"Xiao Mu deserves much credit for the gains we've made," Elder Zun smiled as he looked towards Xiao Mu.

"You flatter me, senior," Xiao Mu hastily replied with modesty.

Although he did offer some help in this battle, the main contributions throughout were certainly from Elder Zun and Huang Yuan. In comparison, his role really wasn't much.

"No need for modesty. Without you, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly," Elder Zun said with a smile on his face. "Besides, you gained a nice benefit. The Dao Talisman capable of masking the Tribulation Cloud and deceiving life and death is incredibly rare and more valuable than the other two objects combined."

"You've got a third of the Silver Talisman, just like us. Given the effort in battle, I won't split the other two items with you. Old Huang and I will each take one. Do you have any objections?"

Xiao Mu quickly said, "I have no objections."

Against the Golden Armor Monster, his contribution was indeed minimal, nowhere near that of Elder Zun or Huang Yuan. It was only fair that they keep the other two treasures.

"Very well!"

Elder Zun nodded, casually tossing the Short Halberd to Huang Yuan, and kept the magic treasure boots for himself.

"Should we leave now, or continue exploring further?"

Once the distribution was completed, Elder Zun's gaze swept over Huang Yuan and Xiao Mu.

All three were significantly drained, with both Xiao Mu and Elder Zun also sustaining injuries that were unlikely to heal quickly.

Huang Yuan didn't have injuries, but his energy was heavily depleted.

If they continued to explore, they might encounter danger at any moment. Should they run into another powerful entity like that Golden Armor figure, all three could be in peril; a total wipeout wasn't out of the question.

Moreover, this place was too eerie. The immensely powerful Golden Armor figure turned out to be but a puppet, the entity hidden behind it was nothing short of terrifying.

Considering this, Elder Zun didn't make a decision on his own but sought the opinions of Xiao Mu and Huang Yuan.

Huang Yuan said, "It would be somewhat regrettable to turn back now. I suggest we move forward a bit more and see how things go. If anything unusual happens, we'll have time to turn back."

As he spoke, suddenly turning to Xiao Mu, "Xiao Mu, if you're too scared to follow us, you can stay here and wait."

Why target me again?

Xiao Mu grumbled inwardly, thinking that after the recent battle, Old Huang would at least be a bit more courteous towards him. But it had only been a few minutes, and the old man was already provoking him with a challenge.

However, this made it clear that Huang Yuan actually wanted to explore further; he said this only to coax Xiao Mu into agreeing with him.

Normally, I should be opposed to it—even if just to upset Old Huang, I should voice an objection.

But why do I also feel that it might be better to go in and explore?

Thoughts raced through Xiao Mu's mind. His opinion, unexpectedly aligning with Huang Yuan's, suggested it might be best to explore further.

Not for any other reason than to avoid being completely ignorant about what lies deeper beyond the Netherworld Paper Bridge. Only by doing so, could they be prepared for their next venture into this space.

He then said, "I also think it would be best if we could explore a bit further."

Elder Zun smiled and responded, "It seems our thoughts are aligned, after all. I also believe it would be for the best to explore further. That way, when we enter here next time, we can prepare accordingly and not have made this trip for nothing."

"Alright, since we all agree, let's go ahead and explore a bit more before deciding."

After a brief rest, the three of them continued along the Netherworld Paper Bridge deeper into the area.

This Ghost Bridge stretched up into the sky, endlessly ascending higher and higher. Looking down from above, the Blackwater River below seemed boundless, resembling an infinite sea.

But unlike a real sea, the Nether River was pure stillness, devoid of any ripples. From above, it looked like an immense, dark black hole.

The trio moved forward, and finally, the Ghost Bridge stopped ascending and became flat, leading straight ahead.

"Wooo!"

"Haha hahaha!"

"Ahh~"

Cries, wild laughter, screams, and various eerie sounds started to emerge above the Paper Bridge. All of a sudden, various shapes and colors of ghosts began to appear ahead on the bridge.

These ghosts were male and female, old and young, adults and children, and there were even various uniquely featured monsters among them.

Regardless of the form they took, they all wandered on the Ghost Bridge, moving forward at times, and backward at others, as if completely without consciousness, uttering all manner of strange sounds.

"Yin Spirits? Illusions?"

His gaze sweeping over the ghosts on the Ghost Bridge, Xiao Mu's expression shifted slightly. Among these ghosts, he actually recognized several familiar faces, and not just one.

"Leader Lei, Jiang Mu..."

Among those he recognized were Lei and Jiang Mu, aimlessly wandering the Ghost Bridge, directionless.

Despite Xiao Mu's calls, Lei, Jiang Mu, and the others seemed utterly unaware, as if they couldn't hear at all.

"How could this be?"

Xiao Mu was astonished, puzzled not just by the sight of Lei and Jiang Mu on the Netherworld Paper Bridge, but also why they didn't respond to him. Jiang Mu, whom he had killed, ignoring him was one thing, but why didn't Lei respond?

"Xiao Mu, don't act rashly!"

Elder Zun suddenly cautioned Xiao Mu, preventing his next move.

"Any action could lead to unexpected consequences," Huang Yuan added severely through telepathic communication with Xiao Mu.

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