I turned to look at Guan Qingyan and smiled at her, but she quickly lowered her head, no longer having the courage to look me in the eye as she had in front of the hospital.
I grabbed my phone, clasped my hands to my chest, leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes. Until we got on the train, Guan Qingyan didn't send me any more messages, but just waved at me.
I didn't say a word the whole way until I got off the train and followed Dou Ma's instructions to enter the Gobi Desert. Then I said, "Dou Ma, do you know what the mission is this time? Why did you bring us to the desert?"
There is a saying among the sorcerers that "one cannot enter Miao territory in the south and one cannot enter the desert in the west". Needless to say, Miao territory is magical. The reason why the western desert has become a forbidden area for sorcerers is that countless ancient countries are buried under the vast yellow sand. It has long become a ghostland that no one can approach, and even the top masters dare not easily set foot there.
Another reason is that the desert is the world of witches. The desert wizards are mysterious and have formed their own school, among which there are many great wizards. If a person in the art of magic accidentally steps into the forbidden area of the great wizards, there will be no return. The desert wizards will not even give the other party a chance to send a message for revenge.
I had a bad feeling the moment I saw the vast desert outside the car.
Dou Ma said, "This time it's a life-or-death contest. You will all enter a place called 'Ghost Domain Maze City'. Legend has it that no one who enters it has ever walked out alive, including many first-class warlocks."
Lu Xiaoying's expression changed slightly and he said, "Ghost Domain City? Are you sure it's there? Are the Xuanjing Division and Hell Gate crazy? How can you go in where they can't even break through?"
"You heard it right!" Dou Ma said, "Among the four sects, no matter which force it is, they all listed the Ghost Domain Maze City as a desperate mission. Many years ago, someone once issued a mission to all four sects at the same time - to explore the Ghost Domain Maze City."
"The four gates have sent out hundreds of experts. The Hell Gate alone lost more than 30 experts, including Judge Nan. After those people enter the Ghost Domain City, they will lose all contact with the outside world until their bodies are sent out."
Ye Jin was surprised and asked, "The bodies would be sent out? No one has ever come out alive?"
Dou Ma nodded and said, "All the bodies of the sorcerers were sent out. Some of them were well preserved, but some were in pieces. Judge Nan was even reduced to a paste. If it weren't for the weapons and magic tools that made him famous, no one would believe that the pile of minced meat represented the once powerful Judge Nan."
I couldn't help but gasp. I've seen the strength of the Eastern Judge. His martial arts cultivation is at least at the Transcendental Realm, above the Xiantian. Since the Southern Judge is as famous as the Eastern Judge, their cultivation is naturally not much different. How could he die in the Ghost Domain City and be chopped into meat sauce
Dou Ma continued, "After Judge Nan died, the four gates put this mission on hold and treated it as a fatal mission. Later, many young and energetic masters of magic and Taoism also challenged the Ghost Domain City, and their bodies were also placed at the gate."
I said in a deep voice: "There are exceptions to everything. Has there never been an exception?"
Dou Ma shook her head and said, "No!"
Ye Jin shouted, "Fuck! Hell Gate and Xuanjing Division clearly knew that the maze city was a dead end, but they still went in with their eyes wide open? Are they trying to drag us down with them?"
"Maybe not." Dou Ma shook her head and said, "According to our intelligence, the four major sects have sent death squads into the maze city. Their mission is to die in the city and then use their corpses to transmit the news they saw."
"The four major sects have a lot of information about the mysterious city, but all that information has been classified as the sect's top secret. No one has access to it except the sect's top leaders."
Lu Xiaoying said in a deep voice: "Even Jiuchong Pavilion doesn't know?"
Dou Ma sighed and said, "Although Jiuchong Pavilion's main business is selling intelligence, our spies have never infiltrated the top leaders of the four major sects, and many secrets are out of our control. Ghost Domain Mystery City happens to be one of them."
"When I was negotiating with the other party, I strongly opposed using this mission to fight, but no one from Hell Gate and Xuanjing Division gave in. When the three parties were fighting for supremacy, two of them refused to change the mission, and the third party had no choice but to admit defeat."
"I understand." I nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Dou Po knows us well, and according to her heart, she will definitely give up the mission for us. However, none of us will agree to this result, and we will end up walking into the ghost city by ourselves. Dou Po can only take over the mission.
Dou Po said: "I have always suspected that this battle in the maze city has something to do with the secret burial of the Half Life Dao. Otherwise, the Xuan Jing Division would not have easily let Lin Jingyuan take the risk."
I nodded and said, "If there is, that would be even better. The secret burial of the Half-Life Sect would not trap even its own people."
Dou Ma said seriously: "This is just my guess. Don't bet your hopes on the secret burial. Once you lose, there will be no recovery!"
