The old man looked them over and nodded. "I've seen them. They came here to ask for directions."
The other Daoists in the village felt a surge of fear. The old man stood right in front of them, yet they couldn’t see his face.
Even at such close range, the old man’s features were extremely blurred. No matter what divine eyes they used, they couldn’t make out his face at all—as if he wasn’t a living being.
The Nethervault Demon King was also silent as a cicada in winter, not daring to make a sound.
This old man was an Underworld Courier from Nether City, a divine official under Tu Bo. Such couriers could be found in every world, each in charge of different duties: some guided wandering souls to the living realm, some ferried the dead, and some hunted those great experts who tried to escape death.
The order between Nether City and the living world’s dead was maintained by these couriers.
There had once been an apocalypse-level war in the Nethervault World, nearly destroying it. Corpses filled the fields; death was everywhere.
The sun in the Nethervault World went out, leaving nearly everything in darkness. Yet in that endless blackness, countless points of light appeared, each under which stood an old man like this, come to ferry wandering souls.
Back then, the Nethervault Demon King survived the war and became lord of the Nethervault. He was still young and impulsive, and when he saw these couriers ferrying souls, he rushed to attack—only to be gravely wounded, nearly losing his own soul.
Even now, when the Nethervault Demon King saw these couriers, he was still somewhat terrified and didn’t dare say much.
Quinn Shepherd respectfully asked, "May I ask where they went?"
The old man raised his hand and pointed into the darkness. "Carefree Haven. But they won’t be able to find it—they’ll only become trapped. There are Underworld Couriers preparing to collect their souls."
From the riverbank came the sound of rushing water, and one by one, dripping wet men and women emerged from the river, slowly heading toward the village. Their faces were iron-blue, and they said nothing.
A paper boat floated out from the village. The men and women boarded it, and the boat drifted quietly into the darkness.
The other Daoists in the village were shaken and hurried to distance themselves from the old man. At that moment, they noticed two companions who hadn’t moved and were sitting stiffly in place.
On the paper boat that had already disappeared into the darkness, the faint figures of those two could be seen.
The remaining three Daoists were terrified. Drake Dandy, also dressed as a Daoist, trembled, wanting to flee but not daring to—outside the village lay only darkness.
"Keep your head down—don’t look at the old man!"
One of the older Daoists suddenly realized and cried out, "He's an Underworld Courier! If your gaze meets his, your soul will be taken!"
Drake Dandy and another young Daoist quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet the old man's eyes.
Quinn Shepherd grew even more respectful. "May I ask, Dao-brother, could you point out where Carefree Haven truly lies?"
The old man kept pointing into the darkness and said nothing more.
Quinn Shepherd frowned. The direction the old man pointed was toward the Dead-Alive Realm in the darkness, the other Netherworld, where Nether City stands.
That time, he and Village Chief had barged into the Dead-Alive Realm and barely made it out alive!
That’s not Carefree Haven. May I ask, Dao-brother, where is the real Carefree Haven?
The old man shook his head, still pointing into the darkness.
Quinn Shepherd asked again, but the old man remained silent.
Quinn Shepherd frowned deeply. He simply didn’t have the strength to cross the darkness. Besides Village Chief, the others in the village probably couldn’t cross it either—unless they could carry a stone statue.
He quieted down. The village was silent except for Dragon-Qilin’s snoring—he had fallen asleep.
After a long while, no more corpses emerged from the river. The old man got up, boarded his small boat, and disappeared into the darkness.
Everything in the village returned to normal; the biting cold was gone. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Only three Daoists remained in the village, along with Quinn Shepherd, the Nethervault Demon King, and Dragon-Qilin.
The broken stone statue glowed faintly, pushing back the surrounding darkness. Quinn Shepherd, sensing something, glanced at the female Daoist and smiled. He turned to the other two Daoists and said, "You two look unfamiliar—where do you hail from, immortals?"
The older Daoist replied, "Heavenly Demon Cult Master, since you ask, I won’t hide it. My master and I are from the Starnet Constellation Sect. I am Redcloud Daoist, and this is my disciple Shao Yuan. The two just now were also my disciples, but they were unlucky and had their souls taken by the Underworld Courier."
Quinn Shepherd respectfully said, "So you are experts from the Starnet Constellation Sect. The sect master is Loren Luo, correct?"
"Sect Master Luo was my teacher. He has already passed away."
Redcloud Daoist said sadly, "That day, the Heavenly Demon Cult moved a mountain in Southreach City. My teacher died at the hands of the Everpeace Imperial Preceptor."
"I see." Quinn Shepherd nodded.
Outside the village, the cold wind howled through the darkness. Everyone inside fell silent again. The two Daoists took off their sword chests and carefully wiped them down. Drake Dandy smiled, gently stroking the earring dangling from his earlobe.
Quinn Shepherd reached into the Glutton Dragon Pouch, but didn’t take his hand out, his face still smiling.
A few crystal snowflakes drifted down from the sky, landing among the group.
This night was unusually restless; without realizing it, it had started to snow.
The Nethervault Demon King sensed something was off and quietly nudged Dragon-Qilin. Dragon-Qilin woke up, looked around, found nothing unusual, and buried his head back to sleep.
The Nethervault Demon King was furious. "Lazy beast, why do I even keep you around?"
The snowfall grew heavier, soon covering everyone in a layer of white.
At that moment, a Buddhist chant suddenly rang out. Everyone stiffened; the chant came from the darkness. Quinn Shepherd withdrew his hand from the Glutton Dragon Pouch, Drake Dandy stopped touching his earring, and the two Daoists put down their sword chests.
