Chapter 181: The Vanguard

Although most people present didn’t know much about divination, they could at least understand the auspicious or ominous implications of an oracle.

Given that Daoist Mei’s divination had always been fairly accurate, a look of concern appeared on many faces.

However, Qi Yuan remained calm and replied, “Fortune and misfortune depend on each other, and within disaster lies opportunity.”

“If there were no danger at all, that might actually mean there’s no extraordinary treasure in the valley.”

Hearing this, Daoist Mei nodded. “Master Qi is right. The first line of the Kan Hexagram only suggests obstacles on our journey, serving as a reminder for us to proceed with caution.”

“It doesn’t necessarily mean something disastrous will happen.”

“Mm…” Qi Yuan nodded slightly, then turned to the assembled group of strange and talented individuals. He said seriously, “Before the iron bridge is built, does anyone have a way to descend first and explore the valley?”

“No matter how useful the information obtained is, anyone who ventures into the valley and returns safely shall receive merit for being the vanguard.”

Qi Yuan deliberately emphasized “and returns safely”—after all, if someone went down and never came back, what use would their merit be? A dead man had no need for achievements.

Before long, three individuals stepped forward from the crowd. Qi Yuan recognized them all.

The first was a hunched old woman wearing a mask. She was a shamaness, said to be able to summon spirits into her body, heal illnesses, and exorcise evil.

The second was a tall, lanky young man with ghostly pale skin. He was a corpse retriever—despite his youth, the number of corpses he had recovered from rivers in a single year exceeded what many corpse retrievers had managed in a lifetime.

He wasn’t chosen just because of his swimming skills; more importantly, he could see “the aura of the dead”…

The third was a burly middle-aged man. In this freezing winter, while others wore thick coats, he only had on a short-sleeved shirt, showing no signs of shivering.

This man had been an executioner for over thirty years. He carried an aura of bloodthirsty violence. He once claimed that a headless vengeful ghost came seeking revenge, only for him to behead it once more with a single stroke.

Whether that was true or not was uncertain, but it was widely believed that executioners carried an aura capable of repelling malevolent spirits—hence, he had also been recruited into this expedition.

Looking at the three before him, Qi Yuan smiled. “Wind Blade Valley is steep and treacherous. How do the three of you plan to descend?”

The shamaness’ voice was sharp and grating, like a cat’s claws scraping metal. “I will summon a spirit to take us down.”

The corpse retriever spoke next. “Such cliffs are no challenge for me. I can climb down.”

“I can’t do that,” the executioner admitted. “But those two don’t seem very good at fighting… If they take me along, at least I’ll be able to put up a fight if we run into something strange.” He grinned and patted the large blade at his waist.

“Good!” Qi Yuan rose and cupped his hands. “I shall see you three off.”

…

A fierce wind howled, making the robes of the onlookers billow and flap violently.

The icy gusts bit into their skin like knives.

At the cliff’s edge, the shamaness held a three-inch-long object—neither a bell nor a drum—and muttered indistinct incantations as she performed a summoning ritual.

The corpse retriever took out two hooked spikes, each attached to an iron chain. He linked the hooks together—this was his usual tool for retrieving bodies. When corpses sank to the riverbed, he would dive in, spot them, and cast his hooks to drag them to the surface.

As for the executioner, he simply stood at the edge, staring into the abyss, seemingly unfazed by the freezing winds.

“The Great Deity arrives! The Great Deity arrives!” The shamaness’s voice suddenly rose in pitch.

As she twisted her body in a series of contortions, her hunched form abruptly straightened.

Then, in one swift motion, she grabbed the executioner’s belt, hoisted the much larger man onto her shoulder, and leaped off the cliff!

The corpse retriever, slightly slower in his response, flung his hooks downward, embedding them into the cliff face. Using the hooks as grips, he began his descent, inching downward step by step.

Compared to the shamaness’ inexplicable method, his approach at least made some logical sense.

But the shamaness… she had just jumped off the cliff with another person on her back! How could that not result in immediate death?

As soon as they went over the edge, they vanished into the howling winds of the valley below.

Qi Yuan cupped his hands toward their descent and said solemnly, “May the three of you return safely.”

Then, he turned and walked back toward his tent.

…

Half an hour later, the shamaness landed in the valley and set the executioner down.

The executioner gave the shamaness a thumbs-up and said, “Impressive! Granny, you’re truly something else. Is this spirit-summoning technique hard to learn? Could you teach me?”

As the one personally carried down by the shamaness, the executioner had experienced her abilities firsthand.

In his view, if an old woman could carry a grown man and traverse near-impossible terrain, then if he learned the technique himself, wouldn’t he become even stronger?

However, at this moment, the shamaness seemed even less inclined to speak. She merely turned her back to him, gazing at the luminescent glow ahead.

Thud!

The corpse retriever, who arrived a moment later, put away his grappling hooks and ran toward them. “How is it? Anything unusual?”

The shamaness did not respond, but the executioner grinned and said, “Nothing yet, at least for now… Why don’t we take a closer look at that glowing curtain?”

“Alright, but be cautious… The most dangerous things in this world are often those unseen,” the corpse retriever warned, gripping his grappling hooks tightly.

With that, the three slowly advanced. However, after just a dozen steps, the ground beneath them began to wriggle!

Gurgle—Gurgle—Gurgle!

As the earth undulated, the shamaness suddenly leapt into the air, her voice sharp. “Something’s underground!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three consecutive bursts of dirt erupted!

From beneath each of them, a pair of massive, mud-colored hands shot out!

The hands grabbed onto the executioner and the corpse retriever’s ankles, gripping them tightly!

The shamaness, however, was a step ahead, having already vaulted into the air, narrowly avoiding the attack.

“Leave at once~ Leave at once~”

“Intruders will die~ Intruders will die~”

A sinister voice echoed through the valley from all directions!

Fortunately, the three who had descended into the valley were no strangers to the supernatural. Instead of panicking, they quickly responded!

The executioner drew his blade, and with two swift whacks, his executioner’s sword, imbued with a murderous aura, cleaved through the mud hands binding him!

The corpse retriever wasn’t slow either—he flicked his grappling hooks, tearing the mud hands into pieces.

As for the shamaness, she clapped the small drum-like bell in her hands.

A faint thump-thump sound, interwoven with delicate bell chimes, resonated through the air.

The disembodied mud hands instantly collapsed into lifeless sludge.

“Whoa! You’re all pretty damn strong!” The executioner barely finished his sentence when the tremors beneath them intensified!

One after another, clay puppets burst from the earth, completely surrounding the three…