"Boss, I never imagined that this medicine gourd could be so amazing, it can even fly!" the little monkey exclaimed. The fact that such a small pill of [Osmanthus Shadow Condensing Pill] had saved him a hundred years of hard work was already enough to amaze him.
"Not every gourd containing medicine is this powerful; this is Youxuan's most treasured possession," Jing Tian said. "He was very reluctant to part with it at the time."
This is a return gift from the [Earth Spirit Pearl].
Although the Shu Mountain Five Elders no longer intend to rebuild the Five Elements Array because the Demon Locking Tower was completely destroyed, and they believed that they needed the Earth Spirit Pearl more when they went to the Ghost Realm, they still sent a return gift.
Currently, Jing Tian and his companions are on their way to Fengdu, passing by a giant Azure Jade Gourd.
The sea of clouds spread out below like a cotton-like swamp, occasionally torn open by Gale Force, allowing one to look down through the gaps.
Everything below is getting smaller.
The remains of the Demon Locking Tower in Mount Shu resemble a broken tooth stuck in the Earth Vein.
Xuan Guang Hall resembles a chess piece shimmering with blue light.
Soon, Mount Shu completely disappeared from their sight.
That patch of moss is from an ancient vine forest.
The red dot not far away is Anning Village.
The inkstone covering the yellow Dadi is Deyang City.
The continuous white scratches mark Nine Peaks Mountain.
The Immortal Palace seemingly nestled deep within a sea of clouds is Yuzhou.
After leaving the Shu Mountain region, they gradually descended from the frigid Gale Force to a warmer level where they could see everything below more clearly.
The gourds slowed their flight to avoid accidentally flying over their destination—the area where Fengdu is located.
"That's Tang Family Fortress!" Xue Jian shouted excitedly, "Grandpa, I'm here!"
Tang Family Fortress.
Many disciples subconsciously looked up.
"The young lady's voice."
"She's truly become a fairy!"
Hundred Herbs Hall, Tang Yi remained silent for a moment before sneering, "Great, I don't have to be trapped in this quagmire of Tang Family Fortress like I was."
Tang Kun, basking in the sun, looked at the gourd-shaped shadow streaking across the sky. Not long ago, he received a letter from Lei Xiaotian, informing him that Luo Rulie was dead and that the Thunderclap Hall would no longer target the Tang Sect. He also knew that everything was because of his grandson-in-law, Jing Tian.
"Xue Jian." He stood up, waved, and shouted back, looking as energetic as an eighty-year-old man.
"Grandpa saw me. He looks very energetic!" Xue Jian smiled, her moon-like skin flushed.
This joy was even greater than the change in one's appearance immediately after taking the Jade Visage Condensing Mist Pill.
"Such a powerful Demonic Aura," Zi Xuan suddenly said.
"Where can I find it?" Xue Jian curiously.
The Jade Visage Condensing Mist Pill not only made her skin better, as if it were imbued with moonlight, but also further stimulated the growth of the Wutu Spiritual Power within her body. At this moment, she can see and hear things that she could not see or hear when she was still a mortal.
For example, right now, you can see the raised red patterns on the surface of the Azure Jade Gourd, which are sometimes bright and sometimes dim. Each groove contains a wisp of wind that yearns for freedom, and they are emitting a mournful sound like a flute, which is also lingering in your ears.
This is the Wind's Spiritual Power.
As for the Demonic Aura that Zi Xuan mentioned, apart from the Jing Jing that was playing with its own tail upside down in the gourd, she did not detect anything else.
"There." Zi Xuan's eyes gleamed with a purple light. "Leizhou."
Her words seemed to carry her power, conveying everything she had seen in a mysterious and enigmatic way.
A cocoon-like purplish-black miasma enveloped the ancient city with the words "Leizhou" hanging above its gate, which was constantly flashing with lightning.
In the demon miasma, the demons roared.
A man, his body crackling with lightning like a god of thunder, wielding a thunderbolt...
"[Thunder Spirit Pearl]?" Long Kui guessed.
"Yes, the Thunder Spirit Pearl in that man's hand attracted the attention of all the demons," Zi Xuan said. "The Five Spirit Pearls are powerful treasures for most living beings. Although Madam Wan of Anning Village is an Earth Immortal, she has only possessed the Earth Spirit Pearl for a short time, and her spiritual power is no less than mine."
"The Ancient Vine Immortal even used it to completely form his demonic body."
"But should we go to Fengdu first or...?" Xue Jian hesitated.
They went to Fengdu to rescue someone, but they knew this person.
Going to Leizhou was to save the city.
"We've arrived in Fengdu," Jing Tian said.
Beneath the clouds lay a scene brimming with the warmth of everyday life, seemingly unrelated to the Ghost Realm.
A peddler hawking his wares, the enticing aroma of wontons, bright red lanterns, and crowds of pedestrians.
This is clearly a world of living people, with no trace of ghosts whatsoever.
