Chapter 004: The Valley of Evil

Inside the Azure Tower, Wang Bo patiently listened as the innkeeper explained the major events of the world, estimating how many of them were related to the Underworld.

The massacre of the Divine Sword Manor was indeed unexpected.

Wang Bo recalled that in the original novel, the Divine Sword Manor had never been wiped out; rather, Xie Xiaofeng, weary of the martial world, had once gone into hiding in a brothel under the name of the useless Aji.

But even so, the Divine Sword Manor had survived and never been destroyed. He never imagined that in this world, the Divine Sword Manor would be annihilated, and no one knew who had done it.

Perhaps Xie Xiaofeng knew, but now he was neither alive nor dead, his body unseen. To outsiders, it seemed he was more likely dead than alive.

Wang Bo was also unsure whether this incident was connected to the Underworld.

When he had time, he should pay a visit to the Divine Sword Manor.

As for the Black and White Impermanence appearing in the martial world, if nothing unexpected happened, they were likely projections of those two from the Underworld.

This was indeed related to the Underworld. Wang Bo felt he should find these two to understand the situation, but the martial world was neither too big nor too small, and he might not be able to locate them in a short time.

The massacre of the Shen family of the Golden Needle was the work of the Carefree Marquis and should have nothing to do with the Underworld, so he skipped it.

However, the shocking upheaval in the Valley of Evil, where vengeful spirits and fierce ghosts ran rampant, was definitely connected to the Underworld. It must have been influenced by the Underworld that such spirits appeared in the Valley of Evil.

When he had time, he should go there.

The rapid expansion of the Azure Tower, with the addition of the One Red Dot of the Central Plains, the Twelve Zodiacs, and even the Ten Evils, was likely a martial world conflict and had nothing to do with him.

Wang Bo couldn't be bothered.

As for the sudden death of the emperor, Wang Bo thought it should be related to the curse everyone mentioned.

Of course, it wasn't that someone had cursed the emperor.

Rather, the emperor's fate wasn't strong enough.

As the higher-world Underworld gradually merged with this world, the throne would also acquire some special significance, such as the celestial status of heaven and earth.

And in the Underworld, what kind of beings could become the Yama Heavenly King or King Yama?

Ordinary people simply couldn't hold this position steadily.

When the throne was endowed with such status, not just anyone could sit on it. Ordinary people couldn't suppress the power of that status, and being counterattacked to death was only natural.

So for ordinary people, this thing was essentially a curse.

Whoever sat on it would die.

Only those with a sufficiently strong fate could hold the throne steadily.

But such people were extremely rare in the mortal world. Among all the Ming emperors, only Zhu Chongba, who rose from a beggar to emperor, had the qualification to sit firmly on this throne.

The others could not.

But the problem was that Zhu Chongba had been dead for many years, and even Zhu Di had been dead for many years.

So among the later Ming emperors, probably no one could hold this throne steadily.

Of course, even if Zhu Chongba were still alive, he wouldn't last long, because as the Underworld merged with this world, even his fate wasn't enough to become the Yama Heavenly King.

So he would eventually be counterattacked to death.

Therefore, the position of emperor was a big pitfall for ordinary people.

Under heaven, probably no one could hold this throne steadily anymore.

Of course, Wang Bo could.

But the problem was that Wang Bo had no desire to become emperor. First, because he had already experienced the life of an emperor, and second, because wasn't a leisurely life more enjoyable? Why be an emperor?

Leaving that aside, the last piece of news.

As for the Sword Demon Yan Shisan's madness, it should also have been influenced by some external force, causing him to mutate. Otherwise, there was no explanation for why he was still alive after being pierced through the heart by Yan Nantian.

This was a martial world, not a fantasy world.

So Yan Shisan should also be watched.

But the current focus was not Yan Shisan, but the Black and White Impermanence and the Valley of Evil. These two matters were the most important.

Because the Black and White Impermanence had no fixed whereabouts and might not be found anytime soon, Wang Bo first chose to investigate the Valley of Evil. After asking the innkeeper for the location of the Valley of Evil, he left the Azure Tower and sped off toward the valley.

Wang Bo worked quickly, and in a flash, he arrived at the Valley of Evil.

The Valley of Evil was actually located in the Kunlun Mountains. Going upward, a thick fog appeared among the mountains. As Wang Bo approached the valley, a faint light suddenly appeared in the misty clouds. It was a Kongming lantern made of bamboo, cleverly embedded in a crevice of the rocks to shelter it from the wind. In this gloomy, desolate valley, it flickered with a ghostly green light.

Under the ghostly light, two lines of characters were carved on the rock.

Entering the valley is like ascending to heaven.

Travelers, come this way.

Below the two lines, an arrow pointed to a winding mountain path. Straining his eyes, one could see that this path led to a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides.

Although the Kunlun Mountains were extremely steep, this path cleverly wound through the peaks. The Valley of Evil was exactly the valley floor encircled by the mountains.

Thus, the path into the valley did not go upward but gradually descended, becoming more and more winding, with visibility less than ten feet.

Suddenly, the view opened up, and amid the desolate mountains, a patch of lights miraculously appeared, like ten thousand stars, dazzling the eyes.

To be honest, this situation surprised Wang Bo.

Because from the innkeeper, he had learned that the Valley of Evil was overrun with vengeful spirits and fierce ghosts, so the valley should have been indescribably gloomy, dark, and even filled with resentment.

But what Wang Bo saw was a valley bathed in brilliant lights.

This was quite interesting.

However, soon Wang Bo realized that these lights did not diminish the mystery of the Valley of Evil but instead added an indescribable eeriness.

The solar true qi within Wang Bo's body suppressed the curse's power, preventing him from channeling his qi to see through the illusion with magic.

But he was bold and fearless, so he continued forward.

Under the lights, a stone tablet stood by the roadside.

Enter the valley, enter the valley, never be a slave.

Past this tablet, the road suddenly became flat, as smooth as a mirror under the lights, reflecting light. The Valley of Evil looked like a mountain village, with no gates, no walls, and no fences.

Under the lights, the houses appeared so quiet and peaceful.

Not a single vengeful spirit or fierce ghost was in sight.

Wang Bo continued forward and saw a door that was open. From inside, the aroma of food and wine seemed to drift out.

Wang Bo walked in.

In the elegant hall, five or six tasteful tables were arranged. Except for one empty table, all the others were full of people, who were drinking lightly and chatting softly.

The open door seemed to lead to a tavern, but it looked more refined and elegant than any tavern in the world.