"Quickly, quickly! Didn't you promise this monk a good meal when I got back?"
"This monk has been burrowing through tunnels for days down there without a single hot bite. I'm practically starving to death!"
Song Zi'an blanked for a second before reacting and quickly responding.
"Ah, yes, of course."
"My hands are feeling very agile right now. Little Master Wu Gou can look forward to something special."
Having said that, Song Zi'an carried his large black pot and hurried to the kitchen with excitement.
Meeting a diner who truly appreciated food, especially right after he had gained new inspirations and insights into recipes from his master’s guidance at the night banquet, was the ultimate thrill for a chef.
Wu Gou watched Song Zi'an's departing figure and smacked his lips.
"The silly boy really knows the drill."
Chen Zhou walked over, closed the door, and raised his Ghost Domain.
Gray-white mist, like the water curtain in the neighboring room, covered the entire side hall, cutting off all prying eyes from both inside and out.
"Come, let's talk business."
Chen Zhou looked at Wu Gou, his gaze falling on the black earthworm in the monk's hand.
"What's the situation down there?"
"You were gone for several days. I thought you'd actually been caught and eaten by malevolent ghosts."
Wu Gou rolled his eyes, his playful expression fading.
He walked to the table and gave a casual wave of his hand.
A lotus platform woven from countless pale arms appeared on the floor.
Wu Gou sat cross-legged upon it, his expression turning solemn.
"If, as you said, there are man-eating ghosts up here, then the place below could be considered quite a picturesque spot in comparison."
Wu Gou pointed to the ground beneath their feet, his voice sinking low.
"The ghost dynasty is truly not simple. Beneath this place lies a suppressed hell."
Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow. "A hell?"
"Exactly. A replica of the Eighteen Levels of Hell."
Wu Gou explained, "The entire underground of the provincial capital is filled with corpses and resentment. It’s like a maze."
"Countless malevolent ghosts are imprisoned inside, along with many... how should I put it, black spots?"
At the mention of this, a trace of disgust appeared on Wu Gou's face.
"Black spots?" Chen Zhou's eyes narrowed.
Black spots again.
Piao had said there were black spots in the Western Region, and those spots had eventually turned into a monster that ate her.
The Plague Rat had mentioned black spots in the endless sea of the Southern Region, and he and Poison-Wing were planning to sneak in to investigate.
He hadn't expected the provincial capital to have black spots beneath it as well.
Chen Zhou pondered, "What exactly are those black spots you saw? A mutation of death qi?"
Wu Gou shook his head and held up the black earthworm.
"I'm not sure."
"At least, this monk has never seen such filthy things while traveling underground before."
"Death qi is dead; it has no thought, only instinct."
"But that thing... I feel like it's alive. It's hard to say what it is."
"I can guarantee that there's definitely nothing like it beneath the Northern Region."
Wu Gou continued to recount what he had seen underground.
Using his earth-tunneling technique, he had dived all the way to the deepest part of the earth.
There, he found a massive underground river. The water was black, and in the center of the river, a dragon-shaped current was shackled.
"You found the dragon vein?" Chen Zhou asked.
"I did, but you can't really call it a dragon vein anymore."
Wu Gou sighed. "It's turned into a corpse dragon."
"It’s locked onto eighteen massive Dragon-Suppressing Stakes. Dense crowds of malevolent ghosts surround it, gnawing on its body day and night."
"And after those ghosts finish gnawing, they are refined by the entire hell and absorbed. I don't know what they turn into."
Chen Zhou's brow furrowed as he listened.
Using malevolent ghosts to gnaw on the dragon vein—just what kind of evil technique was Yin Wudao practicing?
"Then what is that in your hand?" Chen Zhou pointed at the earthworm.
"Oh, this?"
Wu Gou chuckled, revealing his white teeth.
"I thought that corpse dragon looked too pitiful, so I casually performed a transition for the ghosts surrounding it."
"While things were in a chaotic mess down there, I secretly stole a sliver of dragon qi from it."
"However, this dragon qi has been contaminated. Look, it’s turned into this wretched form."
Wu Gou handed the flowing black qi to Chen Zhou.
"Here, the dragon vein you wanted."
"Although it's a bit dirty, it truly is the convergence of a province's earth veins. See if you can use it."
Chen Zhou took the black qi.
As soon as it touched him, the black qi tried to burrow into his flesh along his fingers, carrying a strong intent to erode.
But in front of Chen Zhou's death qi, this tiny bit of erosion was like showing off a toy sword to a master.
With a thought, a flicker of black Hatred Fire ignited on Chen Zhou's fingertip.
Screech—
The black qi let out a miserable cry and immediately behaved, curling into a ball.
Chen Zhou activated his Law-Evaluating Eye to observe it closely.
Beneath the black surface, he indeed saw a faint but pure golden light.
That was the dragon vein’s origin. Although contaminated, it was still tenaciously alive.
"The dragon vein isn't dead; it's just sick."
Chen Zhou mused.
"What the dragon carp wants is likely the sliver of true dragon origin within this."
He didn't have a good method for purification, but since the dragon carp was so desperate for it, it likely had its own way.
"Well done," Chen Zhou praised as he put away the black qi.
"Of course. When this monk takes action, I do the work of two."
Wu Gou bobbed his head proudly.
"Oh, right, there's one more thing."
Wu Gou suddenly seemed to remember something, and his expression became a bit strange.
"When I was down there, besides the ghosts and the dragon vein, I felt another aura."
"What kind of aura?"
Wu Gou scratched his bald head, sounding somewhat conflicted.
"I don't know. It was a bit like the black spots, and it felt like a living thing."
Wu Gou wasn't certain either.
"Anyway, in the depths of the earth, beneath that dragon vein, it seemed like something else was being pressed down."
"I was in a hurry to come back and eat, and the guards there were too strict, so I didn't dare get too close."
Chen Zhou narrowed his eyes.
In a flash, Chen Zhou recalled the mysterious specialist he had never managed to find during his night probes of the palace.
He had previously guessed that the person must be underground; he hadn't expected them to actually be there.
"It’s fine, no need to rush. Jian Huaishuang is already heading to the provincial capital. Once he and the dragon carp arrive, we'll turn this place upside down."
"For now..."
Chen Zhou looked toward the kitchen, where a tantalizing aroma was already wafting out.
"Let's eat first."
Having finished their serious discussion, Chen Zhou waved his hand and withdrew the Ghost Domain.
Right on time, a rich fragrance poured out of the kitchen, instantly filling the room.
"The food is here!"
Song Zi'an walked out carrying a large tray.
The tray held four dishes and a soup. Every single dish actually emitted a faint shimmer and was brimming with spiritual energy. Just one sniff was enough to make anyone’s mouth water.
Wu Gou's eyes went wide, and he jumped straight off his lotus platform.
"Excellent, excellent! This is what living is all about!"
He wasn't polite at all, grabbing his chopsticks and beginning to devour the food like a whirlwind.
Although Chen Zhou didn't need to eat, the scent was indeed alluring, so he also picked up his chopsticks and took a few bites.
However, he quickly noticed a plate of bright red braised pork sitting in the center of the table. The meat was translucent and emitted a unique, exotic fragrance.
Chen Zhou's chopsticks paused slightly.
Why did this piece of meat look so familiar?
He sensed it carefully, and his expression suddenly became quite strange.
Wasn't this the meat he had conveniently brought back from the imperial kitchen earlier?
He wondered if any ghosts had gnawed on it.
Rate on N.U.
