Night draped the land, lamplight shimmering.
Mo Chuan sprawled on the sofa, leafing through the documents Chong Shizi had carried with him. A trace of disappointment rose unbidden on his face.
"What a pity. There wasn't even a cultivation method!"
"Then again, cultivation methods are committed to memory. Who would carry them around at all times?"
"Getting these Dharma artifacts this time was already quite a good haul."
Mo Chuan shook his head, put away the documents, and reached into the air. The Three Pure Ones Bell abruptly fell into his hand.
Unable to put it down, he gave it a gentle shake. A wisp of green smoke poured from the bell and piled up on the ground, forming a Headless Fierce Ghost.
"As expected of one of the Daoist sect's Four Great Evil Ghosts. Possessing someone and killing them is as easy as turning over one's hand!"
"Huh!"
As he marveled, Mo Chuan suddenly noticed that the Headless Ghost's cultivation was rapidly declining.
Mana flowed into the Three Pure Ones Bell, and he could vaguely sense an immense majesty pervading heaven and earth, suppressing and stripping away the Headless Ghost's essence!
In no time at all, the Headless Ghost had lost two years of cultivation.
"Ding-a-ling..."
Mo Chuan hurriedly shook the bell and drew the Headless Ghost back inside.
His expression turned grave.
"The pressure of heaven and earth... Could the real world reject beings from another world?"
"Or does this place restrict cultivation?"
These possibilities instinctively came to Mo Chuan's mind.
"There are still too few samples. If I get the chance to catch a few more fierce ghosts, I'll know."
As he pondered, he pulled a Yashou Coin from thin air.
The copper coin landed in his palm, slightly heavy against his hand.
"This is truly strange. Things from reality turn entirely to ash when brought over, yet things from there come back unscathed? What sort of logic is that?"
"Wait!"
"I can't grasp ordinary objects from that side at all with my Ghost Body—I have to store them in the Sacrificial Dao Furnace. Yet I can take things from this side over with a casual hand. This isn't soul transmigration at all, is it?"
"Could this really be the Netherworld Underworld?!"
Mo Chuan's mind abruptly churned.
He had always overlooked this detail, one that became all the more terrifying the more he thought about it. Now that it suddenly occurred to him, he was seized by an absurd sense of disbelief.
"Practice produces truth. I'll just try it tomorrow."
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, when the Chen Family of Qu Kou lit incense once more, Mo Chuan immediately slipped over, unable to wait any longer.
This time, however, his phone was recording him as he departed.
Not long after, he returned. When he picked up the phone and looked at it, his expression immediately became complicated.
"So it really was bodily transmigration?! Doesn't that mean my original body has always been a soul body?"
"No wonder Huang Buyu mistook me for someone from the Netherworld Underworld. So this place... really is the Netherworld Underworld!"
Even after a night of mentally preparing himself, Mo Chuan still found the truth he had suddenly uncovered bizarre and difficult to accept.
The Records of the Netherworld recorded: When humans died, they became ghosts; when ghosts died, they became Xian; when Xian died, they became Xi; when Xi died, they became Yi; when Yi died, they became nothingness.
The Dao De Jing also said: What is looked at but cannot be seen is called Yi; what is listened to but cannot be heard is called Xi.
If this place was the Netherworld Hell, then judging others by himself, everyone was probably in Xian Bodies.
Perhaps that was also the fundamental reason why Blue Star saw no monsters, no supernatural powers, no gods, no ghosts.
"The notion of the Netherworld Underworld is still somewhat too absurd! If everyone is in a Xian Body, then why can they maintain tangible forms? Why do they even have flesh and blood?"
"Perhaps this place is merely a special dimension, or perhaps this world can sustain the forms of Xian Bodies."
Mo Chuan muttered to himself, yet his expression did not relax.
Regardless of whether Blue Star truly was the Netherworld Hell—
The matter of his "bodily transmigration" had been confirmed.
In other words, his original body was a soul body.
That was no good news!
A soul body came with far too many constraints.
"The incense world is so miraculous. Perhaps it has a method to reshape a physical body!"
Mo Chuan thought to himself.
As his thoughts wandered, the incense offerings from Fu Luan Temple arrived right on time.
He slowly exhaled, composed himself, and prepared to listen to the old Daoist priest explain the scriptures.
Yet when he looked through the incense as though it were a mirror, he was surprised to discover that only Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy was offering incense today.
"Did something happen?"
