380: Chapter 380 Paper Dolls Welcoming the Bride! A pale-faced scholar who doesn't play by the rules!

At the bottom of the abyss, two giant golden eyes like blazing suns radiated a blinding light.

A vast pressure, like a hundred thousand mountains, descended with a crash.

Su Yang stood at the edge of the ruins, hands tucked into his casual pants pockets, waiting for the monster inside to rush out.

A minute passed. It was deathly quiet inside the gate.

There were no battle cries, nor was there any terrifying pressure leaking out.

A breeze blew away the dust, revealing the interior of the City Lord's Manor to everyone.

Before them was neither a gloomy bunker nor a pile of bleached bones. Instead, everything in sight was a brilliant, eye-catching red.

Red lanterns hung all along the high courtyard walls. Large red silk ribbons were tied under the eaves. On the doorposts, two giant "Double Happiness" characters were even pasted.

In the spacious courtyard, over a hundred Eight Immortals Tables were arranged neatly. Each table was filled with a lavish spread of wine and meat dishes, all steaming hot.

What made one's skin crawl was that the guests sitting at the tables were all paper effigies with pigtails, dressed in colorful clothes.

The paper figures had two exaggerated circles of rouge painted on their faces, and rigid smiles drawn with red paint at the corners of their mouths. Over a thousand paper figures sat quietly on long benches, motionless.

The entire courtyard exuded a festivity that was eerie to the extreme.

Qin Xueji tightly gripped Bai Li's arm, her voice trembling, "Boss, why is there a wedding being held in here? These paper people look so creepy."

Bai Li fanned herself with her round fan, a hint of doubt flashing in her purple eyes.

"Paper people welcoming a bride, a night banquet for a hundred ghosts. It seems the Netherworld City Lord is getting married today. His methods are quite novel."

Mary flew into the air, flapping her black bat wings.

"Just playing tricks. Why not just burn all this scrap paper with a single fire?"

Chu Ling's ice-blue dress fluttered as her fair right hand gripped her sword hilt, ready to draw at any moment.

"Let's go in and see." Su Yang's tone was flat. Without a hint of hesitation, he stepped directly onto the collapsed bronze door and walked into the courtyard draped in red silk.

The four women followed closely behind.

Just as they stepped into the inner courtyard.

A sharp, piercing Suona blast suddenly echoed in the air. Accompanied by the cheerful beating of gongs and drums, it shattered the deathly silence of the courtyard.

A shriveled old man dressed in a butler's uniform floated out from the inner hall.

The old man's feet hovered off the ground, his face pale, holding a red gift registry in his hand. His voice was shrill, like a eunuch's.

"Distinguished guests have arrived! The City Lord invites you! Please, take your seats!"

The old man floated in front of Su Yang, bowed, and made an extremely respectful gesture of invitation, pointing to an empty Eight Immortals Table at the very front.

There was none of the expected fighting and killing.

Su Yang looked at the old man before him, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.

Su Yang strode forward with his long legs, walked directly to the Eight Immortals Table at the front, pulled out a long bench, and sat down.

Bai Li, Chu Ling, Mary, and Qin Xueji also took their seats one after another.

On the table were roast chicken, roast duck, and a pot of fine wine. The aroma was enticing.

Mary picked up her chopsticks and poked the roast chicken on the plate.

"What is this junk? It's all made of mud! There are even maggots crawling on it!" Mary threw her chopsticks onto the table in disgust, her ample chest heaving slightly with anger.

With the illusion exposed, the delicious delicacies on the table instantly turned into stinking mud and dead rats.

Chu Ling tapped the long bench she was sitting on, producing a crisp sound of bone.

"The chairs are assembled from human bones. Boss, the master here really likes to put on a show." Chu Ling's voice was cold.

The Suona music grew louder and louder.

The bead curtain of the inner hall was lifted by two paper-maid servants.

A man dressed in a bright red wedding robe slowly walked out.

The man had a fair face and was very handsome, dressed like a frail scholar. He held a gold-painted folding fan in his hand.

If he weren't radiating the cold aura of the Middle Stage of the Soul Transformation Stage, he would definitely be mistaken for a scholar traveling to the capital for the imperial examinations if he were walking on the street.

"I am the Netherworld City Lord, Nie Wushuang. Greetings, Young Master Su Yang."