Even at funerals, shops selling paper money, paper figures, lanterns, and coffins are avoided by tourists. The owners, who are clearly living people, are either smoking welding fumes or drinking a bowl of tofu pudding.
"Is this really Fengdu?" Xue Jian asked in surprise for a moment, then asked, "But is it Leizhou?"
"This is not contradictory," Jing Tian said. "Xu Changqing is a cultivator, and his soul is not an ordinary person either. It's just that because it is too far away from his body and is in the Ghost Realm, he cannot enter and exit the Ghost Gate Pass like an ordinary ghost."
"All we have to do is find him, give him a part that represents his body, and he will be able to return to his own body."
"That will be soon, and then we can go to Leizhou City."
"Ah, the thing in the pouch that Daoist Qingwei gave you, A-Tian, is a part of him," Xue Jian realized, "Hair, nails, or blood?"
"Hair." Jing Tian landed outside the city, and the Azure Jade Gourd supporting them shrank to the size of a pendant, automatically hanging around his waist.
"But how do we enter the Ghost Realm?" Xue Jian continued, "Daoist Qingwei said we'd find out when we get there. But..."
She was just about to say that she hadn't seen a trace of Ghost Qi when she was in the sky, but in the blink of an eye, she found the notice board at the city gate covered with talismans.
"[Ghost Warding Talisman], this does give off the feeling of a ghost town. No wonder it's called Fengdu."
After entering the city, Xue Jian discovered more details.
Outside the coffin shop, three black cats were licking black paw prints.
The peddler's basket on the street contained paper money mixed with Locust Flower Powder in the left basket and Chicken Blood Scab mixed with cinnabar in the right basket.
If you look closely, you can see the raised marks of fingernail scratches on the silk surface of the faded lanterns hanging on the second floor of the tavern.
Most importantly, as they ventured deeper, the alleys on both sides were filled with stalls selling talismans and Daoist Artifact. There were even little girls who stopped them, saying, "How come you don't even know the rule that you have to buy Protective Talisman before entering the city? Even a child like me knows that!"
Before they could answer, she continued, "Of course it's for saving your life! People like us who come from outside might not feel it at first, but over time we'll become weaker and weaker, so we must carry Protective Talisman with us to ward off evil spirits!"
"How much?" Xue Jian asked.
As the eldest daughter of the Tang Sect, she has never been troubled by money.
"I happen to have an extra one here. Considering we're both from out of town, I'll sell it to you for three hundred taels. That's much cheaper than anywhere else."
Damn it, where did this little female brat come from? Jing Tian was speechless.
Although there is a lot of silver in this world, three hundred taels is about the same as thirty taels.
But each Protective Talisman costs thirty taels.
They really didn't see that the beggars on the street all had Protective Talisman.
"Some are expensive, but—" Xue Jian instinctively reached for her money, but Zi Xuan stopped her. "Young lady, the spiritual power in the Protective Talisman is real, but any talisman from any stall is real too. Do you really want three hundred taels?"
"Three coins." The little girl made a face and ran into the crowd.
"In this city, Protective Talisman are just as important and common as food and water." Zi Xuan wasn't angry, but patiently explained to Xue Jian, "Three coins can buy a meat bun or Protective Talisman."
"Then how do we enter the Ghost Realm?" Xue Jian asked.
"Little beauty, do you want to enter the Ghost Realm?"
The speaker was a gaunt, sallow-faced man. He was so thin that he looked like skin and bones, more like a starving ghost from a storybook than a living person.
So, when he appeared with a lewd smile, waving a piece of white paper with the words "Underworld Emissary" written on it...
Xue Jian's first reaction wasn't anger, but rather a lightning-fast look of disgust followed by a quick step back, "A ghost!"
"Little Beauty—" The man seemed about to faint, "Three, no, four, four little beauties!"
Jing Tian: Xue Jian, Long Kui, Zi Xuan, four of them, and damn it, me too!
"My Zhao Wuyan. I am Underworld Emissary, serving the Ghost Realm. I am rich and powerful." Seeing the even greater disgust in Jing Tian and the others' eyes, Zhao Wuyan quickly added, "I am already fifty-eight, half-human and half-ghost, and I have indulged in excessive sexual activity, so I no longer have the ability of a man. Please, let me join you. I only need to lick your toes. No, I only need to watch. I can lead you into the Ghost Realm!"
"The Fire Ghost King values me highly! After I die, I will become the ruler of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."
Seeing that the four people remained unmoved, he stepped back and looked at himself with the eyes of someone looking at trash.
"No, no, monkey! Little monkey!" He looked at Jing Jing as if she were his the Chosen One. "I can be your little monkey!"
"Boss, can I kill him?" Jing Jing, who had never killed anyone before, wanted to make a move.
"Squeak!" Hua Ying circled Xue Jian Jianfei anxiously, gesturing for Xue Jian to use her as a hidden weapon to kill Zhao Wuyan. She was afraid that Zhao Wuyan would say something like, "I can be your Five-Poison Beast."
