Chapter 5: Yin Spirits

The moment Wang Bo stepped into the tavern, he heard a thud behind him. Turning around, he saw the tavern door swing shut on its own, sealing the space.

At the same time, everyone inside stopped what they were doing and stared at him in unison.

An ordinary person would have been startled by such a gaze.

But Wang Bo merely smiled, meeting each person's eyes. His sharp gaze, like blades, forced them all to look away. Then, like a triumphant general, he strode to an empty table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

The kitchen curtain was pushed aside, and a tall, gaunt, gloomy man emerged.

Wang Bo watched him with interest.

The gloomy man walked up to Wang Bo and said stiffly, "What do you want to eat?"

His voice was low and hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time, and it was extremely unpleasant.

Wang Bo asked, "What do you have here?"

The gloomy man rattled off a list of dishes: "Braised heart and liver, boiled human flesh, husband-and-wife lung slices, spicy human head, fish-flavored eyeballs, fried brain."

The list of dishes was both terrifying and nauseating, sending chills down one's spine.

Hearing these names, the people around them wore eerie smiles.

Wang Bo shook his head and said, "I don't eat those."

The gloomy man asked, "Then what do you want? Name it."

Wang Bo said, "Just give me three catties of cooked beef."

The gloomy man's face darkened further. He shook his head mechanically and rasped, "I have no beef here, only human flesh."

Wang Bo laughed, pointing at the gloomy man. "You're quite the joker. I can clearly see a big ox standing right in front of me, yet you say there's no beef."

The gloomy man's expression changed drastically. His tall, gaunt body began to swell as if inflated, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed from a thin man into a towering, fierce... ox?

As his body expanded, so did his head. Two curved horns sprouted from his forehead, his eyes grew huge, and faint ghostly flames flickered around him. His hands turned into hooves.

In just a few breaths, he had changed from a human into a monster with a human body and an ox's head.

The seated patrons shed their disguises one by one. Blood began to ooze from their seven orifices, their human aura vanished completely, replaced by a sinister, yin energy.

One person stretched his neck long and let out a strange laugh at Wang Bo.

Another's head fell off and rolled to Wang Bo's feet.

Someone's tongue lolled out, nearly touching the ground.

Yet another became dry and shriveled, muttering, "Hungry... I'm so hungry..."

One figure was soaking wet, as if just pulled from water.

They were no longer human; they were ghosts—genuine ghosts.

Wang Bo swept his gaze across them: headless ghosts, hanged ghosts, long-necked ghosts, starving ghosts, water ghosts—all kinds of vengeful spirits and fierce ghosts appeared before him.

The air was thick with a sinister, chilling aura.

The once bright and clean tavern decayed visibly, as if eroded by yin energy, becoming dilapidated and emitting a stench of rot.

Wang Bo looked at the leading ox-head and smiled. "Sir, might you be Ox-Head, one of the two underworld enforcers, Ox-Head and Horse-Face?"

Ox-Head nodded. "You saw through our disguise. You are no ordinary man. Who are you, and why have you come here?"

Wang Bo said, "My purpose here is simple. I heard that yin spirits and fierce ghosts have appeared in the Valley of Evil. To prevent them from leaving and wreaking havoc on the world, I came to deal with them."

Two ghostly flames burned in Ox-Head's eyes as he scanned Wang Bo. He shook his head. "You have no magical power. How can you handle yin spirits and fierce ghosts? Leave quickly. I am stationed here to ensure these ghosts do not leave the valley."

Wang Bo chuckled and snapped his fingers. A brilliant bolt of lightning burst from his palm, illuminating the entire tavern. Instantly, the yin spirits and fierce ghosts let out hysterical wails.

They were all yin spirits and fierce ghosts, terrified of lightning to the very core of their souls.

"Palm Thunder?" Ox-Head was startled, then shook his head. "No, it's not Palm Thunder."

He could see that Palm Thunder was supremely yang and could inflict massive damage on yin spirits, but the lightning Wang Bo released lacked the power to vanquish evil; it was just ordinary lightning.

Though it could still cause considerable harm to yin spirits, it wasn't as terrifying as Palm Thunder.

Still, he had to admit that Wang Bo indeed had the ability to sweep through the Valley of Evil.

Such lightning was truly fearsome.

Even he felt his fur bristle at the sight, for at his core, he was the same kind of yin spirit as the ghosts.

"No wonder you dared to come here—you possess a rare skill."

Wang Bo gradually retracted the lightning, leaving only a few sparks dancing on his fingertips, flickering on and off. "Ox-Head Warden, would you step aside and let me destroy these yin spirits and fierce ghosts?"

Hearing this, the yin spirits and fierce ghosts trembled with fear, cowering behind Ox-Head.

Ox-Head thought for a moment, then refused. "This place is no longer for the living; it belongs to the underworld. You should leave at once."

Wang Bo's eyes lit up. "Belongs to the underworld? Do you mean that something from the underworld has projected itself here?"

Ox-Head was startled. "You know about that?"

"To be honest, that's why I came," Wang Bo said with a smile. "Please, Ox-Head Warden, lead the way. Let me see what exactly has projected from the underworld into this world."

Ox-Head asked warily, "What do you intend to do?"

"Well..." Wang Bo hesitated, actually consulting his cheat. "I've found what the underworld projected into this world. What should I do now?"

[What did you find?]

"Not sure yet, but it should be nearby." Wang Bo shifted his gaze, his powerful eyesight piercing through the tavern door and buildings, seeing the entire Valley of Evil.

At the same time, Wang Bo saw a platform.

It was pitch black, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, its surface like the back of a bow, its back like a bowstring laid flat. Except for a stone path, it was surrounded by a forest of knives and trees of swords, extremely treacherous.

Its presence clashed with the architecture of the Valley of Evil.

If nothing unexpected happened, this thing should be the important object projected from the underworld into this world.