The pale-faced scholar walked to Su Yang's table, cupped his hands, and performed a very standard scholar's salute. A smile as warm as a spring breeze hung on his face.

He didn't mention the smashed gate at all and turned a blind eye to the thousands of ghost soldiers lying dead outside.

Su Yang rested his hands on the table, quietly watching Nie Wushuang's performance.

"Your subordinate, Kuanggu, was trampled to death by Su Yang outside. Don't you plan to avenge him?" Su Yang's tone was calm as he spoke bluntly.

Nie Wushuang snapped his folding fan open and fanned himself twice.

"Kuanggu was born with a rebellious streak. Relying on the small amount of military power he held, he had long since stopped respecting me. Young Master Su acted righteously and cleaned house for me; I'm more than grateful, so why would I seek revenge?"

Nie Wushuang's smile didn't fade as he turned to look at the shriveled butler beside him.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and serve the distinguished guests some fine wine!"

The butler hurriedly floated over with a white jade wine pot and filled the cup in front of Su Yang.

The wine was an enticing emerald green, emitting a rich fragrance of Spiritual Qi. There was no trace of illusion; it was genuine spiritual wine.

"Young Master Su, today is my wedding day. Your presence for a celebratory drink truly brings honor to my City Lord's Manor. I toast to you, Young Master."

Nie Wushuang picked up his cup and drained it in one gulp, appearing very hearty.

Su Yang looked at the green spiritual wine before him without moving a single finger.

"Su Yang has no interest in wine for the dead."

Su Yang raised his right hand and suddenly pressed down.

Bang!

The entire Eight Immortals Table, made of human bones, instantly turned into a pile of powder under Su Yang's palm. The green spiritual wine spilled onto the ground, making a sizzling corrosive sound. The wine was actually laced with potent poison.

"Put away these theatrical tricks of yours."

Su Yang stood up, his body radiating an overbearingly peerless Pure Yang pressure.

"If you're open for business, act like it. Hand over the keys to the City Lord's Manor's treasury, and Su Yang will leave your corpse intact."

Facing Su Yang's direct threat, the smile on Nie Wushuang's face finally vanished.

He closed his folding fan and tapped it lightly against his palm. His gaze became somewhat cold.

"Young Master Su is truly straightforward. However, I am also a man who follows the rules."

"Today is my wedding night. Even if the Heavenly King himself came, he would have to wait until I finish the ceremony."

Nie Wushuang took two steps back, his folding fan suddenly pointing toward the inner hall.

"The auspicious hour has arrived! Bride, please exit the sedan chair!"

The piercing Suona music instantly rose several octaves, sounding like a demon wailing in the night.

The thousands of paper figures in the courtyard simultaneously turned their rigid heads, their eyes staring fixedly at the door of the inner hall.

Eight tall, blue-faced, fanged demons carried a giant red bridal sedan chair on their shoulders, walking out from the inner hall step by step.

Red silk hung all around the sedan chair, and the door curtain fluttered loudly in the wind.

As the sedan chair appeared, the temperature in the entire City Lord's Manor plummeted. A thick layer of frost formed on the surrounding walls.

A familiar yet strange, powerful aura slowly radiated from inside the sedan chair.

Su Yang's eyebrows twitched slightly. This aura actually contained a trace of pure Spiritual Qi, which definitely did not belong to a dead thing of the Netherworld.

The sedan chair stopped in the center of the courtyard.

Nie Wushuang walked to the sedan chair and reached out to lift the red door curtain.

"My lady, distinguished guests have arrived. Come out and greet them." Nie Wushuang's voice was tender to a morbid degree.

A gust of yin wind blew, lifting the red bridal veil from the bride's head.

The bride was dressed in a Phoenix Coronet and Embroidered Robes, her hands tied tightly in front of her with a red rope. Her eyes were closed, and her face was as pale as paper. Clearly, her cultivation and consciousness had been forcibly sealed.

The moment the bride's face became clear.

Bai Li, standing behind Su Yang, couldn't help but let out a gasp.

Her purple eyes were filled with disbelief.

Qin Xueji also covered her mouth, sucking in a breath of cold air.

The bride sitting in the sedan chair actually had an incomparable, city-toppling face. They had just seen this face in the mortal world a few days ago.

It was none other than the long-missing Saintess of the Qingyun Sword Sect!