"Emperor, you're not joking with me, are you?"
Muto Masao still couldn't believe that anyone in this building would dare to target Ye Ling. He couldn't help but ask Ye Ling.
Ye Ling said indifferently, "Not everyone has self-awareness. Most people are no different from you before you recognized the truth."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Muto Masao could only show an embarrassed smile.
Now, whenever Muto Masao thought about daring to make a move against Ye Ling before, he wished he could slap himself twice. He couldn't understand how he had been so bold before.
Muto Masao didn't dare to think about how he had survived after provoking Ye Ling.
Seeing Muto Masao's apprehensive expression, Ye Ling couldn't help but laugh out loud, his mood greatly improved.
After teasing Muto Masao, Ye Ling didn't linger in the same spot and walked towards the room opposite the building where the altar was located.
However, before they had taken two steps, the walls of the corridor began to rapidly decay, and a large amount of blood flowed out from various rooms, covering the entire corridor.
Those concrete walls had all turned into flesh and blood!
A nauseating smell of blood permeated the entire corridor. The originally bright environment became exceptionally dim, and the sunlight shining down from the sky turned blood-red.
Muto Masao, following behind Ye Ling, saw the surrounding environment change, and cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Although he knew that as long as Ye Ling was there, nothing would happen, he had lived for over eighty years and had never seen such a bizarre scene!
Muto Masao felt that things were becoming increasingly wrong around him, and he couldn't help but ask Ye Ling, "Emperor, what is going on with this building?"
Even though he was an eighth-rank异士 (yishi), and had even been possessed by a deity, he still felt an immense dread in this bizarre environment.
He had a premonition that if he continued to stay here, he would be dragged into an abyss by some monster!
Ye Ling glanced around the surroundings and said, "It seems correct. This is a transitional zone between the human world and the underworld."
Muto Masao exclaimed in shock, "This is the semi-spirit realm? But why..."
Muto Masao was not unfamiliar with the semi-spirit realm. Everything happening here was different from the semi-spirit realms he had seen.
This place surpassed his understanding.
Ye Ling continued, "This semi-spirit realm has been designated as someone's private territory. The entire building is within their domain. The moment we stepped into the building, it was equivalent to trespassing onto their land."
Muto Masao looked at the decaying walls around him and couldn't help but swallow hard.
He could even see blood vessels on the walls, which was extremely bizarre!
The entire building looked like a giant monster!
"Modifying the semi-spirit realm... What kind of person possesses such ability?" Muto Masao became increasingly terrified. What made him even more panicked was that the flow of spiritual energy within his body was slowing down, showing signs of stagnation.
Muto Masao, with his eighth-rank cultivation, could barely exert the strength of a fourth-rank at this moment.
In this domain, Muto Masao's combat power was reduced to this extent, and he had already started to worry about Ye Ling.
If Ye Ling's strength was also reduced by seventy to eighty percent, then they would all be finished!
Amidst Muto Masao's anxiety, Ye Ling slowly walked to the outside of the room with the altar.
At this moment, the iron doors in the building had all turned into flesh doors, covered with rotten flesh and dense blood vessels, emitting a stench of decay.
Muto Masao smelled the odor and felt a wave of nausea. After his spiritual energy stagnated and lost its protective barrier, he could no longer block out the foul smell of the environment.
Approaching the flesh door, he couldn't hold back and leaned over the railing to vomit.
However, the moment Muto Masao touched the iron railing, it instantly corroded. A large number of blood vessels flew out from within, coiling around Muto Masao's limbs.
Seeing this, Muto Masao's expression changed drastically, and he quickly cried out for help to Ye Ling, "Emperor, save..."
Before Muto Masao could finish his plea, the railing cracked, and Muto Masao fell out from the fifth floor!
The flower bed in the center of the building turned into a large mouth, opening its bloody maw and swallowing Muto Masao in one gulp.
Ye Ling, who was about to open the door, glanced at Muto Masao below and couldn't help but sigh, "Always causing trouble."
With that, Ye Ling casually flicked out a demonic blade, slicing the bloody maw, which had transformed from the flower bed, into two halves, revealing Muto Masao, who was entangled by numerous blood vessels.
At this moment, Muto Masao's face was filled with panic. He desperately pleaded with Ye Ling for help, "Emperor, save me! These blood vessels are draining my cultivation!!!"
Ye Ling looked at Muto Masao below, casually pulled him up into mid-air, but the toughness of the blood vessels coiling around Muto Masao was beyond Ye Ling's expectations.
Even after Muto Masao was pulled up to the fifth floor, the blood vessels did not break and remained wrapped around him.
In just this short while, Muto Masao's realm had dropped from eighth-rank to sixth-rank, and his actual combat power was only that of a second-rank, not even as good as Qi Zhuyue.
Even more shocking was that Muto Masao's decline in cultivation was permanent...
In other words, if Muto Masao wanted to return to the eighth-rank, he would have to cultivate all over again!
But at Muto Masao's current age of eighty, without the support of his cultivation, it was a big question whether he could even return to the seventh-rank before he died of old age.
Now that Muto Masao had been drained by these blood vessels, even if Ye Ling didn't take his life after the events in Takamagahara, he wouldn't have many years left to live.
Ye Ling's mind flashed with Muto Masao's fate. He didn't stand idly by. He severed all the blood vessels coiled around Muto Masao and pulled him back into the corridor.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Muto Masao, covered in blood, lay on the ground, coughing violently. He looked much older, and half of his originally black hair had turned white.
Muto Masao had escaped death and was still trembling with fear. He didn't care about the loss of his cultivation and gratefully said to Ye Ling, "Thank you, Emperor, for saving me..."
Ye Ling said, "In this building, the corrupted areas have spiritual energy flowing through them. The owner of this domain can control everything here. If you touch anything else randomly, you won't need me to save you; you'll become their nourishment."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Muto Masao nodded frantically and quickly said, "I, I definitely won't touch anything randomly!"
Muto Masao had imagined many ways he might die, but he had never imagined being digested alive!
Everything that had just happened was too terrifying!
After reminding Muto Masao, Ye Ling refocused his attention on the corrupted iron door. A demonic blade appeared at his fingertips, about to cut open the door.
However, just as Ye Ling was about to make his move, a terrifying face appeared on the corrupted door and smiled at Ye Ling and Muto Masao, "Esteemed guests, you've caused quite a bit of destruction in my humble abode upon arrival. Isn't that a bit impolite?"
Seeing the face on the door, Ye Ling retracted his hand and said to it, "Since we are guests, why does the host keep hiding? Not only do you not offer hospitality, but you also keep causing trouble for us. Isn't that also a bit impolite?"
The face on the door continued, "That is indeed my impoliteness. Then, esteemed guests, please come in for a good chat."
As the face spoke, it opened the door.
An incredibly foul and腥风 (xīngfēng - fishy wind) gushed out from within!
Immediately after, a human head rolled out from the door.
Seeing the head, Muto Masao's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in shock, "Jack the Ghost Hand?"