Salt

Xiao Ran was stunned.

On the divine seat inside the shrine, Golden Toad Son sat upright, his expression kind and his gaze full of compassion.

He held a ruyi scepter in his hands and wore a dragon crown strung with beads.

That appearance really did look a bit like the Jade Emperor.

"Wait, how did you turn into this?"

Xiao Ran stared blankly for a few seconds. He had wondered what kind of identity Golden Toad Son would take on after entering Ghost Capital, but he had never expected him to become a stone statue.

Xiao Ran walked up to him and waved a hand in front of the statue.

"If you can hear me, blink."

The stone statue didn't move.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Ran cautiously released a wisp of psychic power.

Only then did he hear Golden Toad Son's voice, faint and intermittent.

"You... have you ever... seen a stone... blink?"

Hearing Golden Toad Son's voice, Xiao Ran finally relaxed. "How did you turn into this?"

As he spoke, Xiao Ran released more psychic power. With no other shrines interfering, Golden Toad Son was the only voice he could hear.

The sensation made Xiao Ran feel as if he'd broken free from his restraints, and a wave of relief washed over him.

"When I came in, I was already like this. I thought you'd all turned into stones too, so I had Tiger Demon go out every day to look for clues about you."

Golden Toad Son sounded thoroughly disgruntled.

Xiao Ran could tell the guy was about to go mad from being cooped up here. Before Xiao Ran could ask anything, Golden Toad Son launched into a stream of complaints.

It was understandable. If he'd turned into a stone, he'd have gone mad too.

The fact