Quinn sat down beside the skeleton, took out some medicine to treat the wounds he’d gotten in battle, and laughed, "I was born from Yellow Springs. Why should I fear the Yellow Springs Road?"
The skeleton stood up and said, "This is an inauspicious place. There’s no way out—except to turn back immediately."
Quinn squeezed the bad blood from his wounds and drew out the demonic qi, saying, "Turning back is certain death; moving forward is my only chance. Do you know a safer way through?"
The skeleton shook his head.
Quinn finished applying medicine, circulated his spiritual energy for a full cycle, and, seeing his wounds hadn’t reopened, stood up and asked, "Do you know which way is east, west, south, or north?"
"That’s east!" The skeleton raised his hand and pointed ahead.
"Thanks."
Quinn started walking in the direction indicated, but after two steps he stopped, turned back, and smiled, "Brother, why are you following me?"
The skeleton followed closely behind. When Quinn stopped, he stopped too, and said, "I used to be muddled here, remembering nothing of my life, only faint memories of death. You woke me up. Naturally, I must follow you."
Quinn couldn’t help but laugh, "The living and the dead walk different roads. Following me isn’t the way. You’d better go back to sleep."
The skeleton looked confused and said, "When I was muddled, I could sleep soundly, ignoring the seasons and the battles of the world. But now you've awakened me, and I can't sleep anymore. Since you disturbed my rest, you must take responsibility for me."
"You're a truly unreasonable ghost!"
Quinn, helpless, turned around and earnestly explained, "I saw you still had some remnant soul, so I used All-Gods Natural Art to wake you and ask for directions. But you don't know anything except where east is, and you can't help me find a way out. Besides, you're dead. Even if I escape this inauspicious land, you can't come with me to the world of the living. Brother, since you're dead, it's best to go back to sleep."
The skeleton shook his head. "I had no worries before, but you woke me up and now I have worries. You need to help me solve them."
Quinn felt a headache coming on and laughed, "Then I'll use All-Gods Natural Art again to draw out your remnant soul and let you disperse into the world. Then you can sleep again. How about that?"
"No way."
The skeleton shook his head again. "Now that I'm awake, if you disperse my soul, that's killing me. Soul annihilation is unbearably painful. I don't want that."
Quinn, truly at a loss, turned and continued east. Behind him, the skeleton still followed, step for step.
Quinn grew increasingly frustrated and was about to persuade him again when, suddenly, splashes rose from the marshes on both sides. Corpses, soaked white, stood up straight from the water, staring at him.
Quinn's heart tightened. These corpses had been soaked for countless years, yet their bodies hadn't decayed. Their armor was tattered, their eyes glowed with blood-red light, and corpse-qi and yin energy swirled around them.
These corpses had been powerful in life, and even in death, they radiated intense corpse-qi, making them truly terrifying.
Suddenly, the skeleton behind Quinn opened his mouth and let out a thunderous roar. The corpses floating on the water, as if receiving an order, slowly sank back beneath the surface one after another.
Quinn asked in surprise, "Why do they listen to you?"
The skeleton looked puzzled too. After a moment's thought, he said, "I vaguely remember—they were my subordinates, and we died together here. I saw they wanted to harm you, so I scolded them. Fortunately, they still obey my orders."
Quinn grew even more interested and asked with a smile, "Who were you in life? Do you still remember?"
The skeleton thought hard, shook his head, and said, "I can't remember."
Quinn's interest deepened. He stopped and smiled, "I know a spell that can open Youdu and gather remnant souls, reviving the dead. Let me try it—maybe you'll remember something. If you do, don't follow me anymore."
The skeleton was overjoyed and said with a laugh, "If you can do that, I will never forget your kindness!"
Quinn took off his hairpin, letting his hair fall loose. Suddenly, he revealed his Earth Star Lord true form, and behind him rose the Gate of Bearing Heaven. In the swamp, he performed the Nine Hells Gate soul-calling ritual, chanting deep, obscure demonic incantations.
Halfway through the incantation, Quinn felt a strange sensation—mysterious information surfaced in his mind, and his words shifted into an even older, more obscure language, which he began to chant unconsciously.
The demonic qi around him grew thicker and purer, rolling and spreading across the swamp like a black ocean. The Gate of Bearing Heaven behind him grew ever more imposing, towering in the sea of demonic qi.
Creak, creak—the massive gate slowly opened, heavy and imposing.
From the darkness came shrill screams, ghostly wails and howls of anguish. Countless souls poured out from the Gate of Bearing Heaven!
Quinn jumped in fright, "So many souls?"
Countless souls surged out from Youdu. At the same time, innumerable remnant souls gathered in the great swamp, and in an instant, countless ghost-fires flew like stars through the dark demonic qi, diving into corpses.
Countless corpses stood up from the swamp, looking around in bewilderment.
The desolate swamp was suddenly filled with tens of thousands of corpses and skeletons—some stood on the water, some floated in the air, some sat in the mud—all looking around in confusion.
"Who dares disturb Youdu?"
Quinn was still chanting when a vast voice exploded in his mind, leaving him dazed. His spell was broken, and the Gate of Bearing Heaven behind him greedily swallowed the boundless demonic qi, sucking all the darkness back into Youdu like a storm.
Quinn hurriedly dispelled his Earth Star Lord form, but the Gate of Bearing Heaven remained open, not closing. Dots of lantern light appeared from the darkness of Youdu.