Chapter 12 New Arena

Chapter 12 New Arena
"You cannot just walk into the Black Meeting," Lin Xi cautioned him. "The ruling criminal families will kill you just for asking directions. You must be invited."
​She turned away from Ye Chen and walked toward a locked cabinet in the corner of the lavish hall. She retrieved a small iron key from her robes and unlocked the heavy wooden doors.
​Lin Xi reached inside and pulled out a thick piece of carved black jade. She walked back and pressed the cold stone directly into Ye Chen's palm.
​"This is an Inner Sect authority sigil," she explained quietly. "The underground merchants recognize our crest. They gladly take our laundered money without asking any questions."
​She returned to the cabinet and pulled out a completely plain white porcelain mask. She handed it to him.
​"Wear this mask at all times," Lin Xi warned him firmly. "Every single person in the Black Meeting will hide their face. You absolutely do not want the criminal underworld to learn your true identity."
​"Give me the directions," Ye Chen demanded. He slipped the jade sigil into his torn pockets.
​Lin Xi described the exact hidden route. He needed to find a specific dry riverbed located on the far northern outskirts of the Capital.
​Ye Chen took the white mask. He turned his back on the lavish Sword Pavilion and walked directly out into the night.
​The journey down the massive mountain took several hours. He wrapped his colossal rusted sword securely in thick gray rags and strapped it tightly to his back.
​He finally reached the northern outskirts of the Capital just after midnight. The sprawling mortal city was incredibly dark and entirely unwelcoming.
​The wealthy merchant districts sat high on the hills. The slums below smelled intensely of open sewage and burning garbage.
​Ye Chen slipped the white porcelain mask over his face. The smooth ceramic felt incredibly cold against his sweating skin.
​He stepped carefully into the dry riverbed Lin Xi had described. The ambient sounds of the nearby city vanished instantly.
​The chirping insects died out completely. The howling stray dogs went totally silent.
​An unnatural cold aggressively replaced the normal night air. It felt exactly like the stagnant chill of an open grave.
​"System," Ye Chen whispered behind his mask. "What is this sudden temperature drop?"
​\[Warning. Extreme concentration of Yin energy detected.\]
​Ye Chen immediately circulated his Chaos Body Tempering Art. His internal furnace roared to life. The heavy golden Qi warmed his freezing blood instantly and protected his internal organs.
​A faint blue light flickered suddenly in the dense fog ahead of him.
​Ye Chen narrowed his eyes to pierce the gloom. He saw a solitary figure walking slowly up the jagged riverbed path.
​The man wore the highly distinct layered silk robes of an Azure Cloud Sect Elder. He carried a small paper lantern that burned with a sickly blue flame.
​"He is walking exactly in the direction Lin Xi gave me," Ye Chen analyzed silently. "He must be heading to the auction to buy forbidden goods for the sect."
​Ye Chen followed the Elder from a very safe distance. He stayed perfectly hidden in the deep shadows of the rocky ravine.
​Something felt completely wrong about the man ahead.
​The riverbed was entirely covered in sharp jagged rocks and thick thorny vines. The Elder moved over the treacherous terrain without slowing down at all.
​"His robes are not snagging on the thorns," Ye Chen realized. "He is gliding completely above the stones."
​"System," Ye Chen commanded firmly. "Scan the target ahead."
​The blue interface flickered wildly in his vision.
​\[Error. Target cannot be identified. No life signs detected.\]
​The Elder suddenly turned sharply to the right. He vanished into a very narrow split in the towering canyon wall.
​Ye Chen rushed forward quickly to close the gap. He slipped carefully into the narrow passage.
​He stopped dead in his tracks. The passage ended abruptly in a solid wall of collapsed boulders.
​There was no secret door. There was absolutely no exit. The Elder with the blue lantern was completely gone.
​"A trap," Ye Chen deduced instantly. He reached over his shoulder and gripped the hilt of his wrapped sword.
​He spun around quickly to leave the narrow canyon. The path behind him had transformed entirely.
​The empty dry riverbed was gone. He now stood inside a mining tunnel.
