Read Novel Full Chapter 1495: Causality
Chapter 1495: Causality
Causality
Chu Muyun remained silent for a long time.
"Is there... no way to find a specific soul?"
"If I had to say, there is a way," Sun Bumian replied slowly. "Behind the Temple of the Dead, which carries the Ghost Path's Dao Foundation, there is an ancient well... The ancient well can cause a specific soul to manifest through the entanglement of causality, allowing you to converse through the ancient well."
"...Only converse?"
"?"
Sun Bumian looked at Chu Muyun suspiciously. "What else do you want to do? The ancient well merely establishes a connection with a soul, just like making a phone call... Only the ones within the River Styx are the true soul bodies."
Chu Muyun shook his head and said no more, falling into deep thought instead...
"Strange, why does it look like a city ahead?" Jian Changsheng suddenly spoke up.
Everyone looked forward, only to see the continuous, pitch-black silhouettes of a city standing silently around the magnificent and beautiful River Styx... Thanks to the faint light scattered by the River Styx, they could barely make out the city's appearance.
It wasn't exactly a "single" city, but more like a mixture of cities from different eras. From primitive tribes to ancient city gates, to dilapidated modern mansions, to contemporary high-rise apartment complexes—the architecture of different periods stretched out and connected to one another. Rather than a city, it looked more like a "graveyard" buried alongside the ghosts in the River Styx.
"That is a Ghost City."
"Different areas of the River Styx correspond to the dead from different eras. The further upstream you go, the older the era. The memories of the ghosts' past lives intertwine within the River Styx, manifesting the places they were most familiar with... These memories project onto both banks of the River Styx, forming this sort of Ghost City."
"Occasionally, a ghost that falls out of the River Styx will appear in the Ghost City, wandering around the place that left the deepest impression on them. Do not disturb them."
"What happens if we disturb them?" Jian Changsheng asked skeptically.
"...Something very bad will happen."
Sun Bumian felt like a tour guide, carrying a little flag, having to explain the sights and historical background to this group of tourists from the "Dusk Tour Group" at every stop.
If those clingy bastards from the Ancient Vault of the Ghost Path saw this, they would probably be emotionally broken again.
...
The moment Chen Ling and the others stepped into the Ghost City,
Deep within the Ghost City, inside a certain deathly silent and dusty courtyard.
Numerous extinguished torches lay scattered messily around the courtyard. A pile of snow rested quietly on the desolate ground before the door. Faint sounds of music, a woman's flirtatious scolding, and a man's boisterous laughter echoed from the empty void, as if the resentful spirits that once existed here were throwing a wild party.
Suddenly,
A dusty silver coin, seemingly pushed by fate, was knocked off a small stage in the center of the courtyard, falling to the ground with a crisp sound.
Clink, clank—
It bounced and lightly hopped over the threshold, continuously rolling down the bloodstained steps...
A freezing wind blew in from nowhere, brushing past the main gate of the courtyard. A cracked wooden sign hung on the wall, bearing three large characters written with elegant flair: "Ma Family Residence."
The dusty silver coin bounced out of the courtyard and slowly rolled in a certain direction along the twisted, eerie street.
By the side of the street,
A street sign stood silently:
[Ice Spring Street].
...
"...Hm?"
Chen Ling, who was weaving through the streets of the Ghost City, suddenly turned his head to look in a certain direction.
"What's wrong?" Seeing Chen Ling freeze, Jian Changsheng asked in confusion.
"Nothing, just suddenly had a... strange feeling." Chen Ling glanced at the emptiness beside him. "I just feel like something bad is about to happen."
[Audience Expectation Value +3]
[Current Expectation Value: 68%]
"???" Jian Changsheng's expression instantly changed drastically.
Jian Changsheng trusted Chen Ling's "intuition" more than anything else. Previously, every time Chen Ling said such words, something very bad would happen.
"Everyone, be careful." Sun Bumian's nerves were similarly taut. "The living walking in the world of the dead will draw the hostility of the 'Ghost Path'... It must have already locked onto us."
"Ghost Path? What's that?"
"The world of the living has the destiny of the Heavenly Dao, and the underworld also has the principles of the Ghost Path. The so-called 'Ghost Path' can be understood as the will of the Ancient Vault of the Ghost Path. Although it lacks true sapience in the traditional sense, as long as it's here, it is the master of fate, truly omnipotent." Sun Bumian paused for a moment.
"Even though it won't attack us directly, it will trigger 'Causality'. The longer we stay in the Ancient Vault of the Ghost Path, the stronger its hostility toward us will grow."
"Causality?"
Jian Changsheng raised an eyebrow.
"What does that mean? Is it very powerful?"
...
Clink, clank—
The coin rolled along the twisted, chaotic street.
Directly in front of it stood a once-magnificent and massive manor, silently looming:
[Stars Chamber of Commerce].
The silver coin passed through the gap in the manor's iron gate, gently tracing an arc around the ruins of a fountain... At the same time, a broom leaning against the corner of a wall slid down weirdly, its end striking an overturned dustpan on the ground.
As the dustpan was pressed down and popped up by the force, the silver coin that happened to roll there was tossed into the air...
And then it accurately flew into the gap of a second-floor window.
Clink, clank— Clink, clank—
The silver coin bounced twice on the floor, then continued rolling forward, ultimately hitting a table leg and spinning to a stop on the floor.
Inside the silent office,
A wandering ghost looked down at the gleaming silver coin.
Upon seeing the silver coin, the ghost's hollow eyes became visibly agitated, as if an instinct etched deep into the soul had been awakened. Its body trembled violently!!
"Money!"
"Money!!"
"Money!!!"
"It's all mine!!!"
Yan Shang's voice roared crazily within the empty office. Phantoms materialized around him one after another, as if they were all ghosts that had once lived in this manor... They trembled under Yan Shang's roar, and the entire manor within the Ghost City swayed slightly!
Like an out-of-control beast, Yan Shang grabbed the silver coin with both hands and raised it high above his head!
"I'll give you the coal!!"
"Give me all your money!!!"
Rumble—
The main gates of the Stars Chamber of Commerce burst open with a series of creaks.
Chunks of coal spewed out from the Stars Chamber of Commerce's warehouse, rolling densely outward along the sloping streets. Their sheer numbers were staggering, surging out like a churning black river, washing through every street!
...
"Causality... How should I explain this to you?"
Sun Bumian scratched his head. "Simply put, every single thing we did in the past, every person we killed, leaves behind a 'cause'... And in the Ancient Vault of the Ghost Path, such 'causes' are highly likely to be used by the Ghost Path, becoming the 'effects' meant to deal with us..."
"..." Jian Changsheng honestly shook his head. "I don't understand."
"What's that sound?"
Chu Muyun's ears twitched, and he immediately looked in a certain direction.
Everyone else's gaze followed suit. When that mighty river of coal surged straight toward them, everyone present, aside from Sun Bumian, was dumbfounded for a moment...
"What... the hell is that?"
Sun Bumian answered without hesitation:
"Your 'Causality'!"