Mo Chuan carefully observed Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy's expression. Seeing that he was calm, neither sorrowful nor joyful, Mo Chuan finally relaxed slightly.
After several days of "remote lessons," Mo Chuan had formed quite a favorable impression of Fu Luan's old Daoist priest. If something had happened to him, it truly would have been hard to accept.
Even without Fu Luan's old Daoist priest watching over him, Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy still respectfully performed his morning recitations:
—namely, chanting the scriptures that had to be read.
Fu Luan Temple's morning service was divided into incantations, scriptures, and edicts.
The incantation was the Heart Purifying Divine Incantation, the scripture was the Supreme Purity Scripture, and the edict was the Ancestral Edict of Wandering the Void, which praised Patriarch Fu Luan.
Morning and evening services were daily compulsory practice for Daoists.
In Fu Luan's old Daoist priest's words: "If one does not diligently uphold and chant them, how can one preserve the primal harmony?"
After completing the "Regular Court Rite," Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy respectfully clasped his hands and withdrew.
Seeing this, Mo Chuan was about to close the incense channel when a thought suddenly struck him... With Fu Luan's old Daoist priest absent today, wasn't this the perfect chance to go out for a stroll?
Having escaped death with the Three Pure Ones Bell, his courage had naturally swelled all the more!
Once the thought settled, Mo Chuan no longer hesitated and stepped out from the incense statue.
"Clack—"
At the same time, an unusual sound suddenly came from the doorway.
Following the sound, he saw Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy return after leaving.
He stared dumbfoundedly at Mo Chuan emerging from the statue, his eyes wide and round, as if he had witnessed something utterly unbelievable.
Mo Chuan was dumbfounded too.
You little bastard, why did you come back again?
"Xuan Yun of Fu Luan Temple pays respects to the Patriarch!"
While Mo Chuan was still stunned, Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy took a quick stride forward and rushed before the statue. With both hands clasped to the ground and his head lowered to the backs of his hands, he performed a grand kowtow.
This kid had spiritual roots!
"You can see me?"
Mo Chuan slowly descended as though stepping down a ritual stairway.
"In reply to Patriarch, this disciple can see you!"
"Have you opened your heavenly eye?"
"This disciple has never opened his heavenly eye!" Xuan Yun immediately explained. "Master said I was born with spiritual roots, so my heavenly eye opened on its own."
"So that was it."
"Where is your master?"
"Constables from Qingshui County came to the door. Master went to receive them."
"Qingshui County?"
Mo Chuan was surprised. As his thoughts turned, several conjectures arose.
If he had guessed correctly, the few streams of incense offerings he currently received were likely all within the same region.
"Patriarch, has some natural disaster or man-made calamity occurred in Qingshui County?"
At some point, Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy had raised his head. His black eyes rolled as he looked at Mo Chuan.
"Why do you say that?"
"Master said that we Daoists 'cultivate in the mountains in prosperous times, and descend the mountains to spread the Dao in troubled times.' Today, people from Qingshui County came, and then Patriarch manifested himself. I presume the world is about to fall into chaos, and you have a Dharma decree to proclaim!"
Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy said.
Was this kid's chuunibyou soul on fire? Was he really that eager for troubled times?
Mo Chuan gave him a meaningful look. "You do have a bit of wisdom! The Magistrate of Qingshui County died due to the Headless Ghost's mischief. They must be seeking a cure in desperation and have come begging at Fu Luan Temple's door."
"The Headless Ghost caused trouble!"
Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy stared in shock, then shuddered and prostrated himself on the ground. "Xuan Yun respectfully awaits Patriarch's Dharma decree!"
"That Headless Ghost has already been taken away. There is no need to worry!"
After thinking for a moment, Mo Chuan added, "Qingshui slays the loyal and worthy; Kuai Kuang uproots the evil ringleader. This age may bear signs of chaos. Fu Luan Temple should make preparations early!"
As his voice fell, a stack of Ghost Subduing Talismans drifted out and landed before Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy.
Only a few days ago, Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy had just learned how to draw talismans. Knowing how precious these Ghost Subduing Talismans were, his eyes widened at once.
Even his breathing grew heavier.
"Fu Luan Temple shall obey the Dharma decree!"
Mo Chuan nodded. Looking at the resplendent sun gradually rising, he simply prepared to leave.
Unexpectedly, Xuan Yun the Daoist Boy suddenly asked curiously:
"May I ask, Patriarch, who took away that Headless Ghost?"
Before you continue