Inside the huge rock was a pitch - black cave.
Niannian silently took out a flashlight from her small satchel.
"Where did you get that flashlight?"
Shen Weixun didn't remember there being such a thing in the Taoist temple. Seeing Niannian taking out such an item from her satchel, he was extremely surprised.
"Ah, it was given to me by Grandpa Chu. He said that sometimes he would take jobs related to tombs. That place has no lights, and it's so dark and creepy. So he told me to carry a flashlight with me at all times. Grandpa Chu also said that sometimes he might go into the mountains for work, and he even prepared a tent and other things for me. There's also food in it. Are you hungry, Third Senior Brother? If you are, I'll get you a cake."
Niannian looked extremely proud as she introduced the new stuff in her small satchel.
Grandpa Chu?
Shen Weixun searched his mind for a while before he remembered. That was the half - baked practitioner of the metaphysical world Niannian met after going down the mountain for the first time.
Chu Dacheng, a half - skilled wandering Taoist priest who set up a stall in the park.
"It seems that we don't need to bring anything when we go out in the future. Just bringing you will be enough."
Shen Weixun didn't know what strange things Chu Dacheng had told Niannian and how many strange items he had prepared for her.
But judging from the current situation, the things in Niannian's small satchel were probably enough to set up a temporary camp anytime and anywhere.
Even in the wild, they could lie down and rest for a week without any problem.
This was probably a good thing.
It was better to be prepared.
Those things seemed useless on ordinary days, but now they came in handy.
"Yeah, Grandpa Chu also said that I'm a great treasure for every household."
Niannian had no idea that she was being treated like a tool. Instead, she felt quite proud.
Sure enough, she was the most useful kid in the world.
Shen Weixun didn't want to dampen his junior sister's little pride, so he just smiled without saying a word.
He took a look at the surrounding environment and changed the topic.
"This place seems quite damp. There should be running water and air circulation. It's never seen sunlight all year round, yet there are plants growing everywhere. It's a good place for a burial ground."
Shen Weixun suspected that they had accidentally stumbled into the Hu family's ancestral tomb.
The feng shui here wasn't really good for the living, but it was more than sufficient for the dead.
"Let's walk a bit further. Maybe there's a whole new world inside."
Niannian didn't quite agree with her third senior brother's words.
This place was indeed suitable for a burial ground, but that was only from the perspective of feng shui.
However, the current aura here was so heavy with malevolence that if it were used as a burial ground, all the descendants would surely meet sudden and tragic ends.
The malevolent aura was too strong.
It was as if a hundred vengeful ghosts had been gathered, and all their malevolent auras had been extracted and stuffed into this cave.
Shen Weixun didn't get Niannian's approval. He carefully sensed the current environment again.
After a while, he suddenly understood.
I see.
It seemed that they had to be more careful on the way ahead.
This cave was like a canyon with only one path. Fortunately, they didn't need to make any choices, or it would have taken them a lot of effort.
Even this single path was quite winding and rugged. After walking around for a long time, they suddenly found themselves in a spacious area.
This seemed to be an underground spring. Water was flowing down from a water tank, making a pleasant tinkling sound.
There were glowing grasses everywhere around.
And these were exactly the Soul - Reviving Grasses they had been searching for so hard.
But seeing these grasses, Niannian and Shen Weixun weren't very happy.
Now they understood why that woman had said that it was not easy to obtain the Soul - Reviving Grass.
There were vengeful ghosts everywhere around the spring. Each one of them was over a hundred years old.
There were even two or three ghost kings, and one of them was on the verge of reaching the level of a ghost emperor.
This wasn't just a forbidden area.
It was simply a den of ten thousand ghosts.
Some mass graves deliberately designed with great effort might not be as terrifying as this place.
The vengeful ghosts were floating around the spring. From time to time, a few of them would try to get close to the Soul - Reviving Grass and reach out their hands to pick it.
But as soon as a vengeful ghost had such an intention, several other ghosts would immediately surround it and attack it.
They would devour the soul of the ghost that tried to pick the Soul - Reviving Grass together.
They wouldn't stop until they had gnawed it to pieces, leaving it in a state of complete disrepair and without any ability to resist.
This cycle repeated. In just a short while, the souls of several vengeful ghosts gradually became weak.
But before long, those weak souls would dive into the spring. When they came back up, they were again powerful vengeful ghosts full of malevolent aura.
What kind of place was this exactly?
With so many vengeful ghosts eyeing the Soul - Reviving Grass covetously, it was no wonder that woman had said it was not easy to obtain.
Who had the ability to snatch the Soul - Reviving Grass under the watchful eyes of dozens of vengeful ghosts?
Not to mention that there were several ghost kings and one half - step ghost emperor among them.
Niannian was so worried that she scratched her head.
She was confident, but not conceited, and definitely not a fool.
In this situation, even if she and her third senior brother went in together, they wouldn't even be enough to fill the ghosts' teeth.
It was difficult even to get close, let alone pick one.
No wonder that woman had told her third senior brother that they had only managed to obtain one after much hard work.
It was estimated that the only Soul - Reviving Grass in their hands had been exchanged for with the lives of many people.
"Third Senior Brother, what should we do? We can't beat them at all."
Niannian was pacing anxiously on the spot. Unable to come up with a solution, she had no choice but to turn to her third senior brother for help.
Shen Weixun was also at a loss.
According to what people said, in the face of absolute strength, all tricks and schemes were useless.
Now this was exactly their situation.
All these vengeful ghosts together represented absolute strength.
No matter how smart they were or how many strategies they had in mind, it would be very difficult.
Should they give up?
Retreat on the spot?
But they had already come this far. The thing they were seeking was right in front of them, and there were so many.
It was really tempting.
Even though they were practitioners of Taoism, they couldn't completely abandon human nature.
Greed was something everyone had.
They were no exception.
"Otherwise, I'll go in first and try to distract them. You watch for the right moment to pick the Soul - Reviving Grass. Once you get it, we'll leave. They don't seem to be able to leave this place."
After much thought, Shen Weixun could only come up with this solution.
The plan of luring the tiger away from its den.
It sounded simple, but in fact, it was very difficult to operate.
How to lure them? Where to hide?
This open area was only about two hundred square meters. There was a water pool in the middle, and there were so many ghosts crowded around. The four corners were so cramped that one would have nowhere to hide.
"No, Third Senior Brother. Your footwork isn't that fast. You won't be able to dodge. If you're caught, you'll probably be devoured until there's not even a bone left. Isn't there any other way?"
Niannian shook her head firmly. Although her third senior brother's footwork was indeed fast, it wasn't that fast.
The ghosts floated with their souls. How could two legs outrun them?