"Don't worry, I know my limits." While I was speaking, Ye Jin had already driven the car into a camp.
The Xuanjing Division and Hell Gate's troops set up two distinct tents in the camp, leaving the open space near the west for us. There was a circular platform in the middle of the camp, which seemed to be a place reserved for talks.
Soon after we entered the camp, we saw a sorcerer from the Xuanjing Division approaching us: "Mr. Wu, my hall master would like to ask you, are you going to set up camp first, or are you going to have a meeting first?"
I thought about it and said, "Let's talk about business first!"
The other party bowed slightly, turned around and walked back. Not long after, I saw Lin Yaonu walked out of the camp alone and sat down at the negotiation table. Dou Ma, who was standing next to me, clenched her fingers and made a popping sound, and the blue veins on her forehead also burst out.
Ye Jin and I quickly grabbed Dou Ma from the left and right: "Dou Ma, don't be impulsive!"
From the moment Dou Ma stared at Lin Jingyuan, I keenly felt that at least three auras were locking onto Dou Ma - Lin Jingyuan was protected by expert guards, and if Dou Ma did not take action, the other party would not move. Once Dou Ma took action, the consequences would be disastrous.
Dou Ma took a deep breath and said, "I'm fine! You guys go on!"
While Dou Ma was talking, Duan Yunfei also came over with seven or eight of his men. I took a quick look at the sorcerers behind Duan Yunfei. I could tell at a glance that some of them were quite skilled, and one or two of them didn't even look at me, not taking us seriously at all.
Although Duan Yunfei and his party brought considerable pressure to their opponents, they were still a little behind Lin Jingyuan. The mere courage of Lin Jingyuan to attend the meeting alone was enough to overshadow the momentum of Duan Yunfei and his party.
After the three of us sat down, I noticed that there was an empty chair in the venue.
Duan Yunfei smiled and fanned himself, "Our little referee, isn't he coming out yet?"
When I followed Duan Yunfei's gaze, I saw three people walking towards the tent, one of whom was Xiao Baitang.
Xiao Baitang walked up to me with his head down like a child who had done something wrong, and then he said in a hoarse voice: "Brother Wu Zhao, I am one of the referees this time... I..."
I smiled at the red-eyed Xiao Baitang and scratched her nose with my hand: "You are already an adult, why are you still crying? What's wrong with the referee? Even if he is the referee, we are still friends, right?"
"Yeah!" Xiao Baitang nodded, suppressing the urge to cry.
Just when I was wondering why Xiao Baitang was feeling wronged, Duan Yunfei said, "In view of Nangong Ling's biased refereeing last time, the top leaders of the four sects have jointly decided that the referee will not make any decisions in this match, and will only be responsible for recording the process of the match."
Although Duan Yunfei was stating a fact, there was a hint of a playful smile on his face, as if he was deliberately speaking slowly just to see my reaction.
While I frowned slightly, Duan Yunfei said, "However, this time, the referee can choose one of the parties to be fully responsible for his safety. In other words, the referee needs to join one of our sides. However, no matter which side he joins, the chosen team must withdraw one person. Do you understand what I mean, Brother Wu?"
I just nodded, and Duan Yunfei said: "Before I came, the emperor had already made it clear that in order to ensure fairness, Xiaotang cannot join the Hell Gate team. I chose the friend from the Xuanjing Division as the accompanying referee. I wonder what Master Lin thinks?"
Lin Jingyuan said calmly: "If the people from Hell Gate don't take responsibility themselves, do they want Xuan Jingsi to risk his life to protect them? We will naturally choose the Taoist friend from Hongding Mansion. Since Mr. Wu is an old acquaintance of Xiaotang, why not..."
Xiao Baitang said quickly: "I don't need anyone to protect me, I can take responsibility for myself!"
I said calmly, "Xiao Baitang, join us. Ye Jin, you leave."
Ye Jin opened his mouth to say something, but finally held back. Lu Xiaoying said, "I disagree. This duel is unfair to begin with. If we drop one more person, we will have no chance of winning. Besides, Xiao Baitang belongs to Hell Gate, and her safety should be the responsibility of Hell Gate. Hell Gate will not just watch her die in the ghost realm and do nothing, right?"
Duan Yunfei said, "Miss Lu is wrong about this. Hell Gate is a place where wolves are raised. Wolves that hunt never need to protect the weak. Besides, no one can disobey the Emperor's order."
Duan Yunfei opened a warrant and waved it in front of me.
Lu Xiaoying laughed and said, "Do you think you can make us believe your lies with just a warrant?"
Duan Yunfei said: "Miss Lu doesn't believe it, so I can't do anything. Xiaotang, just act alone!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you all for your support, and stay tuned for the next episode!
Thanks to: Zhu Xiaowei, Doudou, Qimei for the tips! (To be continued)