Chapter 436: Ghost River (2/2)
Legend states that whoever dies inside Necropolis, whether by accident or willingly, would have their corpse sink into the Ghost River. Because of this, many people believed that this place was the gathering spot of evil spirits. [1. Ghosts, ghost race, sentiments, evil spirits…]
Of course, this was just a legend. It was difficult to verify whether the corpses of the dead would actually sink down to this river or not.
The two of them stood before the ferry and felt the cold air of the Ghost River rus.h.i.+ng into their face — a ghastly and evil energy.
The river was not large, but even with a Heavenly Gaze, people were not able to glance at its depths.
While looking up from in front of the ferry, one would only see a vast and empty expanse. Below was a bottomless river that flowed towards an unknown destination with no end in sight.
Rumor has it that powerful characters had once tried to go upstream to find the river’s source as well as downstream to see its final destination. But either way, none had ever come back alive, including powerful existences like Virtuous Paragons.
“One Ghost Algae Trunk is thirty Yang Nightfish. You must salvage them while bearing all the dangers. The moment you pull one up, you must hand over the fish. Regardless of whether you obtain any harvest or not, you will have to risk yourselves.” A disciple from the Ghost Fate Sect told the two upon the moment of their arrival.
Ghost Algae Trunks flowed down from upstream. Anyone could pull them up as long as they had the power to do so or had no fear of dying.
A Ghost Algae Trunk was not a container at all, it was a ma.s.s formed by thick ghost algae. These ma.s.ses tangled together as if there was something inside, but it was hard to tell what it was.
The inside of these trunks could contain a treasure or rubbish. No one knew the origin of these Ghost Algae Trunks; some people said that after someone dies in Necropolis, they would sink down into this river and their possessions would go upstream to be stuck at some place. Then, the possessions would be covered with countless ghost algae. After many years, these things would begin to float down the Ghost River.
Other said that these trunks came from a treasure grove inside Necropolis. This grove contained many things, such as divine weapons or immortal stones, or even items that date back to the Legendary Era. Of course, there were also lost sc.r.a.ps from those who died in Necropolis.
This particular legend believed that the treasure grove lied upstream of the Ghost River, so a plethora of things inside floated down the river from time to time.
Either way, the origin of these trunks remained a mystery. The one thing for certain, however, was that the chance for even ordinary treasures inside these trunks was not large. Legendary divine weapons were even rarer; it was to the point of being close to zero.
The story that was talked about the most was of Immortal Emperor Ju Tian. The tale was about how the young emperor came to the Ghost River to test his luck and eventually obtained an unparalleled treasure. Because of this treasure, the emperor who was but a vagrant ghost race cultivator became an invincible Immortal Emperor for a generation. [2. Ju Tian = Gigantic Heaven/Sky.]
Because of the emperor’s luck, later on, many powerful young cultivators were willing to risk their lives here at the Ghost River.
Of course, many young people died here at the river each year since it was much more dangerous than the s.h.i.+fting Mountain Pa.s.s. There were only a dozen people here so there was no need for a line.
The two stood there, waiting at the ferry for a bit. Amongst the dozen young cultivators gazing upstream, a person suddenly shouted: “Another batch of Ghost Algae Trunks is about to drift down!”
Everyone then looked upstream and confirmed that it was indeed the case. Each trunk had different shapes and sizes. The algae seemed to be like vines that intertwined like small snakes, causing others to feel a chill. The algae also emitted a black smoke that encompa.s.sed the group completely.
Even Heavenly Gazes were not capable of seeing the things inside these trunks. Li Qiye gazed at each trunk to see if there was one worthy of him taking action.
Once a trunk floated near the ferry, someone immediately took the chance. Five young cultivators soared out and tried to scoop up the trunk from the river.
All five were powerful experts from the ghost race. They were as fast as lightning and they immediately picked the trunks that they wanted.
“Cras.h.!.+” However, once the trunks left the water’s surface, waves began to form.
Along with the sound of cras.h.i.+ng water, several ferocious things rushed out from below the Ghost River. A huge snake formed by nether smoke coiled around the river and opened its mouth to bite. Another thing that resembled a tongue quickly pierced through the water's surface to catch a young cultivator. Then, a white skeletal hand stretched out towards another young person…
Anyone who tried to take out these trunks from the river would be attacked by something fierce from beneath the surface. Some people said that these were the corpses below the river that would claim possession of all the items in the river, so naturally, they would attack anyone who tried to take their trunks.