Yesterday night, after Chen Hao returned to the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, King Ning immediately summoned the Four Heavenly Kings and the Queen Mother.

"Your Majesty, may I ask why you have summoned me and the Four Heavenly Kings at this late hour?" the Queen Mother inquired.

Clad in green robes and without any precious jewelry, the Queen Mother's attire was modest and understated compared to the royal splendor of King Ning's garb. In fact, she was originally the protective deity of Wu Mountain. When King Ning came to build his palace, she married him and assumed the role of the Queen Mother.

King Ning's face showed worry as he looked up at the bruise-colored night sky outside the hall and said, "Tomorrow, a young Onmyoji is expected to come to the mountain with the intention of destroying this Heavenly King Hall! This person has an immortal body and is not to be underestimated. I summoned you all here because I need to go to the Eighteen Levels of Hell in the Netherworld to retrieve some Purgatory Fire in the coming days. I leave you in charge of guarding this great hall!"

Hearing this, the Queen Mother's eyes flashed fiercely as she sighed, "So there is such an Onmyoji that even Your Majesty must personally retrieve Purgatory Fire from Hell in order to kill him!"

With a sigh, the Queen Mother said with concern, "Your Majesty, consider calling the other Dharma Kings for assistance!"

"Hmph!" King Ning frowned in displeasure, "To deal with a mere little Onmyoji, we would need the help of other Dharma Kings? If word of this gets out, how would I save face? How can I command authority? Rest assured, as long as I obtain the Purgatory Fire, I will be able to completely burn away that boy's Yin Soul! My only worry is about the days when I am not here..."

"Your Majesty, rest easy!" one of the Four Heavenly Kings stepped forward and said with a fist salute, "With us Four Heavenly Kings here, it's not only the Heavenly King Hall that's safe, he won't even pose a big threat to Jade Summit!"

"Hmm!" King Ning nodded, albeit with some doubt in his mind. Immediately, a tremendous surge emanated from the atmosphere around him, and a purple gate appeared amidst the waves.

This gate was the entrance to the Netherworld.

After the gate opened, King Ning stepped through it.

Once King Ning had left, the Queen Mother stepped down from her throne, approached the Four Heavenly Kings with a solemn face, and instructed them, "Remember, never underestimate the enemy!"

"Yes!" The Four Heavenly Kings nodded in unison, then transformed into colorful smokes and left the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, flying down from Jade Summit. These Four Heavenly Kings were originally spirits of nightmares, commonly referred to by the people as bed-pressing ghosts, for they invade dreams when people fall asleep at night, frightening them in their dreams or paralyzing their Yin Souls so they cannot move.

..

At noon, after nearly four hours on a long-distance bus, Chen Hao and his companions finally arrived at the foot of Wu Mountain, in the town of Wu Mountain Town.

Upon disembarking, the group first looked up towards Wu Mountain. Using their Yin Yang Eyes, they saw a layer of purple clouds shrouding the summit of Wu Mountain—that was the concentration of Yin Qi summoned by King Ning.

Chen Hao, employing the Nether Vision technique of his left eye, directly saw the tallest and steepest peak of Wu Mountain, Jade Summit, as well as the Heavenly King Temple atop it, the golden statue of the Jade Emperor enshrined there, and next to it, the statue of the Queen Mother. Within the Queen Mother's statue, Chen Hao saw a female demon dressed in green.

"Brother Chao," Xie Xiaofeng turned to Tang Chao, "can your Qinggong leap to the top of the highest peak in the middle?"

Tang Chao's expression darkened somewhat helplessly, "The highest peak must be at least two thousand meters high, and my highest jump can only reach about seventy meters."

"Oh!" Xie Xiaofeng sighed with some disappointment.

"Let's have lunch in town first!" Chen Hao said to his companions beside him, his brows furrowed.

At that moment, Chen Hao's heart was filled with worry, thinking about what he would do if any of his companions couldn't make it down the mountain. He felt a bit of regret for not insisting that his companions stay behind instead of following him here.

Finally, Chen Hao's gaze fell on Ye Yuqiao, and his concern grew even heavier. What would he do if something happened to Ye Yuqiao?

Suddenly, Ye Yuqiao looked into Chen Hao's eyes as if she could see through his worries in an instant, walked up to Chen Hao, and whispered, "Are you worried about them? Don't worry, I will use it when it comes to a critical moment."

"Don't use it!" Chen Hao quickly covered Ye Yuqiao's hand to prevent her from continuing. He looked into Ye Yuqiao's eyes and said with a stern face, "Promise me, no matter what, you won't let yourself fall into danger. You're the only motivation I have to keep going."

On hearing Chen Hao say this, tears gleamed in Ye Yuqiao's eyes.

"Let's go have a meal, you two gods!" Xie Xiaofeng chuckled from behind Ye Yuqiao at this moment, "With us three bright light bulbs here, you must be grinding your teeth with annoyance, huh? Haha!"

Compared to everyone else, Xie Xiaofeng seemed very relaxed and even a bit excited. In fact, he had been preparing for this day for a long time. He had finally found the opportunity to prove the results of his recent training!

After lunch and a half-hour rest in Wu Mountain Town, the five officially set foot on Heavenly King Mountain.

Night fell.

After nearly five hours of mountain trekking and wading through water, the group reached the foot of the peak connected to Jade Peak.

Though the mountain path was steep, the five encountered no obstructions or troubles along the way.

Looking up at the steep Heavenly King Peak in front of them and the even higher, mist-enshrouded summit of Jade Peak, then glancing back at the silent and dark woods behind them, Chen Hao stopped, gasping for breath, and said to the others, "The mountain path is not easy to navigate in the dark. Let's stop here and spend the night, and we'll head up to Jade Peak tomorrow."

"Mm!" Ye Yuqiao, who had been holding hands with Chen Hao all along, nodded in agreement.

Seeing Chen Hao and Ye Yuqiao, as well as Tang Jing and Tang Chao all holding hands and supporting each other, Xie Xiaofeng complained, "I feel it's so unfair. Why do you all have someone to hold hands with, and I'm all alone?"

"There are plenty of female ghosts in these mountains. Why don't you catch one tomorrow to hold hands with as you walk?" Chen Hao said casually.

"Hoot hoot!" Just then, the call of an owl echoed from somewhere in the forest. In the eyes of an Onmyoji, owls symbolize bad omens. Coupled with the somewhat spooky joke made by Chen Hao, everyone suddenly went silent.

After the silence, the five realized just how quiet the forest was and how dark the night seemed.

Fear suddenly became omnipresent.

Seeing the hair-raising expressions on Tang Jing, Tang Chao, and Xie Xiaofeng, Chen Hao burst out laughing, "Look at you three. I told you not to come, right? Are you scared now?"

"Ghosts should be afraid of me," Xie Xiaofeng chuckled, "I will let you all witness what a once-in-a-millennium genius Onmyoji is like!"

"Where's this confidence coming from!" Chen Hao retorted.

..

The night deepened.

Cool winds threaded through the forest, and waves of miasma hung heavy, with the sorrowful cries of birds sounding ceaselessly, adding weight to the already pervasive sense of fear.

After setting up the tents, the five split up to sleep, with Tang Jing and Ye Yuqiao sharing one tent, and the other three men in another.

"Crackle crackle!" The firewood in the campfire crackled as it burned.

All five had fallen asleep when nightmares came...

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