​The rhythmic sound of iron striking solid stone echoed loudly in the dark.
​Dozens of emaciated figures swung heavy rusted pickaxes against the cavern walls. They wore the filthy gray uniforms of Outer Sect servant disciples.
​None of them spoke a single word. None of them breathed.
​Ye Chen walked slowly toward the nearest miner.
​He reached out and grabbed the miner roughly by the shoulder. He spun the frail figure around to face him.
​Ye Chen froze completely. The breath caught entirely in his throat.
​He recognized the small dirty face staring back at him. It was a twelve year old boy named Little Bo.
​The boy had lived in the stable directly next to Ye Chen. Three months ago the sect enforcers claimed Little Bo died of a sudden severe fever. They told everyone they burned his body for public safety.
​Ye Chen remembered giving the starving boy half of his own meager food rations just to keep him alive.
​"They lied to us," Ye Chen whispered in pure horror.
​The boy was not dead from a fever. His chest was violently torn open. Thick black veins bulged horribly beneath his pale rotting skin.
​It was the exact same demonic corruption that had nearly killed Lin Xi. It was the exact same toxic energy from the mutated beasts in the forest.
​Little Bo opened his mouth wide. Thick black blood poured freely over his rotting lips.
​The dead boy raised his heavy iron pickaxe and swung it directly at Ye Chen's skull.
​Ye Chen ducked smoothly under the brutal swing. The heavy iron blade sparked violently against the cavern wall.
​The loud metallic noise alerted the rest of the undead horde.
​Fifty rotting servant disciples turned away from the walls in perfect unison. Their dead eyes glowed with pure concentrated malice.
​They raised their rusted mining tools and charged at Ye Chen simultaneously.
​"I will not fight you," Ye Chen said to the dead children. "You have suffered enough at the hands of those monsters."
​He could not kill these tortured ghosts. He needed to break the very foundation of the trap holding their souls captive.
​He planted his heavy boots firmly into the dirt. He activated the Chaos Body Tempering Art to its absolute maximum limit.
​Pure concentrated Yang energy flooded his damaged meridians. His right fist glowed exactly like a miniature golden sun in the dark cavern.
He aimed directly for the solid stone wall of the tunnel.
​"Shatter," Ye Chen roared loudly.
​He drove the Chaos Bone Shattering Fist directly into the rock face with terrifying force.
​The kinetic shockwave was completely devastating. The heavy Yang energy exploded outward from the impact point exactly like a massive bomb.
​The solid stone rippled violently. The entire mining tunnel cracked exactly like fragile glass.
​The loud sound of shattering mirrors echoed endlessly in his ears.
​The horrific illusion collapsed entirely. ​The undead horde stopped mid charge. The heavy cleansing Yang energy washed completely over their rotting bodies. They dissolved instantly into thick plumes of harmless black smoke.
​Ye Chen watched the smoke fade into the night. He hoped the dead children finally found a tiny measure of peace in the afterlife.
​The stagnant cold vanished immediately. A wave of intense heat washed over Ye Chen.
​Loud chaotic voices and strange music crashed directly into his ears.
​He smelled the heavy scent of burning incense and spicy roasted meat. The bright orange glow of a hundred torches illuminated the darkness ahead.
​The illusion had hidden the actual entrance. The real Ghost Market was located just around the corner of the dry riverbed.
​Ye Chen stood exactly at the edge of a sprawling underground bazaar. Hundreds of masked figures moved quickly through the chaotic dirt alleys.
​He looked back at the empty canyon where the illusion had trapped him.
​His anger was no longer just a personal vendetta against Su Rou.
The hypocrisy of the righteous Azure Cloud Sect was a plague on the world.
​Elder Wang's secret horrors were not contained to the mountain forest. The corruption was actively spreading directly into the human lands to feed their endless greed.
​"I will burn your entire sect to the ground," Ye Chen vowed quietly to the dark night sky. "I will expose every single rotting secret you bury."
​He reached up and firmly adjusted the white porcelain mask on his face. He gripped the wrapped iron sword tightly on his back.
​Ye Chen stepped completely out of the shadows. He walked confidently into the black market.