Chapter 100. Corpse Oil Lanterns and the Road of Fire

The big fool smiled naively.

Don’t think that just because he is called “Big Fool”, he is really stupid!

There are always unexpected things happening on missions with Taoist Master Xu Qing, and the opponents are always very tough.

Taoist Master Xu Qing is very powerful and has the support of Yuanfu Temple. Mo Qingxue is also from a noble family and has a trump card. He is just an ordinary person, and every time he goes on a mission, it is a life-and-death battle.

If he can’t accompany me, he will hide!
Mo Qingxue said with a dark face: "If you don't go, who will use this lantern I prepared?"

"Since this lord doesn't need it, why don't you give this lantern to me?"

A familiar voice came from the side. Everyone turned around and saw a monk in white suddenly walk in from outside the yamen. He put his hands together and chanted a Buddhist chant.

"Master, are you planning to go into Tianguang Ruins with us?" Mo Qingxue asked.

"Yes." The white-robed monk nodded slightly, "I came here at the invitation of the Tao family, so naturally I have to save their family from this disaster."

"Now that the source of this disaster is within the Tianguang Ruins, I will naturally follow along."

Captain Luo stepped forward and said, "I called Master Liang Buhuo here. One more person means more strength. If we need to fight later, Master can lend a hand."

Naturally, everyone would agree with what Captain Luo said. Dasha was even happy that someone would take over. Only Xu Qing was a little wary.

This monk is a little unpredictable.

With the name "Son of Buddha", the other party's magical powers and Buddhist teachings should be very strong. However, after recognizing that the old master Tao was the one who could dispel evil spirits rather than ghosts, the other party did not take any action and only notified the government through other people.

Xu Qing didn't believe that this Buddhist didn't have some means of tracking him.

"Let's get started."

Mo Qingxue's voice pulled Xu Qing back to his senses. He only heard Mo Qingxue say in a deep voice: "When you get to the area where Tianguangxu is located, light the lanterns, and the lights will illuminate the road leading to Tianguangxu."

"Be careful." Dasha watched everyone leave.

Mo Qingxue led the way, followed closely by Captain Luo, Xu Qing, Zhao Yinxi and Master Liang Buhuo, until they reached the secluded corner that Xu Qing and others had arrived at during the day.

The four of them lit the lanterns, and a pale green light shone through the lanterns.

"Corpse oil lantern?" When Xu Qing took the lantern, he smelled the special smell of the lamp oil inside.

"Yes." Mo Qingxue nodded and held up the lantern.

Under the green light, a special road was illuminated.

"Tianguangxu is located in another space, which is somewhat similar to the legendary Yin-Yang Road between the Yin and Yang worlds. Only by setting foot on this road illuminated by lights can we reach Tianguangxu."

Mo Qingxue had obviously been to Tianguang Ruins more than once and was quite familiar with every aspect of the place.

"Let's go."

Xu Qing followed.

When he stepped onto the road illuminated by lights, he found that the surroundings suddenly became dim. The moonlight from the sky seemed to have hit an invisible barrier, and the light gradually became blurred.

Finally, darkness swept in like a tide, swallowing up all light sources except the lanterns in their hands. Only a few pale green lights remained floating in the darkness, like ghost lights on a lonely grave.

Xu Qing looked around. The lantern light could only illuminate the road in front of him. Even if the four of them gathered together, the lantern light could only barely illuminate their chests.

"This environment is perfect for robbery and murder." Zhao Yinxi's voice sounded from the side, "What if someone is lying in ambush here?"

"Don't worry." Mo Qingxue's words came from the front at the right time, giving Xu Qing and Zhao Yinxi a reassurance, "When the Tianguang Ruins opens, we can't do anything here."

"Once you take action, the lights will automatically go out and you will be expelled." Xu Qing heard the unfinished meaning in Mo Qingxue's words. If you can't take action when the lights are turned on, then what about after entering Tianguang Ruins?

Don’t forget that several corpses appeared in the city last time!

The four of them walked forward along the path illuminated by the lights. Not long after, they saw a big tree and a big gate standing in the darkness in front of them.

The big tree is a locust tree. It has no leaves, deeply wrinkled bark, and black branches spreading out in all directions like a giant ghost hand.

The mahogany door with faded paint was mottled and had two big red lanterns hanging from the eaves. The candlelight inside was the same pale green as the lanterns in Xu Qing and the others' hands.

The green candlelight shone through the red paste on the lantern, emitting a particularly strange and creepy light.

Xu Qing frowned.

This ghost market was completely different from what he had imagined, and it was weird and complicated everywhere.

"This ghost market is not simple. The government actually allows such a place to exist in the city? Aren't they afraid that it will cause some kind of disaster?" Zhao Yinxi, who always says whatever he thinks, spoke up.

This is also Xu Qing’s doubt.

The lesson of the Nizitan Lake is still fresh in our minds!
And this place looks obviously more unusual than the Infant Drowning Pond.

"This ghost market existed earlier than Dasheng and longer than that." Captain Luo answered this time, "Even those powerful people in the sixth and seventh realms cannot pinpoint its exact location."

"The government did try to block the connection between this place and the city, and destroyed all the corpse oil lanterns circulating in the city."

"But the result of doing so is that those shady rats in the city have no fixed neutral place to go. As they run around the city, they create one ghost market after another."

"Huaian is located in Chonghui, the junction of the north and the south. There are the Huaihe River, the Grand Canal and even the big river on the waterway, and the land route also radiates in all directions. The population flow is extremely frequent, and there are even more rats and cultivators mixed in."

"Without this Tianguang Market, someone would immediately secretly build a new ghost market, which would cause chaos and foul smells in the city, and the government would be exhausted from running around to deal with it."

"So the government had no choice but to compromise in the end."

"But the ban has not been completely lifted. In the past, as long as you held a corpse oil lantern, no matter where you were in the city, as long as you set foot on the road illuminated by the lights, you could reach Tianguangxu."

"Now we must reach the place we were just at and light the lantern, then the road will appear."

"In this way, we officials just need to keep an eye on that place and make sure nothing goes wrong."

Ultimately, it is better to choose the lesser of two evils.

Perhaps it is because of the intervention of some overt forces, and they also need a channel that can conceal their identities and handle certain things.

"Be careful next time." Mo Qingxue reminded: "Don't mention anything related to identity."

"It's time to go in."

Mo Qingxue and Captain Luo walked towards the gate.

At this time, two demon dogs slowly walked out from the darkness beside the door. These two demon dogs were hairless and had bare skin, as if they had been skinned to reveal the flesh underneath.

There are six eyes on each head.

At this time, the two demon dogs' twelve eyes were turning around restlessly, glancing at Xu Qing and others one by one. The malicious and scrutinizing gazes made people shudder.

"Don't do anything. This is the guard dog of Tianguangxu." Mo Qingxue explained to Xu Qing, Zhao Yinxi and the Buddhist disciple in white.

"They will attack those who try to enter Tianguangxu by other means, or monsters. We have lanterns, so we can ignore them and go in."

(End of this chapter)