Chapter 39

Everything was prepared, and Wei Shizhi bid farewell to his fellow disciples, embarking on an unknown journey. Accompanying him to the Ghost Gate Abyss were his junior sister Qin Zhen and a blue wolf. This was the first time Wei Shizhi introduced his old companion from Lao Ya Ridge to her; its name was "Qing," a wolf, not the "big dog" Qin Zhen thought it was.

In late autumn, the weather was cool, and the leaves on the mountain fell like rain. Wei Shizhi did not rush, stopping and going along the way, taking the opportunity to catch some wild game, which he stored in the Penglai Bag for emergencies.

The Penglai Bag contained the bodies of a beauty python and a white-striped tiger, with some space left. Wei Shizhi tried to store live creatures, but when pheasants and hares entered the bag, their souls were lost, leaving only warm, lifeless bodies, neither dead nor alive. He felt a bit regretful, as he had hoped to use the Penglai Bag to save Qin Zhen and the blue wolf in emergencies. Now he had to give up that idea.

Storing live creatures required specially refined magical treasures, and the Penglai Bag was not suitable. Ruan Jing also said that the bag had no other use, only storing flesh and blood, which would neither rot nor decay. A thought suddenly flashed through Wei Shizhi's mind: Where did the souls of those pheasants and hares go? Did they dissipate like smoke, or were they absorbed by the Penglai Bag?

Thinking about this, he felt a bit regretful. He didn't have powerful enough souls to experiment with, and he shouldn't have killed the white-striped tiger outright.

From Tiandu Peak to the east, they traveled over three hundred miles through the mountains, deep into the vast Kunlun. Wei Shizhi estimated that they were not far from the Ghost Gate Abyss, so he slowed down and became cautious.

One day, they arrived at a mountain hollow that was half withered and half flourishing. The western half of the hollow was barren, presenting a bleak autumn scene, while the eastern half was covered with towering ancient trees, lush and verdant, with flowers that never withered and grass that remained green all year round. It seemed as if two different seasons were divided within the same mountain.

Qin Zhen carefully stepped into the flourishing half of the hollow, as if walking from late autumn into midsummer. A warm breeze greeted her, and the fire qi was exceptionally dense. She couldn't help but open her eyes wide and exclaim, "Senior Brother, this is a great place for cultivation!"

Wei Shizhi responded and walked along the boundary between the withered and flourishing areas, finding an old stone stele lying on the ground. He brushed away the mud and weeds, revealing three ancient characters: Yin-Yang Ridge.

Wei Shizhi touched the stele, and his fingers pressed hard, but it was as hard as iron. Curiosity piqued, he drew out an iron rod and struck the stele forcefully, but it didn't budge. He knew the stele must have some mystery, but he couldn't figure it out in a hurry and didn't want to waste time, so he called Qin Zhen over and instructed her to absorb the fire qi near the stele and cultivate on her own.

"Senior Brother, are you going to continue forward?" Qin Zhen was a bit worried. Yin-Yang Ridge was not like Tiandu Peak, and she didn't know what dangers lay hidden. She didn't want to be separated from her senior brother.

"Stay here and don't worry too much. I'll have the blue wolf guard nearby." Wei Shizhi patted her head, then suddenly remembered something and added, "If anything unexpected happens, run to the other side of the stele, remember?"

Qin Zhen nodded obediently but frowned and muttered, "Senior Brother, you always pat my head, like you're petting a puppy." Wei Shizhi chuckled and playfully rubbed her hair, making it a mess.

Qin Zhen watched her senior brother gradually disappear into the dense forest, feeling a deep sense of melancholy. She told herself, "Qin Zhen, you must cultivate well. Only by becoming strong enough can you stay by his side!"

The iron rod was too heavy to carry on his back with a rope, and if he encountered a monster, he wouldn't have time to draw it. Wei Shizhi decided to carry it across his neck, with his hands on both ends. After a few steps, he thought of a lonely monkey and felt it was inauspicious, so he changed his posture and carried the iron rod in one hand, walking forward.

Following the mountain ridge, they climbed over a hill, and two massive cliffs faced each other, with a narrow gap between them. The narrowest part could only accommodate one person squeezing through. Looking up, the sky was just a thin line, occasionally obscured by rolling boulders.

After passing through the narrow gap, the view suddenly opened up. A stone bridge about a foot wide spanned the cliff, and the area was covered with short horsetail pines. The abyss below was shrouded in mist, bottomless, and had a faint suction force, making it impossible for birds and beasts to approach.

This was the Ghost Gate Abyss.

Wei Shizhi casually chose a direction and walked along the abyss for several miles, finding no trace of any monsters. He pondered for a moment, then returned to the stone bridge and tried a few steps. He felt unsteady, slipping with each step, which was very inconvenient. He noticed that the stone bridge, after thousands of years of weathering, was smooth like a mirror, with a jade-like luster. He immediately retreated, found a horsetail pine, stripped the rough bark, and twisted it into a rope, tightly wrapping it around his shoes. He tried it and found it worked well.

Step by step, he reached the center of the stone bridge, and suddenly, a loud, mournful scream echoed from the abyss. The mist parted, and a huge, strange bird flew out.

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