Chapter 1276: Washing Off Yang in the City

"Ghost Gate... This place exudes a chilling coldness everywhere. Could it really be the underworld?" Han Li muttered, rubbing his nose as he swept his divine sense over the blood-red city.

The entire city was not small, but strangely, there was not a trace of life—not a single living person, nor even a live animal like a chicken, duck, dog, or cat.

It was as if beyond this 'Ghost Gate' lay a true ghost city.

Ti Hun remained silent, her eyes fixed on the sky behind the city, staring intently.

Seeing this, Han Li followed Ti Hun's gaze and felt a slight stir in his heart.

Behind the blood-red city, the sky was a vast expanse of darkness. Upon closer inspection, a large mass of black clouds hung there, quite conspicuous in this blood-colored space.

The black clouds rotated slowly like a living thing, seemingly containing something within, but an invisible force within the clouds prevented divine sense from penetrating.

After a moment's hesitation, Han Li activated his Nine Nether Demon Eyes and gazed into the clouds.

At that moment, the black clouds trembled violently, and a tremendous pressure burst forth from within, causing the nearby void to rumble and shake, directly repelling his gaze.

Han Li felt a sharp pain in his eyes, and two streams of bloody tears flowed from the corners. His body swayed slightly but quickly steadied.

"Master!" Ti Hun exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm fine. These black clouds are too strange; don't casually probe them with spells," Han Li said with his eyes closed, then slowly began to breathe and regulate his qi.

After a moment, he opened his eyes, which had returned to normal.

"This place is not good. Perhaps we shouldn't go down; let's leave quickly," Ti Hun said, glancing at the black clouds and then at the blood-red city.

"This blood-colored space is very stable; it's not easy to leave just because we want to. Since we're here, we might as well take a look," Han Li said, then flew down toward the blood-red city.

Seeing Han Li's calm demeanor, Ti Hun glanced again at the black clouds and followed without a word.

The two landed before the city gate. The gate was not closed but wide open. Looking inside from the gate, they saw a broad avenue wide enough for ten horses to gallop side by side, flanked by tall buildings with their doors also wide open.

But as before, the city was completely empty, giving an eerie sense of deathly stillness.

Ti Hun frowned slightly and instinctively moved closer to Han Li.

"Let's go. I want to see what kind of place this is," Han Li said, stepping into the city.

As soon as he crossed the 'Ghost Gate,' Han Li's body shivered involuntarily, surprising him, but aside from that, he found nothing amiss.

He glanced at Ti Hun, who had followed, and it seemed she felt no such sensation.

With their speed, they quickly made a circuit of the city. The city had all the facilities of an ordinary large city in the True Immortal Realm—houses with tables, chairs, pots, and pans, and even tea and food on some tables—but not a single person.

"How is this possible... Could the people here have just been taken away?" Han Li murmured.

They were now standing in a residence, with some tea on the table beside them.

Ti Hun seemed to have gradually calmed down. She looked around, deep in thought.

Suddenly, she stepped forward and picked up a cup of tea. The tea inside was faintly red.

"Ah!" Ti Hun's face showed surprise, and she let out an exclamation.

"What? Did you find something?" Han Li asked.

"I know! Master, come with me quickly." Ti Hun exclaimed in sudden realization, then without explanation, she grabbed Han Li and rushed out of the city, soon arriving near the blood-colored lake.

"What did you find? Why are we at this lake?" Han Li asked.

"Master, don't ask so many questions. Jump into the lake first," Ti Hun said, then leaped into the lake, immersing herself in the water, leaving only her head above the surface.

Her brows furrowed slightly but soon relaxed.

Han Li did not follow her down but instead extended his divine sense to probe the blood lake.

The lake water was filled with a faint, cold aura, but aside from that, there was nothing unusual.

"Just as I thought! Master, come down quickly!" Ti Hun said with delight, waving for Han Li to join her.

After a moment's hesitation, Han Li also flew down into the lake.

His brows suddenly knitted tightly, and his features twisted slightly.

As soon as his body was immersed in the lake water, an intense pain struck every part of him, like being cut by knives or burned by fire, causing him to tremble uncontrollably. His vision became blurred, as if covered by a layer of mist, and everything he saw grew indistinct.

