Si Mo counted the number of little ghosts again, nodded in satisfaction, and handed a black gauze to the little fox. "We don't know what strange things will appear when the Ghost Gate opens. If you don't want to have nightmares, you'd better cover your eyes."
Rong Lan took the gauze Si Mo handed her. Her fox ears were trembling. "Isn't it scarier if I can't see anything? What if I get sucked into the Ghost Gate?"
Seeing the little fox so scared that its ears were drooping, Si Mo twitched the corner of his mouth. "Then you can hide behind me. You can hold on to the corner of my coat. I'll protect you. Or you can go outside the formation. This formation is to prevent accidentally affecting the nearby plants when opening the Ghost Gate. If you go outside the formation, you won't only be able to see the Ghost Gate, but also won't be affected by it."
Rong Lan only hesitated for a second and chose the former. It wasn't a good idea to be too far away from Si Mo in this place. Although it was a bit embarrassing for a fox to hide behind a minor dragon like Si Mo, this incident wouldn't spread anyway. Only Si Mo and herself knew how scared she was. These little ghosts were going to drink Meng Po's soup in the underworld later.
"If you need my help later, just call me," Rong Lan said, folding the gauze two or three times and covering her eyes with it.
Si Mo reached out and touched the knot of the gauze on the back of Rong Lan's head. "There's only one knot. Aren't you afraid it will be blown off later?"
"No way!" Rong Lan grabbed the corner of Si Mo's coat tightly. "It's convenient to untie with one knot. What if you need my help?"
Si Mo didn't say anything else. Although he believed he could handle things on his own, he couldn't discourage the kind - hearted little fox.
He looked at the little ghosts. "After I open the Ghost Gate, the group of ghosts who have been dead the longest should try first to see if they can get in."
The little ghosts nodded and looked at their Dragon God with pity. Their Dragon God had a tough job. He not only had to take care of them but also protect the master. Before they even started, the corner of the Dragon God's coat was almost being pulled like a cape. "Don't worry, Dragon God. We won't mess up the order."
Si Mo checked the formation one more time and closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, his originally dark pupils had turned golden.
He channeled his energy with both hands, mobilizing all the available spiritual power around him, and connected with the underworld in a divine manner.
The black gauze Si Mo brought was very reliable. After Rong Lan covered her eyes, she couldn't see anything. However, a strong wind blew up around her. The wind was extremely strong. She was so uncomfortable that she couldn't help but lower her head to reduce the contact area with the wind. She finally understood why Si Mo had specifically reminded her that the single - knotted gauze might be blown off. It turned out that such a strong evil wind would blow when opening the Ghost Gate.
However, just as she lowered her head, a shrill and hoarse ghost cry suddenly came from her ears. Rong Lan was so frightened that she shivered. Her fox ears completely drooped and clung to her hair. The whole fox was trembling.
Knowing that the little fox was scared, Si Mo could only explain to her what was going on. "I've already touched the Ghost Gate. This cry is from the fierce ghosts attached to the Ghost Gate. Don't be afraid. They can't hurt me. But you'd better not open your eyes now."
Even he had been startled by the fierce ghosts on the Ghost Gate. Coupled with the extremely strong evil aura of the Ghost Gate, he didn't know how scared the little fox would be if she saw it.
Rong Lan was so scared that her voice was trembling. "I definitely won't open my eyes!" Are you kidding? Opening her eyes at this moment would scare the fox to death. She was only five hundred years old. She didn't want to die young.
The little ghosts looked at the huge golden barrier around Si Mo with star - struck eyes full of admiration.
They were already ghosts, so they wouldn't be affected by the cries of the fierce ghosts. It was obvious that their Dragon God wasn't affected either.
Si Mo forcibly pushed open the Ghost Gate with his spiritual power.
When they saw the Ghost Gate open, without Si Mo reminding them, a group of little ghosts rushed towards the open Ghost Gate, afraid that they would cause trouble for the Dragon God if they were a bit late.
But they couldn't get in. As soon as they got close to the Ghost Gate, they were bounced back. The fierce ghosts attached to the Ghost Gate seemed to sense the unknown ghosts and opened their huge blood - red mouths to swallow the little ghosts. Fortunately, Si Mo had been on guard against those fierce ghosts. As soon as the fierce ghosts opened their mouths, Si Mo hit them back with a spell.
The little ghosts were extremely sad. "Dragon God, we still can't get in..."
Rong Lan heard what the little ghosts said. Her fox ears twitched. She was just about to ask what was going on when shrill ghost cries came from all directions, as if they were going to burst one's eardrums.
She was so scared that she silently swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.
Si Mo was really annoyed by the cries of the fierce ghosts. These fierce ghosts knew they couldn't beat him, so they wanted to scare him with their cries. But except for being startled at the beginning when he wasn't prepared, he only found them noisy the rest of the time.
He took a deep breath. "Let's close the Ghost Gate first and think of other ways."
Although the little ghosts were disappointed, they very sensibly agreed with Si Mo.
Si Mo withdrew the spiritual power supporting the Ghost Gate. Without the external spiritual power, the Ghost Gate should have gradually disappeared. However, it didn't. Instead, the outline of the Ghost Gate became clearer and clearer. Si Mo could even see that two huge columns on the facade of the Ghost Gate were carved with the image of the Dragon God, and the fierce ghosts coiled on the columns blocked most of the image.
Hearing Si Mo say that they were going to close the Ghost Gate, Rong Lan let out a sigh of relief.
She waited for half a minute, thinking the matter was going to end. Just as she let go of Si Mo's coat, a solemn and strange voice sounded.
In this situation, a strange voice was extremely terrifying. The voice scared her so much that her legs went weak and she almost knelt down. Fortunately, Si Mo didn't move. She quickly grabbed his coat again. Feeling the familiar texture of the coat, she regained her sense of security.
"Who is so bold as to forcibly open the Ghost Gate?" Along with the voice, an old man with a long beard, wearing an official hat, frowning and glaring, and dressed in a long robe appeared.
The floating little ghosts saw the person floating out of the Ghost Gate and knelt down together, not daring to look directly.
Although they had never seen this person before, this person had a natural sense of oppression on them, making them respect and revere him.
"Si Mo, who is it?" the little fox's voice was trembling.
Si Mo squinted his eyes. His golden pupils were dazzling. "I don't recognize him, but if I'm not wrong, he should be the King of Hell in the underworld."
Was the King of Hell in this world so pathetic? Why didn't he have the Black and White Impermanence or the Ox - Head and Horse - Face accompanying him? Coming out alone like this seemed so unimpressive.
The King of Hell? Rong Lan felt so bad. They just wanted to secretly transport a few little ghosts into the underworld by opening the Ghost Gate. How could they have alarmed the King of Hell in the underworld? She lowered her head, hoping that the King of Hell's eyesight wasn't too good and wouldn't notice her. She didn't want to deal with the King of Hell.