted their positions.

It seems that, in this entire graveyard, the only open space left is the spot where I stand.

My heart began to thump wildly.

Is it that the heavy yin and killing energy is causing me to hallucinate, or does this graveyard contain a formation that changes as I move?

Thinking this, I lifted my gaze and scanned my surroundings again.

Upon looking, a chill shot up from my spine straight to my back.

The graves among the surrounding willows had previously had tall steles facing various directions in a disordered arrangement.

Now, however, all the steles have adjusted their orientation, uniformly facing me!

Although black mist swirled around, the characters on the steles were unusually clear, a dark reddish hue, as if written in blood.

Tomb of the Phoenix Lord, Feng Ming Zhu.

Tomb of the Phoenix Lord, Feng Jia Yin.

Tomb of the Phoenix Lord, Feng Qian Ge.

Feng Clan Grand Elder……

Feng Clan Left Protector……

Feng Clan……

I don't know them.

I don't know how many generations back they are from the Feng Clan.

But I have figured out that this graveyard should be the collective burial ground of the Feng Clan's accomplished ancestors through the ages—it is the Feng Clan's ancestral tomb!

Here, ordinary people cannot be buried after death.

At least I didn't see my mother's name, nor Feng Xingzhou……

Yet, the Feng Clan has endured for so many generations; how could such an ancient and important ancestral tomb appear here?

And why do the steles all uniformly face me?

Just as my doubts arose, the characters on the steles suddenly seemed to melt, forming streaks of blood that trickled down.

As if they were weeping blood.

Eerily extreme.

Under my gaze, the surrounding willows, steles, and graves all began to move, constantly shifting positions; standing in the middle, I felt waves of heat surging through my body, as if I were about to burn from the inside out.

The cooldown period of the Nirvana Fire has passed.

I felt a bit panicked, not knowing whether this sudden change was good or bad.

Yet my feet felt as if filled with lead, as if nailed to the ground, unable to move an inch.

At that moment, I heard a booming roar.

The stone door I had entered through was opened again, and first a huge flock of birds with glaring scarlet eyes surged in, crying out.

It seems Dìshì has broken free from the Lamp Oil's confinement, he has lifted the seal on the underground cavern, and intends to encircle me down here!

The bird flock had gone mad with rage, rushing in while shouting hoarsely.

Their momentum was vast, unstoppable.

Even with the black mist blocking, I could still see through it the immense pressure the huge bird flock brought, like dark clouds pressing down before a storm, and those greedy, blood‑thirsty eyes!

They want to tear me apart alive!

I don't know why, but at this very moment the Soul‑guiding Lamp, the ghost face, and Feng Wu have all fallen silent.

I don't know whether they are being suppressed by this graveyard or overwhelmed by the birds' momentum.

I cannot move my feet; my forehead, eyes, and lower abdomen feel as if they contain burning balls of fire, scorching and painful.

My heart is filled with desolation.

Could it be that I still cannot escape this calamity in the end?

At that moment, within the black cloud where the flock of birds had gathered, a bloody mist suddenly rose.

I heard a vast, mournful crying rising from the bird flock.

That kind of cry was completely different from their hysterical cries when they first entered.

When they first came in, it was anger, it was bloodlust, but now it is despair!

What's going on?

The birds kept rushing into the stone gate, the bloody mist kept spreading, surrounding me tightly, and when it came extremely close to me, it was vaporized, disappearing without a trace.

This process lasted a very long time.

I don't know how many birds died, nor how much bloody mist was vaporized around my body; later, my vision was filled with blood-red, my whole body was bubbling with fire, and I seemed to stand in a sea of fire.

Those tombstones, stone steles, and even every willow tree around, transformed into human figures within that sea of fire.

They formed hand seals, condensed power at their fingertips, and countless strands of power condensed into light shot into and merged with my body, giving me support!

I suddenly recalled the words of Wutong Popo.

She said true Nirvana is to use the strength of the whole clan to pave a path of Nirvana for you.

Phoenix Nirvana, a hundred birds pay homage to the phoenix.

The formation of a Nirvana phoenix is the glory of the entire clan, and also the foundation of its continuation and prosperity; this is our mission, an unchanging law!

So, at this moment, I have truly entered the final step of Nirvana.

And all the ancestors in the graveyard are, in their own way, striving to lift me up!

Flocks of birds fell, and the bloody mist swirled about.

I saw a person standing silently beyond the sea of fire, beneath the bloody mist, witnessing everything that happened before them.

It is Dìshì……