Extra Footsteps

The midday wind whipped up gravel and raced across the Gobi Desert.

Shen Gui stood on a small hill.

Not far from the military road, you can see the undulating border walls to the north and the outline of Juntun County to the south.

The intelligence obtained from the county government was very superficial; at least for Shen Gui, the information gathered by the military was completely insufficient, and some parts were even wrong in terms of direction.

The old camp drums of this era should not exist, the old camp military tags that should have been buried long ago, and other intelligence sent back from the border—all these things combined are just too low-minded for ghosts to be found.

Shen Gui looked down the earthen slope and saw a lone poplar tree standing on the desolate land. Under the tree was the place where Yan Li had found the military tag.

Shen Gui walked to the tree, pressed his finger into the air, and a hole appeared in the ground.

One zhang, two zhang... When the depth reached three zhang, a very thin black line appeared at the bottom of the pit.

What's even stranger is the earth's energy. Normally, earth energy sinks downwards, but here it's the opposite. The yin energy below is pushing upwards, and that's how the military license plate was pushed out.

"A formation?"

Shen Gui noticed something amiss, "Such a hidden grand formation was buried in such a remote place..."

After observing for a moment, he raised his head and gazed into the distance, his eyes sparkling with vitality.

"Found it."

As soon as the words were spoken, the figure in gray was no longer under the poplar tree.

After a short while, Shen Gui appeared at an old site, formerly known as Xidungang.

From the outside, Xidun is an old sentry post that has collapsed halfway. Over the years, the original building has been worn smooth by wind and sand, and the wooden beams have long been dismantled by the people and used as firewood.

Shen Gui followed the same method, shaving away the surface soil to create a deep pit under his feet. Standing at the edge of the pit, he could see what was below.

The black line stops here.

The location where it stopped was a large burial pit, which was probably a mass grave dug during a war when people died on the battlefield.

In feng shui, it is considered a very bad omen for a yang (positive) foundation to suppress a yin (negative) foundation.

Therefore, as the soil was uncovered, a thick aura of death rose up continuously.

The deathly aura dissipated as soon as it reached the ground and touched the soles of Shen Gui's shoes, unlike ice encountering fire.

He lifted his leg and took a step forward, falling into the pit. The sole of his boot touched the soft ground.

Half an incense stick was stuck in the soil at the bottom of the pit.

The incense stick is pure black, and although there is no flame at the tip, it is burning.

Based on the burning rate, it burned down to about half a unit in half a month, and now it's only three inches long, stuck diagonally in the mud, right in the center of the dead air.

Shen Gui's attention was focused on the incense ash.

The fine ash fell from the incense stick, not scattering into the air, but sinking halfway down, each grain disappearing into the soil.

Shen Gui reached out and picked up some incense ash.

The ash falling into my palm had no heat, only a greasy, damp feeling, like the texture of a shroud that had been soaked in water for a long time.

There was a faint line at the root of the incense stick, almost invisible, which formed the outline of a ghost face.

The outline of the Ghost Face Token of Zhaoye Sect is also there, but the Ghost Face Token contains pure energy, while this half incense stick is much dirtier, mixed with the blood of soldiers and the yin energy from the ground.

Shen Gui counted back and forth between his index and middle fingers with his thumb, then looked up and gazed north.

Guifeng Camp, Zhenbei Camp, and Heishi Camp—all three camps were shrouded in fog.

Looking at the fog again, Shen Gui murmured two words—"A cursed realm?"

After a moment, he added, "A malevolent realm created by human interference..."

Few people have heard of the concept of "inauspicious lands," while the opposite, "blessed lands," are widely circulated among the people.

Both are born from the natural world, like the opposition of Yin and Yang. Blessed lands prolong life, while inauspicious lands are fraught with peril.

Shen Gui had experienced two other cursed realms in his life, so they weren't unfamiliar to him, but this cursed realm before him...

It even seemed like there was some human intervention involved.

He reached out and pinched the black incense stick, lifting it upwards.

The incense stick began to sway, and the ground connected to it also swayed. The ground where the incense stick was stuck sank half an inch, and a dull sound of soil deformation was heard.

Shen Gui let go.

"The Three Evils are pouring out incense, and this is not the only place."

If the incense is burned underground, and there is only one stick of incense, it will at most disrupt the feng shui of one place. However, the current movement of pulling out incense clearly indicates that there are two other places where incense can be inserted.

This is no small feat in terms of both scale and method.

Shen Gui raised his eyes and scanned the entire Gobi Desert: "Then let's see what's going on."

When he emerged from the ash pit, the fog to the north rolled out an inch, then immediately retreated, as if someone inside had closed the door.

He watched for a while, then turned and walked in another direction.

......

at the same time.

Outside the North Third Battalion.

Noon was not far off, and the sun was high in the sky, but there was no warmth on my skin.

Thick, cold fog enveloped the Gobi Desert, centered on Beisanying.

At the edge of the fog, Wu Huaiyi stood behind the second wooden fence, holding a booklet in his hands, his eyes scanning the thick fog in front of him.

The fog wasn't white, but gray, rolling slowly along the ground, constantly expanding its territory.