A glow emerged from the darkness, and a fat, big-eared monk stepped out, looked around, and pressed his palms together. "Forgive me for disturbing you, benefactors."
Quinn Shepherd did not dare show disrespect and quickly stood up. "We’re just passing through. We’re not disturbing anyone."
Behind the big monk came a burly man, covered in black hair and lumps, standing nearly ten feet tall, radiating demonic energy, like a humanoid berserk ape. He carried a monk’s staff and exclaimed, "Tiny one!"
Quinn Shepherd was stunned. Seeing the monk’s staff, he recognized it as the Xiqiluo he had given to the demon ape. He blurted out, "Big guy! Why are you here? You’ve gained a human form?"
The demonic ape was both surprised and delighted. He stepped forward to greet Quinn Shepherd, pointing at the fat monk, "Bald, small!"
The demon ape pointed at himself, grunted, "Big, bald, teach. Bald, small, small!"
Quinn Shepherd was confused and asked tentatively, "Are you saying this big monk is from Little Thunder Sound Temple? The monk from Great Thunder Sound Temple found you, taught you skills, and then this monk from Little Thunder Sound Temple found you, said he was from Little Thunder Sound Temple, and took you back there?"
The demon ape nodded repeatedly.
Everyone in the village was confused. The Nethervault Demon King muttered, "How did you figure out what he meant…"
Quinn Shepherd felt a chill. To walk through the darkness with the demon ape, this fat, big-eared monk must be on par with Old Tathagata and Old Village Chief!
A godlike existence.
Drake Dandy, Redcloud Daoist, and Shao Yuan Daoist grew fearful and quietly retreated, but any further and they’d be in the darkness outside the village.
The three cursed their luck. First the Underworld Courier, now the Little Thunder Sound Temple’s Little Tathagata—all acquaintances of Quinn Shepherd. With a word, he could have them killed!
Little Tathagata of Little Thunder Sound Temple was a demon cultivator, a great demon king who had defected from Great Thunder Sound Temple.
His understanding of Buddhist teachings had become extreme. He once used a bronze Buddha to suppress Centipede Immortal Qing’er on the oasis in Yongjiang River, but Quinn Shepherd toppled the Buddha with the power of the Ice Tide, freeing Qing’er.
The fat, big-eared Little Tathagata had a true Buddhist air, like a living Buddha, dignified and solemn. He glanced at Quinn Shepherd and said, "So it’s the young benefactor. Do you remember ruining my merit?"
Drake Dandy, Redcloud Daoist, and Shao Yuan Daoist’s eyes lit up, hope rising in their hearts.
Quinn Shepherd said, "I remember."
The demon ape blocked Quinn Shepherd, shouting, "Bald, brother!"
Little Tathagata glanced at him and shook his head. "Don’t worry. My enemy is coming, but I won’t kill him. When my enemy arrives, you stay here. I’ll go meet him."
As soon as he finished speaking, a laugh echoed from the darkness: "Little Tathagata, you’ve arranged a midnight duel—how interesting."
On the snowy night, an old man in a bamboo hat, covered in snow, walked out of the darkness into the dilapidated village. Quinn Shepherd was startled and cried out, "Lingjing Daoist!"
The bamboo-hatted elder lifted his hat and looked at Quinn Shepherd, smiling. "So you’re Old Sword God’s disciple. Didn’t you borrow two Nether City coins from me? Do you have the money to repay now?"
Quinn Shepherd was embarrassed and replied honestly, "I’ve already spent the two Nether coins."
Drake Dandy, Redcloud Daoist, and Shao Yuan Daoist’s faces froze. Another peerless expert who could walk in darkness had arrived—and he was another acquaintance of Quinn Shepherd, the Heavenly Demon Cult Master!
How many godlike beings does this Heavenly Demon Cult Master know?
You can pay me back when you have the money.
Lingjing Daoist took off his bamboo hat and set it against the wall. Looking at Little Tathagata, he said slowly, "Dark snowy night—a good time for killing. Little Tathagata, let’s fight somewhere far away."
All right.
The two peerless experts walked into the darkness one after the other. The village grew quiet again. Quinn Shepherd looked at Drake Dandy and the others; they stared back, unmoving.
The demon ape was puzzled. In the distance, waves of terrifying power surged. Then the snow in the night melted into a fine drizzle—the divine powers of Lingjing Daoist and Little Tathagata had turned the snow to rain.
Sometimes snowflakes fell from the sky, sometimes it was fine rain. After an unknown time, a rooster crowed in the darkness. The darkness rushed westward, and at that moment, Quinn Shepherd, Drake Dandy, Nethervault Demon King, and the others suddenly sprang into action, attacking each other and striking to kill!
Dragon-Qilin roared and revealed his true form, flames blazing all around. He pinned the charging Red Snake by the head, smashing it into the ground. Quinn Shepherd rushed to Redcloud Daoist, whose flying swords were all blocked by the Nethervault Demon King standing behind Quinn.
The demon ape leapt from behind the Nethervault Demon King, smashing the Xiqiluo onto Redcloud Daoist’s forehead.
Sss—
A sword light pierced through Redcloud Daoist’s chest. Quinn Shepherd flicked his finger, and the sword light slashed across Shao Yuan Daoist’s neck before he could react.
Drake Dandy grabbed the giant snake’s tail. The Red Snake shrank, and the woman soared into the air, vanishing in a flash.