"I'm willing to be your dog!" Zhao Wuyan knelt down.
Hua Ying breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and landed on Xue Jian's shoulder.
"Woof woof woof!"
Damn it, that's so shameful, I wouldn't even want to kill him.
Jing Tian and the others were of one mind and immediately turned around and walked away quickly.
"Woof—!" Zhao Wuyan tried to get up, then stumbled and fell face-first to the ground, a row of teeth falling out neatly. "You won't listen, you little brat!"
The lost teeth not only made him feel cold, but blood and teeth also slid into his throat.
"Ugh, ugh, ahhh—" Her thin, bony hand fell limply to her sides.
The people around didn't react; they just walked away in disgust.
Xue Jian had already run to the inn, trembled as she looked back into the distance, "That guy is dead?"
She seemed to see a plume of black smoke rise from Zhao Wuyan's corpse and disappear into the bluestone brick floor.
"Is that Zhao Wuyan?" The innkeeper looked the group up and down, lingering on Jing Tian for a long time before saying, "I suggest you all stay away. He was originally just an Underworld Emissary, the most lecherous, the most shameless, the most incompetent, who made an Underworld Emissary by tricking people into buying his [Soul-Leaving Soup]. People in the city just ignore him because of his identity."
"But recently, he offered a treasure to the Fire Ghost King of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."
"He is now in a very high position of power."
"Auntie, he's dead." Xue Jian pointed into the distance.
Zhao Wuyan's physique was truly unique, even among the Underworld Emissary.
Therefore, even though the proprietress was only human, she recognized her at a glance.
"This is bad. I suggest you leave Fengdu City before nightfall."
"Auntie, why?" Zi Xuan asked.
"Please call me Aunt Ma," Aunt Ma said. "Death is not the end, but only the beginning. He, who became a ghost—"
"We know he boasted that he would become the ruler of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss after death," Xue Jian interrupted. "Do you sell that Soul-Leaving Soup here, Aunt Ma? It's a tool that allows the living to enter the Ghost Realm?"
"That soup is just ordinary herbal tea," Aunt Ma said. "Anyone can enter the Ghost Realm as long as they find the right time and place. As long as they're not afraid of death, most living people who enter the Ghost Realm will be eaten by hungry ghosts as soon as they get in. If you don't want to live anymore, why not hang yourself or throw yourself into a well? You'll at least have a whole corpse, and people will offer sacrifices to you every year. Why do you have to go to that ghostly place to die?"
"You'd better leave quickly, or it will be too late if you wait until tonight."
"In Fengdu, the night belongs to the dead."
"Except for Underworld Emissary or highly skilled cultivators, it is best to stay indoors, and there should be Protective Talisman hanging inside."
"But the Protective Talisman can only block ordinary ghosts and the personal guards of the Fire Ghost King. Although my little shop can serve ghost guests, it is only for wandering spirits. It cannot stop evil ghosts."
"I am a highly accomplished cultivator." Xue Jian stood with her hands behind her back, and an earth-yellow true energy shield unfolded. "We are all."
"I am a monster! A descendant of Li Han Kong, a monster who has been to Mount Shu!" said the monkey Goblin.
What?!!
A monster who was imprisoned in the Demon Locking Tower and escaped!
"I was blind to your greatness, I'm so sorry," Aunt Ma said immediately.
Jing Tian understood perfectly; it was like an accounting major hearing that the person across from him was from Tilanqiao University.
Xue Jian, thinking it was because of her, said smugly, "We came here to save someone. I wonder if you've heard of it, Aunt Ma, from the ghost guests."
"From the Ghost Realm?" Aunt Ma asked, puzzled.
"That person suffered from amnesia, and his soul fell into the Ghost Realm, but he was a disciple of Mount Shu and was not afraid of evil spirits," Zi Xuan said.
"So you're a master from Mount Shu." Aunt Ma's face showed respect.
Suddenly, her expression froze. "Was that person a man, a very handsome man?"
"Of course, he is definitely not as handsome as this expert."
Is his surname Xu?
Zi Xuan nodded.
"Then you may have to return empty-handed," Aunt Ma said. "The treasure that Zhao Wuyan gave to the Fire Ghost King is this Mr. Xu."
"Mr. Xu is now the husband of the Fire Ghost King."
"Although you all possess profound cultivation, you are the rulers of a region in the Ghost Realm and the sovereigns of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss — the Fire Ghost King."
"Husband?" Zi Xuan lost her balance and fell into Jing Tian's arms.
"Sir, this may not be such a bad thing," Aunt Ma comforted him. "The Fire Ghost King has always been choosing a husband, but no male ghost has ever been selected in the past thousand years. Being chosen and getting married is a blessing for Mr. Xu."
"Even if you all want to save them, they have already completed their wedding ceremony and entered the bridal chamber. The principle of 'better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage' also applies to the Ghost Realm."
"Besides," she looked at Zi Xuan and Jing Tian's tightly clasped hands, "You have also found a good man."