Zhang, wearing a cloak, stood at the front of the procession, his nose almost touching the edge of the mist. The border army adjutant followed behind him, his armor covered in sand and gravel.

Vice Minister Zhang asked, "How many more troops can be mobilized?"

"Sir, there are more than 1,300."

The adjutant clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "They were all drawn from the military formations of Heishakou and Chiling. They also have to defend against external enemies, so this is the most they can borrow."

Looking at the fog, Vice Minister Zhang asked, "Are these enough people to seal off the area for several days?"

The adjutant replied, "Based on the current rate of dense expansion, sealing it off for ten days should be enough, but after that, we won't have enough manpower."

Vice Minister Zhang made a decision:

"From now on, those without cultivation should retreat two miles and establish a blockade around the area to be covered in ten days. Archers will be on duty in shifts. No one is allowed to enter. Anyone who dares to break in will be captured first, and if they cannot be captured, they will be killed, regardless of their status."

"yes!"

The adjutant clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

After giving his instructions on matters concerning the army, Vice Minister Zhang turned around and looked behind him.

The people from the Xun Jin Si are recording various kinds of information.

Several officials from the Imperial Observatory set up their formation outside the fog.

Eight copper nails were driven into the ground, a yin-suppressing plate was placed in the center, cinnabar thread was wrapped around the wooden stake, and a bell was hung twice, making a crisp "ding-ling-ling" sound when the wind blew by.

Zhang Shilang's gaze swept over the group of people, finally settling on two江湖客 (jianghu ke, a term referring to people who travel the world of martial arts and chivalry).

"Du Heng, Lu Qingyan, you two lead a vanguard team into the fog to check the outer perimeter first. Do not go too deep."

"Sir...shall the two of us lead the team?"

Du Heng pointed to himself, still maintaining the tough demeanor of a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person from the martial arts world), though he was somewhat unable to keep up the act.

Lu Qingyan was quieter, wearing a soft armor over his blue robe, with his long sword hanging at his waist. He kept his eyes fixed on the edge of the mist and didn't say much.

"Most of the camp ghosts are at the Body Tempering Realm, so it's natural that ordinary soldiers can't stop them. You two are both at the Observation Realm, so there won't be too many camp ghosts on the outer perimeter. Take ten border vanguard soldiers and don't go too deep, and that should be enough to handle them."

After Zhang finished speaking, he tossed out a jade pendant.

Lu Qingyan reached out and took it.

"This is... a Mystic Sound Jade?!"

The jade pendant was about half the size of his palm, with a thin hole in the middle. A glint of greed flashed in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

"You have some knowledge. This Xuan Yin Jade is worth a thousand gold pieces and is priceless. It can transmit sound between people within a mile. Keep it safe and don't lose it."

"Don't worry, sir, it won't get lost."

"Um."

Vice Minister Zhang continued, "Report every ten steps, and immediately report any situation you see, without exceeding the communication range of the Xuan Yin Jade."

Lu Qingyan asked, "What if there's no way out in the fog?"

Vice Minister Zhang said, "With a rope around the waist and someone pulling from the outside, if you get lost, you can follow the rope back."

That's a very sensible statement.

Some soldiers brought out ropes that had been prepared in advance, and ten border troops stepped forward. They were all elites in the Body Tempering Realm, each carrying a talisman arrow and a short sword at their waist.

Du Heng could only swallow back the curses he was about to utter.

He is not a fool.

He came here for the reward and the imperial recommendation, not to throw his life into the ghost fog. Therefore, he had already decided that if things went wrong after entering the fog, he would definitely run away, and let whoever wanted to fight take the risk.

"Enter the fog," said Vice Minister Zhang.

The twelve people walked forward.

One step, two steps, three steps.

The mist clung to their boots and climbed up to their knees.

On the seventh step, the figure faded away.

After the tenth step, nothing could be seen except the rope still leading in.

"We're in. The ground is hard, so there shouldn't be any problems," Du Heng's voice came from the Xuan Yin Jade.

A few breaths passed.

"The fog is thinner than I expected; I can see about three or four steps ahead."

Lu Qingyan's voice followed, "No ghosts or zombies seen, safe."

The people outside remained silent, listening intently to the results being reported from inside and mentally constructing their own images.

A moment later, Du Heng said again, "There are old wooden stakes ahead, like the outer fence of a camp, but we still haven't seen the monster."

His voice softened noticeably when he said this.

Minister Zhang stared at the foggy surface: "Continue reporting."

"Yes, sir." Du Heng replied, and after getting used to the fog, he walked a little faster.

Breathing and footsteps rose and fell within the Xuan Yin Jade.

At first, the footsteps were heavy, short, and steady, but before long, there were more subtle movements in the footsteps.

"clatter."

"Da da".

It didn't sound like boots; it sounded more like bare feet walking on sand.

Zhang Shilang suddenly reached out and pressed down on Xuan Yinyu.

"Du Heng, speak."

Yu Li was quiet for a moment, then Du Heng's voice rang out again.

"We're fine, we didn't see any ghosts, we're safe."

Inside the Xuan Yin Jade, only the increasingly fragmented sound of footsteps remained.

It was so shattered it looked almost inhuman.