If it were ordinary knife cuts or fire burns, Han Li wouldn't have cared, but this pain seemed to act directly on his soul. Even with his strong will, he found it hard to endure.

It was as if an invisible force enveloped his entire body, stripping something from his body and soul.

"Master, this lake water is Sansheng Water, which can wash away the yang energy from a person. Endure it a little longer; it will pass soon," Ti Hun quickly said.

Hearing this, Han Li gritted his teeth and endured with his eyes closed.

After a full quarter of an hour, the pain began to subside and soon disappeared entirely. He no longer felt any discomfort; instead, soaking in the water gave him an indescribable sense of comfort.

Han Li let out a long breath, opened his eyes, and found his vision restored. He was about to stand up from the lake.

"Master, wait a moment. Look at the city first," Ti Hun suddenly reached out and pressed Han Li down, preventing him from leaving, and whispered.

Han Li looked toward the blood-red city and couldn't help but widen his eyes.

In front of the previously empty city, two rows of guards in blood-red armor now stood.

Though humanoid, these guards had single horns on their heads, long mouths, large ears, and long tongues that occasionally lolled out like a panting dog, making them both terrifying and somewhat comical.

Through the city gate, the once-empty city was now bustling with people coming and going, lively and busy.

Moreover, figures kept appearing above the blood lake—also people in blood-red armor, holding chains and dragging struggling figures, throwing them into the lake.

As soon as those people entered the lake, they let out piercing screams, and green smoke rose from their bodies as if being corroded by the water.

But after a moment, the green smoke dissipated, and their bodies became semi-transparent. The blood-armored figures then led them in chains to the city gate, where they lined up for inspection before entering the city.

Those blood-armored figures seemed oblivious to Han Li and Ti Hun in the lake, as if they couldn't see them.

Han Li watched the scene in amazement.

"These blood-armored figures are soul-reapers from the underworld, sent to various parts of the True Immortal Realm to collect the souls of the dead. They wash away the yang energy in this Sansheng Lake before taking them to the underworld," Ti Hun said.

"That seems plausible... But how do you know all this, Ti Hun?" Han Li nodded and asked curiously.

"When I entered the Sansheng Lake and my yang energy was washed away, these memories suddenly surfaced in my mind for some reason," Ti Hun said after a long silence.

"How could you have such memories?" Han Li was startled.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps because I am a Punishment Beast, inherently connected to the underworld," Ti Hun shook her head and said blankly.

"Maybe," Han Li nodded.

Though many questions remained, he decided not to delve deeper, as the bizarre scene before him was already mind-boggling enough.

"I always thought matters of the underworld were illusory, but they actually exist... But why can't these soul-reapers see us?" Han Li sighed lightly and asked.

"These soul-reapers and we cultivators are like yin and yang—opposite poles. Neither can see the other. Only the dead, or those who have washed away all yang energy with Sansheng Water, can see each other. To be safe, I used a special technique just now to conceal our auras, so the soul-reapers still can't see us. But this technique just came to me, and I have no idea how effective it is," Ti Hun explained.

"I see." Han Li nodded silently. After a moment's thought, he leaped out of the lake and flew toward the city gate.

"Master, I said I wasn't sure!" Ti Hun was alarmed by Han Li's action and quickly followed.

Fortunately, Ti Hun's technique worked better than she expected, and they weren't discovered.

Only a few soul-reapers guarded the city gate, with no detection artifacts like those in the immortal realm, so they naturally couldn't detect Han Li and Ti Hun. The two easily entered the city.

"Master, I told you I wasn't sure, yet you suddenly flew out. That was too risky," Ti Hun couldn't help complaining.

"I trusted that your technique would work. And if it didn't, hiding in the lake would have been pointless anyway," Han Li said with a faint smile.

"What does master plan to do next?" Ti Hun nodded and asked.

"Follow these people and see how they handle these souls," Han Li said, pointing at the soul-reapers in the city.

Those soul-reapers were now escorting a line of souls toward a certain direction in the city, forming a conspicuous queue. The once-dead streets were now crowded with people stopping to watch and point at the procession.

The two mingled with the crowd and followed the soul-reapers from a distance, soon arriving at the entrance of a tall building.

The soul-reapers herded the souls one by one into the tall building, like driving sheep into a pen.

Han Li and Ti Hun exchanged a glance, and after confirming there was nothing unusual outside the building, they followed inside.