Chapter 76 - Seeing Through the Dark

"So this is... the Five Gods Summit?" Tang Jinnian looked at the hall before him with an odd expression.

From inside and out, the hall itself seemed to be decaying.

The sparse roof tiles let light through that illuminated a statue of an unknown deity in the center of the hall. Before the statue was an offering table that was clustered with burnt incense sticks that crowded the few clean sticks left.

Tang Jinnian touched a chipped column at the entrance that was flaking its red paint. His palm came off with a handful of dust. "Are you kidding me?"

Flowerless Butterfly looked at the statue under it and, seeing Forsaken Phoenix’s question, said, "Here it says, ‘Statue of the Southern Peace God of the Five Gods.’ This should be the correct place."

"Southern Peace God?" Tang Jinnian stroked his chin and asked the Daoist beside him, "Is this Southern Peace God one of your Five Gods?"

"Yes, young master, you have a keen eye," the Daoist said with a fawning smile. He had suffered quite a bit on the way here when he was questioned by Tang Jinnian.

"The Southern Peace God is one of the Five Gods. These five gods are Northern Defense, Southern Peace, Eastern Prosperity, Western Unity, and Central Order. They each correspond to one of the five peaks. Currently, we are on the southern peak."

Tang Jinnian nodded thoughtfully. "Then... this is what the Five Gods Summit looks like?" He gestured to the hall behind him.

"Of course not"—the rat-faced Daoist smiled awkwardly—"this hall is just for show. To reach the main sect, we need to go further up."

"Further up?" Tang Jinnian frowned.

Seeing Tang Jinnian frowning, the Daoist hurriedly added, "It’s not far, not far. We should be there in an hour or so!"

Tang Jinnian said nothing more, gauged the darkening sky, and continued forward.

Flowerless Butterfly trailed behind him. Walking beside the Daoist, she glared at him and said, "Don’t try any tricks, there haven’t been any living people along the way. Are you up to something?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!" The Daoist waved his hands flusteredly.

The Daoist’s behavior didn’t seem like an act, so Rao Shuang nodded and asked, "So how many people are there in the entire Five Gods Summit?"

"Uh... this..." The Daoist was momentarily speechless. Seeing Rao Shuang impatiently making a face at him, he quickly added, "Not many, only a bit more than thirty people in total."

"So few?" Rao Shuang asked, puzzled.

"We were never a large group," the Daoist murmured softly. The Five Gods Summit has a bad reputation, so naturally, not many people are willing to join."

"Hey, so you know about your bad reputation?" Rao Shuang looked at the Daoist with a sidelong glance.

The Daoist’s lips moved. Timidly, he said, "We... we haven’t done anything evil—"

"That’s interesting. So, you think there's no problem with using dead bodies as your weapons?" Rao Shuang glared at him.

The Daoist opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to argue, but ultimately said nothing. He pointed to a stone archway ahead. "Here, we’ve arrived," he spoke weakly.

Tang Jinnian looked up and saw a tall, grand stone archway with the words "Five Gods Summit" inscribed on it.

On either side of the archway stood two stone beasts. Their carved forms were fierce and menacing, seemingly eager to devour anyone who approached.

Several people were already waiting under the archway. Since the sun had completely set, it was too dim to see their faces clearly.

As Tang Jinnian and the others approached, one of them called out, "Brother Li—"

The rat-faced Daoist hurriedly called out, "It's me! Master, save me!"

Tang Jinnian squinted at the vague silhouettes, and asked the Daoist beside him, "How do they know it’s you? Can they see clearly?"

"

Hmph.

" A cold snort came from the archway. An old and creaky voice said, "The Five Gods Summit disciples practice in the gloom all year round. Our disciples can see clearly through the dark, which is something that a young, ignorant person like you wouldn’t understand."

"

Ah...

how foolish. Why should the living be afraid of light?" Tang Jinnian sneered.

"You have a sharp mouth!" the old man roared angrily, "Let me see if your skills are as sharp as your words!"

Before the words had left his mouth, Tang Jinnian felt a gust of wind by his ear!

In the gloom, he caught a glimpse of a dry, claw-like appendage rushing towards his head. Tang Jinnian ducked instinctively and felt a gust of wind graze his scalp, carrying a foul stench.

"Is this how the Five Gods Summit welcomes guests?"

Tang Jinnian took a step back, cautiously surveying his surroundings.

The old man and his group remained where they stood, but the thing that had just attacked him was nowhere to be seen.

"

Heh

... The Five Gods Summits has never had guests like you, " the old man chuckled eerily. In the darkness, Tang Jinnian seemed to see him raise an arm and point toward Flowerless Butterfly.

Tang Jinnian’s pupils contracted. "Be careful!" he shouted to Rao Shuang.

She reacted quickly, leaping forward at the warning, barely avoiding the sweeping claw.

Flowerless Butterfly showed off her exquisite movement techniques as she pushed off the ground with one hand, using the momentum to flip into the air.

With a light push of her foot, she darted towards the old man like a swift swallow.

Rao Shuang’s wide sleeves spread in the air as she drew her short sword, poised to strike and kill the old man upon contact!

The distance between them closed rapidly, close enough for Rao Shuang to see the old man’s expression. Then she saw the old man give her a strange smile.

"

Ke ke

..." The old man’s mocking laughter came from the darkness. "Overestimating yourself!"

"Get down here!" The old man bellowed!

A withered corpse burst out of the ground in response. Suspended in mid-air with no leverage, Rao Shuang was unable to instantly react. The withered corpse grabbed Rao Shuang’s ankle and forcefully pulled her out of the air!

Rao Shuang gritted her teeth and kicked the withered corpse’s head with her free leg, but the corpse took the kick head-on instead of dodging. Holding onto Flowerless Butterfly’s ankle tightly, the withered corpse slammed her down hard onto the ground!

Boom!

After the loud crash, the fighting quieted down.

The withered corpse in the gloom picked up Rao Shuang from the ground and threw her at the old man’s feet.

Rao Shuang seemed to have been heavily injured and lay motionless on the ground.

"

Ke ke

," the old man laughed unpleasantly, his murky eyes fixed on Tang Jinnian. "This girl is quite nimble. Her lightness art is quite impressive. She’s perfect material for another animated corpse... Young master, it seems you’re the only one left now..."

As soon as the old man’s words fell, footsteps echoed all around, and a dense swarm of walking corpses closed in from all directions, surrounding Tang Jinnian.

Crackle!

A flame suddenly lit up in the darkness as Forsaken Phoenix lit his pipe.

Without even looking at the animated corpses around him, he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. His tone was as cold and unyielding as permafrost.

"Old bastard... how dare you touch one of mine..."